Guard Your Heart!

Proverbs 4:23 [Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it]

In society today, we [as ladies] are fed the lie that we have to be in a relationship. It is all over the media, tabloids, and news. We cant make it a few hours without being exposed to this "false truth." Thirstiness to be in a relationship has forced a compromise of our values and morals, for a fleshly desire. The social norm is to be in these shallow relationships. These relationships where we share permanent feelings with a temporary person and yet we are surprised when our hearts are broken in to, when we allowed them in. We allowed them in by forcing a relationship built on our control and capabilities. We appease our boredom and loneliness, settling for a false companion.

This season of singleness is an opportunity, not only a time of serving God but more importantly a heart make over. For so many, we overlook this important season, constantly seeking out the next guy that will appease this desire in our heart for companionship. Finding boys that are kind of "godly", that go to church on Sunday, guys that we can change and make into the image we want. But we fail to recognize, we are no creator.  We have no authority over the heart of man. For so many years I went through this toxic cycle of trying to change people to make them into the image I desired. Yet time and time again they failed me by pushing my values and morals away from  God and time and time again I repeated the cycle.

I failed to recognized, I was created for a purpose. My inner most being was created for something bigger than my shallowness, my loneliness, my boredom, my selfishness. Behind all of that was a heart that was created in the image of God, an image our shallowness and selfishness has a hard time grasping. But this heart had the desires to serve and grow closer to God, yet was blind because of desperation.

Your heart is in God's possession and if a man wants to pursue you he will need to go to God first. If he does not, then he is not the man that deserves the emotions and desires God has hidden in your heart; desires meant to be shared with your future husband. A husband who has God's word over-flowing from his heart, is the man you are waiting for. A man who values your heart for God and not what you can offer him during this temporary life on earth.

I know this concept may sound crazy or even impossible and you're probably thinking that guy doesn't exist and he never will. But I encourage you to really surrender your control over this and allow God to work in your heart because the moment you let go, serious make-overs begin and God is able to reveal Himself to you. God says in Ecclesiastes that there is a season for everything and God could be calling you to a season of singleness so he can work in your heart, transforming you into that Proverbs 31 woman.

blog inspired by:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igCj3jsbcqs  and a good friend :)

Under Attack.

Under Attack?

Feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt or shame from temptations or trials that have been overcome by Gods power? Well this is spiritual warfare and satan puts these negative thoughts and feeling in your heart, to blind you to the joy of Christ power in overcoming the temptation or trial. You never know how mad you make Satan until he tries to destroy the good things God is doing for you and in you. Last week I posted about purity and before I posted it I was really nervous because I felt that it might have been too blunt and to the point and that ultimately I might offend someone. Well I definitely offended Satan because he clearly came for me this weekend.

Satan knows that God will protect His children:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned by name you are mine." Isaiah 43:1
Throughout the Old Testament, God continually protected His people. Moses promises Gods people, who were in fear because of Pharaohs army nearing the Red Sea, that the "Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." Exodus 14:14 
We are promised that, "no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

He protects. He rescues. He fights.

When we are no longer willing to follow satan and decide to follow Christ, we are allowing Him to be the leader of our lives. Like any human being rejection hurts and Satan hates it. Our sinful nature seeks revenge when rejected, but Satan seeks destruction. And he made an attack on the precious covenant I made to God and my future husband. A covenant that has become part of my foundation in life. An area of my life I have struggled with he prowled out and tried to destroy, but because I have put my trust and faith in Christ, He protected me from the attack of satan. 1 Peter 5:8-9 [ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.]

A good friend reminded me that God has anointed me with wisdom and courage to speak about what He has put on my heart. And while it may seem that I have it all together, I am only a woman and also a sinner and I face the same temptations and trials. This weekend was a wake-up call to me that satan is real and he is out there trying to rob me of everything good that God does for me. 2 Peter 2:9 [the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VGwVtYxEy8

Hide Your Love Away

Attention Young Ladies!

Ever felt lonely and desperate to be in a relationship?  Have you ever done something with a guy just to keep a relationship going? Is purity a word you find yourself avoiding?

Well, I know exactly how you feel and my heart has a heavy burden to share. A burden that I carried for so long, until I allowed God to take that burden and pain away. This pain was not something that I volunteered myself for or allowed freely to happen. This pain began when I consciously chose to put my life before my relationship with God. The moment I turned my back on God was the moment I unconsciously told Satan I was willing to follow him.

Satan will not tempt you with something he knows you will overcome, he has been in this world for far to long to lose that easy. He targets each of us with what he knows will keep us away from a relationship with the Father and for me that was physical purity. For me, Satan put guys in my life that were nice, from good "Christian" homes, and were exactly what I "thought" I was looking for. He is going to tempt each of us differently, for you it may be mental purity, physical purity, or both. But there are 3 things young women desire: we want to be pursued by our prince charming, we want to be told we are beautiful, and we want to be heard/undivided attention.

Any boy that is willing to pursue you, tell you that you are beautiful, and give you his undivided attention over his relationship with the Lord, does not truly desire the Lord or your purity. He desires to know you and only you  and while his intentions may seem innocent at first, he is also a sinner and without a foundation built on the Lord, your relationship with him will lead down a path that leads to mental or physical sin, because that is what our sinful nature desires. A godly man is someone that is willing to guard your heart and pursue you only when he knows that it is the will of God, and he is the one worth waiting for.


Watch this first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgRFAY7gEmM

From My Heart:
I watched this video the other night and it ripped my heart apart, mostly because this is something I have failed to do in my past, I didn't hide my love away and in this sinfallen world there is always going to be those painful memories, but God has restored my heart when I rededicated my purity. For me it is not just a physical purity but also a purity of mind as well. [1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.] 

I want to encourage you and let you know that you can take this back. Satan does not have control over you.  By surrendering your purity to Christ and your future husband you are surrendering to Gods plan. The more you pursue Gods will, the more he will heal your heart from the pain it holds on to. He will fill you with desires that you would have never seen if you were still following the world. Its okay to mess up, that is how God breaks our pride and uses us to reach others [James 1:2-3  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.]

The most awesome example of this is in the Bible in John 8:2-11. Basically a woman was "caught in the act" of adultery and like today there was a double standard, they were more critical of a woman who was unfaithful, than of a man unfaithful. But Jesus knew that this woman had made a mistake, had committed a sin, but that she wanted to be forgiven. She deserved to be stoned, yet Jesus held every one accountable and said "Let those who have never sinned throw the first stones." John 8:7. Jesus is more than ready to forgive each one of us than we are ready to forgive each other.

You deserve to be treated with respect. You deserve to be treated in a loving manner. You deserve forgiveness. You deserve undivided attention. The desire of God's heart is a relationship and fellowship with others. Jesus sets the example for all godly men with respect to caring for women, however, no human relationship can satisfy the deep soul-need you have. A relationships with a man cannot match it. Only Jesus can satisfy that desire! You can start over and rededicate your purity to God and your future husband.

A Weak Heart Controlled by Pride

The weak. The weary. The lame. The vulnerable. The in-capable. The weird. The useless. The broken.

These are all words we use day-to-day to describe those we allocate as being unworthy of our love and attention. Without saying a word we have selfish thoughts that making someone unworthy of our attention.  This classification has become an unconscious act and a social norm for society. This toxic way of life has corrupted us, because we try so hard to glorify ourselves; we hold ourselves higher than others by tearing them down for their faults and weaknesses. Our pride has taken control over our minds and corrupted the very thing that God has called us to, and that is to Love without conditions.

This Love is not something we did anything to earn, yet we hold others to this impossible standard of earning our love. This feeling in our hearts that God has made so beautiful our society has managed to corrupt with hate and selfishness. This love is UNconditional and there is nothing we can do for God to earn it. So why do we judge and hold others to a worldly standard? Because we aren't perfect [far from it actually] and ultimately we haven't recognized our own brokenness.

When we recognize our own weakness, and our own brokenness God is able to use us. Because His strength is made perfect in our weakness, our weariness, our lameness, our vulnerability, our in-capabilities  our weirdness, our uselessness, and our brokenness all becomes perfect in His name and He is ultimately glorified. Being weak and broken is not a bad thing, I actually consider it a gift God gives us to draw us closer to Him, and 2 Cor 12:9-10 tells us that: [ "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.]

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself' it is thinking of yourself less."
 -C.S. Lewis

From My Heart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2_kOGUypNA
For so long I struggled to love, I was so full of hate and discontent. I fueled my life off of the weakness of others. I compared my strengths with their weaknesses and that was how I thrived, but I was so empty. God broke that pride and showed me how weak and empty I really was. This weakness is not a bad thing and while I might have been embarrassed God showed me that through my weakness He was able to work in my life and use me. I finally recognized that Pride was a distorted picture of life from satan that controlled and destroyed me, but God gives us the amazing and beautiful gift of humility that repaired my heart and mind of the toxic corruption.