My job is pretty awesome.  I get the chance to work with low-income families and students.  I work with them to teach students financial literacy, and this will give them some money as well for these lessons.  They have a savings account with us, which is undeniably life-changing for these students and those families.  

However, I have definitely found through this job that there are families who are easier to work with and those who are not as easy or, even, sometimes, downright hard.  Again, a big part of my job is teaching the students their financial literacy lessons.  They are fundamental for our programming and the students cannot receive their earnings without completing these lessons.  Them going to school and doing these lessons is like their “job.”  Anyway, when students don’t make it to their lessons during the initial time, I need to contact the parents and arrange a scheduled make-up lesson.  This has been very difficult at times. 

There are also times, and this is what breaks my heart more, students who are not making it to school on a regular basis. They may be a family who is struggling with transportation or the parent/guardian can’t be around as much due to work, so the student doesn’t make it to school and they then are not doing a very good job educationally.  It is hard to serve these students.  They don’t make it a very easy job for me, and they take more understanding and empathy.  I felt similarly when I was working as a teacher.  There were many times when I felt a great deal of guilt and sadness for the students who did not have a good home life and did not make it school much or care much about their futures. 

This is a good reminder for me to make sure to serve all people.  When I am working at the Job Foundation, I need to remember to serve not just the students who are involved in the program, but also their families. Even when it is hard, and there are those who don’t make it easy to do the job, I need to care about serving them even more.  I need to also remember this when I am serving others as a Christian.  I shouldn’t pick and choose the people I want to serve or to spread God’s love with, it needs to be all people.    

One verse I believe that showcases this thought is 1 Peter 4:10-11 which says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”  I love this verse because it is a good reminder that we as believers and followers in Christ have been given an amazing gift.  We have been given full love and have been given a full life with Christ if we want it, and now we have the opportunity to spread this love and the knowledge to others. 

The challenge for this week is going to be different for each of you.  The big challenge is to think about people who you are good about serving and if there are a few people who you find it hard to serve.  This is taking into account your job and how you can serve others.  If you are a teacher or in education, this can be how you serve your students and the families where you are currently working.  If you are a nurse, this can be serving any of the patients you are seeing on a regular basis.  

If there is a chance, you are a person who doesn’t necessarily see a lot of people or serve people for your job, there is still serving in your community or there is still serving those who are in your church,serving your family members, even all the ones who are not as easy able to get along with.  There are so many people in the world, and there are a lot of people who are hurting and those who are needing love and service.  It is important to serve all those members of the world.  

This challenge means a lot to me as well.  Again, I am finding there are times I don’t want to serve certain families or certain individuals of whom I find it a lot harder to serve.  I know this is something I need to grow in.  I need to grow in patience and in love for those who are harder to love.  Because the truth of the matter is, we are all hard to love.  We have all sinned against God and turned our back to Him.  We have all been unkind to someone.  We have all been impatient, immature, and unkind.  We each have a lot of growing to do.  This is why we can pass the gift of forgiveness and love that God has given us to those people we work with on a regular basis. 

I have been doing a Bible Study on the book over Lamentations.  This has been a great study.  This study has really taken it slow by only doing a few verses a day at a time.  The author of the study wants to make sure we as the readers really understand what is happening in the text and how hurt the people of Jerusalem are after they were under great amounts of punishment and being deserted for turning their backs on God.  

The text really speaks about how our reactions should be through pointing us to another great example in the Bible in Psalm 51.  This comes from the text in the book, “Between Grief and Glory, A study on the book of Lamentations,” by Joy Woo.  This book comes from the Daily Grace Company.  This says in their text, “God tells us in Psalm 51 that He will not despise a humble heart that knows and grieves its own sin.  Psalm 51 is a beautiful example of confession.  It is King David’s prayer to the Lord after sinning by committing murder and adultery.  As Jerusalem also meditates on her sin against the Lord and does not try to hide it with self-pity, she will demonstrate humility.”

I loved this paragraph description because it showed the parallels between Jerusalem responding to sin and David’s response to sin.  David was humble, and he knew he needed mercy, love, and forgiveness from God.  However, the people in Jerusalem at this time may have known they had sinned, but they also didn’t believe they needed the extreme judgement and punishment coming from God.  

I will be honest when I say, I do not have a lot of lament over my sin.  There are many times, I actually pretend to not notice the sin I have.  There are many times I act as though I haven’t sinned or my sin is not as bad as others.  I often will compare the sins I do on a regular basis to the sins many others do.  I will believe I am somehow saved because of the good things I try to do throughout the day.  

For one example, one sin I struggle with is judging.  (as I just showed in the last paragraph) I will be honest when I say I do find myself judging myself higher than others.  I will often think of the actions others do and really believe I could never make those decisions they are making.  I will find myself judging how hard of a worker I am to others.  I will judge how much I exercise versus how much others exercise or how much I serve versus how much other people serve.  It is not good to play the comparison game, and I do find myself doing it more often than I should.  

There is a section of verses I really want to highlight from the book I have been reading of Lamentations.  Lamentations 3:16-22 says, “He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.” Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.”  

I love these verses because it shows the ups and downs the people were experiencing.  They were recently captured by Babylon, and they were made to be slaves.  They were experiencing all the consequences the Lord has bestowed on them.  However, there was also a realization that God was going to offer great blessings to his people.  He had a plan to send Jesus to the cross to die for our sins, so we could be offered eternal salvation.  

The only challenge I want to give this week is to spend time reflecting on two things.  The first thing to reflect on is any sin you have struggled with in the past.  Is there a particular sin you tend to ignore because you don’t find it a big deal?  Is there any sin you don’t want to give up because you enjoy it more than you should?  Is there something taking you away from God in a very big negative way?  Then if there is, this is the time we can remember to go to God humbly and ask simply for his forgiveness.  

One piece of encouragement I want to leave us all with is one more quote from this study book which says, “In our humble position of contrition, we must cling to what Christ accomplished on the cross to deal with all sin.  Lament is a cry of hope, rooted in God’s mercy and sovereignty, not a wallowing in despair.” This is a reminder; Jesus has died on the cross for our sins and has blessed us in the best way possible.  We have the opportunity to be with Him forever in heaven.  This means we still need to be humble over our sin, but we can also have joy in forgiveness, not be devastated by the mistakes made.  

Our church has been great lately as we have been going through the theme of Enduring in 2 Timothy.  It has been really good discussions.  This past week’s session was all about making sure to create in us honorable and noble and pure Christians.  It is important to see how you can be the best Christian you can possibly be. This is making sure you as a Christian are taking the oath and the pride of being a believer as sacredly as one should.  

The whole church sermon was making sure to fight against those who are not in the Christian faith and are either acting like they are ones or truly believing they are with false beliefs and bringing others away from their relationships.  They are hindrances to the faith, even if they had originally started strong in the faith.  These can be people who have started working and learning about Christ, but then get a false prophecy in their head and turn people towards the ugly truth.  We always need to be diligently aware of these people and to make sure we don’t fall under their false pretenses.  

In this 2 Timothy 1 passage, there is an example of some Christians who weren’t very good about following the correct Christian path and were in some ways a deserter of the faith.  Their names are Phygelus and Hermogenes.  They deserted Paul, even though he had helped them be good Christians and members of the faith.  Another example of a Christian who deserted was Judas.  He was a disciple and a personal friend of Jesus Christ, but by the end of Jesus’ life, Judas was the one who went against Christ and went and paid for him to be brought to the cross.  He was the instrument for Jesus to be arrested and put on the cross.  Granted, this was foundational for the Christian faith, since we did need Jesus to die on the cross for us.  However, he still was a backstabbing friend to Jesus.  

One verse we really talked about a lot was 2 Timothy 2:21 which says, “Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”It is important that we also don’t become one of those false preachers or believers.  Through this, we need to make sure we are spending time purifying our hearts and our minds to the Christian faith.  We don’t ever want to be the person who brings others away from the faith.  Rather we want to be the ones who are always uplifting and bringing people closer to God.  

The ways to best purify oneself are to spend time in reflection.  Sometimes we as people can get so busy in our day to day life, we forget to really take the time to reflect on our Christian life and how we are personally doing in our heart and our walk with Jesus.  I have definitely done this before.  There have been a few times in my life, where I have been really drifting away from Christ.  I have had bouts of really bad anxiety and I have had bouts of really bad anger, and I was not showing Christ-like behavior.  

One of those times in my life is when I knew I needed to go to therapy.  I was really angry with some people in my life, and I was even very discouraged by the idea of dating.  I was so distraught over someone who wasn’t asking me out and I was frustrated with the dates I had gone on and had not been well.  I even told people, “I don’t know.  I just don’t like guys.”  Here I was just so discouraged I didn’t even want to consider ever going on more dates.  I had just pigeonholed myself into thinking I never wanted to date a guy ever again. I mentioned this deep-seated bitterness to my therapist, and she made sure to call it out in a kind and Godly way.  She simply said I don’t want that deep bitterness to take root in my heart.  She was right.  I didn’t want to have that deep bitterness in my heart.  I had just been so hurt and frustrated by the men in the past.  

The challenge for you this week is to spend time with your heart.  Is there a place where you feel bitterness or anger?  Is there a particular sin you seem to struggle with?  Is there a position you find yourself in that often takes you away from Christ?  You don’t want to find yourself in a position where you are the one who is both falling away from Christ and who is possibly taking others away from Christ.   

I do not have a very big green thumb or the best at keeping plants alive. I did become a bit better a few years ago when I was given a plant for my grandpa’s funeral.  The school I was working at the time gave me a hope lily, and I love it so much.  I am also very proud of myself for keeping it alive for the past five years.  I also was given a small succulent from my friend Allison that she received from a wedding.  She had so many succulents, so she wanted to share the joy.  It is also growing and staying alive.  This is especially good for me, because I usually have done an especially bad job with the succulents I have previously owned.  

However, as I have owned these plants the past few years, there have been times where the pot I have for the plant is too small for the plant’s needs.  I know there were a few problems because the succulent or the Hope Lily didn’t seem to be thriving.  No matter how much I watered them or made sure they had enough sunshine or even made sure to rotate them to get sunshine from the various different angles, it just didn’t seem to work.  They were still a bit droopy and looking a bit sad.  This was because the roots couldn’t seem to get all the nutrients they needed.  They needed more room to grow. 

I believe this can happen to people in our everyday walks of life as well.  Sometimes people outgrow the job they are in.  Sometimes we can really get used to the job we have and the position we have had for years, until one day we feel as though we aren’t being challenged or aren’t developing any new skills like in the past.  This sometimes means we need to take on a new job or take a bigger position with more responsibility.  

This can also be similar to us and our Christian walk.  There are going to be times where we need to be challenged to speak to other people about Christ.  Maybe this is the challenge for us to leave a Bible study in order to lead our own with new people.  Maybe this is a challenge for us to go on a mission trip to a faraway land or domestically.  There are a lot of ways we can feel challenged to grow deeper in our Christian walk and through spreading God’s love with others.  

Some of the ways in my history I know I was called and challenged in my Christian faith, was when I knew, living in Buffalo Center, I needed a Bible Study to be a part of.  I needed a chance to meet with other believers and discuss the teachings and the commands of the Bible.  This is why I was so excited to join one of the women’s Bible Studies at my church.  This ended up being an amazing blessing.  It was one of my favorite things to go to once a month.  I also started meeting one on one with my Bible Study leader to continue my own personal growth and study.  My personal way I have been challenged recently is something I discussed a few blog posts ago through feeling challenged to start meeting one on one with another believer and to start discipling them.   

Hebrews 6:1-3 discusses the importance of growing in the love and the teachings of Christ.  This says, “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites,the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.”  This discusses the importance of growing in maturity and in the wisdom and the instruction of Christ.  We can’t stay in the elementary teachings forever.  Just as we advance and mature in our educational career, or our jobs, or even socially, we need to do so with Christ. 

The challenge for you this week is to spend some time thinking about whether or not you have outgrown a “pot” you are currently in.  This could be in life, social settings, and/or in your Christian life.  Are there areas where you feel you have outgrown your place in the world?  Are there places where you are feeling challenged?  If you do have those certain areas, where you are being challenged and are being called to do something different, take time to write out a plan how you can go forth into this challenge or in your new “pot.”  It may be just the choice to really help you thrive, just like my plants are thriving in their new bigger pots.   

Recently, I have had some issues with my health.  I am blessed it seems to be nothing internal for what I know.   I have had a bout of hives come and go.  I don’t know what is causing them. At first, One or two were just popping up every month or so, but they were in odd spots and the hives would hurt really bad when they were present.   Because of the rarity, I tried not to be overly concerned.  However, these last few weeks, I have really struggled with a feeling of fear because I have gotten a lot more hives on my body.  

This has been really hard for my mental health as well.  I try not to get stressed about these hives and my overall health, but I also am struggling because I don’t want to continue to have these issues.  I think I would be at more of an ease if I actually knew what was causing me the problems.  I had a medical appointment with my normal doctor, and she gave me a referral for an allergist.  I am hoping through this appointment I would get a few of the answers I really desire.  

Something I need to remember is God has a plan, and the plan is for good.  I write about God’s plan often.  I do need the constant reminder to mind God’s plan, and this is another one of those times when I need to remember the plan, He has in store for me.  There are many verses in the Bible discussing God’s all-knowing power and God’s goodness.  One of those is Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”.  This is a good reminder to continuously trust in the Lord and his work.  He has a plan, and He also has goodness.  

I would ask for some prayers.  I am hoping to go to an allergist soon, in fact, this upcoming Wednesday, and I am hoping to get the answers I have been looking for.  I am nervous about what the doctor might say or recommend from this appointment.  I am very nervous yet very excited to finally talk to someone about my hives and the allergic reactions I have been experiencing.    

I have been trying to look to other Christians at my church who have also been struggling with their health as well.  A lot of them are struggling through a lot worse health issues such as cancer or heart malfunctions or losing of the ability to walk.  They have been continuously going to Christ and are having so much faith and belief in God’s sovereignty.  I have been looking and listening to them for guidance during this time where I am not sure what is coming next for me.  

Are there any things you are struggling with when it comes to having faith in Christ?  Is there one particular area where you genuinely struggle with your belief?  Is there a time when you feel as though Christ isn’t close by? It is important to be aware of the times and the situations where you don’t have much faith in Christ.  It can only be helpful to learn to lean on Christ and the Holy Spirit in the ways you need to better follow Christ.

Then, like most of my challenges end, I would recommend spending time in prayer to Jesus about believing in sovereignty or to trust in the Lord.  We can not have complete trust without Christ’s inclusion or ability.  However, we can believe in Christ through the Holy Spirit working his way in me. 

To end this blog post, I will spend some time in prayer. This will be in part to myself but I also will be praying for anyone else who may be struggling to believe in the sovereignty of God.  

Dear Lord, 

Thank you for the love and the grace you have shown both me and the rest of your people.  Thank you also for the wonderful sovereign plan you have for both me and for the rest of your believers.  Thank you that you have always had a big plan of how you are going to rescue and offer salvation for all your followers, but also thank you for the individual plans you keep for every single one of us.  

Please help me believe in your plan for my life.  Please help me to believe in you even as I am going through this struggle with my allergies.  Please help me to have continuous faith.  Please help the many others to believe in you and your good plan as well.  

In Jesus’ Name

Amen

I was recently at a small group, and we were discussing more on the idea of discipling and how every single Christian has been called to be a discipler. I do actually love discipling.  I used to disciple some young women when I was in college.  I would spend time leading a Bible study and then I would also meet one on one with some of the girls to go over God’s Word in more detail.  This was a wonderful chance to get into God’s Word and see what God was doing with the other girls in my Bible study. 

I have been really desiring to meet one on one and getting the chance to disciple once again.  I have discussed this with a couple of my pastors because I have marked down my interest in discipling on the volunteer forms they have handed out in church. I have received a few emails back about the pastors looking for someone interested in being discipled that I can eventually meet with.  However, one question I have received from them was asking if I knew of anyone who would want to be discipled.  Is there anyone who I believe could do well with meeting one on one?

This really made me stop and think.  I wanted the pastor to set this all up for me.  However, that isn’t really the best way to be a Christian disciple.  The best way to be a Christian disciple is to find those who really need a stronger relationship with Christ.  Then you spend time giving them more guidance.  This is something we can be praying over as we are talking to other believers, maybe ones that just came to the faith.   Sometimes, these people seek you out and ask to be discipled.  Then there is an opportunity if you are willing to also speak truth to them.  We could even be praying for this opportunity for this as well.  

We also need to remember that as a discipler, you do not need to know everything.  We are never going to know everything as a Christian.  We can remember to stay humble and have an open heart to learn more and more about Christ.  This can even be taking a few more notes on what you have been learning in your personal study and then sharing that on with the next person.  This can also be something we continually pray over, guidance in what we want to spread on to another generation of Christians.  

There are many verses about being teachers of the Word.  However, one of the greatest of these is the Great Commission.  This is Matthew 28:18-20 which says, “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”   This is a good reminder that the Lord has predestined all these things to happen.  He has set the plans in a very particular way.  He invites us to be a part of the sovereign plan, and this can include sharing the Gospel on a regular basis.  

Sometimes we can assume this means we need to go out and tell 100 people every day about Christ.  This would be awesome and we should definitely tell a lot of people about Jesus.  However, as I have learned about the power of multiplying, there is power in the ability to really spread the love and knowledge of Christ with a few people who will then spread this same message with a few more people and on and on.  This will create spiritual generations and really spread God’s love faster and more deeply and thoroughly.  

The challenge for this week is to spend time thinking about those who you could disciple.  Is there anyone you know in your Bible study or in your life who really wants the chance to know Christ or you know they are looking for more in life?  Is there a chance you could be the extra light this person needs? The other big piece of this challenge is really being willing to pray over the opportunity to disciple someone, and I am going to give an example of praying over having someone to disciple in the ending of this blog post.  

Dear Lord, 

Thank you for the love and the grace you have given us.  You have really blessed all of us, with an opportunity to follow you and to love you.  You have also given us the opportunity to walk alongside others to deeper follow you.   

I want to spend some time in prayer over finding someone to really dive deep into your word with.  I know the main role of a Christ follower is to follow God and then help others do the same.  Please help make me aware of the needs and the desires of those I am in contact with on a regular basis.  Please help me to find others and help bring them closer to you.  Please help me seek guidance and love from you on this journey.  

Please help me to love you with all my heart.  

In Jesus’ name, 

Amen

I have recently been asked to have another role at church.  I was asked about a month or so ago to be a prayer partner.  A prayer partner stands up front at the end of the church service and is there to offer prayer to other congregants in church.  At first, I was very apprehensive.  I didn’t know how I would feel about this extra responsibility.  I  was already helping with Treehouse or the children’s ministry on a pretty much weekly basis.  I do know the church is always looking for volunteers though, especially with our growing congregation, and I wanted to be helpful.  Plus, it was not very long of a time commitment.  

However, I have been very blessed to pray with others.  It has actually been a great opportunity to meet more people who are in the congregation, specifically in the 11:00 hour time when I go to church.  I also have loved getting to learn more about the needs in our church, from the individuals who have come to me.  We are all experiencing different things from one another and this has helped me be there for them like the Body of Christ should.

 For one example, I was blessed to pray with a woman who was starting an outreach program in her neighborhood.  She would be giving out some small gifts, often ones including scripture and would spend time getting to know all of them.  Some of her neighbors are actually a home of those who are recovering from a drug addiction.  This was really empowering.  She was very excited and very joyful for this outreach to her neighbors.  And I was blessed. Another woman was getting ready for her mission trip in Brazil for her college to learn about nursing and doctoring there.  This is an amazing life and mission opportunity, and I do hope it goes well and teaches her many great things.  

Other times I have prayed with others, it has not been as joyful, but rather a bit more tear-filled.  However, I have still been blessed with the chance to pray over these individuals.  This includes a man who was praying for someone who used to work for him who recently had a fire at his house, from a woman who is trying to make more decisions about her health and whether or not she should continue her medications as is or should she decide to step away from them.  Another was praying over the students and the school a young woman goes to where the majority of her class have all fallen very ill with the Norovirus.  All these prayer requests are very selfless or are trying to find their way closer to God.  They are really thinking about others and are thinking about how they can be a better follower of Christ.  

I realized through this experience that it is really truly a blessing to spend time praying with others.  It is also something God has commanded each and every one of us to do.  This is said in James 5:16 which says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”  There is also Matthew 5:44 which tells us to specifically pray for our enemies and those who persecute us, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Jesus would also model praying for others through his actions.  He would show how to best pray for one another because he was often praying to God for his disciples. For one example, he taught the disciples how to pray with the Lord’s Prayer.  This Lord’s Prayer included praying for your enemies and that they will find forgiveness.  However, there was also praying in the land of Gethsemane.  Some may say he was mostly praying for himself, but he also knew he had a big role to play in saving everyone’s life.  He brought his disciples with him to teach them how to best pray with others when they are distressed and are in need of prayer.  He brought some disciples with him because he wanted them to pray over others.   

Jesus also prayed for his enemies when he was dying on the cross. While Jesus was hanging from the cross and was dying and in a lot of pain, he ended up crying out, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”  He asked for forgiveness for those who were persecuting and killing him.  He wanted them to be forgiven because he knew they were so blinded by their own sin.  

My challenge for you this week is to spend time in prayer for others.  Ideally, this challenge wants to focus on praying for others with them.  However, if that is not something that is available for you this week, then it is good to at least spend time in prayer for others on your own time.  This could even include texting some friends and asking what they would like to have prayers over. It really truly is a blessing to pray for others.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my tires constantly losing air pressure.  It has only gotten worse recently as the temperatures in most places have decreased dramatically.  This day I am currently writing is right in the middle of the polar vortex which it is being called because large portions of the United States and Canada are experiencing incredibly cold weather.  

Because of the constant low tire pressure, I have had to visit the air pressure machine often, and when I say often, I mean at least a couple of times a day, during this period of below freezing temperatures.  It has been a very big inconvenience and it also in some ways dangerous because if it would have gone all the way to 0, then I could be stuck outside in weather that isn’t meant for anyone to be outside in.  

I don’t always love going to the auto shop to have my car fixed just because then I have to ask others to help pick me up from the shop to bring me to the office and then bring me back to the auto shop.  I feel bad taking time out of a person’s day and I also have a fear I will have to spend a big deal of money at the shop, so sometimes I just choose to bear with the issue for a lot longer than I need to.

However, I learned there are times a person really needs to deeply fix the problem.  They can’t just slide by forever doing something to make it through the day or through a few hours.  For another example, health is something a person really needs to get fixed when something is not quite right.  I had a lot of pain in my knee at a few different points in my life.  I was taking a lot of Advil and painkillers as well as going to the chiropractor to help align them and alleviate the pain.  However, I eventually had to go to the doctor and twice was given knee surgery to finally fix the problem. 

We as people also need a long-term fix.  We don’t need just a little fix that will fix us for the day, but rather from deep inside.  This is a type of fix that may seem a lot bigger in the moment but will completely benefit us in the end. We need to have someone come in and make everything right with us and really make us feel whole.  We can’t feel whole on our own through our own merit.  This is what the Gospel is all about.  The Gospel is about us as people who are sinners not being able to save ourselves because of our sin or because of our uncleanliness.  Then Jesus comes down to earth and dies on the cross for our sins in order that we may have the ability to live in heaven forever with Him.  

There are many verses about the Lord coming in and changing us.  One very traditional verse is 1 Corinthians 5:17 which says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation, the old is gone, the new is come.” This is a great verse many young Christians, both young as in new to the faith as well as just young in age, first learn.  This is because it is easy to understand and it is easy to memorize.  It also has a powerful message.  We as people are changed once we come into the faith, changed for the better.  We are a new person and are now made clean, made white as snow.   

 However, another verse I found that I believe really captures this message is Revelation 21:4 which says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Not only will God make us a new creation and will make us clean and white as snow, he also helps us with all of the emotions we can have or the hurt we can go through.  He will wipe away our tears and take away our pain.  Not saying sad or disappointing or even hurtful things won’t happen again in our future, but it is to say, God will be there for us and will be our life-long Savior. 

The challenge for this week is to spend time in prayer and in thankfulness over the Lord who was willing to give his all and to give his everything in order to save us.  He gave his all to the people.  It can be very easy to forget all the Lord has sacrificed and has given us.  We can even grow in our own bitterness and sadness from the bad things that come from the world.  We can sometimes even choose to walk away.  I definitely have done this.  I can get distracted by my own worries and my own anxieties.  I need to remember I don’t need to stress because the Lord is by my side.  Sometimes it is most important to just choose to sit and be grateful for the Lord’s greatness. 

I have mentioned a few different times being very hurt by a group of friends where I used to live.  I felt rejected and left out many times.  I was very hurt by some of their actions and their lack of inviting me at times.  I had a lot of hurt from this town and from this group of people.  It did open my eyes to what many of my students will often experience when they are in both middle and high school.   I understand what it is like when a friend just doesn’t want to be your friend anymore or at least not as close as you had been. 

I didn’t talk to them for months.  Maybe, if anything, the briefest of text message conversations.  I just stopped having the conversations for a while.  I didn’t want to keep putting myself out there to be hurt once again.  I didn’t try to do anything drastic though.  I didn’t post anything bad on social media or send messages that would allude to my hurt feelings.  

Then I received a donation for my big Dressember fundraiser by a friend from this group. I was very grateful for this donation.  She as a friend has given every year, but I didn’t know if she would with the relationship being very different than it once was.  I did gratefully start a texting conversation and sent a small Christmas gift and card to her in my complete gratitude. 

Another friend in the group reached out to see about wedding planning.  She is also planning a wedding and so it can make it very fun to text her and see how her initial planning is going as well. She wanted to get together. We were able to get coffee and spend a long time talking to one another and getting to talk about our wedding planning and our ideas.  I love getting the chance to talk about wedding stuff with someone else who is also doing the same thing.  I’m glad we were able to see each other and bounce off ideas.  Maybe we will get together one more time before all the wedding craziness. 

The point of this journey is that those friends extended an olive branch.  I don’t know if they knew how hurt I was, but they had to know I wasn’t reaching out near as much as I had been before.  I wasn’t sending cards.  I wasn’t texting and asking to get together. They reached out to keep the relationship alive, and I am very grateful and appreciative of this fact. 

I want to highlight Ephesians 4:32 which says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  I love this verse because it does highlight the main point of this blog post which is to forgive one another.  However, it also shows that forgiveness is multi-faceted with being kind to one another and being tenderhearted.  Sometimes it does take more than just a simple, “I forgive you,” but an actual trying to rebuild what was once there.

I am not going to say that these particular friendships are going to be the same as it was before.  To start, I am in a whole different city now, so it wouldn’t be the same regardless of whether or not I genuinely wanted it to be the same.  I also don’t know if I trust them as completely as I did before.  However, I can still be someone they can come to, and I can spend some time with them throughout the year.  I can also, of course, make sure to send them either a card or at least a text with a “Happy Birthday,” or “Happy Anniversary,” or “Congratulations.”  

I am nervous about having a challenge for this week.  If I gave any type of challenge, it would be to think about some of the relationships in your life.  Are there any people reaching out to you and hoping to extend an olive branch?  If they would, would you be able to accept this olive branch?  Are there any people who you want to extend the olive branch to?  Is there any way you can offer forgiveness to anyone in your life?  My main challenge would be to spend time in prayer about these relationships and situations. 

It is important to have boundaries with those who have really hurt you to not put you into risk to constantly be taken advantage of.  There has to be a balance between putting oneself at risk for constant hurt and yet still being able to forgive those who have hurt you just as Christ has always forgiven us.  Relationships can be hard but learning to take those olive branches when they are there or to offer them when there is an opportunity can really help build the relationships and the love of the world.

I have been watching a lot of bridal drama recently.  (It is a guilty pleasure. Maybe it’s not the best but it is entertaining).  One video has gotten really popular on social media, and I do believe it can teach us a very big life lesson. 

The video is of a bride, who decided to wipe off all her bridal makeup her makeup artist just completed.  Now, this could just be seen as a loss of money.  She didn’t like it, so she got rid of it, even though she already paid the makeup artist. This was her decision at the end of the day. However, the main problem was she didn’t vocalize anything or any problems when she was in the makeup artist’s chair, and then she makes this video discussing her frustration with the look of her makeup.  Her makeup artist is also tagged or mentioned, so essentially this puts the bride’s makeup artist and her small business in jeopardy. One comment this bride made during the video was “Oh, I can’t wait to make a TikTok about this.”  I do believe this was a bit immature and unkind to do.  

While I do have a problem with this bride being this cruel to her makeup artist, I do believe her issue was more than just being immature.  Her problem was her bridesmaids and friends hyping her up. We could hear them in the background. She was being told by the bridesmaids that she should definitely do her own makeup and she does a better job than the makeup artist would.  They were hyping her up to do the wrong thing as opposed to the right and kind thing. 

I understand weddings can be stressful, so this bride may have just been in an anxious state. She might have heard someone say they didn’t love her makeup and therefore felt as though she really needed to redo her makeup all over.  Again, there is no problem if she really did want to waste her money and end up redoing her makeup for her wedding day.  The problem really was her deciding to put all that drama and information about the makeup artist on her social media for anyone to see and hear.  This was only going to be hurting the make-up artist feelings and possibly career.  

What this bride needed was someone to tell her “no, stop.  You can redo your makeup, but since you didn’t speak up and state your problems with the makeup artists, you don’t need to make a TikTok about this situation.  You do not need to be this mean or malicious.  I understand it is your wedding day, but you need to still be thinking about other people.  Let’s redo the makeup quickly if that is what you want, but then we have to get on with the rest of our day.” This is a type of response from friends who are reasonable and who hold you accountable.

The Bible talks a lot about the importance of friendships and how it is important to be wise and loving with your friends.  One verse I really want to highlight is 1 Corinthians 15:33 which says, “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” This is a reminder that we need to always be conscious of the decisions we are making or the people we have around us.  They really can impact the decisions we make for the better or for the worse.  

 I am not saying you can’t have some people around you who are supportive. Having “no people” does not necessarily mean they are not supportive, but it is important to have supportive friends who will also make sure you don’t do something terrible or are acting not in the way you usually do.  It is important to have friends, partners, or really any kind of relationship with people who will hold you accountable and want you to be the best person you can possibly be.  This is the kind of friends you should want.   

My challenge for you this week is to spend time thinking about your friendships and the people you have around yourself.  Are you easily persuaded?  Are you around those who could easily persuade you to do the wrong thing? If you are finding your friends are majorly “yes, people,”  It can be a good idea to rethink some of your friendship dynamics for a few more friends who will give you solid advice.  

I also think it is just as important to be the friend who holds other people accountable.  It is important to make sure we are supportive friends, friends who are there for others, but friends who also can tell their friends when they are being ridiculous or are making a wrong choice.  It is good to be the friend who can give good, loving, and Godly advice.  This is the type of friend God wants us to be.  My other challenge for you this week is to be reflective over whether or not you are this type of friend.  Are you the type of friend who will give Godly advice? Are you the type of friend who will tell your other friend to stop when they are making the wrong choice?  Are you willing to say the thing that your friend needs to hear, not just want to hear.   

This will be something I need to work on as well.  I believe I can sometimes be a Godly friend, but I also don’t love conflict or offending others.  I can be fearful, but if my friends know me and love me, they should know I am giving them Godly advice because I care about them and want to hold them accountable.  This is the same thing you should think about if this idea is something you are not quite used to.