Keep Going

I know this season has lasted longer than any of us wanted. 

This season of shutdowns, unknowns, Coronavirus, fears, and deferred plans. 

In this season, God hasn't been still. We have seen Him working. He is actively pursuing us and drawing us closer to Himself. In the midst of all the chaos, He has been with us. He has been our strength and our refuge. 

This season has not been easy, but it has taught us much. And it's not over yet. It's easy right now to grow tired and quit. But you don't have to. 

Let us keep pressing ahead. Let us not grow weary. Let us keep running the race that God has laid out for us. Let us keep doing what we know is right. 

With Christ by our side empowering us every step of the way, we can do this. In Him and with Him.

Know that I pray that today you would be encouraged to run the race well and love those around you. 

Don't Give Up During Quarantine

It's easy right now to think that we are stuck and can't do anything worthwhile. I mean we have to stay 6 feet away from total strangers. How could we possibly do anything encouraging?

I know I've thought these thoughts. It's easy to want to give up. It's easy to want to think we can't do anything with our faith when we can't reach out and touch someone. Might as well just go watch a ton of movies or check out from life. Might as well just try to forget about it and wait for it all to blow over. 

Friend, this is where Satan wants us. He wants us to give up. To numb the pain. To become ineffective for the Kingdom right now. 

I know that this week I have grown tired of the battle and tired of the distance. When I let my eyes wander, Satan had a foot hold. I wanted to be done with this time instead of embracing it. Thankfully there is repentance and grace.

God hasn't called us to give up in this time. We are called to rise up and reach out to the hurting. We are called to shine Christ's light in the middle of the darkness of fear. We are called to press on. Christ is the Author and Perfector of our faith. Let us fix our eyes on Him and keep running the race. 

I don't know what that will look like for you, but I can offer a few suggestions from how I feel that God is calling me in this time to keep running. 

Reach out to the unbelievers you know and see how they are doing. 

Take groceries to an elderly neighbor. 

Engage with your family. Take time to be with them and do things for them. 

Send letters of encouragement to friends. 

Be kind and gracious to all retail workers. 

Stay connected with friends and pray for them. 

Dig deep into the Bible and study the matchless God we serve. 

What's on your list? What has God given you to do? How has He called you to keep running? 

Do it my friend! Don't let discouragement drag you down. If you've stopped running, pray, repent, and then start again. Turn off the distractions and run toward our Glorious King. He is worthy of a well run race. 

For My Single And Married Friends

Photo credit: Mikayla Holman

One of the things I have noticed on Facebook is a lot of posts aimed at singles that go something like this, (picture of me and my guy) single women wait for a love like this. 

Through the years I have read a lot of these posts and come away feeling more discouraged. I know the people who posted this meant well, but when I read this post I feel like it spotlights my singleness. Their fullness spotlights my emptiness. Their relationship status highlights mine. Their wait being over spotlights my (sometimes hard) wait.

When you write a post or are having a conversation, where does the spotlight fall? Sadly I feel like all too often I read these posts and turn the spotlight toward me and what I wish I had. I choose to look at the waiting and the downsides to singleness. 

But where should I be focusing? Toward myself or toward the all sufficient Christ? When I choose to point the spotlight toward Christ and the gospel a change takes place. As I see more of His worthiness my pain becomes less. As I remember all that He is my purpose become clear. 

No matter what position we are in, whether single or married, we are to honor God in the middle of it. In all that we do, if we aren't trusting God wholly and learning to love our neighbors (even through Facebook) we are failing. If He isn't coming through in every Facebook post, every conversation, every word, then we are not living according to the riches of His goodness. 

So how do we do this? 

To my married/dating friends - let me tell you from the bottom of my heart that I am happy for you. I know that your special someone is the fruit of years of prayer and hard relationship work. I hope that I can be one of the ones that celebrates with you and enjoys seeing what God does in your life. 

When you want to encourage your single friends, the best thing that you can encourage us with is the gospel. Encourage us to look to Christ. Encourage us to live the life that God has called us to live.

To my single friends - I know that it's hard to be single sometimes and there's a lot of things we have to deal with. But what if we started rejoicing with people instead of envying them? What if we started encouraging our married or dating friends? What if we starting living life as if  Christ is enough? What if we proclaimed His goodness in our lives? What if we became the best servers, lovers, and friends that we can?

No matter where you are, start declaring His faithfulness to those around you. Let us see what God does when we start loving each other! 

Identity #3: Who I Am

When I was beat down and broken, He reminded me of who I am. When I was reeling from loss and didn't know what to do, He wooed me back to Him. When I felt defeated He reminded me of my purpose. The beautiful purpose that He had for me before the foundation of the world was laid. 

When I was in my early teens I wanted to do God's plan for my life. I wanted Him to give me a mission to accomplish. I prayed and asked God what He wanted me to be. 

It was then that He gave me a vision for what He wanted me to be. In a nutshell it's this: I want to be a woman passionately seeking God's heart and I want to encourage the Church. It's that simple. 

Through the years I've tried to follow His leading and encourage the Church. It's looked so different for different times in the last 15 years. Sometimes it's looked like being there for a neighbor when they felt alone. Encouraging a friend that she's on the right track. Blogging. Pursuing a closer walk with God through study and quiet time. Singing to a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care. Though the expression has been different the vision has been the same.

But recently He showed me how He sees me. He sees me as His bride that He is making ready for Himself. He is cleansing and refining. He has and is giving me white to wear for the day when I meet Him. 

When I was preparing for my wedding, I spent so much time planning the details and worrying about how I would look for that day. What if I started putting as much preparation for my heavenly wedding? What if I prepared for the day when I will walk down a gold paved aisle to meet my God? What if I lived as the blood bought Bride of Christ? 

So who am I really? I am Rose. Chosen by God before the foundation of the world was laid to become His. Through the blood of Christ, I am cleansed and sanctified to be ready for service. Now I can love and encourage the church wherever I find them. 

And one day I will meet my God dressed in the purity that He purchased for me. One day I will see the joy on His face at my coming. One day I will be fully His bride beautiful. 

For now I wait and prepare for that day. For now I trust Him and follow His leading. For now I walk free in Him. I know who I am. I am His. 

Special Thanks to Mikayla for the photos.