Ultimate Love

 Ok, so I'm gonna come right out and say it, Valentines day is probably one of my least favorite holidays. Why? Because it's (as my step Dad David would say) a "Hallmark Holiday." It's all filled with pretty much nothing but chocolate, candy, and those big, huge cards that say "I Love You" on it.
 Although saying "I love you" to someone is a great way to show someone your affection, and should be celebrated, why should we celebrate it only once a year? Why not spend every day like it's Valentines day, and tell the people you love that you care about them? I mean think about it, if you truly love someone in any way, whether it be in a romantic way (like a boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancee, or spouse), or a family way (parents, siblings, siblings in Christ etc.), or just as a friend you would think that we'd want to show them our appreciation for them more than just once a year!

 Christ loves us all the time. Even when we do the worst things, he still loves us. I mean think about it, if Christ didn't love us all the time, where would we be when we fall? We as humans fall into sin every day, in one way or another, and if Christ only loved us one day out of the year, then how would we ever survive? That's the thing, we couldn't. There is no way in the world we could ever survive on our own without Christ. Who would tell the earth to stay on it's course and not get too close or too far away from the sun? Who would bring the sun up in the morning, and the moon at night? Who would remember to tell themselves to breathe, even when their sleeping, and to keep their heart beating? Could you do that? I don't think so!
 It's because of Christ's love for us that we are breathing right now. It's Him who puts that air into our lungs, and keeps our heart beating at a perfect pace. It's Him who keeps the earth on it's course. It's Him who brings the sun up in the morning and the moon at night.  It's Christ who died on the cross for us so that we could live an eternal life with Him in heaven, and not burn an eternal death in hell. It's Christ who loves us more than we could ever come anywhere close to imagining, and you tell me that you want to celebrate love only once a year with candy and paper?!?!?
  If we are supposed to be Christ like, then we should love everyone all the time, not just once a year. One day out of an entire 365 (or in this year 366) day year is not anywhere close to enough time to say I love you to someone, especially Christ. He doesn't, so why should we?

The Lord's Declaration

Hey Y'all!! So this morning as I was doing some devotionals I felt really called to look at Jeremiah 29, so I did. I know that Jeremiah 29:11 is an amazing verse (just as all the verses in the Bible are) so I decided to start there, and let me just tell you, it has really impacted me.
 So I read Jeremiah 29:11-13 and it goes like this: "For I know the plans I have for you"-This is the Lord's declaration- "plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search  for Me with all your heart." Wow. That's some amazing stuff isn't it? I can't even begin to tell you just how many times I read over that just to make sure that I was reading things straight. I got chills when I read this, that's just how much these verses impacted me!
 What really got to me was where it said "This is the Lord's declaration." I mean, God declared this to us all! (I got chills just typing this right now.) God declared that we will seek Him, and find Him when we search for Him with all our hearts, and this is my point: Are you searching for God with all your heart? I mean this very seriously. Are you truly seeking the Lord with everything you have?
 I'll confess to you right now that I haven't been. I know that I haven't been truly seeking the Lord, and I'm changing that. I have made the decision to change my ways, and to earnestly seek the Lord. You know what's so bad though? It's that I didn't even know that I'd not been until now. That's why I'm asking you this.

 I can not even begin to tell you just how much I want you to have an amazing relationship with Christ, but I can't make that decision for you. You, and only you, can make that decision to turn to Christ and give Him the Glory that he deserves. Only you, can give God everything that you have, and search for Him with all your heart.
 My prayer today, is that you will search for God, and that you will know Him, and see His love for you. That you will see His plans for your welfare, and not disaster, and to give you a future and a hope.

I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of Him. I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe according to the working of His vast strength. 
Ephesians 1:16-19     

Time Flying By

Hey guys, last month just flew right by me! I can't believe that it's February already! Posting is running kind of slow right now, but I'm working hard as usual to get some posts up here soon. If you have any ideas, feel free to comment down below ↓  and I'll see what I can do. Thanks Y'all!!!

~ Courtney Ephesians 1:16

Nothing To Fear

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom should I be afraid? ~ Psalms 27:1 HCSB

 Psalms 27 is one of my favorite Psalms. For me, the first verse is really empowering. I mean, read it, starting with the first sentence. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear? I get really excited when I read that, because Christ is my light and my salvation. He's done everything for me, and he loves me SO much, that he died for me! I could never find the words to express how much that means to me. That's why I am 3G, because he means this much to me, and I mean that much to him.
 You mean that much to him! He didn't just die for me, he died for you too! He died for all of us, and rose again 3 days later. He loves us that much, that he saved us from OUR sins. Not HIS sins, because he NEVER SINNED, but OUR sins because he LOVES us. That really speaks to me.

Now, for the second sentence. The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom should I be afraid? I don't know about you, but Christ is the stronghold of my life. He is the only person who is always there for me, no matter what. He is always there, any time of the day, where ever I am, and that's every empowering! There is nothing to fear, because Christ is always near. (kind of catchy isn't it?)

 My question to you is this. Is Christ your salvation? Is He the stronghold in your life? Seriously, is he? Think about it long and hard, and pray about it. If Christ doesn't come first in your life, then you have some adjustments to make. Ask God to help you change your priorities, and make your paths straight. If you truly love Christ, you should want to make those adjustments to make your life a lot better, and your relationship with Christ better.
 Once you make that choice to either follow him, or to make him first (whichever your case may be) I can assure you that life will be better. It might not be any easier, in fact it may be difficult, but it's well worth it, trust me.

So, continue loving Christ, and giving Him the glory in what you do. Make him your salvation, and your stronghold.

Winter Jam 2012

So, this weekend was amazing! Mary, Paul, Sarah, Jonathan, and I all went to this amazing concert called Winter Jam up in Raleigh on Saturday, and we all had a blast! Winter Jam is a concert tour that travels all throughout America with several Christain artists. One of the other things is that it only costs $10 at the door. (That's right, I said $10!)
 This year, the bands were: Skillet, Sanctus Real, For King and Country, We As Human, Kari Jobe, Dara McClean, Building 429, Group 1 Crew (aka G1C), Newsong, and Peter Furler. (used to be Newsboys band member) They were all AWESOME!!! Some of my favorites included, Skillet, Building 429, and Group 1 Crew. Of course, they were all amazing, but these were my definite favorites.

 Let me tell you, Winter Jam is definitely something not to be missed! If you are as obsessed with music as I am, especially Christian music, then Winter Jam is for you! There isn't words to express just how much I enjoyed it, or how much it fed my addiction to Christ, they just aren't there. So go and see this, and bring some friends, and have an amazing time worshiping our Lord and Savior, whom without, there wouldn't be anything!

New Page!

So, you may have noticed that up at the top of the page (↑ up there ↑) underneath the theme verse and blog title, there is a new page entitled "My Music." There I will be posting some of my own original music that I write and compose myself. The first song up there is "Set Me Free," which is the first song I've ever both written lyrics and composed music too! I'm hoping to get a video or something up there soon so you can hear it so stay tuned!

What If?

In life there are a lot of "What ifs." Like, What if... I go to this college? or, What if... I start this career? or, What if... I get good grades this semester? These are just a few of the 'what if's' that are probably in your mind right now but, there are a few very important "What ifs" that I'd like you to mull over for the next few minutes.

For starters, What if... I accept Christ as my Lord and Savior? For some of you, this 'what if' has already been thought, and solved, but for others, you could still be asking yourself this very question. So, What if?? If you do accept Christ, or have already accepted Him, your life will/has be/been will change/changed forever.

Now, What if... I become/am 3G? As I've said in the past, it's very important to give God the glory, in everything we do. Christ is our lifeline, our Savior, and without Him, there would be nothing! We are blessed with so much, and to say that we did it all by ourselves is selfish. Yes, God may have used you to do some of his glorious work, but in all, there is nothing that we do that God couldn't do on his own. In a way, when we accept the glory we get in life, and don't give it to God, it's almost like a type of plagiarism. (more to come on that soon!)

 What if... I tell my friends about Jesus? I'm not sure about you, but my friends, especially my best friends are more like family than friends to me! They're just as important to me as my family, and I love them like family! So, would you like to think that if your a Christian, and you're friends/family aren't that when you both die, you'll be in heaven while the other's burning in hell? I hate being harsh, but it's the cold, hard, truth! There is NO way on this Earth that ANYONE can go to heaven without accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior. Is that scary or what? It is for me! That's why, whenever I get the opportunity to talk about Christ with my unsaved friends, I take it! Yes, some of them think I'm obsessed, but I DON'T CARE! I AM obsessed with Christ, I'm ADDICTED to Him, and I believe that if they see just how much Christ means to me, then maybe they will too! So set that example, let Christ shine through you, and give Him the glory for all that he's done for you!