what happens?

...when everything around you crumbles to the ground? when everything you know, everything that is common, everything that is constant.. is gone. what happens when you look around and you realize your life is slowly fading from everything you are use to something new and foreign. what happens when you are so low you feel like God must be miles alway? when you cry out to Him yet you still feel so empty?

what happens when we undergo such difficult times that you think tomorrow's light may not even shine on this unsurpassing problem. what will happen? how will life continue? how do i find myself in this situation?

i know exactly were that is. as i type this i feel that so deeply. though i am not yet ready to share, i feel God moving miraculously in me to blog about this...

God has so clearly revealed this verse to me,

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." -Psalm 34:11

I know as I sit here and read that over and over and go over it in my head it is so easy to being to think.... Well I wish God could be near to me minus this brokenhearted-ness. I know... it is so heavy on my heart right now. I know that this current situation seems so large and monumental that tomorrow, the next day, next month, next year seem as though they will never get better... I am reassured by His word. His word is the truth so when I read, "For I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." -Romans 8:18 I know that by believing in that verse God will bring that to pass in my life. That this current suffering is nothing compared to what God will reveal to me. Whether he reveals His glory to me on this earth or in heaven I know and blindly believe that God will lavish me in His endless love. That I will reap what I sow. That this just temporary. This is surpassing. This too shall pass.

When you look at everything in your life and just the miraculous fact of life itself, it is clear to see that God is good. God has stayed the same sense the beginning of age. So even in this situation God is still God, and God is still good!

Though I don't feel like my current situation could bring God glory I know that through this He will work it for His glory. I find peace in knowing that this is part of His plan. That I am just a dot in his masterpiece that He is painting. That maybe through little things that I stumble through and learn from He will use me- To teach, to preach, to share, and explain. I know that God is not a God of chaos and He doesn't change though my circumstances do. I rest and find peace in knowing.. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 9-10

I learn more about who God is when He allows difficulties to change me and mold me into what He wants for my life. I have once heard that a diamonds have to undergo extreme pressure, cuts, and hardship to shine. The beautiful diamond doesn't just look that way, it undergoes extreme press to shine brilliantly. I know that God allows us to undergo surpassing issues so that we can shine brilliantly for His purpose and His will.

Unanswered Prayers

God's plan is bigger then my plan.

God's grace is bigger then my mistakes.

God's love is bigger then my comprehension.

These past few months I have been understanding deeper that my picture is part of a bigger picture. My life is not my own. My thoughts are not my thoughts. His ways are bigger and better than even my best. So for that reason alone, I am thankful and blessed for unanswered prayers. I'm so thankful that I don't plan my future on what I think is best. My favorite prayer is thanking God for allowing His plan to supersede my foolish thoughts of what I need. He knows my heart. He knows my whole heart better then I even I do..

So often with unanswered prayers I learn more of God's love for me then when I receive what I think I want. I don't know what is best for me. That is what I learn daily. That I must die to my desires, DAILY, to understand God's unwavering love.

Though it is hard to admit my prayers are so often for my selfish desires. I so often find myself praying for things that would bring me what I want, rather then what God wants. I know that God only wants the best for me, so why do I tend to think that if I pray with self-seeking motives I will get what I desire?

This is a learning process for me and I'm thankful that Jesus doesn't look at me any differently. He loves me the same. He gave Himself for me, I'm gearing my praying to what HE wants from my life. Not what I want.

who do YOU say Jesus is?

I've heard that your specific answer to that question is the single most important thing about you.

When I first heard this I tried to think of a theological, wordy, mind blowing answer.. I came up with a few off the top of my head but didn't feel like it accurately explained who Jesus is.. these are a few, "my best friend that has saved me from myself" or "the giver of life" or "the son of God who came to save us from our sins." I know, nothing too special with those answer. I mean if it is the single most important thing about me I was hoping I could up with something better. When I thought about it, my mind started to drift to when Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do people say that I am."

They responded with..“Well some people say you're John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Then Jesus looks at them and says, "who do YOU say that I am." I think this was a heart question. I think Jesus asked them this because these were His buddies, I think He wanted to know what they were calling Him behind His back. I think He wanted to know who they thought He was deep in their heart.

Then Peter was the only one to answer Jesus, and he said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus LOVED this answer. Like I can almost imagine it now.. Jesus just being so pleased that His buddy knew Him for Him. He said to Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” - Matthew 16:17-19

After reading that passage I started to realize what my answer to, "who do you say Jesus is?"

Jesus tells us who He is, He IS the GOD of our situation. He is what we need. Always.

Everyday we face different struggles, temptations, let downs, but Jesus guides us through each particular and different situation it may be. He is the God of..

ELOHIM

God of Power & Might

JEHOVAH-MACCADDESHEM

"The Lord thy sanctifier"

JEHOVAH-ROHI

"The Lord my shepherd"

JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH

"The Lord who is present"

JEHOVAH-RAPHA

"The Lord our healer"

JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU

"The Lord our righteousness"

JEHOVAH-JIREH

"The Lord will provide"

JEHOVAH-NISSI

"The Lord our banner"

JEHOVAH-SHALOM

"The Lord is peace"

JEHOVAH-SABBAOTH

"The Lord of Hosts"

JEHOVAH-GMOLAH

"The God of Recompense"

EL-ELYON

"The most high God

EL-ROI

"The strong one who sees"

EL-SHADDAI

"The God of the mountains or God Almighty"

EL-OLAM

"The everlasting God"

All of these names can not even accurately describe Jesus' unsurpassable greatness. He IS THAT HE IS. Meaning, that He is the God of your situation. He is the God of your specific needs. He can tailor Himself to suit your every single need.

This ultimately leads to the fact. HE IS ALL YOU NEED.

Jehovah Jireh- God our Provider

This past week I've been sick and at times super weak, every time I'd go to write this post it would never turn out like I hoped, so here I go. Hopefully this reveals something to you, if nothing else it has really ministered to me.

My goal for this blog, sense the very beginning, has been transparency. I don’t have everything together. I’m messed-up and screwed up. Yes I’m a Christian, I passionately seek the Lord, I run after Him daily, but I’m not perfect. It’s not easy to admit, but through reading this passage the Lord revealed to me how faithless I can be, how sometimes I can laugh at His promises, and yes, even doubt His mightiness.

Reading through the story of Abraham and Sarah I saw how the Lord is a miracle worker. Even when we don’t deserve it, He works miracles and provides us with the desires in our heart. Even when we laugh in His face promising us something that seems impossible, He provides.

These are verses from Genesis 11-17

The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing."

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”

God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”

Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

So basically whenever I use to read this passage I would think. Wow, that’s great that the Lord did that. How great that Sarah would have a kid. Wow cool God. And that is where I would stop and move on to Genesis 18. But, when I truly stopped and read it, and appreciated it, I realized, God just provided the IMPOSSIBLE! Sarah's pregnancy was truly miraculous; she had been trying to get pregnant for so many years without success, but when she put her faith in God's word, the impossible became possible. In the physical her case looked hopeless, but little did she know that God was preparing her for an exceptional miracle.

Sarah and Abraham (a great follow of God) laughed about God’s faithfulness, yet God provided. Abraham being the man of God that he was, doubted God for all that He promised. This spoke to me, because God could reveal and provide us with so stinkin much but we have a tendency to put God in a little box and expect Him to only provide us with what we need, not what we desire. FALSE! This is so false, it says in the bible, delight in ME (meaning the Lord) and I will give you the desires of your heart, because it is I would created those desires.

God is not human, and has no human characteristic, He is able to do exceeding more than we can imagine. But, like Sarah, we don’t really expect God to work crazy miraculous things through us.

Like Sarah, we limit God’s abilities, and when He reveals something amazing to us, we laugh and doubt that He can provide such a thing. FAULT. One of God’s many names is Jehovah Jireh- God our Provider. He can provide so much more that we could ever imagine. His plan for our life is better than the best we could ever even imagine it.

So this is my desire. That we let God out of our boxes. That we let Him provide us with more than we need, but what we desire. Key # 1 to do this is, stop limiting God. When He speaks, listen, follow, and surrender. Number 2, never expect less than miraculous. Our God is in the business of miracles, He does only heal, restore, part seas, walk on water, gives sight to the blind, etc. Give Him the power He deserves and He will do exceedingly more than you could ever imagine. Even when it seems impossible!

“If the vision you have for your future isn’t intimidating to you, there is a real good chance it is insulting to God.” –Pastor Steven Furtick

-Be Blessed

the process

Our Story: Wade Joye from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

pause the music at the bottom of the page :)

Psalm 27

Wait on the LORD, be strong, & take heart.

Between the the promise that God makes you, and the pay-off, is when God fulfill that promise. There is a PROCESS, and that process that God takes you through is the point. Because it is in that process when you are waiting on God, that you can really and fully draw closer to the LORD. Waiting is not a glamours spiritual discipline, waiting is hard in our culture, but it is in those seasons of waiting that you can cling to Jesus when everything else around you is falling apart.

Our Story: "My Deliverer" from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

prayer

prayer |pre(ə)r|nouna solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or anobject of worship : I'll say a prayer for him | the peace of God is ours throughprayer.• ( prayers) a religious service, esp. a regular one, at which people gather in order to pray together : 500 people were detained as they attended Friday prayers.• an earnest hope or wish : it is our prayer that the current progress on human rights will be sustained.
Prayer is one of the best ways to connect with God.God of the universe allows us to seek Him, thank Him, praise Him, but most of all just talk with Him. That is the best thing, to think that God holds the whole world in the palm of His hand, yet He is interested in me and you! He has EVERYTHING at his fingertips He has everything of the world but cares for us!God is all knowing and knows every single thing we need, so when we pray, we are crying out to Him, and declaring our dependance on Him. We are essentially saying, "God I give You my problems, my fears, my concerns, because You are stronger. He always hears, and listens to our needs. He answers, yes, no, not now but later, to our prayers. One of my favorite things to pray about is thanking God for answering "no" to some of my prayers. He knows what is best for me, not just what is best, but what is imperative for His will to be done through me, and you. God is not a God of mistakes, or chaos. He knows what He is doing. So when it seems like God is not "answering" it may just be that we are not seeking His plan for us.

“Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call on me, and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

—Jeremiah 33:2-3

Psalm 32

The Psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters,

He refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk

through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and staff

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil,

my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.

don't settle..

don't settle for bread and butter

when God has prepared a six-course dinner for you!

It seems so easy to settle for bread and butter. Especially when your out to eat with friends and everyone is eating bread and butter. BUT you know that your amazing dinner will be out shortly you just have to be willing to wait. Getting full before your meal won't allow you to truly enjoy it!

This is actually going somewhere. It is just like purity.

God promises us the best. We just have to be willing to wait.

DON'T SETTLE!

This is a huge issue that I struggle with. I have a hard time comprehending that the Lord has planned my life out already. I just have to be willing to trust Him, and in His time He will reveal His perfect plan to me. I have made it a point to not settle anymore! :)

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

My Savior

Can I get an amen to that! Jesus is my SAVIOR! not my religion. One of the most amazing things about Jesus is He doesn't want my religion. My church is currently doing a series called "Jesus is.." so I will be doing another post on a summary of that, but for now I wanted to share this. Jesus wants my/your relationship. I could speak theological madness for hours on end till I'm blue in the face, but that's not want Jesus seeks and expects.

It says so clearly in the Bible that Jesus wants our heart. This is sometimes difficult for me. I sometimes feel as if I have to memorize bible verses, and study the bible. And by no means, don't get me wrong, those are great things to do! But, Jesus clearly states that on the day of judgement people who believe that they are going to go to heaven will hear Jesus say to them, "depart from me, for I never knew you." Though I'm obviously not Jesus, and I really have no idea, I would speculate that those people, would be those who did not have a relationship with Christ. I would speculate, that those would be people in church who were just going through the motions. Those people who never truly surrendered their life to Christ.

When I saw this picture it reminded me so much of my upbringing in church. I was raised in a church where I felt like Jesus wanted my religion, not my relationship. Because of this I never experienced Jesus. I went to church 17 years and never as much as felt like Jesus was anything tangible or anything real at all.

Through those 17 years there was a void in my life only Jesus could satisfy. Without knowing Him, I searched for Him in all the wrong places. Mostly, in empty relationships. When all those failed I always would wonder why; I would try and complete myself through other people.

When Jesus is the only one who could ever complete me.

So once I met Jesus for the first time I realize that He was real! That He cared about me, He wanted what is best for me, that He loves me. That He wants my relationship, not my religion. He wanted me, not my knowledge about Him. He wants me to seek Him. To love Him. To glorify Him.

JesusCulture

His love NEVER fails.

Your Love Never Fails -Chris Quilala / Jesus Culture from Jesus Culture on Vimeo.

Nothing can separate
Even if I ran away
Your love never fails
I know I still make mistakes
But You have new mercies for me everyday
Your love never fails

You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning
And when the oceans rage
I don't have to be afraid
Because I know that You love me
Your love never fails

The wind is strong and the water's deep
But I'm not alone in these open seas
Cause Your love never fails
The chasm is far too wide
I never thought I'd reach the other side
But Your love never fails

You make all things work together for my good

God is STILL God, God is STILL good!

Wow, I have been changed from the testimonies of these individuals. God has taken tragedy in their life, and created a way for them to have triumph! God has taken their horrific story and made it beautiful. He has reviled Himself and is still faithful. I aspire to have faith like Erik, Matthew, Zac, and Mandy.

This first story is of Mandy & Zac. Watch in order :)

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

Letter to Zac from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

A Story | Tears of Hope from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

Jeremiah 29:11 God promises, "I have great and mighty plans for you, plans for you to proser and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.

One thing that I'm always reminded by that verse is if it's not good yet, God's not done!

Through our weakness our faith become's so apparent. Under struggles and persecution God calls us to be leaders in faith and give Him glory. My prayers are with Erik, Matt, and Mandy as God guides them in their walk with Him. I pray that under persecution I can stand for he Lord in such a way as they!

This is the unique relationship of Matt and Erik. God has truly orchestrated this relationship.

A Story | Big Picture Faith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

May the Lord continue to work in their lives. Bring healing, provide power on the days that they seem powerless. May their testimonies continue to show the Lord's love.

-xox <3

if you enjoyed this i encourage you to check out this amazing service in it's entirety on NewSpring Churches website. Just click HERE <--- to watch this service!

love Rescued me!

Complete transparency is my goal.

Yes, I do follow God. But no I do not have it all together.

I'M NOT PERFECT JUST FORGIVEN :)

Through this blog my main and utter purpose is to show what God's mercy has/does in me. This is my spiritual walk, the most important walk I walk.

He can take an imperfect person like me and have a love for me that is beyond perfect. He has redeemed me and redeems me every single day. I fall short, every single day. And, wow, He still is completely in love with me. He knows every little thing and nothing scares Him off.

This day has been just one of those days...

Those days that where it seems like it is just you and God. One of those days when you realize who excepts you for you and doesn't want you to be anyone but you. Just one of those days..

As always, God revealed the perfect part of scripture; just what I needed. I flipped straight to Lamentation. If you're unfamiliar with Lamentation it is Jeremiah's account of his grief and sadness for the tragedy that happened in Jerusalem. Though all of his hope was lost, the Lord made it clear that eventually they would be restored for those who wait on Him through Jesus Christ.

"How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow is she, who was great among the nations! The princess among the provinces has become a slave. She weeps bitterly in the night, her tears are on her cheeks; among all her lovers. She has none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies. She finds no rest" -Lamentation 1:1-3

"Her adversaries have become the master, her enemies prosper; for the Lord has afflicted her. Because of the multitude of her transgressions. Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture, that flee without strength."

"With no one to help her, the adversaries saw her and mocked her downfall. For these things I weep. My eyes overflow with water because the comforter, who should restore my life, is far from me."

"The Lord has done what He purposed, He has fulfilled His word which He commanded in days of old. Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Life your hands towards Him."

"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because of His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him! The Lord is good to those who wait for Him. To the soul who seeks Him, it is good that one should hope and wait quietly. For the salvation of the Lord, it is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep silent, because God has laid it on him, let him put his mouth in the dust- There may yet be hope. Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, and be full reproach." -Lamentation 3:22-30

Gods word is just so good :)

This reminds me too much how the lost and hopeless can find hope through the Lord. I have such a place in my heart for those lost from the Lord because I can remember how empty that was. The emptiness that just consumes you to the point were you question why, how, who, constantly. I remember because 2 short years ago I was there. The loneliness that cries out so loud that the silence is always filled with noise. I was the hopelessness that is in Lamentation, and had such a feel of that today. It was as if the hearts of the lost cried out to me more today than ever.

Living to please the world is such a downward spiral. Yes, as it says in Lamentations you will be mocked by your adversaries. This has been a large issue for me, given the fact that I'm a people pleaser. Constant approve from the world will not lead you into the arms of the Lord though, slowly but surely I am learning that. People pleasing is not God pleasing because God is not of this world. He deserves our all. Our everything. Our emptiness.

Gods promises are so much better than this world. His mercy consumes me and His compassion NEVER fails. His love for me is new every morning and He is all my soul longs for.

The Lord's better than this world. Better than anything. Forever and ever and will never leave nor forsake those who follow Him. Wow, to say that I'm undeserving of this love just falls short..

dear God,

i want more of You and less & less of me.

"why do both good and bad thing happen? Because, God is passionate about OUR love for Him. He knows that in our sinful bodies we would live our life out of self love if everything always went our way."

That quote has revealed so much to me. God is not a god of pain and suffering because he wants bad to fall upon us. God is a god of mercy and love and wants our love more than anything! God reveals Himself in such unique and amazing ways.

"But He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." - 2 Corinthians 12:9

Though at the time of suffering pain of the earth falls upon us. The love of God is something so much more powerful. And I guess if I had to sum up how I feel about this particular verse. It would be that though the trials come (and if they haven't already, they will, it's impossible to avoid) God promises to reveal Himself, and change us for the better through the trials. Even better, He promises to never leave us. I would rather go through trials, any day, than go through a trial-less life with-out God as my savior.

- ashley xox

god is good

God is so good! yesterday, today, tomorrow!

nothing compares to His love, all else pales in comparison.

forever I will sing of his greatness

because He is the light of my world.

He will always be enough

MY HEART WILL SING, NO OTHER NAME.. JESUS, JESUS!

I wish I could spend everyday in complete worship. At the foot of the cross is where I see all I need and all I could ever want. I belong to the most High and for that reason alone is the reason that I stand for Him. I gave my life to Him because He gave His son to me.

MY HEART WILL SING, NO OTHER NAME.. JESUS, JESUS!

God is good in every circumstance! In the darkest of dark He is still faithful. It is easy to be happy with God when everything goes your way and everything is going well but it is the true test of faith when things are tough, difficult, and unbearable.

JUST A THOUGHT...

well i just wanted to share with you one of my favorite things! being away from home i miss this so much! this was my breakfast literally every single day over the summer after my uncle introduced this wonderful little invention to me. and obviously liking it so much i'm going to tell you all about it! it's made of instant oats (don't let it scare you, i know it seems a little odd, BUT super good I promise :) vanilla, milk, banana, and yogurt. IT'S SO GOOD. and i bet after looking at that picture you would want it too! like i bet if i had some and asked you if you'd want to try it, i guarantee most people would! well you may be wondering why i'm telling you all this. if you think about it, we tell people how much we love our sports teams, how much we love our i-pods, how much we love our friends, etc.. so i decided to post about my favorite breakfast. well kind of, i actually am posting on how we talk about things we love, but why then is it so hard to talk about Jesus?

people question, why some people constantly talk about Jesus? why are they so crazy about Jesus? well just a little secret, cause they LOVE Him. i know, crazy, hun?

i digress; back to my breakfast... just as i told you all about it, and how much i love it. thats how God wants us to tell others about Jesus. he wants us to be able to spread our faith with everyone. he wants us to passionately explain Him to others. once we find Him, we love to share Him.

"the found people like to go find people" WOW! awesome quote. once i truly found Jesus, i went crazy. i was trying to tell every single person on the face of this earth about Him. i wanted everyone to experience His love and just all around amazingness. so this brings forth my first question for "believers"

when did you find Jesus? -if you can't answer this, i'm sorry but, you don't know Jesus. just like all important things in our life we remember dates (your birthday, your anniversary, etc..) we remember exact times. i'm not asking you what the date was when you were confirmed, or when you were baptized as a little baby. i'm asking when you meet Jesus, truly met Jesus. When you first experienced Him, and His unconditional love. You would know if you've met Him because your life would never be the same. So with that said, question number 2..

who have you introduced to Jesus? -like before, when i told you about my favorite breakfast, i like it so much i wanted to share it with you. the same holds true to Jesus. once you meet Him, you want to share Him.

^{Romans 10:14}

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

after i met Jesus i felt completely alone. i felt like Jesus was playing a sick and twisted joke on me. it was almost as if i was told to do the impossible. but as i truly thought about it i began to come to the realization that it was not at all a joke. it was not a mistake! it was not a mistake i was surround by non-believers. its never been so clear to me as it is now. i was the light God gave to my non-believing friends. i was the light in what seemed like an endless darkness. Jesus has taught me what it truly means to tell people about His love. Jesus has truly taught me how to lean on Him, and Him alone. He has shown me what how, "you never know how stronger you can be until you have no other choice than to be strong." He taught me how HE iS ALL i NEED! i am forever thankful.

if you feel like this post or any of my posts make you want to know Jesus as i've explained i'd love to pray for you with you/with you. please comment or get ahold of me!

xoxo

ashley

p.s. happy thanksgiving :)

trick or treat?

well its that wonderful time of year again.. halloween. if you know me at all you know halloween is not at the top of my list for "favorite holidays" i jokingly say that it's the "devil's holiday" unfortunately the more time i spend thinking about it, the more i realize it truly is.

and don't get me wrong. i grew up trick or treating and had a great time, but it seems as though many people go a little over board for this "holiday"

for example, why in heavens name would we celebrate scariness? why would we dress up little innocent children in costumes that resemble the devil and find this normal? how exactly is this fun? i have many questions about this specific day..

my number one issue is that we spend so much time/money on devil like activities. making the devil look fun or appealing. for example i went to my first actual haunted house when i was a senior in high school. yes, you read correctly, senior in high school. i have always been a bit emotional and i scream when i hear loud noises. for that reason alone i never felt the need to attend haunted houses. well regardless, back to the story... my friends decided that to celebrate this wonderful "holiday" we were all going to one of the scariest haunted houses around. after much pleading i fell to peer pressure and decided to go. note to self: BAD DECISION. needless to say i did not have a good time. i'm pretty sure i peed my pants and cried the whole entire time i was there.

we as a society have created a holiday making hell look like fun. making hell look like a decent place to go. but if you only knew!! Jesus says if you saw what hell was like, like if you just saw a few seconds or a seek peak of what hell is really like, you would be radically changed, forever. you would be so changed because you would NEVER want to go there. He says many times that He would have it that NONE shall perish but EVERYONE would have everlasting life. He would never want His precious children going there, EVER. Jesus says that if anyone does not recognize that I AM their Lord and Savior their name will not be written down in the lambs book of life and they will be thrown into the lake of fire. lake of fire... I can not imagine! that's unbelievable torture that i can not even begin to wrap my mind around.

Jesus and the disciples talk about hell 65 times in the bible where as heaven is mentioned 32 times. this is a prime example of how Jesus wants to warn everyone! i'd be lying if i said hell wasn't real. i wish i could say that but i'm not about preaching a gospel about rainbows and butterflies when truthfully the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is at hand!!!

i remember having a conversation with a friend once. she begin to tell me how she doesn't believe in a single thing. she doesn't believe in god, jesus, heaven, hell.. nothing. she just has no belief in anything. i remember looking at her and saying, "wow! you have much more faith than i do! i would never want to bank my eternity on just not believing. when you think of the short time we spend on this earth compared to eternity (we are but a vapor here today and gone tomorrow) i could go on and on about this subject.. maybe my next post. but if you're reading this and you question if you're going to heaven or hell i'd love to pray for you. i'd love to talk to you about it. comment or message me.

trick is that this world is the be all, end all. Hate to break it to everyone who believes that, but it's not!! trick is that hell is a far away aspect..

treat is Jesus! treat is that He came to give us everlasting life with Him. treat is that he died for me, and you! treat is that Heaven is the biggest party ever. treat is HE LOVES YOU! HE THOUGHT YOU WERE WORTH DYING FOR!!!

-xoxoxox sorry for the bluntness of this post

:)