Happy Friday! Today I’m sharing a video that circulated a few years ago. Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus is one of the best spoken words I’ve ever heard! This video is a great reminder of how we’re called to live as Christ followers. Check it out! 🙂
I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday! I’ve realized something revolutionary recently… God is too good to me. I don’t deserve this life. I don’t deserve to be blessed with the friends I have. I don’t deserve my supportive family. I don’t deserve my amazing church family. I don’t deserve my school.
But Christ.
I am a sinner. I fall short daily… Hourly… Sometimes by the minute.
 But Christ.
 Because of Christ I am richly blessed. Because of Christ, and His love for me, I gained eternity. This has nothing to do with my good works. It is all about Christ.
“A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 28:20 NIVÂ
Now don’t get me wrong… There are some days where I don’t think that God can do anything with my mess of a life. But…
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20 NLT
God is about to provide anything you need. He is going to provide blessing to you in such a way so that you will even have some left over to share!
“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT
So today recognize the blessings in your life. Then think about how you can bless others with your blessings.
“Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.” Romans 12:9-11 NLT
This is a hard one… Love others. Like really love them. Love them even though you may have different opinions. Love them even though you may not agree with how they are living their life. Love them through it ALL. Hate what is wrong… Yes hate it and do not take part in it but continue to love people even if you hate that they are doing wrong. Take delight in honoring each other. What does that even mean? Delight means to take pleasure in. So make it your pleasure to honor each other. This could be like complimenting someone’s shoes or maybe how they include someone. Never be lazy because we are to serve the Lord in everything we do!
Try loving someone who is usually hard to love. Honor your friends. Serve the Lord enthusiastically. It’s your call!
Happy Thursday!
“It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” –Henry David ThoreauÂ
I tweeted this quote a last week and I just can’t stop thinking about it. It is not enough to be busy. We must ask ourselves what we are busy about. Are we busy with sports or social media or our boyfriend or school? Has God taken the sideline in your busy schedule?
“Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, you must do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT
 This verse gets me every time… WHATEVER you do, do it for the glory of God. So this includes time management. Sometimes I lay in bed at night thinking about all the opportunities I missed because I was “too busy” to reach people. I mean if you are a Christian every moment of your day should be spent intentional, right? Did you even have time to think about God today?
I am by no means saying I’ve got this all down either. I don’t. I just feel convicted personally because I am so busy but I don’t know where my time goes! How intentional am I being with my time? So today think about how you can be intentional with your time.
Today I’m starting a new category on the blog called Sheros, which I got from Taylor! A Shero is a she hero (duh 🙂 ). Sheros are woman I find who exemplify the Proverbs 31 woman. These are women who put others before themselves and personify Jesus.
Today’s Shero is Kara Gore. Kara Gore is your modern day superwoman! I have the privilege of personally knowing her. Kara and her husband Shane have three adorable kids, Hayze (11), and twin girls Morgan and Makenna (9). Kara works with the youth at my church and as I’ve gotten to know her, she has become a role model to me.
Kara is the real deal. She is the most organized person I know. She can do literally anything. She handles herself with so much grace and humility. She has taught me what it looks like to balance church, a marriage, and raising kids. If you know Kara you know that she is truly Jesus with skin. Kara is willing to do anything for others. She would give you the shirt off her back. She is an amazing woman and a true SHERO!
  
-What do you like to do in your free time?
      I love to spend time with my kids and husband. I know I only have a certain time with my kids so I try to spend as much time with them as I can. I also like having people over at our house. When I have time for myself I like to go shopping… Every momma who gets alone time needs some retail therapy! 🙂
-Would you have imagined your life looking like this when you were a teenager?
           No, not at all. When I graduated high school I thought I wanted to be a paralegal. I grew up in church, but I never would’ve thought I would end up working in the church. I wouldn’t have imagined marrying a pastor either. Not that I wouldn’t have, but I just wasn’t living my life the right way. I wouldn’t have thought that God would’ve used me.
-If you could go back and change anything in your past would you, if so what?
           Yes, just choices I made about boys that I liked and the way that I lived my life. I would’ve been a stronger Christian.
-What are some encouraging words to teenagers/ young women?
           Pray about decisions and consult the Lord in every decision you make. In your dating life, friendships, etc. Make good choices. I learned the hard the way and I wish that I would’ve learned that the first time around. It’s better to make good decisions early in life than to look back with regrets. I also wish I would’ve been a better example at school and been a better Christ like example in my classmates lives.
-Favorite Scripture
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28
Get connected with Kara:
Twitter: @karagore
Instagram: @kgore
On Fridays I’ll be sharing a book, song, podcast, sermon, video, product, company, or item I’m loving this week. So this Friday I’m sharing a sermon that I heard a few weeks ago that really touched me. Pastor Bear Boyle spoke on our perspective of our identity in Christ. I can’t accurately describe how much this message meant to me or even accurately summarize the message. All I can say is go listen to it. You can download the podcast or watch the video online. The links are below! Take 48 minutes to listen to the message. Listen to it as you’re in the car or getting ready in the morning! It’s worth it.
Video:
http://northplacechurch.com/resources/watch/ (This link will take you to the resource page. When you get there look for the sermon called “ Identity in Christ / Christ’s Identity in Us – Pastor Bear Boyle”)
Podcast:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/identity-in-christ-christs/id270246356?i=316252388&mt=2 (Or you can download the Northplace Church Audio in iTunes and click on the Identity In Christ sermon.)
thatotherhannah.com 