Whether you pray all the time or rarely, I think anyone can take a step back and look at their prayer habits. I took this week to really think about how I pray and what I need to change about my response to God’s answers. 

The day is here and Boldly Seeking is officially ONE!!!! I have been smiling all week leading up to this moment where our team can look back at the beginning and see how far we have come. It was a year ago today; that our team said “yes” to a call of cultivating a community to walk in Bold Faith.

God has called us to celebrate, to celebrate to REMEMBER God’s faithfulness in EVERY season of life. It can be hard to celebrate in the bad times, but it’s when we celebrate that we find joy. Celebrations like Christmas can be temporary and connect us with other people, but in those moments together, joy is produced. That joy carries us through each day so we don’t have to wait for the next celebration because we can celebrate every day, good or bad. 

I want to shed some light on something that I am certain everyone has struggled with before, and that’s self-talk. 

First, what is self-talk? It’s something we do every day, every hour, maybe even every minute. It’s that voice in your head either beating yourself up or pushing you to do your best. 

Second, let’s take a step back and ask ourselves, “Is self-talk an important thing to practice?” 

“Back” is concrete. It is only things that have already occurred. “Back” can be safe, secure, predictable. “Back” can also lead to analyzing. To taking up guilt and shame. To self-loathing. 

Isn't it such a beautiful thing to know that God chose us? We were chosen to plant seeds into others, as God made them flourish. What I mean by that is, we are all called to love one another and guide each other closer to Christ. Especially those who have yet to know Him

Habakkuk felt the weight of God’s wrath that would one day come, but it was nothing close to the heaviness Jesus felt in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night he was betrayed. Crying out to God to take the cup, but realizing that this was God’s will, the fulfilled promise that would allow for you and me to BOLDLY AND FREELY GO TO THE THRONE. 

All this distracting began to slowly distance me from the Lord. Now my comfort became my phone. Every spare moment I had alone in my thoughts, I unconsciously would hop on Instagram and scroll through the newsfeed or play games until I fell asleep. This became an unhealthy pattern I was very much aware of, but even then… I couldn’t find myself to do anything about it.

Anxiety is real, and that is no secret. An online study said that almost 70% of college-aged females discussed feeling overwhelmed with anxious thoughts. I know I am not alone when I say that I was under the false assumption that because I knew Jesus set me free, my mind would automatically align with that truth. This only led me to then bury any stress I had in order to fit the mold of what I thought a redeemed Christian ought to look like.

God wants nothing more than to be our Light. He wants to purify us in this season. He wants us to come to the altar and give Him our all. He wants to move our hearts to peace.

Last year, one of the biggest lessons I learned was about forgiveness. After holding onto anger and hurt from a friendship, I finally turned it over to God and took the next steps toward forgiveness. 

“The people of God are characterized by waiting. We are a people who wait for our God. In the waiting, we may not understand. And yet, we can trust Him.” We are called to wait, yet, why do we have a difficult time waiting? The easy answer, because we live in a “yes” world. We live in a society where we can have all the answers in a split second just from the palm of our hands. Yet, in faith, we don’t have all the answers.

David's obedience in his present placement prepared him to fight the battle he didn't even see. David went into this unknown battle with the confidence of his victory before it even started because of his security in the Lord.

It’s February. The “Love Month.” It’s literally the day after Valentine’s Day. If you haven’t been so far, I promise you will be bombarded by couples professing their love on social media and influencers trying to convince your singleness is a curse they can help you cure. In this season, it can be so easy to grow jealous of your friends or family members who are getting engaged and married. It can feel like you’re behind. I promise you, you aren’t. 

Our God is so FAITHFUL! God waited until I was ready to hear the truth to answer my first prayer. He knew if He had spoken to me sooner, I still wouldn’t have been ready to accept it. He KNOWS you. He CREATED you. He LOVES you! Have faith and take in a deep breath. 

“In those moments we must not interpret God’s Word through the lens of our circumstances, but we must interpret our circumstances through the lens of God’s word.”

This verse from the beatitudes has really stuck out to me lately. How can I be bold, but also a peacemaker? Is there a balance between the two? These are questions I asked myself while unpacking the message of the verse and the name of the ministry: “Boldly Seeking.” 

This is a poem/spoken words that God placed on my heart to share with you all. As you read, you will be placed in my perspective, comforting a loved one through a difficult situation. If you or a loved one are going through one right now, I hope this gives you peace and reassurance.

Why am I telling you this?? Because I am positive I’m not alone in this and I’m also positive that, just because we’re in a new year, Satan won’t stop trying to pull us from the Father. I want to arm you. I want to remind you of the graces He has given us to fight in the invisible war.

So why should we toss out an old year instead of bringing it into the new year with us? Yes there is stuff we should and may leave behind, but we shouldn’t leave everything behind.