I have been going through a lot emotionally lately. There are so many things that I have been struggling with but the one thing that I want to share with you is how much I care about you knowing Jesus Christ as your Savior. I gave my heart to Christ when I was twelve years old. I knew deep down inside that He was the only way I was going to survive my life. I had a deep yearning to know Him and love Him. I went to Bible studies, Young Life and church as much as I could. And once I knew the Lord, I wanted my friends to know Jesus too! I got as many as I could to go to Young Life every week and I wanted them to grow in their faith too.

After I went to college, I continued to work with Young Life and shared my faith with as many kids as I could. I had so much fun hanging out with kids, doing crazy things and sharing my life with them. I looked forward to clubs every week when we could share Jesus with the kids and do our crazy skits. Because of Young Life, I learned that having faith in Jesus can be a blast!

The point is I love sharing Jesus with you. I care so much about your walk with Christ. I want you to know that everything I share with you is to help you to grow closer to Him. My prayer is that I can help you in some way grow in your faith and intimacy with God. That is why I write this blog. I have been told by a few people that I care too much. Well, I guess there are worse things that people could say about me. I will not apologize for caring too much, even if I do. I just want soooooo much for you to understand how much He loves you and how important it is to follow Him. You see, He saved my life and I know He can do the same for you.

When I was going through a lot of counseling and reading scripture, I came across this verse. Psalm 27:10 says, “Even if my mother and father abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.” That verse hit me like a ton of bricks! I finally realized that the Lord would never abandon me. He wanted me to know that He was my father and He wasn’t going to leave me. He was going to stay right by my side and be there for me no matter what happened. I want you to know that He is there for you too. I desperately needed a good father who was going to guide me, give me wisdom, strength, security, love, and assurance. I needed and still need Him as my Father. He is the best father anyone can have.

I also came across, Psalm 39:7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” I needed to place my hope in Him and not in anyone else because the sad fact is that people are going to let you down. Sometimes they do it without knowing they let you down and sometimes people are just mean and selfish and don’t care if they let you down. I never have understood why some people just don’t care because of course I care too much!

Jeremiah 32:17 says “Nothing is too hard for me.” Now, I have to tell you that I have had some very, very, very hard situations. I have been through all kinds of abuses, my brother’s mental illness and suicide, my parents divorcing, my own battles with depression and anxiety, my horrible fears that make me want to commit suicide, and things with my own children and family. My life has not been easy. But, that verse says that nothing is too hard for God. Just yesterday I ran across it again. I was having a tough day and I was reminded that I need to throw all my issues at the feet of Jesus and remember that He can handle all my crap for me. There is also another verse in Romans 8:31 that states, “If God is for me, then who can be against me.” So, I had to sit myself down and remember that He is in charge of my life and I need to let Him do His thing. That is so hard for me because I care so much! I want to jump in and fix everything and I also want everything to happen NOW! I have had to wait for so many things and I get so impatient with the Lord. Sorry Lord!

Because I care so much, I want you to know that we have an amazing God who can handle our lives if we will just let Him. We just need to trust Him and get out of His way. Yes, I am speaking to myself when I say these words. When things happen that completely blow me out of the water, I have to go immediately to Jesus and say, “Help!” Then I try to find a scripture to help me through that situation. That is why I put so much scripture in my blog. I want you to have scripture to help you in your situations. The Bible is full of promises from God that I count on every single day of my life. I cannot let my feelings overcome me. Sometimes my anxiety can actually make me irrational and I have to focus on what God’s word says and not my feelings.

Did you know that when we go to Him, He springs into action? Zechariah 2:13 I love picturing Him doing that. I like to picture Him as James Bond trying to save the world, except He is wearing a robe. Ha Ha! When I go to Him, He listens. Psalm 5:1-3 I actually have someone who listens to me! (Everyone can relate to that one!) He also gives me the strength I need to handle any situation that comes my way, even though I keep telling Him I can’t! Isaiah 41:13

I remember watching a movie a few years ago called “Take the Lead.” Antonio Banderas is a ballroom dancer who is trying to teach kids who spend their afternoons in detention how to dance. Most of these kids have a pretty tough life and have issues with others telling them what to do. He is trying to help them learn to trust their partner while dancing, so he says to them, “Sometimes it takes as much strength to follow as it does to lead.”

I want you to know that you and I have a partner in life who is willing to help us in every situation that we face. It definitely takes strength to be a follower of Christ, but He promises to give us all we need to face our situations. I care so much about you that I want you to know truth. I want you to know that following Christ is the only way I have survived my life. He is my partner forever because one day I will see Him face to face and I want you to see Him too. I feel an urgency to share this with you because none of us know when we might die or Jesus will come back. I want all of you to be with me rejoicing in heaven! Until next time dear friends….

Ephesians 3:20 “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.”