Where's the Compassion?

Where's the compassion for His creation? Is it running dry in humanity, buried deep within the hearts of many, so far and so hard to reach? Is it no longer a norm to care so deeply? Could it be that we have abandoned the dominion God originally intended for us to have over the animals? If we're made in His image, and He cares about His creation, weren't we born to do the same?

Where's the compassion?

After volunteering at the animal shelter, I have seen it again and again. Lack of compassion in humanity, a constant willingness to neglect and give up the animals they once declared part of their family. It's heartbreaking, and it's hard. Dogs being thrown off trucks, puppies grown up and no longer wanted, cats surrendered because their owner is going on vacation. When there's no remorse or regret, no compassion in hand, it's so difficult to witness.

And it's not just animals. Everyday, we see stories on the news---stories of murder, stories of abuse, stories of horrible actions and ones that show once again the compassion that is slowly escaping our hearts.

I believe that it's time for a movement of compassion again in this world. Just like our Creator loves His creation, I believe that we are called to take care and to love them as well.


Commit an act of compassion today. Help someone in need. Give your pet a little extra love, and remember the gift that they are to your life. And please, oh please, consider adopting or fostering at your local shelter. Every year, several million animals lose their life, and I believe it stems from the lack of compassion in our hearts and the mistakes we make as humans in caring for the creation in our lives...leading to overcrowded shelters who often have no choice.

Look at His creation today and take the time to act with compassion. It may not change your life, but you might just be changing theirs!

His Masterpiece.

He's the Great Artist.

He paints the sky with hues of reds and yellows and pinks. He sculpted the mountains and the trees, the plains and the valleys. He formed the hot and fiery sun, placed it at its perfect location in all of space, and taught it to rise and set on a daily basis. He made the ants and the bees, the deer and the zebra, the rhino and the giraffe. He envisioned each of His creation with a particular purpose in mind, and set each one apart in their own special way. For the beautiful thing about the Great Artist is that He doesn't just make His creations for the fun of it, lacking purpose and meaning. The Great Artist takes every step to design and create to fulfill a purpose. There is no such thing as accidental or meaningless when our Creator comes into the picture. He creates for a purpose. And that doesn't exclude you.

For His greatest creation are His humans. Oh, how He loves His humans! He created them in His likeness, in His image; we are a reflection of our Creator.  But even beyond being made in the image of our Lord God, He cherishes us and cares about us.

We are His.
His love. His children. His masterpieces. And the Great Artist, the Creator of masterpieces, will never make less than a masterpiece. He will never make something that is not as beautiful or wonderful in His eyes. For the Creator of masterpieces delights in His creation--His people--with a love and a care beyond imaginable. He loves His masterpieces, and it breaks His heart to watch His creation fall to pieces.

And that's exactly why the Great Artist sent His Son. In the midst of our brokenness, despite that the Lord created us as His masterpiece and delight, there are scratches and scars and broken pieces all over us. We turn to our own ways, and forget to look up and stay close to the One who created us, the One who made us with a purpose (for the Great Artist only creates something if He sees purpose in doing so), the One who knows us better than we know ourselves.

The Great Artist sent His Son, Jesus, to the cross so that we could no longer be separated from our Creator...so that the Artist of Masterpieces could see the scars of His perfect Son instead of the cracks and scratches on His sin-filled creation.

The enemy may whisper lies into your mind, reminding you of your scratches and scars, convincing you that your life is meaningless, stirring thoughts of self hatred and insecurity.

Know the truth.
The Great Artist sees past the scars and scratches.

He created you with a purpose. 

He calls you beautiful. His Beloved.

His Masterpiece. //

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10

A Prevailing Purpose {When Life is Tough}

The Lord's purpose will prevail.

After a stressful and wearisome past few months, I have to admit that it's been tough. Life isn't easy. Losing a loved one is hard. Constant work can wear out the soul. Graduation and all the events surrounding it is quickly approaching. Life is flying by at a speed much faster than I've been able to process.

In the tough times, our faith is tested...and it's in these times that we so often fail the test and lose faith. Yet even when we stumble and fall, the Lord never fails to continue to show up and express His love all around us. His grace reaches out to us in our worst moments--for that's what grace is all about.

With everything overwhelming my heart and soul, it hasn't been easy. But it's in these times that I'm learning that the Lord is faithful. Even though many things still don't make sense, He is working behind the scenes, opening and closing the right doors, moving for a purpose that is far greater than I could ever imagine.

It amazes me how a single encounter can be used by God to bring dramatic change. He's been speaking through people, placing me with the right people at the right place at the right time. He's been opening doors and providing me with just what I need. He's been speaking to my heart. And it's a blessing when we respond to His call on our heart, for He uses our faithful response to further His purpose!

Life isn't easy.

But I'm learning step by step that God is faithful and that He's fulfilling His purpose.
He is good!

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of Your hands. Psalm 138:8
 

Start a Movement

Between attending the Rock and Worship Roadshow and viewing God's Not Dead 2 within the past few weeks, the Lord has been pressing against my heart a few things about steps of faith and standing up for Him.

It's so easy to live in this world with a spirit of timidity and fear. The name of Jesus has become forbidden, controversial, and quick-to-hide. To say His Name is risky. But to proclaim the name of Jesus in the way that we live...can lead to problems.

Problems that Jesus was all too familiar with.

And problems that must be worth the risk in order to pursue our Righteous King.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Matthew 16:24

Following Jesus means risk. It means sacrificing everything, even our acceptance by this world. It means denying ourselves and living for Him.

It means standing up in faith.


We are called out to step out in faith and spread His love to the world. We are called to stand up for Him, no matter the cost. Even when the world considers us strange, even when we are told we must hide our faith, we must not let the light go dim. God is not dead, but is alive and active, moving in our lives and across this nation and world. Hardened hearts and spiritually-closed eyes are all around us, but with the power of our God, I believe that a movement for Him is not impossible.

Image via Pinterest

We must set aside the fear in our hearts and walk in bravery. In the face of opposition, we must jump off these "cliffs", if we just have faith that when we jump, He will catch us. In order to initiate a revival of turned hearts towards our God and Savior, we must be willing to walk in faith and courage. 

That means taking the giant leaps, despite not knowing where we'll land, but trusting that He'll be there to catch us when we fall.


Let's stand up in faith and proclaim His Name, no matter the cost. Let's do what's right, even when the world tells us to do wrong. Let's pray and act in accordance with our faith, stirring a movement in this nation for Jesus Christ.

I don't know about you, but this light in my heart is too big for me to hide. Let's proclaim the Name of Jesus in all that we do.

Let's start a movement! 

Beyond the Countdown (To the Ready-to-Graduate Students Like Me!)

10.5 weeks...

72 days...

23 hours...

11 minutes...

Until the day that I walk down the stage, diploma in hand, with a happy spirit and a joyful heart. Until the day that I am officially a high school graduate.

Image via Pinterest

Until the first day of the rest of my life, right?
Maybe not.


Life doesn't begin the day after graduation. Life is now. Yes, counting down to the final day is nonetheless an exciting thing, but in the midst of counting down and waiting for the big day to come, we miss out on the gift of the life we have now. We forget that high school will never come again. We forget that memories are the only remnants of our past, and without making the most of what we have in life now, those memories will never exist. We forget that God didn't call us to a life of going through the motions, but a life where we take every single day seriously, where we live knowing that every single second of our life is a gift and that our utmost priority over anything else should be taking advantage of the time He has given us and using it to love others.


I am not called to rush through high school and live a life of just getting by.
I am called to make the most of every opportunity and use this time that God has given me, despite how much I dislike high school, despite how busy schoolwork gets, to share His love, to make this world a better place...

to be the hands and feet of Christ.

I have nowhere near accomplished this, but the Lord pressed these thoughts against my heart recently and has invited me to take the challenge of slowing down over the next two months and taking the opportunity that He has laid before me in public school to truly be an example of Christ to others through the way that I love. He wants me to act in love, to talk in love, to think in love, to truly walk in His love.

By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another. John 13:35

The world will know that we are His disciples by our love. But if we sit back and let the busyness of today and the rush to move onto tomorrow push us to go through the motions and never take the opportunity that God has placed before us to love, then the world will never know!

And it's not just in high school. In my college classes, in the shopping trips, when I'm getting together with friends and when I'm at home with family or surfing online...

He has called me to love.

Will you take the challenge? Whether you're a soon-to-be graduate, a recent graduate, a many-moons-ago graduate, or a many-years-to-go graduate, He has not called me and you to go through the motions. He has called us to take the opportunities that He has given us, with the situations and places He has put in our lives, with the people He has surrounded us with.

He has called us to love. Will you join me?

And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love. 2 John 5-6

Restless Hearts

 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 1:14

Nothing fills the ever-present void in our hearts except for the presence of our Lord. We may chase after seemingly-satisfying things, escaping only temporarily the heartbreak of this life. The pleasures of this life are temporal. They are meaningless, satisfying for a few days or maybe even a few years, but never fully satisfying the cravings in our hearts.

We seek to be truly happy, yet we turn to every single thing imaginable other than the Creator of happiness and of life itself. We crave something more than this life is offering us, and are not content until we find what we believe makes our hearts truly happy. We place our happiness in other people, finding ourselves only content through the presence of others. We find satisfaction in certain activities, whether it's a new hobby or even something as far as the pleasure of sin, through acts of drugs and alcohol and acts of lust. Humanity is searching for something greater than what most find. Our hearts are empty, and we seek to fill it. Many believe they do, but none of these things last long. They are temporal, meaningless pleasures under the sun.

Image via Pinterest

I've been learning more than ever before that in the midst of sadness, when I find myself basing my happiness on the presence of other people or activities in my life, that contentment is not truly found. These things are fading. When they slip like the wind, my heart is no longer full. In fact, it is never full unless all contentment, all satisfaction, is placed in Christ alone. He is the Only One who can fill the human heart, which He created.

Our hearts have a God-shaped hole that only He can fit. We are made for something more. We are made for a life of satisfaction, of contentment and pleasure, but we will always be craving that very thing until we chase after the One who created happiness itself. We will always be restless until we live life according to the purpose for which He created us: to live in step with Him.

Jesus is the Only One who doesn't change. In a world of meaningless things, a world that is fading and will one day no longer exist, God will still be on the throne, and our hearts will truly be full of joy.

In the moments of discontentment, when your heart is restless and your happiness is based on the presence of other people or things, fix your eyes on Jesus. He is the only One who can fulfill our craving hearts and bring pure joy to this fading life.


I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13

Short Reflections After an Extended 21-Day Fast

I just returned from a 21-day social media fast, which I ended up extending to over a month long! It was such a breath of fresh air to escape an addiction that I've been facing as well as partake in a necessity in my walk with God. I really experienced His calling on my heart to do it and I'm so glad I did! He worked and moved beyond what I imagined.

If you're facing an addiction or would just like to sacrifice something to grow in your relationship with the Lord, I recommend fasting. This was one of the best experiences I've ever had. Here are a few things God revealed to me:

--Trust in Him. Many trials--some worse than others--came during this time of fasting and I know that if I hadn't been fasting, I would not have been as strong in my faith as I have been over this past month and would've had an even harder time during these trials. He answered several prayers during this time, from prayers I've been praying for years to ones I began praying during this period of time. Through His faithful answers and movement in my faith, I've truly learned to depend and trust in the Lord and in His great love for me.

--Wait on Him and trust that He will reveal to me His will for my life at His right timing. As I've been praying harder than ever before about my future and His will for me with college, my major, and my future career, He revealed to me several times, oftentimes with the same Scriptural passage, through different sources that this is a waiting season. Continue seeking Him. Continue knocking on the door. At the right time, I will know what door is open and what door He has called me to walk through. He will reveal to me what to do at His right timing. Until then, learn to seek Him fully. Wait and pray. Ask for His perspective and desire only His will. I know that at the right timing, I will know for sure what to do--and it will be in line with what He has already been doing in my life.

--He spoke to me several times about going out in the world and making disciples. Go. Go. Go! The word was everywhere. He has called me to pray daily for the lost in my life and to grow in boldness and in faith. To open up and share my faith and what God has been doing in my life will be a challenge, but it is my wish that His love will shine through me this year and that I will be a part of going and leading people to Him. Grow in boldness, and be faithful in prayer!

--Be still. I began praying from day one of the fast to help me be still and yet it took me until the end of the fast to realize that He has done just that. Throughout the entire month, I barely made it anywhere, other than my home, school, and occasionally a place or two (such as Winter Jam during the second week!). Church, volunteering at the shelter, or any other normal to-do never worked out, as things were coming up again and again. Yet through the trials, I grew stronger in Him. As my schedule became less busy and more about Him, I was able to spend more time in prayer and in His Word. I grew stronger in my faith.


God knew the bad times that were coming, and yet He called me to take a break from the constant scrolling of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and led me to the foot of the cross, experiencing the love and grace of Christ in a way that was different than ever before. Because of this fast, I was able to handle the trials with a faith stronger and more dependent on Him. I wrote pages upon pages in my prayer notebook  during this period of time about what God has been doing, and I am just so grateful I listened to the call of the Holy Spirit on my heart. This was one of the most memorable moments in my walk with God, and I recommend fasting from any addiction/idol in your life as well!

With that being said, God is good.