#Goals

Tonight, God put something on my heart. I realized it while I was doing something totally normal for me: laying on my bed, going back and forth between Pinterest and watching a routine video on YouTube, I started thinking of ways I can make my life better once the summer starts. Get a job. Buy more cute clothes. Start blogging more often and a Youtube channel. Work out every day. Eat healthy. Take cuter Instagram pictures. Do more crafts. Re-organize and decorate my room. Have a routine to follow every morning to make me feel like I have it all together. Now, these are great goals, but I felt that the motivation behind them wasn't right. As much as I'd love to do all these things, I know that the first reason I want to do them is because I saw someone else do them, and they looked happy and like they had their life together.

Galatians 1:10 came to mind. It says, Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. To me it's the same thing: do I want to change certain things about my life to please people and myself? Or is it so I can be a better servant of the Lord? Honestly, working out every day and taking care of myself and the body and mind that the Lord gave would be awesome. But working out so I can seem up to par with other women, or so I can look a certain way wouldn't be so awesome because I would then be worrying about myself and the opinions of others, and as a Christian that isn't my job.

Of course, other people's opinions and the way they affect how I see myself will always be present in my head. But God says to forget all of that and to just listen to what He says. As a teenage girl, that's pretty hard to wrap my head around. Pleasing God instead of man is a really hard thing to do. It goes against the human instincts of wanting to be liked and wanting to be as "good" as the people we look up to, but that's what I've noticed about Christianity. Basically, we are put on earth and given all of these natural, human, earthly sins and the goal is to separate ourselves from that and fix our eyes on God. To follow Him instead of our instinct, and that's what makes following Christ hard but having a relationship with God and glorifying Him makes it worth it.

Being a teenager in 2016 and spending a lot of time on social media watching famous internet people talk about their everyday routines makes me wish I had my life together. It makes me wish I was a famous internet person, with tons of money and followers and clothes and makeup like them. I see them and think, how can I be like that? What can I do to get it together?
But then I remember: God doesn't need us to have it all together- He needs us to trust Him. Colossians 2:10 says, In Him you are made complete. And it's true. Having an instagram-worthy lifestyle won't get me where I wanna go. Having a Jesus-worthy lifestyle will. Ultimately, choosing actions that will glorify God will always benefit me more than doing something because I want to be like someone else.

When was the last time you got on twitter and didn't see #housegoals, #bodygoals, #hairgoals, #lifegoals, etc.? When was the last time you didn't see someone comparing himself to someone else?There is no way to escape the bombardment of images of "ideal" lifestyles in today's world, but by following God's word and listening to the truth, being happy with the life He's given you becomes much easier.

And Whatever You Do...

Hello! I am so excited to finally be writing my first blog post. I have been wanting to join the blogger community for a long time now and I am so happy I decided to start my blog!

The main focus of this blog is about living a Christian lifestyle. I'll be writing about Bible verses and my relationship with God as well as fashion and art. I am learning to keep Jesus at the center of my life and now at the center of my blog! I can't wait to start this journey and I hope y'all will join me for the ride.

I wanted my first post to be about the bible verse that I try to base my life off of. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

I found this verse when I was 12 years old. In the Methodist church, starting in 7^th grade, you can make the choice to be confirmed and become an official member of the church. It’s a commitment to your faith, and you take classes for a few months to prepare for it. I didn’t actually learn this verse in class, though. We were all talking over group message about what verse to put on our T-shirt and I googled “bible verses”. Colossians 3:17 really stuck out to me and ever since then it has been my “life verse”.

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been in dance lessons, choir and theatre. I have always wanted and still plan to pursue a career in the performing arts. Over the years, I have struggled a lot with the concept of being a performer and a Christian. Of course that’s who I want to be, but it’s not easy. In the arts, you are praised for what you do and if you make it big, you are praised for being yourself. That being said, artists have to deal with constant rejection which feels terrible and takes a lot of strength to withstand. Vanity, impatience and the desire to focus on the worldly desire for fame are things that all performers struggle with. This is why many people, celebrities or not, become so unhappy- they get caught up in the woes of the world and the things that don’t truly matter. We all do it sometimes- but the amazing thing is that God takes those dumb distractions away from us. God says be selfless, be patient, be faithful- and if we listen to Him, our lives will be full of Him and His love so that we can recognize it. That’s what Colossians 3:17 means to me, that we shouldn’t live this life for ourselves or for others but for God. It means that we should have God in our hearts and our minds and make decisions based on what we know about Him. It means that we should enjoy this life that He has given us and live it to the fullest in His honor. It means that the foundation of our lives should be Jesus Christ. This is a huge concept and it doesn’t happen all at once- since 7^th grade, I have been slowly figuring out how to live my life for God. This means, as I am also continuing in my (high school) musical theatre career that I am learning to want God’s glory instead of my own. Gradually, I am realizing that praises to Him are so much greater than a standing ovation. Being seen center stage doesn’t even compare to feeling God’s presence in my life.

Another part of this verse that I didn’t quite notice before is the end- Giving thanks to God the father through Him. Thankfulness is another huge part of Christianity. I have been blessed over and over by God and giving thanks to Him for my life, the people in it, the opportunities I have and His presence in my life is one of the most valuable things I can do. Taking a moment to reflect every day and say thank you to God really opens my eyes to how blessed I am and leaves me feeling content and at peace.

I hope this post makes you think about all God can do for you if you open your heart and your life to Him, and of course, I hope you'll stick around!

xo, 

Julia