Grace

   Hi everyone! I mentioned in the last post that there would be a special interview with my friend Kristen talking about the grace of God. On the side is a picture of her, so for anyone who doesn't know her, you can put a face with the name. I hope her story encourages you!

How His Grace Found Me:

What was your understanding of God’s grace say, a year or two ago?
      A year or two ago I didn’t really give a lot of thought to grace honestly. The extent of how I viewed grace was probably the standard knowledge of being saved by grace, like by the cross of Jesus, through faith, you know, what they teach you in Sunday school about it and I kind of just left it at that I guess.

So tell us your story...
     So basically my story starts off with me slipping, ever so slightly. But hey everyone falls sometimes, right? Problem with that was that I didn’t get up after slipping. Instead I just let myself fall deeper and deeper into sin. It started with hanging out with the wrong people to finding myself in a toxic relationship. All along the way, one of my friends (my college roommate who lived with me and saw all of this going on) pointed out all these red flags and I, being blinded by my sin, justified every single one.
     It got to the point where I was so far down in the pit of sin that I couldn’t even see the point in living and I doubted the love of the God who made me and saved me. I can’t even remember how it got that bad, but sin can easily become blinders over your eyes, so I guess that’s how.
It was then that God used that same friend to open my eyes. She had people praying for my life that I don’t even know about. That’s why I’m here today, I think. She willingly came into my pit of despair and walked me out and back to Jesus when I felt too shameful and defeated to go to Him on my own. That’s grace right there – God reaching down and picking you back up Himself and even God using someone in such a way that it basically saves your life.
     It’s completely undeserved favor. God is so good to us even when we’re at our all-time low. Those are things I had already known – God is good, gracious, loving, merciful, forgiving- but to experience His hand of grace like that was surreal. When I felt too far gone to ever be loved or used by God again, He showed me His grace was deeper – deeper than my shame, deeper than my sorrow, deeper than my sin.
     Looking back, I feel silly sometimes when I think about the thought processes I had back then. But it just goes to show you that when you let a little bit of darkness into your heart and let it reside there, it will take you to places you never thought you would go. Get up when you slip, don’t keep sliding. How could I be so far down in sin and be where I am today? Grace. God’s grace.

How was God’s grace real to you because of all this?
     Hebrews 4:16 says “Let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Before all of this, like I said earlier, I viewed grace as the means by which we were saved, you know, through faith on the cross of Jesus Christ. Of course that’s absolutely accurate. However, through all of this I’ve realized there’s so much more to grace. It’s a continuous thing. What I mean by that it’s God’s hand of grace that helps us in our time of need, our time of struggle, our time of stumbling.
     I’ve also learned that there’s no pit so deep that His love is not deeper still. (I think Corrie Ten Boom said that)...We’re never out of the reach of God. He gives grace upon grace like it says in John. Yes, grace saved me the day I gave my heart to Jesus, but grace also covers me daily, which I didn’t realize until recently. Our God is so good to us and always provides, even when the things we need are completely undeserved by our own merit, like His grace.

Anything you want to add? 
     I guess I just want to add that if anyone is feeling remotely similar to how I felt, know that you’re not too far gone. Sometimes we think because we are saved there’s no possible way we’ll make huge mistakes, but we forget that we’re human. Just because you’re saved doesn’t mean you won’t fall, sometimes even in huge ways, but remember how big God is.
     He is a gracious and merciful Savior who will meet you where you are. His grace covers you even when you fail, so get back up, wipe the dust off your feet and run full force toward the God who made you, who loves you, and who can deliver you.
     On the flip side, be conscious of others. Notice when people are struggling and be willing to let God use you to lift them up and to even walk through the valley they’re in with them until they remember who they are in Christ. Just let God use you however He wants.

     Our God is incredible. Listening to Kristen tell this story continually reminds me that God uses these situations which might seem impossible to fix or change or get out of, but He is faithful to take care of us, and when we look back, we see His hand in the situation, even if we did not want to see it at the time. A huge thank you to Kristen for her honesty in sharing her struggle and the amazing grace of God that pulled her out of it!

     I will add one thing, just in agreement of what Kristen shared at the end: be aware of those around of you. Notice the little things because they are the largest hints as to what someone could be going through. It sounds super cliché but it is important for us to pay attention to the other members of this Christian family. Encourage each other, pray for and with each other, offer advice if needed, and be a good listener. Point that person to Christ, repeatedly, every day if needed. They will thank you for it.

     I hope this was encouraging to all of you, if you are in this situation or not. If not, pay attention and help those who might be. If you are, reach out to someone around you! I am always here to pray and encourage you as well.

Blessings,
~ Abby

A Little Lesson

     As I lie on my kitchen floor writing a paper for my Music History class, I stop and think. Getting overwhelmed by homework and assignments and reading is easy for me to do. But the Lord put it on my heart that one of the reasons I've struggled with this is because I rely on myself too much. With that in mind, I'm working on this, and I have been asking the Lord to give me His wisdom and peace. He gave me this verse:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.

His praise endures forever.

~Psalm 111:10

     When I take the time to seek out who this God I serve truly is, I can find that wisdom. I can begin to understand His commands and truths. I am truly thankful that the Lord takes the time to show us these little lessons. 

~Abby

Home from Camp!

Greetings! 

I haven't posted in forever... I was a camp!!! I'm finally getting back into my schedule. This last week I had my first full week at my new job. And I was all by myself! The other woman in the office who does kind of the same thing I do was on vacation so I was all alone. And I made it through! God is good.

I just want to share a few thoughts from the time I had at camp. The theme was worship. What a great theme! Our meetings were wonderful. God really came and met us all individually and as a group! I am so thankful for what He did for me personally. I went to camp with a huge burden. I could not seem to get rid of it even though the situation that was connected had disappeared. I tried numerous times on my own, but I needed to truly realize that I couldn't not do it by myself. Letting go of the entire problem, I opened myself and in His mercy, God took it all away! That's one of the lessons I learned while I was up there. We feel like we need to handle it all when in reality, Jesus wants us to open our hearts and give it to Him. Truly give it to Him. Only then can He give us true peace. 



I had a fantastic time! My staff in housekeeping was amazing. Andrea, Sarah, & Kristen all worked hard and we had a good time together. I want to thank God very specifically for Andrea. We roomed together! She, without realizing it half the time, was such a great encouragement to me. Her amazing Christian walk was so obvious to everyone. She blessed me more than she will ever know!

I loved all the staff- we worked together very well and we had a good time too! Love you all!

Left to Right: Kristen, Sarah, Andrea, Abby
Photo By Andrea Dai

 

Blessings,

Abby

 

PS - I will post like normal starting again this week!





Learn

Working, writing, school, reading, learning, laughing, living.

Learning to depend on God's will is the hardest thing that I am learning right now. Allowing HIM to guide every step I take.

"Only trust Him."

Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day. ~ Psalm 25:4,5

Pure

      A dear friend had sent me this picture via social media and I asked if I could take the picture and write something up about it and post it on my blog. She graciously said yes so here it is!

     We live in a culture where purity is a thing almost unheard of! "You're waiting? Why?""Get it over with!" "You will most likely not be with this person when you're old enough to get married, so just do it." "It doesn't matter what other people say, it's okay." "Other people have done it. What's the harm?"

     Maybe you've heard some of these statements from coworkers, friends, or even family members. It's discouraging, right? You have made a decision and others don't understand it. You may feel like no one has the same conviction. You are at a lose. Should I just go ahead? Should I just do it? 

     Let me tell you a quick story: there was a girl, let's call her Brenda. She and her boyfriend had been careful, never allowing themselves to be a situation where they could make a bad choice. They were content where they were because they were waiting. But doubts began to form in Brenda's head because people at her job had made fun of her and her choice. "Why are you waiting? Just do it and get it over with." Some of them even said that if she didn't sleep with her boyfriend, he might leave her. She was terrified. I can't lose him! she thought. We are doing the right thing by waiting. Without realizing it, she had let Satan get into her head. No matter what she did, she had these nagging thoughts telling her to "do it." She finally had enough. Brenda called her boyfriend, let's call him Sam. She began to tell her what had been going on, everything that people had said, the thoughts that had been going through her head, etc. She was crying hysterically. "You and I both know that we can't. I have an idea," he said. They agreed to meet the next day and talk in person. Sam sat her down, grabbed her hands, looked into her eyes and said, "We are going to make a promise, first to God, to each other, then ourselves. We are not going to let other people get into our heads. We know it's wrong. With God's help, we are going to resist the temptations that our culture lays before us and be pure in the sight of God."

       Because of the promise and commitment that these two made to God, each other, and themselves, they resisted the temptations. And, they are married today!

      The point I was making by telling you that story was that you can resist. You can be pure. You can be faithful and true. Whether you are in a relationship or not, God will help you to control yourself and not cross that line. God is saving the perfect person for you. Our Father has something very special for you. He loves you so much and wants the bests for you! 

     Make the promise today. If you have fallen into that temptation, made that bad choice, ask for forgiveness. We are not perfect. God will forgive. He's awesome like that! Then determine in your heart to become who you are to be. If you have not crossed that line, make the choice now, today! Stay pure and true! In fact, if you make your decision today, if reading through this has helped you to make up your mind, then leave me a comment and tell me so! I would love to hear from you! And, if you are struggling with this, please let me know. I will be glad to pray for you!!!

     So, the "moral of the story" is to make the choice for yourself. Stand tall and proud because you are God's creation and you can be true and faithful! Resist it now, and God will reward you!

Blessings! ~Abby 

PS: Thank you Julie for the picture!

a lesson learned...

So a lot has been going on since my last post!

1) I have passed my Intro to World Religions test! YAY! (3 more credits!!!)
2) I have ended my college program that I was doing, not because I finished it with a degree but I felt like the Lord was leading me somewhere else. (I’ll elaborate on that more later on.)
3) Our Annual Homeschool Convention is in a week so we’ve been very busy with that but it’s going really well so far! Your prayers would be extremely appreciated!
4) I have sort of reconnected with one friend that I had lost touch with a few years ago.  I’m also trying to mend some other friendships that I have either lost, or I have drifted away from the other person. I feel like the Lord is leading me to try and reach out to these people so we’ll see how He leads.
5) I have been really using the last few weeks to grow in my spiritual walk. I’ll talk about that now and then go back to some of the other things.

I have been reading through different Psalms during the day. It’s been helping me stay calm, focused, and less stressed. I often would just get up and start my day, but now that I have been getting into the Bible more and just relying more on the promises of Jesus, I have a more gentle spirit within me. I know that it’s all due to His greatness and Holy Spirit. He has been showing me more and more how to become like Him.

When I am truly honest with myself, I know that I am not the person I should be. I know that God can make me into EXACTLY what He wants me to be. It’s very hard to surrender everything, and I mean everything to Him. I like to be in control, on top of everything, organized into binders and sections, calendars and appointments. But, I’ve been learning, slowly and painfully at times, that God doesn’t work that way. He needs to be in control of our lives. In His time, in His ways, He will do it all for good. For your good. That’s a lesson I’ve been struggling with for a long time, but it has been made so real to me that when God is in control, everything falls into place.

In regards to ending my college program, I felt that it was the right thing to do. It’s very closely related to my previous paragraphs. The organization I was working with are a wonderful group of people, first of all. They were right there to help me through things, answer all of my questions, give me great insight, etc. My personal coach was fabulous! She was always there to listen to me, help through failed tests, celebrate with me when I passed, etc. But most of all, she was there to pray with me and for me. I knew that I could trust her with a lot of my secrets and tell her many of my prayer requests. She would always make sure that I understood about my tests, everything about the program, etc. I was incredibly blessed to have her as my coach.

The main reason that I stopped that particular program before getting my degree, was that I felt that God wanted me somewhere else. I have a lot of college credits and now it’s going to be a waiting process. I have to see the options that are out there, see where God is going to lead me. It’s hard because, like I had said before, I have to entrust it ALL to Him. I am leaving my heart open to His leading, and my head open to suggestions! It will be a challenging couple of months to see how I can let Him lead, but I am very excited about what He will do with my life!

I think that’s all for now. If you made it all the way to the end, thank you for bearing with me! Please comment below!

Blessings through Jesus!
Abby