my faith

not sure why it caught me off guard when some people commented negatively on my "sex is for married people" post. it's ok though. i'm not backing down.

i love Jesus. i'm not ashamed of loving Him.

i was raised in a godly house. my dad is retired minister and my mom studies Gods Word like nobodies business. i am forever thankful for that. their unconditional love, teaching, and actions towards me made understanding Gods love easy for me.

at an early age i understood that Jesus died for me. that HE is the only way i am cleansed, forgiven and able to be in a relationship with God. i am fully aware of my sinful nature. but i am also, thankfully, fully aware of His sacrifice for my sins. i know that there is nothing good i can do apart from Christ. i know that i need Him every hour! yes, i fail miserably at times. but He never fails. amen!

i shared about purity and abstinence for lots of reasons. none of it being to make someone feel bad for decisions they have made. my heart was purely to help teens understand that God calls us to purity for OUR sake not to withhold something from us. that goes for so much more than waiting til marriage to have sex.

purity is more than "not having sex." it is keeping our hearts and minds pure. it is understanding that our bodies are the temple of God. Giving ourselves fully to the one that God created for us is a gift. a precious gift.

i don't know if this blog is making any sense.

but here's what i do know...

that i am a sinner that has been justified and saved by grace. i may never understand the fullness of what Christ did for me...in fact i know i'll never (til heaven) grasp what He did.

i know that He delights in us. wow, i hope i never get over that. Zeph 3 tells us that He is "living among us. He is a mighty savior. He takes delight in us with gladness. With His love He calms our fears and rejoices over us with singing."  that, my friend, amazes me.

i know that His kindness is what leads me to repentance. Romans 2:4  i LOVE that.

i know that when I am weak He is strong. 2 Cor 12:10.  i know that when i am at my breaking point and don't even know how to pray that Jesus speaks the words on my behalf. Romans 8:26

i know that He is coming back! and i hope and pray that i live in such a way that helps others see Him and desire Him. LAWD help me!!

i spend a lot of my time feeling fleshy and gross. but just this week, thanks to my mom, instead of only focusing on my issue...i've started asking to take on His character. i believe He will show me what needs to change in me if i focus on Him and keep a short sin list (right Mrs JoAnn!)

i also know that life apart from Him sucks. i've tried it to go my own way. it's not worth it. He does give us free will. we can try to do things in our own strength/wisdom but like Moses it'll just take us 40 years to do something that could've taken more like 10 days.

so for me, people can mock me. call me weak. think i'm lame. i truly do not care.

knowing Him is worth it.

Jay prays every night that Gabe would accept Jesus early in his life. that he will see our obedience to Christ and want to be obedient to us (and God as well.) i pray that (like our parents!) he will see our unconditional love and know that Gods love is even greater and perfect.

i pray that my attitude, my tone, my words, my facial expressions, my love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control would lead gabe to Christ.

that's a big prayer. but i serve a big God.

thank you Lord for forgiving me, for loving me and for never leaving me. what an awesome promise. Hebrews 13:5