Worship Wednesdays - My Paper Heart

My Paper Heart is one of my all time favorite songs ever. It talks about how God has our heart. Remember that even if you don't have that special guy in your life God loves you and wants your heart. Enjoy this song today! Thought it would be a great way to end our month of Love. 

A Story of Faith, Hope and LOVE

February is that month when love is undeniably in the air and for us singles it is that one month of the year in which our singleness stands out the most. This week I have not only faced another year of being single on Valentine’s Day, but I will have also celebrated my birthday the very next day. Yep, a double dose of joy, Valentine’s Day and my 37^th birthday back to back. I’m not only reminded that I am single on Valentine’s Day, but I’m also that I am still single and now thirty-seven. Ouch. 

Naturally this would lead anyone to a little time of reflection. It is a time to look back and reflect on my experiences, some of my mistakes, but ultimately land on my hopes and dreams for the future. It is in these disappointments, heartbreaks, hopes and dreams that I find my story of faith, hope and yes, even love.

Faith

I have always believed, but had never committed my life to my faith until I was in my early thirties. I didn't commit until God made it painfully evident that something was missing in my life. I was running on empty and seeking desperately to be filled. I spent much of my adult life searching for my worth in things, relationships, experiences or anything that would fill the void I was feeling, all the time not realizing the void I was feeling was one that only He could fill. This was the point in my life that He pursued me the most. It was in the moment that I felt like everything in my life was falling apart that everything was truly beginning to fall into place. 

God was pursuing me in probably one of the most difficult times in my life and during this time I was praying some pretty big prayers. I honestly believed that He would step in and repair all the damage that was done, fix everything and life would go on as it always had. But God, had something else in mind. Those prayers went unanswered, so I thought. God did not answer in the way that I had hoped for in that moment, but He had moved enough in my heart and in my life at this point for me to remain steadfast and faithful. I held on to my faith down to the final moment. Even in the disappointment, even in the heartbreak and the confusion I could feel His Presence in my life. I didn’t understand His plan, but I held onto my faith in the promise that He had one. I placed my faith in Him and where He was leading me. See He always answers and this time His answer just happened to be “no” and that disappointment turned out to be the best thing that could have ever happened to me.

Hope

I can look back on so many prayers through out my life and thank God for the “no” that I was blessed with and this occasion was no different. I may not have gotten the answer I prayed for, but I can now see where His answer has brought me and how much that “no” has grown my faith and deepened my relationship with Him. I can also say that if I had gotten the answer I was looking for I don’t know that I would be where I am today on my faith journey.

He is my Heavenly Father, He is my Creator and He always knows what is best for me. He may not always change my circumstances in the way that I expect, but I can trust that He is continually changing me. See the freedom I have found in Christ is just that. My situations may not always change or go as I have planned, but I can find hope in a bigger plan, in His plan. I can know without a doubt that He has not and never will leave my side. He will sometimes deliver me from the storm and He will sometimes carry me through it, but He will never leave me in it.

Love

He is and has been with me in every moment. His plans for me have always been better than anything I could imagine, so as I reflect on this season of being single and I prepare myself for this week I can remember once again that He knows what is best for me and trust Him in the wait. I can trust that even though He has not changed my circumstance yet, He is still continually changing me.  He is not only changing me but, preparing me, preparing my heart for the plans He has for me. He is preparing a heart that at one time was not ready to give nor receive the kind of love He created me for. The best part of this time of reflection has been recalling all the twists and turns in my life and seeing how far His love has brought me and to know He’s not finished with me yet.

While I pray the plan He has for me includes marriage, I can trust whatever He has in store for this heart of mine. I can trust it, because I am already in the midst of the greatest love story of all. I have a Savior that bore the weight of my sin on the cross to bring hope into my life. He offers me love, grace and mercy each and every day. I find a comfort and peace in Him that is like no other. In Him I find my confidence, in Him I have found my purpose, in Him I find fulfillment and most of all, in Him I find love, a love that endures forever. Out of His love the desires of my heart were born and I can trust that He will never let them go unfulfilled. He may not answer the way I expect, but I can trust that He will lead me to my greatest desire of all, a life grounded in faith, hope and yes, even love.  

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

Worship Wednesdays - Someday Soon

This is another one of my favorite songs. It talks about someday falling in love. Hope you enjoy! 

LOVE is the key to success

Have you ever thought about why we are called to love? 

Why does our Heavenly Father demand us to love people we do not even know? 

These questions have come to pass in my mind plenty of times. There are many options that we have in this world about love and what it should look like.

LOVE is the key to success

My name is Crystal Lee and I have been writing for small groups at my local church, new letters for various local women’s groups and teaching devotional at a local women’s rehabilitation facility. I decided to step out on faith and become a guest writer for One Girl One Life One God; it has been an honor to have met Grace Mae. I am grateful for the opportunity to share a little bit of my experiences with the world. It is definitely not a coincidence that we have crossed path on the subject of Love. As a single mother of two children one being a teenager and freshman in High School, and my younger one who is in Elementary and may be ready for College next week, love has been long lasting subject in my household.

Why do I have to love the ugliness in others, you may ask yourself?

            When my children decide to act of character and bicker over petty stuff. I have to redirect them to the understanding neither how annoying nor how ugly they may be to each other; they will need to love each other. The relevance to regrouping and bringing my children back to the word is because we should take the time out to lay the foundation of God’s word back into our children’s lives.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old,

He will not depart from it.” ~ Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)

Love has many meanings in the word of God. We need to take hold of the Agape type love which doesn’t come easy for some of us. For me it is a daily battle to choose the spirit woman to raise up verse the fleshly woman. In this life we have many distractions that draw us away from the light of the Savior. The modern, fast pace world where we want immediate answers to all of our situations and questions tends to draws us away at times from crying out to the Lord for answers. Our children disobey, our Husbands are disconnected, the work place environment is dull and overwhelming all at once, the bills are due, the family is hungry, you are a soccer mom, you volunteer at the local church, you have laundry piling up, etc. ; all sound familiar to some of us? What does this have to do with love? We engage in all these activities for the sake of a loved one.

Agape (Ancient Greek ἀγάπη, agápē) is "love:

The highest form of love, charity; the love of God for man and of man for God.

"Not to be confused with philia – brotherly love –agape embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends, that serves regardless of circumstances.

I tried something different, starting my day with quite time in the word of God.  Asking Him daily to allow me to see people in the light of His love and how I could show love to those around me.  My challenge to you today is to step in faith and show some love. Love to me looks like feeding the homeless, going over to the that one sister in church who is totally your opposite and telling her how beautiful she is (we all have one of those), praying for those who spitefully use you, pray for your husband instead of complaining, pay it forward, find a women’s group in your area and pour your love into someone who is hurting, volunteer at a group home and pour love into some children, pray for that one person who gets under your skin (don’t tell me you never had that someone), etc.

Be blessed and thank you Grace Mae for the opportunity to be part of the ministry.  

I love you all.

~ CrysLee

Meditation Mondays - 5 Reasons Why I Wear a Purity Ring

You know just because you are single doesn't mean you can't be thinking about your future husband and life. Every girl myself included dreams about getting married and probably have your pinterest boards filled with ideas. I know for a fact that I have struggled with being single especially the last couple years. Most of my friends are either in a relationship, engaged or married and I'm over here just trying to figure out what I am going to do this week. I wouldn't say that I am fake but as I see my friends finding love and happiness I tend to put up a front on how content and happy I am being single while congratulating all my friends. Don't get me wrong. I really am happy for them. It's just I'm a little bit jealous that it isn't me. For the longest time I would worry and question why it isn't me. Then it hit me right smack in the face. Even though that special guy hasn't come into my life I should be preparing myself for him. Over the next few weeks in February I will be talking about what it means to stay pure and how to prepare yourself for your future husband. 

Today I would just like to talk about my standards of what staying pure means to me. If you know me personally you would probably notice a ring on my left hand. It stands for purity but to me it's much more than just a purity ring. It represents my promise not only to God but to my future husband. It was my choice and decision to wear it. I wanted to show other young girls that it's okay and nothing to be ashamed of to wear a purity ring if you truly believe in it. 

Here are a few reasons why I choose to wear a purity ring. 

1. It's a reminder of my promise to God, myself, and my future husband. Commitments are very hard to keep in the eye of temptation because we are only human and have wants and desires. My ring helps remind me everyday of my promise and why I choose to save myself for my future husband. My body is a temple of Christ and with Christ at the center of my life, His strength I can come against temptations. I want to be modest and save m y body for my future husband. It reminds me that my life is not my own but of God and I am here on earth to serve Him and make His name known. 

2. I serve a big God and this is a symbol of my faith. God is big and powerful. My ring is a symbol of the BIG God I serve. My faith is probably the most important thing in my life. The ring help signifies what I believe and a constant action of my faith. Without God I wouldn't be who I am today. God sent His son to die for my sins and raised to life on the third day so that I may have eternal life with Him forever if I ask Him to be the center of my life. 

3. It represents my respect for my future husband. Guys need to hear that they are respected and when I meet my future husband I want to tell him that I respect him. I want him to know that I kept myself pure for him. I want my future husband to know that I didn't give my body away before I met him. I want him to know that I overcame temptation. This ring is a reminder that I chose to love and honor him. I want him to know that I thought of him, our future, and life together when I made my decision when faced with temptations. 

4. My purity ring will attract the right kind of guys. Most guy that see my ring think I'm married or engaged but the right kind of guys will know that many young Christian women wear a purity ring. I want the kind of guy that will look beyond the initial attraction to get to know me as a person and my heart. My prayer is that the right kind of guy will respect my decision to remain pure until marriage. I want to get to know my future husband as a friend not just as an attraction. I want the guy to see my heart and soul. I want him to get to know me for me not just because of how I look. 

5. It's a conversation starter. Many people think it's a promise ring or that I am engaged or married. I get to tell them about why I believe what I believe and shows people that I'm not afraid to be scoffed at. Some people when I tell them my story applauds me for my choice while other think it's too extreme or that I'm crazy. Some disagree with me saying people don't do that anymore or that it doesn't matter. I have had people tell me just wait until you fall in love. All your standards and values will go out the window. You'll change your mind. Well you know what? Truth is it's my commitment, my life, my choice and that's really all that matters. 

So I challenge you today if you are single to examine your heart and think about what I just wrote about. If you wear a purity ring and would like to share your story I'd love to hear from you. You can either message me, email me, or just leave a comment on this post. 

Blessings and Shalom, 

Grace Mae <3 <3 <3 

Meditation Mondays - God's Love

Welcome back to Meditation Mondays! Since yesterday was Valentine's Day I wanted to write today's post on love. Now not the love of a boyfriend but the love of God.

Most of you know that my relationship with Jesus is the most important to me. God's love never fails and never gives up. He loved us so much that He sent his son to died for us and then raised him from the dead three days later. I love John 3:16 verse that talks about the true love of God.

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day.

Remember for all that are single that God has the perfect guy for you all you have to do is trust and wait for his timing. I know I am and as hard as it is at times I know that God's timing is so much better then my own. I pray everyday for the person that God has planned for me. I pray that He is following God and waiting for me as I am waiting for him.

One of my favorite songs that always think of during Valentine's Day is My Paper Heart by Francesca Battistelli. It talks about how my paper heart belongs to God. Part of the song says "never knew that I could feel the way I feel, never knew that there could be a love so real." The love she is talking about in the song is the love of God. I encourage you to go check out the song.

Blessings and Shalom!
Grace Mae <3 <3 <3 <3 <3