and God said, "I Will"

  Last night, I was feeling a bit of anxiousness.  I'm a bit nervous about something coming up and it was weighing heavy on my mind last night.  And so, during my prayer time, I asked the Lord to, in these exact words, "give me peace which transcends all understanding".  Later in my prayer, as I was thinking about this upcoming weekend I'll be spending in Colorado, I asked the Lord, again in these exact words, "help me to live a life worthy of Your calling".

  After I turned my lights off to go to sleep, I got on my phone to look at my two Bible apps which each has its own "verse of the day".  It's something I started doing a few years back.  Sometimes, the verses fit perfectly with my day and God reveals great things to me, other times, it's just a good reminder.  But tonight, as I read those two verses, I saw the Lord answering two of my earlier requests.

  I clicked on the first app, and this verse popped up:

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to
live a life worthy of the calling you have received."    
~Ephesians 4:1

  Wow!  I was awe-struck that the Lord had me read that verse right after praying those words.  I heard Him say, "I will...help you live a life worthy of My calling."

  I clicked on the second app, and this verse popped up:

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

~Philippians 4:7

  No one is going to convince me that was a coincidence!  God revealed to me again, "I will...give you peace which transcends all understanding."  As I went to sleep last night, I was still a bit nervous of the unknown, but I was comforted that God is walking right next to me this whole time!

  I just had to share what He did for me last night!  And how He showed me that He's standing right beside me walking with me all the way, and carrying me when I need it.

He is good,
    Sierra

A Gift from God

I lift my life, lift my life up

I give it all in surrender

I lift my heart, lift my heart up

You can have it forever

All my dreams

All my plans 

Lord, I leave it in Your hands

I lift my life, lift my life up

~"Lift My Life Up" by Unspoken

  I was listening to this song last Tuesday night.  For some reason, I really listened to it.  I'd heard it before, but the words stuck out to me and I prayed the words in my heart.  It's funny - looking back to that night last week.  Just the night after I listened to that song again, but that time as praise - for what He'd done between Tuesday and Wednesday evening.  A twenty-four hour period.

  In December I had the privilege of meeting a woman who was such an encouragement to me!  She was interested in LIVE and asked me about the girls' group and other leadership opportunities I'd had.  After our meeting, she kindly told me she'd be praying for LIVE and myself.  I felt very encouraged by her words, especially since we barely knew each other.

  Last Wednesday night came and my phone went off.  Sometimes my phone goes off and I get excited for no reason because it's an ad of some sort or I got yet another email from Crafts Direct.  You know the kind.  But...this was a Facebook message - I saw it was from this gal and I was excited to hear from her again!  The reason for her message?  She wanted to invite me to something called World-Changers' Summit.  This is "a four-day event held every two years designed to provide practical training for young people in key leadership positions within Christian ministries around the world in how to move to the next level of effectiveness in all areas of Christian leadership."  I will be hearing from and meeting great Christian leaders such as John Stonestreet and Dr. Jeff Myers.  I have taken two of Dr. Myers' classes for college and have enjoyed them immensely!

  But!  Not only did she want to invite me to World-Changers' Summit...she wanted to personally pay for both my registration and airfare there!  Honestly, there's no way for me to accurately describe the gratefulness I feel for her and her husband.  There's no way for me to accurately describe how blessed I feel that not only she would choose me to sponsor but that God would choose me!!

  While this gift is extremely exciting, it's not the most exciting thing of all!  I strongly believe that God wouldn't send me this opportunity nor send me to the World-Changers' Summit if He didn't think I need to go.  He wouldn't send me there if He wasn't going to use it to prepare me for something greater.  To be honest, I'm only realizing this more and more as I'm typing this out.  :)

Take my life and let it be

All for You

~"Lift My Life Up" by Unspoken

  I came into this year desiring to bless others in some way or another.  Turns out, I got quite the blessing this year!  I will get to meet other young leaders and we will be able to learn from each other in ways I'm so excited to see!  I will also possibly have the ability to be coached by one of the keynote speakers.  

  I am so excited for this opportunity to learn and grow as a leader!  I know that what I learn will be applicable immediately as I come home to 23 girls in LIVE who I lead on a bi-monthly basis and as I mentor two girls individually on a monthly basis.  But then I know that somewhere in the unknown future, what I learn in those four days, will be applicable wherever God places me and uses me.

  For His Glory,

     Sierra

Imitators of Christ

  Quite a while ago, I watched a Youtube video (unfortunately, I couldn't find it) of a mom and daughters on a talk show.  This trio were Christians, yet spent the entire time on the show spouting out judgements.  Their judgements were made in a very inconsistent manner and were also not made in a Christ-like manner.

  After finishing the video, it wasn't hard for me to believe that some people have a hard time with Christians.  As humans, we set stereotypes...perhaps especially after seeing a video such as the one I watched.  It's no different for anything else!  If a Mormon, atheist, evolutionist, homeschooler, etc. were to go on TV, we'd probably come to believe that all Mormons, atheists, evolutionists, homeschoolers etc. believe exactly what they do!  But that's not true!  Not all Christians believe the exact thing, nor do all Christians act the same way.  I know people who judge others a lot and out loud and have often felt judged by them myself.  But not everyone is like that.

  Sometimes, on Pinterest, I'll run across a pin that sort of has a controversial saying...or people think it does.  It's interesting to read the comments on the pins (although you have to be careful of language sometimes).  Recently, I was scrolling through comments on a pin about a specific person.  There were a few people commenting who claimed to be Christians yet the words which followed after that claim included curse words along with very rude and unChrist-like statements directed towards that person and also a group of people.  Again, after seeing those comments, it's not hard to imagine that people have a hard time taking Christians seriously.  If we're claiming one thing, and then acting another way...should we be taken seriously?

  The following four verses/passages often remind me how important it is to not judge others.

"When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, 'Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'"

~John 8:7

  And then comes this verse which puts it all to rest.

"As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one.'"    ~Romans 3:10

  And in Matthew,

"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."      

~Matthew 7:2

And another:

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."      

~Matthew 7:3-5

 Now, I do not claim to never cast a judgement on someone.  This post is a reminder to me just as much to anyone else.

 Today, I saw this quote and it inspired me to write this post:

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

~Gandhi

  Honestly, I wouldn't be too open to someone who claimed to believe one thing and saw their actions said otherwise.  Not everyone, but a lot of people know what's in the Bible.  They know that the Bible says to not judge others.  So when they hear or see us making a judgement, it isn't lost on them that we just went against the Word that we claim to be our life book!  When they see how we are rude to others, strangers or acquaintances, they recognize that we've gone against the Lord's second greatest commandment.

"Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

~Matthew 22:37-39

The last verse I want to share pretty much sums it all up:

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children."

~Ephesians 5:1

Let's strive together to show the world how Jesus would act towards them.  He loves them just as much He loves you and I.  Let's be imitators of Christ.

In Christ's Love,

    Sierra

So Far So Good

  Yesterday morning, I didn't really have any "resolutions" or goals to complete in 2014.  For the first time, I created a strict budget that I wanted to stick to, but that had more to do with situations that will be presenting themselves this year than, "This year, I want to spend my money more wisely." (although I do want that, too).

  However, this morning my mom informed me of something my church is doing together (I didn't attend this past Sunday so I hadn't heard of it yet).  Our church is encouraging the congregation to read the Bible every single day, no matter how much.  They've suggested three different ways to do this, although if we had our own way, it would still count.  The three options they presented were: 1) read a verse a day and one "story" a week; 2) read an overview of the Bible; 3) read through the Bible in a year.  Because I already have an app for a verse of the day, I decided to read through the Bible in 2014.  This will require reading about 3 or 4 chapters day, and because I'd like to walk away with more knowledge, I'm taking notes.

  Thus, a resolution or goal was started!  Tomorrow, I will continue with Genesis, chapter 12.  A few months ago, my mom gave me a new study Bible that she had received, brand new, for free.  During my Bible study on Tuesday nights, the footnotes, maps, charts, and other tidbits have allowed me to dig even deeper into God's Word!  I'm looking forward to reading the entire Bible and learning more and more about the God I serve this year.  I've never done this before, but it's definitely something that I need to stick to.

  But there's a second goal that I made.

  Around 1:00am New Year's Day, being the weird person I am, I was looking through my own Pinterest boards -- mostly reading quotes I'd pinned in the past.  I came across this one...

  ...and I thought to myself, What a fun goal that would be!.  It wasn't until later that afternoon when I ran into Target that I thought of it again.  I made a friendly comment to the cashier and in reply, she smiled at me and said, "Thank you for that!"  I guess it doesn't take a lot to make someone's day a little brighter.  It can be a friendly comment to a stranger, a sweet note to a friend, or a "thank you" to a family member.

  I hope and pray that no matter what your goals are this year, that you are able to stick to them. :)  I'm usually not very good about sticking to my goals, but I'm hoping that since I just picked two, I'll be able to.

  Love in Christ,

  Sierra