During the summer, my role is summer coordinator for the Bridge of Storm Lake.  I am actually in charge of college students who come to work at the nonprofit in the summer.  I help lead them in their roles and help them become leaders every week.  I want to see them grow to become great workers and leaders when they enter into their career-based jobs. Sometimes, I am also blessed with the chance to teach them about Christ.  A couple times a week, I will do a Bible study with the elementary/middle school students who come to programming. Even though this is technically for the young kids there,  I hope that my leaders are also listening, so they are given the chance to grow or learn about Christ.  

Recently though I was talking to one of my summer team members, and they were very concerned that on our packing list for the upcoming high school trip there was a spot for a Bible.  They told me they had never read or owned a Bible before.  I was surprised to hear this, but I had always grown up with one.  I have owned a Bible for as long as I can remember.  My mom or my grandma always made sure I had one.  I actually probably owned quite a few.  I didn’t realize how blessed I was to always have the Lord’s word in my grasp.  

Originally, I told her that she could borrow one of my Bibles.  I have quite-a-few Bibles like I mentioned.  However, the Lord was working in my heart that day.  He kept telling me that I should go and get her a Bible of her very own, one that is beautiful and fun, but still yielding the power of God for her to keep.  One that hopefully she will read and learn from.  One that she can take notes in.  I went to Hobby Lobby, and I found the perfect and cutest Bible for her.  It was teal with butterflies all on the side.  There are even places to take notes and coloring pages for important verses. I was so excited to give it to her.  The good news then was that she absolutely loved it, and she was excited to tell others that now she owned a Bible. 

This made me realize how precious God’s word is.  As James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  The Lord was the one who inspired the words in the Bible, so it completely comes from above and from the Lord.  This is then a good gift, and I would argue the absolute best gift.  The Bible is the only true insight into what our eternity will look like.  We have beauty on this earth, but that beauty will not compare to the beauty of the heavens.  

Now, I need to pray over this summer team member that this Bible will be a good blessing and a good gift in her life.   The Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to put down a seed, but now I need to pray for opportunities to grow that seed.  This can either be done through me, or it can be done through another person that can walk into her life. I know I am not the one who can ultimately save her, only God can. However, I can continue to pray this Bible will be much more than a worldly gift. When I was actually on the high school trip, I showed her a bit more about how the Bible works and where you can find the chapters.  I showed her how chapters and verses work, and I explained the chapters that may be better to start with.  

I am not going to necessarily give you a challenge for the week, but I am going to be giving you a challenge for as long as you need it.  I want you to think about a person who you believe needs to have a Bible.  This could be someone you know who has never had or read a Bible.  This could be someone who is just starting their Christian walk. If you can’t currently think of someone, maybe pray over a situation where this moment could arise. I read a book where the author had many opportunities to give away her Bible to someone she talked to on an airplane. She remembers feeling so filled and happy that she had this opportunity.  I remember reading and not being able to think of someone who I could give a Bible. I prayed, just briefly, that a moment would emerge.  Now that moment has come, and I am praying that I can have more of these opportunities in the future.  

I know many people have cell phones that include easy and accessible Bible apps. However, there is something extraordinary about holding God’s Word in your hands. There is great power from his Word. With your printed Bible, you now have the chance to write notes, and showcase to the world your relationship with God. This is a good reminder for you to love your Bible and to share that love with the world in any way you can.

Something fun about children is that they can dream, and they can dream BIG. Their ideas and thoughts may seem silly, and they may seem crazy to us adults at times. I know that I was this way as a young kid. I was going to be the most famous pop star in the world if you would have asked me about my future aspirations as a 5-year-old. However, as I got older, I didn’t believe that dream as much. I even stopped doing auditions as I got older for different singing opportunities because I didn’t want to go through the heartbreak if I didn’t get the part or the solo.

I also sometimes struggle to dream big about my faith and where my faith in the Lord can take me. “I can’t tell that person about the Lord. They will never listen to me, and then they may even hate me.” or “I can’t speak at church because I have nothing important to say.” Lastly, a big one for me, “I can’t write anything of value. No one will want to read what I have to say.” Do any of these sound familiar to you? Do you have doubts or disbelief in your ability to share God’s word? Sadly, these are thoughts that sneak into my head way too often. I feel overwhelmed by everything I can’t do, so I quickly forget what I can do, or what God can help me achieve through himself.

Recently, I came across the verse 1 Corinthians 2:9, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”  We can be so small-minded as adults.  This is why the Lord tells his disciples to think more like children.  We need to be willing to believe that God can do amazing things, even when using us, his followers.  He has used just ordinary people in the past before in the Bible as well as using everyday people now.  He uses their talents and their desires to do amazing things, even when they themselves would have never seen it as possible.

One example of God using an ordinary human to do amazing things is, of course, the story of David.  Granted, you may say, “He was a King.  He wasn’t an ordinary human.”  This is true.  He was a king, but of course, before that, he was a shepherd boy.  Let me rephrase, he was a small and young shepherd boy.  He was so young and so small that he was not invited to be a part of the military, only his older brothers were. David was simply bringing his brothers their lunches.  When he was done bringing the lunch, that is when he noticed that there was a huge giant that all the other soldiers were afraid of.  Then after talking to the king, David was the one who would go up against that giant, Goliath, and would take him down with a simple stone and slingshot.  

An example in our more modern world that is especially important to me would be Jay and Anne, the founders of the nonprofit, the Bridge of Storm Lake.  I love this organization, and I often talk about how much I love it throughout my blog posts.  Jay and Anne opened up their porch to the neighborhood kids because they saw that these kids needed love and Jesus.  Through a few years and other people helping, the nonprofit, the Bridge of Storm Lake was born and now we have a summer team every year for college students to learn how to be leaders and are serving anywhere between 50-70 kids on a regular basis.  We are reaching them in their neighborhoods, seeing what they need, and showing them love.  God used this small town and a heart for helping children and created a great nonprofit for the town of Storm Lake.  

My challenge for you this week is to write a page or two about your dreams.  I know some of you don’t like journaling or writing.  But I want you to get your dreams out there.  I want you to think about the dreams you have stored in your heart that you haven’t put out into the world before.   The dreams that you have, that you don’t always believe could actually happen.  What has God laid on your heart that may seem impossible right now? Then I suggest you pray about these dreams.  You just may never know what the Lord has planned for you next.  

I have shared some of my dreams throughout my blog posts in the past. One of my biggest dreams is to publish a book or multiple books. I want to be a writer, and I want to continue writing my blogs for many people to read on a regular basis. I want my words to inspire other believers as so many other writers have inspired me. Another dream of mine is to work for a nonprofit someday. I am really passionate about working in anti-trafficking organizations. I love working for those kinds of organizations and helping/donating in any way that I can. It is sometimes hard for me to really see that all in my future, but I will pray that the Lord will use me in the best way. Maybe my dreams just may come true. Maybe yours will too. Maybe we will receive something even better than we could have ever imagined possible.

I have mentioned before that my mom is a better cleaner than me. She is really good at seeing every single speck of dirt that is in a house and can clean it up really well.  I try to clean as well as her, but I just can’t seem to get there, especially in my house.  This is why I ask her to help me clean my apartment once a year.  I need another set of eyes when it comes to cleaning my house.  When I want to write a really good paper,  I often will ask my friend Kenzie to look over these written works.  She is an English teacher, and she is incredibly better at writing and putting together words than I am.  I need her second set of eyes to help me in my papers and writings.  

This is because I have realized that in many things, we need another set of eyes. We can get so caught up in our own world, that we can’t see all of the sins or the problems that are right in front of us.  We may not understand how our emotions are impacting our actions because we are too blinded by the things that are happening in our lives.  For example, when I had my first knee surgery, I was pretty miserable.  I hated being laid up for so long.  However, I had no idea that I was acting significantly different from how I acted in the past.  It wasn’t till a few people at my church asked my mom if I was doing alright that I realized I was not smiling or as joyful as I had been previously.  I needed to spend more time with the Lord to help get back to the joy I possessed before.  This is why we need another set of eyes on anything we do, even and most importantly, our walk with God.   

There is a surplus amount of Bible verses that focus on the importance of fellowship.  A verse that I have been working on memorizing shows a lot of the humility we need to have in order to continue to grow in fellowship with other believers.  1 Peter 5:5-6 says, “In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourself to your elders.  All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”  I know that the word used here is elder, but I also believe that in this context, this can mean anyone who is older in Christ and can help us all grow closer to him.  This doesn’t necessarily have to be an elder in the church or someone who is significantly older in age.    

There are so many reasons for this importance in fellowship.  First, we as people can easily get distracted by life.  I can get so focused on my day-to-day job, exercise, books I am reading, and family that I may forget to do my Bible study or really dive deep into what the Lord is saying. I can even get distracted by my schedule while I am sitting at church.  When we have fellowship with other believers and have someone to sit down with us, we are forced to focus on God and his work in our lives.  Maybe, we may not even want to work on our Bible Study, but then after spending some time, we realize the importance of this time and how good it is for our souls.  

Second, we do actually have a job to help grow our fellow brothers and sisters.  It is very important to sharpen our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We can help be the eyes for others. Our experiences may show our brothers and sisters certain ways to live with peace, joy, patience, and love.  As the verse mentions, we are in charge of lifting each other up, so it is essential that we spend time encouraging one another in life and faith.   

Third, we need to feel refreshed.  Just as it is our job to help grow our brothers and sisters, it is also very important to become refreshed from our other fellow brothers and sisters as well.  Spending time in the Lord is refreshing.  It can be incredibly refreshing to spend time with the Lord on our own, but it is important to spend time with others, so they can help us grow in the ways that we need to grow.  I know that when I have had opportunities to tell others about what is going on in my life and how the Lord is working in my life, I do wind up feeling a lot better and a lot more refreshed.  

Fourth, when we have trials and tribulations, it is important to have others that we can lean on.  During rough times, it can be very easy to not see the world or the Lord as clearly as we did previously.  It can be easy to focus on the bad and the ugly as opposed to the wonderful and beautiful.  However, meeting with someone else may give you an insight into the good works that God may be doing in the situation that you are currently in.  

Fifth, we can learn so much more from the Bible.  Again, having another set of eyes, there is also another brain.  You know what they say, two minds are better than one.  We can both read the same passage and get different thoughts, ideas, and takeaways for how to live one’s life. My challenge for you this week is to do a Bible Study with someone else this week.  Have a Bible discussion and dive deep into the scriptures.  You may be amazed to find what the other person was thinking.  They may open your eyes to completely different perspectives or thoughts. 

I have anxiety and while I get anxiety attacks less and less, I still seem to struggle a bit with anxiety attacks every now and then.  I get really anxious when I can’t find my materials. This can be when I can’t find my phone, my car keys, my house keys, or my wallet.  It is incredibly stressful, and it is hard for me to not freak out over it.  Recently, I lost my wallet, and I was STRESSED OUT.  I was so upset, and I looked everywhere.  Eventually, I did find my wallet in the pocket of the pants I wore the day before.  I was so grateful and while on reflection, this had me thinking about the Lord when his children are lost.  

I wonder how the Lord feels when he can’t seem to find his children or when his children are lost from knowing him. Does He stress a bit over them as lost sheep as I stressed over my lost wallet? We do know that he has extreme joy when the lost are found. We can read that often in the parables that Jesus spoke to his disciples. There was the story of the lost coin and then the story of the lost sheep, to finally end with the story of the Lost or the Prodigal son. He told them that the women and the men who find their missing materials throw parties when the lost has been found. He described that this would be a similar experience for his Father in heaven. His Father in heaven celebrates with dancing and singing, filled with ultimate joy when every one of his children chooses to come back to knowing him.

The verse that is used to describe the Lord’s joy can be found in  Luke 15:6-7 gives this rejoice.“Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”  Do I spend the time really rejoicing over those who are lost?  Granted, I am happy when I hear about others becoming Christians, but I know that it is not my main piece of joy.  I want to start being more joyful when I hear about those who have been found.  

When I did lose my wallet, I was very happy with how many of my friends were willing to help me in my search. I stopped at a candy store which was the last place I had gone to, and they were very willing to call other employees to see if it had been left there.  My roommate helped me look throughout our trailer, my other friend looked throughout our place of work, and my boss even checked her car which I had been in earlier.  I was so very grateful for my friends and loved ones who helped me find my lost wallet.  They also were very happy for me when I found it because they knew I was filled with immense relief.  

This also made me realize my role as a Jesus-follower, that I need to help Jesus find his loss.  I am expected to be just as helpful and just as courageous in finding the lost sheep.  I am the one who is supposed to help the loss to become found.   When we were lost, we were headed towards destruction and heartache, but God has given us all the chance to become found and continue with him forever in paradise. John 10:10 gives this message perfectly.  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  Jesus has given an opportunity for others to become Christians and to become a child of God.  The enemy or Satan creates heartache and destruction.  When we spend time looking for lost people and lost sheep, we are saving them from this hurt and destruction.  

My challenge for myself this week is to think of one person who I feel God is calling on my heart to spread God’s word. I would also like to challenge you this week in the same thing. I would highly recommend that you spend time praying over this person. In the end, we are the ones who plant the seed, and then God is the one who can actually call them home. Then think about ways that you can engage them in conversation. I would highly recommend getting to know them on a personal level before you engage them in conversation regarding the Lord, make sure they know that you care about them on a personal, deep level. Then engage their heart and help them see God as their eternal Savior.

I want to make it clear that anytime you are willing to talk about God and your relationship with Him, you are spreading His message.  If the person chooses to not accept Jesus as their Savior that particular time, that does not mean you have failed.  You have maybe opened a door for a later conversation or you have opened the door for another situation to come in that will bring this person home.  We are God’s helpers and finders of those in need.  As long as we continue to do that through our testimony, love, and prayers, then we will be doing God’s work. 

I was working at the Bridge recently, and we were at a neighborhood night.  Neighborhood nights are when we get together at someone’s house to serve the kids and community in that neighborhood food.  It is also a chance to get to know one another and play some games.  We started having a good time.  We played some four square with the kids, and we were getting ready to serve them food when the worst moment I have ever had at a Bridge occurred and one of the most traumatizing moments in my life in general.  A pit bull came out and attacked one of our ten-year-old boys.  We ended up having to call 911 where he was taken away into surgery in order to repair all the skin and muscle damage that was done to him.  We had to then, of course, call the police in order to take away the pit bull, and we had to get the rest of the kids away from the situation.  

There is a lot of guilt that many of us are thinking and feeling on the team.  Why did I not step in front of the dog?  Why didn’t I react faster?  Why did we bring him to our neighborhood night?  Why did any of this happen at our event?  I know that it can be very easy to start questioning ourselves and become filled with shame.  We can have shame and guilt because of something that we have experienced or something that we have done or even something that we can’t control.  The Devil is really good at using this moment of shame and our guilt to tear us away from the Lord and to make a big wedge between the two of us. He doesn’t want us to feel loved by our Father and Creator, so he creates shame so we don’t feel as though we can have a substantial relationship.  

The Bible brings up the topic of shame on a regular basis.  There are a lot of warnings about loving the world and loving the things in the world that then we should be filled with shame.  This is specifically in the Old Testament a lot.  However, then you will also read that Jesus died on the cross, bearing all of our shame, and then resurrected from the dead conquering that same sin and shame.  Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, the Bible then reminds us that we should not be ashamed of the Lord’s testimony, and we should not feel any shame when we are found in the Lord’s love and message.  When we are a believer and a child of God, we should not feel any shame for any wrong that we have done because we have been forgiven.  We can learn from our mistakes and choose to grow closer to the Lord instead. 1 Peter 4:16 declares, “However  if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”  

I know that we all experience shame in different ways.  This may be sin that we struggle with.  This may be our body and ashamed of our looks.  These may be decisions that we have made in the past.  However, regardless of the shame that you have currently or in the past few years, it is important to remember that God loves us and wants to forgive us for any wrongdoing.  This all reminds me of one of my favorite songs which happen to be “The Father’s House,” by Cory Asbury.  (Side note-I really do love Cory Asbury-he really has amazing songs!) One of the lyrics is “Leave your shame at the door because it ain’t welcome anymore.”  How notable is that lyric?  Your shame is not welcomed by the Lord or in his house.  He wants you to be there without any shame or guilt.  

One goal I will set myself for this week is to spend some time journaling what I am ashamed of.  I am going to try to think more about what it is that I feel ashamed of and where I feel the most shame.  I then am going to ask someone to talk to about it and then to spend some time in prayer over this shame that I have.  This is also going to be my challenge for you this week.  I know this is a bigger challenge, but I believe that it is important for us all to be aware of what it is that brings us shame and to bring that to someone that we love and who loves us.  Then to finally bring this to the Lord, so we can continue to conquer shame and conquer over the enemy that is bringing us that shame.  We are not going to be perfect while we are on the earth.  We can continue to grow closer to God, but we can not continue to stay in the shame because that will not help us in our relationship and it is not welcomed by the Lord.  

To give an update, that 10-year-old boy had surgery and is doing a lot better.  We went as a summer team with his sister and picked out a gift to give to him.  When we gave him the gift, he was so very excited and happy.  It was a new video game, candy, and Gatorade.  He instantly went to play his new game.  He even gave us all hugs because he was so ecstatic with the new gift.  He is one tough boy, and I am so happy that this is not going to take away his happiness or his spirit.  

Dear Lord, 

I want to pray over our youth.  I know that there are some issues that our youth are facing at this moment.  There are many youth advocates, teachers, and parents that are very tired of the kids.  They have a lot of different behaviors that are challenging the ones closest to them.  As much as I love being a teacher and working in a youth nonprofit, I also will say that there are many times when I am very exhausted from the youth that I am often interacting with.  They say things and do things that push my patience until I am exhausted at the end of the day.  

Lord, please help the young ones who COVID very much impacted.  Because of the lockdown, they have more mental health issues.  There is an increasing amount of depression and anxiety.  There is also an increasing amount of kids who are suicidal or who have wanted to hurt themselves.  As a teacher, I hear more and more about students who need to go to a counselor on a more regular basis.  I believe in going to therapy, but the incessant need for these kids to have to talk to someone and cry makes my heart hurt.  It is often impacting their studies and their friendships.  

Lord, I want you to protect their minds.  There are many things that seem to attack their young thoughts and feelings.  While I love my phone and I believe that phones have a lot of benefits, I also believe they have caused destruction and attacked young minds.  I believe they see destructive behaviors and attitudes on social media and on videos.  I have seen so many kids make so many bad decisions when it comes to their cell phones and there have been many times, they have put themselves in severe danger.  I pray that the cell phone and social media will have a lessening hold on the youth, and I pray that I can be a good mentor for how one should best use their cell phone in a healthy way.  

Lord, please help all children not have to stress about the major things in the world.  They should not have to spend a lot of their time thinking about whether or not, there will ever be a school shooter or another shutdown, or the coming of another war.  These are not the items that young people should be spending their time thinking about.  They should be more focused on laughing, joking, and making memories.  I often feel that my students are worried about adult things or things that shouldn’t be relevant-relationships, wars, and social media.  Sometimes when I hear the conversations my students are having, it makes me sad because they are trying to sound as though they are already adults as opposed to kids.   

Please help me to be the best youth advocate that I can possibly be.  Please help me as I am teaching and please help me as I am working on the summer team at the Bridge of Storm Lake.   I want to be a light and a good mentor to all the young people I encounter on a regular basis.  I know that I can struggle with patience when there are disrespectful or bad behaviors that pop up, but I also need to remember that there are some times that these young students and kids struggle to control these behaviors.  I want to be able to teach them good behavior and healthy attitudes without getting angry and potentially ruining many relationships.  

I also want to pray over the other mentors and the other advisors, and teachers that are interacting with kids.  I believe that it is important that these adults are also good mentors and good role models for these children.  I know that there are many parents, teachers, and adults that have sadly hurt children, and I am praying that will happen less, and less until it is not around.  I pray that any adult that interacts regularly with children will be an example of your guiding light.  

In Jesus’ name 

Amen

I really want to write.  I want to write books that get published and have devotions that reach a lot of the world.  I love to write.  I love to get my ideas out on paper.  While I don’t always love editing, I love the opportunity to make my writing clearer and better overall for the reader. However, I’m scared and I’m confused.  I’m confused because I don’t know the best way to get my written works out there.  Who do I talk to?  How does the process work?  How long will all this work take?  Then I am scared because I don’t know who would want to read my written works.  What if what I write is just not good enough? What if no one likes what I have to say?  

I also can get overwhelmed, and I have moments where I don’t even know if I should be writing or if maybe it is just too much for me.  Best to let others do that.  It is very funny if you knew me in college and knew how I felt about writing.  I didn’t like writing at the time.  I had a professor tell me in more than a few words, that I wasn’t very good at writing papers.  He didn’t like what I had to say and he didn’t think that I was very good.  He didn’t think that I would ever be good at writing.  He tried to be nice about it, but overall, you could tell that he didn’t have much faith in my writing abilities.  He liked that I worked hard, but it just wasn’t enough.  Because he told me I wasn’t very good, I didn’t even like to write.  I would lament every time it was required of us to write a paper for class.  Then after a few years of doubt and self-pity, I had a burning desire for quite a while to start my own blog and to start writing again.  I am glad the Lord worked through my insecurity and doubt and had me start on this journey.  

It is very normal to be scared and confused.  Many of us have dreams.  Sure, we have the dreams when we are kids that we want to be a superhero, but then we grow up and we have a dream job like teaching or being a nurse or a construction worker.  Then sometimes, our dreams change, even as we continue to grow in our adulthood.  We may develop a dream that is not just about what we do every day, but what we want to achieve or what we want to experience. However, we can then be anxious of actually going for those very dreams. Something that I realized though, as I was reflecting on this was, that I am not the one who will decide whether or not I will ever write or become a successful writer, God is. If the Lord has put this desire in my heart and given me the means, I can trust that I can pursue this passion through my blog and journaling.  If the Lord opens the door for my writing to continue, then it is a part of His Will.  

When Jesus was scared of his approaching death, he reached out to the Lord. He cried out, and asked, “Lord if it be possible, take this cup away from me.  But not my will, Lord, your will.”  This was a good reminder that Jesus even submitted to the will of God.  Even the son of God, who was fully God himself, had to listen to God’s plans and follow his will, not his own will.  Jesus had to go through something incredibly painful after this, which was dying on the cross, but that ended up being the absolute best thing for humanity.  People were finally able to be saved from their sins because he followed the Lord’s Will.  

Similarly, we may have to go through trials and we may have to go through times that make us doubt ourselves and our ability. I am going to say that it is important to take time to pray to the Lord about our deepest desires, fears, anxieties, and confusions.  The Lord wants to hear this and wants to be there for us.  The Lord wants to continue developing us and using our hearts and our desires and our plans for His Kingdom.  I pray that I will continue to develop a love for writing and a love for developing my stories and thoughts.  

Dear Lord, 

Thank you for giving me the ability to write.  Thank you that you have given me the means with a laptop and a typewriter.  Thank you for giving me thoughts in my head that then turn into words on a paper or words that are printed out.  Thank you for giving me an opportunity to blog.  

Please help me to use my gifts to please you.  Please help me to remember that it was you who has given me gifts and desires.  It has been you, who has given me words and emotions that I then can include in my writing plan.  Please help me remember that wherever my writing will go or whoever will read it, it has been planned out by you.  

In the Lord’s name,  Amen

Ever since I was a young girl, my favorite woman and, therefore, character, from the Bible (minus Jesus) is Esther.  I remember that I first started loving her story when I watched it in Veggie Tales.  I have read through her story multiple times in the Bible.  It is so wonderful that there is a woman who is brave and courageous that I can look up to.  The Bible is actually filled with women who are strong believers and filled with love and courage, and Esther is one of them.  I find this incredibly encouraging when those women were alive during a time when women were not in positions of power and were not often regarded in society. 

I love her story because she is very much an example of courage and bravery.  I can only imagine how scared she must have been when she was tasked to tell the king that his right-hand man has made a decree to kill all her people.  Therefore, she is actually supposed to be killed like the rest of them.  Also, she was not supposed to enter the king’s quarters unless she had been summoned, so she was taking a risk even if he wouldn’t have heard out what she had to say, and the bad news that she had to share.  She also was great at listening to what the Lord had planned for her.  She had a role to play in saving her and God’s people, and she followed that role.  

This is always a good reminder that sometimes we as people need to have courage.  We especially have to have the courage, to tell the truth.  This may be admitting that we are Christian in a group of people who are against Christianity, this may be admitting that we did something wrong, when we really are afraid of the repercussions.  I know that I have been brought up, to tell the truth.  My mom really values truthfulness, and she wanted me to as well.  I would say that I do overall, but I know that it can be the most tempting to bend the truth in order to help me in situations.  It takes courage to always tell the truth, even when it doesn’t benefit us right away.  However, we owe ourselves and the people around us the truth at all times.  

Esther also really had courage when it came to sharing the Lord’s message.  She was a Jew who followed God, and she was willing to admit she was a Jew and was one of God’s people.  She did not disown her identity, but she held firm in who she was.  I am, again, not the best at boasting who my identity is in Christ.  I would say I do not go out of my way to really talk about the Lord and all that he has done for me.  I don’t always go to people and tell them about the Lord, and his love for all of us.  I know if I am honest it is because I am fearful of being uncomfortable around others.  I know that is not a good reason.  I know that I should be willing to risk being in an uncomfortable position for the sake of the Lord and for the desire of others to hear about the Lord, even if it will make me uncomfortable at the moment.  I also have to remember that this becomes easier and easier with practice.  

Esther also really cared about listening to God’s plan.  I will say that she listened to God through her cousin Mordecai, but it was still very important that she listened.  I say this a lot, but it can be so hard for me to follow God’s plan.  I love to make my own schedule, my own goals, and my own plan, and while I think that is how God has made me, A type-A person type, it is also important that I don’t make my plan more important than God’s plan.  I need to remember to listen.  I may need to take more time out of my day to slow down and really hear what the Lord has to say about my future.  

One of my favorite verses from the Bible comes from the book of Esther.  Esther’s cousin Mordecai tells her that she may have been put in the position she has been for a reason. This is in Esther 4:14, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”  I just love that verse, and I always will.  God did plan for Esther to be in the position of Queen so she could save the Jewish people who were her family.  

It is a good reminder for me, as well as for everyone to remember that we have been placed in the area that we are because the Lord has planned it to be that way.  There have been certain coworkers that God has placed in my life for a particular reason.  There are certain students that God wants me to teach.  There are opportunities through fundraisers, leadership positions, and hobbies that God has given me for a particular reason.  I may not fully understand everything now, but I have to trust that God knows.  

My challenge for you this week is to think about who from the Bible is someone that really inspires you.  There are so many wonderful people to look at in the Bible.  There is Paul, Peter, Mary, Martha, David, Moses, Ezra, Ezekiel, Elijah, and many, many more.  It is also incredibly important to look at the reasons why they are someone that you admire.  What are the characteristics that they have that you want to possess? Those who are in the Bible are in there for a purposeful reason and God made sure their story was told.  This can include the good and the bad.  Now we have the opportunity to learn from them. 

I am not a fan of cleaning.  I know a lot of people don’t necessarily like cleaning, while there are some who consider it to be stress-relieving.  However, I am not one of those people.  I will say that I don’t hate it as much as I used to, and I believe that I have gotten better at cleaning since starting to live on my own.  The reason I have cleaning on my mind is that I have had to do a lot of cleaning recently.  My mom and I deep cleaned my apartment, and then I also have to move classrooms, so I needed to clean out my room in order to organize my new classroom by the end of the year.    

This made me realize that cleaning is an important part of life.  Can you imagine if you never cleaned your apartment or house?  It would be a disaster, and sometimes it could lead to sickness if there is a lot of mold and dust.  Also, it is very important to clean on a fairly regular basis, because that way we don’t get engulfed by all the cleaning and the work that we need to do.  If we spend time cleaning every once in a while, and keep up with it, then our places will be cleaner and we will be less overwhelmed. 

We also need to clean out our hearts when it comes to the Lord.  There are times when we can get so distracted by items in our life that we may not be noticing the Lord’s goodness that is happening.  We get busy, and then all of a sudden we may notice, that we aren’t growing in our relationship with the Lord, we start forgetting to pray or read our Bible, and soon our emotions and behavior are much impacted.  Just like cleaning the house, this is best if it is something we do on a regular basis, not something that we do just every once in a while.  Cleaning your heart regularly will make your heart less dirty, just like cleaning your house regularly will keep you away from becoming behind and overcome by filth.  

Believe it or not, there are even verses such as one in Psalms about having a clean heart and keeping one’s heart clean.  This is Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”  I love this verse because it is so simple.  The desire is that God helps his believers to have a clean heart.  This is one of the times when we need to remember that our heart is the leader of how we feel, how we interact with others, how we act in our everyday lives, and how we even love ourselves starts with our heart and how well it is staying cleaned. 

How do we best do that? Well, again, just like cleaning, it is important to break this down into steps.  First, there is the dusting and vacuuming.  I believe this is like getting alone or with a believer you trust in order to start the airing out of your ugliness and your sins.  It is important to get yourself away from the distractions and the toxicity of the world, at large.  This really can only be done with yourself and your heart or with a trusted fellow brother or sister in Christ.  This is getting away from things that could make you sin just like dusting or vacuuming can get rid of the items that can cause sickness in your home.  

The next thing in cleaning is scrubbing.  This can be when we scrub our oven, our showers, our sinks, and even, yes, our toilets.  After separating ourselves from the world, or we are with our trusted brother and sister in Christ, now there is a need to talk deeply about the sin we are struggling with, and spend time reading through the Bible about his complete truth.  We are letting God take his place back into our hearts.  This also should be done in correlation with prayer, and this may also include a lot of emotion.  I know when I have done deep dives or spent a long time in the Bible, I will usually end up in tears.  It can be an emotional piece, letting your heart be cleaned and given back to the Lord.  

Lastly, there is organizing and putting everything in its place.  I believe this is spending time creating a plan to get life back on track.  This is figuring out a time every day that is best to spend with the Lord. I know that I need to develop a plan in order to keep myself accountable, and I know that it can be very important for others to do the same.  This is developing a reading plan for the Bible, a prayer journal, figuring out verses you want to memorize, etc.  It is important to remember that this will be different for everyone, and this may look different from one month to another. 

I know that I personally am overwhelmed often by my anxiety and my emotions.  I am spending time with the Lord every day for about 20 minutes, and I am going to church every week, but I know that I personally need to clean out my heart more regularly through verbal processing.  I am excited that this following fall, I have found a woman who is going to meet with me every other week or so to lead me in Bible discussions for a deeper love for the Lord.  I discovered that this was something I needed in order to grow close to the Lord and clean my heart.  My challenge for you this week is to spend some time discovering what you feel you may need to do in order to clean your heart and grow closer to the Lord. 

I have said this before, and I will say it again.  Ever since I started this blog, I have been better at looking around me and finding connections between the Lord and nature. I will look at something and get a message out of it. I know that many people can grow in their relationship with God through looking at nature.  I never really understood that concept until I started this blog. One item recently in nature that has been teaching me a message is the wind.   

I live in Iowa, and something you must know about Iowa is that we have wind.  AND lots of it! There are many days, especially now in the spring when the wind goes up to 30 mph.  There have been days where I have said that it would have been a beautiful day if it wasn’t for the wind. Recently, though, I was outside on a very windy day.  I knew that in other parts of the state, there was actually a storm brewing and creating damage.  This made me realize that even though I sometimes hate the wind, I have to give it credit that it has terrific power.  Because of its power, this made me realize that the wind is very much connected to the Bible.  

The Word of the Lord is described as many things, the Lord himself, the truth, the love story from God to his people, and it is also described as a two-edged sword.  Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  The Word has to be a lot of things because we experience many different obstacles, and there are many different types of situations that arise in the world.  

 I know that wind isn’t all bad, there can be many days when the wind is the only thing giving release on a really hot summer day.  The days when the sun is scorching, the humidity is high, and the wind provides relief and air.  This is in many ways what the word of the Lord is to His people.  It gives relief and gives pleasure when we are in the thick of bad times.  I know that when I was saddened by the death of my grandpa, I was able to read the Bible and come across the part that talks about the Lord being there for those who are grieving, and the Word helped soothe my soul.    

The wind, also just like the Word of the Lord, is incredibly powerful.  Most severe weather storms not only involve the wind, including tornados, tsunamis, and hurricanes but are usually destructive because of the mass amount of wind that is being blown.  Again, you have to appreciate that kind of power.  The Word of the Lord is also powerful.  We don’t always think of the Word as powerful because we may think of it as just a book, but the Word is mighty and it needs to be admired for that.  I don’t always think about the truth that the Bible can provide to us as God’s people.  It can be very easy for me to think of the Bible as an encouragement or a way to help bring comfort.  I can look to the Bible when I am sad or when I am discouraged, but I do need to remember that the Bible also shines a light on sin I need to avoid as well as hard things, such as loving my enemies, that should be completed.     

One of the ways we can appreciate and showcase the Word as powerful is through talking about it as it is filled with complete truth.  It can be very easy for me to not defend what I believe, even if it is what I have been reading throughout the Bible.  It can be very easy because I don’t want to offend anyone.  I don’t want to start a fight if someone disagrees with what the Bible says.  I am not suggesting that we pick fights with everyone, but it is important to not forget the important truths that we have learned from God, and that those truths do need to be shared.  

I love that the Lord has provided nature to teach us great life truths.  Even though I am not the biggest lover of the wind, and I often think of it as a ruiner of a good day, I can at least know that God gives a wonderful example of comfort yet power and that is just like the Bible.  I am going to start looking at and reading the Bible as the powerful force that it is.  My challenge or encouragement for you is to also start reading the Bible as a powerful force.  My other challenge for you is to find one piece of nature that reminds you of something from your Christian walk and write it down.  You will be amazed at what nature is trying to teach you.