turning a new leaf..

I love how I started to blog about a year ago, and was really excited about it as well, then I completely dropped it. It might seem like a typical move on my part... but honestly... my spirit has been sort of in a secret place these days..
I've spent the last few months making tons of mistakes and letting hurts from man affect my relationship with God. But I say my spirit has been in a secret place not because I kept the things I did hidden... I refuse to be luke warm... but rather because God was strongly pursuing me in the secret place...
Even around people, He was pursuing me in secret. The words that my amazing, honoring, and grace-filled friends were speaking to me, were from Him. I am my beloved's and he is mine! I am in such deep love. He gives me nothing but grace and love ALL THE TIME! Even in death, I can always be confident of His love. We don't have to EARN it.

Let's talk about sin, baby..

So recently, there has been several people that I'm close with or know of, who have/are dealing with some sort of secret sin. They are dealing with bringing it to the light, which is a beautiful thing. But, I feel that some Christians have created tough environments for this process to take place for others. We can easily become religious with our thinking towards sin. Please don't get me wrong. Sin is bad. God hates it. And we should hate it too. BUT we should NOT hate the sinner. I have time and time again seen Christians respond to some one's sin by saying something like "I can't believe how dumb 'Jenny' is. How could she do such a thing?" I can say first hand that there have been times in my life that I have lived with a secret sin. The devil delights in darkness. When we sin, we instantly separate ourselves from truth. The father of lies becomes our company. So....if you were struggling with sin, how would it make you feel if you saw someone make a comment like "I just don't understand how stupid people can be. 'Adam' started drinking again." Jesus certainly did not react this way to sin. Even caught in the act of adultery, standing naked in front of everyone, a sinful woman already stood ashamed. She already heard the lies the devil was telling her. Did Jesus take that moment to point out what she was doing wrong? I think she knew it was a mistake.
What kind of atmosphere are you creating with your reaction to sin? We need to be safe places for the darkness to surface. We may not understand why someone did something. Get over it. Let's love the way Jesus taught. Let's live a life of honor and grace!

Daylight Savings..

So, it's only an hour difference, but it changes everything!!!

Even though it is slightly inconvenient to move back an hour, seeing the sun go away earlier in the day reminds me of a place of safety. It makes me remember the days of my childhood and the coziness of home. I loved being at my grandparent's place around the holidays. And that's exactly what I think of when it gets darker earlier in the day.

Now that I am older, it makes me see all the times in my life that God has been a safety for me. My home is in Him. Even when there were tough times during my childhood, I am able to clearly see how He always protected me. He gave me shelter.

And even as I write, I am able to see why I feel so passionate about my home being a place of safety and acceptance for others. Why I want to make my home beautiful and full of joy and love. Because this is what the Lord has done for me, and it's what the broken and weary long for. So as these fall (and soon winter) days go by, I am filled with the knowledge of God's goodness. I want to shack up and be cozy in the home that has been put in my heart.