"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
Psalm 51:10
Stay Salty,
Annie
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
How Can It Be?
"You plead my cause
You right my wrongs
You break my chains
You overcome
You gave Your life
To give me mine
You say that I am free
How can it be."
Lauren Daigle-How Can It Be
Y'all, this song. is. amazing. Thankful for Jesus' love and grace he pours out to me daily. How can it be that someone loves me that much? I hope you find encouragement from this song as much as I do! :)
Click the link and have a listen. Prepare to have it on repeat.
Stay Salty,
Annie
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Early Morning Poetry
Good Morning! It has been a while since I have posted in my blog. I hope you are doing well and are enjoying this beautiful weather. I know I am.
There have been a lot of things happening lately in my life. Good and bad things. When I say bad, really I mean, things that aren't going my way. You see, I think I have everything under control and tend to forget, quite often, that I do not control anything. Then, sure enough, God humbles me and so I find myself right back at the feet of Jesus pouring my heart and soul to him.
With that being said, I have picked up writing here and there. I write in a journal. Sometimes it's prayers. Sometimes it's just what has been going on in my life. Sometimes it's prayer request. Sometimes it's praises. And sometimes, its poetry. Very rare is it poetry. I tend to write poetry when I am sad or have faced a life lesson. It helps redirect my focus on the One I am supposed to be focused on. So here is the latest poetry entry! Hope you enjoy!
There have been a lot of things happening lately in my life. Good and bad things. When I say bad, really I mean, things that aren't going my way. You see, I think I have everything under control and tend to forget, quite often, that I do not control anything. Then, sure enough, God humbles me and so I find myself right back at the feet of Jesus pouring my heart and soul to him.
With that being said, I have picked up writing here and there. I write in a journal. Sometimes it's prayers. Sometimes it's just what has been going on in my life. Sometimes it's prayer request. Sometimes it's praises. And sometimes, its poetry. Very rare is it poetry. I tend to write poetry when I am sad or have faced a life lesson. It helps redirect my focus on the One I am supposed to be focused on. So here is the latest poetry entry! Hope you enjoy!
"You know my deepest sorrows and my heart's desires.
Help me trust your resounding power.
You alone control my life and will.
When my plan doesn't work, I will love you still.
I know life is one big trial and test,
but knowing you gives me rest.
Help me not to fix my eyes on the loss.
Instead, help me lay it all at the cross."
Stay Salty,
Annie
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Why Do Bad Things Have to Happen?
I find myself asking this same question when I talk to God sometimes. PROBLEM: Bad things happen because their is sin in the world. Solution? JESUS. This is not the way God intended for us to live. Sin entered into the world and that is why we have national disasters, diseases, addictions, and death. That is why Jesus went to the cross. He took our sins upon him, died, and rose again so that we could live eternally with him. One day we (Christians) will be with Jesus in heaven and He will make all NEW things and we will live how God intended us to in the first place. God is sovereign and his ways are ALWAYS best.
No matter what your situation looks like, God's way is PERFECT. God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Learning that God is sovereign and good has really been where I struggle in my faith sometimes. I have been praying and asking God to heal a really close family member and it seems like the situation has honestly gotten worse. Today, as I was talking to my little sister, I realized, God is good and we had a good discussion about God and his sovereignty. Knowing that and confessing that released a lot of my anxiety. No matter how bad the situation, God has it under control and it is all happening so that his name will be lifted up and glorified.
If you are reading this, I would like for you to take a minute and say a prayer for my family. The situation we are currently facing has been an ongoing battle for the past 8+ years and has reached a breaking point. I can honestly tell you that this has made my relationship with Jesus so much closer. He has heard me cry and cry asking him to help heal this family member with an addiction countless times. My family is strong and I am so thankful for them. Mostly, I am thankful for a God who hears my cries and has promised me that this current place is NOTHING compared to the place he is preparing for me.
Until next time….
Stay Salty,
Annie
No matter what your situation looks like, God's way is PERFECT. God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Learning that God is sovereign and good has really been where I struggle in my faith sometimes. I have been praying and asking God to heal a really close family member and it seems like the situation has honestly gotten worse. Today, as I was talking to my little sister, I realized, God is good and we had a good discussion about God and his sovereignty. Knowing that and confessing that released a lot of my anxiety. No matter how bad the situation, God has it under control and it is all happening so that his name will be lifted up and glorified.
If you are reading this, I would like for you to take a minute and say a prayer for my family. The situation we are currently facing has been an ongoing battle for the past 8+ years and has reached a breaking point. I can honestly tell you that this has made my relationship with Jesus so much closer. He has heard me cry and cry asking him to help heal this family member with an addiction countless times. My family is strong and I am so thankful for them. Mostly, I am thankful for a God who hears my cries and has promised me that this current place is NOTHING compared to the place he is preparing for me.
Until next time….
Stay Salty,
Annie
Monday, May 26, 2014
Faith That Moves Mountains
Have you ever wondered how some people have so much faith?? I have been blessed with an amazing family that believes in and loves Jesus. Many of my family members have an unbelievable amount of faith. I have faith but most of the time it is as small as a mustard seed.
I serve a God that flooded the world and showed grace to Noah's family, a God who parted the Red Sea so that his chosen people could be freed from slavery, a God who knocked down Jericho by having Joshua and his army MARCH around the city, and a God who allowed his son to die for my sins and RAISE him back up so that I could have a relationship with him FOREVER. If my God can do that, why on EARTH do I sometimes struggle with faith???
The thing about faith is you have to be confident and know that Jesus is who God says he is. The Messiah. In Hebrews 11, it talks about faith in action. Here is a verse that stuck out to me as I was reading (Hebrews 11:6) :
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
This verse makes me want to please him. Faith is ongoing. You never get it and then stop needing it. I don't know about you, but I want a faith that moves mountains!
Until next time….
Stay Salty
Annie
Sunday, May 11, 2014
People Pleaser
Hello again! I have been MIA for the last few months. Nothing too interesting has happened these past few months, but something BIG is fixing to happen in 2 weeks. What?? I will have completed my FIRST year of teaching on May 23. The countdown has begun.
Let me just tell you what the Lord has been doing in my life lately.
I joined First Baptist Tupelo last summer after searching for a church for several months. I knew several people that were members there and got involved in a singles Sunday school class. These people have become lifelong friends and I am so thankful for them.
I had the opportunity to lead a DNOW small group with my good friend, Laura, back earlier in the year. We lead the 10th and 11th grade girls. After spending 2 days and 1 night with them, I felt like I had known them forever. The Lord began pricking my heart after that weekend. I knew I needed to get involved with youth, and the Lord had opened that door for me.
First Baptist just recently added a third service. Several months leading up to the new service, each Sunday, in the bulletin, were opportunities to sign up to help teach Sunday school. I signed up to help co-teach with the 10th and 11th grade girls. Right now, I just sit and listen and help with discussion. I have already learned so much and can't wait to continue pouring into the girls that I have met. This morning, one of the teachers gave the girls an opportunity to share about what God has taught them this year since the school year is coming to an end (9 days…who's counting?) . Honestly, I hadn't really thought about what God had taught me this year up until that very moment. As you know, this was my first year of teaching, and looking back at those first few months, I am embarrassed by the way I acted. I couldn't see it then, but God had me right where he wanted me. Things are ALWAYS better in hindsight ;). If you know me, you know that I am a people pleaser. What God taught me this year is that I don't need to seek to please people. What I do need, however; is to seek and please HIM. One of my cousins gave me the reference Colossians 3:23 to read and it says:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."
Some days are harder than others, but this verse has been a wonderful reminder of who I am really supposed to please. I am so thankful that God taught me this valuable lesson. I am completely in LOVE with every single one of my first grade (fixing to be second grade) babies. I know that he has placed each and every single child in my classroom for a reason. For that, I am grateful.
So here is my question. Who are you seeking to please? People or your Heavenly Father?
Stay Salty,
Annie
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Good
I hope everyone had a wonderful week! I also hope that you found the verse encouraging. I am going to be honest. I didn't do such a good job of learning the last part of Ephesians 6:12. So this week, I am going to do a better job of learning that part of the scripture.
What I want to talk about tonight and what I have been thinking a lot about lately is "being good". God has blessed me with an amazing Sunday School class. I have made some everlasting friendships this past year and am so thankful that God placed each person in my life. If you are reading this, thank you for encouraging me, caring for me, and building me to become more like Christ each day. We meet every Thursday night for Bible study. Currently, we are reading "The Good and Beautiful God" by James Bryant Smith. His entire book compares false narratives that we have about God to the true narratives that Jesus has about God. I am being completely honest when I say that this book gave me an entire different look on Jesus and who God is. Ultimately, we grow to know and love God through his word, but this book really helped me with misconceptions (false narratives) that I had and helped me fall in love with the God that Jesus knows. In one of the chapters, James Bryant Smith hit on the topic of how we live in a "performance based world". The false narrative in this particular chapter was about how, as humans, we are accustomed to viewing life this way and that if we do "good" we get rewarded. If we make good grades, we get rewarded. If we clean our room, we get rewarded. If we perform well at work, we get a promotion. Jesus' narrative was that we do not have to work hard or do "good" with God. We have to accept his free gift of salvation. The reward we get is to know God deeper and form an intimate relationship with him. Now that's a good reward.
I am also currently reading a book titled, "Anything" by Jennie Allen. It is my first time reading one of her books and I can already tell that I am going to enjoy her. The entire book is about how we place everything above God. I haven't really gotten too far into the book, but she is talking about how she and her husband were tired of "going through the motions" and so they told God they would do anything to serve him. Hince, how the title of the book came to be. She also hit on the "performance based" society we live in. As I was reading, I kept thinking about how we think we are "good". We try to be "good". We go to church, we make good grades, we say thank you, yes ma'am, and no sir, we pray before we eat and before we go to sleep. All these things that we think make us "good". It dawned on me that really, I am not "good" at all. None of us are. We are actually born with evil hearts. What makes us "good" is Jesus Christ. I think of the song Forever Reign by Hillsong UNITED. The beginning of the song goes like this:
What I want to talk about tonight and what I have been thinking a lot about lately is "being good". God has blessed me with an amazing Sunday School class. I have made some everlasting friendships this past year and am so thankful that God placed each person in my life. If you are reading this, thank you for encouraging me, caring for me, and building me to become more like Christ each day. We meet every Thursday night for Bible study. Currently, we are reading "The Good and Beautiful God" by James Bryant Smith. His entire book compares false narratives that we have about God to the true narratives that Jesus has about God. I am being completely honest when I say that this book gave me an entire different look on Jesus and who God is. Ultimately, we grow to know and love God through his word, but this book really helped me with misconceptions (false narratives) that I had and helped me fall in love with the God that Jesus knows. In one of the chapters, James Bryant Smith hit on the topic of how we live in a "performance based world". The false narrative in this particular chapter was about how, as humans, we are accustomed to viewing life this way and that if we do "good" we get rewarded. If we make good grades, we get rewarded. If we clean our room, we get rewarded. If we perform well at work, we get a promotion. Jesus' narrative was that we do not have to work hard or do "good" with God. We have to accept his free gift of salvation. The reward we get is to know God deeper and form an intimate relationship with him. Now that's a good reward.
I am also currently reading a book titled, "Anything" by Jennie Allen. It is my first time reading one of her books and I can already tell that I am going to enjoy her. The entire book is about how we place everything above God. I haven't really gotten too far into the book, but she is talking about how she and her husband were tired of "going through the motions" and so they told God they would do anything to serve him. Hince, how the title of the book came to be. She also hit on the "performance based" society we live in. As I was reading, I kept thinking about how we think we are "good". We try to be "good". We go to church, we make good grades, we say thank you, yes ma'am, and no sir, we pray before we eat and before we go to sleep. All these things that we think make us "good". It dawned on me that really, I am not "good" at all. None of us are. We are actually born with evil hearts. What makes us "good" is Jesus Christ. I think of the song Forever Reign by Hillsong UNITED. The beginning of the song goes like this:
You are good, You are good, when there's nothing good in me.
Jesus makes us good. We do nothing good on our on. I am so thankful that I have a Savior that makes me good. Apart from him I can do nothing-John 15:5.
My prayer this week for each of you is that you feel loved by Jesus. I also pray that you put on the full armor of God this week to fight off satan's schemes.
Stay Salty,
Annie
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