Sweet Southern Pearl

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV) 17  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.   18  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,  since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Lately I've been getting weighed down with the issues of the world. Yesterday I read 2 Corinthians 4:8-18 in my daily reading book. In these verses, Paul talks about being pressed but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, and struck down but not destroyed... if you are a follower of Christ. The troubles of the world may weigh on us, but they will not overtake us. As we receive grace and sustenance for each day from God, we should become more thankful, which goes along with what I've been intentional about this week - writing a list of things I'm grateful for and thanking God for them. Focusing on these things will help us to see the world through His eyes. ...

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to be very intentional about being grateful. Even if it wasn't the Thanksgiving season, I want to do this because gratefulness cuts down on stress, worry, and complaining. I feel like lately I could really use a good dose of being thankful for what I have. I plan to jot down a few things each day, because writing it out really makes me do it and think about it. Some things I am especially thankful for today are: *My health. Over the summer I experienced some weird complications due to a steroid shot, and now I'm back to normal! *My church / church family. I am so blessed by Oak View Baptist and the amazing people that go there. It has forever changed my life. *My family. I'm so blessed to be able to spend so much time with them and have them as support. They are the best people I know. I can't begin to thank God enough. *Emery! A good dog is the best therapy, but I don't even know what I'd do without her. It...

I haven't written anything on here since MARCH. ...not anything from my own spiritual journey. I've done promotions for two companies and that's all I've posted. I am realizing that when I write, I am a better person. I can't believe I haven't written on here in seven months. It makes me sad. I've felt a void! Ironically, though, what I came here to write is the same topic as what I last posted about - what others think. I found a version of "Be Thou My Vision" that I  really love about a month ago, so it's been on repeat. As I'm busy with everything going on in life, I have to constantly remind myself to keep my eyes set on Christ. The line that has stuck out to me the most over the past month is "Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise." I'm teaching 9th and 11th grade this semester. In both classes we are reading books set in the Great Depression. We've had discussions (sometimes debates) about how money can...

I didn't want to go to college. I decided in sixth grade that I was going to be a movie star and I didn't need college. That was my mentality my first year at High Point University. Looking back, I wish I had made the most of my freshman year instead of going through the motions. My mom told me I had to go to college, so I knew I was going to go. When it came down to time to decide, I didn't know where to go. I had great options - North Carolina State University, Appalachian State University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and High Point University. The problem was, I wasn't passionate about one over the other and I didn't want to leave home. I finally chose UNC-G and decided to live at home and commute. My first semester of college was a struggle. I wasn't prepared for the self discipline it took to get to freshman seminar on time, I wasn't dedicated to doing well in my classes, and I was nostalgic for the simplicity of high school life...

One of my downfalls is seeking the approval of others - of caring too much what others might think about the decisions I make / of wanting someone to tell me what THEY think I should do because I feel like an objective opinion is better sometimes. Granted, I seek this advice and approval from spiritually like-minded friends, articles and books by Christian articles, etc, but the main source of my guidance and approval should be the Bible / the Lord. Today, with social media and our lives on display, it's easy for everyone we know to know every little move we make if we choose to put our business out there. For me personally, with big decisions I've made, I've always thought "What would other people think about this decision?" -choosing the college I went to -choosing the grad school I went to -what city I choose to live in -buying my house -the job I choose to have / where I choose to work (just some examples) While it's great to seek godly advice a...

A few weeks ago, the message at church was about Jacob literally wrestling with God and God giving him a new name and identity. Jacob has been dealing with some hard things and plans to spend the whole night alone praying, but God interrupts his plans to come and wrestle with him. Jacob demands a blessing, which pleases God, and God delivers.  “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob [deceiver], but Israel [strives with God], for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed” ( Genesis 32:28 ). I've been thinking a lot lately about Psalm 46. It is all about God's sovereign power and how He is with us through anything we go through, and how He will always win. He won against Jacob because after the match, Jacob changed his ways, lifestyle, and lived up to his new identity. At first, though, Jacob was headstrong and wanted his own way. Thinking about times in my life that were difficult, or where I wanted my own way, I think about how I've spent so much ti...

Last night at church the message was about spiritual attack and lies from Satan that distract us from doing God's work or tempt us to get off track. I lead a small group of amazing middle school girls that I love so much, and our discussion after the message was great. A couple weeks ago, I was talking to one of my best friends on the phone (she's in San Antonio) and she brought up a good point - Satan knows exactly how to tempt girls/women. He knows that we are, for the most part, concerned with our looks and being accepted and admired, and he uses that to feed us lies and try to get us off track. Last night we talked about how with social media, it's harder than ever for girls and women not to compare themselves to others. With filters and HD photos and the ability to post only your best pictures and make it look like life is perfect, it's easy to scroll through the Instagram news feed and start to feel really bad about your own self because everyone else looks ...

Last Thursday night I got in my car and drove to Hilton Head Island for a mental health mini-vacation. I was meeting two precious friends down there, and had five hours in the car all to myself. I had a LOT on my mind from last week, and although the drive was brutal for my legs and fanny, I got to talk on the phone with a precious godly accountability partner / encourager (BFF) and spend time in my thoughts in silence and with my worship music, and most importantly, talk to God. I was listening to my worship playlist on Spotify and the songs ran out, so Spotify started playing songs recommended for me. "Psalm 46" by Shane and Shane came on, and I had never heard it before. I loved it immediately, so I played it again and really listened to the words. O come behold the works of God the nations at His feet. He breaks the bow and bends the spear and tells the wars to cease. O Mighty One of Israel you are on our side. We walk by faith in God who burns the char...

Yesterday I was blessed to sit through THREE amazing church services. Lately, I feel like I really need to absorb as much of the Word as I can on Sundays in order to thrive through the week. It is so easy to get caught up in the stress of daily life, and I've found that the best way to combat that is to be poured into through spiritual teaching. I can't pour into my students or my family or my friends or my middle school girls on Wednesday nights if I'm not constantly growing and learning.  It's also really cool / interesting to sit at different churches with entirely different groups of people and hear the Word presented in different ways. Different churches appeal more to families or young people or older people for different reasons. One thing I realized as I sat in my home church yesterday morning (OakView Baptist) is that although we don't have the lights and the music and coffee, we do hear the Word in a way that really gets deep into your soul. It...

I've written about this before - how could I not? Yesterday I wrote about how sometimes God allows us to go through things so that we can help others who go through the same things later. Waiting is especially hard. Waiting... Why do I not have this or that yet? All my other friends do. Why am I going through this particular struggle? When will it be over? Why do I keep  having to deal with struggles? Well, absolutely NO life is struggle-free, and the Christian life was never promised to be easy. James 5:7 says to be patient. "See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains." Sometimes we just have to wait a little longer to get a blessing that's just a little sweeter. Sometimes we have to wait in seasons of wilderness and desert so that we can say "Christ is enough for me" because He's all we have. Sometimes it's so that we can see HOW faithful He...

It's so hard when something unexpected happens that just kind of rocks your world. Especially when things are great and you've been on the nountaintop. But it's also hard to HAVE to rely on God when you're on the mountaintop, so you have to go through valleys. Last night on the radio, I heard the best reminder at the best time: "God may not be allowing you to go through this as punishment, but because He knows you will be able to help others through the same kind of situation if you have gone through it yourself. He is using you to help others." That's how I've always tried to see my challenges, and if just one person can benefit from my trials, then I can count it worth it (not always as easily as I say this. Most things are easier said than done!) Because let's be honest, when things are hard, I use writing as therapy and cling to Jesus just a little more than usual. I read my Bible more and get my fanny into the prayer closet more often a...

Exodus 3❤️️ Before Moses was the leader of the Israelites, he murdered an Egyptian but we remember him as a deliverer. If you want to be a deliver er , you have to be deliver ed from something. You have to deal with things in your life you need to be delivered from in order to be a deliverER. God has to deal with your heart. Moses needed victory in his heart / soul / deepest places. Moses had to go to Pharaoh. He had to run TO the thing he had to be delivered from and defeat it. Don't run AWAY from it. Moses had not yet settled his identity as a child of God. When we do that, we can be used. >> If you want to experience victory, you first have to experience defeat. << Biggest battles in life are internal  battles. He had to settle that within himself before he could "lift the lid" and set the people free. The Lord told Moses through all of this that He would be with him, and the same goes for us. When you know who your life belongs to, ev...

So I decided to write a post tonight. I haven't posted in a while. Work has been busy. Life has been busy. I got sick last week... Anyway, I went to get some juice from the refrigerator to enjoy while I wrote, and noticed the grape juice said "refreshingly simple," which perfectly describes what is on my heart to write about tonight. How perfect. Now I'm drinking my refreshingly simple grape juice, thinking about how the same should be said about our faith in Christ. I read on Friday the part of Mark where Jesus talks about how you won't enter Heaven unless you have childlike faith. That means simple, trusting faith. The kind that children have in the tooth fairy and Santa and Mommy and Daddy. (The kind Emery has that I will feed her every day and she won't ever go hungry.) I feel like we get worked up and worry about things that don't matter, therefore wasting our time and thoughts when they could be used in better ways. At least I do. In our girl...

...That's what I keep telling myself. I feel like I FEEL more lately... like I get ruffled by the slightest comment someone makes, even if they don't mean it in a rude way (sometimes they probably do :)). TO REMAIN UNRUFFLED (one of our vocab words this week in ninth grade English), I use this little chart from a book we went through in a Bible study I was in a couple years ago. (The curriculum is L.I.F.E. - Living In Freedom Every day. It's a program from the Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama.) "Six Ways to Stay Unoffended by Studying the Life of Jesus" 1. Take the lowest seat. Consider everyone more important than yourself . Put the needs of others before your own. Strive to please God, not yourself or others. Be the servant, and don't expect anyone to pay attention to you. (Obv this doesn't mean NEVER take time for yourself or do something that makes YOU happy because if you don't, you get burnt out from serving and neglecting...

Looking back through my old blog posts from Februaries past, looking for inspiration to write new posts... I really like to write about love in February because I feel like Valentine's Day has been commercialized to the point that we forget what real, true love should be like.  Anyway, I saw this post I wrote in 2015 and feel led to share it today, adding some "insight" two years later. A lot has changed in two years - I have grown in my faith and as a person. Looking at this post now, I still agree 100% and can add some things: At our church, the youth are doing "True Love Waits" in Sunday school right now. Sometimes when you hear "true love waits" you think of holy-roller Baptists who are firm in their decision to save themselves for marriage and wear rings to show it, am I right?!?! And I would never knock that (I heard someone the other day bashing Jessica Simpson for saving herself before her first marriage and it made me very angry), but...

This is something I wrote in February of 2014, inspired after seeing a quote and spending time focusing on the Lord and not trying to find a relationship. I wanted to repost it today to kick off February! <3  Love/Dating - Run as Fast as You Can! #repost   I saw this e-card on a girl's Instagram and immediately thought, "This is the best dating advice I've ever seen!"   Someone worthy of your time and [[possibly sharing your life]] will seek God just as diligently and earnestly as you do. If you're seeking God with all your might, you don't need to worry about finding the right person. He/she will be  led by Christ  to you. This person will not take your focus off of Christ and His plan for your life. In fact, the right person will  foster  your growth in the Lord. You will grow in Christ together and help each other, not hinder each other.   If this isn't the case in your relationship, you are wasting your time! ...