All He Says I Am

{Journal Entry 8/26/14}

"As I have gone about my day, I have felt so imperfect, so inadequate, and like a complete failure. As I grow disappointed in myself, I believe the lie that God is disappointed in me too. On the days when I don't spend time with Jesus, I just know that He is upset with me. He knows I try to spend time with Him, so when I fail, He must be mad. When I finally do come to Him, surely He is not happy with me. Surely He is counting the missed days against me. Surely He is just waiting for me to mess up. He must roll his eyes when I act holy or when I am a judgmental hypocrite. After all I do to Him, surely He is disappointed in me. Oh, but I couldn't be further from the truth. I am all He says I am. I am His. My Daddy is not upset at me. He gets so happy when I make time for Him and He loves me crying out to Him. He loves when I show Him my weaknesses because He makes me stronger." 

Whenever you are feeling as though God is disappointed in you, go to Him and just talk to Him. Read His Love Letter to you and bask in the promise of His never ending love. 

Becca

His Love Never Fails {Personal}

{Nothing can separate, even if I ran away. Your love never fails}

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39) Nothing. Nothing can separate us from His love. No matter what we do in our lives. We will always be loved by God. 

{I know I still make mistakes, but You have new mercies for me everyday. Your love never fails.}

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). We (Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior) have been forgiven and our sins have been paid for on the cross. His mercies are new everyday. The devil likes to constantly remind us of our faults. When we have regrets and dwell on our past, we are wasting time worrying about things that have already been forgiven by the One that matters. 

{You stay the same through the ages. Your love never changes. There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning.} 

God's love will never change. It will be the same for every. single. person. One of the aspects of God's love is that He cares and knows about our future. "For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). Also, "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). So, no matter what happens in our lives, if we love God, he will work all things for our good. There may be pain in the night. We may go through hard things, but God will work it for the good. Joy will come in the morning. He cares for you. He loves you.

{And when the oceans rage, I don't have to be afraid, because I know that You love me. Your love never fails.}

God is watching out for us and we do not need to be afraid. He is in control and we need to trust Him. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified... for the Lord your God goes with you" (Deuteronomy 31:6). 

The wind is strong and the water's deep

But I'm not alone here in these open seas

Cause Your love never fails

The chasm is far too wide

I never thought I'd reach the other side

But Your love never fails

You make all things work together for my good

{Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture}

If you take away one thing from this post, I want you to realize that God loves you. No matter what. 

How deep the Father's love for us.

Becca

{Please email me here if you have questions or would like to talk about what is discussed here. I want to hear from you!}

Photo Cred: My brother

As of Late {A Change of Heart}

{Heal my heart and make it clean}

Lately, I have been working on examining my heart. "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). In order to live a pure life, I need to have a pure heart. Only God can cleanse a heart like mine. 

{Open up my eyes to the things unseen}

I have been praying for God to help me to see past myself and to begin caring for those around me. He wants us to take care of those around us. Even if that means just taking the time to ask how they are really doing. More importantly, I need to keep all of my brothers and sisters in my prayers. Almost every time Paul would write a letter to a church, he would talk of how he often prayed for them. "I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers" (Ephesians 1:16). 

{Show me how to love like You have loved me}

I want so badly to see people the way that God sees them. To look past prejudice and judgement. To show people the same love that I have been showed by God day after day. "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). 

{Break my heart for what breaks Yours}

Compassion. In Matthew, it says that "When {Jesus} saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). Jesus didn't make sure to just spend time with the healthy and the righteous because He knew that "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mark 2:17).  I want to be filled with the compassion that drove Jesus to spend time with the sick, the unrighteous, and the filthy people around Him. 

{Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause}

Every second of everyday, I want to spend bringing glory to God and people closer to Him. There is no other reason to live. "He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned'" (Mark 16:15-16). This was one of the last things Jesus said before ascending into heaven. I take that pretty seriously and I want to make sure to live my life obeying this command. 

{As I walk from earth into eternity}

We only have a short time here on earth to live the life God called us to live. I long to someday hear the words "Well done good and faithful servant". I want to know that I served God all the days of my life and that I lived to bring glory to His name. One of the ways to do this is to live as Christ lived. "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God"(Ephesians 5:1-2).

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees
We're on our knees

Hosanna, Hosanna

Hosanna in the Highest.

{Hosanna by Hillsong United}

Amazing things are about to happen for the kingdom of God and I am so excited to be part of it! "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).  

The best is yet to come.

Becca

Peter {Baby Portraits}

When Peter was born back in January, I was SO excited to get to see him! The night I first saw him, I had a cold, so instead of holding him, I took pictures! It was night, hence the bad lighting. He was too cute to NOT take a picture of! Only a few of them turned out well enough to put on here, but I wanted to show his cuteness! Also, I recently started a photography page on Facebook. Check it out here!

Becca

Watching out for Us

Several years ago, my family was watching a very skittish dog.  She was incredibly sweet, but wanted to be in her own home.  One afternoon, as the mailman was delivering a package to our house, she somehow got out the door and ran for her life not knowing that she very well could be running for her death.  My younger sister and I quickly began running after her.  I could not believe how quickly such a tiny dog could run! She ran down our street and onto another street.  We kept trying to catch up to her, but she was very determined to not get caught. Her home was only a few streets over, but she wasn't running towards that. She was running straight for a very busy road with three lanes of traffic. My little sister screamed and screamed to her to stop. I kept telling her that this was not going to help anything, but she didn't stop... she was desperate to stop this tiny dog that was obliviously running towards death. We got tired very quickly because I don't think either of us had ever run so fast in our lives. Right as she got onto the busy street, she ran along the road in the grass with cars whizzing past her. My sister started crying hysterically and I knew that we could not catch the little dog. Any second, she could dart out in the middle of the street. In those few seconds, I could not figure out what to do. Shield my sister from the horrible death that was about to happen, or try to catch up with the dog.  I certainly didn't want my little sister to run out in the street to try to save her and I was pretty sure she wouldn't but I had never seen her in a situation like this before. The whole time, I had been praying madly that somehow God could help me catch her. Right as the dog was veering towards the street, a car pulled up to the sidewalk. To stop your car on this road is insane. A young lady jumped out of the car and yelled for us to stop chasing her. She told us to corner the dog and while my sister was still crying, we finally caught the dog. With tears of my own welling up in generosity, I thanked the lady profusely and gave her a hug. I don't remember all that I told her, but I know what I was thinking. This lady was amazing to stop on the side of the road to help strangers catch a little dog. She told me that she couldn't watch it happen before her eyes. She hugged both my little sister and I again, and got in her car and drove off. As we walked home, my sister slowly stopped crying and I held the squirming dog very close to me. I thanked God many times that day for answering my prayer and sending me someone to help.

"And this same God that takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:19

What has God been doing for you, lately?

Benihana

For Spring Break this year, my mom and dad surprised us with a trip to a hotel for a night away.  For dinner the first night, we went to a hibachi grill, Benihana.  I would highly recommend it!  I had a blast taking pictures of the amazing "show" they put on for us. 

Becca

 (He was very affectionate! ;)

Right Now...

Seeing (reading): Our Town and The Giver.

Smelling: The oranges that I am peeling.

Tasting: Green Tea.

Hearing: 50 Ways To Say Goodbye by Train (SO GOOD!)

Excited About: The end of school in a few weeks! I can't wait!

Not Excited About: The essay I am about to start writing in a few minutes. 

Is anyone else ready for school to be over? I can't wait for sunshine, hopefully cool-ish days (I doubt it because... I live in Texas), nights downtown with friends, swimming, days spent outside, going to Florida again, and just enjoying the freedom from school. I need it.... 

What are you excited about?

Becca