Show HIM Off

It’s Thanksgiving Break! And for all you college students like me, this makes you jump for joy. You finally get a little bit of a break before finals week. As you go home to spend time with family and friends this Thanksgiving Break, don’t leave behind the “new you.” If you are like me, college has made a pretty big impact on you. Maybe you have become more responsible, more reliable or more confident. Bring these new traits with you when you go home. Show them off to your family and friends in the ways you interact and socialize with them.

Most importantly, don’t forget to show HIM off.

How have you grown in your relationship with Christ in college? What have you learned? Maybe you have learned to rely on Him more, the importance of reading your Bible and confessing your sins, or how to share your faith and testimony. Whatever it is (and it can be a number of things), let them shine. Give God all the glory for the new you. Demonstrate the fact that you have something inside of you that is worth sharing. You have accepted Jesus, and you want everyone to know about this gracious gift. Live as a follower of Christ even as you go home for break. Yes, the environment will be different, and it may be harder or even easier to remember God. Just remember that in whatever you do and wherever you go, bring Him with you.

Heavenly Father, as we go home for break, help us to be a light to others and to show you off in everything that we do. You are our strength and our hope. All the glory belongs to you. Amen.

This song Britt Nicole reminds us of that drive we should have to always “look like love” to others. Even when we are tired or scared or too busy, we need to remember our passion to “leave a legacy” and be a light for others.

Look Like Love – Britt Nicole

If I believe there’s a Savior.

Is the proof in me?

Is He alive and breathing?

Is He what they’ll remember?

Is He what they see?

When they look at me. 

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway!

Being Thankful in all Circumstances

Welcome to Minnesota! It’s cold out, really cold out. Walking to and from classes this week was brutal. I found myself singing along to my favorite Frozen song throughout the week, especially the line “The cold never bothered me anyway!”

However, whenever I sat down to eat dinner every night, I found myself thanking God for the weather. “Dear God, thank you for this good food and for a good day today and thank you for the weather…”

I didn’t really understand why I was thanking God for the weather if I very much disliked that it was windy and freezing outside, but now that I think about it, we are called to thank God in all circumstances, and I think that was what I was unconsciously doing.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! – Psalm 107:1

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ – Ephesians 5:20

With Thanksgiving coming up, we are reminded of the importance of thanking God for our family, friends, food and our homes. We shouldn’t just remember to be thankful on Thanksgiving though, but we should work to thank God each and every day of our lives. We have so much to be thankful for, especially since we are so privileged compared to the rest of the world.

I wish everyone a blessed start to their holiday season, and remember to bring the joy and peace and thankfulness of Thanksgiving Day with you every day, everywhere you go.

God bless!

The Book of Wisdom: Proverbs

Proverbs is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Not only do I enjoy passages from Proverbs because they are often poetic and pretty sounding, but also because they give great advice and relate so closely to my life. The purpose of Proverbs is to give wisdom and instruction; and enable us to better understand what it means to give our life to Christ, to follow in His footsteps every day, and to live a life pleasing to Him. It humbles the wise and gives guidance to people of all ages.

I have all these verses from Proverbs written down in my prayer journal, and as I was reading through them a few days ago, each one spoke to me in a different way. They reminded me that I am not in control of my life, God is. They humbled me and allowed me to take a step back and slow down. I want to share with you these verses and give you a little commentary on each of them, as I hope they will speak to you and attest to your life as they did to mine.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

 – Proverbs 19:21

We all know that God has a special plan for our life and that we shouldn’t worry because our lives are in His hands. But really, if you are like me, you hear that, but you don’t really register it. You make up your own plans anyways. “When I graduate I am going to have this job and live here and do this and that is my plan and it is going to happen.” This verse humbles me and makes me realize that I can make up all these plans for my life, but a lot if it won’t even matter anyways. I am a planner, and I think it is okay to plan a little, to plan things you pretty much know God wants you to do. But for the large, magnificent plan for your life, leave that one to God. It is His plan that will win out anyways.

A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way? – Proverbs 20:24

Going along with this theme of God has control of our lives, this verse serves as a reminder that we won’t be able to understand where we are going without God. If we are headed down a path that doesn’t lead us towards God, why are we heading there? Maybe it is the path we want to take, the path we think is best, but really, isn’t it God who knows best? If we aren’t headed down the path that God has led us down, I think our priority should be to get off that path and start the one God wants us to be on. It is never too late to turn back to God. I have had to do this many times in my life. It is easy to start following the path we desire to take, but we have to remember that it is God who should be directing our steps and our life. If we are taking our own path, we will eventually become confused and lost, and we will have no choice but to turn to God for guidance. Take the path God is leading you down. And don’t be afraid because He will be there with you throughout your whole journey.

Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance.

 – Proverbs 20:18

Life can kind of be a war in itself some times. So when we are going through a tough time, we should take some weapons: God and His word. I have gone into life battles before without these weapons, and it usually doesn’t turn out all that well. I found that we should not try to do anything by our own strength, but to seek guidance and counseling from the Lord. Since He ultimately knows our steps and our paths, we should ask him for advice before making any big decision.

The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.

 – Proverbs 21:31

His will, His way. All the glory and honor belongs to Him. That is why when we have success, we should give the glory to God. It is by his will and wisdom that we earned the success in the first place. God expects us to do the necessary preparations such as fill our minds and souls with His word and presence in order to be successful, but every good and perfect gift comes from God, not from our own strength. It is easy to give ourselves a little pat on the back whenever we accomplish something, but this verse helps us to remember that all the victory belongs to God. It is not by our own power, but by God’s power.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6 

Often the hardest thing for me to do is just to trust in God. I struggle with trusting in God a lot, especially if He is leading me down a path I don’t necessarily want to go down. This verse gives a little more insight into what it means to trust. Trust means to not lean on your own knowledge and understanding, but to lean on God and have confidence that He is there. This verse is reassurance that God is there and He will make things work out for His glory. All we have to do is TRUST – easier said than done, but surely with His strength and power already within us, we can do it. 

You are not alone, ask for help in times of trouble

We hear in the Bible how God is always beside us, always with us and watching over us. Most of us know this, but we often times forget it or we don’t really process it, especially when we are going through a rough time.

For He Himself said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. – Deuteronomy 31:8

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age – Matthew 28:20

In addition, God sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us and to enable us to feel His power and love. The Holy Spirit is God’s permanent presence with us. I don’t know about you, but I think that is pretty darn cool!

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. – John 14: 16-17

Even when you don’t feel his presence, He is there. He promises to never leave you alone. So since we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, and therefore, God’s presence constantly, we don’t really need the help of others, right? We can just give everything to God and rely on Him and all our worries and suffering will be gone away. Well not exactly…

Although we are called to ultimately rely on God, we also need each other to talk about our feelings and our burdens. We are all brothers and sisters of Christ and made to help and love each other. I sometimes find it hard to reach out to others for help. I think I can handle it all on my own. Or I feel like I can just give everything to Him and I will feel better. But, like all of you, I need the help and counsel of others.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. – John 15:12

Do not be afraid to ask for help, not just from God, but from others too. You are loved and cared for by so many people in your life, reach out to them in time of need.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for creating so many brothers and sisters in Christ that I can go to for help. We will work towards not being selfish and taking the time to bear one another’s burdens. We will work to love others just as you have loved us. We love you so much, thank you for all you have done for us. Amen.

THE BIG QUESTION: What does it actually mean to

live life as Christian?

Let me start off by saying this: I will never ever be able to get this post right. And honestly, I don’t think any human being on earth will be able to either. I don’t believe that anyone exactly knows all the answers to what it truly means to live life as a Christian, to live the perfect Christian life. Sure we may be almost positive in what we believe, thanks to the Bible, but no one has all the answers on what it means to live it out in today’s society. I believe that everyone’s situation is different, and although there are the concrete principles that every Christian should follow, the smaller details in how we live out our faith may be different for every person. You have probably read or heard multiple times about how Christians are supposed to go through life, and how we are supposed to act and interact with others in an effort to live out and demonstrate our faith. Everything you have read or listened to was, from my guess, a little bit different for each source.

Through this post, I am going to explain as best as I can what exactly it means for me to live life as a young, Christian woman in today’s world. I will probably miss a lot of points, and may not even be exactly correct in everything I say, but this is the core of what living out my faith means and looks like for me. I am far from perfect, in fact, I am quite the opposite. To be honest, most days I epically fail at succeeding in doing these things. I am still learning and growing in my faith every single day just like all of you. We never stop growing. My hope is that my opinion on what it means to be a Christian in the context of my life will allow you to pick up bits and pieces that can fit into your life and ultimately help you in your never ending faith journey and relationship with God.

So, here it goes, Sarah’s top answers to THE BIG QUESTION:

•   FOLLOW and TRUST: Living life as a follower of God is more than just getting up early to read your Bible, taking time to pray, going to Bible studies, and going to church every Sunday morning. It is even more than listening to worship music and thanking and praising God throughout the day. It is an active effort and a constant battle every day to TRUST in God and do what He is calling you to do. And I use the word battle because it is far from easy. The easy thing to do is follow your own plan for the day, your own plan for your life that you think is so nicely laid out and perfect. Well, guess what? Being a Christian doesn’t mean you get to follow this plan that you think is so perfect because you get to follow GOD’S PLAN. And trust me, it is a million times better than any plan you could have made up yourself. Trusting in God and surrendering everything to Him is a continuous struggle for me. I am constantly making a plan for my day, planning for tomorrow and yes, even planning for my life. What can I say, I’m a planner. But I have learned, and I still have A LOT of learning to do in this area, that living as a Christian does not mean sticking to your own plan for your life. It means TRUSTING and FOLLOWING God’s plan, not your own, because that is the plan that will win out anyways. You lead, I follow. Your will, Your way, always. 

o   Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. – Proverbs 19:21.

• RELATIONSHIPS: Not only in the Christian faith is it important to have a strong relationship with God through prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit, but it is also important to have strong relationships with both believers and non-believers in your life. A strong relationship with believers allows you to be accountable for each other and help each other in the faith journey. Fellowship and community is important in the Christian faith. In my life, I have relationships with my family, friends, bible study and church community that allow me to gain this fellowship that I need to help me live life as a Christian. I also believe that it is just as important to have strong relationships with people in your life that are non-believers so that you can show them Christ and demonstrate to them what your faith means to you. God calls us to spread His good news, and having these strong bonds with non-believers will allow you to do that. I want to strive to do better to make an effort to show my faith when I am around people that don’t understand the Christian life. In no means do I want to force it on them, but just live it out for them to see, and always be open to talk about it if they have questions. You should live out your faith wherever you are, am I right? So just because you are surrounded by non-believers doesn’t mean this statement doesn’t apply. Live out your faith, wherever you are and whoever you are with.  

o   Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him – a threefold cord is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

o   And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” – Mark 16:15

• TAKING THE TIME: Tied closely with relationships, taking the time refers to taking that extra time out of your week to meet with a friend who may be struggling with a certain part in their faith or going through a rough time. It means meeting someone you don’t know so well for coffee. It means always striving to strengthen your relationships between your family and friends. Simply taking the time to put down what you have to get done to be there for someone else is huge, and something I think all Christians should strive to do. God wants us to be in community with each other. He calls us to put down all selfish desires and only do things that will help those around us. We can do this by taking the time to listen to one another’s burdens. Of course, taking the time also refers to taking the time to pray, read our Bible, and sit in silence and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Making time for God and others every day is essential to living out the Christian faith.

o   Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. ­– Thessalonians 5:11

• BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE: As Christians, we approach situations differently from the rest of the world and see things in a different light. As we approach both known and unknown situations, it is important to remember what we know is right, and what God’s word says. In my life, this means obeying God’s word and not living the “college life” that the secular world might think that I should live. It means I take up opportunities that I know will help me in my walk with God, and help me stay away from things that I know might push me away from what God’s word says. When I approach new, sometimes scary, situations and I don’t know what to do, I rely on God’s word as a backbone to my reasoning. This may be something that other’s may not be able to see right away, but they will eventually see that the manner in which you deal with situations is a little different. It could be shown not only through your actions, but also through the way you use your words. Living life as a Christian means you don’t fall into saying the same answers and words as the rest of the world, but your words reflect exactly what the Holy Spirit has brought you to believe. It is so easy for me to fall into going along with everyone else and saying what they want me to say, but this is not the way to live out my faith to the fullest. Having a biblical perspective will change your mindset and allow you to adjust your words and actions that reflect God’s word.

o   Study the Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. – Joshua 1:8

• LETTING GOD TAKE CONTROL: Going along with following and trusting in God, we as Christians have to give our life over to Him, give Him total control. This one is also especially hard for me. What this looks like in my life, or what I try to make it look like, is giving Him all my plans, worries, fears and doubts. Giving Him my everything and realizing that He is my One Strength and can get me through any situation. As Christians, we are not supposed to fall into this constant stage of worrying because we have God by our side at all times. It is also under His control, so all we can do is work to live out His plan and do His will, and the rest will fall into place. I believe that if we are constantly working towards following God, we shouldn’t have to worry about anything and whether or not we are doing what we should be doing. Giving Him total control of our lives, surrendering, and laying all of our worries at his feet.

o   Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5: 6-7

These are the top five ways I strive to live out the Christian faith in my life, and I know there are many more. Now that I have given you a little bit of a look into my answers, let me ask you this: What does it mean to live out the Christian faith in YOUR life? What do you want it to look like?

Wishing everyone the best in their walk with Christ. And as always, feel free to contact me using the contact me tab on the side of my blog.

God Bless!