trust...the hard stuff...

Psalm 2:12b-...Blessed are all they that out their trust in Him.

Trust is such a hard thing sometimes.  Once it is broken it can be even harder to gain back or to give away.  So many times that can even affect our relationship with God.  We find ourselves giving things over to Him and trusting Him and if we aren't careful we often find ourselves picking those very same things back up again.  We go from trusting God to trusting ourselves in a matter of minutes.  We have to remember that God is not like man, He will not let us down like others have done.  People will always disappoint you, but God never will.  Even those times that seem horrible and we don't understand why He let things happen, He is still in control and we have to remember that He has our very best at heart.  Sometimes that is tough to remember.  I know for myself that is a hard concept to grasp sometimes. 

One area that can be hard sometimes is relationships.  You know we have all been there...you surrender that area of your life over to God and promise that you will wait for His best and trust Him to bring the right guy in His timing, then when it doesn't happen right away the doubts start creeping in.  You start second guessing your decision.  You watch your worldly (or sometimes Christian) friends go from guy to guy to guy and they seem happy.  You start thinking that this whole waiting thing is ridiculous.  I mean how can you honestly expect God to bring someone to you unless you are out making yourself available.  Then you start thinking about it more and more and you picture yourself in your 30's living in a small room at your parents house still waiting for prince charming to come or if you are married you picture it to this guy who is not good looking at all, has a personality to match and you can't stand being around him!  This is how Satan works, as soon as you surrender something to God and trust Him with it Satan moves in with the doubts and it all snowballs from there.  Pretty soon you are miles from where you started and you are 100% trusting yourself instead of God.

We need to remember that God always has our best at heart.  Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the thoughts I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace , and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  So the next time Satan starts to get in your head and cause doubts and your thoughts start wandering to the "what ifs" remember that verse.  God wants what is best for you.  What is best for you is to focus on your relationship with your ultimate Prince, Jesus Christ.  Where are you placing your trust?  Are there things that you need to surrender to Him and completely trust Him?? 

Always in my prayers,
Jessica

Follow Your Heart???

Proverbs 28:26-He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

You have heard people say "follow your heart".  That is the worst advice that you can give someone.  You are thinking "wait a minutes, we hear that all the time in the movies and in life.  How can it be such bad advice?"  Well let's look at what the Bible has to say.  The Bible describes the heart as being deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).  Instead of telling people to follow their heart we should be encouraging them to follow God.  Don't trust your heart or your emotions, trust God.  Stop and think about it, your emotions change, they come and go, but God will always remain faithful!  He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).  He will never change.  Why would you base important decisions, like maybe who to marry or start a relationship with, based on what your heart tells you?  Satan will use emotions to distract us or deceive us from following after God and His will for our lives.  If you are following your heart then you may be playing right into that and that is dangerous territory.  But if you follow after God then you will never go wrong.  Put Him first, follow after Him, and allow Him to guide you.  Who or what are you following after today?  What do you use to base your decisions on?

Always in my prayers,
Jessica

Pursuing your Prince

As I am sitting here listening to praise and worship music a thought crosses my mind...as I look back over the last few years, I realize the times that I have been truly content are the times that I am solely pursuing Christ and growing my relationship with Him.  A relationship with Christ is like other relationships, in that in order for it to grow you have to put time into it.  So many times people get saved and then are content with that, they stop just with that.  That is a very sad place to be because there is so much more.  When you really focus on Him and develop an intimate relationship with Him there is so much peace and contentment.  When I am focused on Him, seeking after Him, and pursuing my Prince that is when I find contentment.  That is when I find peace.  That is when I find happiness.

So many teens today are trying to find that in relationships, sex, alcohol, drugs, and money, anything except Christ.  They are searching everywhere and running to everything except to the One that they need to run to.  Jesus is a gentleman and won’t force Himself on anyone; He is waiting for you to come to Him.

Girls, you look to guys and think that if you can find that one guy then you will be happy and you will be complete.  That will never happen because without Christ you are incomplete and so is the guy.  Two incomplete people do not make one complete relationship.  Find your Prince in Christ first, then when He brings you the right, godly, young man that is when you will have a complete relationship as long as Christ is in the center.  Don’t be deceived by the world saying that you need a guy to be complete or that you need a guy to be someone.  You don’t, you need Christ.  Seek out your True Prince and find Him.  He is waiting for you…will you come to Him today?

Always in my prayers,
Jessica

welcome :)

Hey girls,

I prayed about starting this blog and this is something that I felt the Lord leading me to do. I want to use this blog to encourage you in your walk with the Lord. And for those of you who do not know the Lord as your Savior yet then I want to encourage you to continue to seek Him and allow Him to reveal Himself to you. I have such a passion for purity and I have a desire not just to live a pure life but also to encourage you as well to live a life of purity for Jesus Christ. Living a life of purity in today's culture is extremely difficult, but not impossible. I know what it is like to grow up in a single parent home, so I know the challenges that girls face in this culture. I know what it is like to grow up without a dad, I want to help you learn to look to your Heavenly Father. I want anyone to feel free to comment and ask questions.

Always in my prayers,
Jessica