Five months of journaling!!

At the beginning of the year, I had the goal to journal every single day this year. Well, I am happy to announce that I have journaled every single day for the last five months!! Yep! I'm super excited about it! Not only that, but I have completed four journals, just this year!

Here is five months of journaling every single day. I'm a crazy journaler. I journal about 4-5 pages every day. Sometimes 6....or 7. My record for one day is 15 pages.

Several people ask me, "What on earth do you journal that much about?" So I will tell you. I did do a video blog post on journaling. But I will tell you what I have been journaling about for the last five months. Whenever I sit down to read my Bible, I sit down with my journal. I record the chapter of Scripture that I am reading that day, and then as the Lord shows me a new insight, I write down the verse number, and the specific insight God has given me. Sometimes a verse that I read leads me into a specific prayer, so I will write the prayer down. I write a lot of prayers in my journals. Most of my journal entries are prayers. If something significant happens that day, I will also record it.
It has been super amazing to see how God has answered very specific prayer requests! God has been so faithful to me the last five months, and it is amazing to be able to go back and read about God's faithfulness to me! I also take sermon notes in my journals. It's neat to go back and see the different sermons that I've heard this last year.

I think journaling is definitely something that everybody should do! I think it is important to record the things that God does for us, so when we are in the rough times of life, we remember God's faithfulness to us. I know it has been a tremendous blessing to me this year!! And I can't wait to see what the next seven months of this year hold! So all that to say, I definitely encourage each one of you to start journaling. Even if it's just a small prayer to Jesus, thanking Him for something He did for you that day, or just to write down how much you love Jesus.

Here's a thought. What if you were to be martyred someday? What kind of legacy would you leave? Jim Elliot comes to my mind. He journaled very faithfully, and now we know what kind of things the Lord was doing in his life, and it was amazing to see God's hand at work in his life. Do you want to leave a legacy for your children? I certainly do!

So there is my challenge to you all! Start journaling, so that you can leave a legacy for your children, and your grandchildren to read someday! God bless you all! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you! His death covers everything!!

Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Marriage...Worth Waiting For

I read this quote from Matt Chandler today:
"Can I say something to young ladies here? I'm trying to pick my words carefully here. Your husband, whoever he is, single ladies, will have an unbelievable amount of influence over your sons and daughters in regards to spiritual things. If you want your children to love Jesus deeply, hold out for a man that is godly. And let me tell you this: I am well aware that Godly men are rare. Lots of neat Christian boys, not a lot of Godly men. And we're working our tails off for you to try to develop some into that. But don't settle, because it's better that you be lonely now than you be married and lonely later. Are you tracking with me? It is better that you be lonely now than for you to get married to a man that will teach your kids everything but the way of Jesus."
This post is mostly aimed towards my single young lady readers. However, I do have a few words to say to the men reading this post.

This stood out to me, being a single young lady myself. Sometimes as girls we can be so anxious to start a relationship, or to be loved by a man, that we throw ourselves at the first "good Christian guy" that comes along. Can I tell you girls, that the term "good Christian guy" is so easy for a guy to obtain? Basically, if he is a Christian, and goes to church, possibly doesn't smoke, drink, or have tattoos, we think that this automatically qualifies him as a "good Christian guy". I'm sorry girls, but if those are the only good things you have to say about a guy, is he really worth it? Is he worth losing pieces of your heart over if the relationship doesn't work out? Is that the kind of man that you want to have an influence on your children's spiritual life?

For me, I want a man who is going to be a strong Spiritual leader. Someone who loves the Lord with all his heart. Someone who loves to spend time talking to the Lord. Someone who loves to spend time reading the Word. Someone who loves to talk about the Lord, and starts up Spiritual conversations. Someone who has a heart for leading others to the Lord. That is the kind of man that you should want to be the father of your children. A man who demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit in his life: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, meekness, faith, and self-control. Girls, don't throw yourself at the first guy that shows any interest in you. Wait out patiently, and examine the character and the Spiritual life of this young man before even thinking about entering a relationship. And another word of caution: watch for signs of anger in the man. Usually anger and lust are connected. If a man is angry, he probably has problems with lust. If he is a lustful man, he probably has problems with anger.

It is most definitely worth waiting for the right guy to come along. This decision will affect the rest of your life. So this is my word of exhortation to you single young ladies: start praying for your future husband. He's out there. God knows who he is. I think that sometimes men stay in the "good Christian guy" category because we are not doing our job of praying for them to rise up to be a Godly man, and a spiritual leader. And don't just pray for your future husband, but pray for all the Christian guys that you know, because they will also be apart of the next generation of fathers. Proverbs 31:12 says "She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life." She will do her husband good all the days of HER life. Wait a minute, we are obviously not married all the days of our life. So how do we do him good now? By praying for him! I could say much more about how we can do him good, but I'll leave it at that. Pray for him to grow to love the Lord more each day. Pray for him to have discernment between the things of the world, and the things of God. Pray for him to be refined as fine silver. Pray that he will set his eyes on Jesus. Pray that the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in his life. Pray that he will be bold for Jesus, and that God will use him to bring many souls to Jesus. This is our duty.

Guys, if you are reading this, rise up to be a Godly man that will stand in the gap. Set your eyes on Jesus. Run the race that is set before you. Read your Bible. Love your Bible. Delight in the Lord. Go out and win souls for Jesus! He will lead you to just the right woman in His timing. I plead with you, rise up to be Godly men! Oh how few there are now! Let this generation of men be the generation that turns the world upside down for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!

To those of you young ladies who are waiting, and keeping yourself pure, and praying for your future husband: Well done! Go out and teach other girls to do likewise!

To those of you young men who are pursuing Christ, and seeking to love Him with your whole heart, and waiting for Him to show you just the right woman: Well done! Go out and teach and disciple other young men to do likewise!!

Well, that's all I have to say today! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you! His death covers everything!!

Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Video Blog #3 --- Recent events in my life

I did another video blog, just to give people an update about what has been happening recently in my life. I'm hoping to become a little bit more regular in the near future with my blogging. But we'll see how that goes. :-)

I pray you have a blessed and wonderful day!! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you! His death covers everything!!

Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Attributes of God

I have been thinking a lot about the different attributes of God recently. There is a song I have been listening to a lot lately, because it just seems to say it so well. It's a song called "All of these" sung by the Steve Pettit Evangelistic team. Here are the words:

"How vast his grace! How great His faithfulness!
How deep His love! How rich his mercy!
How high His thoughts! How sure His wisdom!
And all of these, He gives to me.

Chorus
So I will praise Him with every breath.
For He has rescued me from certain death
And now this life I live, I live in Him.
Oh let His glory shine while mine grows dim.

How just His ways! How good His discipline!
How pure His truth! How kind His goodness!
How calm His peace! How long His patience!
And all of these, He gives to me.

How broad His power! How grand His majesty!
How true His reign! How bright His glory!
How strong His might! How clear His triumph!
And all of these, He gives to me."

Are those not just the most magnificent words? Yet they cannot even begin to describe the greatness of God. Have you stopped lately to think of the greatness of God, and His many attributes? He will never fail you. You cannot say that about anyone else. He will never leave you. You cannot say that about anyone else. He will never break His promises. You cannot say that about anyone else. He is perfect! You cannot say that about anyone else. You get the picture? All men will let you down, but if you are setting your hope in God, He will NEVER let you down. His ways are perfect! His timing is perfect! His ways are mysterious, yet they are best. The Psalms are filled with praises to God. Have you ever stopped to write down some of the attributes of God, and then thank Him for them? I am not as good as I should be at doing this everyday, but I do try to make it a regular thing to thank God for something that He has done for me, in writing (usually in my journal), so that I will never forget His goodness towards me. I encourage you to do the same. Write a letter to God thanking Him for some of these attributes, or others. There are so many! Well, that's my word for the day. Just some things I have been thinking about lately. Stay strong in Jesus!! He's got you! His death covers everything!

Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Mindful of Me

Psalm 8

"O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"

I read this beautiful Psalm this morning, and the verses in bold stuck out to me. Who am I, what am I that God should even look at me? That God should even think a single thought about me? But He is mindful of me! He knows my every thought. He knows my every burden. He wants us to cast all of our burdens upon Him, because He cares for us. Who am I that God should care for me? And the thing that continues to overwhelm me is the fact that He sent His only Son to come and die on the cross for my sins. Why would He do this for me? His love overwhelms me! I am a wretched sinner. My righteousness is as filthy rags. All the good works I could ever do are as dung. Nothing in me is good. Nothing in me is holy. But he still chooses to love me!! Why does He do this? Because He is love!! God is love! (1 John 4:4) Have you stopped today to think about how awesome His love for you is? Have you stopped today to thank Him for this love that you do not deserve? Way too often we take His love for granted. Thank Him today for this love that you and I are so unworthy to receive. Just some thoughts for today. God bless you all! Stay strong in Jesus!!

Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10