What is Love?

We all want to be loved and we all have different ways of showing love and different ways of trying to get love.

One of my favorite words is 'Agape'. Agape is the highest form of love there is, it's the kind of Love Jesus has for his Father and for us. Agape is sacrificial, selfless, and unconditional and Jesus was a perfect example of this when he died for our sins on the cross. He sacrificed his perfect, heavenly home with his father and became sin for us. He became the one thing that he despised the most so that we could live in heaven with him. That's Agape love.

John 15:12-13 reads "My command is this: Love each other as I have Loved you. Greater Love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." We don't often use the words 'Love' and 'death' in the same sentence but throughout the bible we see God putting those together quite often, so maybe he's trying to tell us something? If we are willing to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ, that would mean that we would think of them as better than ourselves. We would have to value their needs/wants more than our own and want what is best for them without giving ourselves a second thought. That is the definition of selfless, and selfless is used to define Agape.  

John 13:35 says 'By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you LOVE ONE ANOTHER.'  As we can see it is extremely important to God for us to love each other. When asked what the greatest commandment of the 10 were, Jesus replied, 'Love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.' Mark 12:30-31. So I would say that if Jesus picked that one commandment out of all 10, shouldn't that give us some idea as to the importance of loving people?


It's really not easy to put others before yourself and in all honesty it really doesn't come naturally to anyone. It's something we have to put a lot of prayer, time and intentionality into. Prayer because we could never do it without God's help. Time because Loving others takes extra time and energy. Intentionality because it's something that we have to conscientiously think about and follow through with.

So here's my challenge to you and myself. Every morning when you wake up pray and ask God to help you love the people he put in your life and also the strangers you see at the mall or the grocery store or on the road. I can pretty much guarantee that by doing this your day will get a little bit better too!!

I hope y'all have an AMAZING day! God bless!!

Katelyn

For the ones who "Have it all Together"

We've all had those days where it's bad from the beginning and it just gets worse from there. Or those weeks that turn into months where it just seems like an unending stream of disappointments. Or that one day you look forward to all year and you're disappointed every time because it never goes how you imagined. We've all been heartbroken, betrayed and almost alone.

Today was one of those days where I almost burst into tears a couple times and everything went wrong from the time I sat down at my desk till I walked through my front door. I was discouraged and disappointed and I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. Satan took this opportunity to kick me while I was down, in a sense, and remind me of past hurts and rejections and whisper lies like, "No one really cares about you. Your job isn't important. You can't actually make any difference in this world. People just think you're stupid, and they're right..." These are lies that Satan was telling me all day and he was loving the fact that I was actually believing them. Let me tell you another lie that I'm sure he's whispered in your ear a couple times too, "Your problems don't matter, there are other people who have way bigger problems so don't even bother getting help with your's..." That is not true at all and let me tell you why.

God cares about your problems, God cares that you have a heavy heart or that you had a rough day at work of school. He knows and he cares. Let me tell y'all a little secret, sometimes the ones who seem to have it all together, the ones who are constantly reaching out to and encouraging other, are the ones who need the most encouragement. They're the ones who are trying to fight the internal battles of a broken heart or depression or anxiety or loneliness or discouragement alone. Sometimes the battles you can't see, or you don't know about, are the ones that do the most damage.

Look at your pastor or youth leader or mentor, who mentors them? Who pours love and truth into their lives? Has you ever thought that maybe your pastor might actually have their own hardships that they are facing almost alone because 'They are the ones who are supposed to have it all together'? I heard someone say once "They don't need a mentor because they have it all together, they already have a strong relationship with God. They don't need me." If you ever see those people who seem like they have it all together ask them to go to coffee with you, ask them how you can pray for them, if you show them you care soon you will see how broken they really are. Be prepared for them to break down in tears and be prepared to pour love and encouragement into their broken hearts that have been needing that for years. Take that girl or guy that always has a smile and sit them down and show them how much you care.

To the one who "has it all together", God's always there even when no one else is. He knows what you're going through and he cares. He wants to hear about it, ask him to send someone to encourage you. I know how hard it is when all you really want is for one person to show an interest in your life and it seems like no one does... Keep your head up, have faith, and don't stop praying. Someone will come and they will come when God knows that you need them the most.

I hope y'all know and understand how very much God loves you. I hope you realize what you're worth. You're worth dying for, each and every one of you. You're precious and you're a child of God.

I hope y'all have a great weekend!!

Katelyn

Power in Weakness

 My dad told me the other day that often your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness. I'd like to switch that around and say pretty much the same thing except back-words. Your greatest weakness can also be your greatest strength. I changed that because, if you are anything like me, it's easier for most of us to pick out our weaknesses before out strengths.

If you were to ask me what my greatest weakness was I would tell you it's my stubbornness/strong will. Anyone who knows me well probably knows that I'm a stubborn person at times and I have always considered that a bad trait to have, until just recently when I discovered how powerful my 'weakness' actually was when I used it the right way. I struggle sticking with things in life, I get all these "great ideas" and start a lot of things then halfway through that I start another "great idea" and drop the first one. That is something that a lot of people have started to notice happening in my life and I decided that I didn't want to be known as someone who doesn't finish what they start. And that's where my stubborn streak kicked in.

A couple days ago I was sitting at my desk at work and this thought suddenly hit me as I was considering quitting, and I said to myself, "I'm probably the most strong willed person I know and I have always thought of that as a bad thing, but who say's it can't be a good thing. God obviously made that as part of my personality for a reason, and there's a pretty good chance that it's so I learn to stick with what I believe in and not give up when things get hard. I need to stick with this job that God gave me and I need to give it my very best. No one is going to be able to call me a quitter!" So right then and there my whole attitude changed, just sitting at my desk. My greatest weakness, in my mind, had just become my greatest strength.

Now think of something you struggle with, maybe it's stubbornness like me or maybe it's something else. How can you flip that around and use it, with God's help, to change the world? How can you allow God to move in you to empower others to change the world?

Now let's talk about how it can work the other way around... How can your strength become your greatest weakness. I think we all know how stubbornness can be a weakness but what about other strengths? Maybe we get consumed with how awesome we think we are and lose sight of the one who actually got us to where are are now... God. Maybe you start to let the mindset of, 'I'm so much better than all these other people because God gave me this talent and look what they got stuck with.' Maybe we are focusing too much time in the area we strive in and we let the other people in our lives fall. Maybe we are really good at spreading the gospel and loving the strangers around us but at home and church we are letting our relationships fall apart. Maybe we are too focused out bringing new people into the church that we are forgetting to continue to love and care for the one's God already gave us. The list could go on and on and as I'm writing this I am seeing myself in a lot of these examples... The thing is, we all fail at some point and we have to realize that and look to God to help us stay strong. No one is perfect and sometimes our weakness is our strength and sometimes it's just a weakness. But, there is Grace and Forgiveness for when we do mess up and God is always going to be right there to help us back to our feet and keep going.

I hope y'all realize how much power you have to change the world for the better or for the worse, and I hope you choose to change it for the better! God bless you all and I hope you have an amazing rest of your week!

Katelyn

The Power to Build Up or Destroy

Words... They can save a life or they could end a life. They have the power to make someone's day or break someone's day. We can use them to lift someone up or tear someone down. Words are like a weapon, you must be extremely careful with them.

I've been reminded a couple times how much an unkind or harsh word can sting and it really does tend to ruin your day when someone says something unkind. I also know that on multiple occasions I have hurt someone else with my words in for me, sometimes unintentionally and, unfortunately, sometimes intentionally... I have a tendency to let myself speak when I'm angry and that's never turned out well for me. When I'm angry I say things that at the time I might think I mean but a couple hours later I very much regret what I said and end up having to go back and apologize to the person I hurt.

 Proverbs 15:1&2 'A gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commands knowledge but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.' and Proverbs 11:9 'With his mouth the godless destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous escape.'  Those are three verses are good reminders for me. The two words that stood out to me when I read that are, fool and godless. Neither of those are qualities that I want God, or others, to associate with me. The godless destroys his neighbor... That's rough.

One thing that I have learned the hard way is that mean, unkind, hurtful words echo though your mind a lot longer that kind words do. People are more likely to remember that one time you hurt them over the couple times you complimented them. You can't take back words, you can apologize but you will never be able to take them back. Once they leave your tongue it's too late.

My challenge to myself, and you, is to think before you speak. Is what you're about to say True? Is it Kind? Is it Honorable? Would you say it if you could see God standing right there next to the person? Would you say it to their face, or just behind their back? Is it Loving? Think about it...

God bless y'all! I hope you have an amazing day/week!

Katelyn

In the Eye of the Storm

One of my least favorite things is driving when it's raining really hard and you can't really see where you're going but you have to keep going cause there are a lot of people around you going the same speed and not ready to stop for you and if you were to stop you might get rushed off the road from the torrential rain... It stresses me out very much and I can honestly say that any time I'm in that situation I'm begging God to keep me safe as I drive blindly down the road getting more and more stressed out, and he does. 

There's this song called 'Eye of the Storm' by Ryan Stevenson that I have had on repeat for the past few days because it's exactly what I need right now. Here's how the chorus goes (I strongly suggest you listen to the whole song sometime); 

In the eye of the storm, you remain in control.

In the middle of the war, you guard my soul.

You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn.

Your Love surrounds me in the eye of the storm.

Every single one of us can listen to this and think of at least one moment in your life where you felt like you were in the eye of a storm and you needed an anchor. So where do you find your anchor? Is it in God? I've tried to make my anchor something besides God on multiple occasions and I can tell you that never worked out for me. I would learn on someone else, who also was going through a storm of their own, and expect them to be able to keep both of us above water. It wasn't fair to them and that made us both go under. Now don't get me wrong, I believe that God gave us each other to help us through those hard times and to encourage us and we should appreciate the people God puts in out lives, but they will never replace God, and we shouldn't try to make them replace God.

I'm reminded of the story in Matthew 8:23-27 when Jesus and his disciples when out in their boat and a furious storm came up. Jesus had fallen asleep in the boat and his disciples where really scared and woke Jesus and said, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" Then verse 26 says; 'He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and waves, and it was completely calm.' Can you imagine being there and watching that happen and how amazing that would be? Here's the thing, if Jesus has control over the wind and the water and can stop a storm with his words, why do I stress about my job or my family or friends? If I belong to God why do I fear anything at all? I feel like God has to say to me a lot, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" How do you reply to that... "Well God, to tell you the truth I don't trust that you have control over what happens to me"...? When I actually write that out y'all are probably thinking, "Katelyn, we would never say that to God! Of course we trust that he has control!" Actually though, that is what we are saying when we are worried or doubting God.

 This morning as I was leaving my house it was the most beautiful sight, and I thought to myself, "It's easy to remember that God is good on a morning like this. The truth is though, it's not always going to be peaceful and beautiful like that. Sometimes it might be hard to see God, but we just have to remember that even in the eye of the storm God is there and he's still got you in the palm of his hand.


So today, where ever you're at in your life don't forget how important and loved you really are. God bless you today and if you ever need someone to pray with you or for you I would love to do that! Here is a link to the song I was talking about, take a listen, you wont regret it! Eye of the Storm- Ryan Stevenson

Have a great day y'all!

Katelyn

Choosing a Line

This is written by one of my younger brothers, Brandon Short, and he did such a good job!

One of my favorite things to do early in the morning is go for a ride on the mountain bike trails located a few miles from my house. The trails are a thrilling combination of hilly and flat sections with a wide variety of logs, roots, rocks, sand and other obstacles to challenge the rider.

A mountain bike trail can be anywhere from six inches to six feet (or more) in width, but mountain bike tires are only a couple of inches wide. This leaves plenty of options for where to guide your wheels. A line is the exact path a bike’s wheels will take on a trail. The biker must make quick decisions as to where his or her wheels are going to go. For example, one might have a choice to go over or around a log in the trail. Going over the log is a more direct route, but going around is easier. There is not a right and a wrong answer as to which path to take; a skilled rider will likely go over the log, while a beginner will probably choose the smooth path around it. The shorter path is not always the line of choice, but avoiding obstacles is not always the way to go. As I was riding the other day, I thought about this and realized it’s much like living life. Decisions must be made quickly, and a poor decision could have bad consequences. Maybe it causes a ‘wreck,’ or costs you some time. A bad line choice won’t take you out of a race, but it may be more difficult to overcome whatever obstacle is in question, and it will slow you down. Also, what one person does in a given situation is not necessarily right for everyone, although we can learn from the mistakes or successes of others.

Choosing a line is an essential mountain biking skill, but it’s useless if the biker fails to carry out that choice. The best way to stick to your line is to keep your eyes on the path you wish to take. Don’t get distracted by the obstacle you are avoiding. Instead, focus on the path you do want to take. Once you have passed the obstacle, look ahead to the next one, analyze and execute. In life, it’s very easy to get distracted by the problems around us. It’s important, however, to keep our focus on our goal: where we look is where we go. It is necessary to acknowledge the challenge, but only briefly.

One more lesson can be taken from the idea of line choice: you don’t have to know the whole trail. As a biker, one guides his bike through obstacles one at a time. No one is expected to have the trail memorized or know where it goes. You don’t have to have life figured out in order to make good decisions, you only have to take one challenge at a time. Look ahead to where you’re going, but don’t worry just yet about what lies around the corner. Keep your focus on what you can control right now, and make the best of the trail that’s given to you. You can’t always choose your circumstances, but you can choose what to do with those circumstances.

About me: I am a freshman at Iowa State University studying engineering. In my free time I enjoy mountain biking and running; mountain biking because it’s thrilling and offers great views (among other reasons), and running because I enjoy pushing my physical limits beyond where I think they are.

We all need Forgiveness

At one time or another we have all been hurt, used, or abused. We've all been in a situation where we had the choice to forgive someone who hurt us or to hold that against them for the rest of our lives. For some it's easier to forgive and for others they'd rather die than forgive someone who "did them wrong". Why is that? Why is it so hard to forgive someone, why can't we move on? I believe the main reason is selfishness. We are so caught up in who did us wrong and how we can make them pay for it that we miss how much we are actually hurting the other people around us even if they weren't originally involved. It's selfish to think that you don't need to forgive someone because "you don't want to". Do you think you're so much better than them that YOU get to decide whether or not you will forgive them? Let me ask you something, do you think it's actually your place to decide that?

I'm going to share a few verses with you that may change your viewpoint on whether or not you're going to forgive that person in your who you just can't seem to forgive for one reason or another. Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. BUT if you do not forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father WILL NOT FORGIVE YOUR SINS. If that doesn't scare you into picking up the phone right now and calling that person who you are refusing to forgive, whether they asked for it or not, then I don't know what will. Think about it for a second, If God didn't forgive you, you would be in a world of hurt when you died. If God didn't forgive you you would have nothing to live for, nothing to hope for, and no purpose in life. So let me say this one more time, If you don't forgive your fellow brothers and sisters God will not forgive you...

Romans 12:17-29 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay", says the Lord. If you've been hurt before and you think the person who did you wrong got off easy relax, God's got this. God defends his own and if God sees fit, that person will have their own share of trials, but God will take care of it, that's not your job. I've been told multiple times that you don't run away from your problems cause that doesn't solve anything, you stay and face them like a champ. Running from problems that you could easily fix doesn't make you a bigger person, when you run and hold a grudge you're letting the devil win and he loves that.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. There are so many examples of people in the Bible sinning and sinning and sinning and God forgiving them over and over again. If you read Judges you will be amazed by how many times God graciously forgives his people and when I read that I get frustrated and think, 'God, they never learn, just let them go!' but then God gently reminds me that I'm the same way and he has had to continually forgive me every single day.

So if God can forgive us for killing HIS SON, why can't we forgive someone who betrayed our trust, or let us down, or wasn't there for us when we needed them, or abused us. It's all in perspective.

God bless y'all! I hope you have an amazing day! I'd love to hear from y'all sometime if you ever want to talk! Thanks again for reading!

Katelyn

Pain

Life is a funny thing. You’re going about it, minding your own business and everything seems just fine, then all of a sudden you’re lying on you get knocked down and you're asking God, “What just happened?” As soon as you think you’ve figured it out you lose control and start spinning. 

I know life can be extremely hard at times and you have moments when you honestly feel like you can’t take another breath, but you do. That’s what makes you amazing, you take hold of God’s outstretched hand and he pulls you back to your feet and you keep pushing on, one foot in front of the other. Maybe you don’t talk about the rough things you’re going through cause you figure there’s people who have it worse. Drop that thought, okay? God cares just as much about your bad day at work as he does that your friend’s mom just died or that people are starving.

Another thing that I want you to realize is this. A heartbreak is a heartbreak, no matter what caused it. You could have been dating someone for 3 years and gone through a really bad heartbreak and be hurting just as bad as someone who just lost their best friend, or someone who broke up with their boyfriend after 6 months. Just because ‘It could be worse’ doesn’t mean that you can’t cry. Let it go, cry into your pillow, call your best friend, go for a long walk or drive, listen to music and let the tears fall without shame. Burying it won’t make it go away, trust me, it only makes it worse.

Let me tell you something that I have and am still struggling with; I don’t cry in front of people (or at least I do everything in my power not to), even my best friends. I think I’m too ‘tough’ to cry and if I show pain or hurt or sadness I’m showing weakness and I don’t do that. Granted, I don’t mind at all if others cry in front of me, I just won’t cry in front of them. That thought process has never helped heal my heart cause you know what, there’s a lot of healing power in tears. It’s like music, when you hear a song and the lyrics are describing your life to a “T” and for some reason that you can’t explain you feel better. That’s how tears work, whether you’re like me and you wait to cry alone to your pillow or you cry on your friend’s shoulder, let it go, let all that pain out and let God take care of it for you.

I don't believe that God ever intended for us to deal with our pain and struggles alone, Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you nor forsake you." I don't know about you but that doesn't sound like God telling us to 'suck it up and hold it in', Whenever I read this verse I picture myself sitting on the ground crying, barley able to lift my head, and God comes over and kneels down next to me and takes my face in his hand, lifts my chin, looks me right in the eye, and with love and compassion in his voice tells me, "My daughter, it's going to be alright. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. I will never leave you or forsake you. You are mine girl and I have a perfect plan for you. I know it's hard right now and none of this is making sense but I promise it's all going to be okay." And then he pulls me to himself and holds me while I cry and he wipes my tears when I'm done. Then he pulls me to my feet and together we continue on this crazy journey called "life", hand in hand, side by side.

It's okay to hurt, it's okay to cry, there's no shame or judgment here. God's got you, and he has no intention of letting you go.

I hope y'all are enjoying your summer so far, don't forget how awesome you are and how loved you are! God Bless you! Have a wonderful day!

Katelyn

Reminiscing

It's graduation time!! My little brother, Brandon walked across the stage yesterday and I couldn't be more proud of everything he's accomplished in the past 4 years of high school. Watching him and all the other seniors graduating has been making me think a lot about when I was still in high school two years ago and there's some things I would like to share with those still in high school or middle school or already graduated.

This is my advice to you as someone who wishes I did a lot of things differently. to the middle-schooles; I know it's probably pretty rough for you right now, everyone is changing, you probably don't really know what you want to do with your life yet, all your friends are being weird, and you might not be sure where you even fit in in the social aspect of school yet. That's okay cause you know what, you don't need to know yet, middle school is kind of this weird transition stage between a kid and not quite an adult. At some restaurants you can still order off the kids menu but others you can't... Hang in there, it will start looking up, just give it some time.

High-schoolers; here's my advice to you that I wish I followed. Put in the time and work to get good grades, just because you're smart doesn't mean that you won't have any friends. Join a sport or a club, give band and/or choir a shot. Don't limit your 'friend group' to certain people, be everyone's friend, be friendly to everyone. Take advantage of those free classes, don't just take the easy ones that will get you the credits you need. Try different things that you might not do usually, step out of your comfort zone as often as possible. Have fun! High school would have been a lot more enjoyable for me if I would have done these things instead of just doing the bare minimum to get by.

Graduates; It's not too late for you, just like it's not too late for me. Even though high school is over, and maybe you're like me and didn't go to college and just jumped into the working class, doesn't mean it's too late for you to change the course of your life. I wish I was more social and involved in high school but I still can be even out of high school. I meet new people all the time at the store, or the park, or Panera, or work. I'm even looking for a community sports team to join so I can get my exercise in and so I can meet new people. If you are in college right now, join choir or a sport. Hang out in the commons and go up in talk to people. It may be awkward at first but in the end it will be worth it, trust me!

Well  I star a new job today so if you think of it, I would appreciate prayers! Thanks y'all! I hope y'all have an amazing day! God bless you and I wish you all the best of luck!!

Katelyn

Who's the real Enemy?

Lately every time I get on Facebook my news feed is filled with everyone's opinions and arguments about everything from politics to raising children to transgender bathrooms. There's ALWAYS two sides to every argument and it seems like no can ever agree on anything... We fight over stupid things and it's ruining our relationships with people who used to be our friends! We're treating our close friends as if they are our enemies but we've forgotten who the real enemy is.

Ephesians 6:12-13 'For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.' Guys, We're told right here who our enemy is, our enemy is Satan and let me just tell you, he is having a hay day watching us turn on each other while he just sits back to watch. When we put all of our energy into telling everyone else why they are wrong and we are right, we are working with Satan.

Does it really matter if you push your opinion into every conversation? Is it going to benefit anyone at all? What if we focused more on commenting encouraging and uplifting things instead of negative and discouraging things? I am one of those opinionated people who will tell you the honest truth if you really want to know, and sometimes when you don't. It's something I've definitely struggled with for awhile but I'm starting to realize that people don't really care to hang around people like that, they would rather hang out with someone who will love on them and encourage them.

Let's think about what it would look like if we believed Ephesians 6:12-13 for a second. Whenever we saw someone who was doing something that we thought was wrong we would pray for them, we would pray for our government, we would join forces with other believers and work WITH them instead of against them. If someone posted something on social media about feeling depressed they would almost instantly have their inbox full of messages from their friends telling them they were praying and asking if there was anything they could do to help out. Think about how much better this world would be if that was truly the case! It would be AMAZING y'all! It CAN be amazing! We just have to focus our energy on our real enemy, not each other.

That's all for today! Y'all have an amazing day! I will be praying for each and everyone of you! God Bless!

Katelyn 

He called, they Followed

When someone asks you for a favor or for something that belongs to you do you agree right away, no questions asked? Or do you have to stop and think about it for a second? Do you weigh all your options and try to figure out if you could benefit in any way?

I was reading in Matthew chapter 4 and verses 18-20 jumped out at me. Matthew 4:18-20 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." AT ONCE they left their nets and followed him. They didn't ask questions, they didn't ask for a couple days to think about it, they didn't drag their feet, 'AT ONCE they left their nets and followed him.' Isn't that amazing?! Think how much faith they must have had to be able to just up and follow Jesus and they had know idea where they were going or where they would sleep or what they would eat... All they knew is that they wanted to follow Jesus and that was enough for them.

Just think how different our lives would be if we lived like that! We would probably live in a completely different world if we just followed Jesus wherever he asked us to go, no questions asked, just by faith. Our neighbors would would probably go to church with us, the people we interact with on a daily basis would have no doubt that we are Christians, Churches would be growing on a weekly basis, the people living on the streets who have lost all hope would have hope again. Y'all, we could truly change the world.

Jesus is calling you and He's calling me. Are we ignoring his call because it seems like a lot of work or it's scary? Or are we living the life that He is calling us to live? Are we reaching the people He's asking us to reach? Are you doing your part to change the world, or are you sitting around waiting for someone else to do it...? Think about it.

Jesus is calling you to follow him, will you answer that call?

As always I hope y'all have a blessed day! Smile cause you are loved!! God Bless You!

Katelyn

Grace

God's grace is a hard concept for me to wrap my head around. How could he let His only son, whom he loved very much, come to earth as a man knowing very well that he wouldn't be accepted by the very people he came to save.

I don't have kids yet but whenever I think about God sending Jesus to us I try to put myself in that position. I try to imagine what I would do if I had a son, or daughter, and someone killed them... I'm not exactly sure how I would react but I can tell you without a doubt that I would not invite them to come live in my home after that and I don't think I would have an easy time forgiving them. That's what God did though, He forgave us for killing his son, he still loves us so much that he still wants us to live with him in Heaven for the rest of eternity. That is what Grace looks like and I have a really hard time grasping that.

I don't think any of us realize what Grace really is until we've been shown it first hand. We all make mistakes and we've all done stuff that we wish we could undo and some have even done things that they think are 'unforgivable' and no one would ever be able to forgive them if they knew. I know what that feels like, I know the feeling in the pit of your stomach when you know you need to ask for forgiveness but you don't think they could ever forgive you. Here's the deal; you already have been forgiven. Jesus already paid the price of every sin you ever did or ever will do. You've been bought out of the enslavement of sin and the selling price was the Precious Blood of Jesus. He willingly gave his life on the cross so you could be made new and live with him in Heaven for eternity, all you have to do is confess that you've sinned and ask Jesus to come into your heart. That's what Grace is.

God bless y'all, I hope you have an amazing day and remember that you are loved.

Katelyn

It is Well with my Soul

I really like old Hymns because they are just so beautiful when sung by a room full of people worshiping God, but I have to say that my all time favorite hymn is 'It is Well with my soul'. We just sung this at my church recently and as I was singing I started to really listen to the words and take in what they were saying. The hymn goes like this...

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, 

when sorrows like sea billows roll; 

whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, 

It is well, it is well with my soul. 

Refrain: 

It is well with my soul, 

it is well, it is well with my soul. 

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, 

let this blest assurance control, 

that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, 

and hath shed his own blood for my soul. 

(Refrain) 

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! 

My sin, not in part but the whole, 

is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, 

praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! 

(Refrain) 

And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, 

the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; 

the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, 

even so, it is well with my soul. 

(Refrain) 

The part that stood out to me the most was in the second stanza where it says, 'Christ has regarded my helpless estate and hath shed his own blood for my soul. It is well with my soul.' Honestly the past couple of months have been a real roller coaster for me and there where times when I was feeling sorry for myself and I was frustrated with God because even though I had made all of the decisions that had brought me to where I was I still tried to blame God and tell him that he didn't understand what I was going through. The truth; He did and does understand, He went through so much worse for me. None of the "hard things" I was going through were his fault, they were the result of me not listening to Him. As I sang 'It is well with my soul' I realized that I meant those words and I felt a strong sense of peace because no matter what life throws my way, no matter how hard, I can truly say "It is well with my soul" because I have God watching my back and waiting to pick me up when I fall. He already made the ultimate sacrifice by coming to earth as a man and dying on the cross for my sins so that I could spend eternity with him in Heaven and that is something to get excited about I must say! If nothing else, that should give you Hope even on the darkest days! 'It is well with my soul."

God Bless y'all and I hope you have a wonderful day! Thank you for all who have encouraged me with this, you have no idea how much that means to me!!

Katelyn

Lets Change the World

Most, if not all of us want to change the world. We want to make a difference, do something worthwhile with our lives, ‘Go big or go home’, but how are we acting on that dream? Are we waiting for our ‘Big Break’ where we will suddenly be at the right place at the right time and have all the right words and become famous overnight and the best speaker in the world and lead thousands of people to Christ? Recently God gave me a little reality check, I’ve always been one of the ones who wanted to change the world and just sat around waiting for God to call me to be a missionary or start an orphanage or something really awesome like that. Then one day I was sitting at church one Sunday morning listening to our pastor preach and I started thinking about how God has given me a passion for middle school and high school girls. Then I got this brilliant idea that I should start some sort of bible study for them but just as soon as God put that idea into my head I started coming up with excuses as to why I shouldn’t do that like, God I don’t know anyone that age, God how am I supposed to help someone else get through life when I’m barley staying on my feet, God I wanted to change the world… and that’s when God just sat back and smiled because right in that moment I realized something very important. You can’t change the world if you aren’t willing to start small with the people who need you the most. God put people all around you for you to love on and serve and if we aren’t willing to start with those very important people why should we be allowed to be given the responsibility of the world?

We can change the world one person at a time. We start with our neighbors or best friends and we love on everybody. We love the person who just cut us off, or the cashier at Target, or that one person who always asks us for favors and never repays, or the person who broke your heart, or your best friend who left you to be best friends with the “cool crowd”. God tells us in Mark 12:30-31 ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this Love your neighbor as yourself there is no commandment greater than these.’ Jesus said this when he was asked what the greatest of all the commandments (laws) was so obviously it’s kind of a big deal to God that we love people, right?

We've all seen the ripples on the water when we drop something into it, they start small and get bigger. You could touch one person's life and they could touch one person's life or maybe they are going to be the one that God uses to reach thousands. You just never know God's plan. You changing one life could end up changing so many more that you may never even know about until you get to heaven. Just keep that in mind.

We may never be a famous speaker who leads thousands to Christ or a missionary to Africa but that’s not what God asks all of us to do. Sometimes he asks us to start small, and the reward for that in Heaven is just as great as it would be if you shared the gospel with the world. God has a specific and wonderful plan for each of us in the areas where we are passionate and skilled. So keep your eyes and heart open and just take what God gives you for now, who knows what it will lead to in the future. Let God work out all the details and you go along for the ride. Trust me, God has great things in store for you!

I hope y’all have an amazing day and keep your head up and smile on! You are loved and cherished by our amazing God! Thank you so much for joining me today! God bless!

Katelyn

You will never walk alone

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. 

"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You'd walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

there was only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever, during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."

- by Mary Stevenson

That poem is one of my absolute favorite poems and it has been my comfort through a lot of hard times. We all have those days, weeks, and/or months where we feel like we are completely alone and in my mind that is one of the darkest and worst feelings we could ever have. Here's the hard truth; People are going to fail us at some point and it's not a matter of IF but WHEN and the other hard truth, we're going to fail others around us at some point too. We live in a world full of imperfect humans who make mistakes and to expect perfection from ourselves and others is only setting ourselves up for failure. Here's the good news; God will NEVER fail us, He will never let us down, He will never stop loving you, and He will never leave your side, especially in those dark days.

I've had days where I felt utterly and completely helpless. I thought the World was against me and if I were to disappear no one would even care. Now obviously that wasn't true, I have amazing friends and family that stand with me but in the moment I was believing Satan's lies and he was loving that. He didn't win though because there was one small thing he forgot. In my darkest loneliest time, God was still there and I finally did what I should have done a very long time ago. I fell to my knees and begged him to come, begged him to hold me and not let me go, and the amazing thing is... He did. God was there just like he always is and He held me. He let me cry and he cried with me. He showed me his love and his promises when I finally opened my bible and He reminded me that He alone was in control and He had a perfect plan. He carried me since I was too exhausted to walk.

God isn't ever going anywhere, He's always right by your side even on those dark nights when you can barely see him. Even when you try to push him away He's still right there waiting for you to realize how much you need him again. You are loved, and cherished, and valued and on those days that you forget that open your Bible and let God show you all over again.

Thank you so much for reading this and all of the encouragement y'all give me!! I hope you have a blessed day!!

Katelyn

During those "Rough Spots"

Have you ever felt like God was calling you to do something that seemed really hard and maybe even impossible at the time? Maybe he was calling you to leave your friends and family and take a job out of state, or maybe he called you to be a missionary in another country, maybe he asked you to share the gospel with the cashier at Walmart, maybe he was asking you to step out of your comfort zone and start a small group or a bible study. Did you do it? Was it hard or scary at first? Maybe you saw great results right then, but maybe you won't see the results until you get to heaven.

Sometimes God asks us to do hard things and sometimes he asks us to do things that we enjoy doing but in either circumstance there will be rough spots. Here's the deal; when we are following Gods plan for our life we are a threat to Satan and he feels the need to stop us and how he does that is he starts sending trials our way. He's going to discourage you somehow whether its car troubles or family problems or friend problems or maybe even worse stuff such as a death or illness or something like that. Don't loose heart, God will take care of you. this is God's promise to you straight out of the Bible; John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE. But take heart for I have overcome the World." Jesus told us that we are going to have troubles and trials if we are devoting our lives to serve him but he also promised us that he isn't going to leave us to make it through those times alone; Hebrews 13:5 "...God has said, 'Never will I leave you; Never will I forsake you'". So if you are feeling Satan's attack on your life you should in a way be encouraged about that, as strange as that sounds, because that means Satan see you as a threat so you're definitely doing something right! 

In the picture above I can think of a few people who would see that and jump at the chance to take their Jeep or truck through that in an instant! But I can tell you that if I tried to take my car through that one of those Jeeps or Trucks would have to come and pull me out. That's like life, if we try to do life alone without God or even without other Christians we're gonna get stuck. But if we have a strong support system behind us and God hold our hand we can do anything at all. So take God's out stretched hand and begin this new stage that he has for you, trust me it will be SO worth it in the end!!

Don't give up! Keep your eyes on Jesus and your hand in his and your bible close. God bless y'all today!

Katelyn 

Attention Girls!!

This blog post is directed towards girls ages 13-18. God has put this desire in my heart to start a bible study of sorts for teenage girls. I remember high school and how hard it was to "fit in" and be accepted by everyone around me. I wanted so badly for someone to care about my life and take time to sit down and talk to me about just life, to answer my questions and just care. Now don't get me wrong, there were people in my life who cared about me, like my family and friends, but I really wanted someone who was just a little bit older than me to be like a mentor to me.

So anyways my point in all of this is; I'm going to start a bible study/mentoring time/ Q&A time for girls between the ages 13-18. (This isn't excluding anyone outside of this range but the Q&A and discussion topics will be directed towards this age group) If you are at all interested in this please shoot me an email, I will post my email below. Even if we have never met before and you live in the Des Moines, Iowa area please email me because I would LOVE if you would join and bring your friends!! We will have snacks and some great talks and I will do my best to answer any and all of your questions about God, the Bible, relationships, friends, high school, and more. When I get a group of people together we will decide when it works best for us to all meet and let the people that RSVP'd know the details!! I look forward to hearing for you girls!!

Also, girls if you don't live close enough to join the group and still would like someone to talk to or some questions answered I would still absolutely Love to talk to you!! Just email me and we will go from there!

God Bless and have a WONDERFUL day!! 

Katelyn

Here's my email!! I can't wait to hear from you! katelyn.short95@gmail.com

In the blink of an eye...

This morning I was driving to work and it snowed last night so the roads were pretty much cleared but I was still going 10 mph under the speed limit just to be safe. (I drive a mustang so that automatically puts me at a disadvantage in the snow so that's one time I go under the speed limit) All of a sudden out the next thing I know my car is spinning out of control. While I was spinning time seemed to stand still and I distinctly remember crying out to God, "God please save me! God please save me!" and you know the crazy thing, he did. My car did not just one, but two 360s before straightening out, in the right direction none the less, and continuing down the highway. I didn't go in the ditch, I didn't hit anyone, and no one hit me... Do you know the likelihood of that actually happening? I could have spun halfway around and stopped facing traffic, there's no way the cars behind me would have been able to stop in time and not hit me on that ice! I thought for sure I was going to end up in the ditch, but I didn't. There is no doubt in my mind that God had his hand over me this morning. So after that all happened I got to thinking, if God has control over my car spinning on ice, don't you think he has control over the decisions I make in my life? There's a chance I could have been seriously injured this morning and it would have happened in the blink of an eye. But God obviously has different plans for my life and he showed me this morning that he is in complete control and I just need to give him complete control. So again, God showed me what to do, right when I was starting to doubt him. Thank you God for your unfailing love and protection over me.

Drive safe y'all!! 

Katelyn 

Reflections

January is usually a time where people are reflecting on the past year and making resolutions about the upcoming year. Why do we do this, because we like the idea of starting over with a clean slate and a whole new year gives us the perfect opportunity to do so. I have also been reflecting on the past year of my life and a year ago I was in a completely different place than I am in now. The past year of my life has been the biggest emotional roller coaster I have ever been on. There were highs and lows and really lows and really highs, but one thing that happened to me this year was that my relationship with God got a lot stronger. Sometimes we have to go through some really low, life shattering things in order to see how much we need God. Sometimes God has to take everything you know and flip your whole world upside down before you realize that the only way you will survive in this crazy life is if you have a relationship with him. I unfortunately had to learn all of that the hard way as well but looking back now I am so very great full that God did what he did because he changed my life. 

We all make mistakes, no one is better than anyone else, I'm not any better than you, you're not any better than me. My point is this, God gives us all second chances, we don't deserve second chances because we are sinners and we deserve Hell, but God is a loving God and he died for you so you could have a second chance. So nothing you could do is "too bad" for God to love you. No matter how much you have messed up God is still waiting for you to turn around and come back to his loving, open, waiting arms. It's not too late to devote your life to Christ. Maybe your New Years resolution can be that you spend time with God every day. Just always remember that even if your life is spinning upside down, God is still in control and maybe he's just trying to get you to notice him and talk to him.

God bless you and have a wonderful day!! If at all possible snuggle up by the fire place with some hot coco and stay warm!

Katelyn