Arise, Shine!

I was driving through my neighborhood this evening, and my headlights were hitting the 

inch-or-so of snow on the ground; everything was quiet and peaceful and dark. In that moment the darkness was comforting. It was spectacular. The peace of the snow with the black of the sky sort of took my breath away.

I know that, more times than not, the darkness is not "comforting" or "peaceful" or any of the above adjectives; however, it's in the darkness that Christ's light often shines the brightest. 

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; 
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness on them light has shone. 
3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy...
(Isaiah 9:2-3)

I've been starting each day with a short Advent devotion from the "She Reads Truth." I've always had a difficult time being excited about devotion only because I didn't know how to spend time in one. But, for the month of December I've made it my goal to dig deep and spend quality time in the Lord's presence.

Day 13 of this Advent devotion talked about how Christ is our light. He came through the thickest darkness and set us free, and I felt such a tug on my heart to sit here and write. I know that everyone's darkness is immensely different--some us may have been in our darkness for as long as we can remember, for some of us our darkness is a person or an addiction or you name it! We all have some form of darkness in our lives and in our hearts, and it seems impossible that we could ever be pulled from that scary place and into a place of light and joy.

The amazing thing about Christ is that he came as light in human form. He came to reach down into the deepest, darkest place in our lives and in our hearts and renew and reshape. He grabs us by the hand and breathes life and light! In fact John 8:12 tells us that:

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 
"I am the light of the world. 
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, 
but will have the light of life."

Jesus tells us that whoever follows him will NOT WALK IN DARKNESS. Now you might be saying..."yeah right, I've followed God my entire life and I'm still stuck. Stuck in this hole, and I feel like no one can pull me out." And to you who doubt I say (well I don't say Jesus says):

 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. 

In the world you may have tribulation. 

But take heart; I have overcome the world.

(John 16:33) 

Following Christ does not mean that you will be happy every single day of your life. It definitely doesn't mean that everything you face will run a smooth course; however, it DOES mean that you are blessed. You walk in the light of Jesus. His glory shines down on you and covers you with grace and love. You may find yourself in a dark situation, but Christ's glory still brings good things toward you. 

Jesus' light is one that is not hindered by Earthly problems. His light is one that is unending. To you who struggle in the dark: Arise! this darkness that envelopes and overwhelms seems like a curse, but think of it this way--this darkness only makes Christ's light brighter. This darkness only magnifies His glory. 

Choosing Joy

Well hi there! It's been a while, and I'm excited to share a little bit of what has been going on the past few weeks (and maybe share a few things I've picked up along the way).Since my last blog post...a ton has happened! I think the biggest thing is that I'm actually going to COLLEGE! 

I've accepted an offer from Westmont College and I'm beyond thrilled! For those of you who know me (or if you've been reading this blog for a while), you know that I haven't always been excited about heading off to college. At one point I was 100% against it! I didn't want to move away from my family, my church, my comfort zone; however, over the summer I went to California to visit Westmont and Azusa Pacific University.

To say that I had a change of heart after that trip is an understatement...I can say with total certainty that I felt God show up. I've been a Christian for a long time, and I've felt God do amazing things in my life, but I have never felt the immediate sense of peace that I felt while walking the campus of Westmont College. 

And while I am ecstatic about my future in beautiful Santa Barbara, California, I'm scared too. It is finally dawning on me that I am becoming an adult, and I'm going off on my own! Sometimes it is a little bit hard to feel excited about being pushed so far outside of my comfort zone, and I find myself sinking deep into sadness and pity...basically I wallow. It's kind of hard to admit, but there are times when I find myself wallowing in my own mess, and I forget to give it to God.

But isn't that what God tells us to do? Psalm 55:22 tells us to: 

"Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders—
    he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out."

God is so ready and so willing to take our sorrow and our pain and our fear and what ever else we may be feeling. John tells us this, 

"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of."

God didn't send His one and only son to earth so that I could stew in my own self-pity! He 
came so that I could have so much stinkin' joy! I'm not saying it's always easy to be joyful! Stuff happens...really gross, awful stuff, but God is always there. He's like our coach; we may make a bad play, or we may get hurt during a game and feel like life is just coming to a complete and utter stop, but he's there on the sidelines cheering us on! He's saying, "NO! I'm not letting you give up. I'm here. I'm your God. I'm your father. I'm your #1 fan."


As hard as it is to think of leaving my amazing family and equally amazing friends and my absolutely fabulous church, I've decided to choose joy. As much as I'll probably cry when the time comes for me to pack up and leave, I've decided to be joyful in the months that I'm HERE. As hard as it'll be making new friends in a new place, I've decided to be so content and so blessed for the time that I have NOW with my wonderful peeps. As much as I'll miss my church family, I'm so stoked to find a new church with a new "family."

My hope for YOU--today--is that you'll find your joy. The joy that God so deeply wants you to feel and cherish! I know that finding that happiness and joy may not be easy, but it is not just something that is going to suddenly pop up in your heart one day. You just have to choose it. Everyday you have to wake up and say, "gosh, today seems like the perfect day to be nothing but 100% joyful." Choose joy. Choose life. Don't wallow. Smile! It looks good on you!

If this doesn't look like pure joy then
I don't know what to tell you!