Your Hands (Cover)

This will always mean so much to me.

Confidence In Christ

Recently in my quiet time, I felt God speaking to me about my future.

Let me start off with this; I'm a dreamer--a huge dreamer. For those of you that know me, you can attest to that. I've always been one to have outrageous dreams for my life and future--be a fashion designer, travel Europe, get married, do music ministry, own a magazine, go to school in California, have my own studio, etc. I have even been laughed at followed with a "Oh, Morgan. You're such a dreamer. You need to set your feet on the ground more.", but I just can't help but have my head stuck in the clouds.

Within these dreams, aspirations, and goals for my life, I have labeled them just as that and allowed them to be nothing more. I've really learned lately about myself that I'm great at dreaming up the dreams, but I'm not so good at living them out and doing my part in making them happen.

Now the next question I had to ask myself is "Why?". Why was I not pushing for my dreams to become a reality?

The answer that I found to that question when I really searched my heart was that I haven't truly put my trust and found my confidence in Christ.

I have had multiple different adversities in my life that over the years I have allowed to become a crutch, I have allowed to become things to hold me down, and I have allowed them to hold me back from going for what God has divinely planned for me. I have become accustomed to this big fear that I'm not able to do big things. I have become accustomed to that mentality that in this society, who am I? I'm just some small town Minnesotan girl with not much to offer to the world. Sure, it's really easy for me to dream the dreams, but it sure hasn't been easy for me to take the steps towards making those dreams become a reality. As much as I am not a perfectionist, I think I have had a fear of failure.

So, it really hit me.

Would God create any one person for no purpose at all?
No.

Would God have equipped me all of these years through all of my adversities for nothing?
No!!

I have doubted His power with relationships in my family.
I have doubted His power with relationships with my friends.
I have doubted His power with my career.
I have doubted His power with my finances.
I have doubted His power with using my talents and gifts He, Himself has given me.
I have doubted His power with my health and medical issues.
I have doubted His power with brokenness in my life.
I have doubted His power with healing.
I have doubted His power with restoring.
I have doubted His power with unconditional love.
I have doubted His power with grace and mercy.
I have doubted His power to be faithful.
I have doubted His power in my safety, protection, and well-being.
I have doubted His power in divinely choosing me.
I have doubted His power in having a specific plan for me.
I have doubted His power in making my dreams, ambitions, and desires of my heart become a reality.


I think I had convinced myself that I had been living by faith, yet I hadn't. There have been multiple circumstances where I have said things like "That will never happen", as if I could even have the nerve to doubt Christ for a second. How wrong of me to even consider doing that after all He has done and continues to do--things that my eyes can see, and things they cannot.

"Take up shield & armor; arise and come to my aid." ~Psalm 35:2

"Such confidence we have through Christ before God." ~2 Corinthians 3:4


"I am glad I can have complete confidence in You." ~2 Corinthians 7:16

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see." ~Hebrews 11:1

"For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." ~Luke 11:10

May you walk in true faith and find divine confidence in him.

Dream big--maybe it's time to take the next step.


Here's to living the destined life..

Gaining What Was Lost

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten--the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm--my great army that I sent among you." ~Joel 2:25

 If you would have told me even a month ago that I was going to be in a picture like this, I would have laughed in your face.

For years, months, and days, I lived with bitterness, anger, frustration, and hurt in my heart. For years, I murdered a specific person in my heart over and over again for the pain that he had caused me. I had convinced myself I had forgiven, when really, I was clinging onto that pain like a buoy in the water. I didn't want to let go. Why? Because it was easy to hold onto that pain. It was easy to hold onto that anger. It was easy to stay bitter. For nearly 18 years I held onto it, and let it hold me back.

In the process of moving home, it didn't even cross my mind that God could have even something planned for my relationship with my dad. I just figured I was moving home to a healthy place with healthy people and that was good enough, right? Well sure, it was good, but God had something even better ahead of me.

When I moved home, I had a change of heart. God softened me, spoke to me, and gave me the strength to take the step of going to my dad's house for dinner. I was still going in with caution, but my eyes were completely opened to something new. I noticed a change even in how I felt--the bitterness was gone, the anger was gone, the hurt was gone--all of it, just gone. It was as if a wave had come over the marks in my sand and just wiped it all clean.

It caught me off guard at first. It was strange to me. I had lived 18 years with all that baggage and burden on me and my life--and now it was suddenly gone. I believe it was only by the strength of Christ that I was able to let those burdens go. I was able to submit them to God and allow him to bring a huge wave over my heart and wipe it clean.

Since that night of taking that step in going to my dad's house for dinner, God has clearly been moving. I've spent multiple times with my dad and his wife, Angie. I've been at their house, gone out for lunches and dinners, gone shopping, and gone to family gatherings with them. We've spent times laughing, having deep conversations, and making new memories. I've heard words from my dad's mouth that I never thought I would hear in our time here on earth. Heck, they even came to CHURCH with me on Sunday!! Never EVER did I think I would live the day where I would be able to stand next to my dad in church in worship and praise for our Father. We stood there next to each other absorbing God's presence. We even found out later when talking to each other that we both cried at the same worship song--just absolutely overwhelmed by God's presence and how good He is in the fact that we were able to be there together at the same time in praise and worship.

For the first time in my life over the past few weeks I have felt loved by my dad, appreciated by my dad, and happy to even be around my dad.

No more pain.
No more anger.
No more bitterness.
No more baggage.
No more burdens.

Instead,
Restoration
Renewing
New memories
New life
New chances
New times
New outlooks
New works
New chapters

God really does restore what Satan takes from us--all within His time. What a clever one He is.

And the best part? I have my dad back.


Here's to living the destined life..

Submission

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." ~Proverbs 3:5-6

I don't think I fully grasped this verse until the course of the past week or so.

I was living my life fearing every decision I had to make in worry that I would follow my flesh rather than Christ's calling and desire for my life. I came to the realization one day that if we have Christ living in us, if we are walking in relation with Him, if we are striving to live our lives as a reflection of Jesus Christ, and if we have a heart after Him--He blesses the desires of our hearts.

Last weekend, I made one of the biggest decisions--if not the biggest--for my life; I chose to move home to Minnesota. The process of leaving entailed a lot of different attributes. There was a lot of freedom, joy, happiness, but also at the same time there was brokenness, guilt, and struggle. Leaving home meant I was making a decision for my life--for my own personal adult life.

Although this decision has brought SO much good and fruit into my life, it has also brought destruction with relationships. I would definitely say that has been the largest struggle. Relationships that were (and are) very dear to me were broken, and now lost.

Within this brokenness, there is a flame of hope resonating in my heart. I hit a point where I chose to submit my life completely to God. I had already done so in choosing to move, but I needed to choose so in the effects of my choosing to move.

I needed to put those relationships in His hands.
I needed to put that brokenness in His hands.
I needed to put those burdens in His hands.

Now that I have, there is even a larger freedom that comes along with that. It definitely takes an everyday willingness to continually put these things in His hands, but every morning that I wake up, I choose to do so, and there is fruit in my every day.

"Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" ~Psalm 34:4-8

God, praise and glory to You for lifting things from our lives and giving us freedom!! We are so beyond undeserving of Your grace, Your love, and Your mercy--yet through You we are made worthy. I thank you for that, Jesus.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."~Matthew 11:28-30

Here's to living the destined life..