Chosen by God

When we know we are chosen by God, we live differently. God chose us because of His love for us. When we become confident that we are loved by God, it makes it easier to put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Through several years of my life, I had a hard time accepting God's love for me due to the deep wounds that left a hole in my heart from being sexually abused as a child. Because I struggled believing God loved me and chose me through what Satan intended for evil in my life, I in return searched for love and acceptance in so many wrong places. This search led to destruction in my life because no one can fill that hole that only God can fill.

Through counseling, prayers, and support from family and friends, I came to experience a new understanding of the Father's love for me. Through Bible study, worship and living in community with godly believers, I came to know in a deep way about His great love for me and I believed in my heart that I was chosen despite my past.

This experience set me free in so many ways. When we know we are loved by God, the One who created us for a purpose and knows all about us, it changes us. I continue to embrace the Father’s love for me and live like I am chosen. When we live like we are chosen, it not only changes us but can impact those around us.

We are chosen by God and for God. It absolutely blows my mind that before God even created the world, He had you in mind. Until we understand that we are important to God and that we are designed for His purpose and His glory, our lives will not make sense.

We are chosen and set apart by God to live holy lives, clothing ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. We can only do this with the strength that God gives us. Sometimes wearing these character qualities every day is not easy, but I choose them. As I choose these qualities, day by day, they become more and more natural to me. When I choose not to put on some of these characteristics of Christ, I fail miserably at loving those around me.

Too often, we miss opportunities to shine our lights for Christ. We get too caught up in our stuff, not paying attention to the broken and lost people around us. We are chosen by God for others to come to know Him. Your life, your testimony, may be the only one that someone sees today, and could possibly lead them to Jesus.

Looking to Christ After a Miscarriage

On a Friday evening in September, I showed my husband my positive pregnancy test I had taken. Words cannot describe how overwhelmed we were by God’s love and faithfulness. Even though I wasn’t far along, we decided to go ahead and tell our family and friends about our little blessing that would arrive in June 2017. We wanted everyone to rejoice with us while we rejoiced.

From the moment I had found out I was pregnant; I became anxious to meet the little baby who the Lord had blessed us with. I couldn’t wait to be able to hold him or her in my arms and to kiss his or her little face. I had already been sharing names with my husband, and was so eager to find out if it was a boy or girl. We grew to love our baby more and more each day.

At my first appointment, my husband and I were excited to hear our baby’s heartbeat and to get our first picture of our little one. During the sonogram, we heard the words that we didn’t want to hear, “I don’t hear a heartbeat.” The room was silent, and my heart sank realizing we may have lost our baby. The doctor wanted us to come back three days later to see if there had been any changes to either me or the baby. I was eight weeks pregnant, and at the next appointment it was confirmed that my baby’s heart was no longer beating. Soon after the doctor visit, I experienced the physical part my body was going through of passing our child.

That whole week was a blur as we mourned the loss of our little one. My heart was broken with tears streaming for a baby that caused me so much joy in such a short time, that I would never get to hold. Many people had been praying for us during that week, and as much as we wanted people to rejoice when we found out I was pregnant, we also wanted people to mourn with us of the loss of baby June Bug. My husband came up with that precious name since our little one was supposed to born in June.

Weeks have gone by and even though my heart still aches; I’m grateful that God hears my cries, and that He is patient and compassionate with my hurting heart. He chose me to be the mother of my child for eight weeks. He chose for my husband and I to learn to walk together through this storm. God chose for us to walk through sorrow together, and to proclaim His greatness even through our pain.

I am thankful that we have a God who walks alongside us far beyond the meals, sympathy cards, and words of encouragement stop. I praise Him for being a God who is close to the broken hearted, and that we can hold tightly to Him without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promises. God sees our heartache and is able to heal, comfort, strengthen and give again in His own perfect timing and way. My prayer is that God will continue to fill my husband and I completely with joy and peace because we trust in Him. That His unfailing love would surround us for our hope is in Him alone.  

God's Perfect Timing

In a town where I'm surrounded by so many people I know; there are times when I feel so lonely. Sometimes a feeling of loneliness can make me vulnerable. It makes me think a lot about the desire of my heart to get married one day to the guy God has for me. God will grant me the desires of my heart. But He will do it His way, for His reasons, and in His timing! I have such a hard time fully trusting in God with this area in my life. There have been many times where I have tried to do it my way, for my reasons, and in my timing. I have realized it doesn't work that way and I just need to let go and let God.

As a single woman, you can only wonder about the man you will someday marry, but God knows exactly who he is. He designed everything about him, from his hair color to the smallest quirks of his character. God knows exactly what challenges we  will face in our life together, every romantic moment we'll enjoy together and every fight we'll struggle through. I think to myself how amazing this dream would be if instead of making them up for myself; I asked God to give me a glimpse of His dreams for me. Those dreams have all the benefit of being true and all the certainty of being fulfilled.

I believe God knows who I will marry and that He is capable of leading me to that right person. I believe that he is God of all creation and that He knows me better than I know myself. He is perfectly able to bring this person into my life in His own time and His own way. He doesn't need my help, but yet I try time and time again to help Him out. If God wants me to be with someone, He will make it happen at the right time and with the right person. I don't need to force it.

No matter how long it takes, when God works, it's always worth the wait. His timing is perfect. He knows my anxious thoughts, and He sees my passion for all the plans that He has put in my heart. Just as a vine dresser nurtures the vine and waits patiently for the right moment to harvest, so too is God working tirelessly to prepare me to bear much fruit. I don't need to run ahead of Him before His plans are complete. My own strength will fail me and my dreams will wither away. I choose to trust  that God's dreams for me are far greater than I can dream on my own. I need to patiently wait for the season of His blessing in my life.

I have realized that in this time of loneliness, that sometimes loneliness is God's cry for friendship time with me. I need to draw close to God during this waiting time, and trust that this season of waiting will bring me the sweetest rewards. He wants me to delight in Him, love Him, and spend time with Him in prayer and Bible study. God wants me to to commit my hopes and dreams to Him, but the most important point to remember is that God loves me, I'm His child, and He wants the best things for me.

I may not understand His plan now, but I declare that God has a great plan for my life. God will work things out in my life if I trust Him. I may have to go through certain trials and wait for His answers, but I believe that God works all things together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
I need to wait on the Lord and trust that His perfect timing is best. God's word warns us not to try and speed things up and do things in our own strength. There is a right time for everything and that includes getting married and having a family. God's answer to my prayer may be to wait for a time before He gives me my desires. Every gift that comes from God is worth waiting for.

Through this time of loneliness, I'm encouraged as I wait patiently on the Lord and trust in Him that He will work things out in my life. I'm so thankful that God has revealed Himself in so many ways during this time of loneliness, and that He made it a point that I needed to spend some much needed friendship time with Him.

So, what exactly is Girl After God?

So, what exactly is Girl After God? I believe that a girl needs to be dedicated to pouring all of her time, energy and passion into becoming the fabulous girl God created her to be. A girl after God isn't perfect, but she walks in the footsteps of the one who is, surrendering daily to His leadership and guidance. A girl after God knows that the world will throw hard things her way, but clings to God in the midst of them knowing that through Him, she can endure any and every kind of hardship. A girl after God is bold in her faith, dedicated to rocking the world with love, compassion, forgiveness and grace. She speaks with kindness at all times, and spreads love, not gossip to everyone she encounters.

On top of these lovely and admirable qualities, a girl after God knows that she cannot do this alone – that first and foremost needs God’s guidance and direction, and a community of ladies to help build and encourage one another. Two of my very special friends and I always tell each other that we are fabulously fabulous, and one day I texted my friend and told her that a girl should be two things: Godly and Fabulous. 

God's vision that He placed on my heart is a girl's ministry in the youth that is solely based on what it means to be a fabulous godly girl whose heart is after Him. I can't wait to get this ministry started and see how God uses me through it. God has called me to be a leader and be an example to the girls of the youth.                                                                                                                                                                            
A verse that has been on my mind for this ministry is 1 Timothy 4:12 which says, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity." My prayer is that each girl who is a part of this ministry will know that they have sisters in Christ who are on this same journey with them, find accountability and encouragement, but most of all that their relationship with God will grow stronger and that each day they will live a life after God.

When Jesus Sees

I am an urban missionary in Louisville, KY and I serve at a homeless shelter called Jefferson Street Baptist Center. They exist to extend gospel-centered mercy to the homeless and hurting of the greater Louisville, KY area. You can find out more about JSBC at www.jeffersonstreet.org. This is my recent newsletter about what God has been showing me while serving at Jefferson St.

When we were younger, we were taught to look away from those who are different. “Don’t stare, it’s rude!” Often people with disabilities make us uncomfortable, so we learn to pretend we don’t notice that someone has a deformity or scars or walks with a limp or moves around in a chair. Unfortunately, we sometimes take it one step further and pretend we don’t even see them at all  

Many times at Jeff. Street I come across people who look, talk, or act different due to physical or mental disability. We have many guests who get around by wheelchair, walk different, or have cancer.

Eddie, a day shelter guest, has cancer of the lymph nodes, and the cancer is spreading. He has been battling this for ten years. He no longer has a right ear and is about to lose his right eye. The doctor’s used a skin graft from someone’s chest, because the cancer is eating his face. Despite all of this, he has such a good spirit about cancer which encourages me.

Like Eddie, I sometimes overlook people who have a disability and don’t take time to sit and talk with them. I have missed many opportunities to see people the way Jesus sees them. Just because they may look or act different doesn’t mean I shouldn’t share Jesus with them.

God has been showing me I need to see others, to look at them and acknowledge their presence as God’s creation, precious in His sight. He has taught me to look into their eyes and see them as a human being and not a deformity, disability, or limitation.

He also reminded me I need to speak to them as I would anyone else. Being able to converse with them normally teaches me to not be intimidated by the person. Even if I am just talking about the weather, I would be expressing my interest in the other person’s life.

Everyone needs to know that they are valued. When we begin to see others as Jesus does, as human beings with value and significance, we might become the window through which they can see Jesus for themselves.

Please be in prayer for Eddie as he battles cancer. Please pray that I will not look past God’s creation; the people that come to Jeff. St. are no different than we are. Pray that I will have bold faith to share Christ with the least of these.

Availability Check

Many times I feel inadequate to share Jesus Christ with people that I come across with on an everyday basis. For some individuals this comes very easy to them, and they have no problem walking up to a person and sharing the gospel with someone. There are times when I think that I'm not equipped for this kind of work. Whether we tell people about God or we show them through our actions, we are called to live a life that brings others to Christ! When God calls us to do something bigger than we think we can handle, He will equip us by working through us. We learn to rely on His strength, not our own abilities. Simply put, God doesn't look for abilities, He looks for availabilities. I am reminded that when I hear God's voice calling my name, I can be confident in Him that He will give me the words to speak. And that it will not be me, but God speaking through me. All you have to do is be obedient to His calling, rely on His strength, and be available. God will use you in mighty ways to do the work for His kingdom as long as you let Him.

"In a very real sense, not one of us is qualified, but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do His work, to bear His glory." -Madeleine L'Engle