Faith...A step at a time.

After community group on Wednesday nights, I have been night running over the bridge...This past Wednesday evening, as I was running, I got to thinking about faith. As I was placing each foot in front of the other, I got to thinking that below that level of pavement was a body of water hundreds of feet below me. Everyone that crosses over that bridge each day has faith that they will make it across without the bridge falling through. Subconsciously, people trust all the makings of bridge-the strength of aluminum & steel; the concrete structures that hold the bridge up, the nuts & bolts...Everything that makes a bridge serve its purpose. How can ordinary people, not even think/question the details of how a bridge is made before you cross it? Yet when we look around and see how the waves crash and the sun rises, the birds chirping, & hear the heart of a beating heart, the question still remains for some people, is there a God? If there is, is God personal? The truth is, creation screams there is a creator...Yet some people remain to be faithless and doubt. Although I certainly believe that there is an amazing God who is personal, too many times, I find myself doubting my Creator. However, He is the only One who knows what is best for me. We are truly missing out if we miss the truth that God has stamped his fingerprint on each of us, individually giving us gifts to use for His glory.

In order to have faith, our heart must reach a point of surrender...when we recognize that there is no escaping sin, we recognize our need for a personal savior in our individual hearts. There is an eternal freedom on the other side of the door, but it requires us to raise our hand and knock-a humility that requires a vulnerability. Christ is the doorkeeper. Ask and he'll open. Seek and you'll find. Thanks be to God for his amazing grace that he gives us freely, if we choose to accept it.

a daily fight for joy

Do you ever fall into ruts of despair even though you are surrounded by God's blessings? I was very frustrated with myself today because although I was in the presence of amazing community, I did not feel like engaging in conversation with anyone. I felt like not only was I wanting to keep to myself, my joy was also stolen away from me & I didn't like feeling this way. The hard part was recognizing this, and not being able to instantly have that joy back. I consider myself to be a people person, however, I am recognizing more and more that I need to take time out for myself in order to refresh. I tend to over-commit, not wanting to let anyone down. However, God is showing me that He is here for me, as long as I draw near to Him, He will draw near to me. Today I recognized the NEED to draw near to God...Oh how essential this is...Nothing was satisfying me today, despite the blessings around me in my life that God's grace has provided for me---beautiful sunshine, beaches, close friends, and even my normal iced coffee with a shot of vanilla & cream from my favorite coffee shop (just to name a few). It disgusts me to think of everything God has provided for each of us, yet so often we throw things back in His face. Despite the daily worries & troubles, paying bills, doubts you start believing about yourself, broken relationships, brain tumors, cancer, etc, there are moments in life that are worth living for-- Sunsets, Saturday morning coffee, the ability to run, loving family & friends, reading a good book, starry nights...in all things, both difficult & simple circumstances, God is in the midst.

A daily reminder I have to keep reminding myself of: Only God truly satisfies...It really has to do with the condition of my heart. It's encouraging to know that I don't have to fix myself before I feel like I can enter the presence of God...In order to BE FIXED, I need to go to him in prayer, MESSY. He wants our needy hearts...As we surrender our hearts back to God time and again, He fills us back up with a peace that transcends all understanding.

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer & petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Alive & Running

I had the urge to run tonight, although it was getting a bit late for me (9pm-yes, i guess I'm an adult now), so I laced up my shoes, grabbed my music, & headed out the door. The air outside was the perfect temperature, around 70, and the smell of summer was in the air. As I began to move my legs forward more swiftly, I had begun to realize how much I loved this feeling-inspiration sprouted. I had forgotten how refreshing it felt to be running, in the night, with God's scent all around me. Working muscles, while building speed. Each step I took, my clogged mind drained. During my short run, I began to process God's creation and thought how little I am and how big God really is. Too often I tend to diminish the vastness of God.

As my feet hit our driveway and I strolled over to stretch on the sidewalk, I looked up to the night sky. The stars were popping out of the sky, while the perfectly round moon was placed above me. How magnificent. As the sweat dripped down my face & I heard the breeze rustle the tree branches around me, I felt alive.

God is always present. Sometimes we just need to open our eyes.

At what moments do you feel most alive?

what does it mean to truly live life to the fullest?

It's been quite awhile since i last blogged, but lately I have had an urge to start writing again...Below are some personal reflections over the past 1 1/2yrs since moving to Charleston...

Through the difficult times of wrestling with God regarding a job that I highly was unhappy with for 8 months, adjusting to being states away from home, while depending on airplanes just to see my parents, & times of having a letdown heart based off of my own self expectations, the result has produced a deeper yearning in my heart to KNOW GOD. This is the reason why we go through trials right? When we are desperate, we TURN to God because it's clear that as tainted human beings, we can't righteously live life on our own. Therefore, we should really be desperate on a daily basis in good times and bad.

My observation through experience: I am nothing without God. But with him, I'm everything. "No one is good-except God alone"(Luke 18:19). When you begin to love God and seek Him, your eyes are opened to the fact that nothing you do can save yourself from your own sin...every wrong action I take, every wrong thought I have...I can't do it...because I am sin. Thank God the pressure has been taken away, the weight has been lifted off my back. God's grace stepped in...

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10)

More and more my eyes are being opened to the good that God has created in this world...From the breathtaking view of the Charleston shores & painted yellow sunsets, to rich prayers with friends that result in eyes flooded with tears, yet lips that pour out thanks. His creation speaks of his presence...

GOD IS SOVEREIGN!

"The voice that brings the dead to life is the very same voice that calls you to rise...the hands that hold the world are holding your heart...When everything is falling apart, you will be safe in his arms..."

-Phil Wickham, "Safe"
Singer/Songwriter