Timelessly Trendy

Hello beautiful people.

As I type this, I’m sitting in my college library with one of the sweetest people I’ve met my freshman year of college. It is 9:00 pm exactly, and I just submitted an extra credit assignment that Lord knows I need into the Dropbox.  My friend is writing a paper.  It is finals week on campus, and you can feel it in the air.

My first final was yesterday, I had another final this morning.  I have a final Friday, a final Monday, and a final Thursday. That is it.  A week from tomorrow, I will (hopefully) successfully completed my freshman year of college.

It hasn’t been an easy year.  I’ve had to be my most vulnerable self, which was hard for me.  I’ve had to have faith that things would be okay, even if I don’t get the grade I want.  I’ve had to persevere, when that is the last thing I wanted to do.  I found myself searching for encouragement from peers, friends, parents, and professors.  When you have a problem, you can try to solve it yourself, or you can give it to God.  It seems like giving it to God would be the easiest alternative, but it required me to grow in faith more than ever.  Growing in my faith has been so much more rewarding than any grade I could get.

When I started reaching to God for encouragement, I became so much more full.  I noticed myself complaining less, and praying more.  God is our professional worrier, so why should we worry? Why should we stress about what we can’t change? Why not just have faith and give it to God?

Finding encouragement through Jesus is so much easier said than done, but it is so worth it.  Here is some encouragement from Him.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. – Joshua 1:9

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. – Psalm 28:7

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain – Hebrew 6:19

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. – John 16:33

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. – Isaiah 41:10

These verses are so encouraging. How great it is to have a friend in Jesus, that we can lean on anytime? What a blessing.

I’ve recently become a huge Lauren Daigle fan, I know, I’m late to the party. Her song “Trust in You” is such a good reminder and encourager:

“When you don’t move the mountains                                                                                       I’m needing you to move
When you don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When you don’t give the answers
As I cry out to you
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in you”

So beautiful & so powerful!  Whatever mountain you need moved, I pray you are brave and seek encouragement first through Jesus.  You’ve got this, and He has got you.

A prayer for peace.

If you were raised in church like me, or even if you weren’t, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Horatio G. Spafford. If you haven’t, he wrote the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” in the 1870s.

He wrote the hymn when his life was at his darkest. He had lost his son, his business was destroyed in the great Chicago fire, and his four daughters were killed on a boat heading to Europe. After finding out about the loss of his daughters, he wrote this hymn.

The song didn’t come in a joyful moment, it came with great sorrow at a very dark moment in his life. He still had peace from the Lord, it was well with his soul.

Tonight, it is not well with my soul.

The saying is true, “When it rains, it pours.” It has truly been pouring on me these past few days. My grandfather has been in & out of the hospital for weeks, my father had a medical scare related to his 2015 heart attack, my mother finishing up school, end of the year assignments & finals, drama with friends, and trying not to take out frustrations on my long distance boyfriend.. it has been a rough week. It has been a week filled with longer prayers, stronger tears, and a lack of sleep. I didn’t lose my family or business, but it has been a rough week.

But Jesus didn’t promise to make every day easy. In fact, He never promised life would be easy at all. However, He did promise to be a refuge in times of trouble.

“The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”‭‭

Psalm‬ ‭9:9-10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He did promise to supply our needs.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

And most of all, He did promise salvation and eternal life. 

“that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.””

‭‭John‬ ‭3:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus didn’t promise that it would always be well with my soul, but because of His promises I can remain faithful through it all.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:34‬ ‭NIV‬‬

~and if not, He is still good~