Jesus Time With Emma

  I haven't published a blog in a hot minute, but this is something that has been on my mind lately that I have been longing to share. Forgiveness is one of the most highly encouraged solutions to conflict in human relationships. God commands us to forgive multiple times in the Bible through his son Jesus, who makes the statement in Matthew 6:14-15:   "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours."  As someone who has had to deal with the realities of having a mother who has severe personality disorders, I have had to learn how to forgive in ways that not many people understand.  I have learned that forgiveness means to: Not feeling hatred towards the person Allowing the person to have emotional access to your life if they are willing to change Being able to move forward with life peacefully I have also learned that forgiveness DOES NOT mean...

          For my twentieth birthday a couple of months back my boyfriend got me a painting that includes seven special words that God describes me as. Each word has a Bible verse underneath that prove that the word given on the painting is 100% accurate! As we all know the devil takes pride in stalking our thoughts, telling us that we aren't good enough, that we are weak, that we are unworthy, and so many other things that are far from the truth. My boyfriend gave me this painting to remind me of who GOD says I am rather than what the devil says! God says I am unique, special, lovely, precious, strong, chosen, and forgiven. I want to let everyone reading know that these words apply to you too! God says you are..... Unique                    "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb."    (Psalm 139:13)              ...

                I find summer to be a challenging time for me as a college student. I'm always feeling like I am lacking something. When I'm at school I am constantly active and busy. My mind is focused on exploring my major and working towards a degree. Then the three month summer break hits. I return home to a town where I don't really have friends anymore and have no classes that keep my mind running. The only thing that I have really devoted my time to these past couple summers has been working jobs I don't actually want to be at so I can pay for college loans. During times like these where I am alone most of the time, it's easy to start thinking and question if where I'm at right now is where I'm supposed to be.                       "You make known to me the path of life." (Psalm 16:11)               If only we could b...

                     My twentieth birthday is coming up and it hasn't hit me until recently how quick time flies the older I get. I can still remember the slumber party I had for my tenth birthday ten years ago!                   As life progresses and as I grow older, my appreciation for waking up each morning increases. In a couple of weeks I will be leaving my teens behind and entering the third decade of my life. Lately I have been reflecting on the decade I am now wrapping up and the life events I experienced from the ages of ten through twenty. These years are somewhat the same yet totally different for all adolescents. Besides navigating puberty, every youth faces their own individual battles that interfere with their journey to adulthood. They can be related to academics, relationships, or similar to what I faced, home life.           ...

                     I have had to learn to accept that there is so much about this life that I will never understand.  If I become a counselor someday I will never be able to tell my clients an accurate answer on why bad things happen to good people. I may never receive the apologies I once longed for from the people in my past who hurt me. In every new season or new relationship I enter, I am risking something. Devoting attention to something or someone may require spending money or gas milage and sacrificing a portion of my 24-hour day. In my short years of being alive I have learned that life is a complete mystery with many twists and turns. I will find myself in one place at one point and then be somewhere completely different within a year. Throughout my life people came and people went. I would think I wanted something one moment and change my mind the next. A piece of my heart would be devoted to a person or thing ...

                  "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)              What does it mean to delight in the Lord? What exactly are the desires of my heart that this verse is referring to? What is God promising readers through these words?          As a human there are specific goals that we wish to achieve while living on this earth. Many of the common desires we may have include career's that fulfill self-meaning and financial needs, as well as spouses and children to fulfill desires for emotional security and family. Other desires include traveling, starting businesses, or doing something daring and exciting. Throughout life we experience different seasons that bring us different dreams and longings. They are considered good if they are used to bring glory and honor to the Lord. In fact, the Lord created many o...