Journey of Faith

Is it just me, or has this year absolutely flown by? I'm sitting here, still trying to grasp the fact that we are half way through December. It's just been a completely insane year. I'm not going to lie, this has been a hard, hard year. My family has all had to deal with some rough health issues. A precious 4 year old that I know lost her battle to cancer. My best friend was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. I realized half way through finishing my degree that I hated the field I was going into. I quit my management job that caused me more stress than any job should ever have to cause. Honestly, the list goes on and on. But man, has God been so good. My family is all alive and kicking. That 4 year old outlived her life expectancy by two years and fought a darn good fight. My best friend is CANCER FREE. I'm currently in a degree program that I love and will still graduate early. I've become a nanny to the most wonderful, crazy little boys. My life is amazing. And ...

Ever have those times when you just feel as though you are in a boat that is constantly tossed upon wave after wave, with no end in sight? Lately, that has been me. I have felt so completely overwhelmed by all of these crazy circumstances in my life and it has caused me to become an anxious, nervous wreck. I had been praying through Philippians 4:7, where it says, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I kept wondering why that amazing peace seemed to be so consistently eluding me. I mean, come on! I am a daughter of God, I read my Bible, and strive to live in His Will for my life. And then the Lord showed me something. In Philippians 4:6, Paul writes, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Did you catch that? IN EVERYTHING by prayer... WITH THANKSGIVING. I need to be constantly praying in...

Have you ever had one of those days? One of those days where, by the time the day is done with, you just wish you could give up all together? Because, as I write this tonight, I'm fighting off the tears. Tears of frustration. Anger. Hurt. Some days, you may feel like you're out there fighting to change the world and it's completely awesome. But then when you want people to join in and come alongside of you, they just don't appear to care. At all. And on those days, you have to fight your flesh big time. On those days, I have to remind myself of a few things. I have to remind myself that everyone's journey looks different. Some people may not be remotely passionate about the things that I'm passionate about. And that's okay. I have to remind myself that sometimes people do care about the things that I care about, they just may not know how to show it. And that's okay. I have to remind myself that sometimes people forget, or that they are just so ov...

Idol: "Any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion (dictionary.reference.com)." "You shall not make idols for yourselves...for I the Lord am your God." -Leviticus 26:1 One of the things that the Bible is pretty clear about is that God should be the number one priority in our lives. Our God is a jealous God, and He does not want anyone or anything to come before Him. This is something that I would've said I was doing pretty well on. I wake up and do my quiet time, pretty consistently every morning. I'm really involved in ministry within the church. My boyfriend is a Godly guy, but even still, if the Lord told me to break up with him, I would do so. There are no "things" in my life that come before God. Except...maybe my time. Sure, God gets time every morning. Maybe He even gets time throughout the day. But the question is, what do I think about more? Him? Or all the things that I have to cram into a da...

Disclaimer: I'm not single. I have a wonderful boyfriend that I'm in a committed relationship with. So don't think that this is the saga of a single girl, singing her woes of not finding a man. Now, I've grown up in the church, amongst a wonderful community of believers. I gladly claim a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I have had the blessing of learning from some incredible men and women of God, and have sat under some great Bible teaching in my lifetime. However, I have to say that I've started to notice a pattern, inside and outside of the church, but especially in the communities of Christians that I have grown up with. And I have oh-so-cleverly decided to dub this pattern "single shaming." Many of you already know what I'm talking about. "Oh you, know Claire is beautiful girl, has a wonderful job, just lovely. But...She's 25 and she just can't seem to find a man." "Well, we thought for sure that when Amanda ...

It's just like any other morning or evening. You're about to climb into the shower and the dreaded moment happens: You walk by the mirror. Everything exposed, you cringe at the first glance. Then the more you look, the unhappier you become. When did those stretch marks get there? Have I ALWAYS had that cellulite? Do I have a double chin from every freaking angle? Why are my thighs so massive? Is there ANYTHING good about this? To this girl, I see you. I am you. Not too long ago, I took a look at myself in the mirror and honestly started crying. I was so miserable with the way that I looked. It didn't matter what other people said about my appearance, it was awful to me. And maybe that's you too. Maybe you've felt doomed since the day someone you loved told you that you were gonna be fat just like them. Maybe you've starved yourself, fighting and straining against that fate. Maybe you've never felt like it was okay simply to love yourself. ...

Lord, I honestly do not know where to begin. Tonight, I come before you truly broken. I've stared at this screen not even knowing what to type. Tomorrow morning, it's going to happen. A baby is going to be in your presence. Normally, this would be a joyous occasion. Sadly, it isn't. I'm in tears simply thinking the word. Abortion. It's never hit so close to home. A dear, dear friend of mine ending her baby's life tomorrow morning. I know, I know. There are those of you reading this that are simply going to tell me it's just a fetus. But does a fetus have a heartbeat? Does a fetus have a brain? How about eyelids? At this point in that baby's life, he or she has all of those things. Please don't mistake this as hatred towards women who have abortions. I love everyone and have even gone through a grieving period with a dear friend over this very choice that she made. But it was indeed a grieving process. Little did she know how much she wo...

"And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but not love, I am nothing. If  I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." -1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Last night, I was reading over this chapter and these three verses spoke to me in a way that they never have before. Paul lists all of these amazing things that people can do, then essentially says that if love if not the driving force behind them, they are utterly worthless. I mean, just think about how much the Bible talks about the importance of these various things for a minute. Below, I've listed some of the Scripture stating their importance. Speaking in tongues: 1 Corinthians 14, Acts 2, Mark 16:15-18; Acts 19:6 Th...

I have to admit that this post has been a long time coming, but with the Supreme Court ruling that happened yesterday, I decided there was no better time to post it than now. If you haven't heard by now (you must live under a rock), the Supreme Court has now legalized gay marriage for all 50 states. And thanks to that, yesterday was a day that I wished I didn't have social media, due to everyone suddenly becoming a self-proclaimed expert on all topics of the law. Let me start with this disclaimer: if you are one of those people who posted the verse in Leviticus on homosexuality being wrong, you are all but asking for someone to comment a verse from that same book about not being allowed to eat pork or shave your beard. Come on now people, Jesus saved us from the old Law. Now, don't think I'm here to argue whether or not gay marriage is wrong or right. There are about 10,000 people arguing that, so I just find it unnecessary. So with that, comes my point. There are s...

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." -Acts 1:8 Ah, there it is. A verse that we have heard a thousand times in our lives. Surely, I'm about to be writing a post on missions, right? Not exactly. While missions is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart, it's not going to be my focus in this post. In fact, I'm going to camp out on three words: "Witnesses in...Samaria." Now, that may not seem like a big focus point with you, so bear with me while I paint you this pictures. Back in Jesus' day, Samaritans were essentially second class citizens in comparison to the high class Jews. Picture America back in the days of segregation and you've got a pretty decent idea. Jews would go completely out of their way to bypass Samaria on a journey, simply to avoid getting the same dust on their feet that had touched a Sam...

I was just about to write a letter to myself from a year ago, when I was leaving to go on a two-month missions internship to Clarkston, Georgia. Then I happened to look at my Facebook memories and realized that six years ago today was my last day of school at the American-British Academy in Muscat, Oman, before moving back to the United States. So, I decided to write a letter to myself six years ago. Dear Kelsey, Today you will wake up with a lot of emotions running through your body. It will be an odd change to the constant aching and pain in your heart that you have grown accustomed to over the past three years. Today, you will attend your last day of school overseas. Then, you will pack up the last three years of your life, and get on a plane to head back to what is supposedly your home. You're not going to know how to feel-that's okay. You will be excited about going "home" to the United States for the first time in three years. There are family and friends...

"He fills my life with good things, so that I stay young and strong like an eagle." -Psalm 103:5 But what about when He doesn't? One of my very best friends, who is 21 years old, has just received an earth-shattering health diagnosis. Her life has been turned completely upside down. Where are the good things in this? She won't stay young. She won't stay strong. She is going to lose her strength and probably her hair. He fills her life with good things, so that she stays young and strong like an eagle. He has filled her life with His salvation. Even if He chooses to take her home, she will be eternally young and strong like an eagle. This time has made me extremely thankful that we do not have to rely on the goodness of this life, because it is so limited. This life we have, this world we live in is so full of hurt and pain, that I think that I would be crushed by it if it were all I had. But as I lay my head down every night, I can rest assured that th...

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way."                                                                                           -Daniel 1:8 Daniel was a young man who was taken captive by Babylon. The king had him and three other young men pulled aside because they were, "Young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace (Daniel 1:4)." He and his three friends were brought into the royal court, given amazing training and given the best food the king had to offer. Sounds amazing, right? Wrong. Daniel knew that he was not sup...

Holy moly. I was preparing to write this blog post with something completely different in mind to write about. But then I sat down and read a daily devotion from "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers and that totally changed. The devotion today was called "Taking the Initiative Against Depression," and man, did it speak to me. Like many people out there, I have a tendency to struggle with depression. This is a really hard thing for me to admit, as I like to hide my problems and pretend that nothing is wrong. But so often, I am overcome with my depression and it tends to consume me. Naturally, these times cause a serious hit in my quiet time with Jesus, resulting in even more issues. As many would point out, depression is a mental illness and not a choice. Not too many people I know would choose to be depressed. So do not think that I am trying to say that those who suffer from depression are in the wrong or should not seek out medical help, because I do...