You guys, I have had something on my heart all day and I could not wait to be done with the day and be able to share it. As I have shared before, I got my call to ministry my senior year of high school. I was in a dark place at the time. A toxic relationship, isolated far from friends and family, and most of all I was isolated far from my relationship with The Lord. The second I got that call on my life, I took it and ran. I went to a Christian university for all of 3 semesters until I decided to come home. The choice to come home was never an easy one, but it is definitely what God wanted for me. When I came home I was in the middle of some pretty bad spiritual warfare, but not once did I ever feel like I could not talk to God. Many of our conversations were about peace in my life and for some reason I felt like I had been searching for something in my relationship with him that I could not find.
I felt this way for quite some time. I continued with youth ministry at my church and I continued praying and pursing God with all my heart, but it was not until this past week that I found what I had been yearning for.
I need reaffirmation on my call that God placed on my heart about three years ago. This was my second youth camp as a leader and the whole week I was pressing in as far as my heart allowed, but it was not until the last night that I truly felt The Lord speak to me. The last night every year is usually spent praying for the kids who feel called to ministry. We prayed, and that night as I prayed over several students and anointed them with oil, I really felt God saying, "this is why I called you to do what you do and I am about to show you as well." I had NO idea what he meant by that, but I stood back and watched as so many students from our youth group walked up to that alter to publicly declare they have been called to ministry. One of them was my fifteen year old brother. In that moment I have NEVER felt so close to God and I have NEVER felt his presence as much as I did then. It reminded me that he called me to do what I do, because he wants to use me as a vessel. A vessel to these kids who do not have them at home, school, or any other place. However, when I saw my brother go up there, it reminded me of something else, it reminded me that I am not only leading students at church, but at home as well. If I was not leading by example at home, it could have affected my brother in so many ways. I AM doing my job and I AM doing what God called upon my life.
So, I think what I am trying to say is to find your calling and pursue it with all of your heart. Pursue not only your calling, but pursue Our Savior with every last breath you have in you. Isaiah 62:5 says, "As a young man marries a young woman, so will your builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you." So, BE THE BRIDE! Be someone God looks at and says, "wow they are doing works to enhance the Kingdom." He wants us to build up his kingdom and to do that, he puts in place a call for each and every one of us and we are supposed to go out and fulfill that. My call is to ministry. Someone else may be called to be a politician, doctor, or lawyer. God wants us to do all of those things with love and grace.
I promise you that my call does not represent my past, because it is messy. God tells us to stop looking back! Philippians 3:13 says, "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." Stop being so concerned with what you've done and start being concerned with what you're going to do. Truthfully, it did take me a while to accept what I have done and move past my mistakes and failures. However, when I do, it reminds me of what Jesus did for us. He KNEW we would sin and fall short, but he still gave his life for us. We are undeserving, we did NOT earn it, but Jesus still loves us anyways. So stop laying around and being afraid of what He has instore for you, get up and start moving toward your calling, embody Him, be grace, be mercy, and be love, because it is what He did for us.
Monday, July 2, 2018
Monday, June 11, 2018
The Struggle in Telling a Story
I never thought in a million years I would tell my story on here. I am still not telling mine, but I am telling my older brother's. For those of you who did not know, today marks 9 years since an accident that took my brother's life, a part of my heart, and 1/5 of our family away. Tomorrow will be 9 years since he joined the Lord. I never thought I could talk about it on here, or anywhere for that matter. People ask me what happened to him all the time and I find myself at a loss of words and I just say something that made sense at the time and tried to shove the conversation in a different direction. My brother and I had a relationship that was hard to explain. We loved each other, but we were never close. We never shared the connection he had to my mom, my dad, or my younger brother. We fought more than most and most of our fights ended in groundings, bruises, cuts.
He had ADHD, a disorder that is often overlooked, but becomes noticeable typically at a young age. His was severe and doctors said he was "off the charts". When the accident happened it was the week of VBS at our church and he was volunteering and it was my last year being a student. The only reason I was going was because he would be there to make me go even though I had no desire to be there. This is an important part to the story.
Tomorrow is 9 years since I lost him. This week is VBS at my church. I am a volunteer. I do not think people realize that when he passed away he left this footprint on my heart that only he understood. The footprint of regret, shame, hurt, depression. This footprint only makes itself known once a year, June 12th, and it stays for the day.
I try to remember small details about his passing, but that part of my mind shut down a while ago and it blocks out any memory of the first few weeks without him here. One day he was here and the next he was gone. It was just like the blink of an eye and the pain hurt so bad. I didn't sleep in my room for what felt like months on end. I put an air mattress in my parents bed room and slept in there and hoped I wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares from that day. People kept telling me after the funeral, "I can't even imagine what you're going through" or "I am so sorry for your loss." And let me tell you the anger stage in the 5 stages of grief is so real. For the longest time I was so angry at God for taking my brother away from me. I was so angry that I felt abandoned and alone and hurt all in one emotion. I missed my brother so much I felt sick to my stomach, so how could God do this to me?
Well my friends, he did this because he knew what was best. He knew my brother's time on earth was up and Heaven was his next stop. He did this because HIS ways are higher than ours and despite how "unfair" this all was to me, his purpose for my brother's life was fulfilled. I remember about two weeks after his passing I had a dream about him. I saw him in my kitchen and he was just a dark figure, he hugged me, and even though he was dark for some reason I knew he was smiling at me.
It gives me peace to know he is now in heaven. It gives me peace to know that I will be with him again someday. It gives me peace to know that I now have a stronger relationship with my younger brother now than I ever did when my older brother was still here. He showed me how to embody Christ, and how to live out every day like he is still looking down on me. The first song he ever learned on guitar was Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles. I have it tattooed on me and it is a reminder that the dark days are no match for the glory God is revealing to me every day on this earth.
No, my life hasn't been "rainbows and unicorns" as they say. I have lived out my hardest years the past 9, but God has shown me abundant grace, mercy, love, and hope. The most important thing he has given me from all of this is peace. A verse that was read to me through so many different counseling sessions, church sermons, etc. was Romans 8:18. This verse is hung on my wall and is a small reminder that no matter what storm is going on, that the joy that is eternal life will always satisfy me.
So here is to nine full years without a big brother. Nine years without part of my heart. I am not saying tomorrow will be easy, but I know he is walking me through every second of it.
You are forever in my heart, Bradley Joseph Adams.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." -Romans 8:18
He had ADHD, a disorder that is often overlooked, but becomes noticeable typically at a young age. His was severe and doctors said he was "off the charts". When the accident happened it was the week of VBS at our church and he was volunteering and it was my last year being a student. The only reason I was going was because he would be there to make me go even though I had no desire to be there. This is an important part to the story.
Tomorrow is 9 years since I lost him. This week is VBS at my church. I am a volunteer. I do not think people realize that when he passed away he left this footprint on my heart that only he understood. The footprint of regret, shame, hurt, depression. This footprint only makes itself known once a year, June 12th, and it stays for the day.
I try to remember small details about his passing, but that part of my mind shut down a while ago and it blocks out any memory of the first few weeks without him here. One day he was here and the next he was gone. It was just like the blink of an eye and the pain hurt so bad. I didn't sleep in my room for what felt like months on end. I put an air mattress in my parents bed room and slept in there and hoped I wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares from that day. People kept telling me after the funeral, "I can't even imagine what you're going through" or "I am so sorry for your loss." And let me tell you the anger stage in the 5 stages of grief is so real. For the longest time I was so angry at God for taking my brother away from me. I was so angry that I felt abandoned and alone and hurt all in one emotion. I missed my brother so much I felt sick to my stomach, so how could God do this to me?
Well my friends, he did this because he knew what was best. He knew my brother's time on earth was up and Heaven was his next stop. He did this because HIS ways are higher than ours and despite how "unfair" this all was to me, his purpose for my brother's life was fulfilled. I remember about two weeks after his passing I had a dream about him. I saw him in my kitchen and he was just a dark figure, he hugged me, and even though he was dark for some reason I knew he was smiling at me.
It gives me peace to know he is now in heaven. It gives me peace to know that I will be with him again someday. It gives me peace to know that I now have a stronger relationship with my younger brother now than I ever did when my older brother was still here. He showed me how to embody Christ, and how to live out every day like he is still looking down on me. The first song he ever learned on guitar was Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles. I have it tattooed on me and it is a reminder that the dark days are no match for the glory God is revealing to me every day on this earth.
No, my life hasn't been "rainbows and unicorns" as they say. I have lived out my hardest years the past 9, but God has shown me abundant grace, mercy, love, and hope. The most important thing he has given me from all of this is peace. A verse that was read to me through so many different counseling sessions, church sermons, etc. was Romans 8:18. This verse is hung on my wall and is a small reminder that no matter what storm is going on, that the joy that is eternal life will always satisfy me.
So here is to nine full years without a big brother. Nine years without part of my heart. I am not saying tomorrow will be easy, but I know he is walking me through every second of it.
You are forever in my heart, Bradley Joseph Adams.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." -Romans 8:18
Sunday, March 18, 2018
The Struggle in the Unknown
I have not written in quite some time, but a lot has happened in that time. I have been hurt mentally and physically. I left the comfort of a school I thought I belonged at to go back to a home that I missed more than anything. There were several reasons into me retuning to Georgia and the biggest one was my strain on my relationship with The Lord. I dove back into church, got close with old friends, and have been working just about every single day. About a month ago I got into a skiing accident that I thought broke my leg and ruined my knee and I am telling you guys that God acted in the most miraculous way in the hospital that night, as per usual and I walked away in just a full leg brace and crutches for a few weeks.
Let me tell you though, these past few months I have not been the best version of myself. I was hurt from a car accident in November and a ski accident. I also was hurting from personal things that really effected me back in January. Because of these things I became bitter. I was angry at God and angry at myself. I grew quiet for sometime and shut people out, because I was physically and emotionally hurting. My friends would ask me to go ice skating, bowling, go to the gym. I could not do any of these things, because of my back and my leg and I was frustrated. I saw how great everything was going for everyone, except me. However, just about a week ago I realized something. I realized that at the beginning of this year, I was praying for a word that I wanted God to give me to work on this year. The word that was beating over my head was the word change. I honestly did not know what this was supposed to mean and I really still am not one hundred percent sure. I have seen myself wanting some kind of change in my life and I did not know what it is. I am terrified of the unknown and I have been since I was a little girl. I lost my brother and ever since then I felt like every day was a huge mystery to me. What in the world is my purpose? What in the world does God want me to do?
Our future is unwritten. All I know is God wants me serving him. My whole life I have been asking myself, "what is next?" But why should I do that when I know that the most perfect God has handwritten my future for me. He knows me from my first breath to my last. He knows me from my first love to my last. He knows me from every scar on my body and every hair on my head. So, why am I so afraid of what is to come? He chases after me so hard and he will do anything and everything to ensure in my mind that whatever may come my way he will protect me.
So what have I done to protect my bitter heart? The Lord, church, my friends, my family. No matter what God may throw my way, my heart is protected from the unknown and I am forever thankful for that blessing. I cannot wait to see what God wants for my future. I am done being afraid.
Thursday, December 7, 2017
The Struggle of Christmas: Dedicated to those who have lost someone
I bet you are reading this and wondering why in the world I am calling Christmas a struggle. I don't hate Christmas, I actually love it. This time of year is just different for me, because a piece of me is missing. My older brother was what made Christmas the way it was 8 and a half years ago. He was the one who would run and jump on my bed to wake me up at 6am, and then my brothers, and my parents. His loud feet ran around upstairs waiting for my parents to let us come down stairs and then when we got the '"ok" he would run as fast as he could down the stairs just about running into the wall. Why am I telling you this? Well, less than 6 months after Christmas in 2008, he went home to be with Jesus. The next year was dark and nearly unbearable. There were no loud footsteps, no yelling, no springing out of bed. It was just sadness and depression and pain- lots and lots of pain. This week has been one of the most emotionally and physically draining weeks of my life and while I was dealing with multiple trials at one time I was reminded of something very important. I am not the only one going through this. This year I've met so many people who have lost family members and they have all told me Christmas is not as fun anymore. Do not get me wrong, Christmas is still great and the reason we get to celebrate Christmas is indescribable, but it is still hard to be joyful when a big part of what I always knew Christmas to be, is gone. While it is hard, this past week I've gotten time to reflect on why it is still the best holiday.
1. Jesus was BORN!! What better reason to celebrate than the birth of our savior! One of the happiest memories was going to Christmas Eve service as church with my family.
2. I still have a family to celebrate with. Even though part of my family is missing, I still get to spend Christmas with my mom, dad, little brother, and extended family. For that I am forever grateful.
3. I am not alone. So many people every year have to spend Christmas without a loved one and I am not alone in my pain.
I also have realized that I am lucky enough to have memories of Christmas day that will last for a lifetime. I got to spend 10 Christmas' with my brother and for that I am forever thankful. He also gets to spend Christmas with Jesus himself and for that I am forever jealous. Can you imagine how wonderful it must be to celebrate Jesus' birthday with Jesus himself?! Pain is so temporary and the joy of life and Jesus will surround me for the rest of time, so why waste it by allowing that pain in me to surround me every year on Christmas? I've decided that I am determined to make this Christmas the best one yet and instead of walking around with my head down, I am going to celebrate the Christmas' I got to spend with my brother and try to bring joy to the people around me. I hope no one is reading this and thinking I'm horrible for not enjoying Christmas like everyone else, but when you lose someone who loved Christmas like my brother, a piece of you is missing everyday and especially on December 25th.
-Hollie
1. Jesus was BORN!! What better reason to celebrate than the birth of our savior! One of the happiest memories was going to Christmas Eve service as church with my family.
2. I still have a family to celebrate with. Even though part of my family is missing, I still get to spend Christmas with my mom, dad, little brother, and extended family. For that I am forever grateful.
3. I am not alone. So many people every year have to spend Christmas without a loved one and I am not alone in my pain.
I also have realized that I am lucky enough to have memories of Christmas day that will last for a lifetime. I got to spend 10 Christmas' with my brother and for that I am forever thankful. He also gets to spend Christmas with Jesus himself and for that I am forever jealous. Can you imagine how wonderful it must be to celebrate Jesus' birthday with Jesus himself?! Pain is so temporary and the joy of life and Jesus will surround me for the rest of time, so why waste it by allowing that pain in me to surround me every year on Christmas? I've decided that I am determined to make this Christmas the best one yet and instead of walking around with my head down, I am going to celebrate the Christmas' I got to spend with my brother and try to bring joy to the people around me. I hope no one is reading this and thinking I'm horrible for not enjoying Christmas like everyone else, but when you lose someone who loved Christmas like my brother, a piece of you is missing everyday and especially on December 25th.
-Hollie
Sunday, October 29, 2017
The Struggle with being "Content"
This is something that has really been on my mind lately. Why is it that we are so okay with our lives, or as we call it now, being content? This applies to all areas of life. It could be relationships, school, or your walk with Christ. I am going to expand my opinions on all of these in the next couple of paragraphs. I am sorry if you do not agree with me, but these are going to be the reasons I stand upon for the rest of time.
Why are we so content with our relationships? I know something many girls struggle with is settling for guys that are not good enough for them. We settle because we want to be in a relationship so badly that we lower our standards. THIS IS SO WRONG, LADIES!! Please, never settle for anything less than extraordinary. A few weeks ago, I found myself writing a letter to my future husband. I feel like this is something all girls around my age could do. This not only helps you set standards, but it allows you to see what you truly want in a future husband. I know that I want someone that can be a spiritual leader. I want him to be able to keep me on my feet when I am struggling in my walk. I want him to be able to pray, fast, and get into the word with me. God wants that for you as well. If you do not believe me, go ahead and check out 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. Stop being so content in a relationship and stop settling for anything less than Godly.
School is a difficult topic I think for everyone and it is a subject that I know most students try to avoid. We are content with doing the bare minimum in school and we should not be. I know in high school I was constantly beating myself up because I did not do as well as I hoped on tests, quizzes, and projects. I did not figure out until college that I was not doing well not because of my lack of study habits, but because I was aiming so low. Why shoot for an A in a class when you could shoot for all A’s? Not only grades, but extracurriculars as well. I know my freshman year of college I was constantly in the books and not enjoying myself at all. Yes, studying is important, but it is also important to balance that with having fun! This year I have all A's, I am involved in a club, and I have a job. I find myself enjoying the college life a lot more than I was last year. Stop being afraid to go outside your comfort zone, because sometimes God is calling you out of it!
Lastly, and most importantly, your walk with God. This is something I know that so many teens/early adults are constantly being content in. We go to church, pray sometimes, and read the bible once every few days. Yes, I know you're busy, but if you do not carve out this daily time with God then you are going to find yourself a lot less happy. People are constantly stuck on not being able to make decisions, and I hate to break it to them, but you are never going to find them at a party, or laying around being upset about it. You find them in prayer, and in the word. I learned this in a very hard way in early high school, but if you stay content in your walk with God, you will NEVER be fully satisfied with your life. God calls us to move in our relationship with him, and no one’s walk with Christ will ever be "good enough" or 'perfect." Something I have learned over the years is you should NEVER be satisfied when it comes to your walk with the Lord. Every day we should want to know more, or want to draw closer to him. It is really a craving that you should have every morning that you wake up, and every night you go to sleep. Stop being satisfied and content in your relationship with him, because you will end up hurting yourself and your happiness will fade. I believe young adults struggle with this so much, because we find ourselves so busy, or lonely, or angry and we could even find ourselves this way with God. It is hard not knowing all the answers to all the questions we have, but is that not the point of wanting more of him? We want those answers to those questions so we should have a desire to stop standing still and move towards him.
I will end with this:
Stop being so content and start moving towards a better future and life for yourself, because we are not called to stand still. However, we ARE called to MOVE!
-Hollie
Monday, September 18, 2017
Spiritual Battlefield
So, I am just going to get straight to the point here; I'm broken. These past few weeks have been some of the hardest weeks I've encountered in my life thus far, and I hate admitting it. I tried to suppress the feelings and negative thoughts, but they just kept coming back around. HOWEVER- this post is actually going to be meant to be uplifting. During this spiritual battle, I was afraid, alone, depressed, and my anxiety was through the roof. Of course, my parents were worried about me and I was worried about myself, because I had no idea what was going on in my walk with The Lord, or even with just my heart.
Something that happened that helped partake in my complete 180 I eventually lead back up to was my family. Let me just tell you- I would not be the women of God that I am today without my parents. They are a constant reminder of love and compassion even in the darkest of times for me. My mom would call me and pray for me over the phone nearly every night and my dad did a good job of keeping me distracted with things that would keep my head out of dark places. They have been my complete support system since day one and I couldn't be anymore grateful for them than I already am.
Something I decided to do during this time was fast. My church back home was fasting at the time and I really felt like God called me to do this. So, as God calls, I listen. Every time I craved what I got rid of- I dug as far into the word and into prayer as my brain could handle. Some nights I would sit there and just cry as I read, because I knew in my heart that the whole time God was condemning my heart of the things Satan tried to put in there during those past few weeks. I ended up doing a devotion last week for SLC and I honestly didn't think there was anything better to speak about besides Trials. I was going through one of my own and digging into the word for that not only helped me speak to my friends, but speak my soul as well. During this time I ran into a few verses that stuck out to me. Mark 4:40 was one in particular. It says, "He said to his disciples, "why are you so afraid? Do you have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other. "Who is this? Even the winds and waves obey him." It made me realize, even in my own storm, why am I so afraid? If I look behind me, I see that God controlled those storms, so why would he not be able to do the same thing now? Another verse was Matthew 7:7. It says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." So, that's when I realized I needed to get on my knees and cry out to God. He will help me when I ask, so once again, why am I so afraid to ask? I remember being so angry that God was allowing this to happen to me, and it wasn't fair. When I began to pray and be at peace in prayer, I realized the real battle that was going on.
One last tool I used in this spiritual battle was a book that was recommended to me by a family member. It's The Bondage Breaker by: Neil T. Anderson. It's about overcoming negative thoughts, irrational feelings and habitual sins. YALL- Satan is a real person and he is out to steal, kill, and destroy every last piece of you. However, God is here to break the bondage. I'm still reading the book, but what I've gathered so far is when you are as far down in a valley as you can be, you need to cry out to God and rebuke Satan in Jesus name! He wanted to see me as low as I was, he wanted me to not be okay, and feel alone and unworthy and unloved. He fed off of me doubting God and pushing him away. Something that really frustrated me was the fact I felt so weak, because I was allowing Satan to push me to the edge, but something this book has taught me is that he preys on the ones who have everything together, and have a strong relationship with the Lord, because they are his biggest threats. It didn't make me look "weak" to God, but it made me look strong.
I am finally no longer afraid or feel alone or vulnerable. I feel strong in the Lord and I trust that His love is bigger than my valleys or darkness, because he is here to save the lost and heal the broken and fix the weary. He is a God of miracles and a God of mercy and grace, because he loves us more than we could ever imagine. Satan today is livid, because instead of coming out of this hurting and broken, I came out strong and more in love with Christ than ever. GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME AND HE IS LOVE!!!
Something that happened that helped partake in my complete 180 I eventually lead back up to was my family. Let me just tell you- I would not be the women of God that I am today without my parents. They are a constant reminder of love and compassion even in the darkest of times for me. My mom would call me and pray for me over the phone nearly every night and my dad did a good job of keeping me distracted with things that would keep my head out of dark places. They have been my complete support system since day one and I couldn't be anymore grateful for them than I already am.
Something I decided to do during this time was fast. My church back home was fasting at the time and I really felt like God called me to do this. So, as God calls, I listen. Every time I craved what I got rid of- I dug as far into the word and into prayer as my brain could handle. Some nights I would sit there and just cry as I read, because I knew in my heart that the whole time God was condemning my heart of the things Satan tried to put in there during those past few weeks. I ended up doing a devotion last week for SLC and I honestly didn't think there was anything better to speak about besides Trials. I was going through one of my own and digging into the word for that not only helped me speak to my friends, but speak my soul as well. During this time I ran into a few verses that stuck out to me. Mark 4:40 was one in particular. It says, "He said to his disciples, "why are you so afraid? Do you have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other. "Who is this? Even the winds and waves obey him." It made me realize, even in my own storm, why am I so afraid? If I look behind me, I see that God controlled those storms, so why would he not be able to do the same thing now? Another verse was Matthew 7:7. It says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." So, that's when I realized I needed to get on my knees and cry out to God. He will help me when I ask, so once again, why am I so afraid to ask? I remember being so angry that God was allowing this to happen to me, and it wasn't fair. When I began to pray and be at peace in prayer, I realized the real battle that was going on.
One last tool I used in this spiritual battle was a book that was recommended to me by a family member. It's The Bondage Breaker by: Neil T. Anderson. It's about overcoming negative thoughts, irrational feelings and habitual sins. YALL- Satan is a real person and he is out to steal, kill, and destroy every last piece of you. However, God is here to break the bondage. I'm still reading the book, but what I've gathered so far is when you are as far down in a valley as you can be, you need to cry out to God and rebuke Satan in Jesus name! He wanted to see me as low as I was, he wanted me to not be okay, and feel alone and unworthy and unloved. He fed off of me doubting God and pushing him away. Something that really frustrated me was the fact I felt so weak, because I was allowing Satan to push me to the edge, but something this book has taught me is that he preys on the ones who have everything together, and have a strong relationship with the Lord, because they are his biggest threats. It didn't make me look "weak" to God, but it made me look strong.
I am finally no longer afraid or feel alone or vulnerable. I feel strong in the Lord and I trust that His love is bigger than my valleys or darkness, because he is here to save the lost and heal the broken and fix the weary. He is a God of miracles and a God of mercy and grace, because he loves us more than we could ever imagine. Satan today is livid, because instead of coming out of this hurting and broken, I came out strong and more in love with Christ than ever. GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME AND HE IS LOVE!!!
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
The Struggle with Social Media
How many minutes of the day do we spend on social media? The average human spends around 116 minutes, or two hours a day on social media. That is ridiculous. I can't say that I'm not guilty of that myself though. Social media is just a small part of what I want to talk about. I actually want to talk about the media in general and how they influence Christian Millennials, like myself, in everyday life. I know that almost all of my friends have twitter accounts and that's what I want to talk about first. We go on twitter all the time and I know some of the first tweets I see are about what is going on around the world right now. Can I ask you something though? Is most of that positive? No, usually it is something about our president, the police force, or the racism issues going on that day. I may shock you by saying this, but did you know that not everything being said on twitter isn't everything going on in the world? I hate that as Christians we go on social media and see all of these negative things, but we miss out on the best parts of the world. Almost once a month at work I see veterans come in, or cops come in, and some kind soul offers to take care of their bill. Even today my roommate and I got to help an old lady carry her groceries to the car and then she offered us her shopping cart to use and gave me a hug. (you have to pay 25 cents for a cart where we go) Things are not always bad around you.
Yes, I know what you're thinking. Bad things are still happening. How about instead of going on social media to see those things, you go out and do a kind act to substitute for all the evil going on in the world. As children of God, we are called to love on everyone in everything that we do, even if we don't agree with someone else's opinion. I know as a millennial, that we are constantly being looked down on when it comes to social media, being on our phones, and being closed minded. So, why don't we prove the rest of the world wrong? I know I struggle with going on my phone and looking at social media and being angry and upset at someone for their opinions. However, why not instead we agree to disagree? I told one of my friends today that I am so sad for our generation, because they don't get to see how big our world and our God is, because it's constantly being portrayed by social media and the media in general in such a negative light. God called us to be vessels and lights to the non believers and to glorify him in our actions outside the church, because it honors him. So next time you see something that you don't agree with, just move on, go out and change the world, because that's what God expects of us. We can't go out and fix racism, or hatred, or anything else all in one day, but we can go out and be those vessels God has called us to be so we can start to be that change in the world.
In conclusion, I know sometimes looking at these posts can make you upset or angry, but next time you see one just think of what God has done for us. He saved each and everyone of us by dying for our sins, and there is nothing that could be going on in the world that could be bigger than that of Our God!! Go into the world with "blind faith" and know without seeing that not everything going on is as evil as our social media and media is putting out there. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 3:5-6 and it says this "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean NOT on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." In the end, none of this chaos compares to God's glory and love for us as long as you submit to him, he will fix it all in the end. So, I challenge you next time you see something negative on twitter; tweet something positive. Next time you see an angry post on Facebook; remind everyone that God's love is greater than our anger or doubt. Media and social media are not the answers to your understandings about creation and the world- God is!
With love,
Hollie Adams
Yes, I know what you're thinking. Bad things are still happening. How about instead of going on social media to see those things, you go out and do a kind act to substitute for all the evil going on in the world. As children of God, we are called to love on everyone in everything that we do, even if we don't agree with someone else's opinion. I know as a millennial, that we are constantly being looked down on when it comes to social media, being on our phones, and being closed minded. So, why don't we prove the rest of the world wrong? I know I struggle with going on my phone and looking at social media and being angry and upset at someone for their opinions. However, why not instead we agree to disagree? I told one of my friends today that I am so sad for our generation, because they don't get to see how big our world and our God is, because it's constantly being portrayed by social media and the media in general in such a negative light. God called us to be vessels and lights to the non believers and to glorify him in our actions outside the church, because it honors him. So next time you see something that you don't agree with, just move on, go out and change the world, because that's what God expects of us. We can't go out and fix racism, or hatred, or anything else all in one day, but we can go out and be those vessels God has called us to be so we can start to be that change in the world.
In conclusion, I know sometimes looking at these posts can make you upset or angry, but next time you see one just think of what God has done for us. He saved each and everyone of us by dying for our sins, and there is nothing that could be going on in the world that could be bigger than that of Our God!! Go into the world with "blind faith" and know without seeing that not everything going on is as evil as our social media and media is putting out there. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 3:5-6 and it says this "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean NOT on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." In the end, none of this chaos compares to God's glory and love for us as long as you submit to him, he will fix it all in the end. So, I challenge you next time you see something negative on twitter; tweet something positive. Next time you see an angry post on Facebook; remind everyone that God's love is greater than our anger or doubt. Media and social media are not the answers to your understandings about creation and the world- God is!
With love,
Hollie Adams
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