Wednesdays Full of Wisdom! - Lost without Him!

"Praise the LORD, my soul. All my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits- He who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things!" ♥

Today I spent about an hour in the basement of a house on campus...this room is declared the campus prayer room. Its a quiet room with lights and soft worship music, along with a prayer request wall, a praise wall, a map of the world to pray over, bibles, post-it notes, and other quiet time prayer tools. This room is a powerful place. Simply walking into it, I could feel the presence of the Lord. It is a great spot to have a time of prayer, worship, and meditation before the Lord. 

During my time in the prayer room today, the Lord really met with me in a powerful and convicting way. Sitting in His presence, He revealed to me how truly lost and depraved we are without Him. How evil and disgusting we are without the life changing power of His love. Truly, the times I have walked away from Him, and the times that I have sinned or been overcome with pride, selfishness, or hate, I can see just how desperate I really am for the Lord. Even if I do not spend enough time in His presence, in His word, or in prayer, my sinful nature rises up and it is not until I hit my knees before the Lord once again, that I am changed. That is what happened today. I was nearly in tears, thinking of how many times I have hurt the heart of God. I was disgusted with my sinful nature and with my humanity. Nothing good comes from my own doing. I am imperfect, unholy, and worthless without Him. I cannot live, I cannot breathe, I cannot function, I cannot love, I cannot do one good thing, without the Lord. All good things flow from Him. How lost we truly are without Him!

 So, today, I am reminded of my desperation for the Lord. In Him alone we find our life, we are taught how to love, and we are saved. Nothing surpasses the love of Christ. And nothing is possible without Him.

Dear Father,

I thank you for you love, and for your reminder today that I am completely lost without you. I need you, Oh Lord. Speak to me each day, correct me in my wrong doings, and fill me with your love. I thank you for never leaving me and never giving up on me, even when I have walked away or fallen down. You are always there, Lord. I realize that nothing good comes from me or from my heart, but your love is what makes me whole. I pray that you would show me how to better shine your life changing, powerful love to those around me. Help me to deny myself and my pride, and follow you in everything that I do. Thank you so much, God for all of your provisions, and for your grace in my life.

I love you with all that I am.

Amen. 

Wednesdays Full of Wisdom! - Let His Light Shine Through You!

The Lord has really been impressing this question on my heart this week...what kind of Christian am I, in the aspect of...when people hang out with me, do they feel encouraged by me? Am I the kind of Christian that uplifts people by my words and actions? Does the light of Christ shine through me and reach the hearts of people around me? These are some convicting questions that have really been on my heart this week. And unfortunately, many times, the answer to those questions is no. I am not always uplifting and encouraging. Many times my pride and selfishness get in the way of my ability to shine the love of Christ onto other people. Its like I have the Light of the world living inside of me, and I should be transparent, allowing the Light to shine to its full brightness, but so many times, I allow fog to cover that Light. That fog is my pride, and selfish nature. I feel so convicted by this. I am nothing, He is everything. I am but a vessel that was created to reveal the glory of God. Why is it that I allow my disgusting, sinful nature to get in the way? The Word says...

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven" -Matthew 5:16

and

"He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up" -1Thess. 5:10-12

and

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another" -Hebrews 10:23-25

The way we live our lives is supposed to be an encouragement to others. Our attitudes, our actions, our thoughts, our speech; all of it should shine the Light of Christ and should uplift people who are around us. There are so many times that we as Christians allow our own issues and are own selfish desires to get in the way of our ability to truly love on people. We forget, this life is not about us. This life is about bringing glory to the God of the universe. And we do that by allowing his light and love to shine through us. In everything we say and do. I want to be a Christian that encourages people by simply being around them. That is my desire. I am so thankful to the Lord for his conviction this week. :)

Wednesdays Full of Wisdom! - God is in control!!!

And You, calm the raging sea. And You, calm the storms in me, again. 

All I know, is I find rest in You. 

Something that God has made very evident in my life this week, is that He is in control. When we live a life surrendered to the will of God, we choose to live subject to what He wants for us. Even when we give into our flesh, He finds a way to get a hold of us and get us back on track and in sync with His will.

To be honest with you, I have been trying to go along with something lately, that I knew was not good for me. I knew it was not a life-giving situation, and would likely drag me down spiritually. But I ignored all the usual warning signs because the situation made me feel better about my life. I was finding comfort in it, rather than in Christ. I asked for prayer from a couple people because I knew I needed strength to overcome my flesh in the situation. But even when I asked for prayer, I had no intention of stopping my actions. And this is about the time that the Lord intervened. Something that I should have ended, the Lord took control of, and He ended it for me. He is faithful and just, and He hears the prayers of His people. I am so thankful for that.

There are quite a few other situations in my life, as of recent, that I know I need to give to God, with faith that all things will work together for His glory. Through this experience this past week, I have realized that I am not in control, He is. I have surrendered my will to His. So therefore, there is no logic in worry about what will come, or what is going to happen in the future. I am not in control, so why worry? I have truly learned to trust in the Lord. He knows what is best. There is no greater peace than that of a life lived in complete surrender to the will of God. I am so glad I have a Father in Heaven that knows all things, and knows what is best for my life. There is nothing to worry about. I am a daughter of the King! :) 

So my encouragement to you today, is to remember, God is in control. There is simply no logic and quite honestly, no faith, in a worried heart. We are called to live in accordance with the will of God, to seek His face daily, and to glorify Him alone with our lives. So walk with Him, and trust Him, and you will therefore find an indescribable peace that comes from a life that is truly surrendered to the Lord. 

Memoir of Hank Halbur (R.I.P. Papa)

There is no pain that surpasses that of losing the person we love the most. Tonight, on September 26th, at 1120pm,  I watched my great grandma's heart break to pieces as her husband and best friend of 68 years passed away.

My great grandpa was the best man I have ever known. The legacy he left behind for his family is something that I will hold close to my heart all the days of my life. He was strong: he never complained, never gave up, and always did what was required of him. He was full of love: married and cherished, my sweet grandmother, for nearly 69 years, fathered a beautiful family of children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and even lived to see a few great great grandchildren. My papa refused to believe anything bad about any person in his family, no matter how strong the evidence was against them. He believed in each one of us, irrevocably, and against all odds. He was also a war hero who served courageously in the second world war. His courage and strength was honored with a number of medals. He was a hero not only in the war, but in the lives of those he loved.

Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things, for us as his family, to do. He was a truly selfless all the way to his last breath. Many of his family members were able to spend a good amount of time with him at the hospital before his passing. He laughed and visited with us nearly all night. It was like he was giving us our last beautiful memory of him, and then not even an hour after we left, he went.

After leaving the hospital, the family sat together in unity, remembering and appreciating the life of Hank Halbur. Coffee brewed, hearts broke, tears fell, and the consolation of memories and laughter filled our burdened hearts. There is nothing better than family. 

Hank Halbur will be dearly missed by his family and friends. He taught us all the meaning of hard work and dedication. My papa will always be my hero

Wednesdays Full of Wisdom---> In the Word...

Hey Everyone...


This week, the Lord has reminded me of the importance of being in the Word on a daily basis. Due to the busyness of this life and the hectic scedules that we all face, sometimes it can be hard to make sure we find time to dig into the Word. But it is a necessity of walking with the Lord. Praying and listening to worship music each day, which is what I was doing, is good, but not quite enough.


I realized this when I was challenged by a friend of mine on a doctrinal issue. As I began to dig into the Word, even though it was mainly to back up a theological issue, I felt myself become less stressed, happier, and more on track with the Lord. I ended up spending about 3 hours in the Word, by the time I had to stop to go to class, I felt like a completely renewed and rejuvinated person. Spending time learning and studying the Word is so important to the Christian life. If you find yourself overly stressed, or anxious, or worthless, or insecure, or lost, ask yourself how long its been since you have had some quite time with the Lord. How much do you read your Bible? Do you just read it quick to say that you did it, so that you can check it off your list of things to do for the day? I encourage you to really dig, really press in, when you read the Word. Find the time. Draw near to God. Pursue the time you spend in the Bible and ask God to reveal to you something, ask Him to teach you something. You will not be disappointed. :)


And remember...the Bible teaches that we need to be ready for battle! You WILL be defeated if you are not prepared spiritually...


Eph 6:10-17 (NIV) ...Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Wednesdays Full of Wisdom! - He is all we need!

You are good, You are good, when there's nothing good in me. You are love, You are love, on display for all to see.

You are light, You are light, when the darkness closes in. You are hope, You are hope, You have covered all my sin. You are peace, You are peace, when my fear is crippling. You are true, You are true, even in my wandering. You are joy, You are joy, You're the reason that I sing. You are life, You are life, in You death has lost it's sting.

Oh, I'm running to Your arms, I'm running to Your arms. The riches of Your love will always be enough. Nothing compares to Your embrace, Light of the world, forever reign!

You are more, You are more, than my words will ever say. You are Lord, You are Lord, all creation will proclaim. You are here, You are here, in your presence I'm made whole. You are God, You are God, of all else I'm letting go!

Those are lyrics to Hillsong's new song called Forever Reign. When I heard this song for the first time, I found myself entirely lost in the goodness of the Lord. He is so good! Even, and especially when we are not. He is all we need. When He is living inside of us, what else can we ask for? He supplies strength when we have none, He calms our hearts when we are anxious, He gives us hope when we are discouraged, He heals our broken hearts when we are in pain, He gives us joy in the hard times, He gives us life when we are lost in sin and death.

The goodness of the Lord really never ceases to amaze me. His love is never ending and if we live in Him each moment of our lives, there's nothing we will ever need. He is our all in all. I just know that there have been so many times in my life where I have been so bogged down, or depressed, or in pain, or anxious...I have lived my life in bondage of those emotions, but the more I learn of the Lord, the more He reminds me, that as His children, we do NOT need to live that way. We were not created for those things. We were created to worship and honor Him with our lives! He created us to walk with Him, to commune with Him, and to show His love to those around us.

I encourage all of you to spend some time, calming yourself before the Lord today. If you have anxiety, He is here to give you peace. If you are brokenhearted, He is here to give you a perfect love beyond comparison. If you are discouraged, he is the author of joy. Live your life to SHINE His love to the world. Let Him be your everything. Rely on His unfailing love in every situation. You will never be disappointed. He is all we need! :)

I am back! The Lord is SO good!

Hi Everyone!

I have been gone for some time due to the loss of internet connection I had. Sorry I vanished. I have gone through a rather significant amount of changes in the past month, and now its time for me to catch up on my blogs!

So something I have been learning lately...is that all things truly are possible with the strength of Christ as your foundation! I recently moved into the dorms at UWSP and for certain reasons, I thought that doing so was going to be very difficult for me emotionally. But I stayed in prayer and had faith that the Lord would grant me the strength I needed, and of course...he did! I know I should not be surprised, but His love never ceases to amaze me. He is always always there for me, no matter what I face. His grace is always sufficient. I want my life to show that in everything I do, He is all I need. He is my all. He is my focus. Nothing can ever tear me away from sitting at His feet in amazement of all that He does. No matter how far I drift away, or how distracted I get, He always finds a way to draw me back to His arms...where I truly belong. And He reminds me of all His promises and His purpose for me. And I know I'm finally home.

The strength that walking with Jesus gives me is simply amazing. I know I could never feel this way or be as strong as I am without Him. I am not sure how people even do it. I know I would surely drown without Him at my side. Actually, I have. And walking without Him is nearly impossible. I am not me, nor am I whole or happy without Him. He truly is the center of everything.

Ahh...It feels good to be back! Praise the Lord. His love endures forever! :)

Wednesdays full of wisdom - Hard Times

Hey guys! Thanks for reading. Today was a really long day and this week has been one of the hardest weeks of my life...so this will be short and sweet but I still wanted to throw something up....

I have had a really hard week. Emotionally, I have been more down than I have been in all my life. I am simply at the end of myself. I am in so much emotional pain that I can barely breathe. The only thing that I know how to cling to is that I know, even when I don't act like it, that I have a Savior. He is always there for me...especially during these times. The key though, is to truly cling to Him. Its so cliche to say that I am clinging to God during hard times...I hear that so often, but how many times do people truly draw near during the difficult times in their lives? I know I need to.

I always go back to the verse that the Lord showed me, the day that I came back to Him...

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

-James 4:8-10

All we need to do is draw near to Him. He promises to draw near back. And no matter where you are in life, good times or bad, that's all He asks from us...to draw near. And the God of the universe promises to draw near in return. How amazing His love is.

So, I guess that's all I got for now. Thanks for reading. Remember, draw near. Don't just think about it, don't just talk about it, but DO it! :)

Wednesdays full of Wisdom - He is jealous for me

He is jealous for me. Love's like a hurricane I am a tree. Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy. When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful you and and how great you affections are for me. And oh, how He loves us oh, oh how He loves us. How He loves us so.

-Kim Walker

The love that God has for his children always leaves me amazed. The God of the universe is jealous....FOR ME!!!! He loves us so much. Even when we turn away and do things that hurt His heart, He is right there, drawing us back to Himself. All the while being so jealous for our time and adoration. He just wants us to love and serve Him. And after all the amazing things He has done for us, it should not be difficult. Each day our lips should bring Him praise. He saved us and loves us more than we could ever fathom. But yet somehow, as humans, we always turn back to the things that dishonor and hurt Him. There have been so many times that I have turned away from the love of God, looked Him in the face and said, "I'm sorry, you're not enough." Just thinking about that hurts my heart.

What I wish we could all understand is, He is enough. He is everything. He is all consuming. He is all powerful. He is full of love. He IS love according to His word. Christ is sufficient. Jesus is enough. There is nothing that I need outside of Him. He is jealous for me! He loves me! He wants me to pursue Him each and everyday. He wants to teach me things and show me things. He wants me to grow in wisdom and in love. He wants me to love Him with all that I am! He wants me to reach other people with His love. He wants to use me for His amazing and perfect will! He is enough. Always.

I just get so lost in wonder when I think about the God of the universe being jealous for me. Me. I am nothing. I have turned from Him. My sin put Him on that cross. I have turned from Him time and and time again. I have hurt Him likely more than I have made Him proud. And yet...He is here. He draws me to Himself. All He wants is for me to put Him first. All He wants is all of me. And why should I withhold myself from Him? Only in Him do we experience true and lasting joy, peace like nothing I've ever known, and a confidence to know that in Him I can do all things and never will be shaken.

After all that I have done, all He wants is to forgive me and have me all to Himself. He wants me to come home. He wants my heart to be wholly His. He wants me to live to the calling that I have received through Him. Life can be so full and abundant if only we could keep our eyes focused on the cross. My darkest hours in life and hardest times were most certainly the times that I chose to walk away from the Lord and search out love and acceptance from other sources. If only we could see...He is all we need.

Dear Heavenly father,

I thank you for you unfailing and amazingly perfect love. I thank you for all that you do for me and how you never give up on me. I am so sorry for all of the times that I have walked away from you and thought that I could make it on my own. Thank you for your jealous heart. Thank you for never leaving me, even when I choose to walk away from you. I love you so much Lord, and I'm so thankful to call myself yours. Help me keep my eyes focused on you at all times. I love you. Amen

Wednesdays full of Wisdom - Be Still and Know

Today, and each Wednesday from now on, my dearest friend Lacey and I are going to be posting a bit of what God has been laying on our hearts. We're calling it Wednesdays full of Wisdom and I think it'll be a really great way for not only us, but also all of those who read our blogs, to be encouraged by the goodness of the Lord and what He is teaching us. So enjoy and I pray that this will minister to your heart and bring glory to our Father in Heaven.

I'll start by praying...

Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you that you have given us the opportunity to draw near to you and seek your face each and every day. Thank you for your sacrifice and for your grace. I ask that you would stir up inside of us a desire to bring glory to your name with everything that we do. In the hard times and in the good times, help us to always remember that you are Lord and we therefore we have a reason to rejoice. I ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

There is one particular lesson from Scripture that the Lord has had to continually remind me of and He seems to use it time and time again whenever I start to get overwhelmed. That lesson is to "Be still and know that 'He' is God". I think that there are many times that I start to loose sight of the cross because I forget that I am not the one in control. And that the things that I face, I do not walk through them alone. There is an infinite amount of wisdom and strength that comes from simply calming yourself, and stilling your heart and mind, and thereafter reminding yourself that He is God and He is in control. It is a valuable discipline to be able to calm your heart and mind during times of struggle and simply remind yourself: He is God. Everything will be fine. I have been called to a purpose, and therefore I know that God will work all things out according to His will.

Stilling your heart and mind and fully trusting in the Lord in the hard times definitely takes practice. Doing so strongly opposes our fleshly nature. As humans, we cling closely to all that we can control. We try so desperately to make it on our own and in our times of greatest need, many times going to the Lord for help is the last thing we do. How much time and energy we could save and how much pain and grief we could have been spared from if we only learned the art of being still and trusting in the Lord.

True and lasting peace comes from being able to, on a regular basis, be still and know that He is God. The Bible says that we are to be anxious for nothing but in all things by prayer and supplication, make our requests known to God. We should live our lives, day to day, knowing that we are not in control, knowing that He has a plan and a purpose, and knowing that all we need to do is be still and our Heavenly Father will take care of us.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

So in conclusion, whatever it is that you are going through today, remember that being anxious and doing everything in your power to fix it is not the answer. Step back from the situation and...

BE STILL. KNOW THAT HE IS GOD. TRUST IN HIM. AND AGAIN, BE STILL!!!

The Student

As a student I have come to understand what it means to work hard, study hard, and earn good grades. I have learned what it means to learn and to listen. I have learned how to study and focus. As I have just finished my sophomore year in college, I am finally seeing the parallels that exist between studying for school work and studying the Word. I have come to the understanding that I am not only a student in a school, but I am also a student of the Faith. And just as I learn each day in class, I should be also striving each day in the Word, to seek what the Father has next for me to learn. I am a student of the King. How exciting!

I honestly have a love for learning. I complain about school and how hard things can get, but in reality, that's just life. Things are hard. And when it all comes down to it, I love learning. I enjoy studying. And I enjoy receiving good grades for my hard work. Similarly, I love to learn about the things of the Lord. I love digging into the Word each day. The learning never ends. I can read the same passage over and over again, each time learning something new about the goodness of God as He opens my eyes to see His greatness. And someday, and the end of the road, I will receive my grade: it will be my Father's loving arms greeting me and his beautiful face smiling as He says, "Well done my good and faithful servant" Oh how I long for that day.

Things I've Learned Along the Way

There are some things that I have learned throughout my life. In specific, I have been reminded lately that God has made it very clear to me that we were not made to live this life alone. Void from Him, nothing makes sense. Void from life giving relationships with other people, we grow weary and dull. Life was simply not designed to be lived alone. We are relational creatures. Which is why it's so wonderful that we serve a relational God. He is and wants to be everything to us. Father to the fatherless, Friend to the friendless, Comforter to those who mourn. He is strong when we are weak. He is here when everything else falls to the ground. He is our all in all.

There have been times in my life that I have forgotten those things. Lost sight of the cross for a while and tried to make it on my own. Those were no doubt my hardest and darkest times. But my Lord is always ready and willing to pick me up and bring me home. I think back to how many times I turned my back on Him and my heart is heavy.

One of my favorite quotes is this: "We make powerless the cross of Christ in our lives, when we refuse to live in the freedom that it brings." This is so true. When we loose sight of the cross, and when we refuse to live in all the power and love and light that the cross brings, we make it powerless and His sacrifice is as nothing to us. To me, there is nothing more saddening. We have been given everything we need in order to live a life full of happiness and love and power. And yet we choose to live in darkness. Not me, not anymore.

This blog is entitled, "All Things Beautiful". This is from Ecclesiastes 3:11 which says, "He has made all things beautiful in His time." This verse is one that I consider to be an overlying theme verse in my life. I have been many places, and made many mistakes. And yet He uses everything for His good. Looking back on all of the things I've done and all the things that I have been through, I can see how the Lord has picked it up and used it to further His kingdom. I feel so privileged to be a part of His plan and to be used by Him.

My soul finds rest in God alone.

My salvation comes from Him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation.

He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.