The Fruit of the Spirit is: JOY

GALATIANS 5:22-23

…The Fruit of the Spirit is JOY…

　

A few months ago. I was cleaning out my room, getting rid of unnecessary things, and I came across an old journal. I opened it up and it was full of journal entries about my hearts desires and prayers. I sat there and as I read it, tears started to flow down my cheeks. During the time before I found this journal, I was going through a dry season in my life. I was “spending time” with the Lord. Reading my bible, I was praying, not as much as I should have been. I was doing it just to say I did it. So anyways, I got this journal when I first came to the Lord. And I filled it with what Jesus was showing me, how much time I was spending with my Savior, my prayers. All this stuff. And the reason I began to cry was because I had a reality check. I wasn’t where I used to be. I was starting to back slide. I was making my Bible time a routine. I was reading, but not comprehending. Applying. I was praying words. But not feelings.

This journal broke my heart. When it should have made me happy. I put it down and I didn’t know what happen. I went to the Lord and I said ‘Jesus, what am I putting before You? Why don’t I have this joy I used to have?’

The Lord made it clear to me what the problem was. I was pressing into my selfish desires and be lazy rather than pressing into Him and resting in His presence.

When you start putting things above Jesus and dwell on your selfish desires, do you often start to feel miserable and unhappy? I know I do. But, if you look back to that moment when you let the Lord into your heart, He was working in your life, you were praising Him on the mountain top. Are you still there? Or did you fall when the storm came? See the problem for me was when I trial came I would endure it. Mope around waiting for it to be over. I when falling down the mountain with the rain and I would look up and I felt like the top was to far away. I thought the storm was so bad that there was no way it was going to clear up for me to get up there.


Jesus gives us trials and convictions because He notices that you’re putting something before Him. He’s not doing it to ruin your life. He’s doing it to bring you closer to Him. To strengthen you and your heart. With Jesus comes Joy. Not happiness. Joy. There's a difference. When you get the thing you want. You’re happy right? But what happens when that thing disappears? Changes? or breaks? You’re unhappy. Why? Because it wasn’t originated by God. It was created by you. Happiness is just a feeling that comes and goes. But JOY, lasts forever. Because it comes from the one and ONLY true eternal person. Jesus.

So girls, give it to God. Press in to Him. Hide yourself in His presence. And you will be FILLED with the JOY of the Lord.

Love you sisters!

Love in HIM

　

Verses on Joy…

2 Corinthians 2:3 -
3 And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all.

　

Psalm 43:3-4 -

3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!
Let them lead me;
Let them bring me to Your holy hill
And to Your tabernacle.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God.

　

Jude 1:24-25 -
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
25 To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

　

Psalm 32:11 -
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

　



　

The Fruits of the Spirit Series

Well here we go ladies! Our first topical series! I’m so excited to dive into this with you, and grow with you. I will be breaking down each “fruit” and going into depth of what that looks like and means. So we can truly grasp what the meaning is of baring the fruit of the Spirit and growing in them in our daily walk with Jesus! I pray that the Lord would truly bless you and grow you in His own individual way with you! Love you sweet girls! Lets get started!

Galatians 5:22-23

　

The Fruit of the Spirit is love… Now when us gals think of love, what comes to mind? A romance novel? A relationship? Marriage?…Let me ask you another question, where did love actually come from? From our parents because they’ve loved us? Or our siblings? Friends? Grandparents? What I can tell you is that it didn’t come from any of those places. It wasn’t created by Nicolas Sparks, or our parents. So where did this come from? Well, It came from our Father in Heaven. He is love.

Now, you’re probably thinking well, what does love look like? And again I’m sure one of the Nicolas Sparks novels comes to mind. Showing acts of kindness, and giving. But have you ever thought that there's more then that? That love is more than a feeling. Love goes much deeper. There's only one example I can give you of love. It starts with Jesus and the cross. God loves us so much He did more then that boy did on valentines day when he gave you flowers and chocolate. God gave His ONLY Son. For YOU. Jesus did more then the boy who stepped away quietly from his friends to go talk to you. He walked publicly. The road to Calvary, carrying the heavy cross. Our weight of sin. Jesus did more then the boy who took you to the movies because he liked you a little bit. He died. Because He wanted to spend an eternity with you. That boy said I love you over a text. Jesus thought of you every nail that went through His body and said I LOVE YOU by giving Himself a living sacrifice. So are you starting to see where love came from and what it really looks like? We only love because HE first loved us. When we are growing with our Lord and Savior. We will love like Him. Have a heart of love and compassion like Him. No, we aren’t going to love at all times its going to be hard. But with the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and growing us. It will become easier. Our only desire will be to love.

　

So sisters. Are you loving today? Are you loving the Lord will all your heart, body, mind, and soul? Are you loving those around you? Are you showing that love towards your neighbors? We have so many false witnesses of love around us, in this world. And our society has made it out to be something its not. By playing with our minds. And our precious hearts. When we look to the worlds idea of love we are gonna be hurt and disappointed and unsatisfied. But when we look to the face of God for love. We will see something so satisfying, so beautiful, and so unbelievable! So today. Ladies I challenge you with this. Love like Jesus does. Have the loving and compassionate heart towards your family, friends, and others. And I didn’t mean to bash on the dudes. There are a lot of guys out there girls. That think they know what love is. But if they’re not a Christian, all they know is worlds idea of love. I promise you that God fearing man will come along and show you the love of Christ. When the time is right. They are still out there and God is preparing him now. But ladies while we are waiting. Are you loving? Are you growing in love?

Love goes deeper than words and movies. Its takes actions and sacrifice.

Hope I didn’t come across as harsh. I just wanted you to see the true love that’s been made for us. They love waiting for us. The love we need to really be living out…The Love of CHRIST.

LOVE in HIM

　

Here‘s what God‘s Word says about love….

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

1 John 4:19 - We love Him because He first loved us.

John 13:34-35 - A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

　

Romans 13:8 - Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

　

Ephesians 4:1-3 - I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

　

1 John 4:10-12 - 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

　

Matthew 5:43-48 - 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

　

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 - Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

New Things Happening!

Hi sweet sisters! So quick update! I'm going to be making a few changes to the blogs look. Give it a bit of a face lift! ha ha! AND I'm going to be praying through a few topics and some topical studies. See where the Lord wants to take this blog and His personal individual relationships with each and every one of His daughters! I'll have one of the new topics up Monday! Love you girls!

Love in HIM!

Under Attack

 

 So this week, I’ve had some serious spiritual warfare happening. The enemy has found all my weak buttons and just started pushing them all. I’ve been really emotional. I’ve literally cried over everything. I’ve felt really fragile and sad. Almost to the point of being depressed. Discouraged. I felt like it was me standing against an army of thousands.

I went to a really good friend of mine for some prayer and encouragement. They gave me just that. Reminding me that my God is bigger then anything I may face. He is in control and no matter the how long or big the storm may be. God is still God.
They also reminded me of the story of Job. How Satan threw so much at him. He had everything stripped away from him. But the difference between Job and I, and our experiences was that Job stayed faithful to the Lord. Obeying His upward call. PRAISING Him. And me? Well I was dwelling upon myself and my emotions. Asking God why so much was going on. I finally just said Lord, I can’t do this by myself. I need you to be the Rock I lean upon. My strong tower. I am weak. But in You I am strong. And sure enough He came in with loving arms and grasped hold of my hand. Ready to walk hand and hand with me through this journey.
I know that My God is the God of angel armies and He always right by my side.



Sisters, are you under the attack of the enemy in this season of life right now? Whether its finals, or siblings, an emotional state in your life of sadness, depression, stuff going on at home, friends. Whatever it is. I want to encourage you to press into your Savior. We have large targets on our backs. Are we letting the devil get a bulls eye or are we moving and walking strong with the Lord to where he just barely touches us. I know its hard. Its not an easy journey. But let me tell you something. Its going to be worth it. When we are singing with our brothers and sisters in the Lord, worshiping our Savior. Where there is no more tears, no more pain and heartache. Just Joy, and an eternity of love with our Beloved Father. Hold strong little one. The storm will pass and the Joy of the Lord will be bursting through the clouds. Let him bring you comfort. Let Him be the Rock you lean upon. Don’t dwell on the temporary things happening. Dwell in the presence of the Lord. He knows your tomorrow. He knows your strong! He LOVES you.

Love you sisters!

Love in HIM!

　

Here are some verses of encouragement.

1 Corinthians 4:10


We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!

Isaiah 40:29


He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.

2 Corinthians 13:4


For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.

Job 42:2


“I know that You can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours

..Looking to Jesus..

 

Freshman year -- I remember it like it was yesterday. I was the new girl in youth group, small freshie! Looked at all the Juniors and Seniors in terror. I was uncomfortable. It was new and something I wasn’t used to. I didn’t make any friends right away. I had lost my best friend that summer before in a big fight. I felt alone. Hurt. Like no one cared. I had been saved for about 6 months by time I was a freshmen. So I was fairly new to the whole “Jesus” thing. I wouldn’t say I was walking with Him. I was just learning. Not really taking the time to get to know Him. I had a lot of anxiety for the coming year. High school work is more stressful. College to worry about. I was overwhelmed. Afraid.

Now as I look back on all this I experienced. It often reminds me of the story in Matthew, chapter 14. When Jesus had just finished feeding the 5,000. He made His disciples get into a boat and go to the other side across the sea. And by the evening there was a bad storm. The boat was in the middle of the sea just being tossed and thrown by the waves and wind. But then, we see in the scripture, Jesus, went to them walking on water! How crazy is that? The disciples had no idea what they were seeing, they were scared! So they cried out in fear.

So just like them, I was in the middle of a storm. Being tossed and thrown by all my doubt and fear. When I saw Jesus from a distance. I didn’t know what He looked like. Because I didn’t know Him. My fear and worry was making me unable to see.

So now we look further into scripture. He gets closer to them. And we see Jesus say to the disciples “Be of good cheer! It is I: do not be afraid.” And so Peter saw Him. Walking on water. Peter answered Jesus and said, “Lord if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So Jesus spoke, and said come. And I just love this part of scripture!! Peter came out of the boat. He walked on water to go to Jesus. The only way he was able to walk was because his eyes were on Jesus. But now, Peter took his eyes OFF Jesus and He saw that the sea was being thrown and tore by the wind. He looked around. He became afraid again. He began to sink and he cried out. “Lord, Save me!” And so immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Him, and He says “O you of little faith. Why did you doubt?”

We often let doubt and fear fill our head. Because we look around to this world. Where nothing is clear. You have so many people telling you how to do this. How to live this way. What college you have to go to in order to be successful. How to dress. How to act. All this nonsense. And we begin to sink. Like Peter did. Why? Because we let the fear get in the way. We let doubt get in the way. We slowly start to become blind. Our vision of Jesus begins to blur. And we start to see the things around Jesus. I was looking at everything around Jesus. I was caught in the storm. But one day I finally let out a huge cry and said, Jesus. Save me. And He did exactly that. He reached out His Hand, and took me out of the storm. Freed me from drowning in my self doubt and fear. I saw JESUS. And as it says in verse 33

-- Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You ARE the Son of God.” I praised my Jesus. I had Joy. I had joy knowing He loved me. And cared about me. Wanted to guide me. Give me clarity. Direction. And strength! He is all powerful!

So sisters, are you in the same boat I was in? unsure? Worried? Scared? Doubtful? Afraid? Lonely? In a ranging storm in the middle of the world, looking around. How are you getting through it? Trying to conform to what the world wants to make you? Getting tossed around by gossip. Thrown around by society. Where all you're finding is confusion and misunderstandings. Or are you looking to the One who’s reaching out His hand, waiting for you to take hold, and say, Jesus. Save me!

Ladies, clear your vision. Grab hold of His strong and mighty hand. And let Him take you through this journey. Where He will bring understanding. Guidance. Love. Strength. And Happiness. He wants you. He wants to become your life. Not just part of it! Let him walk into your heart. Run to Him. He has open arms! He wants to rescue you. He wants to relentlessly pursue you. WORK in you. Are you ready to let him? Is your heart open? And willing? He will satisfy every need. And make your path straight.

　

Here is some scripture that got me through..

　

Matthew 6:25-34 -
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.


　

　

Isaiah 41:10



10 Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

　

　

Matthew 14:22-33



22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

　

　

Psalm 62:5-8



5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.

8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.

　

Proverbs 3:5



5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;

　

Love you Girls!

Love in HIM!

　

　 
　

Temptations - How Are We Handling Them?

Hey ladies! So, I know its not Tuesday or Saturday, but I wanted to share with you something that the Lord showed me this morning. I was having my quiet time with the Lord, and the Lord pressed some Scripture upon my heart in the book of Daniel, specifically in chapter 6. I read the whole chapter. But verse 10 is what stuck out to me the most.

            Daniel 6:10 - Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

Before this Daniel had the option of falling into the temptation of putting King Darius before his God. (Verses 6-8 - ⁶ So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.) So what did Daniel do. He went home and pressed into the Lord. He obeyed his Father. He fell to his knees praying and giving thanks! How in the world did he do that? How did he honor God on such a day? Its because he had honored the Lord with his whole life before that. He was everyday, consistently walking with Jesus. Keeping his eyes fixed on the Beloved. He stayed close enough to the Lord that nothing caught him off guard. He knew that whatever touched his life had to first be filtered through the fingers of the living God. He wasn't living off a sermon he heard a week ago. His spiritual life wasn't just based off of going to church on Sundays and Wednesdays. It went BEYOND that. He had a relationship with Him. A daily walk. A friendship. So sisters, how are you handling temptations in your day to day life? Are you putting something above your Savior? Are making something an idol in your life?  Is it a friend? a boyfriend? your cell phone? your appearance? Whatever it may be. If its the first thing you think about in the morning or the last thing you think about before you go to bed, its an idol. Ladies, we need to handle temptations and idols, like Daniel. On our knees, and our eyes in scripture. Living everyday for our Father. With the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and the strength of the Lord, we will be able to stand stronger against the Satan. Enrich yourselves in the Lord! Have a personal encounter with your Savior. Walk with Him. You will be strong and blessed beyond your days!

 

Love you sweet sisters!!

Love in HIM!<3

A Need for HIM - Finding Jesus

Why am I here? How do I beat this feeling of loneliness? Why do I feel like I’m being judged by the people around me? What makes my life so hard? Why don’t I have what they have? Where is my special someone?

Do these questions seem all to familiar?..

In such moments, you feel something is missing, like something is wrong in your world. At times you feel you haven’t found this something. Maybe you’ve tried filling the hole with a love relationship, or in a group of friends. And you’re thinking okay, I “fixed” that hole. That empty feeling. Its gone. But, what happens when the “love of your life” breaks your heart a week later because he found something else in a new girl. Or in that group of friends who start talking about you behind your back. What happened there? You’re back to where you started. Feeling empty, lonely, and miserable. Why? Because you tried patching up those hole with temporary things. And not filling them with the eternal LOVE of Christ. Every friendship or relationship, even the good ones. At some point, leaves you with that hole in your heart. So, what do you do after this happens? Most of us keep trying again, don’t we? Admit it, we try to do everything we can to patch up those holes. We think okay, this boy is different, he does more then say he’s a Christian, he actually GOES to church…On Easter and Christmas. Or this group of friends don’t gossip as much, but they might cuss a little. At least I don’t have to worry about them talking about me and others, right? And so on. We get into this cycle of trying to fit in and feel good about our selves. We are constantly looking to the things and the people around us to satisfy us. Why do we do this?

　

Because, we can’t let go. We don’t have that heart of surrender. We don’t want to let God take control. We think we might miss out on something. That boy, or that group of friends. We get caught up in the motions. Let me ask you something here… in all honesty, how often do you say these things to your self?


I try to live a good life.
I’m a good person.
I obey the ten commandments.
I haven’t done this with this guy.
I don’t talk really bad about people.

You’re saying to yourself, I’m a good person, I don’t do EVERYTHING everyone is doing, I go to church. Why do I still feel this void?

Well, I’m here to tell you sweet sister. Stop patching up the holes, start FILLING them. Let go. Have a heart of surrender to the Lord. Let Him move in your life. Make change. Open up your heart to Him. I’m here to tell you there is a God who wants to pursue you. Love you. Cherish you. Make you feel special. Tell you you’re beautiful. He’s there and wants to listen to you. You can find REST and JOY in His presence. But now, you’re probable asking, how do I find rest and joy in this crazy world full of temptation? Well it starts by asking Jesus to burn and take away those desires of a relationship and feelings of acceptance. Diving into the Word of God. Seeking His face. Start your heavenly romance with your Savior. And soon your desires will change and you’ll start to look at things the way Jesus looks at them. You’re heart will change. You’ll start becoming more like Christ. You’ll have more Joy and less unhappiness. You’ll find more rest and peace rather than discomfort and worry. So you see where I’m going with this? You NEED Jesus. You need Him in ever way, shape and form of your life. Not just in those times of sadness but EVERYDAY. Even the good days. And you’ll be more and more satisfied everyday.

So go, get ahead start! Pick up the Word of God and Dive right in. You’ll be amazed at how He begins to move.

Love you sweet sisters.

Love in HIM!

　

Here are a few key verses that have helped me and may help you also..
Matthew 11:29 - Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.- Jesus

Isaiah 44:22 - “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

Psalm 63:3-5 - Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

Welcome!!

   Welcome to "A Young Woman Walking with Christ." I have created this blog for my sweet sisters in the Lord. This blog is for you to come to when in need of encouragement, prayer, love and support and so much more. I know I'm always looking for a good blog to go to (other then the Bible and my Jesus) for encouragement. On this blog I will be covering all sorts of topics just for you. You can even shoot me some requests in the comment box if you'd like to read on a certain topic. I'll be covering things like, purity, brokenness, daily devotions, Waiting on the Lord, Faithfulness, and more! My prayer and hope for this blog is to bring encouragement and for you as a daughter of the King to grow and know your Jesus. Or if you're a new believer to help you get started. Or if you're not even a believer,  to give you an idea of what and who Jesus is and His love toward us and purpose for us as young woman. I will have a new post up every Tuesday and Saturday.

Well I hope you are just as excited as I am! I'm looking forward to growing closer to Jesus with you in this journey!
Love in Him!