gracefully broken

It's been quite awhile since I have published anything onto my blog, but I figured it was time to come back and share my heart, because I feel the Lord is prompting me to do so. This blog post is much different than any of my others, because it's a lot more personal, vulnerable, and a little scattered. I pray that the Lord makes Himself known in some way through this post as I pour my heart out and talk about my time away from Gracefully Broken. This is just a glimpse into my year of growth . In January of 2019, I prayed about what word I would pick for the year. I always ask the Lord to reveal to me an area of life that I could develop in, so I can become more like Him and further His Kingdom! After lots of prayer, I chose the word " grow " to be my theme for the year, having no idea what God was going to do with it. 2 Peter 3:18 was the verse that paired with my word of the year, which says "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus ...

R E D E E M E D. for my birthday, I finally got the tattoo I’ve wanted for nearly two years. rather than writing an extremely long book explaining everything that this word means to me, I’ll just leave a few words + scripture here.  I deserve life in bondage to sin, guilt, + shame.  I deserve an eternity away from my Creator.  I deserve to be forsaken + left behind.  I deserve hell. But because of the goodness of my Savior + the relationship He made a way for when He went to Calvary,  I can live forgiven from sin. I am freed from guilt + shame.  I’ve been granted overwhelming grace so that I might one day stand before His throne, worshipping Him for all of eternity. I am pursued by Him, despite my sinful nature. I have been called daughter of the Most High King. I am His own. I am redeemed. For the rest of my days, I have this reminder engraved in my heart and, now, written on my arm. I am unashamed, and eager to sha...

If we call ourselves Christ followers, there is no room for being lukewarm. That's a hard pill to swallow.  When I think of Christ, I think of someone who is worthy of so much more than I could ever give. If this is true, I am slacking big time. Christ is worth all of my life, and more , yet I have the audacity to choose sin over Him. I choose to only give some  of my time to Him instead of all of it. I choose to do more of what is convenient, than radically living for my Creator. I often find myself in a place that is lukewarm, when I should be on fire .  When we are lukewarm, we are half-heartedly loving the One who willingly sacrificed Himself for our freedom. When we are lukewarm, we are saying that Christ is almost  enough for us, but not quite. When we are lukewarm, we are  not honoring   Jesus in the way we should. When we are lukewarm, we aren't making Jesus our first priority. The bottom line is, as Christians, we shouldn't acc...

It’s the first month of the new year, and this is one of my favorite times. Why? Well, because I get to choose a word that will define my actions for the months to come. Every time I choose a word, I think about a scripture to go with it, and how that word will affect me & those around me. I think of how it can grow me in my relationship with Christ, others, and how I can even grow myself. This year, my word is  P E R S I S T. The definition of “persist” is “to continue firmly or obstinately in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty, opposition, or failure.” Galatians 6:9 says “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” When I think of this verse, I think of all the lost people I come in contact with day in and day out. It’s not always easy to be the light we’re told to be as Christians, but this verse tells us to keep on. Sometimes it’s so tiring trying to reach people for the Lord when you feel no progre...

"Why do you always look so judgmental?" This is a question that people ask me often, and usually, I don't realize what I'm doing until someone calls me out on it. Typically, it's just my face, but there are times when it's more than that. I am someone that struggles with trying to  always find the good in people. I feel like it is fairly easy to judge people, whether it's based on appearance, what you've heard about them, or how they act. One specific thing that I used to catch myself thinking often was, "They have so much sin in their life. At least I’m not that  bad." LET ME TELL YOU!! This is beyond wrong . I am a sinner, you are a sinner, we are all sinners. I have no right to look at other people's sins and compare them to my own when every single sin I commit is just as bad.  In God's eyes, all sin is equal. It is all evil, and against Him. Therefore, comparing the gossip I might have started at lunch to the murder t...

J O Y. The definition of joy is "a feeling of great pleasure and happiness." Joy that comes from the Lord, however, is not only happiness. Joy that comes from the Lord is so refreshing. It is genuine, and beautiful. God makes it very clear that joy is important. I mean, it's a Fruit of the Spirit and that's a big deal. The fruit of the spirit is not something people just have . It takes effort and growth to attain them. To be truthful, I have found that it is so much easier to dwell on the negative things in life rather than being positive. THIS is why I have to pray every single day that the Lord would give me the JOY that can only come from Him! Being negative is exhausting. Honestly. It may not take as much effort to be negative, but it will drain you spiritually, emotionally, and even physically. Instead of having a pessimistic view about everything that goes on, try praying and seeking to develop the fruit of joy in your life. Yes, everyone struggles throu...