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