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Worship

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“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” – Psalm 100:1-2 
One of my favorite parts of going to church on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights is without a doubt the chance to worship alongside other believers. There is something about worshipping God alongside fellow Christians that is practically otherworldly—a feeling that nothing in this world can top. Whether we’re singing a slow song and raising our hands in surrender or rocking out to a fast song and totally getting into it, there is nothing quite like worship. But, what if worship is meant to be more than just singing?
We tend to think, as Christians, of worship being the time between when we walk in the doors and the time when the pastor gives the message. Something that happens at church, or maybe at a Newsboys concert. But what if worship is more than that? What if it is meant to be something that we do daily—part of the rhythm of our day-to-day life as believers?
In Romans 12, Paul writes, “So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship.” (Romans 12:1). In this verse, the Apostle Paul is urging believers to live their lives as an offering poured out to God, which he describes just a few beats later as worship. Here, we are called to a worship that goes beyond just the sound of our voices on Sunday morning. We are called to worship that starts with our lives.
But, what does this look like? What does it look like to live your life as a living sacrifice—as a worship poured out to God? What does it mean to live our lives in this way?
According to the Google definition of the word, worship is “The feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity”. Oswald Chambers, the late evangelist and teacher describes worship this way – “Worship is giving God the best that he has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to him in a deliberate act of worship.”
In other words, we can worship God through everything that we do in this life – just as we are instructed to do in 1 Corinthians 10:31. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.“
It can be so easy to get so caught up in the mundaneness of life that we forget that everything that we do as Christians is in essence, something sacred. There is no such thing as a ‘secular’ task if we are living our lives for God, because in everything we do we can pour out our praise to the God who placed breath inside of our lungs. When we eat, we can thank God for the way that He has blessed us. When we drive to work, we can pray to the God who sustains us. When we write, or dance, or play sports, we can do it all for the God who has given us these gifts. Everything that we do as Christians can be an act of worship!
This week, I want to challenge you to look at the moments in your week differently.
To see the small ways that we can worship God in the midst of the ordinary.
To never allow ourselves to stop being in wonder at the majesty of our God, Savior and Creator!
To truly live your life as an act of worship. 
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How about you? How do you worship God in the day to day rhythms of your life? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!😃  
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A New Year’s Anthem

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As we go into this new year, let us strive to be people of purpose.

Let us fill ourselves with a holy passion and fire as we go into this world and transform it for the cause of Christ. 

Let us not love merely by our words, but our actions—conveying God’s love to each and every person that crosses our path. 

Let us see people not simply as another face, or another name, but as a magnificent and glorious human being, created in God’s own image. 

Let us carry this love to our schools, our workplaces, and our places of influence.

Let us turn this same love back on ourselves, and never forget our worth and value as children bought at a price by our Savior.

Let us never grow complacent with these truths, storing them away as simply an abstract belief or idea. Let us instead, live out a faith that sparks action. 

Let us love loudly, live boldly, and worship passionately. Let us never let our faith become just another routine.

Let us live without regrets, and chase God honoring dreams, while still living fully and wholeheartedly in the present—in the time in between.

Let us never forget that we are a spark—a spark that can start a great fire.

And let us stay on fire—living as reflections of the One who has called us into His glorious light. Forever and ever, amen! 

Now is the time. What are we waiting for? 

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Christmas Classics: It’s A Wonderful Life

Courtney4 Comments

*Warning, this post contains spoilers

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10. (NIV) 

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“When the bell rings, an angel gets their wings.”

Today is officially the last day of my Christmas Classics series, and I am closing it with one of the most well-known Christmas classics of our time: It’s A Wonderful Life. 

It’s A Wonderful Life is a (black and white!) Christmas movie created in 1946 about a young man named George Bailey who learns the meaning of Christmas after being visited by an angel named Clarence. George is at the end of his rope and contemplating suicide, after being faced with a lot of disasters at work that feel too big for him to handle. He sees no point in continuing to live until the angel shows him how his life has touched others—and what the world would be like without him. Through this he learns to see the value of his life and goes back to be with his family—and celebrates Christmas with a renewed hope, joy, and purpose.

It’s A Wonderful Life asks the timeless question that many of us have probably asked ourselves at some point: Does my life matter? Am I making a difference? Would this world be different if I weren’t there? And despite the notion that an angel “getting their wings when the bell rings” might be a little theologically shakey, there are a lot of good lessons that we, as Christians, can learn from this movie.

Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (NIV) and 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (NIV).

God has plans for each one of us, and whether or not we were ‘planned’ in the natural sense, God knew and formed each one of us before we were born! Though Jeremiah 1:5 is speaking about Jeremiah, it applies to each one of us—before we were even formed God knew us, and had an incredible plan for our lives! And in 1 Peter 2:9, Peter is speaking to every believer who has been called out of darkness, into God’s glorious light! God’s desire for each one of us is life, and that we live out the dreams that He has for us and impact those around us! 

If you’re reading this today, and asking any of the same questions that George Bailey asked in It’s A Wonderful Life, than I want you to know one thing above all else: your life matters! God would not have created you intricately and divinely in your mother’s womb if it didn’t. If you are alive and breathing today than God still has plans for you. If you just look around to those that you see each and every day, you will find lives that God wants you to impact—in your school, in your friend group, and in your family. And, there is no one else on this planet that can live out the life God created you to live! You matter. To God, and to so many people that see and interact with you every day! 

Maybe you’re reading this today and thinking ‘I already know this. I already know that my life and every other life on this planet matters.’ If that’s the case, than maybe you’ll find yourself in a different character in this story—Clarence. Maybe God wants to use you to encourage someone in your sphere of influence today, and remind them that their life matters! Maybe God wants to use you as someone’s guardian angel. God will often use us to speak to those who are hurting, and maybe as you’re reading this, the Lord is putting someone on your heart that you need to talk to. If that’s the case, than I want to challenge you to be obedient. You never know how God might want to use you in another person’s life! Maybe you could be somebody’s Clarence! 

If you get nothing else out of this post, than please remember this: God loves you, your life matters, and God wants to use you to impact the lives of others. In the words of the pastor/writer Max Lucado, “You weren’t an accident. You weren’t mass produced. You aren’t an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the Earth by the Master Craftsman.” 

May we always remember this; this Christmas, and the rest of our days!

Christmas Classics: A Christmas Carol

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Hey guys, so I know this post is a little late, but a couple of days ago I got sick and haven’t been up for writing. Sore throat, nausea, fatigue…you name it. I had it. 

But thankfully, I’m feeling better now. So, without further ado, here is the next installment of my Christmas Classics series…A Christmas Carol!

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“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13 (NIV) 

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I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!

From the time I was a young girl, I have always loved the classic Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol. I read the book when I was in middle school and have seen just about every movie adaption under the sun, from Mickey’s Christmas Carol to A Carol Christmas (a Hallmark adaption, with the old 90210 star Tori Spelling). It is a timeless classic that many have adapted for their own TV shows and movies. However, the original story as told by Charles Dickens still remains in a category all its own.

The story starts off with a cranky old miser named Scrooge (a title that has become somewhat of a pop culture phrase in its own right) who refuses to let one of his employees take the day off for Christmas. He sees no need for the holidays, and places money above everything else in his life—an attitude that has gotten him into trouble time and time again, even to the point of driving his ex-fiance and one true love away. Because of his sour attitude, and dysfunctional priorities, he is visited by three spirits who teach him lessons about life, faith, and kindness; the very things that Scrooge has spent most of his life neglecting.

There are too many lessons in this story to cover them all, but for the purpose of keeping this post short, I will only be focusing on two; living a life fueled with purpose and remembering the things that are truly important in life.

Scrooge is a man who has it all in the eyes of the world. He is successful in his career and he is so wealthy that money-problems are essentially a foreign concept to him. However, in the midst of all of this, he misses some of the things that are most important in life: Family. Friends. Caring for others. And most of all, God. 

Though most of us would never consider ourselves to be like Scrooge, and though he is a rather extreme example, there are many times in our own lives that we can fall into similar patterns as this character in the classic Christmas story. How often do we focus so much on material possessions and worldly wealth at the expense of the things that are more important in life? How often to we pass people by, so caught up in our own problems that we forget to look out for those who are hurting? How often do we forget to remember our blessings, and One who blesses us with it all?

Mark 8:36 says, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (NIV). And, Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (NIV).

It is not wrong to desire success or to have wealth, but it is problematic when it becomes your sole focus, causing you to neglect people, and make an idol that you place before your relationship with God. Scrooge was not wrong for having wealth, but he was wrong for being making it his top priority—and for putting his own needs above the needs of others. As Christians, we are called to put others first, and think of others’ needs more than our own. When we do this, God will bless us—maybe not materially, but with a joy that cannot be replaced by anything that this world has to offer.

This Christmas, I want to challenge you to spend some time reflecting on the true reason for the season—and going through this Christmas with an open heart, for those who are hurting and broken.

I want to challenge you to remember that the greatest things in this life are the things that we cannot see or touch, and that those are the things that truly give us purpose.

I want to challenge you to make time for family and friends, and never let a day go by without showing them that we care.

In this way, we can hold the Christmas spirit in our hearts.

In the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us, each and every one.”

Christmas Classics: Miracle On 34th Street

Courtney2 Comments

* Warning, this post contains spoilers.

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:1-3 (NIV). 

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You know, I’m a symbol. I’m a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If you can’t believe, if you can’t accept anything on faith, then you’re doomed for a life dominated by doubt.

I have always loved Christmas movies. I love practically everything about them, cliche as they often are—the warmth, the heart, the soundtrack, and the novelty. Every year, I make it a tradition to rewatch some of my old favorites along with the new ones, and one of my old favorites is the timeless classic, Miracle On 34th Street. 

For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, Miracle On 34th Street is a heartwarming Christmas movie about a young girl (Susan Walker), her now-single-mom (Mrs. Walker), their handsome next-door-neighbor (Bryan Bedford), and of course, Santa Claus (or, Kris Kringle). The movie opens up with the annual Coles’ Thanksgiving Day Parade. Mrs. Walker hires on an actor to play Santa who turns out to be a less-than-fit for the part, and is forced to hire a man who looks just like Santa Claus. Later on in the movie, he gets hired to play Santa at the Coles department store, and even though Mrs. Walker has told her daughter that there is no Santa Claus, young Susan soon comes to question her disbelief.

Throughout this movie, we consistently see a foil between Susan and her mother, Mrs. Walker. Mrs. Walker is jaded by the world, and her daughter has a childlike faith. Mrs. Walker sees believing in Santa Claus as silly, or foolish, while her daughter genuinely wants to believe. Mrs. Walker is firmly persuaded that there is no Santa Clause, while her daughter isn’t so sure.

In the Bible, Jesus tells His followers that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, they must become like children. They must come to Him with the same belief and wonder of a young child. Just as Susan Walker comes to believe in Santa Claus, we are called to have a childlike faith in God. This is not to say that the two are the same, but in this movie, Santa Clause is a symbol. He’s a symbol for the things, or should I say, The One Thing, that we choose to believe in or not believe in. 

In our own lives, we can’t see or touch God with our physical senses, and we can’t always see the ways that He is working in our lives behind the scenes. A belief in God is not unfounded, as there is a plethora of evidence in history and Creation that points to His existence, but we still must come to Him in faith—believing in His presence in the world and our life. When we pray and trust that He is a God who hears our prayers, we are coming to Him in faith. When we worship Him, and sing praises to a God we cannot see, we are coming to Him in faith. When we trust and believe the promise of Romans 8:28, that all things work together for the good of those who love Him, we are believing these things in faith.

The truth is, each one of us puts our faith in so many things in our day to day life, whether we realize it or not. When we sit down at the table to eat dinner, we have faith that chair will not collapse underneath us, and that the food will not poison or kill us. When we get into our car to meet a friend at Starbucks, we have faith that our car isn’t going to break down on us, and that those around us will follow the rules of the road. When we make a new friend, or enter into a new relationship, we place our faith in that person, trusting that they won’t let us down. If we can have faith in finite, imperfect people and matters in this world, than how much more can we have faith in a loving God—who created us and knows every single detail about us and our lives? 

This holiday season, let us be reminded that even as teens and adults, we have something (or Someone) that we can believe in. Let us let the ending of the movie, when little Susan Walker hands a dollar bill to the judge that says in God We Trust, remind us that we do have a God we can trust. Because of God and His great love for us, we are given the gift of belief. Let us come to God with the faith of a child, the way Jesus instructs us to in Matthew 18. 

Let us never stop believing in the one thing that we are never too old to believe in—Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, forever and ever, amen! 

How about you guys? Have you ever struggled to believe or have faith in your own life? How did you overcome this? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments section below!😃

Giving Back

Courtney2 Comments

It is officially the week after Thanksgiving—which means that we are right in the thick of the holiday season. A season for lights, and festivities. A season for family and friends. A season for finishing off those leftovers from Thanksgiving before they go bad.

It is also a season for giving, and making a difference in the world around us.

Though giving is something that we can (and should) do all year long, there is a certain spirit of generosity that fills the air during the Christmas season. There are more chances to give than practically any other time of year—through donations, through time, and through small acts of kindness. And as Christians, we have the chance to be a light for Christ as we make a difference in the world around us! 

In John 13:34-35, Jesus is speaking to His followers, and gives them a simple command to follow. He says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV). As Christ followers, we are called to love the world around us. And one of the greatest ways that we can share God’s love is through giving.

This does not simply mean giving financially or materially. Giving can take a lot of different forms, and if you cannot afford to give in this way, there are so many other ways that you can give! You can give of your time, and of your love! You can volunteer at a soup kitchen, or take time out of your day to mentor someone younger than you!

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. And Christmas is the perfect time to be intentional and give back to your community! It is the perfect time to reach out your hand to another and make a difference right where you are. And, it is the perfect chance to be a blessing to those around you.

This Christmas, I want to challenge you to give. This could be as simple as baking cookies for the widow down the street, or participating in Operation Christmas Child. You could participate in a church Christmas drive or babysit for a single mom who is struggling.

I don’t know how God is calling you to be a blessing, but there is one thing I do know – if you are alive and breathing today God can use you to make a difference in someone else’s life. And no matter how small it might seem to you, God can use your faithfulness in extraordinary ways! Through our giving, we have the chance to start a chain reaction, and spread an attitude of generosity in our homes, schools, and spheres of influences.

This Christmas, let us be a light for Christ, and reach out to those around us. Let us make a difference, and reach out to those who are struggling. Let us be the change that we want to see.

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“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’” – Matthew 25:35-40 (ESV). 

How about you guys? Do you have any suggestions for ways to give back during the holiday season? I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments section below! I always love hearing from you all!❤️

Thanksgiving Post 2018

Courtney2 Comments

It’s Thanksgiving season once again. The time when Turkeys roast in the oven and Santa Clause makes his way across New York for the Macey’s Day Parade. The time when we visit family and the weather starts to get just a little bit cooler. And, in honor of Thanksgiving being just a little over a week away, I have made a list of things that I am thankful for.

So, without further ado, here is my 2018 Thanksgiving Post! 

  1. Growing stronger in my faith – This year, I have made so many spiritual breakthroughs, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the ways that I have grown closer to God. I have found so much joy in the Lord in 2018 and am constantly blown away by the ways that I see Him working in my life. I have become more intentional in my faith and have seen the impact of this on every other area of my life, including my struggle with OCD and anxiety. I am truly blessed by all of the things that God has given me – but most of all, I am blessed by the ways that He continues to reveal Himself to me! God is so good y’all!
  2. My family – My family has been there for me through the good and the bad. They’ve supported me in my dreams and ambitions and have helped shape me into the person that I am today. They are the people who know me the best and who have seen me grow from a tiny human being into the young woman that I am today. I am thankful for their support, their guidance, and their example. And I am thankful for each and every member of my family.
  3. My friends – I am thankful for both my old friends, who I have grown up with, and the new friends that I have made this year (you know who you are!). God has surrounded me with some of the most incredible friends that a girl could ask for, and I am thankful for all of the people that He has brought into my life. If any of you guys are reading this right now, I just want to say, you all are the BEST!
  4. My church – This year, I have started attending a new church that’s literally ten minutes from my house – and I absolutely love it! The people there are so awesome and they have truly become my church family. I wrote a whole post on them, which you can read about here! God has blessed me so much as I have gotten plugged in at this church, which brings me to my next point…
  5.  Becoming a youth leader – This year, I have become a leader at my church’s youth group! I have wanted the chance to do this since I was about twelve, and this year, it all came to pass for me! Growing up, I was inspired by the example of the college leaders at my own youth group, and I always wanted the chance to be the example and role model to younger students that my own leaders were to me. And through my leadership at this youth group, I have had the chance to pray with students and encourage them in their walk with God. I couldn’t be more thankful for this incredible opportunity!
  6. Getting healthy – I have made a point not to remain silent about my struggle with OCD and anxiety on this blog. I am a big believer in being real and sharing our struggles with the intent of encouraging some else. However, over this past year, I have noticed it lessening way more than ever before. I have been dealing less with anxious thoughts and I have been making a conscious effort to move past stressful patterns of thinking. I have started combating my OCD with prayer and have begun opening up more to those around me – which has greatly helped me in my battle with OCD! I am thankful for this progress and believe that I will get even healthier in 2019!
  7. My education – This year, I have started taking my BA classes through Liberty University online and my AA classes through a local community college. When I first decided to go to Liberty, I was under the impression that my community college credits wouldn’t transfer, but this year, found out they would and have begun working on both parts of my degree at once. It has been a little crazy, trying to keep everything with school together, but God has walked with me through it all! And He has given me incredible opportunities with my education that I am truly thankful for!
  8. Writing – As always, I am thankful for the chance to express my thoughts, beliefs, and ideas through the written word. I have always loved writing, and this year, I have begun making an intentional effort to post more! Earlier in the year, a bunch of my friends started reading my blog, and through their encouragement, I decided to start posting something new each week! It has been an incredible blessing to hear their feedback on my posts and I am thankful for their challenge to write weekly! It has truly been incredible!
  9. Everyday blessings – There are so many things in our day-to-day life that we legit take for granted. Food. Water. Clothing. Shelter. Clean air. Life itself. I am thankful for all of these things and more. I am thankful for warm tea on cold December nights. I am thankful for the smell of the ocean at the beach. I am thankful for moments of laughter, joy, and wonder. I am thankful for the night sky. I am thankful for memories, tucked away in old scrapbooks. I am thankful for these everyday blessings. And I want to do my best to avoid taking them for granted.
  10. Freedom – I am thankful for the freedom that our soldiers have fought for so that we can live for and worship our God above. I am thankful that I live in a country where I can blog about my faith, and express it freely. I am thankful for those who have paid the ultimate price for all of this. I am thankful to live in America.

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How about you? What are you thankful for? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section below! Also, I am taking next week off from blogging for Thanksgiving – but I hope you all have an awesome holiday!😃