Lost Focus

There was a girl who loved her life.
She loved her family.
She loved her friends.
She loved everything about where she was heading.
She had always figured she was blessed, and she kind of expected that something bad would happen soon...
That's how it works right?
Life is a roller coaster, isn't it?
Something good, something bad, up, down, the pattern goes on.
So she waited, and she waited, and she waited.
Slowly things started to get worse, but her situation was still the same.
She still had the best family.
She still had the greatest friends.
She still thought she loved where her life was heading.
So what changed?
Nothing.
Nothing really changed, except for her.

She was so consumed in all the things that could happen, that she lost sight of what was actually happening. She let her thoughts take away her joy, because they weren't focused in the right place. She lost her joy, because she lost her focus... I lost my joy, because I lost my focus. 

So all this to say:


Focus on Jesus.

Yes things can go wrong and out of control, and honestly they probably will. But keeping your eyes on the God of it all is what will allow you to keep your joy. Don't lose your joy because your priorities aren't straight. There is a season for mourning and sadness and grief, but in the big scheme of things, we have a God who loves us, cares for us, and has blessed us in more ways than we can fathom. If that is the truth that our thoughts are aligned with, then nothing else can steal our joy. Joy is a blessing, don't let the enemy take that away from you.


This is a really hard thing for me to write about actually. Because I totally know and believe this to be true, but I'm constantly aware of all the bad things going on and I always analyze all the things that could go wrong. I like to think I'm an optimist, but pessimism typically is where my overthinking gets me.

But these last couple weeks I've been so convicted. What happened to my joy? Why did I let it get taken away from me? Then I read this verse.

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Do I belong to Christ? Yes, which means that his will for my life is to be joyful, to never stop praying, and to be thankful in all circumstances. And maybe joy comes when you do those two other things mentioned... Never stop praying= becoming joyful.
Being thankful and finding the blessings in all circumstances= becoming joyful.

Be intentional about prioritizing your thoughts on Christ, and naturally joy will follow.

"Human history... The long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy." -C.S. Lewis 

Against the Current

I read a quote today that gave me goose bumps: 

"We are perfectly useless as Christ-exalting Christians if all we do is conform to the world around us." 

Swimming against the current is exhausting. It is so much easier to just sit back and move with the current. But is that doing any good in furthering the Kingdom of God?

Think about this: a weak fish will just let the current push them downstream, but a strong fish will swim upstream against the current and will only get stronger. 

A commonly quoted Bible verse addresses this topic:

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." -Romans 12:2 

Don't conform... There is so much beauty, strength, and uniqueness found when you don't conform. Not everyone will appreciate that uniqueness, but our lives aren't about pleasing everyone. Our lives are supposed to be pleasing and righteous to our God. Even if He may seem like the only one at times that appreciates your differences from a world where conforming is the norm, don't conform. 

Yes you will slip and fall. I do everyday. But that's grace. And that's where the 2nd part of this verse in Romans becomes so important--> be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 

What should we do to stray away from conforming to the patterns of the world? 

We should be transformed. I think part of what transforms us is the fight it takes to not conform. But another part of what transforms us is the renewing of our minds. Feeling weary, exhausted, and hopeless after swimming against the current? Renew your mind. Take some time out of your day, clear your mind, and ask God to renew you. Spend time in His Word, filling your thoughts with His truth. It seems small, but it's truly amazing how much of a difference stepping back for a moment and choosing to spend some time with God can make. 

So keep swimming upstream. Don't be afraid to go against the current. Step out of conformity and be transformed by renewing your mind in Christ. 

Faith and Expectations

Pray with expectations. It's okay to expect God to move, in fact, if we aren't expecting God to work, we might be lacking in faith.

Hebrews 11:1 says that "Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

Are you confident when you pray that God is going to move? Are you confident that when you work in the Kingdom of God you are part of something far greater than you know? Are you sure of the truth that God can move in miraculous ways?

I know I go through the motions quite often. I pray and think well God COULD do something. Far too often I think God COULD move instead of knowing He WILL move. What's the point of those prayers if I'm not even really expecting it to work?

Be honest with yourself! How often do you pray because that's just what you do but its really just another prayer?

Faith moves mountains. But genuine faith is more than just hoping and throwing up a prayer. It is more than just believing that God can do something, it is actually expecting God to move in ways that seem impossible.

When we start expecting God to really move a few things happen:

1-    God will move and work miracles.

2-     God will move and work miracles in ways we don't notice or understand.

3-    God will move in different ways than we were expecting, maybe even different ways than we wanted, but He is still moving all the same.

4-     God will move when, where, and how He sees fit. 


Even when our faith isn't there, the mercy and grace of God moves. God moves and can move despite our lack of faith and expectations. He isn't dependent on our faith to move. So then why have expectations and faith? Because it is part of a real relationship. In any kind of relationship, you will naturally have expectations. You have faith in your friends, that they'll be there for you. In the same way, we should have faith and expectations as part of our relationship with Christ. 

What happens when expectations seem to go unmet? The truth is we disappoint ourselves. We get disappointed because we set terms and conditions and imagine God will work in those ways. Just because God does things in His own way according to His plan, doesn't mean He isn't working. It doesn't mean He isn't moving mountains. So expect God to move even when you don't see it happening. Expect that God is working even if you don't understand the ways in which He is doing it. Expect that God will move even if it is on His own timing. This week expect God to do great things. Pray in hope and expectations that God will fix what is broken, He will bring healing, He will bring peace, He will restore relationships, He will redeem and save souls, and He will continue working in amazing ways through the lives of His children.

Hope anchors the soul, and praying with expectations is having faith in God as our anchor.

Shoutout to my Brutha from the same Mutha

Tonights blog will be less of a devotional and more of a shoutout to my older brother. He's one of my favorite people in this world, and God truly blessed me by giving me a person like him to look up to. When you get the chance, it's important to let those people know how much they mean to you. So, to my dearest and one and only brother, this one is for you. 




What my brother doesn't know:

He is one of my biggest role models. I don't say it a lot and he probably doesn't know it, but I really look up to him so much.

He's smart and to the point. He's honest. He's willing to say what needs to be said when no one else will say it. He's passionate about the things he loves and what he believes in. He's got an odd sense of humor at times but he does make people laugh. He's the musician I always wanted to be but never will be. He's a leader and an example for a lot of different people. He's someone that will always have advice and wisdom to share on anything you're going through. And I don't like to admit it, but my brother is a whole lot smarter than me.

I'm glad I'm not the oldest child with two younger sisters. Because someone like me couldn't do it. But my brother can. He's been one of the best influences in my life from the beginning. I like to act like I don't take his advice sometimes, but that's only because part of me doesn't like admitting he's right.

I know I wouldn't be the person I am today without my big brother. He taught me how to stand my ground, he taught me how to make my own choices, and he taught me that it's okay to be weird and different from anybody else.

Logan, thanks for accepting my weirdness when it scares most people away. In fact, thanks for encouraging my weirdness and showing me how to be my own person. Thanks for being someone I can talk to about all my problems (I know I have many). Thanks for all the good memories growing up. Thanks for fighting with me and teaching me how to argue. Thanks for teaching me how to really be strong and stand up for myself. Thanks for showing me how to just relax and enjoy life as it goes instead of stressing about everything. Thank you for being real, and talking to me about what matters. Thanks for just being you--don't change that. And lastly, thanks for looking out for me. I don't tell you enough, so seriously, thank you.

I'm pretty excited for what God is going to do in your life. I kinda hate that we're growing up, because it's scary to think about living away from you and going our own separate ways. But, I appreciate being able to talk to you and pick up a conversation even after we've been distanced and haven't talked for a little while.

I'm not one that shares my feelings often, so please appreciate my effort... Love you lots bruh! And I really mean that.

Unconditional Love

There are no perfect people in this life. There's no perfect friendship, no perfect relationship, no perfect employee, teacher, boss, etc. The perfect person isn't a reality.

But that doesn't mean people don't have good in them. In fact, although all people are inherently sinful, all people are made in the image of God.

Can you imagine if God only loved perfect people? Can you imagine if God's love for each individual was based on what they've done right in life?

I'll admit I really don't understand God's love fully. I don't get why God loves so unconditionally when all we do is betray him over and over again. But he does.

It's crazy. It's convicting.

It's convicting because it is way too easy to base your feelings towards someone on what they've done right and what they've done wrong. Who am I to decide how kind I am to someone based on the good in their life? If God loved like that, there wouldn't be a whole of people on this earth to love.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

We serve because he first served us.

We sacrifice ourselves because Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice for us.

People might betray you, they might take advantage of the kindness and love you give them..... Love them anyway. Be kind anyways. Serve them anyways.

You won't make a kingdom impacting difference in someone's life if you love conditionally. Anyone can do that.

So where do we start?

The first place to look is Christ's example. He gave his entire life for an undeserving world. I can guarantee you it wasn't easy. But I imagine what made it worth it is the love He has because we're image bearers of God himself.

See people as God sees them. Maybe broken and flawed, but beautiful and loved all the same.

"If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." -Abraham Lincoln

Stop waiting for people to mess up. Stop looking for reasons not to love, and serve, and be kind. Stop thinking about why people don't deserve your kindness.

If you base who you love on perfection, you will find in the end there is no one left to love.

Love isn't love if it has conditions.

Being the hands and feet of Jesus means loving in a crazy kind of way that people won't understand. Forgive people that everyone calls you crazy for forgiving. And love them selflessly.

Because that's Jesus.

The concept is simple, but the fight to love others unconditionally will be a battle you have to choose to fight for the rest of your life.

Take it day by day. Person by person. Look at someone and ask yourself if God loves them? If the answer is yes (which 10 out of 10 times it will be), then so should you.

I encourage you this week to do something crazy, something almost unheard of: love without conditions, without judgement, and without reason. 

#livelifeanchored