Sunday Praise No. 3

Life hit my heard lately and I realize I haven't done these posts in a couple weeks, let alone many blog posts and I'm working on that. I am currently going through a season of life lately full of many changes but also lots of ups and downs so prayers are much appreciated! That beings said, this Sunday Praise is about those seasons of life where we feel like every day can be a constant struggle, know that God is with you and I hope this post helps with that struggle. Enjoy!

I never want to act like somebody I'm not and when it comes to blogging, I'll always be open about who I am in my faith, fashion and lifestyle, completely raw & authentic. That being said, lately staying strong in my faith and trusting in God has been a constant struggle. Recently, there has been a lot more downs than ups in my life and it's hard to stay positive. For a while, I really struggled in keeping the faith because there was so much doubt and desolation that clouded my faith in God that everything would go according to his plan. I know deep down in my heart that God has every second, minute, year of my life planned out but sometimes it's just hard to remember that. In these times, as I know we all have them, I've learned to remember the good days when I was praising and thanking God for everything he was doing in my life and know that as much as he was there in those great moments of my life, he is there just as much in the bad moments.

Life isn't perfect. There's good days and bad days, we have days where we thank god and days where we really seek him. It's easy to thank him on the good days but the bad days, those are hard. I find myself struggling to go and seek God, to pray to him and to read his word, but when I seek him, everything changes. When I open up his word, speak to him and praise him, I am confident everything will be okay. He gives me contentment, strength, and most of all faith. Faith that it will all be okay and that everything is working in accordance to his plan. That every high and low is for a reason and despite any struggles I have along the way, it will all be okay.

So in your tough times, praise God like you never have before. Start and end your day seeking him, praise him in the lowest valleys and the toughest storms, give him all the glory no matter the circumstances and know with him, you have the strength to get through the day, month, year, whatever it may be.

We all have moments in our life where we fall short in our faith, it happens. Lately, I've been listening to Elevation Worships new album and a song really stuck out to me that I feel just really relates to what I've been going through recently. The song is called Here Again and it speaks volumes to the Lord's grace. That in our weakest of times, his glory appears, his presence is so strong in our lives in the times we need him most. With him, we are enough and he never forsakes us, never leaves us. This song has been on repeat for me, it is such a strong song in every word that is sung. I listen to worship music on the daily whenever I can simply because it gives me the opportunity to worship and praise him every chance I get. Take a day and listen to worship music when you can whether its when you get ready in the morning, in the car, while you make breakfast or do school work, listen to it and notice the difference because it truly has an impact.

I recently read the book of Esther and while it's a short book in the Bible, it carries so much impact. Esther trusted in God every step of the way in her life from being appointed Queen at such a young age to revealing her heritage and saving her people. When Esther heard of the slaughter planned for the Jewish people by Haman, she didn't act out in anger or sadness but she immediately turned to God and fasted for three days and three nights as did her people. See, when Esther was faced with a devastating event in her life that depended on her, she turned to God and went to seek him. She's a great example of how, as christians, we should be in the difficult times life gives us. Esther is not only a pillar of strength and persistence in her but also in her faith. As Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you, he will never let the righteous be shaken."

Letting God Take Control

For as long as I can remember, I've always been a planner. I plan my days, what I want to buy, my outfits (days in advance), what I want to get done whenever I go out, weekly meal plans, etc. Basically if you can plan it, then there's a pretty good chance I do. Lately I've been realizing just how much I put into planning everything that I do. For example, I plan my days almost by the hour and I'm constantly making a plan of everything I want or need to do when I go out. When I want to go out with friends, I'm always planning everything we should do but. Lately, I think God's been showing me that when I look back on the really enjoyable times I've had, they've always ended up being the ones that happened in the moment. In fact, I'm constantly planning blog posts but the ones that are my favorite are the ones I just ended up writing in the moment (including this one).

A few months ago I was driving home from work and saw a sign that said "Let god take the steering wheel and you take the passenger seat." I've increasingly been trying to apply this to my life. I think as humans, we each have a plan for our life that we want to follow but God always has an even greater plan that sees far beyond what we can imagine. For as long as I can remember, I saw my life having a career in politics but it wasn't till recently this changed and politics was no longer my passion. I've always felt as if I had a strong hold on my life and where it was going up until that point. I realized how lost I was in what I was going to do with my life and in that moment I turned to God. I think we all try to pile way more on our plate than we can handle and then when it comes time to handle it, we aren't necessarily sure what to do. Lately, I've been working on being stronger in my faith and trusting in God. I've been trying to let him take the steering wheel while I take the passenger seat but letting go of that steering wheel has been very difficult as it would be for anyone.

Trusting in God isn't something that comes easy, it takes surrendering your life to God and fully believing he knows whats best. Isaiah 41:10 says "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." When I started to let God really take control of my life, I found myself praying more and I could feel myself becoming a different person in the ways that I treat others and how I carry myself. I found myself doing what I knew was the right thing to do instead of denying that it was right and that I should do it. I've become less judgmental and more understanding. Don't get me wrong though, it's not like I don't feel anxious or hesitant sometimes when it comes to letting God take control. I constantly struggle with an anxious feeling of not knowing whats to come and I'm always reminding myself that God has big plans in my future and to trust in him. I really relate to Psalm 94:19 “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” 

I'm not perfect, nobody is and I'm definitely not perfect when it comes to my relationship with christ. I have my ups and downs just like anybody else but in those down times, God has always been my anchor. There is purpose and there is a meaning in every struggle and every celebration, and God is there along the way. There's a lot of different ways that you can begin to let God into your life and really start to let him take control, here's a few of the ways that really made a difference for me and in my life.

• Try to look at things in Gods eyes. As you go through your daily life, start looking at how you view different situations. The different judgements you make about someone or how you confront an issue in your life. What would Jesus do in that situation? When you do this, it really opens your eyes to how you look at the world but it also helps you to drastically improve the way you've been living and gives you a change of heart and clear eyes.

• Take time and Pray. There isn't a better way to become more connected with God than praying. Pray for the big things and the little things. Pray for the friend who's struggling or the person you see in the grocery store. Pray for guidance in the big steps in life and the small ones. By praying you're not only becoming closer with God but you're also deepening your trust in him.

• Be patient and calm. It's extremely easy to become impatient and anxious when you feel like you have no control. I've found the easiest way to calm my anxiousness is just by opening my bible and reading God's word. You also have to remember that there is going to be tough times and thing aren't always going to come easy. You have to really put your trust in god and know that he's knows whats best, remember good things take time.

Verses related to this post that I'm currently loving: Luke 12:22-26, Jeremiah 29:13, Paslm 46:10, Philippians 4:6-7, Isaiah 6:8

And on Sundays we go to Church

Exactly a year ago, I made the decision to stay in Ohio and go to a local community college for a year instead of going off to college in Virginia. This was a a very difficult decision for me since I had looked forward to going off to college since 7th grade, but I also felt it was the right decision because a year ago, I was a very different person than I am today. Had I decided to go off to college immediately, I firmly believe I would be in a very unhappy and dark place. A year ago I was determined to have a career in politics while also being full of insecurities, mean spirited, and lacking in commitment when it came to my faith. In the past year, I shut the door to politics and haven't looked back; I've learned to love who I am. I have a kind heart and I've really grown in my relationship with God.

A year ago, I had a plan laid out for my life and God showed me that He has a plan far greater than my eyes can see and that I need to trust in Him. As Proverbs 3:5 says, 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding'. When I shut the door to politics, I also started my blog. I looked at it as a creative outlet where I can share my passion for fashion. A few weeks ago, God laid it on my heart to take my small Fashion & Lifestyle blog and turn it into a Faith, Fashion, & Lifestyle blog. To be completely honest, I've been putting off adding this to my blog because I've always looked at my faith as very personal and between God and me, but lately it's been weighing very heavy on my heart to add this section to my blog.

I was in politics for over 10 years and when I say I was passionate, what I really mean is that I was passionate about making a difference in someone else's life. I shut the door on politics because God showed me that my focus had stopped being on making a difference. I believe that adding the Faith aspect to my blog could really make a difference for someone and if I could reach just one person and make a difference for them, it would mean the absolute world to me. 

I've decided I'm going to be starting a new series on the blog called Sunday Praise. In this series I'll be sharing everything from devotions to verses to worship music and so much more every Sunday. I hope you'll follow along with me! Stay tuned!