the least of these...........

I can't sleep. I've been laying here for hours. It's 2:00am and only about 4 hours till my day starts, and I'm wide awake! Usually, for me, this means that God is trying to speak to me or I need to pray about something. Tonight, (or morning depending on how you look at it) God has placed the needy on my heart. 

You may have seen this video circling Facebook, about a homeless man who just wants people to respect him. He says "I'm not a bum, I'm a human being" as he begins to become emotionally overwhelmed. 

Oh did this hit my heart in such a way that I could literally feel the pain in his words, and see it in his eyes. 

I feel so immensely thankful for a warm bed tonight. Not just my bed, but I have comfort! I have pillows, blankets, and warmth. I often categorize myself as poor, but I'm not really poor at all. I have always had shelter, always food to eat, always people to love and people that love me back. I've never been alone.

Now, I can remember times we had little. I remember one time, when we were so low on food that I had to make homemade noodles out of the little bit of flour we had left. That was dinner. There was also, one early spring when our power was shut off for 4 days, because we couldn't pay the bill. Those were some really cold nights. We all slept dressed in several layers and many blanks all huddled together in the living room. Oh yes, and the time our water was shut off for about a week. That was a very smelly week if you know what I mean! Ha! But seriously, those small situations are NOTHING, compared to what some people face.  

I don't even feel worthy to talk about our situation when so many others are facing so much worse. God says we need to be thinking about these people, and caring for them, and more than that, respecting them!

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” 

Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭12-14‬

Every time I come across this verse I feel so convicted. I don't really have a place to host dinner parties as of right now, but when I did have a home, I definitely only ever invited my friends and family. I know this is a tough one, but what if we invited people who we know just need a night to be loved? People who are needy physically or spiritually? What impact could this have on their life AND yours? What if we actually treated these people as if they really were Jesus? 

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 

Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭40-45‬ 

I am guilty of not caring like I should for those in need around me. It's so easy to get caught up in living life and to just be blind to it all. 

I got to see first hand some of these people last year when my husband stayed at the rescue mission for a couple months. The guys there are real people, with real hearts and real needs. Some them are there from job loss, disability, some are battling addictions, some just have no where to go. They are men with hearts and dreams and they just want to be ok.

The purpose of writing this, is not to make anyone feel guilty that they haven't given their money or time to the needy; no, God never wants us to act on guilt, but instead, I pray that these words would stir something new and different in our hearts. Something that would compel us to be more giving, quicker to help, and slower to judge. No gift is too small, no amount of time is too little, and every prayer is powerful!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. 

Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭20-21‬

"the blessing is not contingent on your performance"

Don't we all want blessings? Of course we do! We want to know that everything's going to be ok in the midst of this dark and broken world. We have pictures and ideas in our heads of how our lives should look. Those ideas are what we believe will bring us happiness and comfort. 

I definitely have always had certain ideas and dreams about how my life should look in order to be thriving. Nevertheless, my life is nothing even close to that picture I once had. At the age of 33 I find myself homeless with 5 kids for an entire year now. My marriage has suffered with deep heart wounds. My husbands addiction to alcohol almost completely destroyed us. These are just a few of the many life altering issues we have faced. Through it all, I have always believed, that my life was this way because I had missed the mark. I would try to rationalize my seemingly many punishments for the poor choices I had made. I kept telling myself that if I could just follow Jesus completely, I would surely reap the rewards and lift this curse I've been under. I was always trying to earn my blessing. 

It wasn't until recently that God spoke to my heart about earning a blessing. I had been trying so hard to follow Him completely. I was doing well. Very well actually. Everything seemed to be glorious in my walk with Jesus. I felt closer to him than I ever had. So naturally, I had been expecting a blessing (or two). I had made a plan to pray a certain amount each day, and do other various spiritual rituals until the blessing would come. Well let me tell you, that must have made the enemy very angry because everything started to go wrong. I was being nailed left and right and I eventually fell. I was so disappointed in myself. I thought that there was no way of getting to my goal now. I had fell flat on my face just when I thought I was strong. 

1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭12‬
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 

I fell right into the trap. I was devastated. I hated myself. I hated my sinful nature. It sent me into a time of deep repentance, but also horrible feelings about myself. The next day, as I was driving and in tears over the situation, I was telling God about how wretched a person I was; and how sad I was that I had jeopardized this great blessing and opportunity for me to share the story it would have been. At that moment I heard a soft sweet whisper in my heart that said 

"the blessing is not contingent on your performance". 

The peace that filled my soul was beyond understanding. The warm loving grace of a father perfectly righteous in all His ways was overwhelming. 

This is a perfect picture of the gospel. God wanted me AND YOU to see the correlation in this truth to HIS ultimate sacrifice and grace through his son. 

There is nothing we can do to earn salvation, nothing. 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬ 

And yet, all the while, we still fall prey to this everyday. I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that people believe if they try really hard, pray more, go to church more, and if they try to do the right things, that's when God will gift them eternal life. Let me put it this way; a lot of people tend to think that if they can just change their heart a little, and get it to a place where they truly want God, then He comes in and does the rest. Isn't that still trying to earn your salvation? 

God says there is not a single thing we can do to merit this gift. We aren't even capable of wanting God at all if he didn't draw us to him. 

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day." John‬ ‭6‬:‭44‬  

What beautiful truths in this verse! I am so thankful for a God who draws us to him. I can rest more easily knowing that I can't un-earn my salvation, and therefore I can't un-earn the blessings God already has in place for my life. 

I hope you have found this encouraging and if you've never accepted Jesus to received His unmerited favor, now is the time my friend.

Maybe you've been trying to earn Gods favor, and earn your way to eternal life. If that's the case, then I hope and pray you see that it is not of yourself, but only through faith that you can be justified in Gods sight. 

You see, Jesus came so that he could live this perfect sinless life that we should have lived to earn salvation. He already earned it for us when he died an innocent death to take our punishment. All you have to do is believe that he came and died for you, so that you wouldn't have to. He freely gives his perfect validating record to anyone who asks. Gods word says that all we need to do is believe and repent and His free gift will fall on you and can never be taken away! How awesome is that???!!!! If you have any questions I would love to hear from you! Have a wonderful day/evening!! 

Much love,
Elizabeth 

YOU HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE!

Tonight was the first of, hopefully many, family prayer circles. I first had a thought about this after reading the first few chapters of The Circle Maker. Life changing book by the way. If you haven't read it, you should! In the book the author talks about having very specific prayers and praying circles around them.
When our prayers are specific they present an opportunity for God to get more glory. The more specific we are the more incredible and unquestionable the results will be when God answers and the prayer was so specific there is just no other explanation.
So I started a prayer journal and made a very specific request. Unfortunately, I haven't been very consistent with it. I needed accountability. I felt God speak to me about family prayer. The request I had presented before God was something for our family, and that is when the family prayer circle idea started.
Some times we have expectations of how something should go, but expectations can get us in trouble when failed to be met. I had a picture in my head of this strong Godly family, standing in their cozy living room, holding hands in a circle, and everyone is quiet and respectful as they go around the circle speaking their hearts to Jesus.
Well let me tell ya, our circle was far far from that picture! Haha! But YOU HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE! We went to one of the only quiet places in the house. Mariah and JC's room. Our two oldest girls, 17 and 15. We pilled in the little 9x9 room that was cluttered with clothing on the floor and make up crowding the desk top. We formed a circle, half of us standing on clothing and we locked hands. My youngest daughter, 5, started crying because she didn't want to stand by her 10 year old brother, who decided to squeeze his 6 year old sister's hand, and she began yelling. I could tell my husband was frustrated as this was supposed to be a Godly time, so I hurried to hush everyone and begin. I started with a simple prayer for our request, my 5 year old struggling to make me let go of her hand the whole time, and then I opened the floor to anyone who wanted to pray too. Josh and Sierra started fighting to pray first and after we got that settled everyone took a turn except one of the teens who is in that weird awkward phase. I was happy that everyone participated. This is something I want to do every day with my children! I'm sure one day we will look back at our very first prayer circle and laugh at all the imperfections and hopefully we will have many more fond memories of our imperfect, glorious, prayer circles.
We have always prayed with our Children, but always separately, and never consistently. This was our first attempt together! (Besides meal time of course) It didn't look like what I had envisioned but YOU HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE!
God wants us JUST as we are! Imperfect people seeking Him. He just WANTS us, the good, the bad, the ugly, he wants all of us and as we move forward striving to please him the imperfections will start to become perfected until the day we stand face to face with our king!

Mathew 18:20 says
Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them.

And let's not forget
Ecclesiastes 4:12
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
How specific are you being with your prayers?
Who do you have in your prayer circle?
If you don't have a prayer circle I encourage to start one! You have to start somewhere! Find a group of friends or family and just start doing it. Be bold in your prayers, be specific and watch how God moves in your lives!
All for your glory Jesus, we love you!
Love you all friends! 😘

-Elizabeth

Kill the expectations!!!

Dear Friends, 

Who of you struggles with burdens? Everyone of us. Who struggles with feeling like no one is helping us to bear our burdens? Can I just be raw and candid with you all; because I believe that one of the best ways to grow is through sharing our own personal struggles with each other. 

This past weekend my pastor preached at great message on bearing each others burdens. Go have a listen if you’d like, here’s the link: http://www.elevatechurch.org/podcast.htm. I completely understood when he was talking about not being self focused and helping others, or at least I thought I did. On Monday morning life knocked me down. I’m not talking about things like flat tires or kids driving me crazy, (even though we all know days like that can ruin us) I’m talking about a job lost when we are already homeless, and not just any job, a job that my husband has taken a leap of faith for. He had quit his current job for this job that promised to free us of the homeless situation we are living in. I felt crushed. I know God has a plan and  knowing that gave me comfort but I was still grieving. After some prayer and thought I sent out texts to a few people who have been great supporters in my life to ask for prayer. Out of the few people I messaged one of them had very little response. I was hurt and felt like my problems were just too messy for them. So as I sat in bed crying (yes I know, I don’t cry often but I did cry) I waited for that text I thought would surely come and it never did. I started to become angry thinking about this weeks sermon on carrying burdens. Surely this person is Godly and heard this sermon, why are they not helping me carry this burden? My thoughts were not pretty and I hate admitting that I thought this way but I’m a selfish sinner, need I say more? 

Here’s where it gets good! In my anger I thought, I’m going to read some commentaries on this verse and validate my feelings. I was determined to prove that I was right! As I was searching different versions of commentaries all of them seemed to be the same sounding gong of what certain words mean in hebrew and all that technical stuff (which is great just not what I was looking for). Then I came across THIS:

The focus isn’t on “expect others to bear your burdens.”  That is self-focused, and always leads to pride, frustration, discouragement, and depression.  Instead, God always directs us to be others-focused, and says, “bear one another’s burdens.”

Oh my heart, gasping for air now……. That was like a whack in the head, punch to my gut, knees to the floor! How did I miss that?? How could I have been so hypocritical? Whose burden was I bearing? So I read further:

This is a simple command to obey.  Look for a brother or a sister with a burden, and help them with it.  It isn’t complicated, and it doesn’t take a huge program or infrastructure to do it.  Just look for a burden to bear and bear it!

Its so simple, just look for burdens to bear. The greatness continues:

“If we can overlook our own shortcomings and wrong-doings, we ought to overlook the shortcomings of others in accordance with the words, ‘Bear ye one another’s burdens.’”

“Notice the assumption which lies behind this command, namely that we all have burdens and that God does not mean us to carry them alone.”

If anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself: What will keep us from bearing one another’s burdens and fulfilling the law of Christ?  Pride, which is when anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing.  It is often pride that keeps us from ministering to one another as we should.

At this point I was feeling pretty convicted, not validated. I was definitely being prideful. I continued to read and oh yes, it gets better. 

As much as anything, pride is self-focus.  Pride doesn’t necessarily say, “I’m better than you are.”  Pride simply says “I’m more important than you are, so I deserve more of my own attention and love than you do.”  Instead, Biblical humility tells us, “I’m nothing but you are something.  Let me care about your burdens and needs.”

Seriously? Was I so self focused that I felt like I was more important and needed more time than they might? I wasn’t directly thinking this but after searching the root of why I felt the way I did was because I felt this person was blowing me off in my time of need for their own needs. Which is EXACTLY what thinking “my needs are more important than yours” means!! 

When anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, it also stifles ministry in another way.  People, out of pride, will refuse to receive help when someone else reaches out to help bear their burden.

Ive been that person too. 

It is important to understand that Paul writes to every Christian when he says, “when he is nothing.”  In the sense Paul uses the idea here, it isn’t that some Christians are something, and others are nothing, and the problem is that the nothings think they are one of the somethings.  Instead, Paul writes with the same idea behind Philippians 2:3b-4: In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.  If I esteem you above me, and you esteem me above you, a marvelous thing happens: we have a community where everyone is looked up to, and no one is looked down on!

Ok, WOW! Is this not just an awesome picture of how things ought to be, especially in our church family!!! We should freely give grace just as we want that same grace. When someone fails us and doesn’t meet our expectations do we extend unconditional grace? I think most of us would say no. Its impossible to extend grace without Jesus. It’s nothing of our own strength or self efforts. We are powerless apart from the Holy Spirit. This brings me back to the point of bearing one another’s burdens. Go, find someone and bear it. Helping someone else helps us fulfill Jesus commands to us. The verse commands us to bear the burdens of others, not to make sure others are bearing our burdens. Let’s esteem others!! By definition Esteem - “respect and admiration for a person.” Just think about how free we would all be if we stopped placing expectations on others and started lovingly bearing burdens and encouraging one another!! 

I wish I could have a do-over for yesterday.

We have all had days, weeks even months and years that we wish we could do-over and rewrite the way we have handled life. There's no doubt that we will have struggles and trials in this life but what really counts is how we react in those times. When you are faced with extremely difficult circumstances, deeply rooted pain, or a crushed spirit, it is so easy to fall into depression, self pity, and bitterness. 

Proverbs 18:14

The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? 

The good news is Psalm 34:18 tells us 

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Over the past 3 days I had been becoming very depressed, and bitter. Let me clarify this by saying that I didn't just have a few bad days that lead to these feelings. It's been more like 16 years of different trials and hardships that I have been able to handle really well at times and not so well other times. Yesterday was one of those days. I had allowed my circumstances to dictate how I handled my feelings. Feelings are a good thing. God gave us emotions so that we can experience life to the fullest and all emotions have a place, time and proper use. Emotions can also be misused and misleading. 

I had been having intense feelings of sadness and anger and I should have flooded my mind with Gods truths at that time. Truths about his love for me and that he promises to never leave me and to carry me all the way. Instead, I listened to Satan's lies and started believing them. I felt unloved, desperately lonely in my struggle and than self pity set in.

I was so consumed with sadness that I allowed that to affect how I interacted with people and more importantly with God yesterday. It was Sunday and I was at one of my most favorite places. I love my church and love my people there at my church.  I should have been filling up my soul with love and fellowship. Instead I was so focused on myself that I missed out big time. I missed out on all of Gods blessings. I missed out on truly worshiping him. I have never not been able to worship God in his house and yesterday I could barely sing. It's not my circumstances that affect my worshiping. If anything, my circumstance usually compel me  to worship more deeply knowing how far God has brought me and how faithful he has been to me. It's when sin has me that I find it hard to worship.  

As if that's not bad enough, I also missed out on blessing others. I am entrusted to serve others in my church. I serve coffee just about every weekend. It's a huge honor to serve Gods people each week and bless them with a smile or a hug. Unfortunately I didn't even address most people with a hello. I seriously could have changed someone's day or experience. I feel great distress in knowing that someone could have been in that church that doesn't know Jesus or have a relationship with him and I could have and should have shown Jesus love with my actions and attitude. 

How we react to circumstances greatly affects everything and everyone around us. I really wish I had a do-over. 

I may not be able to re-do yesterday but God does give us do-overs every day! Some times multiple times a day! He is faithful and just to forgive us every minute of every day and lead us into deep love and relationship with him and that is something to sign about! The song I posted with this blog is one we sang yesterday. I didn't really listen while I was in my seat but after church God sang this song to me through out my whole day yesterday. It must have been 30 times or more. "Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did you leave us on our own. You are faithful God, you are faithful" 

If you are facing really tough circumstances and maybe even a crushed spirit, remember to lean on Jesus and he will make you strong. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 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.

Don't miss Gods blessings today. Lean on him and sing your heart out. Tell him your pain and take his comfort. He loves you and will never leave you! 

Here's link to the video in case you're on your phone and cant see it up there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=722zPX1npcA

A confession and the generosity of a 15 year old

This is the account of one mom who has been failing miserably at parenting a teen. 

Do you remember what it was like to be a young teen? I must admit that I just vaguely remember bits and pieces from my early teen years. I remember thinking how my parents didn't understand me. I remember thinking "I'm going to remember everything! I'm going to be such a cool mom when I have kids because I'm going to remember the things my parents did that I really hated" 

Ha! Nothing could be further from that truth. I just don't remember that well any more and quite possibly, all the things I thought were my parents mistakes, really weren't. 

Raising a teen (she is 15) is super scary and very emotional. I'm constantly worried that I'm ruining her and always wondering if she will make the right choices at the right times. 

Transitioning from making all major choices for your child, to letting them make a lot of their own, is very unsettling. My mind floods with an explosion of questions: is she going to be able to stand up to peer pressure, will she tell me if she makes a bad choice, are her friends influencing her negatively, am I giving her to much reign, am NOT giving her enough reign? These are all great questions that should indeed be given some thought; but when these questions become fear driven, our actions can become hurtful.

My daughter, Mariah, spends a lot of time with her best friend. I'd say they are typical 15 years olds. I love that she has such a close friend to share her joys and sorrows with. She recently stayed at her friends for a couple days and today she came home. I knew she had taken some money with her that she had gotten for her birthday. I almost told her not to take it but I figured she would be responsible with it, especially since she knew I had planed to take her shopping over spring break. 

When we got home I said  "I hope you didn't spend that money". She gave me 'the look'. I angrily demanded to know what she spent it on. Her first words were "food" I was SO angry. I thought to myself, how could she do that? That money was for her to buy something nice for herself and she has nothing to show for it now! I validated my fearful thoughts that maybe her friends were influencing her poorly. I raised my voice and angrily replied "Seriously? Food? I was going to take you shopping! That's it! You're not going to Emma's any more!" She ran to her room, slammed the door and started crying. 

Sadly, I wasn't remorseful right away. I immediately logged onto her Facebook to try and justify my feelings that she was making poor choices. After searching and not really finding anything to warrant her life being in shambles, I decided to go to the source. After all, I wasn't just angry about the money, I was jealous that she spends so much time with her friends and not me. I went to her room and pretended to be cleaning while she sat in silence with red puffy eyes. After ten mins of that I finally just said it "why would you spend $50 on food?!?!" Trying not to cry she said "I didn't just buy food. I donated half of the money to kids who have cancer." I felt so small, I felt like the biggest jerk on the planet. If I had only listened. If I wasn't so concerned with looking like a bad parent I might have handled this in an honoring way. I had to choke back the tears. I had been so consumed with fearful thoughts of how she's managing her choices that I made hasty unjustified conclusions that could have easily been put at ease if I had just taken the time to talk to her. 

We had a nice long talk after that about her life and what she's been up to and what she sees for her future. I am going to make it a priority to always try my best to listen to the facts and not let fearful thoughts dictate my decisions. 

 

God is always in control and I will give him my children's lives and pray for them, with them, for as long as I'm their mama. 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 

Matthew 6:34

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 

Luke 12:25 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Seeing God as He really is......

Thoughts 4/4/14 I often feel like we are missing it. We are missing something so critical in our daily walk with Jesus. We all deal with problems, trials, hardships and how we respond to these everyday issues is solely determined by what we believe to be true about God and His word. We are taught from the beginning how much God loves us and how He has a plan for our lives. A plan to prosper us and not to harm us. (Jeremiah 29:11) Do you believe that? Deep down in your sole, do you whole heartedly believe that God is working EVERYTHING together for your good? (Romans 8:28) this statement is so expansive that it's hardly comprehensible! You mean to tell me that God is working all things for my good?? YES, all things! Even down to the smallest details of your life. I remember a conversation I was having with a friend a while back and I was telling her about how I couldn't figure out which direction God was leading me because at first it seemed like everything was lining up for me to take my career to the next level and within a short time I had hit some road blocks that were making me rethink the whole thing! I had no idea what God was leading me to do and she said to me "some times I think life just happens" I completely disagree! I think God is in everything, even the smallest of details. I don't think life ever just happens. I believe we have a God who is so invested in us that He maps out even the smallest of details. Now that's not to say that my roads blocks were just put there to gain perseverance or build my faith instead of changing my plans entirely but that's just it! God IS, in fact, in every detail of our lives. We are so quick to throw around the term God loves me. I'm sooooo guilty of this! It's like a 'duh' moment; yeah, of course God loves me. But do we really understand the volume and intensity of this statement? Let me attempt to paint a picture here that will hopefully be a little helpful. Take a moment to picture a person committing an unthinkable crime. Any crime that makes you enraged...... Got one? Okay, now suppose you loved them......I cannot even wrap my head around this. Suppose you loved them so much you choose your very own child to take their punishment, to be brutally beaten and shamed. You can hardly stand the thought of them being forgiven let alone someone taking the punishment for them, am I right? God promises that he loves us that much. Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Its human nature to think of ourselves as decent people and genuinely caring and loving. We never will understand how full of evil we really are. The Pharisees were distraught over their sin and repented deeply, but a true Christian repents of his righteousness. Even our greatest sacrifices and best deeds are tainted and like filthy rags to such a Holy God. (Isaiah 64:6) and yet, regardless of this fact, He's still madly in love with us! If we really understood who God is, would we really be anxious or worried about anything? If we understood the magnitude and greatness of what He did for us, what could bring us down? We won't ever fully understand Gods love and Grace until we see Him face to face but I'm this short life we have we can move closer to that understanding and the closer we get the better equipped we are to handle everyday problems. You see, we know the ending of this story, Jesus wins!! And if you already know the ending, what are you so afraid of? If You really understood the magnitude of what Jesus gave up for you, would you really be worried about the small sacrifices He wants you to give up? How we react to everyday problems tells us how we view God. Are you handling stress well? Do you fall apart when something big happens? My prayer for us is that everything in this world that doesn't matter will fade away and Jesus will be the center of our focus. I pray his beauty will be shown in our pursuit to see who He really is and our faith to be grounded in His truths!