Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

His Time Is Not My Time

So I know I talk about Ecclesiastes 3:11 a lot on this blog. This partly may be because its name is derived from that verse! And also because this verse is my life verse. I have found myself repeating it to myself so many times when I'm at the end of my rope, or can no longer see what God is doing in my life or where He's leading me (which, if I'm honest, is often. God is always a million steps ahead of me). This past semester I've found myself clinging to the promise He makes in this verse even more so, especially because I no longer have any idea where I'm going or what I'm doing with my life next. It took awhile for this to sink in, but I've finally realized that the Lord can make the promise that all things will be made beautiful in time because He is outside of our time! It was a total head-knowledge-becomes-heart-knowledge moment for me. God is outside of our time. And even more than that, He is not a linear God. I've noticed that our society attempts to define time in a linear sense. We believe that once a lesson is learned, a season is completed, a goal accomplished, it is finished. In actuality, God is a circular God. Just a glance around at His creation shows that. The seasons continue on and on. Plants die and come back to life only to die again. The sun and moon circle around the earth. In my own life, I've noticed that my walk with the Lord does not continue on in a straight line, but rather I go deeper and deeper in Him. I've found myself several times asking God why I'm being brought right back to certain lessons that I thought I had already learned. Over and over, I keep hearing "I am a circular God. My time is not your time, yet I make everything beautiful in its time." I'm being brought to a place where I get to lean on the Lord and claim His promises and know that they are made new every day. His time is not my time, and the more I look back over my life, the more I thank Him that He is in complete control and that He does indeed make everything beautiful in His time.

"It's Always Like Springtime With You"

Today is officially the first day of Spring! I love this season. I love the beauty of new life and all the possibilities that Spring brings. And I love how God always brings Spring after a long Winter season in my life. I'm beginning to enter a Spring season with Him and it's been a beautiful time of renewal and restoration. He's been making everything new in my life and I love that He's doing it at this time of the year. One song that's been speaking to me a lot is "This Is What You Do" by Bethel Music, so I'm including it here. The Lord is found in dying to myself and sacrificing my dreams for His. But He's also found in restoration and new life, and that's something I'm celebrating this Spring.

Why I Gave Up Makeup For Lent

I approached this current Lent season not entirely sure if I was called to give up anything. Usually I use Lent to kick whatever "addictions" I might be struggling with (in the past, I've given up soda and Facebook). But this year, I didn't really feel like I had anything that needed to be given up, until I had an in-depth conversation with several friends back in February. We were going around in a circle, affirming each other and calling out areas that we thought each other could improve in (I have THE best friends ever). One of my friends asked me if I had ever surrendered my beauty to the Lord. To be quite honest, I didn't even know what that meant! So I took some time with God alone and asked Him what it meant to surrender my beauty. I wanted a tangible way to do this, because it seemed like such a vague concept! The only thing that He brought to mind was giving up makeup for Lent. This was a really hard decision to make because my skin has not been the best recently, and choosing to not wear makeup in public felt incredibly vulnerable. But I've been so supported by all my friends and they've been so faithful in texting me verses of truth and encouragement and by always telling me how beautiful I look. Among the many verses that I've received are a few of my favorites: 1 Peter 3:3-4, "Do not let your adornment be merely outward-arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty fo a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God", Psalm 34:5, "They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed", Song of Songs 4:7, "You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you", and Romans 8:6, "For to set your mind on the flesh is death, but to set your mind on the Spirit is life and peace". There have definitely been days where I've looked in the mirror and wanted nothing more than to just cover it all up with makeup. But every time that urge comes, I get to turn to the Lord and ask Him what He thinks about me... and He never disappoints me! He's covered my vulnerability so many times, I can't help but trust Him! So this Lent has definitely been the most vulnerable season yet, but I've been learning to trust God more and more and lean on His faithfulness in a new way.

Here I am in all my natural glory!