Words...

"Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up." ~ Proverbs 12:25


"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11


"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." ~ Hebrews 3:13


I don't know why, but lately words have become more vibrant to me, more alive.  Not just the things I hear, but the things I say... especially the things I say.  Maybe it's my job, but I'm more inclined to say it has more to do with the tug God has on my heart.  Words of encouragement has always and probably always will be my number one love language.  Wanna know the way to this girl's heart, well then encourage her!  But like I said, more than the words I hear lately, the things that I hear more vividly, more clearly are those things I say.  My heart breaks sometimes when I hear some of the things I say, the things I say out of my flesh and not out of the Holy Spirit.  Do I trust God enough to speak through me?  Sometimes, but a lot of times I don't... or at least I haven't.  Someone close to my heart was the first to really point this out to me, and not just let it slide as my "personality" as I've always claimed.  I thank God that person was a part of my life, even for a short while.  No one had ever referred to me as edgy or sharp before, but then this person came along and opened my eyes to see a whole other part of myself.  Maybe that was the only purpose for this person in my life.

Don't get me wrong, there is a time and a place for playful words, but I needed to start looking at my heart and checking how much of the words coming from my mouth were playful or harmful versus helpful, encouraging, uplifting.  My heart breaks when I hear others cut me down, even if just in fun.  I do not want to be that person who is hard hearted or unloving.  I also don't want to be that person who is constantly trying too hard to get others to like them or please them.  I want to be exactly who God intended me to be and being an example of His love.  I foresee this being a life long lesson for me, but my hope is that others will start to see a change in me.  A sudden softness that glows and exudes the life of Christ.  I pray that His Word would come alive in my heart so that I can come alive to others.

And the Greatest of These is Love: A Berlin Story

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV)

"But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13 MSG)

I have just spent the last week in a country I had no idea I would fall in love with, after all, I was only coming for vacation. I planned an adventure to a land unknown (or briefly known based on history classes in school) for the wedding of very dear friends. I had the time of my life that no amount of words in a blog could ever express. But for those of you who only know me by the words that I write, I will try to give the story justice. And please be patient as I write this from my phone and in the delirium of my exhaustion from this wonderful trip.

A lot of love, patience, hope, faith, and trust over the years have gone into what lead me to Berlin, Germany this past week. The wedding in which I attended I have known the bride for 7 years, the groom almost 3. I watched as a love & courtship unfolded internationally over the last 3 years. What a beautiful story in patience, love, trust, and grace. Not just towards one another, but with the Lord as well.

I spent the last week not only helping the bride & groom prepare for their ceremony & party, but learning a whole new level of trust in the Lord. How to love others better, to laugh more, and to fully be the person He had called & created me to be. It was quite sweet and surreal as I laid my head down to sleep on my last night in Germany. In that moment I realized that I had spent a whole week just being me. No charade, no trying too hard to impress others, but truly finding comfort in who I am. I pray this is a forever change. I by no means have arrived, but in my pursuit of contentment in whatever season I am in, I am getting closer. Praise the Lord...oh my soul!