Well Actually...

Over the past year God has made a lot of major changes in my life and every time I start to question his will for my life and if I'm actually making the right decisions he makes his will obviously clear to me. So why do I, every time without fail, worry so much about if I am making the right decision and is this really what God wants me to do? I get so stressed out about these things that I have no control over and God has complete control over, so why??

I think it's just human nature to worry about things, regardless of what it is and if we really have any control over it. I also believe that if we really do want to know Gods will for our life and we are legitimately trying to find it out he will make it clear to us as to what we should do and I have learned this from personal experiences. When I'm faced with an important decision that I have to make I pray about it and my prayer usually goes something like this; 'God, I'm not really sure what you want me to do in this situation but I want to do your will. Please make your will very clear to me by obviously opening and shutting doors that I will have to go through.'  and you know what's really crazy, he does exactly that every single time!! In all honesty I can't say that I have ever heard God actually speak to me audibly but I can think of multiple times where i have come to a decision that I think is "God's will" and started down that path. Then after traveling that road for a little bit God's like, "Actually Katelyn, I have a better idea that you will like more in the long run and here is how I'm going to show you my plan... I'm going to shut this door in your life and maybe you won't like it very much right now or maybe it's going to hurt, but just trust me okay? I love you so much more than you will ever know and I will always have your best interest in mind." 

It's that so awesome that God can do that?? How he can shut doors that we accidentally opened that we shouldn't have and he gives us second chances every single time. He doesn't get mad and just leave us to figure it all out on our own just cause we mess up sometimes... (okay, it's more than just sometimes in my case...) But that's the thing, God still loves me so much even after that!! He just might have to gently take your hand and say, "Well actually... lets go this way." 

So next time you are wondering and stressed about what you should do, pray about it and ask God to open and close the doors that he knows should be opened or closed.

God bless you and enjoy your day!! Have a very Merry Christmas!

Katelyn

Perfection

It's a tough world that we live in today. Society is always telling us that we aren't up to par with their standards. We see pictures and adds and watch movies and the actors/actresses and models always look perfect. Now I have read so many articles on this subject but I want to take a little bit of a different approach. True, most of the pictures we see are photo-shopped and touched up but the only people we can blame for our insecurity is ourselves. Let me explain.

We, as "non-perfect" people are the only ones who have the control over what we choose to believe. I could go to the store and walk down the make up isle and look at all the seemingly perfect girls with flawless skin and start to talk down myself. I could say things like, "Man Katelyn, you will never look like that so you shouldn't even try! I mean seriously, did you not see those zits on your face when you looked in the mirror this morning? Gross! And those circles under your eyes this morning? Wow, it looks like you only got an hour of sleep last night!! Why did you even leaven the house this morning?" So now after that exchange with myself I don't really feel like smiling anymore or being friendly to the people around me and I star feeling insecure and worthless. By believing those lies that I TOLD MYSELF I just lost the two main things that really make someone beautiful, a smile and kindness towards the people around me. That's not all though, I just told God that he did a bad job when he made me and I called him a liar. God made me perfect, he thinks I'm perfect and he loves me that way.

Why should anyone besides God decide if I'm perfect or not? How come the world gets to determine my happiness? The answer; they don't. Lets focus on what makes someone truly beautiful/handsome, it's the people who smile at strangers as well as their friends, the ones who are kind and gentle, the ones with a servants heart and a desire to care for others. Those are the ones who God finds perfect.

Let me tell you something else, being skinny is not going to make you happy and skinny people get ridiculed for their weight just like anyone else. We need to stop bashing on others and start loving on them instead. If you see someone you "wish you looked like" instead of looking at him or her and saying, "Wow, he/she is so fake! I mean seriously, Do they even eat??" try smiling at that said person and finding something to compliment them on, who knows that may have been exactly what they needed to hear that day.

So my challenge to you is to stop comparing and start believing God when he tells you that he made you perfect. God bless you today and I hope you have a fantabulous day!! :)

Katelyn

When Life throws you Curveballs

   I have been reading in the book of Job for my personal reading and within the first 2 chapters my whole perspective on life has changed. So I want to share what I have learned with you. For those of you who have never read Job and don't know the story, let me give you some background. Job was a very righteous man, Job 1:1 says, 'This man (Job) was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.' In the worlds eyes Job had it all, he had seven sons and three daughters, he had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys and a lot of servants. So, like I said, Job had it all and on top of that he was close to God and God was proud of him. So far so good, right? Well lets continue father into the chapter. Job 1:6-12 'One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the Lord, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has and he will surely curse you to your face." The Lord said to Satan, "Very well then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." So the story continues and Satan kills all of Job's children and servants and takes all of his animals but at when he hears this, instead of blaming God and asking "Why?" verse 20 says, 'Then he (Job) fell to the ground in worship' . He worshiped God even after he lost it all. Now think, what if he had cursed God? That would have given Satan the victory and the story would have ended there; but he didn't and God got the praise. So next time you feel like your whole life is falling apart and nothing could get worse, remember that God is still in control and he really does have a perfect plan. We might never know what his plan is until we get to heaven but we can take comfort in the fact that God loves us more than anything else in this world and he only has our best interests in mind.

     I hope that these thoughts can encourage you today.Jjust always remember that you are loved and adored by an AMAZING God who deemed you worthy to die for! God Bless you! Have a wonderful day!!

Katelyn

HE is Faithful

Hebrews 13:5 Never will I leave you; Never will I forsake you.

There are a lot of amazing verses but that verse is one of my absolute favorite verses in the Bible. There is so much comfort and promise wrapped up in this one verse to last a lifetime. Jesus, the creator of the universe, the one with the power to give life or take it, promised us that he will never leave us. When we accept Jesus into our hearts we suddenly gain the best, strongest, most powerful "body guard", in a sense, and he isn't going to ever leave. He's got your back, and personally I wouldn't rather have anyone else have my back besides him.

God bless you and have a Fabulous Day!! :)

Katelyn

Who Am I??

If someone asked you the question, "Who are you?" what would you say? Seems like a simple enough question, right? You know yourself better than anyone else, but how well do we ACTUALLY know ourselves?  If I were to answer it I would say something like, "I'm a nanny, I have a wonderful family, I'm a country girl and I love Jesus." But there's more to it than that, isn't there? That question goes deeper than your hobbies and job and family. So how do we answer it, who are we really in God's eyes?

God actually gives us a lot of verses in the Bible explaining who we are in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 If Anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old is Gone, the new is come. 1 Peter 2:9 But YOU are a chosen race, a Royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a people for His own possession, that You may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His Marvelous light. Ephesians 2:10 For We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. So who are we, who am I? In short, I am a forgiven, greatly blessed, and highly favored Child Of God. We have the responsibility to leave our sinful old ways behind when we accept Jesus into our lives, we are his workmanship and we are a reflection for the World to see Jesus in us.

That's all for today, I have to head to work. God bless you today! I hope you have an Amazing day!!

Katelyn

Just Breathe

Just Breathe

Seems like we are always running around and jumping from one stage of life to the next, always wanting to be in the next stage. When we are in elementary we want to be in middle school, then its high school, then college, then out of college, etc. When we are single we want to be dating, then we want to get married, then have kids, and it never ends. Very rarely do we ever sit back and enjoy the stage God has us in right now.

I will be the first to tell you that I am one of those people who is constantly coming up with new ideas and new plans and always wanting something new in my life. When my hair is long I want it short, then I want it to be a different color, then long again. When I was younger, and still every once in awhile now, I would reorganize my room ALL. THE. TIME. just cause I wanted something new. Now I come up with all these new ideas for businesses I want to start or jobs I want to have. I can never just sit still and enjoy my wonderful life that God has blessed me with.

1 Timothy 6:6 'But Godliness with contentment is great Gain.' Now change isn't bad, and there is nothing wrong with wanting a little bit of variety in your life. We just have to be careful how much time and effort we are putting into our frivolous thinking. We also have to make sure we aren't forgetting to spend time with God and we aren't missing the opportunities he is giving us every day to spread his love and grace with the people around us. Probably one of the main things that I struggle with is this stage of singleness. I don't know if I'm the only one but I have a pretty good feeling that I'm not. It's just this confusing stage of, 'Will I get married someday God? If so, when?' Something my Mom has always told me is this, "Katelyn, when you are single is the only time in your life where you can fully serve and devote yourself to God. Don't waste this opportunity." Of course, she's right. Right now, instead of thinking about if or when I will get married, I should be asking God to give me opportunities every day to serve him wholeheartedly. I should be digging into his word every day and spending time praying and talking to him. God is the only one who will never betray me, disappoint me or break my heart. So why am I in such a hurry to move on to the next stage? The answer; because it's how human nature works and it's also how society works. I need to stop focusing on what everyone around me is saying and start focusing on the one who loves and cares about me dearly is saying.

So, my prayer for myself mainly is this; God, please help me to be content in the here and the now and stop worrying about the future. Give me peace and help me fall more and more in love with YOU every single day. Amen.

God bless you and I hope y'all have an Amazing day! Stay warm!

Katelyn