Back to the Basics!

Have you ever found yourself feeling like you're in the middle of nowhere? You feel stranded in your own mind. You're confused often, and you have no idea why you're feeling that way. I know I have. That confusion is one of the most frustrating feelings you can have. You feel this void and you have no idea why you feel that way, because it seems you have it all together. Your job is going great, school is going just fine, you actually have money in your bank account, there's no drama in your life. You spend your days full of laughter and accomplishments. But it's in those very moments when you allow yourself to be still and quiet, that one moment when you haven't distracted yourself with some task to keep you busy, that you feel the loneliness and confusion creep in. You have this strong desire yet you have no clue what it is you really want. When you have that feeling, do you seek God's voice? Or do you try to clutter your mind with thoughts of things you need to get done so that you don't have to think about the fact you're neglecting Him? Notice I didn't say that He wasn't there. Because He's always there. At this very moment, while you're reading this post, God is here. He's beside you, inside of you, He's all around you. But you ignore Him. Why is that? Why is it that we try to push away the only one who can give us true happiness? Why do we neglect the very one who gave us the very things that make us feel accomplished? The concepts you have that take your job to a new level, the papers you write for school, the money in your bank account all come from Him. Why ignore the one who can give you even more than you have? Why settle for material things when you can have peace?

I'll tell you something that you may not know...that void you have? It's you yearning. Not yearning for more accomplishments. If you're single, it's not even you yearning for love. It's your very soul screaming out for God. Your flesh is satisfied, but your spirit is not. Your spirit is drained and deprived of what it needs most. God. Without Him, you yourself, are nothing. What can you do to change that? Well, I'll tell you a little about my situation to help. I personally have been having these feelings myself lately. I've been on top of everything in my life. I have a great job where I work with people I genuinely like. For the first time in a LONG time, school is pretty decent. Because of my job, I have money in bank account. I have great friends all around me and life seems great. Or does it? If life is so great, why is it I find myself stressed out and lonely when I'm surrounded by so many great people? Why is it that I feel this strong desire to have something, but can't quite put my finger on it? I can quote scriptures all day and pray and encourage others, but why is it that I cannot do this for myself? It's because I've been neglecting the very one who cares about me more than anything in the world. And if you're reading this and feeling the same way, I bet you are in the same boat. What can we do about it? The answer is much easier than you think. No you don't have to get rid of your friends and material things. No you don't have to pray 24 hours a day, although you definitely wouldn't have time to dwell on anything else. What you can start by, is simply speaking to God. Acknowledge His very presence. Tell Him that you miss Him. Let Him know you miss your relationship. Ask Him to take over your heart again. One of the things God did when He created us was give us free will. This means that although God is right there waiting on us to acknowledge Him, He will not force us to. He is waiting on you to make your move. There's nothing wrong with pouring your heart out unto God.

I encourage you (if you're still reading this, it is pretty lengthy!) to go before God and repair your relationship with Him. Make an effort to do better. Not because I told you so, not because you feel guilty, and not because you want to feel better. If you're simply trying to clear your conscience or not have that void, you need to reread everything again. You need to do this because you genuinely want and need to be closer to God. Am I perfect? NOT. AT. ALL. I make mistakes daily. I am not always a good representation of a Christian. But can I recognize my mistakes and realize when I need to get back to God? Absolutely. And the best part about all of this is that God loves me so much that despite what I've done, He still loves me! Think of something you've done that you consider to be your biggest mistake, your biggest sin. Think on how you would feel if others knew about a dirty secret you have. Do you know that God knows the things you don't want anyone to know about you, and loves you completely, unconditionally, and wholeheartedly anyway? Isn't that comforting? I'm not telling you to just take it for granted, but you should be comforted in knowing that He loves you regardless of your sins. So today, make the decision to stop being so busy and trying to pile up on accomplishments. Instead of being scared or confused by that void feeling or feeling of confusion, recognize it for what it really is, and do something about it! Talk to God today. Scriptures will be posted at the end of this post, and I hope that you will join me in going back to the basics. Going back to a real relationship with Christ. You're not in this alone, we all mess up, but God is faithful no matter what.

Until next time,
Peace, Love, and Truth. :)

"I, even I am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." - Isaiah 43:25

The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. - Jeremiah 31:3

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? - Romans 8:35

...Nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:39

Put Forth the Effort!

Sometimes the most common mistake we make as Christians is thinking that the smallest amount of faith will get us by. We think that as long as we read the Bible every now and then, and as long as we pray some times, God's got us. I can't tell you how many times this year ALREADY I have had several disturbing and sad conversations with people who honestly believe that they don't have to go to church every Sunday. They believe that they can have their own service by reading one scripture and saying a simple prayer. Although everyone has their Sundays where they are too tired to go to church because they are sick or they truly need to stay at home to talk to God, the saddest part about these conversations is people truly believe they can make it for the rest of their lives doing that. They believe that God does not require us to do more than crack open our Bibles maybe once a week, and that all we truly have to do is at least say grace. People, I'm here to tell you today that you cannot just talk to God when you feel like it. You cannot love God from a distance and expect God to bless you continuously. You have to put forth effort towards a relationship with Him just like He does with you. You cannot have half of your faith in God, and the other half of your faith in a significant other. That other half of faith cannot be placed in your parents, your friends, not even yourself. You need to trust Him with your whole heart. How can you place all of your trust in a person who had nothing to do with your being here? You were not created by a significant other! People deal with heartbreak every single day. Heartbreak HURTS. It truly hurts. To know that all of your time, effort, and love seems to have been wasted is a horrible feeling. But do you know what makes that pain 10 times worse? Loving that person more than you loved God! People are constantly trying to fill a void inside of themselves by giving all they love they have to another human, all in the hope of receiving it right back. That is the mistake we make, and that is what gets us hurt. If you would first focus your energy on loving God before all else, then loving yourself just as you are, you can then go and love someone else. But because you love another person more than you love God, you are constantly disappointed and miserable. God knows your heart better than you do. Why are you so selfish with something that He truly longs to care for? Make the choice today to put more effort into your relationship with God. We have no problem wanting to work harder to keep a person around because we love them, but why do we have a problem working to keep God near? We take His presence for granted daily, but the truth is, He can take it all away from us in an instant! Learn to love Him wholeheartedly, and spend more time with Him. Stay in His word, and talk to him continually. You'll see results, I promise! Sometimes we feel God has abandoned us and we shouldn't try harder to reach Him. The truth is God is RIGHT THERE the entire time, buried under all the things we place higher on our list of importance. He's right there, waiting on us to come back to Him, to yearn for Him, to love Him, to turn to Him and live for Him. All God wants is your agreement and effort. Allow Him to do the rest! I hope this post has helped someone make the decision to draw closer to God and has encourage someone. God loves us dearly and always wants what is best for us. That is better than anything any significant other could ever give us or do for us. Be blessed!

"Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" - Matthew 22:37

Step by Step...Day by Day.

Have you ever tried to break a bad habit? It could be anything. Overeating, biting your nails, something more serious like drugs, or just something small. Whatever it is, have you noticed that while you're trying to break that habit, you end up setting unrealistic goals for yourself? I know I'm guilty of that. I'll try to break a habit and tell myself that I (by myself) will stop doing this..FOREVER! Well after about a day or two, I find myself breaking the habit. You see, my first mistake was that I put it in my mind I'll never mess up again. The second mistake was that I tried to do it by myself!

I love Twitter. I can get retweeted or tweeted by celebrities (if I get lucky), meet new people, see interesting tweets, say whatever is on my mind, and just have fun. One night, while I was on Twitter, I saw a tweet someone posted. It was something along the lines of, "God wants to fix it, you just have to give Him ALL of the broken pieces." That spoke to me. And right then and there, I prayed to God and told Him that I truly wanted to break my bad habit. And in my mind I pictured myself picking up every broken piece of me and handing it to Him. In my heart I truly believe I gave it over to God that night. And I haven't gone back on it yet. It hasn't been very long since that occurred, but I believe I am delivered from it!

One of the biggest things I'm learning right now, is that I have to take it day by day. Every day that I go without going back to that habit is an accomplishment for me. I no longer say that I won't EVER do it again, because we all sin. However, I do believe that I am done with it. I can't think TOO far ahead on it, because that puts pressure on you. And when you have too much pressure, you end up losing sight of what's really important: your connection with and faith in God. When I make it through a day without going back, I thank God for that from the bottom of my heart. I say, "Whew, thank you Jesus for helping me with that today. Thank you Father, for keeping me on track and keeping me close to you." Now, do I get tempted during the day? Of course! There is always that little voice nagging at me, trying to convince me that one time won't hurt. But every time I hear that voice (which we know is the enemy), I feel God tugging at my heart, saying "Hey, remember when you gave this over to Me? I've got it. Don't go back. I love you enough to help you through this. You gave EVERY piece to me. Keep moving forward." And I immediately feel better, and I gain the strength I need to resist temptation.

My point is, yes, it takes time to completely break a habit. And yes it also takes time to completely give something over to God. Although it only took me within a few minutes of seeing that tweet to give my problem to God, it also had been years since I picked up this habit. That tweet came after years of stubbornness and many failed attempts at fixing it on my own.

Give your problems to God and you will gain peace. Our Father truly does enjoy taking our problems from us and helping us out. He loves us just that much to do that for every single one of us. He just wants us to come to Him.

I hope this helped someone out there today. If I can do it, you can too! No scriptures today, just a little honesty. :)

Until next time,
Peace, Love, and Truth

I Have An Addiction...How Do I Get Rid Of It?

Addictions can be scary little things. Almost like a bug that is crawling through your house. Sometimes you just leave the little bug there, knowing that it will die eventually and you'll clean it up later. Sometimes you charge towards the bug with every intention of killing it, and right when you make up your mind to do such a thing, it scurries away back into hiding. So there you are, with a little bug in your house. You know it's there, but you can't see it, and it only comes out at the most random times. Addiction is the same way. You have every intention of stopping, but right when you decide to take that thought captive and eliminate that addiction, it scurries to the back of your mind causing you to lose focus, and giving you false hope that you're over it. And right when your heart rate returns back to normal, and you begin to get comfortable, just like that bug, addiction slowly creeps back out into the open and grabs your attention. Like a never ending cycle is trying to kill that bug called addiction.

Now of course I know addiction is nothing but a trick of the enemy. And you know it too. Giving you false hopes and Satan will even go as far as to give YOU an excuse to give God when you go repent. Think about it. "Oh God, you know I didn't mean it," or "There's not even a real specific scripture that tells me this is a sin, so how could I know?" But...you know. You know you're wrong and you know you're addicted, because of that dirty little feeling you have after every time you commit a sin. You feel guilty. Conviction is no joke. So, what do you do for addiction? How do you fix it?

Addiction is defined as "the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma." Now, before I go on, please know the difference between a bad habit, and an addiction. A habit is "an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary." While addiction and habit are extremely similar terms because of their meaning, the trauma that addiction can cause separates the two. Now, do me a favor. Look back over the definition for an addiction, and choose to read it from a spiritual point of view. Addiction is the state of having your spirit enslaved to ungodly things that are psychologically and physically habit forming, similar to narcotics in that it can severely damage your spirit, and so much in that it takes your focus away from God, and to such an extent that its cessation can cause extreme spiritual warfare. As I stated, addiction is nothing more than a trick of the enemy that people fall subject to daily. Habits are broken, but addictions must be completely destroyed.

If you know someone who is dealing with an addiction, or you yourself are dealing with an addiction, ask God to help you. Addictions can be to alcohol, drugs, sexual, or just simple things that you never considered addictive. Addictions can be, but are not limited to narcotics. Addictions can be anything that causes you to lose focus on God and living your life right. They cause you to lose such focus that you feel as if you cannot live without it and will simply die if you lose it. Addictions are what cause you to become afraid at the very thought of quitting. Addictions are what you feel is apart of you and what you feel you are apart of. Every time you try to quit, you hear this little voice telling you, "You'll be back." Yes, addictions are extremely scary and whatever your addiction may be, know that God can help you. You cannot destroy it. You can't do it by willpower. It's impossible. You must call on God and depend on Him, trust in Him to help you with your addiction. Your flesh will crave it, and you may even cry. It will hurt! But you have to press forward. Addiction is such a strong word and even stronger thing. And most times, people don't even realize that they have spoken addiction into their lives. They say how they are addicted to shopping, addicted to certain foods, or addicted to a person. When they do such things, it really and truly happens! You become addicted, slowly but surely. Pray about it, and truly try to change. God is there with you every single step of the way. He knows you way better than you do.

Now, I know I haven't written on here in FOREVER (I'm scared to even say how long) but I felt led to post about this. I myself am overcoming my own addiction. I am praying and sometimes I fall short and give in to these strong temptations. But, God is an extremely loving and forgiving father who will NEVER hold my mistakes over my head. God is able and God is helping me every day. I will pray for you, that you hear God's voice and answer to His call to return to His loving arms and let Him take the burden away from you. I have NEVER met a person who wants to love on me and take my pain away and actually wants all my burdens. That's true love that only God can give. I know this post was a little lengthy, but if you have made it all the way to the end, I pray that you walk away feeling a little lighter knowing that someone out there is like you and is going through something similar. No matter the addiction, God can heal. I don't have a song to post at the end like I normally do, but I will have a few scriptures. Be blessed and until next time,

Peace, Love, and Truth! :)


"Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" - Romans 6:16

"Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of sinful nature." - Romans 13:14

" 'Everything is permissible for me' -but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible for me' -but I will not be mastered by anything." - 1 Corinthians 6:12

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, when it is full grown, it gives birth to death." - James 1:12-15

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." - James 4:7


Be Blessed!

Open Up! Tell Him How You REALLY Feel...

I have a very hard time trusting people and expressing my feelings towards them. I like to shut down and cut people off before we get too close. I have these walls built up where I don't want to trust ANYONE and I'm always on my guard. Because of this, sometimes my relationship with God will suffer because I choose to treat Him just like I treat everyone else. I will be afraid to trust God, or express my true feelings to Him. I am afraid to tell God the things that He already knows. How deep is that? I have to work on it.
I wrote a post a while ago about how we should all trust God and allow Him in our hearts. I'm pretty sure I wrote every positive thing I could think of, in hopes of getting myself and hopefully others to finally trust God. I now fully understand why we need to trust God. It is in my lowest moments I need someone to lean on. I need someone to talk to who understands me. Sometimes you need it too. We all do. Everyone wants one person who just really understands what they are going through, and will be there for them through it all. We all want a person who will accept us, "Flaws and All," like Beyonce says. But you know what our biggest mistake is? We are looking for that special someone in another human being. We fail to realize that the One we need has been there for us since the beginning of time! He created us. He knows us in and out. He knows your insecurities, your biggest fears, He knows what you consider to be your flaws. The thing that should blow your mind is that God is still there after knowing all of that! Think of the most reliable person you know. It could be your spouse or significant other, a best friend, a relative, anyone! Think of that person. This is the person you've told things you would never tell anyone else. You feel as if you can really trust that person, right? They accept you and love you. They never left, even after you told them what you consider to be the worst things about yourself. God loves you more than that person. Yes, I know it's shocking right?! How can a God who despises sin sooo much, still accept you back after you intentionally repeat the same sins over and over again? Why would He do that? He does it because of the same reason that same reliable person you thought of does. It's called unconditional love. I think people don't understand how serious unconditional love is. The definition of unconditional is to not be limited by conditions; absolute. That means that God loves you beyond all the horrible things you think or do! God loves you from head to toe, inside and out. He knows your true feelings, so why not open up to Him? Don't be afraid to become intimate with God. I think I have written about that too. Get close and personal with God. Treat this like a real relationship. Fall in love with Him. Allow yourself to trust Him. God is not man, no matter how hard we try to compare Him to man. Get to know Him, you will truly love Him! He most certainly does love you. So this week, I challenge you to really dig deep in God's word. Read about His love for you, and talk to Him. God loves for His children to talk to Him. Open up. You don't have to spend thousands on a person to have them listen to you talk. You have the greatest therapist in the world for FREE! Take advantage of the opportunity. That's my challenge, and I pray that you were blessed while reading this. Be on the lookout for the next post, I'll be writing about the fear of God! I've been doing this study in Proverbs, and it's amazing how many times the fear of the Lord is mentioned! Good stuff. Until next time, Peace Love, and Truth! :)


For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts,God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
-Psalm 139:13-18

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? - Romans 8:35

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:37-39

Peace, Love, and Truth! is NOT dead!

I just want to put a post out. My blog is not dead! It has been neglected. I'll admit it. It has been very, very neglected. But I'm bringing it back! Showing it some love! Give me about 2 more weeks, and I will have plenty to say! Me being busy is not the main reason that it hasn't been up and running, I just..got lazy. I'm falling back in love with Jesus, and working on myself before college starts, so give me a little time before all of the inspirational posts come back. However, I do have plenty to say about life. I've learned so much!! I don't have time for it tonight, but I will very soon! I just had to come back on here and say something. I'm really good at creating things, or coming up with the best ideas and then never messing with them again. I'm determined to keep this up for awhile. So, stick around everyone! It will be up and running, with plenty of posts coming out soon!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love, and Truth! :)

Made In His Image...Beautiful In His Eyes...

Just a little something I stumbled upon today that I wrote awhile ago...

Imperfect. Unloved. Unknown.
Misused. Ugly. Waste of time.
Unnecessary. Irrelevant. Dumb.
These are the words to describe me.
No one cares.
No man will ever want me.
I have so many flaws.
Why did you make me this way?
God, you made a mistake.
I'm not beautiful...

Made in MY image.
Very loved.
Known by ME since conception.
I knew you inside and out before you knew yourself.
Beautiful you are beloved.
Fearfully and wonderfully made.
THOSE are the words to describe you.
I care.
I designed a man for you...have patience.
You have no flaws, for I make no mistakes.


While I created you, even I myself had to step back and look at my newest creation in wonder. Even I myself had to say, "Yes, this one will be amazing. Apart of my best work."
You daughter, are beautiful.



In case you couldn't tell, this was a conversation between a very discouraged young woman and God. I wrote this poem because today so man young women struggle with image, and struggle with being loved. I myself even struggled with it until recently. I still have my days where I feel a little down and a little worthless, but God is working with me on that. I hope this encourages any young woman out there struggling with self confidence. You will NEVER need a man or ANYONE for that matter, to make you feel complete or worth something. Find your inner beauty, don't wait on someone to recognize you. Now, I NEVER put my poetry or anything along the lines of it out anywhere. I am extremely sensitive and shy about it. However, I felt led to put this out today. Obviously God had me run across it for a reason. Stay encouraged and be blessed. Peace, Love, and Truth. :)