In the Vine

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." - Philippians 4:4-9 I absolutely love this passage. There is so much meat in these six verses. I think they truly sum up how to live as a Christian, in a relationship with Jesus Christ. 1. Rejoice in the lord, ALWAYS - Key word being ALWAYS. No matter the circumstances, ...

Lately, I’ve been convicted by how much I worry and stress about the future.   I tend to let what could or could not happen tomorrow affect my happiness today.   There are plenty of problems with this. First, I have absolutely no control over what is going to happen a minute from now, let alone tomorrow or the next day. Second, the most effective way to live is to live one moment, one breath at a time, surrendering each and every decision.   When I am spending my time stressing over outcomes of certain situations, I am not living this moment to its fullest. If you know me, you know I am a planner. I'm organized with my plans almost to the point of OCD. Yes, it’s good to plan and we do need to do a certain amount of that, but plan with the idea in mind that God can do whatever he wants with that plan. My devotional a couple days ago started out, “Bask in the luxury of being fully understood and unconditionally loved. Dare to see yourself as I see you: radiant in...

I recently started reading the daily devotional from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. Here is today's: " There is a mighty battle  going on for control of your mind. Heaven and earth intersect in your mind; the tugs of both spheres influence your thinking. I created you with the capacity to experience foretastes of heaven. When you shut out the world and focus on My Presence, you can enjoy sitting with Me  in heavenly realms.  This is an incredible privilege reserved for precious ones who belong to Me and seek My Face. Your greatest strength is your desire to spend time communing with Me. As you concentrate on Me,  My Spirit fills your mind with Life and Peace. The world exerts a downward pull on your thoughts. Media bombard you with greed, lust, and cynicism. When you face these things, pray for protection and discernment. Stay in continual communication with Me whenever you walk through the wastelands of this world. Refuse to worry, because this form of worldlines...

There are many opinions out there on this whole Chick-Fil-A "scandal." I decided it was time to form an opinion of my own. Personally, I don’t even like Chick-Fil-A. Their chicken isn’t very good. My picky eating aside, if I liked their food, I would still eat there. I think there are a lot of judgmental people out there in the world, including myself at times, but I think its absolutely absurd that this big of a deal and so much hate from both sides is coming out of this. I am truly disappointed in a lot of the Christians who are also showing so much hate for the people who are boycotting and speaking out against Chick-Fil-A. That is not who we are called to be. As Americans, we have freedom of speech. We are so fortunate to have the freedoms that we have. There are many places where people are put to death for their beliefs....both for being homosexual and for being Christian. Neither group is free from discrim...

http://aminiatureclaypot.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/so-you-still-think-god-is-a-merciful-god/ This is an incredible article from a woman who was in the same theater in Colorado as the shooting during The Dark Night Rises movie. It is so encouraging to read her thoughts during the entire thing. " In that moment, as the rapid-fire shots continued, I truly thought I was going to die. And I realized that I was ready. I have put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the redeemer of my soul, and there wasn’t the slightest doubt that I would be received into heaven, not because of any good thing that I have done but because of His merciful nature and the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ." God has not given us a spirit of fear. He gives us peace. How cool is it that we don't have to live in fear of death?  Yes, in that situation, I'm sure my fear level would have been off the charts, but I would like to think that the fear would not be for my life, maybe fea...

You're Not Alone by Meredith Andrews I search for love, when the night came, And it closed in, I was alone, But you found me, where I was hiding, And now I'll never ever be the same, It was the sweetest voice, That called my name saying You're not alone, For I am here, Let me wipe away your every fear, My love I've never left your side, I have seen you through the darkest night, And I'm the one who's loved you all your life, All of your life You cry your self to sleep, cause the hurt is real, And the pain cuts deep, all hope seems lost, With heartache your closest friend, And everyone else long gone, You've had to face the music on your own, But there is a sweeter song that calls you home saying You're not alone, For I am here, Let me wipe away your every tear, My love I've never left your side, I have seen you through the darkest night, And I'm the one who's loved you all your life, All your life Faithful and true, Forever, Oh my love w...

Here are a few things I'm really excited about right now- 1. Discipleship Essentials by Greg Ogden- Megan and I have started a discipleship study called Discipleship Essentials. Camarillo Community Church has been doing the study through small groups for a while now. The idea is to have intentional relationships in which you are delving into God's word, wrestling with His Truths, encouraging each other, challenging each other, and equipping one another to then go and disciple others. God has called us to have intentional relationships with each other and I am so excited about what this bible study is going to do for our friendship and our relationship with God. 2. Chipotle Ordering Ap- I have a love/hate relationship with this Ap. Basically how it works is you go on the ap and pick what you want, choose your location, and you can even pay online. Once you place your order, 20 minutes later, you can walk into the restaurant, skip the line, tell them your name, and walk out w...

My spiritual New Year's resolution- Know that I am loved, I am loved beyond anything I can ever imagine. However, even though I am loved, that should not bring with it a sense of entitlement to everything God gives. I have always been slightly bothered by people who think they are entitled to certain things. I have been super blessed in my life. I am blessed to have the family that I have, the things that I have, the friends that I have, and the education I received. However, I know that I am not entitled to any of it. I know that I do not deserve all that my parents have given me just because I am their daughter, so I have tried really hard not to expect things and be extremely thankful for the things that I receive. Well, that is my goal anyway. I know at times, I too have that sense of entitlement to things. I think I should receive things or deserve things because.... well, I always have. But that is not true and that is not the mindset I should have. I think this is the s...