Story Time about God’s Goodness

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This is going to be a personal God experience random thought letter so bear with me. I will be sharing some God moments that have happened during the past week or so.

God. Is. Good.

God is so good. Plain and simple. It is hard to find words to describe how good, wonderful, and awesome He is. God is truly INDESCRIBABLE. This verse has become one of my favorites:

Ephesians 3:20, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably

more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at

work within us" (NIV)

One of the reasons I love this verse so much is because I am seeing it play out in my daily life. It is amazing. Again and again I see God show up and blow my mind. He brings me to tears almost every day (or really close). Christ is working in my life and it is THE COOLEST thing that has ever happened to me.

Story time! Just last week I was on my way to get ready for prom when my mom gets the mail. A few moments later I find out that I won a scholarship. Yah! Praise God. It was such a surprise and joy to know that my hard work was paying off.

A few days later I was at work and taking a small break. I looked down at my phone for a moment and saw that I had won another scholarship. This one was larger than the other one and had required a lot more work. I was literally blown away. I broke out in tears of joy. I was overwhelmed.

One of my goals is to not go into debt while in college. These scholarships are an answer to many prayers. And I received two of them not simply one, which would have been good enough for me. But I guess God saw fit to bless me in this way.

I look back now and see how His timing for all of this was completely perfect. I had applied for several scholarships a few months ago and was now waiting. I waited some more and then learned that I did not receive a couple of them. That was kind of discouraging and I was close to just giving up the idea of receiving any when suddenly, out of nowhere, God comes and blesses my world.

So, that is the end of my little story. But my lesson to you all is: never give up. God is a good and He has so much planned for your life. He wants to bless you beyond your wildest dreams. Let Him be God and run your show. He will do a wayyy better job than you could ever do.

/ He is a Good God /

Blessings,

Gracie

Perfect Life? Perfect Senior Prom?

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Life is beautiful. Life is not always easy. Life is not always about you. Life is about serving. Life is about being a good friend. Life is about dancing. Life is about enjoying the moment. Life is about laughing. Life is about being crazy. Life is about crying (only occasionally). Life is about taking chances. Life is about relying on God. Life is about faith. Life is about adventure.

Life is about so much. This is life on a smaller scale. But in the big picture. . . What is your life about?

Is it about success? Fame? Money? Goals? Family or friends? Just having a good time? Relationships? Food? God? Faith?

It may be one or two of those things. It may be all of them or none.  Each individual is different. There seems to be a variety of different answers and explanations. Whatever it is that we are seeking in life we want it to be fulfilling and make our lives more perfect. Right?

Well, I am here to tell you today that your life is not perfect and it will never be completely perfect, but that is OKAY because GOD IS PERFECT and HE IS IN CONTROL. He knows the plan for me (and for you) and that should be enough. We just need to live each day with the mindset of honoring God and being chill with whatever circumstances He brings our way.

After senior prom two nights ago it hit me how perfect and imperfect that night was. It is an accurate example of how the rest of my life feels right now. It was a beautiful night full of glamor, pictures, crazy dance moves, yummy food and awesome friends. It was wonderful. But it was nowhere close to perfect. I had friends who got engaged (that part was perfect). And I had other friends who were hurting and confused that night.

Was it a good night? Definitely. Best (and last *tear*) prom ever. However it was a complicated night. A lot happened. It is just how each day of my life goes and I am so thankful for both the happy and bit more challenging moments. I learned and grew from both of them as I do every day.

Life is about perspective and response. The saying that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it is SO TRUE. It is taking those breathing taking good and bad moments and choosing to look at them positively. It is not discarding the negative elements but you have a choice to be a conqueror. God is always there to hold your tears, to give you comfort and strength-- He helps you truly conquer. He is also always there to rejoice with you. He is with you through thick and thin— confusing times and beautiful moments. He is the rock that does not move.

Whatever your life is about it should revolve around Christ. Without Him in my life, personally, I would literally go crazy. Throughout the day I am constantly thanking Him for the blessings, the special moments, and the difficult times. I am asking for strength. I am seeing His council. I am communicating with Him daily and it helps me to see more clearly the choices I have and it brings clarity to my life mission.

My life is the farthest thing from perfect. I am okay with that. I am not striving for a perfect life. I am striving for a Christ centered, godly life that brings honor and glory to my Creator.

Whatever stuff you are going through—the happy and the sad, let God be a part of it. I am so thankful for each and every trial He has given me in just this past week. Sure they were hard days to overcome, but with God they were (and are) so much bigger, better, and more rewarding than trying to do it on my own.

Do not be a perfectionist. Be a Christ follower. Be a joy (& peace) seeker. Be a perspective changer. Choose positive responses. Choose the imperfect life.

Blessings,

~Gracie

Joy vs. Happiness

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CRAZY is a fairly accurately word that sums up my life these past few weeks.

The weird thing is that even though every day I wake up with a list the size of my textbook pages to do that day and I run around throughout the day like a chicken with its head cut off, I am not constantly feeling “STRESSED OUT”. I simply feel busy.

It is hard to explain but I have concluded that deep down I have peace about my current situation in life. I still have my moments but during the midst of all the craziness I, myself, am not going crazy.

It is one of the best things I have ever have experienced—true peace and joy with all of life. I want to share some of that journey with you.

4 Things About My Journey of Finding TRUE JOY IN LIFE:

1) JOY is Different Than Happiness

            Happiness is a mood that can come and fade in an instant. One moment crying and the next laughing (this happens often to me— welcome to the world of emotional females). Happiness is a feeling. It is a surface-y thing that we say when we feel good about something or someone.

            Joy on the other hand is deep. Joy is vast. Joy is “harder” to obtain. It is greater. Joy is feeling happy, content, and peaceful about all of life. Deep down it is knowing that someone has our back and we are able to smile through the struggles and trials.

2) JOY is Way Better Than Happiness

Now I am not saying that happiness is a bad thing. However, when we are searching for things in life that only make us happy we miss the true joy that we can experience through each and every stage of life.

Many times we end up seeking happiness instead of joy. We find the things in life that make us happy and pursue them or go around telling people how happy they make us feel. I do the exact same thing. I have a tendency to say, “Oh my goodness, that makes me really happy,” a lot. And while I am happy at that moment for whatever reason it is merely happiness and not true joy I found.

--A smile can equal happiness but a heart, mind, and body that is smiling equals joy--

3) Finding True JOY

            How we achieve this true joy is not by running around smiling all the time and telling people that we have joy in our hearts. While positivity in life helps, true joy is found in Christ. He is the only one that can completely satisfy our heart, mind and soul.

            Our comfort should come only from Him and not in the “other things in life that make us happy” because sooner or later those things will disappear. And if our identity and self-worth was found in those things, one day we will be left feeling empty and alone.

True joy lies in searching the Word (the Bible) for our contentment. During the hard days it is choosing to rely on His strength and not our own. It is choosing to believe the truth and to not let discouraging lies creep their way into our thoughts.

James talks about joy and trials often and this is one of my favorite passages because it is encouraging and hopeful (even though I have only recently really understood it):

James 1:2-3, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” (NASAB)

4) How to Maintain True Joy

This is the part of joy that I have been experiencing lately (James 1:2-3). Through each and every incoming and ongoing life thing that is happening I am finding this sense of stability. It is this deep down, God given, emotion of security, peace, and joy.

Because of this, I have been able to truly enjoy the moment without being worried about the outcome of the next. I have been able to smile through the tears, the momentary pain, the frustration, and the struggles that life brings my way. I have leaped off of my self-propelled, unsuccessful, fishing boat and jump onto His unsinkable ship.

I am trusting that GODS’ GOT THIS.

The only way I am able to do this is through constant prayer. If we want a life full of joy, we need Christ to remain at the center. We need to thank Him for the many blessings we have. We need to boldly ask for strength to endure. Reading His scripture often and being reminded of His promises during the midst of adversity is what will keep joy and peace in our hearts.

Learning to trust God with everything in life is one of the hardest things we will ever do. Even though we are Christians, we still want to be the headliner and the star. We value our pride. We may experience some happiness during those times but they will come and go quickly.

If we are rooted in Christ, actively seeking His face each day, keeping faith in His timing, and staying humble by accepting instruction, we will experience and be able to maintain true joy with life. We will feel free because we cannot control everything and now we know it.

"I COULD PLAY THE BACKGROUND" --Lecrae. And let God "STEAL MY SHOW"-- Toby Mac. These are two of my favorite songs. They point to being content with letting God take over. When we see God do something amazing or have a "God moment" life becomes that much sweeter. We can see Him working and doing incredible things through us. It is so much better than observing our own, self-make accomplishments that are so, so tiny and do not come close to being compared to what God can do and is doing in our lives each and every day.

Finally, true joy is saying (one of my favorite quotes from Facing the Giants): “Lord, I will still love you.” No matter what happens we have to learn to become content (having joy and peace) with where we are at, who we are with, what we are doing, while actively trusting the God we cannot see to do the things that are out of our control.

Blessings,

~Gracie

An Open Letter To Fellow Seniors About S. T. R. E. S. S.

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- Take time to BE STILL -

I wake up every morning and the first thing that comes into my mind is “Oh my gosh! I have so much to do today!” Seconds after my brain engages I am already overwhelmed by the day’s tasks.

As seniors whether you are in high school or college I think it is safe to say that we all WANT TO BE DONE WITH SCHOOL. We are at this point, however there are still several unknowns.

How can I go to class, finish homework, and go work for 5 hours tonight and still be sane? What will I do after graduation? What college will I go to? What job will I get?

Right now life is really overwhelming for me in high school. I have picked a college (thank God) but not a major yet. Each day someone asks me about it and I struggle to give them the exact same answer each day without arrive to a permanent decision.

Balance in life is also difficult. There are tests to study for, papers to write, finals are looming in the horizon. Outside of homework, work also takes up a lot time and energy as well as planning the graduation party—decorations, invitations, house preparations, food—you name it.

“Stress” seems to find its way into each area of my daily life and I struggle to keep it under control.

Here are 6 things I have done to help myself not become a stressful freak who has daily mental breakdowns:

> S. top stressing. Seek God

            God give us these "stressful" times in our lives when we want to worry so that we can either turn into a ball of stress OR turn our focus to Christ and rely on Him to get us through. He wants us to stop, pray, and seek His face through our emotional worries and challenges. Here is one of my favorite Bible verses that talks about stress, anxiety and worries:

Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (NASAB)

Once we are able to get our minds off of our problems we can put our focus on Christ, serving Him and serving others. It opens our eyes to the opportunities around us to be selfless servants for Christ and His kingdom. That should be our true life goal.

> T. ake a Breath

            After we decide to give our worries over to God, we just need to take a moment, a day, or even an hour in the afternoon to just breathe. Get somewhere quiet, in an open space and pray for strength. Go away from the distractions.

            You may think that you have “too much to do” to be able to take this time away, but the truth is you cannot work forever. You have to stop at some point and take a moment to be still. Relax at some point today— even if it is just for a few moments while driving I your car.


> R. emember Your Mission

            Do not forget who you are, where you are and what you are doing. Whatever the answer to those questions are— that is your mission. Sometimes we get too wrapped up into "these things" that need to be done (the things we are “stressing out” about) and we miss the big picture of what is really going on.

           Christ is molding and shaping us to be more like Him and sometimes it is a bumpy road. The small things in life are important but do not blow them out of proportion and make them heavier or larger than they need to be.

> S. ingle Steps Forward

            We cannot just remember what we are supposed to be doing but we need to act on our knowledge. This can be scary. It will require faith because we cannot do it on our own strength. We need Christ and His might behind us to keep us upright. But first, we have to jump out in faith that He has still got a hold of us and plunge into the unknown with only our faith in Him to hold on to.

This is a huge step forward, but once we get over the first hump the other steps will become easier to step into. Our goal is to follow Christ in faith while living a stress-free.

> S. tay Calm and Focused

            Consistency is key. Just because we have conquered our emotions in one situation does not mean they will never come back. More trials may await and the only way we will overcome them is through faith and stubbornness. We have to fight to keep a positive, Christ centered, selfless mindset.

Remember that “stressing” or getting worked up about things will not help your situation one bit. It will only emotionally, physically and spiritually drain you. Nothing profitable will ever come from worrying over something, or someone. It is simply not worth it.

Whenever you want to worry over details, stress out about a situation or get anxious with someone, TAKE A MOMENT TO:

Stop & Seek God
Take a Breath
Remember Your Mission
&
Stay Calm and Focused

Blessings,

~Gracie