He Asked if I Would be His Forever ---- I said YES!!!

Today is such a special day for me. Why? Because I said yes to the Love of my life. After pursuing me for several years, and asking me if I would be His forever...I finally said yes. I could not be happier with my decision to commit myself to such an amazing man!

He is the most perfect man I could ever ask for. And I know people tell me that no man can ever be completely perfect, but believe me, this man is!! He has no flaw whatsoever! He has rescued me from distress so many times. He comforted me when I was discouraged. He was there for me to lean upon when I was so weak.

He is my true "Knight in Shining Armor," my "Prince."

He is patient, joyful, kind, gentle, gracious, faithful. He has the most amazing self-control, goodness, and meekness. He is slow to anger, and quick to hear. He is the most loving man you will ever meet. I know I can count on him to be there for me for anything. He is sacrificial, always putting others' needs before His own. He has experienced many trials in his own life, yet become better through them all.

Sound to good to be true? Well all this is absolutely true!!

And his name? His name is Jesus.

Jesus....such a wonderful and magnificent name above all names! At his name, every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and things on earth. Every tongue shall confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!!

Fifteen years ago today, after being pursued by the Lover of my soul, I said yes to Jesus, and invited Him to live in my heart, and be the Lord of my life. I have learned so much the last fifteen years, and have grown to love Jesus more day by day.

As a single young lady, not knowing what my future holds, it is comforting to know Who holds my future. The Bible in many places describes Jesus as the Husband, and the church as the Bride of Christ. I know that Jesus is my true lover, and that He is everything I could ever dream of having in a husband, yet He is the absolute perfect version.

The Lord has taught me that I can only find my complete satisfaction in Him, and will never be completely satisfied if I am looking for it in a man. It is so wonderful to think that Jesus is the perfect Husband, and that I can find my complete fulfillment in Him right now. I can enjoy a great intimacy with Him, right now!

The last fifteen years have been full of trials, battles, lessons, mistakes, and regrets. But I would not trade a single thing for the lessons I have learned, and the intimacy I have experienced with my Savior through all the trials over the last fifteen years.

Jesus is my true lover, and He has asked me if I will be His forever. And when I say forever, I mean for eternity. I am a part of the Bride of Christ! He loved me with an everlasting love. He left His throne and His majesty, and took on the lowly form of a human and died for me. That is true love. To die for those who hated you and persecuted you.

Here I was in sin, living with a dirty heart. Jesus came along and told me that He could make me clean: white as snow. He promises me a place with Him in glory after this life is over. Because I said "Yes" to the Lover of my soul, I have many blessings in this life, much joy, and an assurance of where I will be spending eternity.

Do you know Jesus? Have you said "Yes" to your pursuer? Jesus is at the door of every heart, just asking to come in. Will you open the door? Will you say yes? Jesus died for you! He paid the price for your sins. He loves you with an everlasting love. He wants you to be His forever more. All you have to do is say a simple "Yes." "Yes Jesus, I want to be yours forever."

After you say "Yes" to the Lover who has pursued you since the day you were born, then seek to please your Lover! Any newly engaged/married couple seeks to do whatever is possible to please their partner. Should we not strive for the same with the Lover of our soul, who gave His own life for us, so that we could be His? There is this great book that tells exactly how we can please Jesus. It's called "The Bible." We were created to please Him (Rev. 4), so should we not seek to please Him in every area of our life?

I am praising Jesus for an amazing fifteen years! I am looking forward to seeing what the next fifteen years hold as He continues to draw me nearer to Himself. Would you pray for me? Pray that I will become infatuated with Jesus? That my love for Him will exponentially multiply within this next year? Would you pray that I would come to know Jesus in a new and real way this next year?

And I am praying for each person that reads this, that if you don't know Jesus as your Savior, that you will not hesitate a moment to accept His love and forgiveness into your life. For each of you who have taken the step of saying "Yes" to your true Lover, I am praying that you will make every effort to learn more about Jesus and to seek to please Him in every area of your life.

May the Lord Jesus bless you and keep you, and cause His face to shine upon you!!

Because of Jesus' Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

An Offense to Christ

As I sat in my bed this morning, sipping my chai latte (THM approved, of course), a couple verses came back to my mind that I read this last Wednesday. I meditated on them a little then, but they still kept lingering in my mind.

Wednesday morning, I was laying on a bench in my chiropractor's office, receiving stem treatment to my knee, which I recently sprained. Since I just had to lay there for 15 minutes, I pulled out my phone. I have a daily Bible verse app on my phone, and so read the verse for the day. Then I decided that since I was just laying there, I'd pull up the whole chapter and start reading it. The chapter was Matthew 16. When I got to these verses, they really grabbed a hold on my heart.

Matthew 16:23-24 --- "But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

I never noticed the second half of verse 23. Read it again:

"Thou art an offense unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."

Even if you don't read the rest of the chapter, this small fragment of the verse is enough to pierce into the very heart of any Christian. Why? Why should this pierce my heart so?

Because I have so often chosen to follow my flesh, instead of my spirit. How many times have I chosen to not read my Bible first thing in the morning? How many times have I chosen to just dive into the day, without so much as a prayer to God, asking for His strength? 

Here are some other things to think about...

Is there anything in your life that is not pleasing to the Lord?

Does your dress reflect the way that God would want you to dress, or does it reflect a sense of worldliness?

What about your music?

What about your friendships?

What about your boyfriend/girlfriend relationship?

What about my thoughts? Do they please the Lord?

And the list could go on and on. 

The word savor here means to:

excercise the mind, entertain, or have a sentiment or opinion; to be mentally disposed; to interest oneself in; set the affection on...

My point is this: Whenever we set our affection on, or make an interest in anything that is of the world, and choose those things over what God wants for us, we are an offense to Christ. 

You hear those words? They sting to me...

To think that I have offended Christ. Why should I ever want to offend my precious Savior, who sacrificed Heaven's glory, and took upon Himself the lowly form of a servant, and suffered the worse death possible? And all of this He did for YOU and ME. 

I know there have been so many times when I have been an offense to Christ. But praise the Lord that He is ready and faithful to forgive, if we simply ask. And despite the many times we become an offense to Christ, He still goes on loving us, and doesn't hold it against us (which doesn't that say something about the way that we should treat others?). 

So how do we keep from becoming an offense to Christ?

The next verse says it: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

The paralleling verse in Luke says "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."

On a daily basis, we need to live as if we are basically dead. Because anyone carrying a cross knew that they were on their way to die the most gruesome death possible. 

Wait....What? Live as if we were dead? How is that possible?

I am reminded of another favorite verse of mine. Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

To take up our cross daily is to crucify our flesh. Kill our own desires. With every decision we make throughout the day, we might ask ourselves:

Does this please Christ? 

Would Jesus be doing this right now? 

Is this choosing the things of the world, over the things of God?

So, as Christmas comes, I really do want to give Christ something for His birthday. I want to give Him of my whole heart. This will not be easy, and I know I will fail at it so many times. But I know that Jesus is also right beside me to help me up, and to hold my hand, as I choose to make Christ first. 

This has just been the words that have been pouring from my heart, and from what Christ is working on in my life right now. I pray that it can be helpful to you as you strive to make Christ the center of your life. 

I pray that you have a very merry, and Christ-centered CHRISTmas, as we celebrate the Savior who was born to die for us! Be sure to thank Christ for His unspeakable gift to us, that very first Christmas. 

Redeemed by Jesus' blood,

Faith Christine 

Taiwan -- A Place I Love

I never did post anything on my blog about my trip to Taiwan. In fact, I really haven't uploaded very many pictures to Facebook of my trip either, and it has been five months since I returned from Taiwan. Despite this, I have been thinking a LOT about Taiwan, especially within the last month or two. My heart longs to return to what I felt was my second home. My trip to Taiwan was such a special time. The Lord taught me a lot of lessons on that trip. But also, I discovered how much I really loved Taiwan, and how much I felt right at home being there, and serving the people there. I don't know if Taiwan is somewhere that God is calling me to later in life, after I'm married or while I'm still single. But I do know that Taiwan, and the people there, found a special place in my heart, that I just really can't explain. So this will just be a short post, but I wanted to post a couple of pictures that will maybe help you understand why I miss/love Taiwan so much. So here's why I love Taiwan:

Small Chinese children sitting in my lap makes me happy, even if I can't talk to them very much.

Finding random cute kids on a long train ride, and trying to make friends with them.

Winning their hearts, and having them sit in your lap.

An accountability group who actually wants to hear how you are doing. This was the best group ever!

Opportunities to teach the children important lessons, in creative ways, while pausing so someone can translate.

Random opportunities to play "Orange Blossom Special" in the middle of the street in Taiwan, just because you can, and because there is a random man standing there playing his violin, who willingly allows you to play it.

An awesome group of classmates that flew all the way from America with you.

Awesome team of teachers, translators, and coordinators (this is just one group from one week).

I definitely miss Taiwan, and pray that the Lord will grant me the opportunity to go back some day. But even if that is not in His plan for me, I know that I will always have a special place in my heart for Taiwan, and a place for Taiwan in my prayers.

Have a blessed week! Hope you enjoyed just a taste of Taiwan! Hopefully some time, I'll post some detailed blog posts about Taiwan. Stay strong in Jesus, and have a blessed day in the Lord's house tomorrow!

Because of Jesus' Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Waiting on God

A soon-to-be cousin of mine posted a link to this blog. I don't know if I can fully endorse the whole blog, but I definitely agree with everything in this one post.

I know girls who sadly throw themselves at the first guy that comes along. They don't think about the long-term consequences of marriage. As this article states, aside from salvation, marriage is one thing that will change your life forever. But many people don't go into marriage with that mindset. Girls, it is really important to wait upon the Lord and His timing. I love this quote that I read:

"When God has called you to wait, it is because what He is doing during the waiting time is necessary for the best outcome."

That is so true. Girls, if God has you single right now, it is because He is preparing you, and/or He is preparing your future husband for you. If you are trusting God with your future, God has a special reason for you being single. 

Last weekend, I attended the Radiant Purity conference, taught by Sarah Mally. While I "knew" everything they were teaching, since I attended the conference last year, it was good to be reminded and encouraged to wait on God's perfect timing. I loved what Sarah Mally had to say about the purpose of our lives.

"The purpose of our lives is not to get married. The purpose of our lives is to glorify God."

So important for me to remember. Now that I'm 20, I can't help but wonder even more than before when God is going to bring "that guy" for me. But, I have to remember that my purpose in life is NOT to get married. My purpose in life is to glorify my Creator and Redeemer. He gave His life for me, so why should I not give my life to Him for His glory?
Before this conference, I had already determined that I didn't want to get married unless I could serve God better married than I could single. To hear Sarah, who is 34 and still single, say that was a huge impact on me. This is not to say that I want to wait until I'm in my 30's to get married. If the Lord wills, I would like to be married within the next five years. But I don't know that that is in God's plan for me, and if that doesn't bring the most glory to God, and if God can use me better as a single young woman, then I would rather stay single. This heart attitude has definitely been very difficult for me to come to. But I know that it is better to be single, serving the Lord, and happy, than to be married and miserable.
Something else Sarah said really stuck out to me:

"God is not going to keep us single one day longer than we are supposed to be single."

How true that statement is! God knows better what His plan is for us than we do! As long as I am single, God has a plan for my life! I have only to submit to His beautiful plan for my life, and He will fulfill it.
I am to be a waitress. A waitress does not stand around doing nothing. She walks around finding ways that she can serve, because that is what her employer wants her to do. The idea of "wait on the Lord" (as in Psalm 27:14) means that while I am waiting for God to bring the next phase of my life, I am serving Him, and serving others. I love this mindset of being a waitress, and pray that the Lord continues to remind me that this is my calling for right now.
So I write all of this mainly to encourage other young ladies. But, it can most definitely apply to young men. If we are following God's call for us right now, and keep walking down the path that He has for our lives, eventually our paths will cross with the person we are supposed to spend the rest of our life with. Our paths will join, and we will continue down the path together, running for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus.

I encourage you all, "Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14). God has a beautiful plan for each of us, if only we will trust Him and submit to Him. If we try to write our own story, or if we jump at the first person that takes an interest in us, or we are interested in, then we could mess up the beautiful plan that God has for our life. Not to say that God is not sovereign over everything, because He will even use our mistakes to fulfill His ultimate plan. But we do have a free will, and we must submit that will to the Will of God for our lives, and allow Him to write our story for us. Relinquish the pen to the great Author. He will write a story for you more beautiful than you could imagine.

Just some thoughts for tonight. I pray that you will take them to heart, and allow God to work His beautiful plan in your life. Stay strong in Jesus! Trust always in Him, and He will direct your path.

Because of Jesus' Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

20 years

20 years....

Out to dinner for my 20th birthday

God has allowed me to live on this earth for 20 years now. Each new year that the Lord grants me, I know is a huge blessing.
Last Wednesday, July 3rd, I turned 20 years old. It's such a surreal feeling. I know some of you who have come to and left this point already probably think I'm silly, but to me it just seems so unreal.
I have been thinking back over the last 20 years (okay, so as many as I can actually remember), and thinking of all the lessons God has taught me, with the last six years being the most significant. Six years ago, I attended the Journey to the Heart, and it changed my life forever. And out of the last six years, this last year especially has been a time of huge change in my life, and in my walk with the Lord.
I remember last summer having feelings of discontentment and anxiousness: anxious to get married (yes, at only 19). Not completely content where God had placed me. I had so many things that I was holding on to, of which I needed to let go. I am amazed at the work that God has done in my life just since last summer, and that He continues to do.
This last year, He has taught me...

Surrender
Trust
Patience
Contentment

I have definitely not perfected these things, but I find myself perfectly content where I am right now. I have surrendered my future into God's hands, and I trust Him completely with my future. Recent circumstances showed me that trying to write my own story was not worth it, and that I'd only end up making a disaster of my life. So who better to let write my story than Someone who is perfect?
I am also finding myself falling deeply in-love with Jesus. Wow...He continues to amaze me more and more every day, and I find myself falling deeper and deeper into an intimate relationship with Him. He has become my true source of joy. He is my contentment. He has provided for all of my needs. It is because of Jesus that I am the woman that I am today.
Because I have found such a deep love for Jesus, I'm not anxious anymore about getting married. I only want that to come if it will further deepen my love for the Lord, and if I can serve Him better married than I can single. I have learned that life is all about Him. It's all about bringing glory to Christ. Now when tempted to sin, I think to myself "but I love Jesus too much to do something like that." Oh that the whole world could know of Jesus' deep love for them, and fall completely and madly in-love with Jesus themselves!
I wish I could fully express my love to Him, and fully explain to everyone how much I truly love Jesus, and how much I want everyone to love Him the same way.
I am thankful that the Lord is teaching me to love Him and to delight in Him. I am looking forward to another 20 years of truly loving and serving Jesus, if He decides to grant me with those 20 years. I know the next 20 years will be filled with MANY changes in my life (as I do hope to marry and have kids within the next 20 years). As my brother said, "The next 20 years will be harder and more expensive."

No matter what the future may bring, I am resting in the knowledge that my Father has a beautiful story for my life, if I will only leave the pen in His hands. I am thankful for even the mistakes I've made in the last 20 years, as they have taught me many beautiful lessons.

Sorry if this post has seemed like kind of a ramble. But I'm excited to see how God will work in my life and use me in the next 20 years, and am thankful for these past 20 years. I encourage you all to let God write your story, especially if you're still young, and unmarried. Give Him the pen to your life, and He will write a more beautiful story than you could ever have imagined for yourself. Stay strong in Jesus! Cling to Him, and give Him your whole heart!

Because of Jesus' Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10