Standing up for What's Right

It's not always easy to do what's right, especially when everyone around you is doing the opposite of what's right. "Going with the flow" might seem like the easy choice at that moment, but trust me when I say, that decision will soon cause you more and more discomfort and slowly eat away at you. In most cases, that discomfort will never go away and will be with you for the rest of your life. You might eventually learn to live with that guilty feeling, but it will aways be there, that is, until you turn to God and repent. I pray you never have to feel that horrible pain, but should you make that mistake, and you probably will, I urge you to learn quickly that only God can provide you with the peace that will comfort you. Often times standing up for what you know is right will cost you (relationships, popularity, maybe even a job) but when you stand up for what's right because it's the right, Godly thing to do, none of what you lose will even come close to all that you will gain through God's blessings. God ALWAYS redeems and He WILL reward you for your obedience. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14

"If only I knew then what I know now"

Growing up, I heard the following statement all the time, "If only I knew then, what I know now!" I remember thinking as a teenager that I wouldn't ever need to say that because I already knew it all. I thought I was the most mature teenager ever and that I never needed to mature more because I had already reached the height of maturity. WOW, I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG! I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I think of my foolishness. Maturity is an ever growing process and can't be "maxed out" like a credit card. Now, I do believe that you can take 2 people of the same age and 1 of them might be several years ahead of the other in terms of maturity, but overall, as a general rule, one never reaches full maturity (at least in my opinion) until they die, in which they're at their full maturity because they're dead!

I believe this so much that I will confess right now that I still have some maturing to do. I'm not saying I'm immature, I'm just saying that I know from experience that in another 10 years, I'll look back and say, "If only I knew then, what I know now." This process will continue my entire life.

This also applies to Spiritual Maturity. When we come to Christ, we are "baby Christians." We've received just enough knowledge about Christ to hand over our lives to Him. As we grow in our knowledge of Christ and begin to trust Him more and more, we grow in Spiritual maturity. I think the biggest difference between growing in life maturity and growing in Spiritual maturity is that life forces us to continue to grow, where as we are more "in charge" of our Spiritual maturity. If you're not continually working at growing in your relationship with God through prayer, scripture knowledge, devotions, etc. you not only will stop growing, but you can actually regress. I pray I never again get to a point in my walk with the Lord that I become complacent. The enemy loves nothing more than to see Christians fall backwards in their faith. He doesn't have to hard on non believers because they are already where he wants them. It's believers that he has to work hard on to get them to stop walking with God. Be on guard always!

So, to my precious daughters and any other young women reading this, YOU DON'T KNOW IT ALL! You may be mature for your age, but you are not fully mature. Enjoy the innocence of your youth now and let God mold you into maturity as HE WISHES.

True Joy

Probably the most important thing I can ever tell you about is how to find true JOY in life. It took me more than 30 years to figure it out and I pray that you will find it much quicker than I did! When I say the word "joy" I mean complete and utter happiness, living and loving life to its fullest. I'm not saying you'll never have hard times or sadness in life, but you can choose to live with joy in your life and that joy will bring you through those difficult times.

Throughout my life I looked for things that would bring me joy, but always came up disappointed. I would achieve temporary joy, sometimes lasting a year, sometimes lasting an hour. The problem was that I was trying to achieve it from people, shopping, food, anything new and exciting. When I was younger, I would rearrange my room once a month. I loved that "new" feeling. The problem with that is that you eventually get used to things and that new feeling fades. When I would try to find joy in people, be it friends or boyfriends, people are human and always disappoint at some time or another. In high school, I always had boyfriends. I thought if I had someone in my life, they could keep that joy going. That was FAR from the truth. In fact, it did the opposite, often leading to pressure, fighting and unhappiness. I wasted away my high school years with boyfriends that always disappointed me. In the mean time, I watched friends who weren't tied down by boyfriends spending time together, having fun, without a jealous boyfriend questioning their every move. I look back and feel like I lost out on so much. I pray that my girls won't tie them down with "serious" relationships in their teen years. I pray they will use those years to enjoy their friends, group date and not be tied down. Now, I'm not against boyfriends, as long as they don't consume their lives, keeping them from friends and activities and spark fits of jealousy.

So, where did I find joy? God! He is the only thing in life that is perfect, flawless and loving. Once I handed over my entire life to Him, including my worries, fears, anxiety, EVERYTHING, I experienced peace that only He can bring. The Holy Spirit filled me with the confidence that I always lacked. I still catch myself worrying, relying on myself instead of Him, the difference is that now that I am disciplined in His Word, I always step back and let Him take control again. This didn't come instantly when I became a Christian. It was a process as I grew in my Christian walk and it's an ongoing process. That's why it's important to constantly stay in the Word, if you don't, you'll find yourself slowly taking control back away from God.

There you have it, TRUE JOY can ONLY come from God!

Welcome

I'm so glad I'm taking the time to do this. I've always wanted to keep a "diary" for the both of you, but outside of your baby books and photo albums, I haven't done that. I am, however, working on a VERY SPECIAL project for each of you that you will receive on your 18th birthdays. I know that seems so far from now, but I can't believe how quickly the years have passed since you've been born. I want you to know how much I love and want the best for you. I wish I could teach you all you need to know through the mistakes I've made, so that you never have to make any yourselves, but I know that's not realistic. I also know, that if it weren't for the challenging moments in my life, I wouldn't be the person I am today. Most of all, if there is one thing I never want you to forget, it is this: God made you just the way He wants you to be and He loves you and the ONLY way to find true joy in life (and I mean the kind of pure joy that makes you happy and fulfilled), is to have a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ!

Now, even though I started this blog for you, Kiley and Makenna, it is also for the handful of young women in my life that I love and I want the best in life for them. I know you all won't always follow my advice, but all I ask is that when you make mistakes in life, turn to JESUS! He is always there waiting for you and He'll always forgive you. Also, you can ALWAYS come to me, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE! There is nothing you can do that can keep you from my love. I mean that with all that I am.

If you came across my blog by mistake, I hope you enjoy it. You are more than welcome to read it and comment on it (just so you know, I preview all comments before they can post). I am always happy to share how to find joy in life, so I welcome you!