Nothing great ever comes out of easy experiences, for without the struggles we will never learn to overcome the challenges that come against us, nor will we be able to appreciate the little life confirmations we are given.

Our culture tells us many lies. One of these lies is that we are not good enough. This lie is easy to listen to because we tend to get negative thoughts stuck in our minds, and the more you think something the easier it is to think it again. This

I am so sorry, you don’t deserve to be broken. I understand you may feel hopeless, and that's ok. You may be thinking, this is it. This is all there is. How will I recover? How can I move on? How can I get better? What now? I want you to remember there always has been, and always will be a plan for you. God created you for a reason, a purpose. The Sovereign Lord, and Almighty God of the universe has a plan for you. He knit you together in your mother’s womb, and he knows you by name. Why would God make the sacrifice to save you if he didn’t have a plan for you? 

The culture starts putting their hope in earthly things and finds themselves drifting away from the God who chose us. Too often the world's ways influence us and make us believe certain things about ourselves. Such as…

Encouraging and truthful phrases can help someone in many ways. It can help someone mentally and emotionally feel better. The phrase that I’m focusing on is, “Even the broken are loved.” At this time in my life, hearing that phrase means a lot.

God has a way of showing us how to get through a struggle even if we don’t see how at the time or what He did. Words like this are powerful because when we need them sometimes they come into our life right when we need to hear them. God knows what you are going through even if it doesn’t seem like it. He has a plan and he has for a long time. Trust Him he cares for you. 

The gospels are four books narrating Jesus’ life and how he fulfilled this very prophecy. The gospel of Luke portrays Jesus’ ministry as The Upside Down Kingdom or Upside Down Living. Because the Pharisees themselves believed they were perfect, they had created the lie that God can only love perfect people. Jesus shatters that lie. He turns our worldview completely upside down.

If you simply humble yourself and leave your heart open to God, He will find ways to work in your life. And rather than relying on “being yourself” to have an identity, or “doing what feels best” in order to find pleasure you will find all you need in Jesus. You will find a peace that transcends all understanding to satisfy you. You will find the truth of God’s word that will sustain you and give you an identity. You will find the love of God that will enable you to do all things through Him who gives you strength.

I just want you to know that you are talented and unique. Most of the world will tell you otherwise, so I thought you should know. I hope that that will raise your hopes so that you can see a bright future ahead of you. I hope that it helps to refute the lies that society tells you. I hope it will help you see happiness and joy in your reach.

Gratitude changes everything.

Life is full of circumstances that we cannot control. In any given moment, things could be better and things could be worse. It’s all about how we choose to respond to our current circumstance.

Making the choice to be thankful—to find something (no matter how small) to rejoice about—has the power to shift our heart attitude. This choice is not always easy. I have found myself struggling with this recently. It feels like if I have a thankful attitude, it means I need to be ok with the pain and heartache of the hard stuff. It goes against my human nature.

When I think of her, I hear little girl laughter, hers and mine. I see the darkness of corners where we hide together from our moms because we don’t want to be parted. I see the yellow Belle dress, its gauzy layers twirling with her as she leaps across the room. I taste buttery cornbread—the last meal I shared with her.

My first inclination is to tell you that that when I got the call telling me my childhood friend had died, “time stopped,” or “I felt great pain,” or “I felt empty.”