Life is beautiful. Life is good. But, life is not always glamourous.

There are some days where you are reminded that life is not innately glamourous. Yes, life is beautiful. Yes, life is good.  Yes, life is exciting. Yes, life is worthwhile. But life is not always "glamourous." In fact, if life was always glamourous, we would live in a perfect world that is free from such things as  bad hair days, temper tantrums, rush hour traffic and every other mundane and terrible part of adulthood. Let's face it, as young children most (if not all) of us dreamed, at some point, of being a superstar at something. We dreamed of private jets, amazingly exotic adventures and the exciting opportunity to chase dreams that made us look forward to growing up.  For most, however, those tightly held dreams of glamour, fame and splendor were never fully realized and we actually ended up slipping into routines where we doubt our importance, where we doubt our impact in the world and where we doubt if we will ever make good on the dreams that we traded adulthood in for. When this happens, we grow to expect the bad hair days, temper tantrums, rush hour traffic and the mundane parts of life. It's in these moments we wish Peter Pan were real and that he would bring us to a magical place where we never have to grow up but subsequently, we realize that Peter Pan is simply a character that we will never meet or fly away with.  Life is not a Disney movie and it is not perfect!

It's in those moments were we are looking in the rear view mirror of our life and we are attempting with all our might to make it so we don't look like "that" person whose life is a spiraling tornado of unglamorousness. We so desperately want others to believe we have it all figured out and we so strongly want others to feel we are living a life of perfection, that we in return compromise our ability to just trust and believe that God has better things planned for us than our pride could ever accomplish on its own. We forget time and time again that we are so wonderfully and beautifully made that we don't have to bear the weight of cross such as social comparison, pride and selfishness. We forget that our worth does not come from statuses, accolades, people wishing that they have what we have and looking like we just rolled off a red carpet. Those worldly things are nice and they make us feel good for an amount of time that has a very short shelf life but they don't last. Ultimately, if you spend your days on Earth chasing recognition and worldly things you will get just that... the world and it will hit you like a semi! It may be glamourous for a short amount of time and everyone may love you for a little while but eventually the things of this world will be gone and people will move on to the next best thing because what ever worldly things life can throw your way... it's temporary and not eternal.

In the end, the thing that will matter the most in your life is not your ability to live a life of worldly glamour and perfection but rather your willingness to trust, believe and follow Jesus. Its not about each of us having it all figured out on our own; rather it is about learning to accept who were were created to become, while being where we were meant to be and fulfilling the roles we were called to satisfy. When we fully hand our lives over to God and when we decide to accept the endless grace upon grace and boundless mercy upon mercy that has been promised to each of us; we surrender to a God that can turn all of our shortcomings into strengths. When we surrender to such an amazingly mighty and capable God, we are provided for, set apart and loved even when the world doesn't think we are worthy of much. So often, we rob ourselves of authentic happiness and fulfillment by thinking glamour and a pre-packaged perception of perfection are the ultimate key to happiness. But that is not factual. Actually, happiness is living in unity with God, walking side by side with him and fulfilling the "impossible" sized plans that only he can fulfill. Happiness is about handing over control to a beyond capable God in order to be led to greater possibilities than you could have ever completed on your own.  We can acquire happiness through knowing that we are God's and that God is ours.

So today, I'm choosing to completely embrace where I am and what I have been called to do rather than wishing that I were living life as someone else, somewhere else. Today, I am choosing to banish the social comparison and pride that has so often clouded my ability to trust God and his perfect timing. Won't you, dear friend, join me in embracing the what ifs that only God can orchestrate. Let each of us attune our hearts to what God wants  us to accomplish during our "unglamorous" days here on Earth. Let us be steadfast in praying for authentic God led direction for our lives and let us create a community through which women can come to know that whatever the world tries to sell us will eventually fade but that God is eternal and worthy of being the center of our souls, hearts and minds. Let us choose to focus on God and the uniquely beautiful moments that he blesses us with. I pray that we never fail to realize that God creates such beauty in our day to day experiences we will choose to look beyond the unglamorous moments to discover that God is so very much for us and he is fulfilling beautiful and amazing promises in our lives. What we look for we will find and what treasures we store in our hearts will dictate our decisions and thoughts. Therefore, let us always look to God so that we may find him so deeply our lives are radiantly changed from the inside out and let us store his promises deeply within our hearts so our decisions become more and more like his with every breath we take. Let us create within this broken world, a community of women who are so on fire for God and let us not allow a quest for worldly glamour and worldly things deter from our ability to spread the message of God's love and salvation with others.  Until next time friends, let us strive to be "those" women. Let us collectively be the ones whose lives were a total mess but through the acceptance of grace and salvation were radically changed from a mess into a message and who's trials turned them into testimonies that reflect that awesomeness of God, his love and his plans for our lives. 

Notes on Life: Keeping Our Eyes Focused on the "One Day"

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life."
(Psalm 143:8)

                  

I believe that when God speaks in your heart, you listen and when God says to change something, you haul it out of the cargo storage that you have been packing around with you for WAY too long.  Likewise, I hope what God placed on my heart today will change your perspective in some way and that it will be able to accomplish what God intends, all for his glory! You see, I'm at a really unique season of my life.  With loads and loads of homework for grad school each week, a job at a pediatric clinic that I love and the general day-to-day demands that come with being a 20-something adult; I find myself time after time declaring "I am way too BUSY."  When I try to make plans with my friends (sadly one of my best friends and I have have had a standing dinner date for months now), I try to carve out time with my family or I try to take time out of my schedule just to relax and recharge; I immediately feel guilty because I am "way too busy" to have a life that is lived outside of the parameters of "work" and "busyness.

In this season of my life; my perfectionistic and control craving tendencies are rampant. Each night as I lay my head down to go to sleep, I worry that I forgot a deadline, I am concerned that I didn't produce "spectacular work" that day, I harp on my mistakes and I am anxious when I am not the leader of everything.  For so long, I viewed the feelings as they were, just unfortunate aspects of life and perhaps personality traits that can't be changed but now I understand these basic truths:

God never created, nor intended for us to feel defeated, anxious or inadequate...

We cannot control the situations that arise in our lives, only God can...

Perfectionism is a lie; nothing in our lives if "perfect." If perfectionism were discussed on Myth Busters, it would be proven to be a HUGE myth...

"Busyness" is NOT a virtue. It is a vice...

Life was meant to be lived in a loving and trusting relationship with God; not us doubting God's capability to do the impossible or lacking the braveness that comes with knowing that God is moving in amazing ways throughout our lives.  Faith involves trust and it involves giving the steering wheel to God so that he can take us down amazing and beautiful life paths that he has planned for us...

My God, the Creator of the Universe and King of Kings, is capable of fulfilling amazing and remarkable plans for my life (and he wants to accomplish that for you too!)...

The seasons of our lives are unique opportunities for us to embrace change, to believe in the goodness of life, to understand the power of God's timing and to grow in our understanding of what we are truly capable of. WIthout the changing seasons of life (good or bad) we are the same and we never grow into beautiful creations.  Without life seasons we fail to become what we were destined to be...

Each day, I have to remind myself that I can't do it all.  Each day, I have to realize that God doesn't applaud my busyness but that he does applaud my willingness to trust him even when I don't really understand what he is doing.  Each day, I have to believe that my fears, my doubts and my shortcomings are covered by the power, grace and mercy of God. Each day, I have to understand that I am NOTHING on my own but with God going before me (in every moment and season) I am protected, chosen, set apart, redeemed and made new simply because I am a child of the one who holds everything in his powerful hand. Each day, I get to start with a clean slate (the past is wiped clean) and each day, I have a choice regarding the attitude and foundation to which I cling.  Each day, when I choose to live in a spirit of defeat, when I buy into the myth of perfectionism, when I lack faith, when I try to follow my own plans rather than God's and when I remain the same old stubborn person I was the day before; ultimately, I choose to make detrimental decisions.  The bottom line is... if you want to live a life of faith, boldness, bravery, and fulfillment; you have to learn to let go and give your heart and need for control, perfection or busyness wholly to God.  

So take heart, dear soul.  Journey forward with a desire to believe that your life is worth something and that the God of everything, loves you so much that he wants to guide your path into a beautiful and glorious unfolding.  Let your paths of perfectionism, busyness, need for control, anxiety, doubt and insecurities be straightened and aligned with the goodness that comes with a new slate and new opportunities to live a life of purpose.  Trust me, there will be trials and there will be tests.  Every season and life change will not always feel "fantastic" or "amazing."  You will be pushed (often to your limits) and you will be challenged to reach new limits that you didn't know were possible.  You may even want to give up and throw in the towel before your race is completed.  BUT, when you give up on your plans and wipe clean your slate through a dynamic and life-changing relationships with God, you will learn that his plans are always better than your own.  You will understand that you have to keep going even when your spirit downright hurts from the journey. You will realize that something far better than you could ever imagine is waiting for you at the end of each new chapter and page turn.  Life really is made of gold, but so often we focus so heavily on the rust and tarnish, we can't see the beauty and worth of our golden lives.  But one day, it will all make perfect sense and the beauty and goodness of life will be shown to you.  Life and your experiences will make sense one day and all of the reasons behind everything that you have or ever will face in your life will be so clear.  We have to keep going for the 'one day." We have to trust God completely for the view of the "one day."  We have to hold steadfast for the glory of the "one day." Entrust your one precious life and your beautiful soul to the Lord.  He is capable and his love is unfailing morning after morning.  My prayer for each of us (myself included) is this:

Lord, help us to place our lives, our plans and our eyes completely on and within you. Help us to believe and trust that you have a better plan for our lives than what we could ever create on our own. Rid us of our fears, doubts and shortcomings.  Make us into new creations that are fulfilled by you alone. Help us to sustain a trust that if you are for us then nothing can be prevail against us. In the If's of life, help us to cling to you and in the storms of life, help us to keep our eyes focus on the glory of the "one day" that will has been promised to us. Forgive us where we have failed you and strengthen in us in our spirits of bravery and steadfastness.  In your mighty  and unfailing love we pray. Amen.

Until next time friends, keep your eyes focus on the "one day" and join with me in letting each morning bring you a new freshness of God's unfailing love.

Beautiful Plans Unfolding: Trusting God's Plan Amid the Battles of Life!

This week has been hard.  My heart has broken many times this week for a couple families who I am honored to have in my life.  These two families are going through the unimaginable BUT  they are choosing to believe that God has a plan in both of their situations.  In the quiet and reflective moments of my week, my mind has transitioned to their stories of having to make very difficult decisions for and about their children and my heart breaks for them.  This morning while laying in the quiet, I was filled with this thought... what if God's most beautiful plans are accomplished in our weakest moments?  Perhaps the moments where our lives are unraveling and the walls are caving in around us, are the moments where our lives take shape in a way that only God can design.  Perhaps the trials of our lives are opportunities to feel God's presence in a greater way that when life is perfect.

I am discovering more and more that there is a sense of beauty in the breakdown moments  of our lives.  Though the hard and difficult moments are painful and life shattering, there is a sense of peace that can really only be found when we place all of our cares and concerns in God's hands.  Often when our lives are a pin prick away from exploding, these are the moments where we either run to God or away from God.  In these "make or break" moments, our beliefs are challenged and we have to make the choice to live what we profess or deny the potential of God's movement in our lives.  In these moments, there can be nothing in between these two extremes and perhaps that is why these moments are what define our belief systems and relationships with God.  But I can tell you today, that no matter how difficult and painful your life is right now... there is peace and power in God!

We can strengthen our faith (even amid the battles of life) when we choose to believe that God always has a plan and purpose for us.  A couple of  the most beautiful things about life lies in the fact that God loves us unconditionally and that he is the best source of comfort and peace.  We are never alone because we are always being lead by God and he is always with us, even when we may not see him or feel him.  We have to ultimately make the choice to believe God's plans for us and accept the fact that God's plans may look and feel differently than the plans that we have for ourselves.  A major factor within our Christian walk, is often our ability to let go our our painful moments and let God move within them.  We don't have to live in fear and we don't have to live in sadness, we can make the choice to stop living in these qualities and instead make the choice to live in the belief that God's will is perfect and beautiful.  

My challenge for you this week is to accept the promise that Hebrews 13:8 provides. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever."  We never have to question if Jesus is different moment from moment and storm from storm.  Jesus has always been with us and that will never change.  Jesus has always loved us and provided us with peace and that will never change either.  I want to also challenge you to reflect upon the moments in your life where you have lived amid "breakdown" and realize that God has always held you in his hand and that where God leads you, he will NEVER abandon you.  In the hard moments of your life, don't run from God but run to him. Choose to remember that no matter what happens in your life God has a a beautiful plan!  God does not abandon us nor leaves us to fight our battles on our own; he walks with us and is the greatest source of refuge that we can find.  Ultimately, the "difficult" trials and struggles of our lives hold the greatest opportunities for us to gain a glimpse into the power, peace and love of God. There is a reason for everything in life and there is something beautiful that can bloom from every situation, good or bad.  Our life songs are composed in the most beautiful way when we choose to believe that God is always with us and that he is always for us.  We can never outlast or outrun the love, comfort and peace that only God can provide! Until next time friends.

Reflections about Growing Up!!

Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?  After much reflection this week... I realized that I can!  You see, when I was younger I was fearless and courageous.  I was someone who didn't worry about perfection; I was only concerned with helping others and enjoying life to the fullest.  I didn't second guess myself and I was not the anxious worry-wart that I so often am today.  A huge part of me wishes that I could tell the much younger version of myself to never change!  If I could catch her gaze and get her attention, I would say "don't worry about pleasing everyone and fitting a certain mold of who society thinks you should be- instead just be the wonderful and unique creation that you are."  Let's face it, growing up can be painful and sometimes it feels that you are tugged and pulled into a million directions, but we have the potential to remember and draw inspiration from our past.  This type of reflection is often a way for us to tap into the person that we remember which can be very useful because knowing our past helps us to better understand our potential, future and purpose in life.

You see, the beauty of life is that we can make the choice everyday to rise above the expectations of society and grow one step closer, with each waking moment, into the individual that we dream of becoming.  By breaking free from the need to conform to society, we can live as the unique and special creations that we were birthed to be.  Yes, this choice is in many ways counterculture to the one size fits all personalities and dreams that this world tries to force us to accept.  Yes, this choice can be very difficult to make but it is not impossible.  Often this choice comes with maturity and other times this choice is about desiring to live as more than just a puppet orchestrated by the world and its standards.  For me, this choice has been inspired by the countless children who I have worked with over the years who have taught me the importance of living in the moment and not letting others dictate your beliefs and happiness.  In many ways my campers, my students and my clients have been some of the greatest teachers of my life!  They have challenged me to become more than just a 'grown-up' but an individual who embraces my past, creates purpose for my present and is excited about my future.

I believe that we were created to be more than just passengers in the great journey of life.  In fact, it is is my belief that we were created to be courageous, movers and shakers, dreamers and world changers.  We were each made with an unique and individual purpose and it is our duty to seek and work toward fulfillment of that purpose.  The fact is, we don't find complete fulfillment in this world, in fact, often this world leaves us empty, heartbroken and unhappy, but we don't have to live with these qualities of life.  We can find fulfillment in God and in his amazing presence.  Here on Earth, we are all children of the all mighty God.  Because of our heavenly father who loves and accepts us, we can become courageous and fearless and we can dwell in his all-embracing presence of glory, love and goodness.  I find comfort every second  in the fact that I am a child of God and that I don't have to be perfect.  Because of my relationship with God, the mighty creator of everything, I can rise above the challenges, struggles and pain of this world.  I don't have to conform and bow down to society and its empty standards; I can believe in and accept the goodness and grace of God and become an over-comer.  My hope and fulfillment is in God alone, not the world!  I don't have to allow the society to tell me who I should be, I can discover who I was birthed to be by leaning on my creator and fulfilling the purposes, plans and dreams that he alone has for me.

My challenge to you today is to realize that when the world breaks us down, God's love sets us free!! God is freedom and he is powerful and mighty enough to pen beautiful stories through our lives if we allow him to be the author of our souls.  Strive today to surrender to God and to dare to become the story that God desires for you to become.  It is never to late to claim your soul from the world and accept the beautiful and purposeful life that only God can provide to you.  Now, which person will you choose to be? The courageous one, the mover and shaker, the dreamer or the world changer? Or, maybe you will choose to be all four and more? It's your choice, so go out and fulfill the unique and special purpose that God has for you.  Until next time friends!

Easter is...

Easter is more than just baskets, egg hunts, the Easter bunny and fancy church outfits.  Though these symbols of our modern culture are not bad things, they are not the true representation of what the season of Easter truly is about.  Easter is a time where we realize, reflect upon, accept and appreciate the fact that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we are free from the chains of sin.  It is through the events surrounding the holy week and the story of Jesus's life  that we are able to overcome the emptiness induced by our sinful nature and we are truly able to shed the skin of our sinful pasts by stepping into the skin of a new creation.   This is what is glorious about Easter and the savior whom we love and serve; the sin of our lives can be washed away and we can be made new.  Easter is the time where we can stop and realize the power of God, the holiness that comprises him and the all sufficient grace that he longs to give each of us.

Easter is about the re-birth that only God can provide.  Easter is about realizing that we are imperfect and in need of a savior.  Easter is about believing that we are loved so much that God would send his son into our world as a sacrifice so that we could have the opportunity to accept the salvation that only he can provide.  Easter is not about emptiness but freedom.  Easter is about confessing our sins and making the choice to accept salvation so that we can be in a relationship with the creator of everything.  Easter is about living our lives with conviction to praise God through not just our voices but our lives.  Easter is much more than our modern world will strive to make it into; Easter is holy and it is a time for the world to realize the love of God and the great story of Jesus Christ once and for all overcoming the sin of humanity through the fulfillment of the gospel.  Ultimately, Easter spells out the beauty of a new life!

I am so thankful for the new life that I have accepted and claimed through Jesus Christ.  The greatest gift that I have ever received has been nothing that I could acquire in this world.  The best gift that I have ever been given is an empty tomb, the promise of a risen Savior and the salvation through which my life was changed.  The beauty of my identity in Christ is that Jesus Christ died for me and my sins and I choose to live only for him.  I want to challenge you to search your heart and accept Jesus into your life (if you have not yet) and to make the choice today to live only for him. I also challenge you to make this Easter different from all the rest.  Don't let this weekend pass without thanking God for his love and praising him not just with your voice but with your life. My prayer is that each of you are filled with the presence of God's love this Easter and every day.  Have a wonderful and blessed day!

We love because he first loved us...

"We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).  This is one of my favorite verses of the bible because it demonstrates why I believe that authentically loving others is such an important quality.  We love others not out of obligation but out of purpose.  We were created to help our brothers and sisters in their walks through life.  We were birthed with the purpose of love.  Perhaps that is why love is so natural for us and why it is a quality that we search for all throughout our lives.  Love is the key to unlocking the true potential of humanity.

A few years ago, my church body adopted a new Easter tradition.  Our pastor's wife was broken for the lives of orphans and worked with the non-profit Feeding the Orphans to bring the Forget the Frock movement to our church body. The first year that our church participated, I was skeptical.  Being raised in a small-town southern baptist church, it was unfathomable that you would wear a t-shirt to church on Easter Sunday.  To me, Easter had always been as much about pomp and circumstance almost as much as it had been about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ (wow, this is a very convicting realization!).  I had been raised wearing beautiful Easter dresses to church and could not imagine not perusing the racks of my local JC-Penney to find the perfect dress for Easter Sunday.  I will admit, I did not participate the first Easter that some of our congregation chose to purchase  t-shirts to help orphans be given a full belly of food and the opportunity to learn about the love of God through individuals loving and taking care of them.  I was prideful and ultimately, I did not understand.  I didn't realize how the simple purpose of feeding children could translate into a authentic representation of God's love.  But my eyes were opened and now I see!

The next year, the founders of Feeding the Orphans led a discussion at our church.  The spearhead of this organization, a young girl with a big heart for God and others, by the name of Sydney O'Leary rocked my world that Sunday.  The pictures and stories shared in that discussion, broke my heart of my pride and showed me that loving others through practical and life-changing acts of love in God's name, is what I as a Christian am supposed to be seeking to do every minute of my life.  To me, it became much more than just buying a t-shirt.  That t-shirt was an avenue through which children could have a better life here on Earth and in eternity. As Christians, we are commanded to care for the disadvantaged, the fatherless and those in need. Religion that does not strive to fulfill this commandment is dead and useless in the eyes of God.  In fact, in James 1:27, it is written, "Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself form being polluted by the world."  You see, I was operating from a polluted ideal about my mission as a Christian.  I had been polluted by pride, tradition and the unwillingness to look beyond my personal views and into the actuality of what I am commanded to do as a follower of God.  The Sunday that the O'Leary family visited my church was the turning point in  my realization that I have to do more than just feel "sorry" for the orphaned, widowed and disadvantaged. Feeling sorry for others doesn't spread the message of God; only action does that.  For me after that Sunday, Easter and every day has become more than just pomp and circumstance, tradition and selfishness. My heart has been broken and I have been revived with the purpose of loving others because God first loved me.  

I provided the link above for the Feeding the Orphans organization's website.  I hope that you will click on the link and learn more about their mission, purpose and projects.  This is an organization that I have grown to love and I am so excited for how they are actively building the kingdom of God.  I am excited for next Sunday (i.e. Easter Sunday). As I am beginning to prepare my heart for reflection of God's love and the greatest gift ever given to us, salvation of sin and rebirth through Christ, I am excited to see the movement of Feeding the Orphans throughout our little world.  Sunday, I will wear my shirt as I have the past couple of years, not out of pride or obligation but with purpose.  I can't wait to see what big and mighty things God accomplishes this Easter through individuals that are actively choosing to throw tradition to the wind and choosing to care for and love others in a practical way that has the potential to be life-changing for the many orphans who are often neglected of love in our world.  I am thankful for individuals like Sydney and her family.  She was birthed with a big purpose and I am so excited to hear how God is moving in her life and in her work.  

My challenge to you this week is to discover the ways in which you can love others as God has loved you.  Whether that be by purchasing a shirt to feed a hungry child or some other avenue, chose to be all in to sharing the love that you are capable and gifted to share with the world.  My prayer for you, if you are a follower of God, is that you would make the choice today to love others because God first loved you.  My prayer for you, if you are not a follower of God, is that you would surrender to the power of God's grace and salvation and that today you would make the choice to start a new life as a child of the king of kings. There is no one or anything greater than God.  He is the light out of darkness that will help you to start fresh with a new life made possible by rebirth from your old life. No one in this world can love you and care for you as much as God does. No matter where you are in your life, there is power in the name of Jesus.  He can break every chain that binds you and only he holds the power to make you a new creation.  I challenge you to let this Easter be different from all the others of your past.  Choose to love and care for others not just at Easter but every day.  If you are a Christian, open your heart to your purpose of being the hands and feet of God through love and compassion.  If you are not a Christian, I pray that you will open your heart to accepting God's love and the unending grace that he provides.  We were made to do more than just coast through life. We were created to be world changers and to leave the world a better place.  Choose to live with purpose and love because that is what make the world go around!!

Give Out What You Most Want to Come Back...

"Give out what you most want to come back." This has always been one of my mottos. It is hard to realize sometimes how much our thoughts and actions in our day to day lives affect the trajectory of our experiences. Sometimes when I catch myself in the moment of a "difficult" situation, I have to stop and pray to myself, "Lord give me patience, compassion and the ability to see others the way you see them." This week has been a difficult week and sadly this has been my prayer through most of it, but I made it through!

You see, I work with kids! I love my job and I have never wanted to do anything except change the lives of children for the better. When I go to work each day, I remember that if I am going to expect to teach my clients patience, hard work, compassion and empathy for others; I, myself, must offer those things to the world. Life for me lately, has become more about purpose and mindfulness and less about just allowing life to happen around me.  I have learned that when we seek to make the world a better place, it becomes less about investing in our own experiences and more about investing in the lives of others! When we make the mindful choice to give to others what goodness we want for our own lives, the world is changed for the better. Each us have unique qualities to offer the world and we all have something that we can do to make the world a better place. The niches that we are all born with are not accidents they are God's way of filling us with the potential to change the future and rewrite history. Those niches are the opportunities that we have been given to turn "difficult" moments into blessings! So in those moments where we can only bite our tongues,  smile and pray for a better outlook, we must realize that we desire for others to give us patience, compassion and empathy and if we deserve those blessings than others do too!

Life is ultimately about how we deal with the obstacles and issues that arise along our journey. It is also about how we treat others and how we walk through the fire. The ideal world, that I imagine, is one where everyone is treated equally, all individuals feel loved and compassion is rampant. But last time I checked the news, my ideal world has not yet come true. I aspire for everyone within the sound of my voice, gaze of my eyes and reach of my hand to know the love and grace of God. I feel that to change the world, you have to melt hearts from stone into love and share with others what makes salvation in God such a life changing thing! This involves being a living representation of God's love and making the choice to share that love with  the world so that maybe God will flow into the hearts of others like a mighty wave.  Every day (good or bad) affords us the opportunity to show others the power and presence of God.  What we gift the world as Christians is the most realistic and authentic representation of God that most people will ever experience. This realization proves how big of a job we, as Christians have  in our day to day lives. If we are going to be the hands and feet of God and change the world; we must first make sure that we ourselves are living as God would want us to and that we are giving to the world the gifts and qualities that God would most want us to share.  

  So let your light shine and dare to believe that you have the potential to change the world. Give to others the blessings that you believe are good and admirable.  Make the choice every day to live with purpose and the understanding that you have the potential to move mountains with God by your side. Life is hard and it tests us from time to time, but when we give our lives to God, we have someone to walk the road with. I want to challenge you to give to the world what you most want to come back. Strive everyday to let no one leave you without being lifted up through compassion, patience and empathy. Love is the key to everything and when we actively decide to make love our  mission, the lives of others will be revolutionized through a movement of God that cannot be contained