my life is in the hands of the Maker of Heaven.

You can love us more in a moment
Than other lovers could in a lifetime
So we’re gonna go where no one’s gone before
We’re gonna do what no one’s done before
We will be laid-down lovers

I’ve been meaning to write a really long, eloquent post about complacency in time with God for a while, but I’m just going to tell it like it is.

Nothing compares to spending time in God’s presence and learning from the Word of God.

Not blogging about Him, not talking about Him, not meaning to pray and running out of time in the day. Nothing. 

You’re only cheating yourself by avoiding it. You’re only punishing yourself by settling for cheap imitations. There is no comparison.

I’m going to start practicing what I preach and actually spending time with God. Not whispering a rushed prayer before bed and reading a Psalm to alleviate my guilty conscience. I’m talking about getting into the secret place and really getting to know Him. I want to cultivate true intimacy.

I dare you to do the same.

• I am seeing KIM WALKER-SMITH tomorrow and Friday!
• You guys don’t know how exciting this is for me.
• I’ve literally been waiting to see her since 2008.
• I’m working on a really cool story for my current internship. I typically hate business news, but this story focuses on an awesome concept.
• I have three interviews next week about future internships! Yay!
• Today marks five months with this boy. :)

I was talking to my boyfriend about lukewarm Christianity and the state of the American church, and he said this:

“Jesus didn’t die for you to follow a part of the Gospel.”

We cannot have God’s love without God’s judgment. It is that simple. Yes, God loves you and yes, Jesus died for you. No one is disputing that. Still, we cannot forget that He is perfect and holy. He is an all-consuming fire. 

But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1

I know a lot of teenagers who are all about God’s unconditional love and use it as an excuse to live in sin. “God will always forgive me, right?”

Once you accept Christ, you are called to holiness. There is no other way. You are cheapening the beauty of the Gospel if you are using it as your license-to-sin card.

Posting about how much you want abortion to be outlawed sounds great in theory, but how does that translate into real life?

Before Roe v. Wade legalized abortion, women still had abortions. It was simply illegal and a lot more dangerous.

If abortion were made illegal tomorrow, there would still be women who would have abortions. Making it illegal would not eliminate the issue. It would just be a lot more shady and likely jeopardize women’s health.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m pro-life in every sense of the word. At the same time, I’ve realized that abortion being in law books isn’t the problem. If anything, pray for hearts to turn towards God.

Better yet, put down your picket signs for a bit and go love the women who are considering abortion or have already gone through with it. That’s the only way we’ll see change. 

Valentine’s Day marks four months since Vagner asked me to be his girlfriend. Being in a Godly relationship is a huge blessing. Still, there’s a lot of work that goes into it. I see a lot of girls blogging about how they want a guy who loves Jesus, and that’s awesome. I just want to clear a few things up.

» Your boyfriend cannot (and will not) complete you. If you’re dealing with low self-esteem, a relationship won’t fix that. If you’re depressed, a relationship won’t fix that. If you’re stuck in sin, a relationship won’t fix that. A significant other may encourage you and pray for you, but the only one who can heal your heart is Jesus. Don’t become disillusioned.

» You must be focused on Christ. You cannot have a Christ-centered relationship if you are not focused on Him. I’m not saying that you have to be perfect, since that’s unrealistic. Yes, you’ll still make mistakes. Who doesn’t? But at the end of the day, who are you really worshiping? If you start to care about your significant other more than you care about your relationship with God, it’ll become idolatry. Plain and simple.

» God makes everything work together in His time. Do not rush things. Don’t become so eager for someone to cuddle with that you lose focus of God’s timeline for your life. If I were doing things my way, I would have started dating my boyfriend a year and a half ago. Thank God I wasn’t. Waiting until we were both ready spiritually has been an amazing thing. God will bless your obedience.

Unless you’re called to celibacy, God really does have someone out there for you. Just remember - it isn’t all flowers and chocolate and mushy text messages. The pure definition of love is found by looking at the cross. God’s love for you will always be more significant than anything that another human can offer.

Rejoice in that and everything else will come together in perfect time.

Today, I agree with Your heart.

I was made in Your image.
I am beautiful.
I am lovely.
I was made for glory.