Tag: writing

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My Top 6 Favorite Blog Posts [and why I love them]

My Top 6 Favorite Blog Posts [and why I love them]

Hi, everyone.

 

I rarely talk about myself on my blog. And I guess the main reason behind that is that as much as I own this site, and I’m the exclusive writer on here, I don’t want this blog to be just about me – I want this to be about all of us as we grow in our faith. But mostly, I want it to be a place where we can all be encouraged about our amazing God and how much He loves us.

 

However, I wanted to let you all know that this isn’t going to be a regular post today. As of right now, I’m in bed, feeling pretty miserable – I’m sick with strep throat. I don’t know how I’ve never had it before, but I definitely would have remembered it if I did. So even though I sat on the couch all day, I didn’t have the energy to write anything significant.

 

Instead, I decided to compile a list of some of my favorite posts I’ve written. That way, for those of you who haven’t been reading a while, you might find some you haven’t seen before.

 

I’m A Christian, And Also An Introvert

 

I wrote this post to express my feelings on how God can use us right here, right where we are. I needed to hear it myself, since I think we (as Christian) often fail to include EVERYONE on the list of “who can serve God.” Bottom line? We all can.

 

It’s Okay Not To Be A Writer.

 

I wrote this one when I felt like I was doing something wrong – when I felt like I should have been writing books, when in reality, I didn’t feel called to that. See my conclusion in this post.

 

The Problem With The “Christian” Label

 

One thing that bothers me a lot is when false doctrine is passed off as truth because it’s called “Christian.” See how to combat that lie here.

 

“Is That A Sin?” How To Live In Freedom

 

The question is tossed around in the Christian community regarding everything. “Is it wrong if Christians ____?” But really, we must look at it from a different perspective. Find out how.

 

Don’t Regret Where You Are.

 

This post addresses something I really struggled with for a while. I wanted to know if I was really doing the things I should have been doing; in reality, I was right where God had me.

 

Christianity: Hypocrisy vs. Authenticity

 

Why are some Christians such hypocrites? Well, that’s what I wanted to know. I dug deeper, and this is what I found regarding the differences between authentic Christians and hypocritical ones.

 

Some of these posts are newer, and some are older.

 

But I suppose that they all have an underlying message. Want to know what that is? First of all, they’re all based in God’s grace. His amazing, 100% free grace for every one of us. From grace springs our identity. That we’re new creations in Christ, and nothing, I repeat nothing can take that away from us. (See this post for more on that.) We cannot do anything to earn His love; it is a free gift for all who would receive it.

 

See, Christianity isn’t about how much we do for God, but how much He has done for us. So through my blog, even with being sick, I hope this message comes across.

 

Thank you all for reading; you guys are such an encouragement to me.

 

*aj

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There is A Plan For You.

There is A Plan For You.

10:26 PM. Document 43. 0 words.

 

Sometimes when I write, I have a clear focus of where I’m going. I have some fantastic quotes in my head, Bible verses for reference, blog posts to link to, anecdotes that I’m dying to share, and a great idea for graphic design.

 

Other times, I sit at my computer after a long day of school, karate, music binging, and a favorite show on Netflix, and bore a hole through my eyeballs from staring at the white screen and blinking cursor.

 

I can converse with people over text all day. Not that I do, but that I don’t run out of things to say and it feels so simple. So easy. So great.

 

And then there’s my blog. I love it to death. I love writing, I love my readers, I love being so involved. But sometimes, my words just won’t write, and too bad for me that I created this thing called a schedule, which ties me down to writing twice a week. And half the time, I have no idea what I’m doing.

 

And a lot of times, I feel like that with my life in general.

 

I know how to do a lot of things. I end up doing a lot of things. But sometimes I wonder: am I really doing things that matter? Do I really know what I’m doing? Should I be doing better things? Should I be better at the things I choose to do?

 

It’s a frustrating feeling.

 

As I wrote in a recent post, Don’t Regret Where You Are, I want each and every person alive to know that your life is not a mistake. We can’t go around second-guessing what we’re doing (unless we’re doing something obviously wrong, but that’s a totally different blog post for another day). If God has placed us somewhere, why should we think that we’re not good enough, not lovable enough, or not equipped enough?

 

I have to address those questions in my mind that make me think that I’m doing something wrong, the thoughts that question the talents God has given me, the ones that question the opportunities God has clearly placed before me. Who am I to question God’s perfect plans?

 

I might not always feel like I know what I’m doing – in fact, most times I don’t. I don’t always feel smart, or strong, or gifted. I get lost in my plans for the future. I don’t even hold the plans.

 

But you know who does?

 

Exactly. God does.

 

2 Samuel 22:31

 

“This God—his way is perfect;

the word of the Lord proves true;

he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”

 

Jeremiah 29:11-13

 

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

 

God’s plans for us are perfect.

 

If you’re like me and you feel like you have no idea what you’re doing, turn to God.

 

Proverbs 16:9

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

 

It’s alright. God is the one in control, not us. God leads us where we need to go. He wants what is best for us.

 

The question is not “Am I doing the right thing?” but “How can I be faithful in this thing that I’m in?” Let us not neglect to do all for the glory of God – and use His strength to accomplish what He sets before us.

 

I’m still learning this, as I finish this post past midnight. I’ve written over 700 words.

 

As that question inches into my mind and laces my thoughts with apprehension and self-doubt, the question of “Should I even post this?” I’m pushing it away. Who knows where my blog will reach, who it’ll speak to, or even if the only one learning anything from it is me. It doesn’t matter.

 

It doesn’t matter if I have a hundred thousand followers or two hundred total.

 

All that matters is that I’m speaking the message God has given me.

 

And that is true of every one of you. Don’t second-guess your platforms. Use them to bring people to our Savior. Let us show the world what grace truly looks like.

 

12:30 AM. “There is A Plan For You.” 767 words.

 

Until next time,

 

*aj

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It’s Okay Not To Be A Writer.

 

It's Okay Not To Be A Writer.

It was a regular Tuesday morning. I had just awoken to the sound of my alarm (which I am nearly deaf to) after hitting snooze who-knows-how-many times and trying my best to keep my eyes open to no avail.

 

I had written a blog post the night before, so as I always do on Tuesday mornings before starting my day, I skimmed through likes, comments, and my blog feed.

 

Do you ever read a blog post wherein the author says something fabulous about another blogger and it makes you want to check them out? Well, that happened to me. I read a post recommending a blog and read a few posts.

 

The first line that popped out to me was this:

 

“I’m not a writer…”

 

Wait…what? You’re not a writer? You have a fabulous blog and you’re not a writer? What is this madness? Aren’t all cool people writers? (Apparently not.)

 

This is what got me.

 

I am not a writer. I am a blogger, among other things. One that keeps telling herself that someday, I’m going to write a book, and someday, I am going to get a fantastic idea that sticks with me and become really popular and everyone will love me.

 

Maybe a little exaggeration there, but you get the point.

 

For the past few months, I’ve been all wrapped up in the concept of being a writer (whether fiction or nonfiction) and have forgotten my identity.

 

I am not what I do.

 

It’s okay to not be a writer.

 

It’s okay not to be a pro surfer.

 

It’s okay not to be an Olympian.

 

It’s okay not to be perfect.

 

It’s okay not to try to shove myself in a mold that I do not fit in.

 

When I was three, I started gymnastics and I continued until age eleven. Eight and a half years, and that was my life. I dreamed of going to the Olympics, or getting a scholarship to some nice and fancy gymnastics college. I’d be flexible at fifty-three and stronger than anyone I knew.

 

But it never happened, and I know it never will.

 

When I quit, there wasn’t anything wrong with me. I was still me. Just because I wasn’t a gymnast anymore did not mean that I was any less of a person. I realized that it was okay to not be a gymnast anymore, because as much as gymnastics was a part of my life, gymnastics was not and could never be my identity.

 

Now, I’ve found the same thing with being a “writer.”

 

I haven’t stopped blogging, but currently, I’m not writing a novel.

 

For so long, I felt as if I had to prove to the world that I’m serious about who I am.

 

Prove that I am cool because I write books.

 

But you know what? I don’t write books. I write blog posts. And I’m happy with that.

 

It’s okay not to be a writer, but it is not okay to force myself into that one-size-fits-all mold.

 

This is my writing. Not books. But yet, writing isn’t my identity.

 

My identity is so much more important than a title. I could be a doctor, or a writer, or a teacher, or a lawyer, or an editor, or a mother.

 

But as much as those things could be part of me, who I am does not rest on that.

 

I am a child of God because He adopted me.

 

I am holy because He has made me holy.

 

I am precious and loved because He has chosen to love me.

 

I am forgiven because Jesus Christ died for me.

 

I have new life because He rose again for me.

 

None of these things are what I’ve made for myself, but who God has made me to be and given freely.

 

I say all of this to say: no matter who I choose to be, my identity will not rest on that. I might identify with some things, but it doesn’t matter what name I make for myself. Ultimately, the only name that will be important is “Child of God.” “Forgiven.” “Loved.”

 

It is very okay for me not to be a writer if I would have to get there by pushing and shoving and stabbing.

 

That is not okay.

 

No matter who I am, a writer or not, I will still be loved. I will still be Amanda. I will be just as valuable as if I had chosen a different life.

 

It’s okay not to be a writer, if that means that I get to follow God’s plan for me in another way. His way is the best way, and I accept that.

 

*aj

 

 

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Living To Be Freshly Pressed (Or Not)

Writing

Blogging (and all writing, for that matter) is absolutely amazing.

I love it so much.

I can press my fingertips to the keys on my keyboard, and almost magically, words come out.

It’s my joy to sit up until midnight (or 1am or 2am) and just express myself with written words that I could never formulate in speech.

I love to write about what God is doing in my life. What I’m learning. Who I am. And who I want to be. It’s a passion and a privilege of mine to be able to use my little fingertips for the glory of God.

No matter what others tell me, I’m going to keep on journaling and typing, because that is what I love to do, and it is one of my ways that I worship God.

However, there is a very interesting feature on WordPress called “Freshly Pressed”. Basically, WordPress employees find ten well-written and interestingly-expressed blog posts (that have a unique point of view and are attractive) every day from around the WordPress blogosphere and promote them on the WordPress Freshly Pressed page. To many bloggers, this is an AMAZING goal.

I mean, who wouldn’t want five million views on their blog and potentially millions of followers because one post went viral?

Tell me, who doesn’t want to be popular?

This presents a slight problem. See, I can almost assure you that people have blogs dedicated to “trying to make their posts go viral”. If you know anything about modern media, well, you’ll know that it doesn’t happen that way. You can’t produce viral content purposefully, but I suppose that people don’t really understand that.

At the same time, I think we forget this point that should be so obvious to us in life.

So many people live their lives for show. They live to be cool and popular. (Sounds to me like another way of saying ‘viral’ and ‘Freshly Pressed’.) But really, does that make a lot of sense?

Let me put it back in blogging and writing terms.

Every Monday and Friday night, I stay up late doing what I love. I eat chocolate (shh, don’t tell Mom and Dad…just kidding) and listen to instrumental music (good for the brain) and wear away my laptop keys in the beautiful silence.

And not only do I love doing it, but I write for one main reason: I do it because I love the One who saved my soul, and my life is dedicated to Him.

I don’t write to make my post popular, though high stats days are definitely nice. But see, if I were to write for being Freshly Pressed only, well, I think that would alter my content.

Hypothetically, I wouldn’t express my faith so openly.

I’d probably side with the secular world when it came to issues like marriage and politics, relationships and worldviews.

I would probably use explicit language to “blend in” with everyone else.

And honestly, to me, that sounds miserable.

I will either write to please God, or I will write to please the world.

Do I really want to write words that pacify a bunch of little mortals, or do I want to please the Almighty God of the Universe and hear Him say “Well Done”?

I’m going with the latter.

And I believe life is the same way.

As a Christian, do I want to hide my faith, act like everyone else, hold the views of the secular world (that the Bible is clearly against) use inappropriate language, and ditch the Bible for temporary popularity?

UM, NO WAY. Never in a million years.

I have made my choice that I do not need the approval of the world to live my life. I already have the approval of the Creator of EVERYTHING EVER, so what more do I need?

Am I going to live to be Freshly Pressed, or live to please my Lord and my God?

Am I going to change my lifestyle to be popular according to the world’s standards, or live to serve my Maker and Sustainer?

I choose to live in freedom. I am free from the mold that the world has set upon me to be popular and cool, and I am going to live for God.

And if no one else does? Well, I still will.

*aj

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A Letter to the Younger Me

Notebook Letter Writing

Lately, I’ve been all over open letters online. I’ve been loving the Dear Future Husband letter thing, letters to Your Future Self, etc. But I decided to take a slightly different path and write a letter to the Younger Me. Basically, I wish I had known these things when I was ten, eleven, twelve, and on. I’ve learned so many little tings in the past few years – and I think it’s important that I share them. So here we are now. A Letter to the Younger Me.

Dear Younger Amanda,

There are some things I wish I could have told you when you were younger, in the midst of life, trying to figure everything out.

Perhaps you would have turned out to be a different person than you are today. But no matter. You’ve lived a short fifteen years at this point in time, and you’ve already learned a lot.

First of all, I want you to know that life is going to be hard. Things are going to happen that will test you. Your heart will get broken no matter where you are in life – by people and all kinds of crazy circumstances. It’s not going to be easy by any stretch, but God will be with you through it all. Trust me on this. You will never ever be alone.

Besides not being alone, you should know something else. Sometimes, life will be really dark. You might feel hopeless, or lost, or drowning. But darling, always remember that the sun will rise, however long the night. You’ll get through whatever happens, because you will not be alone. There is hope, and you must not ever give up.

Dear Younger Amanda, having a lot of friends doesn’t mean much. Being popular doesn’t matter. It’s really okay if you’re not “in” with the “cool kids”. It’s much more important to focus on being a good friend to others and getting to know a few people well. It’s the quality of friends that matter; not the quantity. And you can work on being a quality friend.

Dear Darling, I want you to know that drama really doesn’t matter. It won’t matter who-likes-who in a few years. Don’t even get your heart all tangled up with crushes and drama and silly young-teenage girl things that don’t matter. Your heart is WAY too precious to throw around like a bowling ball. It’s worth it to focus on more important things than relationships at such a young age; don’t worry about marriage. You’ve got plenty of time.

Younger Me, figure out things you love and work on cultivating those things. Don’t be afraid to try new things, make mistakes, and brush yourself off from those embarrassing little mishaps. And keep on trying. God has given you passions for a reason. Don’t give up on things you don’t think you have talent in. (And here’s a hint: in the future, you are going to love to read novels and write like crazy. Don’t give up just because you think you’re not good at it!)

Dear Girl, find people to look up to and get to know them. Amazing people will come into your life, and you’ll feel like the luckiest girl alive. You probably will be. Listen to people older and wiser than you, and learn from them. You are going to be blessed greatly and learn a lot. Don’t forget to thank those people.

Dear Amanda, hard things are going to happen, but look at the big picture. Don’t fret so much. Everything happens for a reason, and you don’t need to worry so much. You’re young and free now; enjoy it.

Even when you feel like you know better, trust your parents. Remember that they were once your age, and they really do know better than you. Amanda, make sure to cultivate a relationship with them. Trust them. Listen. Take advice. And know that they understand the Bible really well, and you can always talk to them.

Dear Younger Me, the most important thing I will tell you is this: READ YOUR BIBLE. You will be thirteen when you really start reading your Bible regularly, and your life will change after that. It’s going to be an amazing ride, so hold on tight, and follow God wherever He leads. It’s crazy, awesome, and totally worth it. And by strengthening your relationship with God by reading your Bible every day (or as best you can) and praying, you will grow so much.

Love,

Your Slightly Older Self

*aj

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Majesty Meets Mercy (Part 1)

Snowy Mountain Landscape

Processed with VSCOcam with hb2 preset

Think about the word “majesty.” And “splendor.” I love these words. Do you want to know what I think of when I think of these? Well, let’s take a trip inside my mind.

I take a deep breath.

Majesty. Splendor. Vastness and greatness, beauty and extravagance. Nature in full glory. The snow-capped purple mountains in their hugeness. I spin around to take in the breathtaking scenery around me.

Beside this image, I see the ocean. The cool and crisp water rolls in, and teases my toes at the shore. The expansion of the sea reminds me of my finite mind and invites me to awaken my thoughts to the tossing and turning of the waves, miles and miles offshore.

Let’s come out of Amanda’s mind now and dig into the Bible. The Book of Psalms, chapter 104. PLEASE read it! You can read it here. (Or, open your Bible to Psalm 104.)

Did you read it yet?

Okay.

(I didn’t want to put it directly in this post, because it would take up half of the post, and that’s kinda long.)

Although I would really love to elaborate on every verse, well, that could easily be five posts. (Two and a half weeks!) So I’ve picked out a few of my favorite verses.

Verses 1-4:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul!

    O Lord my God, you are very great!

You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

    covering yourself with light as with a garment,

    stretching out the heavens like a tent.

He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;

he makes the clouds his chariot;

    he rides on the wings of the wind;

he makes his messengers winds,

    his ministers a flaming fire.”

GOD IS VERY GREAT! Clothed with splendor and majesty, and covered with light. (Isn’t that mental image awesome? Stretching out the heavens – makes the clouds His chariot – rides on the wings of the wind – oh goodness. The best part about this is that it’s not just great writing. It’s great explaining of infinite concepts, and inspired by God Himself.)

Verses 5-9 (my favorites!):

“He set the earth on its foundations,

    so that it should never be moved.

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

    the waters stood above the mountains.

At your rebuke they fled;

    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down

    to the place that you appointed for them.

You set a boundary that they may not pass,

    so that they might not again cover the earth.”

 

Let me just say that that imagery is amazing. And absolutely 100% TRUE. God is in control of everything, ever. He spoke the universe into being. He created everything so beautifully and everything WORKS! He created perfection itself!

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that God (in all of His wisdom) appointed for them. No rolling hill is an accident, no fingerprint is a mess-up, no piece of the ocean is in the wrong place, no island is a mile too close or too far away from where God wanted it to be, no face is formed wrong.

God. Designed. It. All. He designed it all, and has an eternal plan.

And yet, He cares. He’s not the giant mural artist who ignores the little specks of paint. No. No splotch of color is too small for Him to see. We are the specks, and He cares for all of us. ALL OF US!

This God – El Shaddai, Elohim, Yahweh, Adonai – in all of His majesty – is Abba. Father. He cares about us, because He is our Designer, Creator, Sustainer, and Provider. He is our Father, and loves us more than we will ever comprehend! He has mercy on us – His children – though His majesty is overwhelming. He is a BIG God, and yet he is a loving Father.

On Tuesday, I’ll get more into this, so stay tuned for Majesty Meets Mercy (Part 2)!

*aj

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Speaking Love

Dreamcatcher in Wind

Sometimes I feel wordless.

I don’t have anything to say.

I can’t express what I’m really thinking. These swirling words in my head stubbornly refuse to be made into sentences.

I want to write, but what if I lead people astray? What if my “wisdom” isn’t really wise? What if I don’t even know what I’m saying? What if I never live out the advice that I give?

These thoughts cloud my mind when I try to write each day.

What if I’m not good enough? What if my vision for my writing gets in the way of what I should be saying?

I know I shouldn’t think these things. Because I know that I need to be doing this. God has called me to do this. To lean on him for strength when my words are not enough. (Because they won’t be. My life is lived in His strength.)

However, I don’t want to just find a Bible verse and pick it apart. I don’t want to just pick a topic and talk on and on for 800 words about it.

I want to speak God’s words. I want to rely on Him for my words to come, and not just force them out through my fingertips.

Sometimes, it is disappointing, because the words don’t come. God speaks to me, and I know that. But when I try to share it, I lose it. (Maybe that’s just me. Or maybe it is a good thing, to keep me from speaking idle words.)

I can’t speak idle words. Idle words – words without the love of God behind them – are clanging cymbals. Annoying and useless for hearing anything.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8 says,

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”

 

Without love – that is, God’s love behind everything we do – nothing matters. It doesn’t matter if I donate $10,000 to an orphanage in Africa. It doesn’t matter if I have a huge amount of faith to accomplish whatever I want. It doesn’t matter if I’m the “godly girl.” It doesn’t matter if I can prophesy, or speak in tongues, or whatever. Without God’s love, everything is useless.

If I write eloquent words while blogging and speak to thousands of people, but have not love, it is all worth nothing.

Love should drive the entirety of our lives. Not just Sunday. Not just at church, or at Bible study, or in a specific place.

Whether I write or whether I don’t, my life should reflect the love of God in every single thing I do.

When I feel wordless, it is okay.

It is better to speak ten words out of love than to speak ten thousand idle words.

I want my life to be rooted in and stemming from the love of God, not out of self-motivation or selfish desires.

I want God’s love to drive my writing, and His will to flow through me.

I want to do away with idle words and only write what He has for me to say.

I want to speak love.

*aj

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I’m Fighting

Typewriter

It’s Monday night.

I’m tired. I don’t really want to write a blog post.

I cooked, cleaned, washed dishes, did tons of laundry, watched my brother, and attempted to write an essay for a scholarship contest.

I’ve had a long day, and I don’t feel like writing.

I’d honestly rather chill out in my bed, with a book that hasn’t been written yet. (Favorite authors, keep writing for me. I can’t stand waiting.)

I want to give into my introverted self and hole away in my room, read for ten hours straight, and magically receive a bunch of emails and texts from people I miss without being the first to send the message. I want to sulk for a million hours, and give up on life. I don’t have the experience. I don’t always have motivation. I’m so done with school. And I just want to be selfish and make life about me. Right now, I want life to do what I want, what I think is best for me, and whatever my snobby little emotions want.

And, though I think it would be nice, I’m not giving in because it’s not going to fix me.

And it’s a good thing, too, because when I give in to self-pity, not only is it pitiful, but it is even more discouraging. Hello world, I’m human too. More than I’d like to admit.

So I keep on fighting. Fighting to get my joy back. Fighting to be strengthened. Fighting to find truth amidst the lies. Fighting to regain hope in hard times. Fighting to remember where true love comes from. Fighting to remember God has a plan. And life isn’t about me, so I shouldn’t try to make it seem like it is.

Believe it or not, fighting is hard. Because the not-so-smart human nature in the back of my head says, “Go do pointless things for hours on end. Life is all about you. Go sulk. Go ignore everything. You’ll be happy.”

But will that make me “better?” No, it won’t. I know it won’t. I know that giving into that selfishness will not make me happy because I’ve tried.

Trust me, writing three blog posts a week is tiring. It is really hard. It is hard, because I can barely keep up with school, reading books, and writing, and then having time after that to do what I want. But do you know why I keep up?

I keep up because God has called me to write. God has not called me to wade waist-deep in self-pity, waste time, and sulk. God has called me, an introvert, to use my voice. Right now, I can’t get up in front of 10,000 people and share my life story. Maybe that will come at some point, I don’t know. What I do know, is that my voice right now is being expressed online, writing three times a week, for Him. And whether I like it or not (though I do like it), this is my platform that He has called me to share on. Even if I were to only have had five followers, if God had given me the opportunity to share Him with the world, I would still write.

So I won’t let my selfish sin nature get in the way of sharing the Gospel with twenty-two countries. (Yeah!)

I want to encourage all of you today, to keep on doing what God has given you the opportunity to do and has called you to. Living for God isn’t our obligation (although it’s the wisest thing and He wants us to). Living for God is our joy!

As I write this, my mood is brightening. (I’m not kidding.) Do you know why? Because my satisfaction is found in living for God, not living for myself. I am satisfied and filled up in living a life that is pleasing to God, because deep down, that is what my heart craves. My heart “wants” to be happy, but it can only be truly satisfied by a life abiding in Christ.

So this is why I write.

I do not write for money. (I have to pay to write, actually.) I do not write because it saves me time. (It takes me a lot of time.) I do not write because it makes me famous. (Probably, I’m the least famous out of everyone I know.) I do not write because it looks good on my résumé. (I don’t even have a résumé. I’m fifteen years old.)

I write, because this is the life God has given me. This is what He is calling me to, even though it’s small. This is growing my own faith. This helps me remember that life isn’t all about me. This helps me remember the joy that comes from a life with Christ. By writing even when I don’t feel like it, my own heart is encouraged because I know that this is what abiding in Christ feels like. I am getting to know Him more and more, day by day, and I am satisfied because living my life this way isn’t about me.

I’m glad that life isn’t about me.

I have laid my heart to rest in the satisfaction of Christ. I am pressing on toward the goal. I am fighting, and I am not letting my sinful nature win.

Because if I were to let my sin nature win, I would never taste satisfaction in those shallow, earthly pleasures.

My heart has been won over, and I am living a life dedicated to Christ.

*aj