While I’m waiting, I will serve you

The other night, I caught the second half of Fireproof on TV and one of the songs from the movie has stuck with me since then – “While I’m Waiting” by John Waller.

I think that waiting is one of the strongest tests of faith – it requires a whole lot of trust and patience, so of course, it’s a great struggle for me personally. I’m currently in limbo on a few big life decisions - things that I believe God wants me to do in my life, but the logistics are still in the air. I know that if it’s God’s will, it will all fall into place in His time, but it’s so hard to see everyone else figure things out as I stand by and wait.

How to study the Bible

In the United States we’ve become experts at simplifying the Bible – we pride ourselves on 20 minute sermons, we prefer the message Bible to “better understand” it, and our Christian stores have shelves upon shelves of books to guide our spiritual life and walk us through reading the Scriptures. And, there is nothing wrong with this, necessarily. It’s just that too often we become to dependent on these crutches to lead us through life.

When a lovely reader, Belle, asked me to share how I do my daily Bible study, I agreed, but inside I had my doubts – I’m not a pastor, missionary, or even a youth leader. Neither am I a best-selling Christian author or Christian college trained. Nor do I have a lifetime of experience and wisdom to guide me in answering these questions. I’m a twenty-something Christian trying to figure out how to live a Godly life full of faith, love and joy – although I may not have all the qualifications of those authors and ministers, I actually have something greater to guide me through my Bible reading – the Holy Spirit.

Let them see You in me…

I believe that the only way we can truly make a difference in the world is if God is working through us. As humans, we are so imperfect and selfish, but God is perfect and more powerful than we can ever imagine. With Him, we can do anything and everything! In the presence of someone so great, why would I ever want to strive to achieve something on my own? I shouldn’t, really. But, I do.

Too often, my human pride and selfish ambitions try to accomplish things with just a passing courtesy prayer of help to God. And rarely are these situations successful. So that’s why I love this week’s song “Let them see You in me” by Colton Dixon – it reminds me that God is stronger than any of my weaknesses, worries and dreams.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9).

Girls in tight skirts and hooker heels: what the Bible says about women’s clothes

Remember this post about things that make me uncomfortable? Well another thing that makes me uncomfortable and kind of breaks my heart is seeing girls trying too hard. The first person that comes to mind for me is Christina Aguilera, especially some of her looks on The Voice. The photo below is one of her better, more modest looks on the show and I still feel uncomfortable just having it on the blog! Don’t get me wrong – she’s insanely talented and has a beautiful voice, but her looks just have way too much going on!

Photo by Wenn via Google Images.

Back to the un-celeb filled reality though – you know what kind of girl I’m talking about – that girl at the party who is wearing a skirt that is much too short and too tight, a top that is a tad bit too revealing and heels that she can barely walk in. She’s also probably wearing quite a bit of makeup, her hair is perfectly coiffed and probably filled in with extensions. Sometimes, she’s also the one who laughs to loudly, is a bit clingy and is desperately trying to get some guys attention.

Other times though, it’s the average girl – she’s confident, beautiful and has an incredible social life, but the way she dresses is all about getting attention. I’ve been that girl a few times and so have many of my friends. In fact, it’s the norm for young women today – dresses run too short and it’s all about the cleavage.

So that’s what makes me uncomfortable – seeing photos on Facebook of these lovely young women dressed in too tight clothes. Or even actresses on TV, especially reality television! I’m not judging…I’ve been there too. There have been quite a few moments in a fitting room when I’d try on a dress, skirt, or top and it would fit like a second skin and, if it was a day I was confident in my body, I quite liked how I looked in that dress. It made me feel feminine, sexy even.