A Blogger's Debut

Hi! Welcome to my blog. I hope my posts can be inspiring and uplifting, but I really write for my own enjoyment. It's the best kind of  therapy.

I'm a small town girl, born and raised in the hills of Eastern Kentucky. And there's no other place in the world I'd rather be.

I was saved by that amazing grace on a Easter Sunday morning. Since that moment, I walk with my Lord. And I try to walk in the spirit. I try to live in light of eternity. Everyday,  I press on....with my hope anchored in His promise of Heaven.

Philippians 4:12-13 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

A Blogger's Debut 

I've kept a journal since about 4th grade. As I grew older, my ramblings grew to be more organized. But not by much. I still journal, but now it's more of a devotional journal. I keep notes of my favorite scriptures and songs. I write some of my prayers and attempt to write a few poems. Like I said, I find it to be very therapeutic. Of course, that's because that kind of thing appeals to me. I like words. I love to read, and I often find that I have words bubbling inside of me. I feel better when they spill out. But writing may not be your thing. I think it's important to know what it is exactly that makes you feel in touch with yourself. I've never had a surplus of confidence, but I do know who I am as an individual.

I'm not very technological. It took me a while to join social media (and I still have plenty of mixed feelings about that). I have trouble getting things hooked up and signed in. I know absolutely nothing about HTML. You get the picture. But yet, I still feel this urge to blog. I've avoided it for a while mostly on the account of feeling like a fish out of water, but also because I doubt the popularity of my posts. Then I remembered why I write. Not to mention, it can't hurt to have one more inspiring and uplifting thing floating around in cyberspace. Because Lord knows there's plenty enough of the opposite. So, you've been forewarned, you will find nothing fancy here, but you just might be encouraged, and that's good enough for me.

When I was a little girl, I would become mesmerized while listening to my dad's sermons. I did not have a personal relationship with Christ yet, but I could see that he had something burning inside of him. I, too, wanted that passion (which I would later learn is called faith). I would worry (because I'm that type of person) that he would run out of sermons. Yes, that's right. I would hear and be touched by the gospel, not understanding its power, and be afraid that Dad couldn't possibly preach many more sermons that could sound that sweet. Childhood innocence at its finest. I'm relieved to now know the true power of the Gospel and understand that it is made new everyday. Praise God for that! 

I guess what I'm saying is, I won't write anything that's not already been said before. But spreading the joy of Christ never gets old. 

So, I do have some opinions/stories/thoughts that have been bubbling up inside me. But first, let me post a selfie... Not a picture. But a testimony. 

We are all unique, different individuals. (Yet, our creator knows the number of the hairs on our head! Luke 12:7) We are in different places in the world, both literally and figuratively. We are different genders, ages, and races. We come from different upbringings and cultures. None of those factors change the Gospel and what happened on Calvary. However, salvation is a very personal thing. Your walk and my walk is going to be different. God touches people with different things, at different times, and in different ways. Our convictions may be different, our denomination may be different, and the way we understand the scripture may be different. What the vast majority need to understand is that we as individuals can not change another person's understanding. That's not my intent. I couldn't do it anyways. It takes the spirit of God to work in the heart of a man. Also, it's easy to forget that your devotion towards something can be felt by another person just as powerfully towards something else. I have found that people want to bicker (and in best case scenarios, "debate") about the origins of life and its purpose, the power of prayer and its outcome, and so and so forth. There comes a point in a person's life when they choose to step out on faith. A moment in time when you give way to believing in something much larger than your mortal mind can comprehend. You place the significance of your existence in something that you can not see or prove. You live by it, you hope in it, and you would die for it. When a person has reached that point and has that faith, then no amount of debating is going to change someone's heart. Like I said, only God can do that. So then, what we as Christians need to strive to do, is walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.  We need to let our light shine and lead by example. What we say doesn't matter nearly as much as what we do day in and day out.... How we walk.

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.  

Mathew 5:16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 

It's important to keep Paul's mindset as we see it in the book of Romans.

Romans 14:1-5 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to dispute over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who us weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems everyday alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 

Paul's understanding of freedom in Christ was characterized by a deep respect for others. Christians must allow other believers the freedom to follow their own convictions.  My personal relationship with Christ and my personal convictions stand on this:

Romans 1:5-8 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

I strive to pray and walk in a spiritual mindset. Do I fail? Daily. But I press on. My point is that I am NOT a self-help person. I do not believe there is a Christian formula you can follow to have a fancy, frilly life. I do not listen to health, wealth, and prosperity preaching. I understand we live in a fallen world where we battle the flesh daily. I am also a creationist that believes we live in a young world. I do not believe in evolution. I have conservative values. I do not believe in abortions, nor do I believe in same sex unions. For that matter, I don't believe in living with someone before marriage. I don't think sin has rankings. We are all guilty. We are all unworthy. (That's why God's grace and mercy is really such a beautiful thing.) And at the same time, I do not believe that the weight of a relationship with Christ rests in "religion" or man made rules and practices. I think it should be every Christian's goal to walk in love. 

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind'. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."  

Love. Love one another. Walk in love.

There you have it. I have laid out exactly what's on my table, in a nutshell. That's what my soul rests in. If you're still interested, come back around.  

Blogs That Inspire

The link will take you to one of the most inspirational men that I know of. I would love to personally meet him and thank him for his spiritual walk with Christ in this fallen world. Check out his organization and his mission. If you can get on board, you may find his teachings and explanations very beneficial.