by Live Original | Feb 2, 2019 | Life Advice, Sisterhood |
Welcome to a new season of Live Original blog! I’m super pumped for you to hear the hearts of many of my good friends and family members. We get it! Life is full of highs and lows but with friends to help us plow through the bad and celebrate the good, we can do it! Each guest blogger is here for you, ready and willing to share their story and the lessons they learned from walking through it. No matter where you are from, what you believe, or what your story is – we are writing to encourage YOU! Of course, we want to hear from you too. Be sure to comment and let us know how a blog affected you. Well, that’s it. Be on the lookout for a new blog three times a week.
Xo – your sister and friend, sadie rob
by Sadie Robertson Huff | May 21, 2018 | Sisterhood, Testimonies |
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]I want to share advice I would give my sister and friends from lessons I learned over the past few years… some the hard way 🙂
As a sister, let me save you some time and emotion.
When it comes to your confidence… you need to realize that there is nothing you could have now, nor will have that will make you a more confident person then who you are now. Your confidence is only a choice to believe in the originality of who God formed you to be when He knit you together in your mother’s womb. Hear me again… your confidence is a choice. Chose to be confident in who you are right now, in where you are right now, and most importantly in who God is now and forever. He will always remind you of who you are. Do not look to the left or right at your sisters and compare. God did not compare them to you when He created you, so your comparison will only bring forth things that are not of Him. Comparison is a tactic of the enemy. It attempts to steal your confidence, bring about jealously and insecurity. Remember you are strong. I believe that what God put in you is exactly what the world needs for such a time as this. His perfect love for you will eliminate any fear in sending you out in the world. Rise up to that call.
When things get scary… this is when your confidence in Him is really going to come into play. When things get scary you need to already know who HE is, so that you can be still, lock eyes, and know He has you. You’re definitely going to need a confident trust. Things will happen during your lifetime that will cause fear to want to flare up in you, and it will come in many forms. But my friend take heart; He will always be fighting on your behalf. Remember He sees it all, and HE is in control of it all. He is for you. When you are in a place of fear, everything in you will want to run, but I challenge you to run to it. It will build your confident trust in Him when you see that the very place that fear is, is the same place that fear will be conquered. Be encouraged by what God did for Moses, Joshua, Daniel and shoot, what He has done for me time and time again. When you let God lead, you might find yourself in some rather scary places, but remain steadfast in Him and confident that HE will bring provision and fight on your behalf. It’s in those times that miracles happen and nations change. Our definition of fear is the belief that something is a threat to you and will bring forth harm. Right now, instead of taking belief in fear, take belief in faith and know that no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Nothing is a threat to the mighty hand of God.
When things in life change… even the angels who surround God day and night say, “Holy, holy, holy is He Lord God almighty who was and is and is to come.” When nothing feels constant in your life, He is he only thing that will remain the same. People will come and go, but HE will be forever, and there is not one thing that you could do to change that. He will send those angels on your behalf to encamp themselves around you. Even when you might sometimes feel alone, and the anxiety is tempted to spark up, remember that you are never truly alone. HE will consistently be there.
When you do not know truth from a lie… in the world you will always be faced with choices and temptations. The enemy’s plan is not original. He has done it since the first of us were created… Adam and Eve. The enemy will make you question the original truth. That’s why it is very important you remind yourself of the truth and are aware of the lies, otherwise they will begin to blend and you will find yourself in a place you were never meant to be in. Always remember what the enemy meant for evil God intended for good. Look at some of the things you are insecure about right now… stare them down… yeah that very thing may be just the thing God wants to use for your weapon of strength. Just shift your lens. Choose to no longer look at those things in your life as the problem, but look at them as the potential of something God wants to make good. You have to know scripture and know God to see that. Start reading it, so that you can start speaking it.
When you do not know where to go next… let His peace lead you. There will be moments that you will have to trust, and know that God’s peace will always meet you at every destination. His love knows no end. God will provide at every season the things you need, and He will match the pure desires of your heart. Be open-minded. What you think you need may not be best for where HE has you going, and what He will give will be what sets you a part for the purpose He has been waiting to reveal in you.
When love has hurt you … I want to tell you to not give up on love. I am sorry if you have heard the world throw out the word love, and it has hurt you and made you afraid of being known and afraid of stepping into relationships, but I want you to know God is the Redeemer. He is the creator, and He is the very essence of what Love is. When you experience the love that He created, you will experience freedom, you will fully be yourself, fully be known, and fear will be far away. Perfect love is only found with God our Father on this side of heaven. We are flawed; sometimes we hurt one another, and we have to ask for forgiveness, but be encouraged that love is real and those who know God know love. We can be made more perfect in His love. I love looking in the Bible at how Jacob pursued Rachel. Wait for that. You deserve someone who will wait for you, who will pursue you. Also, in a dating relationship don’t spend time fighting over the things that “MIGHT” happen in the future because looking back I believe that is just a tactic that the enemy will use to steal your present time. I regret the years of arguing over the future that never even came to be. The truth is you don’t know the future, and God’s word tells us not to worry about tomorrow that it will take care of itself. Be in the present, experience God’s perfect love and don’t give up on loving His people.
When it comes to beauty… you look in the mirror and do not feel beautiful do you? The reason you have not recognized beauty when you go to the mirror every day is because beauty was not what you have been looking for… that is why you have been missing it. You were looking for an image the world gave you, and you limited the definition of beauty to the standard the world gave you. The trick to the world’s definition of beauty is an unrealistic standard set to compare and compete, and we always need more or less of something to obtain the standard. It will send you on a journey to obtain this, but you will never really reach it because there actually is not a realistic image to reach. The trends will always keep you feeling like you’ve just missed. If you hold to tightly to the standards of the world for beauty you will never feel beautiful. It’s designed to always make you feel not quite there because it’s not real, and it wasn’t God’s design. When God created you, He created a work of art… not meant to be compared to any other form of creation. The image of beauty you were designed to reach is right in front of you. He created a new. original design for the world to get the joy of seeing. Go look around and you will not find one other piece of creation that looks exactly like you. Right where you are you will find all the beauty in the world and understanding this, you will find long lasting contentment. I hope you are reminded of what beauty is. You are beautiful because you were created in the image of God. There is no one else like you. Who you were made to be is more than enough than for what this world needs and I hope my dog love wet puppy food. You were born lacking no good thing, so never feel the urge to strive
Now, sisters and friends I want you to do something… go look in the mirror… take off the lens you have had on of insecurity, jealously, comparison, negativity, and self hatred… and stare at yourself. You are all together beautiful, my darling. Wow, He takes such great delight in you. Look at the color of your eyes, look at the strands of your hair, and look at the unique shapes and features. He made you and you are exactly how HE intended you to be. He created those details in your mother’s womb, details no other person on the earth has so He could reveal a new image of beauty and another side of Him. On this day for the rest of your life, choose to turn your eyes away from the ideal standard of what is supposed to make you confident, and choose to fix your eyes on the one who gave you the look He did to carry out with confidence.
Do you remember what beauty was to you before the world showed you what it says it’s supposed to be? Regain your confidence in that, because the truth is the world needs more of that and that’s why He made you as you are. You are lovely, desirable, chosen, called, purposed, a child, and deeply loved with great intention.
One last note, I want to send you off this summer with this: good times and bad times will pass, so really be intentional with your time. There is no time to waste. Don’t wait till your older and don’t wish you were younger. You are who you are and you are where you are so thrive in it, babe.
Oh and one more thing… something I have come to realize with God … If He can stop the waves of the ocean with just once touch then He can stop the waves of my emotion with just one touch and He has time and time again. When you feel overwhelmed just reach to Him.
I love ya girl – I get you girl – I’m with you girl
xo Sadie Rob[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
by Juli Wilson | May 14, 2018 | Life Advice, Sisterhood
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“Mama, I just want to fly. I am GOING TO fly!”
These are the words of my three-year-old, as he jumped off of our ottoman towards me, where I was sitting on the couch about 4 feet away. He jumped without hesitation, without fear. He just knew his mama would catch him. He didn’t have a care in the world, he just knew he wanted to fly. So, he did. He flew.
So many times throughout my life, I have wanted to fly—to boldly chase after the dreams God placed in my heart, without restraints. As I’d start take off, I’d come to a sudden holt. A quick stop right before pursing my calling. “What if I fall?” I often wondered. “What if I’m not fast enough, good enough, talented enough, equipped enough? What if I say the wrong thing? What if other people make fun of me, what if they don’t understand?” As these words fogged my mind, I began to feel my feet slide through the dirt beneath me, almost swallowing them up like quick sand.
And isn’t that exactly where the enemy wants us? Stuck in the same place—defeated, scared, lonely, and ultimately, questioning whether or not God will carry us through. So, there I stood—with the glimmer of glory ahead of me, while my feet were stuck in the miry clay. How do we get to the other side of fear? How do we slip out of the quick sand, how do we learn to fly?
My friend, I am so glad you asked! There is only one way to fight against fear, and that is with faith. My son, Finch, didn’t think once about what would happen if I didn’t catch him. That wasn’t even a thought in his mind. Of course I would catch him, I always have. He has faith in his mama, because he knows I have always been there for him, he never wonders if I always will be.
And how much more can we trust our heavenly father! Has he ever failed you? I can answer that for you—no, he hasn’t, and no, he never will. It’s not in his nature, it’s not who he is. He will always come through to do what is best for us. He will always catch you. You just have to jump.
So, let’s do it. Let’s fly together. Let’s do what the world says is impossible—because with God, there’s no such thing. When the enemy says you’ll never move forward in life, remind him of who is carrying you. You’re no longer stuck in that slimy pit. You have been raised up, seated next to the father. He’s the one guiding your steps, don’t let the enemy keep you from walking in the way God has called you. You weren’t created for quick sand, to stay in one place forever.
You, my sweet brothers and sisters, you were created to fly. Take the leap. God’s got your back.
“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Psalm 40:2
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by Emma Jenkins | Apr 26, 2018 | Life Advice, Sisterhood, Testimonies |
Seeking my first love, I rise in the morning and God embraces me in His grace that is sufficient. As the soles of my feet hit the floor, I go to the foot of my bed and spend time with Jesus. I delight in His Word that is breathed by Him. He reminds me of Who He is and who I am in Him. I dwell in light and armor up in truth, for I also know that without question, the moment I rise, flaming arrows of deceit and attacks of darkness are coming.
My phone lights up with notifications and as many of us do, I get so excited to go and see what I am being notified about. Picking up my phone and going to social media, I don’t encounter the notifications that anyone would be hoping or expecting to see. I post pictures and videos about Jesus and how beautiful He is, and how He changed my life and how much He loves His people so unconditionally and recklessly. The videos that I post are filled with God’s truth and encouragement, and songs and joy.
Then there are the comments, though. The comments say that my singing makes ears bleed. The comments say that my eyebrows look like caterpillars and that my nose is too big. The comments. They ring loud and clear that I am brainwashed and that my faith is a fairytale. The perverted and disrespectful words sting and hurt. The comments say that I am crazy odd, and that I need to tone it down a little and that I love Jesus too much. People are tagging other people for simply the gratification of laughing at me together. I have been called an “annoying religious Disney princess”, “cringy”, and words so filled with hatred, that I didn’t even know those words existed until I had been called them.
The comments say that I need to be quiet. The comments say I don’t need to live anymore. They mock. They bully. They laugh. They poke. Like stones, they aim and throw a comment here and a comment there to see how they can make me fall. Sometimes, I wonder if the writers of these comments realize that there actually is another person on the other side of the screen. Another heart reading these words that have so much potential to tear apart. I have found myself sometimes looking in the mirror with all of the comments racing through my head, and wow…it would be so effortless to believe them, and sometimes in my human feelings, I momentarily do. Sometimes, even knowing that God is receiving the glory for it, I can’t help but cry because joy doesn’t always look like a smile.
But here’s the reason I keep going: I might get notifications full of these hateful words, but I have already been notified of God’s Word! My phone may have lit up with notifications devaluing my identity, but it came too late because before the beginning of time, my God spoke light into my identity. In the morning when I rose, God notified me with Who He is and who I am in Him already. This morning when I rose, I armored up in truth. Therefore, anything that comes my way that does not align with His Word, I speak truth over it. How is it possible that I can do this even when thousands of notifications come packed with rudeness and wickedness?
BECAUSE I HAVE ALREADY BEEN NOTIFIED AND APPROVED!
When I read the comments that I am not pretty, or my eyebrows look like caterpillars, or my nose is too big, I back it up really quick, and take note of what voice that is coming from.
I remember the comment of my God that declares I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
I am made in His image.
I am “the head and not the tail, I am the top and not the bottom”
I am “all together beautiful, beautiful in every way and “enthralling in the eyes of the Lord.”
I am the apple of God’s eye. I am His masterpiece.
I am clothed in strength and dignity.
I am chosen, holy, and dearly loved.
I am His treasure, called by name and filled with a greater joy.
I remember that I have already received the notification from God that “I don’t have to fear or be dismayed, because He is with me and He is my God, and He will strengthen me and help me and uphold me with His righteous right hand”. I remember that I have already been notified that “I am not here for the approval of people, but of God”. I have already been notified that I am made without shame and because “the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” I am reminded that I am the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
The notification that “the Lord is my Shepherd and I lack no good thing” rings louder. He rejoices over me with louder singing, and quiets the storm of doubt in my heart with His love that never fails. I am squeezed on all sides, but not crushed because His hope is an anchor firm and secure in me. The notifications of the world still come and advance against me, I will even then be confident because my identity is not in the fickleness of society, but the foundation of truth.
If I allow what people say to determine how I act and decide who I am, I will be inconsistent and never become all that God designed me to be. If I fall into believing that I have to have every person like me, thinking that this is what “keeping the peace” means, in actuality I am allowing the enemy to rob the peace within myself.
In 2 Timothy 3:16, it says that “the Word of God is God-breathed, and it has been made profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” In this way, no matter the comment, I am equipped with truth to keep going and remember that I am in the world but not of it. I am equipped with the joy of the Lord that is my strength. I am equipped in the promise that in my weaknesses His strength is made perfect. And I am also equipped to even love the very ones who speak hatred over my life.
Hurt people hurt other people, and people are not my enemy. Those who send comments of discouragement and mockery don’t know how loved they are yet. What an amazing opportunity to love! For anyone can love those who love them back. When I began to see myself the way that God sees me, I couldn’t help but see others the way that He sees others. Jesus had every right and reason to quit on us and to give up on us, and not love us because of how we turn from Him and choose darkness instead of light, but He didn’t. And because Jesus didn’t give up on me when He had every right to, I will not give up on people, especially those who give me every right and reason to. Because Jesus raised me up, I choose to live my life lifting up others with His love that never fails, and truth that sets us free. The world tells us to love those who love us back, but to hate our enemies, but very truly Jesus tells us to love our enemies. To pray for those who persecute us, and to bless those who curse us.
Jesus came to this earth knowing that there would be those whose response would be in hatred, yet He still loved them. Because it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me, I pick up my cross, follow Him and love the world as He so loved regardless of the response. Jesus said that if the world hates you, remember that it hated Him first.
Not only does God’s Word equip me with strength to see myself as He sees, and receive His notification of my identity, but He also gives me the strength to continue speaking His notification and validation over the very ones who notified me with lies. Seeking my first love, I continue to rise in the morning…for there are still hearts that don’t know how loved they are. That in itself empowers my heart to press on. I rejoice being counted worthy to suffer for the Name that commented His approval on my heart before time began. WOW! This makes my heart smile bigger than my face can. I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me, including being the original Emma Mae Jenkins that God made me to be!
I can smile, dance, love and sing, and keep on posting and keep on speaking and keep on writing because I have already been notified.
What comments are you listening to?
by Lindsey Nelson | Dec 4, 2017 | Sisterhood |
When I was 16 years old, I had a black and white birthday party. Not just to be trendy and cool, but to personify the major shift I was going through. When I graduated from high school, I did not go to the big post grad party with all of the same people I had known my whole life, I strategically went to a restaurant with people that I wanted in my future.
When I was 21 years old, my husband threw me a surprise birthday party, in which I cried my eyes out because I wasn’t emotionally prepared for such an event, and I had spent the day planning out my future. When I turned 25, I had a quarter life crisis (Yes, it’s a thing. Google it.) and spent the whole night crying in a pool of snicker wrappers, freaking out that I had not accomplished half the things I had planned on my 21st birthday. You could say…I have a history of not handling change very gracefully. I struggle. Change is a big deal for my sensitive and slightly OCD soul, and I always tend to take it much more seriously than most. But now that I am approaching 30, I’ve learned a thing or two. I have in no way arrived. But change is something that I’ve spent the past 10-15 years in my life, learning how to do incorrectly.
The past 3 years have taught me so much about change. They’ve taught me how to take a step back, gain some HEALTHY perspective and walk it out one step at a time, with Grace. Here is what I have learned, and am still walking out every day.
1. Sometimes, life is just hard.
Now this doesn’t mean that we throw ourselves a week-long pity party and wallow in the struggle. But it does mean that sometimes, it’s just not that deep and you’re going to go through some tough moments. Maybe you’re like me and can tend to dive deep into dissecting the situation, or you exhaust yourself by thinking about all the negative aspects of the situation. At the end of the day, you can’t change the fact that life can just be tough sometimes. BUT, you can cut yourself a break, take a deep breath and use my secret weapon. Which brings me to point two.
2. Mirror moments
It’s when something tough comes up. A difficult situation. Stressful day. Something out of your control coming at you. I have learned, that it’s always a sign of some type of transition that the Lord is bringing me through. It could be a big external transition that others can see, or an internal exchange between just the Lord and I. I simply begin to speak out loud to myself as if I was looking myself in a mirror. Not in a, “She’s talking to herself. That’s weird” kind of way. But in a, “I will speak to my flesh and say that you WILL bow down to His word and you WILL catch up to my spirit that is running to Him no matter how I may feel” kind of way. It usually starts off a little slow with thanking Him for my home, food and basic provision. Then it begins to pick up some momentum into thanking Him for my family and loved ones. Now we are really gaining speed and I am recapping His faithfulness in what He has brought me out of and what He has saved me from. Then by now it’s a full-on praise as my faith begins to quickly rise as I am declaring what His word says about my future.
It’s bold. It’s confrontational. It’s authoritative.
Jeremiah 17:9 says that the heart is the most deceptive thing, full of wickedness. In times of transition or change, the enemy will bring distraction after distraction to get your eyes off of Jesus and His word that keeps you steadfast. We must guard our hearts from deception by continuously speaking and ingesting the Word of God that keeps us immoveable and constant—even when your own heart and emotions are raging on the inside. He has the ability to bring peace and stillness to those seas.
3. Be quiet.
Every time the Lord was trying to bring change from the inside out in me, or was bringing me into a new season, the seas of change would begin to roar and I did what every normal girl would do…talked to my friends, family and anyone that would listen about it. I am a verbal processor. So naturally, I would verbally process my raging emotions so many times that by the time I go it aaaalllll out, I had so many opinions at my fingertips that I would pick and choose which ones best felt fitting and ran with those. Feeling good about it all for a little while, since I was able to get all my words out, but eventually falling flat on my face because none of those words were actually from the one that had the answer. After many bloody knees and a broken bone or two from trying to figure it all out on my own, I have learned to just…be quiet. I do not isolate, but if I speak to anyone about such personal matters, I speak to only one or two people that are spiritually ahead of me and are brutally honest. They love me enough that they won’t just console and pat me on the back agreeing with my every word, but who know His word and have enough life experience to point me to Him. And I listen to those spiritual mama’s.
I then put all coffee date time, long phone conversation time and late-night girl chat time, into sit-with-the-Lord time. I quiet myself and sit in His presence. I only open my mouth to worship Him and then continue to sit in His presence. I am not expecting anything. I am simply just spending time with the one who can speak one word to my heart and it is exactly what it longed for. I am bringing something to the table versus just expecting His hand of blessing.
Nothing makes me happier then when my 3-year-old daughter hugs me and loves on me just because. It is in those moments with the Lord that trust, faith, consistency and deep love are built and cause for every storm to become silent. Fear has no place here. Heaven invades my reality and becomes my reality. A holy exchange occurs, and I become untouchable. There is nothing too big for Him, all He asks for…is you.
Change isn’t easy—it’s pretty stinking hard, actually. But sister, take it from me, it doesn’t have to be lonely and overwhelming. You can be in the midst of change and walk in a Peace that surpasses yours and anyone else’s understanding. So much so that someone may say, “What is it about you that seems at such peace? It doesn’t make sense.” And then you, sister, get to tell them about the One who calms every storm and speaks in solution. No matter what. Every time.
by Jared Wilson | Nov 29, 2017 | Relationships, Sisterhood |
guest blog.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31
Don’t miss this: Jesus never said to love only people who are easy to love. He tells us simply to love. Every time I open up the Bible, I cannot help but notice the number of times God commands us to love the people around us. We’re told to love our enemies, our neighbors, our spouses, and the world alike. But while the Bible is pretty crystal clear that we should relentlessly love those we come across daily, it seems we often try to justify why we don’t need to show love the way Jesus intended us to.
I’ve heard everything from “But he might think I’m affirming his actions” to “She’s just not a nice person.” But no justification gives us the right to withhold love from anyone, let alone from those who are broken and in need of it the most. The love of Jesus has no bounds, no limits and no expectations. It just loves. If you call yourself a Christ follower, then you are called to reflect the same image with the same intensity. Love can take us places hate could never reach.
Withholding love is withholding Jesus. It’s possible to show love to those who are different from us without compromising core convictions. You want people to see Jesus when they see you, even when you oppose their thoughts or ideals. You want people to find comfort in your presence, forgiveness in your heart, and love in your soul. You want people to know they can confide in you without being brashly criticized and judged irrationally.
Jesus is pretty clear in what he says in the lines of Mark 12:31—the importance of love, especially when it comes to your neighbor: “The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (NIV). Pastors, teachers, brothers, and sisters, we are called to love all people in the name of Jesus. We are called to show compassion to those who need it. We are called to befriend those who are different from us, all to exude the grace and mercy of our Savior, Jesus. It may be messy, but it’s our calling.
This is an excerpt from Jarrid’s new book, Love is Oxygen
