Pray and Do Not Doubt.

My family usually attends the early 9 am service at our church, Grace, but this Sunday my mom told me I could sleep in and we'd go to the later service at 10:30 am (actually, my parents and brothers had classes to go to then and we went to the 12 pm service, but I went to both services because I wanted to). My friend Bethany saw me looking for someone to sit with and generously offered to let me sit next to her and her boyfriend.

Pastor Jonathan's message hit me square in the heart, like so many others have in a convicting, reviving way. Yesterday his message was taken from John 4-5 and he talked about how we need to ask for healing and being set free from sin. God wants us to talk to him and not just read about him. We ought to be reading about God and talking with others about what he is doing in our lives as well as talking to him personally through prayer. Pastor Jonathan used the Samaritan woman at the well, the officer whose son was very sick, and the paralyzed man by the pool to show how God worked in Bible times and then he shared stories of church members who have been healed miraculously in this day and age to show how God continues to work. 

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” -John 4:13-14

The Samaritan woman didn't realize who Jesus was until he uncovered her past without her telling him and then she was astounded. Jesus told her that he was the Messiah and she went back to her town, telling everyone about Jesus. Many believed in him because of the woman's account. The officer asked Jesus to come and heal his son, but Jesus told him he was healed and to go home. The officer believed and received word before he arrived home that his son was healed. The paralyzed man told Jesus how he had been that way for 38 long years and could never get into the pool to be healed. Jesus immediately said to him, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!" and the man did just that!

*Read the rest of the Samaritan woman and officer's stories here and the paralyzed man's story here.

Often as of late, I have been struggling with knowing why we should pray, but the message just affirmed exactly why we need to. God wants us to seek his help and guidance to overcome in this life. We try and try to set ourselves free on our own strength, but Christ is the only one who can and has already set us free with his death and resurrection. We serve a powerful God!

The Little Everyday Instances.

This past Monday I woke up feeling slightly sick, exhausted and didn't like my appearance at all. Instead of pouting and being angry, I took the time to notice, appreciate and thank God for every little way he was working in my life. I saw God at work so many times that day, but I've forgotten most of them. I do remember one instance clearly, and that was of me walking to a review session for my Old Testament class that night after working out at the gym. The rain was coming down hard, and I missed seeing the sidewalk in front of me, so instead of stepping up onto it I tripped and fell. God allowed me to fall in such a way that I only got a tiny scratch on my right hand; everything else was fine, although I was a bit shaken up. One of the metal parts of my umbrella broke, which made it sort of lopsided but that didn't matter. What mattered was that God took care of me and I praised him each and every time for his kindness and favor towards me. He sent constant reminders throughout the day to say, "I'm here with you and I love you so much. You're my child, and I'm not letting you go." God cares deeply for each one of his children, and he is faithful.


Have you ever spent a day looking intently for God's hand at work in the fleeting moments? It's easy to miss seeing him work in little ways, but he is always doing something, whether we notice or not. Be intentional about seeing God at work not only in your life but also in the lives of others, particularly non-believing family and friends. How has God worked in you and through you this past week/month on mundane or difficult days?

Christmas Break Challenge

If you could sum up this week with one word, what would it be? For me, and probably every other student, the word would be busy, or perhaps overwhelmed. After the semester ends, you'll go home and probably won't have much to do. Instead of being lazy and eating as many Christmas goodies as you can, what if you used your time wisely and shared Jesus with as many people as you can? You could do something as simple as talking to the cashier in the store when you're picking up last minute Christmas gifts or sending a Christmas card to a friend.

Many Cedarville students want to witness to nonbelievers, but it's hard when we are surrounded by believers 24/7. Maybe you're in a similar situation at a Christian university or a small Christian community. The one month during the school year that students are surrounded by non-Christians is our Christmas break in December/January. I challenge you to look for opportunities to reach out to nonbelievers this Christmas season. We might have a break from school work, but that doesn't mean we get a break from serving Christ. Let's shine the light of Christ brightly as we remember and celebrate his birth on this planet over 2,000 years ago.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." -Matthew 5:14-16

Preemptive Love Coalition: Providing Heart Surgeries for Iraqi Children.

It was only a few weeks ago that I found out about Preemptive Love Coalition (PLC), an international organization that provides heart surgeries for children living in Iraq. One of Cedarville's own graduates, Cody Fisher, is a member of PLC and all of the current Cedarville students were privileged to watch a video of him talking about his passion for the organization not too long ago at one of our regular chapel services.

There is a dire need for heart surgeries for Iraqi children, which is due in part to the decay of the medical system over the past three decades. Currently, there are 29,000 children per year that are denied surgery in one Baghdad hospital alone and 3,000 known children in Kurdish Region waiting for surgery. 11,000 children are added to the backlog each year. Iraq used to have a excellent, highly centralized medical system but now the system has deteriorated immensely, creating an inability to treat the normal case load of patients and the higher rates of birth defects in Iraq have not helped the situation, either. All this has led to a desperate need for lifesaving heart surgery for countless children. PLC is able to provide these surgeries because of generous giving.

This very morning Cedarville University took an offering for PLC and before the offering took place, our student chaplain encouraged us to give freely for this great organization that is saving thousands of lives of precious children. He used the following passage to challenge us to give out of love, rather than just giving because we feel guilty.

"But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nation will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” -Matthew 25:31-46

How should we respond to this great need? Instead of sitting quietly on the sidelines and watching people die, one by one, we can give our money, time and resources. It always seems to come back to those three things, no matter what the need. God has blessed us with an abundance of money and he's given us all the time and resources we need to do the good things he prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10) We just have to be willing to let God use us. Have you said to God, "Here I am. I'll go where you send me. Use me for your glory," or are you too comfortable, scared, etc? Whatever personal struggles you might be facing, God is bigger and he can and does use us in our weakness to bring about his purpose, so you need not be afraid to trust him with the future or anything else at all.

If you sense God tugging at your heart to give, just do it and expect God to bless you in unexpected ways. God's call on your life might be to go to a country you've never gone to before. Let your fears of the unknown propel you to step out in faith and trust the future to the hands of the God who is outside time and space. Just like God cared for Ruth and Esther, two biblical women of faith, he will also care for you.

Don't think that I don't struggle with this, too. I find myself not wanting to give many times throughout the day, having forgotten that every good and perfect gift is from God the Father who never changes. (James 1:17) Pray for me, that I would be more giving and that I would never forget who the Gift Giver is.

If you need prayer for anything, whether it be that you would be more giving, or loving, or kind, please don't hesitate to share it with me and I will pray for you.

In light of my recent discovery of Preemptive Love Coalition, I created a Brickfish entry for the Tell Your Story...and Make a Difference campaign, which I would love for you to view and vote for. (You may vote once every 24 hours [you do not have to create a username to vote] and leave reviews whenever you like.) Simply click the box below and it will take you to the entry. :)

Tell Your Story and Make a Difference Brickfish

The Palm Project.

**This is a copy of a post I just did on my other blog, Image-ine. I thought that it needed to be shared here too. If you're a follower of my other blog, feel free to dismiss this post. Thanks!**

Did you know that you're beautiful? God thinks so! He created you just the way he wanted to.

The KING is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your LORD. -Psalm 45:11

Two days ago I found out about The Palm Project from Hannah via Twitter. The creators Madeleine and Emily just started the project about a week ago and the Facebook page has already caught the attention of many. Why, you ask? Only because every girl has a deep longing in her heart to be valued and treasured by the King of Kings.

I am beautiful. Just the way I am. Because of Him.

We all have imperfections and impurities because we've been tainted by sin, but despite our imperfections, we are beautiful because we were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) who dearly loves us and sent his Son to die for us even while were still sinners! (Romans 5:8) If we have accepted Christ's free gift of salvation, then he has set us from sin and given us a new birth through the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:4-5)

I hope you're feeling beautiful because you are!

You can make a difference in the lives of your friends and family by showing them with your actions and words that you know they're beautiful. Take a photo of yourself with the words "I am beautiful" written on the palm of your hand and upload it to Facebook or Twitter to spread the word about The Palm Project and get your friends involved!

Don't ever forget that God loves you with a love that has no bounds!

The LORD says,

“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;

my love will know no bounds,

for my anger will be gone forever."

-Hosea 14:4

The Time is Now.

Every day I'm being challenged to put my faith in Jesus Christ into action. Cedarville is sort of a Christian bubble but there are opportunities to reach out to people here and the surrounding area and I'm taking them. I'm involved in a ministry to inner city girls in Dayton and God is using me there but I want to do more. Today I'm thinking a lot about how much God has blessed me and how we are blessed to be a blessing. Period. My friends and I are discussing sponsoring a child through World Vision or Compassion International, which is something that I've been feeling like God wants me to do, but I haven't yet because I don't have a regular job. BUT I do have a job, and I make more than $1 an hour, which is more than the amount of money that 1 in 6 people live on every day. That's so crazy and saddening. Obviously I have more than enough to be sharing with other people, so I really am praying about making a difference in a child's life and sponsoring one with a couple of my friends. This video is really convicting. If that's not enough, Scripture makes it 100% clear that as Christians we ought to give.

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? -1 John 3:17

Please pray that God would lead me to ask the right people that he desires to join me in sponsoring a child and that God would guide us in choosing which child to sponsor. Also pray that we would be committed to giving generously and faithfully praying for the child. Pray that all believers everywhere would see the need in the world and respond in Jesus' name. 

May Paul's words be true in our own lives and may we be filled with a zeal for the gospel that never dies!

We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. -2 Corinthians 6:3-10

Awaken the Dawn.

For the past month or so, I've been struggling to feel God's presence, just to know that he's beside me, fighting for me. I craved his presence so badly, but he seemed distant for a very long time. 


David's words in the Psalms sum up how I felt:

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. -Psalm 22:1-2

Like David, I called but couldn't hear an answer.

My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. -Psalm 22:14-15

Tuesday night I spent time delving into the Bible and seeking Christ passionately. My devotions for the night focused on Psalm 57:7-8 and it was all about David, who made a decision to awaken from the darkness surrounding him in a very dark moment. He cried out to God, declared God's refuge, love and faithfulness, and reminded himself that God's ways are above our ways.

The words on the page lit up the darkness creeping into my heart, and I literally felt as if I'd just come out of an intense, long-lasting battle. I didn't have to fear as long as Christ is with me, living in my heart as I know he is. My response in a spiritual winter or darkness should be to remain steadfast, worship, pray, and awaken the dawn with my words. On top of that, I should shine God's light for others to see and awaken my soul to sing.

I've prayed fervently, continued reading the Bible and kept on praising and worshiping him no matter what my mind tells me. On Wednesday morning we had a Praise and Worship chapel so we spent the entire time singing and praying. I was so blessed and encouraged as God's living words washed over me like a mighty ocean wave. God loves me. He sees me. He rescued me from a horrible past. In this moment he loves me still. I have a personal relationship with him. Pursuing Christ is the choice I have made and I will not let go. My heart will trust in my God and I will stand firm in the truth.

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. -Psalm 57:7-8

Are you in a spiritual winter? Do you feel like you're fighting a battle against spiritual forces and you don't have anyone to back you up? Choose to awaken the dawn and sing of God's love and faithfulness. He is always there and he will fight for you!

'Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the LORD your God will fight for you.' -Deuteronomy 3:22