The Beginning
Well, friends… here we go: my very first blog! I'm excited and a little nervous, but I know this is going to be a wonderful adventure - an adventure through the greatest love story of all time: the Bible. I believe God's Word is absolute truth; and that truth is the answer to every question, the right to every wrong, the love to every hate. The Bible is alive and active; every time you read it, more revelation comes.
What a sweet, sweet God who has given us a place to turn when we feel lost, hopeless, helpless, afraid, anxious, unloved.
So that's the plan, friends… We are going to study God's Word together, in an effort to know His truth so deeply in our souls. When we live in light of how much God loves us, everything changes.
I wasn't quite sure where to start, so I went to God's Word - or rather, it came to me one morning. I really like having the Bible app on my phone, so when I wake up in the morning, I can check the daily Bible verse. It helps to get my heart in the right place first thing in the morning, because trust me, sometimes I wake up on the way wrong side of the bed. One day last week, after a night of tossing and turning about what I should write about, the verse was this:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." // 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
A little wordy I know, but it basically says, 'the comfort I give you is meant to be passed on. Let it flow through you onto others who may need it. You are blessed to be a blessing.'
Lightbulb.
I have been journaling consistently since the summer of 2009, when I had the privilege of serving the homeless and hurting men and women of Louisville, Kentucky alongside 11 other college-aged girls and guys for a whole summer. {If you just felt your heart stir, please please go check out Love Thy Neighborhood and seriously consider serving; your life will be forever changed.} Not a day goes by that I don't think about that summer, the folks I served with, and those we got to love on. A daily, one-hour quiet time was a requirement, and it seemed like a daunting task at first. But as the summer wore on, I longed for that time alone with God. It was a time for me to read, reflect, listen, and talk. More revelation came that summer than I had ever experienced in my whole life.
Needless to say, journaling became a huge part of my life. I love recording daily happenings, highs and lows, prayer requests, blessings, convictions, and especially any revelations - big or small. Anytime God uses a person, a verse, a prayer, a thought, a song, a sermon, an obstacle to teach me or comfort me, I write it down.
And when I read, "who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God," I knew what God wanted me to write about.
It was as if He was saying, 'remember all those sweet little nuggets I've given you over the years? Yeah, those aren't just for you.'
Ohhhh.
Just know that this may get a little personal, even a little uncomfortable at times, but it's going to be worth it.