rest during the storm!!??

Lately I’ve been in a weird mood...

I’ve been short tempered and somewhat cranky. It’s the end of the semester and I’m tired. I’m sick of school. I’m sick of being tired. I keep trying to do thing on my own power...

and it’s not working!!!


I know I’m not the only person who is struggling with this…

I’ve had at least 3 separate conversations with people who are saying the exact thing, they growing weary and life is getting tough…

we’re sick of doing this on our own…

well….I came across two verses today that helped me and thought they would be an encouragement to you all as well.

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him” (Psalms 37:7)

to think being STILL is something the Lord wants blows my mind…

lately I’ve been thinking I need to be doing something or praying something in order for God to move in my life…

but I was wrong…

He is simply asking us to be patient and wait for Him…


Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

This verse really spoke to me...

Even with all these burdens that I’m carrying around Jesus is inviting me to bring them to Him…

And not just give them to Him but He’ll also give me the rest I need???

What an amazing God we serve…

He loves us so much and yet we think we can do on our own power…

We don’t need to worry about anything…

There is nothing God can’t handle…

the same God who conquered the grave lives in you and me...


I hope if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by life and broken from the unfairness of life that you'll find rest...
that you'll find hope in the One True Hope
and that you wont give up





- Joe



Dedicated to my friends who are hurting (you know who you are) :)

As I sat and listened to my friends stories of pain and yet life, I was reminded of how beautiful life can be when we give it to God...my freinds stories were so amazing and so inspiring...

If you haven't had a chance to listen to a friends story in a while I would encourage you to take some time and listen to a friend share their life with you...

it might be a stretch for most of us, but i can promise you it is worth it :)

what inspires you?

we all have THOSE days.

when you have one of THOSE days, where do you find the inspiration to keep going?
when it seems like everything should just be fading...
or maybe to you everything IS fading...

what gives you the motivation to
get through the next

day...

hour...

minute...


where does your heart get inspired to continue on?

for me, i have recently found my inspiration thorugh the story of a friend. i continue to find strength through her story because the reason she shared and was open was because she heard someone else being honest and sharing. someone else's story inspired her.

i think sometimes we downplay the importance of
every
person's
unique
story.

and we forget the impact it can have on the life of someone else.

we have been blessed in our lives, whether through pain or joy, to be able to share that blessing with other people. we never know who or how our story WILL impact someone's life.

but, if we never share... how will we find out?
maybe someone will one day tell you how great of an impact your story had on them.
you will be their inspiration.

now, do not confuse inspiration and hope.
our hope needs to be found in only One.
our hope cannot be found in a blog. or a sermon. or an person, except Jesus.

Jesus' story is the best.

Jesus never fails.
people. will. fail.

Jesus is ever faithful.
people. will. fail.

Jesus is ever merciful.
people. will. fail.

Jesus is ever providing.
people. will. fail.

Jesus is ever loving.
people. will. fail.

Jesus needs to be our hope. God has written a story, you are just one character in His story. don't keep your little line or paragraph or chapter to yourself. let someone read your part. because it isn't your story, it is God's story. and without you, the story would be incomplete. there would be a missing part. let someone read your part and see how you fit into this story that God has created. and through that, let God's story shine through you to inspire someone else.

be authentic. share. inspire.
-amanda

part two.

because God created us and created us perfectly, we are not meant to live in bondage.
we are not meant to live under or live in the darkness.

maybe you're at a point in your life where you feel like things need to change.
maybe you want to change some things.
you feel like there's a greater purpose for your life, and yet you don't see it.

the cool thing is that we have a choice.
we can either listen to the lies or we can search for that beautiful purpose.
we can dwell on our pain and struggles or we can reach out for help.

the first step in finding that purpose is to be completely honest with someone. share with them what's REALLY going on. share with them your doubts, fears, confusion, and brokenness. reach out for that help and your healing will begin.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says:
“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”

we need to be humbled before our God. when we take the time to humble ourselves before Him and cast all our anxieties on Him, He will pour out his blessings on us so that we may be healed and free from these chains that bind us.
if we can take these steps in being honest with someone we will start to see ourselves healing. slowly but surely. it's a process. in that process we don't have to be confined to the past.

maybe you already know that though.


we don't have to suffer from our struggles anymore...WHY??
because Jesus has paid it all.


all of our failures.


all our mistakes.


all of our pain.




but maybe we've forgotten that part.
maybe we forget too often.
maybe we just take this for granted.
maybe we take hope for granted.

but our hope is only found in one place. the cross.



our challenge to you today is to remember where you find your hope. hope is not found in a blog or in a sermon or in a friendship, but hope is found through what Jesus has done on the cross for us. our hope is found in God’s word. our hope is found through prayer. Jesus is our hope.

part one.

There are many things I don't understand. I don't understand dispensational theology. I don't understnad babies. I defintatly don't understand parents either. Maybe you are going through crap right now. And maybe you feel like nobody understands you. Maybe you feel alone right now, and that nobody understands anything about you. Yet deep down inside you know you are broken and that you need a change. Maybe you don't want to hold your brokeness inside any longer. Maybe you just need to be honest with yourself. Maybe you have questions...What does honesty look like? How can we take that brokeness and turn it into healing? In this mess of a person that you've become, how can you find peace?

I know someone who can help...

I know someone who understands.
He has taken all of your pain.
He's taken all of that confusion.
All of the doubt.
All of that shame.
He's taken all of that brokeness and nailed it to the CROSS...

If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ I can promise you that "He who began a good work in you will complete it."(Phil. 1:6)

God will never give up on you.
God will always be there.
God has a great plan for you.
God wants you to have life.

Don't give up.

Today is a NEW day.

You are not a screw up, or a mistake.
You are beautiful, and made perfect, exactly as God wanted.

... (to be continued)

small dipped cone.

Has your mind ever been wandering and you just think of how many people there really are in this world? In thinking about this, have you ever thought how limited your connections are, or how very few people you truly know... or how very few people truly know you?

Today I had this revelation sitting eating my lunch at the mall. I went to the mall by myself to return something and ended up hanging out there for a couple of hours. I was just wandering aimlessly, eventually I grabbed something the eat and sat down at a table with a book I had just bought at barnes and noble. At one point I looked up and realized just how many people were around me. There were about 40 people (parents and kids) in line for the merry-go-round, about 10 people in line at subway, about 10 people in line at A & W, not to mention all the people sitting around me at tables, the people climbing the stairs, taking the escalator, in the other lines, and shuffling in and out of all the stores in the mall. Everyone seems completely oblivious to everyone else there, with the exception of those that they were there with. Then I got to thinking, if there are this many people in one mall in Grandville, Michigan... how many people are there in malls across the county, or across the state, or across the US, or across the world. And that was just thinking of all the malls!! After I finished my lunch I sat there reading my book for a while longer and then decided I wanted some ice cream. So Dairy Queen it was. I was the 8th person in line at Dairy Queen where I waited while getting walked around, walked in front of, and in one case walked into by many people until it was finally my turn to order. So I told the girl my order. A small vanilla cone dipped in chocolate. I paid and stepped to the side so that the next person could order while the girl in the back made mine. As I was waiting I turned to think more about how many people there are in the world. I was kind of zoned out but after she called my order twice, I realized she was talking to me. "Small dipped cone" was how she addressed me. I was no longer Amanda. I was "small dipped cone."

How impersonal have we gotten?

Sometimes I feel like I am just a number in this world. One thing that scared me about going off to a big college was that I would be "just a number." Then I came to Grace where not only was I not "just a number" but I was recognized as a person with a story. I was not "small dipped cone" I was Amanda. So the two boys in front of me, were not just numbers 6 and 7 in a line for ice cream. I don't know their names, but God does. God knows every person who was in every line I saw today. God knows all the people who were going in and out of every store today. God knows the hearts of all of these people. God knows everything about them, right down to the number of hairs on their head. God wants a relationship with every one of them.

This week has been kind of rough for me. It has been great too though. I have transitioned into a new roommate, so it is going to take some getting used to as far as the way she likes things. I have been getting up earlier than I have for the past three months. I have been immersed in God's word twice daily among my other reading. I have lost a job. I have made some new friends. I have had some hard conversations. Joe and I had the opportunity to talk to some youth pastors about going to speak at their youth group which was both exciting and scary. But through it all I have realized that God knows my heart and he knows what is going on even when I don't. I need to trust more in him and beleive my lies even less.

At the job I just lost I was not Amanda. I was number 84065. That was my identity. I was just a number. But God has shown how much he truly loves us. He tells us that we are his children and that he cares for us. He knows everything about our lives and that is so spectacular.

Today I am not a number. You are not a number. I encourage you to get out and meet someone today, find out something new about an old friend, and just experience life as people meant to care for people. Let someone else know that they are not just a random number, let them know they are cared about and loved.

Be Blessed. Be Honest.
Amanda

Blessings Among Pain!!!

Have you ever thought, “God why does this continue to happen to me?” We go through the struggles of life and we give them to God.

We completely give them to God, but yet they seem to keep on coming back. They seem to not understand that God has taken care of them.

I know that I’ve found myself saying this to myself many times. I’ve been so confused so many times. I’m like “God! This is yours now. I’ve given this to you. Why does it keep on coming back bother me?”

I wonder if I’ve had the wrong perspective this whole time. I wonder if God kept those struggles in my life so that I can be more BLESSED?

Blessed.

That’s an interesting word to use when talking about problems in our lives, or struggles that we face everyday. But I believe that God wants us to view these problems as blessings.

Think about it.

Looking back at my own life I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for the hard times that God allowed me to go through. I probably wouldn’t be pursuing youth ministry. I then probably wouldn’t be at Grace Bible College. Which would mean I wouldn’t have grown in my faith as much as I have.

God had a plan when I was going through those seemingly impossible times in my life. When it was happening there’s no way I would have guessed I would be where I am today, but God knew, and I doubted His perfect plan for my life.

Another blessing that has come from my own struggles has been the opportunity I’ve had to be able to witness to others because of our common bond of brokenness. God blessed me with brokenness and struggles in my life so that I can better help others feel like that they are not alone. We all have had some sort of pain in our lives and there’s no better way to use that pain than to allow it to be used by God!

So I challenge you to find your struggles as blessings today. Think of them as opportunities to defeat satan by bringing God the glory.

Just Being Honest,
Joe