Dreamin' big with Jesus

Hi blog friends!
I hope that everyone had a good weekend! I am writing this post on Sunday afternoon, and it seriously the most beautiful sunny day outside! I'm so thankful for the sunshine. This weekend I had the opportunity to go visit one of my close friends Maria at her college in a town nearby. It was a blessed time of fellowship and simply just encouraging one another with who we are in Christ! Here is a picture during our time together :)

One thing that Maria and I talked a lot about this weekend was our God-given dreams. I have always heard of the quote "If your dreams don't scare you, there not big enough," but I didn't actually understand it until this weekend. As Maria and I sat down in conversation, she began to share with me the beautiful new dream that God had recently put on her heart. It was in that moment as Maria shared her dream with me that I realized that I had my own God-given dream as well. However for some reason, I was almost scared to share my dream out loud. It was just SO BIG. But I knew that I wanted it. 
I also knew that my dream was from the Holy Spirit, because my heart leaped with joy at the thought of it actually happening. At the same time however, my dream scared the heck out of me. For a second I wasn't even sure it was attainable, but then as I sat there and prayed about it for a moment, I realized that my dream is attainable by the power of Christ! For God says in His word,
"With God, all things are possible." Matthew 19:26
And in case your wondering what my dream is....I'd be happy to share it with you. My dream is to make "Forever Convinced" into a national moment. I hope that one day my blog will reach millions,  and that I will eventually be able turn what I do on here into a full-tim job. I want to reach as many people as I can through my blog, so that way that anyone who doesn't know God who comes to my page could possibly come to know Him and understand that He loves them and wants a relationship with them. Would you join me in prayer for Forever Convinced? Would you pray that by the power of Christ hearts who do not have a relationship with God would be brought to this page? Would you also pray that God would give me the strength, motivation, and determination to turn this blog into something bigger than I could have ever imagined? Would you pray for God's hand of blessing on every part of my page?
Thank you so much.
Now it is YOUR turn. I would love for you to share your God given dream in a comment below, so that way I can be praying for you about your beautiful dream. I believe that with God, all things are possible, and most importantly. God wants us to DREAM BIG.

What is truth?

Hi friends!
How is your Thursday going so far? I hope that your day is off to a great start! Before I get started on this post, I wanted to say that if you haven't been to Starbucks since they released their adorable new Fall-inspired cups, then you definitely must go! Okay do whatever you want, but it honestly might just make your day...:). 

Anyways, moving on now...:). For those of you who don't know, I am a part of youth ministry at my church. I volunteer as a leader for both high school and middle school aged kids. I absolutely LOVE it! I cannot explain to you in words how much joy serving those kids brings into my life. It is such an adventure being used by God in ministry! Anyways, last night at their youth group the leaders and I discussed how we determine what the truth is in our every day walks with Christ. We talked about how as Christians, what do we do to determine truth? I mean, sure, Jesus said that He is the way the truth and the life (John 14:6), and we know that His ways are true, but how do we apply this truth into all areas of our lives? It is easy to determine the truth about the obvious things that the Bible is black and white about, such as sex before marriage, worshipping money, getting drunk, lustfulness/lustful thoughts about others (pornography), etc. But Jesus doesn't give us specific guidelines as to how to determine the truth in every single situation.
So...How do we do it?! How do we determine what the truth is in every single circumstance?! I asked myself this exact question before I began my discussion with our youth girls at church.  It then hit me. Aside from knowing Biblical truth about different principals, I can never actually know what the 100% truth is within a situation. For example, if someone asks me to give them advice on what to do as to whether or not they should be hanging out with a certain individual, or if they should stop watching a certain t.v. show, etc., I can NEVER know if the advice that I give them on what I think they should do is the 100% truth. I can do my best through saying what I feel like the Spirit is telling me to say and reflecting on what the Bible says, but in the end it all comes down to what Jesus, aka the Holy Spirit is telling THEM to do! 
Ah ha! It kind of all came at me at once. This means that it is crucial for us to spend intentional time with God in order to be able to discern what His Spirit is telling us what to do in our everyday lives. IT is YOUR relationship with Jesus that matters the most and that will guide you and convict you on how to respond in different situations!
So that is it peeps. I believe the answer to finding the TRUTH in all areas of our lives is a relationship with Jesus!
What do you guys do to discern the voice of God more clearly in your every day life and overall improve your relationship with God? Do you have any suggestions on books or Bible passages to encourage us in this area? 
I love you guys!
Please connect with me on my social feeds! Instagram: Instagram Facebook: Forever Convinced Snapchat: jessmarmar

Confession...I love shopping. And Old Navy jean jackets.

Hi lovelies!
How is everyone days going? Just so everyone knows, I LOVE shopping. Yesterday I went to one of my favorite stores ever, OLD NAVY. They are having such an amazing sale right now (When are they not?!) I scored this super cute, versatile, and all around lovely jean jacket for just under $20 dollars (normally close to $50!)

I'm so obsessed! I never fail to find something that I LOVE whenever I shop at Old Navy. My favorite part is that their clothing is not only cute, but it is super affordable! I'm so happy that I have a credit card with them too. Since I am a credit card member with Old Navy, I receive coupons from them in the mail. It is so fun! P.S., this post makes it totally sound like Old Navy sponsored me to write for them, but they totally didn't, I promise! I just love their store, and I love shopping there. Aside from Old Navy, I also love love love love LOVE Nordstrom. Don't even get me started with my love for Nordy's. hehe.
What are your guy's favorite places to shop at?

How Worshipping God Impacted my Faith

Hi blog friends!

      How are the each of you doing? I hope that life is going well for the each of you. Today I wanted to share a personal testimony with the each of you about how worshipping God has had a true impact on my faith. When I first became a Christian four years ago, the idea of worshipping God was so foreign to me. How did I worship God? Did I sing to Him? Dance around? I also was clueless to the fact that worshipping God could have a significant impact on my faith. I didn't realize how much joy I could feel from simply raising my hands and worshipping the Lord.

BUT at the time, I also didn't realize that in order for me to really worship God, I had to lay down my own pride and selfishness, jump out of my comfort zone, and just GO FOR IT.  A couple of years later into my walk with Christ, one of my close friends then said to me, "did you know that the Bible says to raise your hands and worship the Lord?!" (Psalm 134:2). I remember the thought that went through my mind when she said this to me. "Raise my hands?! Absolutely NO WAY. That is so weird and I do not believe that there is any significance toward worshipping God in that way." 

But as I got to thinking about it, this form of worship that is common among Christians today is a popular motion that people demonstrate in a variety of situations when they get excited about something. When our favorite football or basketball team wins the game, what do we do? We raise our hands! We jump around and burst with joy! What do we do when we get that job or promotion that we have been wanting? We raise our hands and jump with joy! Bottom line, when we get excited about something, WE RAISE OUR HANDS!

It finally all came together to me at that moment, and I felt that inclination from the Holy Spirit to raise my hands the next time that I was in worship at Church. Well I did it friends, and let me tell you, i haven't regretted it since. I have honestly felt so much joy from the Lord through raising my hands in worship. I like to think of it this way: Jesus died on the cross for me because He LOVES me. He defeated sin once and for all! I am no longer under the penalty of death that I deserve! Now that, my friends, is something that I want to dance around and raise my hands to for the rest of my life!

Please remember friends, that I did not write this post to condone the Christians who do not raise their hands in worship at Church. I do not believe that if you don't raise your hands when you worship God, then that you are not a Christian. I wrote this post to encourage others to get out of their comfort zones and give worshipping God with their hands a shot. I believe that you will not regret it. I believe that you will experience the presence of God in a way that you never have before. 

What are your guys favorite ways to worship God? How has worshipping God in new ways impacted your faith? Comment below PLEASE! Also, please connect with me on social media! 

Instagram: @foreverconvinced 

Snapchat Username: jessmarmar

Facebook: Forever Convinced

SURPRISE!

Hi friends!

Okay just kidding I don't actually have a surprise for you... but I do have something that I want to say. It is because the each and every one of YOU why this blog is here. I love connecting with the each of you. I am so thankful for all the lifelong friends that I have made and will continue to make through this blog....You guys are why I do what I do. Also, to be completely vulnerable with you all right now, I am in an extremely awkward phase of life. I just finished graduate school, and I currently am living at home with my parents without a job. I honestly don't really know what is next...but I am not afraid because God tells me in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has plans for my future that are GOOD! I have also been very blessed with some amazing ministry opportunities at my Church so I am very thankful for that. Thank you King Jesus!

ALSO...Please connect with me on social media! I just made a new Instagram page for this blog, (@foreverconvinced), and I am always constantly on snap chat, so follow along with me there (username for snapchat= jessmarmar)! 

I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOO MUCH!!!! You have no idea!!!!

Love, Jess

 Please connect with me on my social feeds!

Snap chat: jessmarmar

instagram: foreverconvinced

facebook: Forever Convinced

VLOG! {Why I don't drink as a Christian}

Hi blog friends! I hope you enjoy my newest vlog. I'm sharing with you guys why I don't drink alcohol as a Christian and how this decision has ultimately been a blessing in my life.

ALSO: Please keep in mind that this video was made in order to encourage those who may have a similar conviction not to drink as Christians. I want them to know that that is a perfectly okay lifestyle to pursue. I did not make this video to make Christians who do drink feel guilty, and I do not judge other Christians who do drink in any way. Not drinking has always just been a personal conviction of mine, and I do believe that we each are given different convictions as Christians.

In Christ,

Jessica

Letting go of Toxic Friendships

Hi friends!

    I have felt the strong need lately to talk about toxic friendships, and how God wants to remove these kinds of friendships from our lives since they distance us from Him and also often lead us into sin. Whether that sin be gossiping, drunkenness, negativity...basically anything that is not in the Lord's will for us. Before I was a Christian, I used to be involved with a lot of these toxic kind of friendships.  These friends would want to drink all the time, gossip about others, curse, and more. Whenever I was around them, I felt shame, guilt, and sadness for the actions that we were partaking in. I didn't know what to do and how to get out, I felt trapped. When I made the decision to follow Christ when I was 20 years old, the Lord told me it was time to get out. Little by little, I began to distance myself from these toxic friendships, and now I am the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. I am surrounded by strong Christian friends who build me up with who I am in Christ, and who also fill me with joy.  Jesus is AMAZING and is my deliver. Are you stuck in a toxic friendship? I believe that the Lord is calling you out if this friendship that is draining you and not building you up with who you are in Christ. You might be asking yourself to get out. Although I can't speak for everyone, I have come up with some practical steps that I have done to get out of these kind of toxic friendships.

1) Stop hanging out with these kinds of people.
The process of cutting off these friendships that lead to sin might be painful because you have held onto them for so long, but the Lord wants you out so that you can experience His presence more.

"And if your hand--even your stronger hand--causes you to sin, but it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." Matthew 5:30

2) Pray for the power to cut these friendships out of your life, because you can't do it on your own.

Your going to need supernatural strength to cut away these friendships. Say spoken word out loud. Satan hates nothing more than when you say the name of Jesus out loud and quote scripture. Say this out loud: "Jesus, I'm leaving these friendships in Your hand. Remove these people from my life. Give me the strength to let go, and also to distance myself from them. You tell me in your word that bad company corrupts good character (1 Cor 15:33), and that you want me to have the kind of friendship where I am being sharpened with who I am in Christ by my friends (Proverbs 27:16).

3) Pray for them.
God says in his word, to pray about EVERYTHING (Philippians 4:6). I believe that He wants you to pray for these people that are in your life at the time. Pray and ask the Lord to guide you in what to with do with these friendships. If these people have hurt you badly, still pray for them. Pray for them too to know Jesus. We all need Him.

4) EXPECT change in your life. DON'T DOUBT.
If you truly have faith that God is going to remove these toxic friendships out of your life (because He will), then the process of how this happens means that big change is about to take place in your life. But this a good thing, because change always means that the Lord is doing things in your life. Change is a GREAT thing. Do not let yourself doubt that the Lord wants to do big things in your life, because the Bible says that the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

I believe that you haven't read this blog post by chance, God is waiting on you to ask Him for the strength to remove yourself from the toxic friendships that you may or may not have in your life. Please let me know how I can be praying for you about this. My email is jess37272@gmail.com