One thing for sure: There's MORE.
what does that mean?
Many times, I see young people, as well as myself, sometimes get stuck just going through the motions of life. I see them get lost in the shallowness of the world, because they mistake it for something eternally deep that will only get them transient satisfaction. It's very easy to get bombarded by the chaos of the world. I know it's easy for us to get lost in all of this madness because sometimes we go through an identity crisis. Many adults may say or think that young people have no clue what it's like to go through an identity crisis or that we're still young and we don't know what we're feeling or thinking. Maybe sometimes, that statement is true, but for A LOT of us out there, we know exactly what we're feeling and thinking and many times we feel like our backs have been pushed against the wall. We end up not knowing which way to turn, so we choose to go down a path that feels good, a path that may seem easiest, but in reality just harms us and doesn't help us for our future.
Before I go on, I just want to state that if anyone who is reading this is going through a time or season where they feel like they have no idea who they are. They feel like they don't know what there life is for or where they are headed. I just want to say that...
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1.) You are a child of God
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1
This might sound cliche but we are made in God's image. God knew you before your parents knew you. He was the one that formed you in the womb. You came from the Most High God. He is your Father. God blessed your parents with you as a gift and a blessing to take care of, but ultimately, we all belong to God...our Heavenly Father. Whenever Satan tries to get to you and tries to tell you that you're nothing, that you're nobody, you just look up to heaven and proclaim that you are a child of God and that God has a perfect will for you that will not harm you but to prosper you. Never forget that you come from the Lord. Don't let anyone ever think that you're anything less than heavenly royalty. We are children of the KING OF KINGS which makes us princes and princesses (:
2.) God is in control
"For I know the plans that I have for you, "declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Let me tell you, It is OKAY to not have it all together. It is OKAY to sometimes feel like you don't know what you want to do with your life. You want to know why it's okay? It's okay because you can then put your life into God's hands and let HIM take care of YOUR life and YOUR future. Once we learn how to stop stressing and actually trust God with our lives and the desires of our heart, we will find that we are able to enjoy life a lot more and we will see that our life is actually starting to line up the way it was originally intended before we tried to put matters into our own hand. Don't think that you have nothing to live for because really, you have EVERYTHING to live for, and that everything is Jesus. You already know. lol.
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So, when we get caught up in not knowing which way to turn, and we're just so desperate for something or someone to love us, and we're desperate for something or someone to fulfill us, to give us something to live for, to give us purpose because we feel so empty. There is more to live for than just going to parties and getting drunk and high. There is more to live for than just hooking up with random people and having relationship after relationship. There is more to live for than just crying yourself to sleep every night. There is more to live for than having to take to cutting yourself because you just want to divert the pain because it's easier to deal with. There is more to live for than starving yourself because you don't feel like you're "perfect" enough. (There's no such things as perfect. We're made perfect and righteous through Christ.) There's more to life than hurting people because you just want someone to feel the pain that you're going through. THERE IS MORE to life than all of our hurt, pain, sorrow, tears, abuse, and misuse! There is more! And I'm here to tell you that Jesus, that relationship with Jesus is that MORE that will fill you up on the inside. He is that more that will help you learn to see yourself as beautiful. HE IS that more that will take away your pain and your burdens.
It all stops with Jesus!
you probably aren't believing what I am saying to you.
But it's all true, Jesus is the one that can make you feel so wonderful and so giddy inside. No, I have not always done what I have supposed to do. No, I have not always been obedient to God's Word. I sin everyday. every single day and yes, I have to constantly ask for forgiveness, but what I'm trying to prove is that no matter what you're going through, no matter what you've done, Jesus will still love you just the way you are in spite of your mess and your heartache and heartbreak. God will come through for you.
If you're looking for something more to this life that will give you everlasting, unconditional love...if you're looking for something that will give you fulfillment and joy...if you're looking for something that will pick up the pieces to your broken heart...JESUS will do all of that.
He wants to be our friends. He wants to be our provider. He wants to be our protector and our stronghold. He wants to do all of those things. He wants to take away your heartache and your pain, but you have got to let Him in. Jesus will never force Himself to make you do anything you don't want to do, and when you decide to come (I hope you do) He will be right there waiting on you, and He will never leave you. I promise. God is not a man that He should lie. (Numbers 29:13) He loves you. You will have more with Him.
There's more to life than this...there's more
Never forget that you're beautiful! Always!
Ayanna
Friday, October 25, 2013
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Going Through A Bit Of A Storm?
Ok. Here's what I have come to learn...
The work of the Lord still goes on...
You're probably thinking And? So?
Well, I say this because sometimes in our lives we will have situations or circumstances that will completely break our hearts and discourage us from moving forward and discourage us from ACTIVELY reaching out to God for help, and discourage us from allowing our faith to grow stronger. As a witness, and a continuing witness from my life, there have been times and days and weeks and months lol, where I have seemed to completely lost all touch of reality. I was tempted to give in. I wanted to throw in my towel because it felt like my situation that I was going through was just too tough and I couldn't get through it. And of course, I knew God, I had a relationship with God, but I did not take advantage of that relationship that I was so blessed to have with Jesus.
I responded in the wrong manner. Instead of getting on my knees and giving all of my cares to God, and trusting God that He will get me through, I instead, put matters into my own hands. When I say I put matters into my own hands, I mean that I stopped trusting that God could do it. I stopped trusting that God could make my situation better, that He would help me and guide me in the right direction. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity of getting the chance to grow my faith, my faith was stagnant. Of course, I would pray and cry out to God, but I wasn't consistently doing those things because it "hurt" to much to do anything at all. I couldn't "focus" because the pain was just too deep.
I have learned that when you have a relationship with God and you actively seek Him when everything is full sailing, that you shouldn't stop and give up just because your path gets a little rocky, or you find yourself in some stormy weather. We, as children of God and ambassadors for Christ, have got to learn to put our strength in God and PERSEVERE when times get tough. Just because our personal lives might get a little shaky does not mean that we stop praying, going to church, living our lives for Jesus, and stop sharing the Gospel.
The Bible tells us to rejoice in our hard times...Jesus has our back. Our struggles and our hard times develops our testimony that will one day be of a GREAT help to someone in need.
Titus 4:5 says, "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."
The times where it seems like we can't go on...those are the times where we should be desperately on our face and knees making our relationship with Jesus stronger. Because, also, during those hard times, we become vulnerable to Satan's tactics. We cannot afford to let our guard's down even when the pain runs deep.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
If you're going through a storm, a struggle, or just a life-shake, and you just want to give up, I beg you not to give up on God because He won't give up on you. God hasn't forgotten about you. When it's the hardest to live for Christ, then that's when we keep pushing the most. It's only a storm, and the storm will pass. Jesus will take care of you...give everything to Him and He will work it out. I promise. Jesus has our best interest at heart, and even when the pain is coming through, God will hold your hand every step of the way. He won't leave you. Ever. That's His promise you can be secure in when all else fails.
Never forget that you are beautiful!
Ayanna
The work of the Lord still goes on...
You're probably thinking And? So?
Well, I say this because sometimes in our lives we will have situations or circumstances that will completely break our hearts and discourage us from moving forward and discourage us from ACTIVELY reaching out to God for help, and discourage us from allowing our faith to grow stronger. As a witness, and a continuing witness from my life, there have been times and days and weeks and months lol, where I have seemed to completely lost all touch of reality. I was tempted to give in. I wanted to throw in my towel because it felt like my situation that I was going through was just too tough and I couldn't get through it. And of course, I knew God, I had a relationship with God, but I did not take advantage of that relationship that I was so blessed to have with Jesus.
I responded in the wrong manner. Instead of getting on my knees and giving all of my cares to God, and trusting God that He will get me through, I instead, put matters into my own hands. When I say I put matters into my own hands, I mean that I stopped trusting that God could do it. I stopped trusting that God could make my situation better, that He would help me and guide me in the right direction. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity of getting the chance to grow my faith, my faith was stagnant. Of course, I would pray and cry out to God, but I wasn't consistently doing those things because it "hurt" to much to do anything at all. I couldn't "focus" because the pain was just too deep.
I have learned that when you have a relationship with God and you actively seek Him when everything is full sailing, that you shouldn't stop and give up just because your path gets a little rocky, or you find yourself in some stormy weather. We, as children of God and ambassadors for Christ, have got to learn to put our strength in God and PERSEVERE when times get tough. Just because our personal lives might get a little shaky does not mean that we stop praying, going to church, living our lives for Jesus, and stop sharing the Gospel.
The Bible tells us to rejoice in our hard times...Jesus has our back. Our struggles and our hard times develops our testimony that will one day be of a GREAT help to someone in need.
Titus 4:5 says, "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."
The times where it seems like we can't go on...those are the times where we should be desperately on our face and knees making our relationship with Jesus stronger. Because, also, during those hard times, we become vulnerable to Satan's tactics. We cannot afford to let our guard's down even when the pain runs deep.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
If you're going through a storm, a struggle, or just a life-shake, and you just want to give up, I beg you not to give up on God because He won't give up on you. God hasn't forgotten about you. When it's the hardest to live for Christ, then that's when we keep pushing the most. It's only a storm, and the storm will pass. Jesus will take care of you...give everything to Him and He will work it out. I promise. Jesus has our best interest at heart, and even when the pain is coming through, God will hold your hand every step of the way. He won't leave you. Ever. That's His promise you can be secure in when all else fails.
Never forget that you are beautiful!
Ayanna
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Pain & Love: Universal
I have come to realize that pain is universal. Love is universal. No matter who a person is, we all feel pain and we all feel love. The thing about pain is that everyone handles pain differently. Some are stronger than others. Not to discredit the ones who aren't able to endure pain as easily as others, I'm just saying that we all deal with certain situations differently.
What's my point?
My point is that someone could meet a total stranger on the street, but would be able to connect with them instantly if they knew each other's testimony of one of the many painful situations they had to go through or may be going through at the present moment.
We have to remember to love everyone as God loves us. We have to remember to show love because we don't know who in the world is at their wits in end.
How do we show love?
We can show love in many different ways:
1. Giving a smile
2. Holding the door open for someone
3. Encouraging someone
4. Being kind
5. Praying for someone who is in need
6. Serving others
7. Giving to one another
...
The list goes on and on, but when we go through this life and we find ourselves hurting and we find ourselves filled with so much pain and discouragement, we should be quick to find someone who is in as much pain or even worse pain (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) and try to be a helping hand to them. Because when we try with all of our hearts to encourage and help someone else, we end up encouraging and helping ourselves out of our dark tunnel.
We all can relate to pain, but we can also relate to love. It's worth the effort to show someone that you care, because in the end, you could be the very person that changes that one person's life for the better...forever.
True story: it's happened to me before. (:
Never forget that you're beautiful!
Ayanna
What's my point?
My point is that someone could meet a total stranger on the street, but would be able to connect with them instantly if they knew each other's testimony of one of the many painful situations they had to go through or may be going through at the present moment.
We have to remember to love everyone as God loves us. We have to remember to show love because we don't know who in the world is at their wits in end.
How do we show love?
We can show love in many different ways:
1. Giving a smile
2. Holding the door open for someone
3. Encouraging someone
4. Being kind
5. Praying for someone who is in need
6. Serving others
7. Giving to one another
...
The list goes on and on, but when we go through this life and we find ourselves hurting and we find ourselves filled with so much pain and discouragement, we should be quick to find someone who is in as much pain or even worse pain (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) and try to be a helping hand to them. Because when we try with all of our hearts to encourage and help someone else, we end up encouraging and helping ourselves out of our dark tunnel.
We all can relate to pain, but we can also relate to love. It's worth the effort to show someone that you care, because in the end, you could be the very person that changes that one person's life for the better...forever.
True story: it's happened to me before. (:
Never forget that you're beautiful!
Ayanna
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