Comforting Words!

“The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust my name when they call on me, I will answer: I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”

 Psalm 91:14-16

Now if you didn’t read that carefully and absorb every word give it another read……Every word in these verses matter. I don’t know about you but for me, these lines are sooooo comforting. It starts off stating that the Lord is talking, not that anyone else speaking isn’t important but the Lord, King of Kings, The Almighty, The Beginning and the End, Lord of Lords, Creator and many more, you get the point. Our Father is speaking and he’s talking right to us! So listen closely to what he’s telling us.

“…I will rescue those who love me.”

That sounds pretty simple right? Love Him, Okay you can do that, right? Love God like you love your mom and dad, just love Him. That seems easy huh? You love your parents because they have raised you, provided for you and they love you so of course you’re going to love them back. So love God the same way, it’s simple but not that simple. You have known your parents all your life! You know their names, favorite colors, where they work and even their phone numbers. So it makes sense that in order to love God you have to know things about him. In his word he tells us to “Love the Lord with all your heart with all your soul and with your entire mind.” Matthew 22:37 In order to love him with all your heart, soul and mind you have to be filled with his knowledge. He tells us when we love Him he will rescue us, He will be our Prince Charming like the one in Sleeping Beauty.

“…I will protect those who trust my name when they call on me, I will answer: I will be with them in trouble.”

God promises to protect us. Females tend to like the idea of being protected. Let’s just be honest…sometimes we want to pursue a guy because we like the idea of being “protected,” and that okay but there’s more. He tells us that he will protect those who trust in his name, which means trusting God in the good AND the bad! When we turn to God in prayer and talk to him he is always there and promises to be with us in times of trouble. But we have to be willing to communicate in these times. We can’t shut him out or blame him for the hurt, because he never promised it would be easy, but he did promise that he’d always be there to help us through.

“…I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”

This last line is…well AWESOME! He tells us that he will reward us with eternal life in heaven and give us his salvation. That’s pretty legit if you ask me! Haha. Sometime we tend to lose sight on the big picture, the big idea that we are on this earth for one reason and one reason only…to glorify him in all we do. When you are doing the right thing and you know it what God wants yet the world surrounding you is telling you the opposite we tend to second guess our actions and decisions. But God tells us and reminds us that he WILL REWARD THOSE WHO LOVE AND TRUST IN HIS NAME. Keep your eyes fixed on the big picture the Lord has for you and your life.

Xoxoxoxox

Katelynn

STRESSED AT MY MAX.

I was in the middle of a dream about my history test when all of the sudden at 6:00 a.m my alarm went off, “Oh happy day, happy day you’ve washed my sins away!” these where the lyrics I woke to that early morning.  It was time for me to get up and hurry along to school so I wouldn’t be late for workout. I had been up late the night before studying for my college and high school credit class, which I had a big test in the next day. I had spent the previous 3 nights studying for this test and not to mention the stress level was at its max. I was juggling dance practice, cross country practice, school work and my life was SO busy all I wanted to do was…well, sleep. But I had no choice, so I crawled out of bed. I woke up early so I could study for an extra 10 minutes before I left for workout, which I had to be at by 6:30 a.m and be showered and ready to take my exam at 7:20 a.m. I had an eventful morning ahead to say the least and I was EXTREMELY stressed. I hoped into my car, which I was expecting to be silent because without hooking my phone up it doesn’t play music but much to my surprise the radio was on. The second I turned my car on and the song “Stronger” by Mandisa had just started. I was in shock, there was NO way that I had turned my radio on. I pulled out of my drive way and all the way to school I was in shock, it was a total God thing, he was in my life reminding me that he’s there for me. The lyrics to the song where so comforting. When I arrived at school I took a moment to thank God for reminding me of his love and comfort in a prayer. When I got out of my car I was no longer stressed or worried, I had casted all my nerves upon the Lord and he promised to watch over me.  My day went well from then on and I even made a 92 on my test.

What’s most important in your life? School activities, family, friends, boys, God or your cell phone? Most typical teens would say one of those things listed. But what is actually most important to you? How can you determine what you value the most? Well, the answers simple, it’s what you spend the most time doing or thinking about. If you’re anything like me your daily life consist of many different activities, so your mind is constantly thinking about what has to be done next. In our busy lives sometimes we forget to leave time for the one that matters most, God. Doing a devotional, reading the word and talking to God daily takes a lot of discipline especially as a teenager, we tend to get wrapped up in our own lives that we leave God behind, when really he should be the one in front leading us. But it can be done. I encourage you to discipline yourself into a daily routine of talking to the Lord, it doesn’t matter where you are or what time of day it is, just make it happen. It’s a constant struggle for me, it’s hard at night to put your phone down and open the bible but I pray that you build that relationship with the Lord and grow with him daily. It makes life so much less stressful to have someone to rely on, and after all He wants you to cast all your worries upon him. So I challenge you to make God the most important thing in your life by spending time with himJ

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox Katelynn!

P.S

 Here a link to the song if you want to take a listen! J

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrgNYhwu5Sw

Accepting Love

             Love is more than a feeling. Love is more than a thought. Love is more than a hug. Love is more than a kiss. Love is more than a kind word. Love it more than a life style.  Love is a gift, more than just a normal gift given or received on a special day like a birthday or Christmas, love is a gift given to us by our amazing Creator. Love is specially created but it can’t really be described. The way to describe it is simply just the way it makes you feel and the things it makes you do and say. Love is the greatest creation God gave to us. He wants us to share this amazing feeling with other individuals. God tells us in Matthew 22:37–39, “you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” God commands us to love him, love one another, and most importantly share his love for us with others!

God has blessed me with people to love. The thought of love used to scare me. Not the idea of loving a family member or loving a pet, but actually loving someone who isn’t “stuck with me,” that’s what I always tell my family. See my parents could leave me but not nearly as easy as a best friend or a boyfriend. I didn’t like that thought, call me crazy but the idea of loving someone who could possibly not love me back or could betray me wasn’t the easiest thing to process and accept. Most people throw the word around like it’s not a big deal. People would say they loved one another one second and then minutes later turn around and talk smack behind their backs. The word is over used and slowly losing its special meaning. That was my perspective on love.

         When I got a boyfriend my perspective didn’t really change too much. I was still just as scared if not even more! It was more relevant than before. This man could potentially “love me.” How could any person love me after only knowing me for a short time? My parents fell in love with me the second I was born. They’ve loved me all my life, but how could someone just step in my life so sudden and totally love me? Actually love me flaws and all? I had to step back and look at the big picture. God loves me. All of me imperfections and perfections! He died for me because he loved me. That love isn’t something to be scared of. That love is something you should be thriving to find.

My perspective slowly started to drift. My feelings for my boyfriend started to grow. Through hard times he was there supporting me. Through good times he was there laughing with me. Through scary times he was there comforting me. He was showing the kind of love that God shows me on a daily basis. I love this man. All of him, imperfections and all! I loved the way he made me feel and things he believed in. I loved the morals he had and how much stronger he pushed me to be. Its not very often that girls find men at a young age that respect their boundaries.I was falling in love with this boy. Believe it or not he claimed to love me to! I was in love, and I was slowly overcoming my fear. Crazy how things work out.

        God wants you to love other and,to grow with them in a spiritual way. God places people in our lives to teach us that love is ok. Risking the chance of being hurt is worth it. God sending His son who he loved to die for us was worth it. God never said the journey on this earth would be painless, he never promised to remove all painful situations from our lives. One thing he did promise was to always love us. Gods plan for us was the RIGHT one because no one knows us better than the one who created us. He places people in our lives along the way to help us become stronger to encourage each other to make a difference. He places people in our lives that we’re suppose to love. Love isn’t something to be taken lightly but love isn’t something that should be hidden or feared either. Love shouldn’t be gone unsaid; what if God’s love had gone unsaid it would have been a disaster. So don't let your love go unsaid either. It’s worth the risk of getting hurt because you're also running the chance of experiencing so many more amazing opportunities and feelings that God has created. Love is a gift given to us from God. Dont be scared to show the love God has for you to others. You never know what kind of impact you could leave.

xoxoxox
Katelynn