Whats missing? CH _ _ CH

I am going to be honest, as I hope I have been in the past. This summer I was not apart of the faith as well as I should have been. I received a scholarship through a church that I have yet to go back to. I haven't gone through some crazy phase where I stay out every night and never return home. I barely leave my house, except for work and to run to the grocery store. On the Sundays that I didn't work, I chose to stay at home and sleep. I would think to myself, "Katy, you've worked hard this week, you deserve a day to sleep in." Or, "The preacher isn't going to preach anything that pertains to you, might as well stay home." And well, I'm kicking myself in the butt. I have missed out on 3 great months to which God could have placed a hand on my heart and got me on fire for His word. 

Since I am about to be in college, I should have been going to church. Church has always a crucial aspect of my life. And I know, going to church makes you as much of a Christian as standing in a garage makes you a car, but, for me, church has been what has made me be a better Christian because I have always received the Word that way. After every church service, I would always feel better about myself and feel like I have a better relationship with God, but recently I didn't feel that way and I don't know why.

I think God chooses sometimes to let His people wander off a little bit, but keeps a watchful eye to make sure they don't get in too much harm. I mean, He did give us free will. I feel like that is what He did with me. I was the one sheep that wandered off, and He came and got me and brought me home. I was the little brother that squandered and He met me half way with loving arms and told me I was finally home. I've always thought God can be sneaky, but that is what makes Him a great God. We don't know what He has in store for us.

What Brought Me Home?

I believe that this is all God's doing. There is a girl that I went to high school with named Pollyana. Well, Pollyana gave up social media for ONE FULL MONTH!!! When she finally returned to Facebook and Instagram, she was challenged to say 10 facts about herself. Her first fact went something like this: "Jesus us the center if it all. Everyday I am thankful of this grace, mercy and goodness in my life!" I realized int he moment of reading that, that I wasn't living the life that God wanted me to life. I wasn't doing what the faith says I should do. On basically every picture of Pollyana's is a Bible verse, and what I love about her is, she posts a picture everyday; so everyday I get to see a new Bible verse. 

How do I plan on returning?

A lovely couple from my dad's church got me Jesus Calling by Sarah Young for graduation and my mom got me The Maxwell Daily Reader by John C. Maxwell for my birthday. Every morning I have been getting up and reading both books. I feel like it centers me for the rest of the day. I keep one copy of Jesus Calling in my car as well along with a Bible, so before work I reread the daily devotion and look at it from a different perspective. Along with both of those books, I have started to watch some of Newspring's sermons to try to get some of God's word and ways into my life again. When I go off to college (in a week!!!) I will be trying different churches in the area to see which one suits me as a college student and a daughter of God. I have started to re-listen to Christian music and feel God through that way. And, basically, I plan on reaccepting God into my life and living by His plan for me. 

Answer: U R

This One's for the Girls: Don't Let Anyone Dull Your Sparkle

A little letter to all the girls out there; young and old: 

      I have something that I need to tell you about the world and what it likes to make you believe about love and how to get it. Society has this distorted thought that in order to get love from a man you have to do certain things.I want to address that these things are around. Here are some things you need to know.

     A couple of days ago, I saw a young couple about my age walking through the mall. The young lady had half of each butt cheek hanging out of her shorts. Today, I decided to drive the boulevard to get home. I saw young women with their midriff showing and once again their buttocks hanging out of their shorts. Sweetheart, please understand that this is not the way to attract young men. This is the way to attract men who don't care about your personality or your passion. Attract men through who you are and the great things that you do!!A great thing to remember is "The beautiful things don't ask for attention"-Secrete Life of Walter Mitty and that the Bible says in 1 Peter 3:3-4, "Don't be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothes yourselves instead with the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

      The next thing is don't you ever let a boy make you feel like you are unimportant or worthless. There have been too many girls in this world that have taken their own lives because someone somewhere made them feel bad about themselves. There are so many people in this world that love you and that continue you to love you. That boy that said that you were nothing to him, is obviously so stupid to say that about someone so AWESOME as you!! There have been boys in my past that have treated me like absolute crap and have made me feel absolutely horrible about my self. But God is an awesome God and he reminded me through the great friends and family that I have, that I am His daughter and that I am made in His image. I want you to remember that no one should ever make you feel like you don't mean anything, because you mean something to me. 

        Little one, please grasp what I am saying. There is someone out there for you, that will wait for you and will love you unconditionally. I have dated boys that I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. There have been boys in my life that I would have jumped off a cliff for if they told me to, but God had other plans for me and He has a plan for you. If He would have given me what I begged and prayed for every night I wouldn't have the absolute blissful happiness I have now. So please, don't get too upset when things don't work out with the person you thought would be "the one" because He has something and someone so much better in store for you!!! 

       Please remember these things about life! Don't let anyone make you feel uncomfortable in the body that you are in or make you feel worthless or unimportant. Learn to love yourself first before you try to love someone else, because its so much easier loving someone when I love myself. God and I love you!!

Love,

Katy