Vulnerably Beautiful

If you knew how significant your purpose was, you'd never question it again. - Havilah Cunnington  We have been created with such a purpose, a purpose that is not our own but of Christ.  When Heaven and earth are one, every knee will bow. You will bow to Christ, whether you believe or not because He is above all things. Are our hearts in that same physical response, are we living on our knees, confessing He is King and remembering He is the one who brings us peace and hope? He is the One giving us something to lean into when there is nothing else to count on because He is exalted high. This is a physical response, but our hearts can live in this place too. Is your life in the same response, do you really live and believe that in the last breath that you will know and will bow to the Exalted One whether you like it or not. That's hard to think about and we kind of like to tip-toe around that, cause it doesn't feel good, but the Gospel isn't always supposed to feel go...

Ever wonder what the purpose of something is or why things are timed the way they are? In some situations, you can see how important the timing is.  To realize the value of one YEAR ask a student who failed a grade To realize the value of one MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby To realize the value of one DAY, ask the person who was born on February 29th.  To realize the value of one HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. To realize the value of one MINUTE, ask the person who missed the train. To realize the value of one MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a sliver medal in the olympics. We don’t realize the value time, until that time is tested and we are made to wait. In the moment, we often don’t see the importance of timing and the purpose behind it, but as the examples above mentioned, the amount of time, can create a huge impact. It is hard to fully understand what it means to trust Him even when we may not understan...

I’ve been listening to a lot of music lately, and the song ‘Fierce’ by Jesus Culture had come up on many of my playlists, and I kept hearing it over and over again really thinking nothing of it other than that it was just the way the playlists were made, until a few days ago. When I opened my bible on Sunday I was taken to Luke, chapter 15:11-32 to be specific. The prodigal son story. I was confused at; first, I had read this story before and heard it at Sunday school and didn't know what the significance of it was at this time. As I read it, I realized how intensely God pursues us, just as the father ran back to the son when he returned home.  For anyone who knows me rather well, my general answer to ‘how are you?’ is usually ‘good’ even if things aren't good. I know people mean well, but I often find it easier to tell them I am good instead of explaining how I really am. When we push people away, sometimes they leave, or they don't care as much the next time, but not Go...

There you are at church, and worship begins, but you are not feeling it. No awe of God. No love for him. Nothing. What should you do? Should you go through the motions anyway? Should you leave and come back next Sunday for another try? What should you do? What Jesus Taught Jesus taught that true worship must involve both spirit and truth: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24) So we must worship in truth — which means worshiping the true God as revealed in Jesus Christ as recorded in Scripture. But what does it mean to worship in spirit? Two Clues from John’s Gospel “The Hebrew word for ‘waiting’ does not mean passive waiting; it means eager seeking.” One clue is that John’s gospel uses the word “spirit” to refer to feelings and emotions. You can see that in John 13:21: “After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit.” The other clue is that in John 3:6 the word “spirit” refers to something supernaturally produced in us by ...

Dear Daughter, I see the way you look at yourself in the mirror each morning. I see the scowl on your face when your hair doesn't curl just right, and that redness of your skin you can't hide. My darling, I see the way you frown in disappointment after trying on six different tee shirts-- none quite fitting the way you would like. I know, my love, I know how hard it is when your world seems like it is crashing down while everyone else's is thriving. You will get your turn though soon. Soon you will get your shot; you will get your turn to shine for me. Stop comparing yourself to that girls Instagram photo; what you see is a brief display of a filtered to perfection photo that she chooses to show in her life.. it isn't reality. Send away those feelings of jealousy; you may not know what she is hiding behind that so-called perfect photo.  My precious, I understand what it feels like to be alone, I have been there. I know what it is like to cry out and ask for something...

When you ask someone in Canada what their favorite season is, you will get a different answer depending on who you ask and what their hobbies are. Everyone has a favorite. For some, summer is the favorite, and winter is seen as the least favorite or vise versa. What season one person enjoys can be another ones least favorite. Often, people have a TV season, or sports season that they prefer and ones that they don't care about as much, or just don't prefer. Life and the seasons it brings is the same way, what is hard or unfavorable for one person, might not be for another. In saying that, it makes it hard to understand and empathize with other people and what is hard for them. As Christians, we are called to love everyone, regardless of who they are or what they have done, but sometimes it is hard to love when we don't understand what they are going through and what they are going through may not be hard for you. When we don't understand how another feels, it becomes...