Storms

I just found out about the tsunami that has devastated Japan, Hawaii and possibly other places as well. My heart is breaking for these people. The little children, now orphans. The parents who are now childless. The unbelievers.

I have never, nor will ever, claim to understand God. He revealed parts of Himself to me and completely turned my world, my heart, and faith upside down....for the better. I fully trust Him because He will never let me fall.

That doesn't mean everything in my life will always be perfect. In fact, Jesus promises His children that there will be troubles and Christians will be persecuted. (John 16:33). If anyone tells you to follow Jesus and suddenly your life will be picture perfect, RUN. Because that is a lie straight from the pit of hell.

I was recently at a college ministry where the speaker likened this to marriage. Marriage is full of ups and downs. You WILL fight, and WILL get mad at each other. But you marry that person, fully knowing all of this because that person is better. They are worth all fights, sleepless nights and heartache. They are worth fighting for and worth loving. So is Jesus. His love is worth all the persecution. His love is better than all the heartaches. His love is BETTER than everything you love now.

God allows painful things to happen in our lives. I am studying to be a teacher and one my professors continually tells us that every activity has to have a purpose. The point of school is to learn, not have the children do busy work like 500 worksheets. Sometimes teachers plan activities that have a purpose, but only the teacher knows what the purpose is.

God is our perfect teacher and He doesn't let anything touch without His consent. Even we won't like everything that He allows in our life, such as really hard stuff, like tsunamis, death and sickness...there is a GOOD purpose in it. If I hadn't of gone through some of things that broke my heart, I wouldn't be as close to God. I wouldn't be exposed to some of His attributes as clearly.

God's word clearly tells us that He has a good plan for us:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11

This is one of the most recognizable verses in scripture. But no one ever talks about the verse that comes right before it:

"This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. " - Jeremiah 29:10

God does have a good and perfect plan. But it WILL NOT come without hard things. BUT, "I will bring you home again"

This video is one of my favorite videos of all times. I have watched it so many times I almost have it memorized. Watch and learn more about who God is. You will be blessed!

Huge love and prayers,
Maria

Lies

Everybody has bad days. It's a natural part of life. But for women, one of the most crushing things is feeling like no one loves them.

So we start playing the comparison game to feel better. Don't give me that innocent look. I know you've done it. We all have. Myself included.

It generally looks like this:

"Well, I'm not as whiny as she is" or "She doesn't have a boyfriend and I do, so I'm better than her" or "At least I have sense of style".

Its a vicious cycle that leaves you worn out and not feeling better. Or if it does make you feel better, it's only temporary.

So how do we fix these terrible thoughts; lies from Satan?

Lies such as:
- I'm not important
- people like so and so better than they like me
- if i died no one would care
- No one could ever love me, I'm to ________ (fill in your fault)
- I push everyone close to me away
- I have no friends
- I'm ______ (age) and am still not married. It's probably because I'm a horrible person.
- I'm not beautiful

I could go on for days, but I'm sensing you get the idea.

The only way to get rid of a lie is replace it with truth. If you don't feel important, ask God what He thinks of you. Look in His word. Find a verse that talks specifically about what you struggle with and memorize. When that pesky little lie sneaks up on you, smack it in the face with truth.

Verses:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." Eph 2:4-5

"Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." - Psalm 45:11

There are so many more verses I could show y'all. Search God's word, you'll find all you need.

Another thing I find helpful when destructive thoughts come around is writing a list. I'm kinda a freak about making lists. I don't feel like anything is official until its written down. One day, I was feeling down because I didn't think I was pretty. I know what God thinks about me and decided I didn't want to feel mopey any more. So I made a list of 20 physical things that I LIKE about myself. I read it over and over until I started to believe it. This may sound conceited, but knowing who you are in Christ and believing it is not. He made you beautiful, don't be afraid of that.

I also made a list of 20 things that God has blessed me with in my life. I included my family, friends and This took me less than 5 mins. When you feel alone or unloved, whip out your bible verses and lists.

Huge love and lists,

Maria

Pure

"When Christ comes into our lives, He REMOVES OUR GUILT and takes away our fears. He gives a love for others and a NEW PURPOSE in life. Like a spring of pure water, God's peace in our hearts brings CLEANSING and refreshment to our minds and bodies" - my Billy Graham calendar. Woah.

That's the hope we have in Jesus. Billy Graham is a smart man.