WORDS OF LIFE

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Words give life

So as you know, I had a super fun time being at Spark last weekend. On Saturday I had the privilege of doing the girls hub. Speaking to young girls is probably one of my favourite things to do!! A couple weeks back I was all set on speaking about dreams, how when you live your dreams, you find yourself living fully alive. But early last week I felt a tug in my heart to go in a different direction...I felt led to speak on body image and the power of speaking words of life over ourselves and others.

I shared last August about my struggle with self loathing/body image and I'm sooooooo excited to tell you that Jesus has set me COMPLETELY free of it all....for reals...completely free. I walked with that stuff since I was 11 years old...ELEVEN YEARS OLD....aka 17 years!!! I thought that it would be something I would struggle with my whole life and I was okay with that. But praise God, for he desires us to walk and live in FREEDOM. 

A huge part of seeing victory in this area was me continually speaking words of life over myself instead of shaming myself with negativity.

Words kill, words give life;
    they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.

-Proverbs 18:21 MSG

There is power in our words, and I really tried to drill it in that speaking words of life (God's truth) over ourselves has massive benefits to our well being!! 

At the end of my talk to the girls, I had them visualize themselves in front of a mirror and be honest in what they see. I then had them visualize God push away the mirror, put his hands on their shoulders, look into their eyes and start speaking his truth over them. I then showed the video below (thank you Shawna for directing me to this incredible video!!!)

AMEN AMEN AMEN!

Let's be people who speak words of life over ourselves and others!

xo,

s.s.♥.

ON CALLING AND PURPOSE AND MY EX-OBSESSION WITH C.S.I.

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I remember at a young age I wanted to grow up and be a mermaid. Shortly after I realized that dream probably wasn't going to happen, I changed my aspiration to being a lawyer. Yes, when I was seven years old, I dreamed of being a LAWYER. In high school it changed to coroner and then to forensic investigator (I blame my obsession with C.S.I...I was absolutely obsessed with C.S.I. in high school....like OBSESSED. Grissom was the bomb. I never got into C.S.I Miami though. And FYI I haven't seen an episode of C.S.I. since high school...Are they even making it still? Ok...enough with C.S.I.) After high school when I became a Christian, it changed to pastor. 

Tonight at my small group, we spent some time talking about calling and purpose. 10 years ago I learned about a concept that really helped shape my view on my "calling". The teacher at the night leadership course I was going to at the time, had us trace a picture of our hand. She then had us start filling in our hand with areas of responsibilities that we had in our life- people we were in relationship with, jobs, family, area of serving at church, etc. I found out that those areas were my current "calling". My mind was blown.

Now don't get me wrong, I believe that all of us have are given purpose and calling. It burns in your heart. It may seem massive, it may seem small, it may seem out of reach, it may seem like what you're doing now is the furthest thing from that. But sometimes we can get so consumed with what's in our heart that we forget what's in our hand.

There's a story in the Bible about a guy named Moses. Some of you know this story well, but some of you may not know about this guy. Basically God called Moses to do something very big. He called Moses to go to the Pharaoh and bring God's enslaved children out of Egypt. It was a very big deal. Moses was obviously freaked and kept questioning God about this calling. And in Exodus 4 God asked Moses, "What is that in your hand?" Moses was holding a staff and God told him to throw it on the ground. The staff miraculously became a serpent. When Moses picked it up it became a staff again. That staff, that was in Moses' hand, became a tool that led Moses to his calling.

You are not in your current arena of life to just chill until your calling magically appears in your lap. You have a purpose. You have a calling. But right now you are called to something, called to someone. You have been given responsibility. It may seem small, it may seem dismal but who knows, perhaps it's going to be a tool that will lead you to your calling? Or who knows, maybe as you're faithful to what is placed in your hand, that calling in your heart may change?

What I do know is that God blesses obedience. He sees your faithfulness and your perseverance. And He also sees and knows your heart better than anyone else.

 

"If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones."

-Luke 16:10

"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin..." -Zechariah 4:10

 

I'd love to hear from you! Is there something burning in your heart that you feel is your purpose or calling? What's currently in your hand? Has your calling changed as you've walked through different seasons of life?

s.s.♥︎.

SUNDAY STILL // 6

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Lately it seems that a lot of people I know are facing battles. Real heavy, real messy battles. Heart shattering type of battles. I'm amazed at the courage I've seen. Already I've seen so many victories but I'm believing for more.

Yesterday, as I was praying for victory in different battles, I found myself singing a tag our worship pastor wrote...

The battle is the Lord's and He has already won it. 

Christ defeated death on the cross. We have ultimate victory through Him. Death holds no power.

“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

- 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 ESV

If you are facing a battle right now, my hope is that you would find strength through Christ. He knows what you're facing. If there is anyway I can pray for you, please let me know.

xo,

s.s.♥︎.