Hey Friends!

I wish I could meet you in person and hear all about who you are, but let’s just pretend we are sitting together today!

I am SO happy you are in this place right now, I am a firm believer that wherever you are is where you are meant to be and God can do good in every circumstance, so just know you and I are here together for a perfect reason.

Well, a little bit about me:

I live in the currently frozen Minnesota, attending a 4-year University in the Midwest. I am a Senior with one semester left about to graduate and have n0 idea about what I am doing afterwards. The question I get most these days is just that, “What are you doing after you graduate?” …But I have so much confidence in who Jesus is, my provider and redeemer, that I have no fear around that question with no answer to follow. I am dating my 8th grade crush, Dylan, and it is such a beautiful experience.

Weddings are my FAVORITE.

1. Because I am a Wedding Photographer.

2. I get to be surrounded with the HAPPIEST people all the time.

3. The absolute miracle that happens on that day of two becoming one is something I have been able to see repeatedly for the past two years, and it has changed my mindset on weddings in the most beautiful way.

It is such a gift to be able to witness the miracle over and over again, but also being able to capture it. Wow. I am emotional thinking about it.

Annywayyyy if you are getting married, I would love to be there for you. Especially if you live in a warm state 😉

My story is one that I have a heart to share for years and years, and that is to free women from the cage of shameful sin and the hold it can have on your abundant life. While this blog is not specifically about that it can play a key role into those strongholds. I love sharing on the sins that women don’t share as much, bringing light to the dark corners is so important.

I am praying this blog impacts you and the Holy Spirit intercedes. You are so great and I am proud of you today.

Come say hey!

_______________________________

Do you carelessly speak aloud without thinking sometimes? Most times?

I understand that feeling, but It’s time to change that.

Proverbs 18:21 reads, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

One thing that has been on my heart in the past month is the power of our words.

You have the power to give life to the words in your mind and heart.

We are always being fed lies from the devil but also truth from Jesus.

We have the free will to decide what we want to give life and power to.

I think we forget how important that is. When we speak, we are proclaiming those words over us and others who are listening.

Even the mundane choices of describing yourself…

“My hair looks so bad today”

“I can’t do that”

“I’ll never make it”

We give the devil more power than he deserves when we speak out the lies he feeds us. WE also can pour them into someone else’s mind if we speak those things around others enough times. I remember I used to never be insecure about my nose, up until I was around a friend who HATED her nose and she made everyone around her know that. Then one day I was looking at myself thinking “wait is something wrong with my nose too?” Since that day I now have an insecurity about my nose. This isn’t saying anything wrong with her and I pray she has overcome that insecurity in Jesus’ name!

I am using this example to show how much power you have when you speak. My friend was just talking out loud what was in her mind, but she did it in a way where she wasn’t asking for help to combat those lies. She just spoke what she felt not knowing the devil used that as a leverage to make me insecure. I need to be clear here when I say, you confessing to a friend that you need help combatting a lie the devil has placed over you is DIFFERENT than speaking lies over yourself every day with no desire to have others help you.

Those lies above have 100% been what I have spoken over myself before but now I am trying combat those with these:

“My hair is crazy, but I am made in the image of God”

“I can do ALL things through and with Christ”

“I am going to try this and even if I fail, I am still worthy and accepted in Jesus’ name”

See the switch of power?

I am choosing to let Jesus take the throne in my mind and speak out on the truth He brings and not the lies the devil TRIES to make me believe.

The bible is here to help…

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such as it is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29).

This verse tells us a couple things about the power of your words:

1. Your words give grace to others. As I spoke on before, when you speak lies, others can start to believe those about themselves, same with the truth. If you chose to speak on the grace given to you, the Holy Spirit brings that to those around you.

2. You can speak constructive words over yourself and others as long as it’s “GOOD for building up, as fits the occasion.”

“There is a time and a place for everything” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

If you feel the Holy Spirit calling you to speak something that may be hard to hear but will help your friend in Christ, then it’s worth sharing in love and grace.

3. Our words have the power to build up and take down.

This could be building up the lies they have in their mind already and taking down their confidence in Christ.

OR.

This could be building up a friend in their confidence in Christ and taking down their lies from the devil.

Matt 17:34 reads, “For the abundance of heart the mouth speaks.” We want to be on earth to help others grow closer to Jesus, and we can start with our words.

It can be scary knowing we have so much control over our words, but this is why Jesus reaches his hand out and tells us to let him give us guidance and protect us. Let us encourage one another and keep Jesus on the throne of our hearts and minds.

Follow Emma Stender on Instagram @emma.stender