Category: Soul

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Paralyzed By Fear or Jumping for Joy

Lately I’ve been growing a lot in my Faith and building Trust in the Lord exponentially. When pondering my recent faith transformation and how this transformation will be ongoing for life, (Because #TeamJesus), I thought about the illustration of Jumping.

When I was in Girl Scouts, I remember going to a gymnastics place to play one day. All my friends were jumping in this foam pit and while it looked like fun I was too scared.  I approached the edge several times, each time pondering the unknown. I  determined since I didn’t know what was going to happen that I wouldn’t jump. Five minutes before it was time to leave I decide what the heck! And…I JUMPED! I was so happy and thought it was so much fun! I was sad I when wasn’t able to jump more. That first foam pit jump is equivalent to our decision to follow Christ. We MUST be all in!!

The faith you have only has the potential to grow or become stagnant.

In Matthew 17:20, which is ” He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, You can say to this mountain, move from here to there, And it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” All it takes is having the faith the size of a mustard seed! That’s what the first foam pit jump is. Saying YES to Jesus! As your scripture intake increases, your prayer time increases, and overall you spend more time with Jesus, He’ll ask you to make bigger jumps.

Low dive? High dive? Skydive?

Each jump is bigger and requires more faith and more equipment and/or skills. For the foam pit you just need to jump – which is equal to believing in Jesus. For jumping off the low dive and high dive, you must be able to swim, a.k.a. spending time in the word, developing your relationship with Jesus. As you grow your skills, such as being able to tune in to Jesus, He’ll ask you to take bigger jumps.

In the last 6 months I have taken a series of jumps that I would never have done on my own, but through the power of Jesus got there. Starting a life group, serving at a new church, giving up things of this world I enjoy –  like TV shows , while difficult, God has seen me through each jump.

After the initial jump each one becomes more exciting! Seeing what God can do through us, with us, and for us is the most special feeling!! I urge you all to move when you hear your creator giving you instructions, I guarantee it’ll be more than worth it! I am so glad I said YES to my Creator, Father and all time Best Friend!!

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Walking on Water or Swimming Through the Motions

Hello y’all!

Have you had “dry spells” in your devotion time? Still in the valley and can’t see how you could be joyful? Tempted by the shiny things of this unglamorous world?…. Me too. I am going to share 5 little things I do each day to keep God at the front of my day.

  1. PRAY- You are probably thinking Hannah, this is a duh! Of course I should pray, what a “church answer”. 6 months ago I thought this same thing.  According to Dictionary.com, the definition of pray:to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to (God or an object of worship). Growing up I learned the five steps of prayer, but as I have been meditating on the Psalms, I’ve realized that David was raw with God. He would tell him how angry he was and then praise God for seeing him through a difficult time. I no longer think, ok now I have to pray. I think , I GET to pray!
  2. LISTEN- While it is important to talk to our amazing creator, we need to listen to Him too. He has so many plans, blessing and little things he wants to convey to us each day. I love to talk,  and while God loves hearing what I have to say, we can’t have a real relationship if we don’t listen to him. I pray that my thoughts, desires and dreams would be set aside so that I can truly hear/see what God has for me. My prayer for you is that your eyes , ears and heart would be open to all his plans for you.
  3. ARMOR of GOD- Before I start my crazy day I go to Ephesians 6:10-18. I speak out loud the entire section of verses. From Verse 16, I list flaming arrows the devil may distract me with so that I am 100% prepared to fight and stand tall each day.
  4. JOURNAL- Like the Psalmists, I have found that this is a great way to get all my emotions out and collect my thoughts with God. I tell him what I’ve been experiencing and sometimes he will reaffirm truths to me which I also write down.
  5. READ- The bible is amazing! I never thought I could learn anything for my daily life from the OT (Old Testament) but I was sadly mistaken. The word of God is very much alive and will speak to you, where you are. This is one of the main ways God will speak to us too.

Bonus thought: While God loves to hear from us all day long, I strive to start my day with God because then I feel more aligned and ready to take on the day. I already know He has gone before me and my day.

A relationship with God is personal and exciting. While these five things have filled me with joy and Jesus daily , you have other things you do to connect with God. I would love to hear from y’all. Comment below and let me know what you do to grow your faith and grow closer to Jesus!

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Rain or Shine

Recently I went to NOLA (New Orleans, LA) to visit my grandpa with my family. One of the days it was raining pretty hard and as we pulled into the driveway my mom mentioned that the rain was pushing the roses down. How sad the roses were getting beat up.

But THEN I took a step back (in my mind of course) and realized how this is a wonderful analogy to my life and life in general.

Scientifically speaking flowers need water to grow. Without water, flowers would stay seeds in the ground and we wouldn’t know their beauty. When flowers get their water; whether thats from a watering can or rain/storms, it fuels them and they grow.

Like flowers, God waters us right where we are planted. Sometimes he may use a “watering can” as  positive influences he puts in our lives or a “rain storm”,  a season of difficulty. But through the seasons of watering, God is shaping us to become beautiful flowers to radiate all that he has created us to be. You see, without the rainy season we would never become all God created us to become. We must preserve and lean into God during the rainy season and then praise God in the sunny season.

While God waters us we must also water our relationship with Christ. Otherwise we become stagnant in our faith. When we become stagnant in our relationship with God all other areas of our life stop growing as well. In Matthew Jesus talks about having faith the size of mustard seed. When we first believe in God, our faith is small but by studying God’s word and growing to know him more ( watering our faith) it should grower bigger and take control of all areas of our lives.

On the days where I am overwhelmed and think that there is not enough time to get it all done ( homework, chores, work, etc.), I do my devotion time with God first and WOW he multiplies my time and gives me peace that I will get it all done. The little things we stress about on this earth won’t even matter in the grand scheme of things.

So remember, your rainy season will end with a sunny day! Lean into God and your faith and life will grow and prosper more than you ever imagined.