“Trials and troubles may seem to overwhelm you. They cannot do more than work my will, and that will you have said is your will. Do you see that you cannot be destroyed? From now a new life is opening out before you. Yours to enter into the kingdom I have prepared for you. The Sunlight of my presence is on your paths. Trust and go forward unafraid. My Grace is sufficient for all your needs.”

-A.J. Russell, God Calling

Some of you may really be struggling right now.  Maybe you are going through a break-up.  Or struggling with a severe illness.  Or having to hear your parents fight.  Or mourning over the loss of a loved one.

During my first year of university I went through a rough break-up, which was followed by the death of my best friend in a car accident 2 months later.  A year of darkness followed.  I remember hating waking up every morning because the reality would wash over me like a torrent.  My struggle can be summed up in one of my journal entries from that year:

“God, I feel like I’m drowning. Drowning in pain, confusion, doubts, and anger. The storm is raging against me, all around me, and I am so tired. I just want to give up. Relationships are not worth it because they all just end. God, where the hell are you? Why are you pounding me? JUST STOP IT - I am so tired - I can’t live like this. Please just DO something. You are so distant.”

I remember having the choice to either go through my pain with God, or to shake my fist and do it by my own strength. I chose to go through it with Him, and looking back I see how closely He held me through it all.

If a crisis in your life has brought you to a crossroads, I encourage you to walk through it with God.  He is not afraid of your confusion, anger, bitterness, or resentment.  He loves it when you are real and he loves you even when you don’t have energy to say or do anything.  Rest in Him, and he will give you peace.

Michelle

I sat down to dinner with my 77 year old Grandmother the other night, who watches t.v religiously. The popular reality t.v. show “The Bachelor” somehow became the focus of our conversation. She filled me in on the latest drama. It was down  to the finale . Two girls remained out of the original 25. Tonight was the night the bachelor would pick the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Meanwhile, the rejected girl returns to her normal life -like the other 23 contestants- devastated and heart broken. DRAMA!!!!!! I left the table feeling distraught thinking … why would a girl do that to herself?

Girls have gone  to great lengths to find love. In this day and age we are encouraged to put ourselves out there. Oftentimes we do. Hoping all along that we’ll be noticed and chosen to be the recipient of a man’s attention and affection. We search for love with reckless abandon, giving our heart to undeserving candidates. Then we are left to deal with the consequences.

We are so quick to give away the very thing that gives us life . . . our heart. It is the core to everything we are - physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Physically- it keeps us living. Spiritually- it is the place the Holy Spirit dwells. Emotionally- it is where passions are birthed, joy or anger is felt, and desires are cultivated. Girls, our hearts are the most valuable thing we have. Proverbs 4:23 verifies this when it says ” Above anything else guard your heart, for it is the source of life.‘ It is time we stop using our hearts as tools to bargain with, and toys to be played with.  It is most valuable thing you will ever possess.  GUARD IT. Keep careful watch as to who/ what has access to it, and influence over it!

Jessica

I really struggle with praying sometimes.  Often I end up mumbling a little prayer before I write an exam or essay, or quickly mention the name of a sick friend or family member as I pray over my meal.  But when was the last time I intentionally sat down and really prayed for people in my life?

If this resonates with you, I’d like to share and idea that I had in highschool.

1)    Take a piece of paper and cut it into small pieces.

2)    Write a name of a person you know on each piece of paper. Keep writing down names until you can’t think of any more.  Write down ANYONE who comes into your mind, whether its your close friend, your kindergarten teacher, or the bus driver whose name you don’t even know.  This will take you a while…you will be surprised at how many people come to mind!
3)    Find a container and put all the slips of paper into it.  Establish a time when you can sit down and pray. Draw out the slips one-by-one and pray for the person on that slip of paper.

Girls, this rocked my prayer life! Every time I would look at the name on the slip I had picked, I would get so excited about praying for them.  I would pray that God would give me the discernment to pray for them in a way that they really needed that day, and all of a sudden I felt like I was more interested in their lives and willing to invest into them more.  I would trust that God would guide my hand to pick the slips that really needed prayer that day, and so often I would find out that in fact my prayer had been answered in a person’s life.

So if you are struggling with praying for others, I encourage you to give this a try.  Have fun!

Michelle

Years ago a wise person in my life described the word busy with a catchy little acronym…

Bound
Under
Satan’s
Yoke.

We live in a society that focus’ on production and increase. We are constantly on the go working towards bigger and better things. There is always something, or someone that demands our time… and our schedules naturally fill up.

There is nothing wrong with being busy - in fact the Bible has a whole lot to say against laziness. But if we’re not careful, business can take over our lives. It is then we are left running around distracted with so many things to do. Being so caught up, we forget the One who we are suppose to be living for.  The question is… “what are you busying yourself with?”

Time is the most valuable thing you have. How are you using it? Are you living with God as the Schedule-er, or are you scheduling Him into your already planned life?

Jess

Hi Friends!  This week has been insane with mid-terms, work and starting into term papers…sometimes I wonder if I’m living through it, or just kind of floating along on top while someone else lives my life!  Here’s what I’ve been chewing on this week.

Accountability…do you have it in your life?  If not, find some!  Last semester, I allowed busyness to exclude several mentors and close friends from my life.  It was hands down one of the worst semesters of my life, as far as spiritual growth goes.   This semester, I made it one of my new year’s resolutions that not only was I going to prioritize time for those people to be in my life, but I was also going to choose two or three of them to be completely and totally honest with in every area of my life.

As I have allowed myself to spend quality time with these ladies and share openly with them, I have found that three main benefits have come out of it.

1.   Our relationships are deeper. As ladies of all ages often express a lack of community to me and how much they miss it, I have come to realize how beautiful and enriching it is to have true community.  Not just ladies to drink tea with, but ladies to share LIFE with.

2.    There has been healing in my life. Often times when events of the past hurt us, we go cover the pain and repress the memories so that we don’t have to deal with it.  I was walking through life thinking I had dealt with most of the issues of the past and yet as I started talking to my “big sister”  she was able to point out behaviors and beliefs in my life that are still very much a result of past hurts.  I’ll never forget her telling me that my life is very much like a chronic illness (and I think this can be said of all of us), we walk around in pain…but the more pain we are in, the less we recognize it and the more we just accept it.  It is only when true healing comes that we are fully aware of how much the pain was holding us back.

3.    Though the temptation to sin still pops up on a daily basis, I find that it is much easier to resist it. It doesn’t mean that I’m perfect now, or that I no longer sin.  However, knowing that I am going be talking with someone I love about my actions has stopped me from a lot of wrong.  Whether it is thoughts, entering relationships I shouldn’t be in, or that little white lie.  It’s hard to confess our sin to one another and no one wants to confess more than absolutely necessary!!!

So where are you at?  Who is there that you can have a completely open relationship in order that you might grow and find freedom in your walk with Christ?

Andrea