The Quiet Place

Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. - Isaiah 25:1 Today God answered my prayers and I almost didn't notice. That is Crazy! Recently I have been wondering how I was going to pay for all of my school expenses piling up without a job. I planned it out and figured that if I paid for everything I would be set with it but I wouldn't have enough money left to get me through. Last night, as I was lying in bed, my mind wandered and this worry started at me. I immediately redirected myself and went to sleep hoping that it would all work out. Then this morning as I was relaxing in my pink fold up college chair, I received a text from my landlord asking me to call him. When I called him he explained to me the financial benefits available to me. It turns out that not only will my immediate financial needs be met, I am set for the rest of my program and I will not have to take o

Today I want to talk to you about worth, simply because it has been on my heart and mind all week. Our self worth is something that can sometimes easily be shot, especially when someone or something makes us think that we are not worth it. However, the truth is, those are all lies that the world is putting inside our head because sisters, you and I are always worth it to God. He will never walk away and say, "oh I tried, but she wasn't worth it". He will always be right beside us letting us know that no matter what we do, we are always worth it to him, no matter the cost. 1 Peter 1:7, 1 Peter 3:4 both talk about worth, 1 Peter 1:7 tells us that are faith is of greater worth than gold. In God's eyes we are worth more than gold, we are precious in his sight. Nothing and no-one can take that away from us, his love is unchanging--just as I mentioned last week when we were talking about singleness.  Once we get to chapter 3 of 1 Peter verse 3:4 tells us that God sees great

Today I am going to talk about singleness. I know it's something that we all struggle with at some point in our lives. As women we all have a desire to be wanted and pursued by someone. But we forget that God is pursuing us each and every day, he longs for our love. I was talking with a friend a while ago when I was struggling with feeling rejected, she reminded me of God's love for me by saying this: "God loves you more than you can even imagine" Ever since then those words have stuck with me and helped me in those times when I struggle with being single. She also shared with me Isaiah 56, which says-- "He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem." This tells us that even Jesus was rejected and people even hid their faces from him. Someone that many people followed was rejected by those who did not believe. Just as we are reje

Some things, despite our best efforts are seemingly impossible. For example, This week I have three major papers due. Each of them is worth 40% of my class grade and they are all required to be at least 15 pages in length. The problem is I don't have enough time to write all of them before their due dates. As the inevitability of the situation peaked today, I burst. All of the stress and emotions that have built themselves up the past three days exploded in one moment of raw realization, "I can't do it". No matter how hard I try or how long I work this weekend I will not possibly be able to get all of this work completed in time. Thanks to a good friend, wise words, and hopefully graceful professors, all will turn out well. Today my friend reminded me that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. He brought me here to grad school for a reason and I don't think he plans for me to fail at it. While I may not hand in all of my assignments in time, I will comp

Today i am going to be talking about God's wisdom in Proverbs, simply because as I have been reading through it this week, the words have resonated in my heart. The book of Proverbs is one of the books of the bible that is God's manual for living. In it he tells us exactly how to live and reminds us that if we seek his word we will find the knowledge of God. Verses 1-5 tell us just that, it says--"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding---indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God". Before we go on to verse six take a minute and read these verses over again to yourself, let them resonate on your heart. Verse six says-"For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding

Almighty Father,            Today I come to you with the knowledge of the pain and suffering of this world, of the seemingly unbearable things. I thank you for pain on this earth because it provides us with a reference for healing and joy. However, pain is still painful. God I ask that today you would walk with us wherever we are, that you would lead us when we need direction. Quiet our hearts when we need to hear your voice and your steadfast love. Awaken our spirit to your work, that we may take part in the good things that you have for us today. Let us not miss opportunities to share in your work and fellowship. When we grieve, be right there with us, weep along side us. Help us to be satisfied with you. Embrace our hearts with your unfailing love. Move us to acts of goodness and obedience. Help us when we are weak. Stand in the gap and be our strength. May we always trust in you, and rely on you every moment. Rejoice with us in our joyful moments, may we ever praise you. Thank you

 I was reading a note from a friend that I am praying for while she is at I-Hop KC, studying to become a missionary.  As I was reading the letter I was instantly reminded of  Galatians 5:1 which tells us that through freedom Christ has set us free. Romans 8:2  says, "because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death."  No matter what are past failures or mistakes, he has set us free from them all. We are free from the sin that so easily entangles our lives. He meets us right in the midst of our sin, struggle, and pain. God is right there letting us know that we are set free from the chains of past sin. In the letter my friend mentioned Hosea 2:19 which says--"I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion." This verse really struck me because it lets us know just how much God loves us despite our past struggles or pain, he loves us all the same.

Tonight I was reading from Knowing Christianity by J. I. Packer for my social work and Christian Theology class. One of the chapters I read was about fellowship. It talked about how fellowship runs deeper than mere Christian social gatherings. Rather fellowship is when believers live together relying on each other for physical and spiritual needs. When individuals are as open with their hearts as they are with their hands. When people allow themselves to be vulnerable to one another in order to encourage and to be encouraged. Where sharing in vulnerabilities is as common as sharing groceries and chores. I don't know about you, but I long for fellowship. I look forward to the day when I get to stand in the presence of God with other believers and share in that type of community. Let me paint you a picture... What I long for is what the disciples had. They shared in their spiritual journey like they shared the money with which they bought groceries. Judas was the treasurer for th

    The verse below tells us to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." When we fix our eyes on Jesus that is where we find rest. When we soak up his word and worship him, we are fixing our eyes on him who will never take his eyes off of us. As I've said before his love for us is unchanging, it has no conditions. When we set our gaze upon him we are putting our faith in the plans that he has for us. In those times when your eyes get distracted by the things of this world remember that he never takes his heart off of you my dear sisters. "For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"--He endured the cross for us all. Even though he knew it would be painful, he did it anyway. He never once doubted what God had in store for him on the cross, because no matter who tried to distract him from it, he endured what God had in store for him. Rest in the truth that Hebrew

So today's devotional is about prayer, i hope that you will find encouragement in it. *bear with me this is my first video blog*