Friday, August 2, 2013

Somethin' New: Vulnerability is the key to JOY

Holly, me, and Kristin at the Gloriana concert over the weekend! So much fun! this picture was taken on my IPhone through Instagram, click HERE to follow me on Instagram!

photo below was taken on my 60D, when I went through a beautiful evening stroll through my neighborhood!


Hey friends! Today marks my FINAL post for the summer of something new blog challenge. For those of you don't know what this challenge is, it was set up by my wonderful blog friend Annaliese at Southern Belle in Training, and for this challenge Annaliese, ElleJenna,  MichaelaGina and I have been sharing with you guys something new we have done this summer for the past 6 weeks!

Can I first just say WOW? Wow as in how fast time flies and also as in how miraculously amazing God is. I love how he works in every single detail of our lives. He sees our every need, and calls us to pray specifically for that need that we have so He can be our provider. He does this so He alone can get the glory from us that he so graciously deserves.

"The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength."
Judges 7:2-3

Today I thought about sharing with you guys my delicious s'mores cookie bars that I made earlier this week for the summer of something new challenge, but I decided instead to end my final post of this challenge talking about Jesus. After all, it has been His hand so strongly and evidently at work in my heart this summer, so who else would I want to give the final applause to?! (But don't worry, the s'mores bars are coming soon up on here soon, YUMMY!)

This summer God has challenged me beyond belief in making myself vulnerable with the community around me. God has so graciously and patiently explained to me the importance of not only being intentional with building new friendships with other Christians, but also with being intentional in surrounding myself with a community of Christians who love and support me. I have been blessed enough this summer to make new friends in my community of Young Life, who lead me closer to the Lord and encourage me in my relationship with Him every day.

It has been both a blessing and a challenge to develop these new friendships. God has been patient enough with my stubbornness in this area of my life to show me that it takes work, and it is not going to be something that happens with the snap of my fingers. It is certainly so worth all of the effort though, because I don't know what I would do without my Christian friends in my life and also without the community around me. I think this is something that is pretty much necessary for any Christian, don't you think?! We all need encouragement to seek Jesus and live closer to Him!

"So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing."
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (One of my favorite verses!!)

So today my friend, don't doubt any new Christian friendships that the Lord has called you to pursue. Be patient, pray about them a TON, and trust that God OBVIOUSLY wants you to surround yourself with many other Christians and also a strong supportive community! He of course knows not only how important this is to have in our lives but also how much of a blessing it is as well. Don't give up, because I know how frustrating it can be as you continue to work hard to pursue these new friendships. You may doubt yourself in the process (I know I have already done that a ton and learned that it is a waste of time and also a thief of my joy!). God is the opposite of doubt,  He is our confidence!

I love you guys!
Love always, Jess

2 comments:

  1. This is so true! God has totally called me to be more vulnerable with my friends, too. It's amazing the beautiful community He has built up around me. SUCH a blessing!

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  2. I have definitely been learning more about vulnerability lately, but it's weird building community while I'm at home from college for the summer since I'm not around my usual community of people. But I feel that God is strengthening me for the fall and for pursuing deeper friendships. I have had a chance to go deeper with some friends this summer, and I'm thankful for that! But I agree definitely that this is a challenge in my life. So much. And I didn't realize before how important being vulnerable is and how everyone struggles with it.

    This has been such an encouraging post and such a great way to end the SOSN challenge. Jesus is awesome! I love how we can love Him so much through our blogs and grow closer to Him.

    Love you Jessica!

    xo, gina

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