365 Days of Fearless

We've heard the claim that the Bible says not to be afraid exactly 365 times. We haven't found that to be exactly accurate but we know that the Bible address fear quite a bit. So, what we'd like to do is share one of those verses with you every day in 2017. Nope, we don't expect to write a whole post every day. [We're not that ambitious] Sometimes we'll just share the verse, sometimes we'll write about it. Sometimes we'll put it on a cool background or write it out in pretty letters but the important thing is that every day you'll get another reminder and another reason, not to be afraid.

Happy New Year!

-M. and L.

Genesis 15:1

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
(Genesis 15:1 ESV)

I love this verse because it seems to be God's response to a step of faith that Abram has just taken. Abram was just offered a huge reward from an earthly thing and he turned it down because of a promise he had made to God. And now God the King of kings and 'possessor of heaven and earth' tells him not to be afraid and promises to give him a very great reward. I'm pretty sure it was a lot better than what the king of Sodom wanted to give him.

When God asks us to give something up he always has something better to give us. Don't get me wrong, he won't always give it right away and what he gives won't always seem better right away. Abram had to wait a long time before he saw even part of the fulfillment of God's promise. Sometimes God will give you something similar to what he asked you to give up like a new ministry or relationship to replace an old one. Even better though, every time we surrender something to God we draw closer to Him as he builds our trust, so when you give something up for God you get to experience more of God and He is better than anything. So don't be afraid to make sacrifices for God because He is better than anything you could give up.
Here are some quotes on the matter from people more eloquent than me:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

-C.S Lewis, The Weight of Glory

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose"
-Jim Elliot

It's Been a While... and On the Christmas Season

Well, I'm back. I've been away for too long! I have to remind myself to put blogging on my priority list... If I can find my priority list... :)

Anyway, Merry Christmas! The season seems to have gone by way too fast! I'm not absolutely obsessed with Christmas, because it's over-comercialized and too busy and, over all, too "loud" in a sense, though not literally. 

I do, however, love Christmas because of the doors it can open. What other time of the year do you hear songs about Jesus on secular radio?? When is a better time to go caroling and share a little of Christ's joy with others? (I did that several weeks ago with friends and had a blast!) 

And what better person to be focusing on during this season than the reason FOR the season? 

I love Christmas because it's just a reminder of how we should honor God EVERY day, minus the shopping and parties and rushed days. We celebrate his birth, but only because he came, as a child, to eventually die. It was his life's purpose was to die for me. For you. He came to save the world, but in a very different method than many thought he would. 

New Year is great, too! It's always fun to party until midnight, but it's also a chance to reflect on how you've changed in the past year. I have learned a LOT this year! I've grown much closer to God by starting a daily quiet time and pursuing time with Him. I've grown closer to some friends and away from some. I've made a lot of mistakes, but I've learned from them! One of my favorite things to do is to remember "God stories." These are stories of different things in my life that didn't seem to connect or make much sense when they were happening, but God used for His glory!

Talk to you later! Stay tuned for a new type of blogging I will be putting in soon (hopefully tonight if I finish!)

-M.