Better.

Merry Christmas!

I sincerely hope that your holiday was filled with joy and that Jesus captured your heart once again. I pray that you were blessed by time spent with the family.

Happy Birthday Jesus... As corny as that is, I am SUPER thankful that You humbled yourself to love on a wretch like me.

I am going to post the lyrics to a song that has literally been on repeat for the past 3 weeks.. maybe longer. The Lord has definitely used it to comfort me and put my perspective back where it needs to be. The song is called Better and it is by Jess Ray and the Rag Tag Army. My good friend from kamp, Gordon showed it to me and I cannot be more thankful.

Okay, for those of you that don't know.. I am a music freak. I love it. Music is always on in my car or at the apartment. I thoroughly enjoy all types of music. Anything from Lecrae to Shane and Shane can capture my attention. Yes, I love the fact that Lecrae's beats make me wanna do my own little jig, or that Shane and Shane can harmonize like no bodies business.. It is always the lyrics that capture my heart. I am, will always be, a lyrics girl. Even if the song is awful but the lyrics are on point.. I will love it, listen to it, and probably make you listen as well. Music is good but the lyrics are what grabs my attention, and keeps me listening. My favorite is when the lyrics push me over to Christ and when I fall even more in love with Him by the transparency of that artist. That is why I used Shane and Shane and Lecrae for examples. Shane and Shane literally sing scripture. LOVE THAT. And Lecrae's lyrics kick my butt! Sidenote- If you're not a fan of Christian rap, jump on board. It is a sermon in a song. Warning: Your face might get rocked and your pride will definitely get checked. Bombdig.

Anyways...

All that said and with no further rambling from yours truly. Here are the lyrics. Read carefully and let the words penetrate your soul. :).

Better than morning, when color fills the windows
Better than evenings, dark enough to see a star show
Better than singing, loud enough to hear my voice go
Better than listening to the finest sounds I've ever known
Better than money, to bury all my fears
Better than beauty, to make them stop and stare
Better than knowing that they genuinely care
Better than feeling safe and secure here
All You want is Yours, and all You hate, it's gone
'Cause all I need is You, it's You, it's You
'Cause You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
Better than winning the award that I fought years for
Better than victory in this world's coldest and longest war
Better than finding someone who fits right into me
Better than watching all my dreams in front of me
All You want is Yours, and all You hate, it's gone
'Cause all I need is You, it's You, it's You
'Cause You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
Better than waking
Better than breathing
Better than living
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better
You are better

That is A LOT of "You are betters." But how true is that? He is better.

Confession: I looked for a music video or something to put on here, but no luck. So now that you have read these lyrics, and are probably thinking..."Wow, Mon, seriously???" You must go to your iTunes and just buy the song. TRUST me. It is WORTH it. I wouldn't of blogged about it other wise.

A new year is approaching, let's look at it with the right perspective.. He is better than anything this world can offer.

Much love my friends.

To my ladies.

Welcome to this crazy world, Joli Klara-Kate.

You are precious and beautiful.

Praying for you always.

Love these girls so much and our chats.

Thank you for always making Proverbs 27:17 true in my life.

Blessed beyond belief to call you friends.

Tayler Dawn Frrrrrrrreeesting.

Love laughing with you. Love that we get each others crazy thoughts. Especially love our transparency. In honesty there is healing. Thanks for walking that journey with me and Jesus.

Can't. Wait. To see God's purpose shape your life. Love you to the moon and back. Lots of leg kicks and fist pumps for you.

Mika.

God continually uses our friendship to make me more like Him. I am unbelievably thankful for that. Even though it hurts sometimes, I am glad we can always be honest. Your passion for ministry inspires me. Thank you for always guarding my heart especially when I fail to do that for myself. Our friendship is truly a God-send. Laughing with you is on my top ten favorites list. Love you a flippin' ton.

Twinner.

Gooooooooooooooood night. SO thankful that Jesus saw it fit for us to become friends sophomore year. (even though..you thought i was a brat..) We have been through it all and we still have so much more life to conquer together. From KAA to lazy Saturdays, we understand each others hearts so well. PTL. Love you more than life, sister. Can't wait to be your MOH. :))

Too blessed to have each of you. Love you all.

Closer.

Another post of simplicity.

God desires You.

He will fight for you.

I am not saying this to seem cool and godly but because God has been showing me. He is continually chasing after me. He is fighting for me.

It throws me for such a loop. Why would God fight for me?!

I. don't. know. But I do know that I am more than thankful for that. I am thankful for this journey that he is so graciously taking me on. He wants all of me.

Here is my reply: I want to be closer. Click that link and you'll hear the song that I have been obsessed with. Take a listen. Let it flow through your heart and soul. Ask our God for a journey. He will grant you one. He will fight for you. He is worth it, and worth waiting for.

Love y'all.

What are you thankful for?

Simplicity.

ALL I want is to be with You.

There is beauty in saying little.

So I tell you this,

the only good thing in me is Jesus.

I am praying that you fall madly in love with Him.

Seek Him with everything you got, it is well worth it.

Selah.

First of all, can I say this: God is good.

STOP. Let that sink in.. God is good.

If you haven't already today, please close your laptop or turn off your monitor. Throw on Shane and Shane, open the Word of God and rest. I can't promise you that reading this post will change your life but I can promise you that God's Word does not return void. It will revive your soul. Psalm 19:7 Go be with Jesus. Rest in Him, Selah.

Just an FYI, the above is not a judgmental guilt trip to put upon y'alls hearts. It is a loving push over to Christ. I know that He is the best for all of us. So many times I get caught up in reading blogs, tweets, or FB statuses. I forget that the He restores my soul. Psalm 23:3.

About two years ago, (I think? I have really bad time perception.) my mom and Joyce Jones gave me this devotional that has rocked my world. Day after day. Shout out to those two lovely ladies who not only pour into me, but buy me rockin' Bible Studies. Anyways back to the bombdig devotional...

Daily Light for Every Day with Anne Graham Lotz. Click here to check it.

Originally by Jonathon Bagster of London. This is a morning and evening devotional. It is purely the Word of God. No commentary just the beautiful Word of God. At the top of the page it is the theme for that morning or night. The content on the rest of the page is a compilation of verses that go hand in hand with that theme. I am going to type out this mornings scriptures.

Remember the Word of God will revive your soul.

Christ... loved the church and gave Himself for her,... that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.

Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever. Sanctify them by Your truth. Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Your word has given me life.

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

Ephesians 5:25-26; Ephesians 5:2; 1 Peter 1:23; John 17:17; John 3:5; Titus 3:5; Psalm 119:50; Psalm 19:7-8

There ya go. Let the fact that Word of God is where we find freedom. It brings knowledge and wisdom. It is a love letter from God, himself. Relish in it. Dive into it. Let it revive you!!

Love you guys.

The Blog World.

I LOVE reading blogs---

There is just something about getting into the depth of peoples hearts. By reading the words that people type for the internet world to see, I am challenged, inspired and just plum interested. Blogs are good for nosy girls like me. (Kidding--as mentioned in an earlier blog post, I hate half-hearted friendships. Even though I do not know these people face to face--I am able to peer into their hearts, talk about God knitting our hearts together. Man, it is beautiful.)

Okay, the point of this post?

It is really simple, blogs are good for the soul.

Correction: Jesus is good for the soul, blogs are just another avenue for me to learn from other Christ followers. And that my friends is biblical. We are called to pour into one another, be there for one another. Proverbs 13:20 and 27:17

Blogs call for transparency--

Beth Moore said it wisely, "Blogs are for the honest, not the proud." Such a wise woman, who is consistently following after Christ. It is such a blessing for me to be able to read her blog. She is my mentor from a far, as Craig Groeschel would say it. In reading her blog I am getting a straight shot into her soul, into what is on her heart. I learn from her, she pushes me toward Christ by her words. It is the same when I read other blogs by Christ seeking people. I am challenged. Here is the link to her blog ---> http://blog.lproof.org/ Read up!

I love the transparency from her blog though, she doesn't pretend to be perfect or have it all together. She just tells of her pursuit for Christ. I really want to portray the same heart through my blog posts. I just want to be a catalyst for other people, and throw y'all (who read this, is anyone out there?) over to Jesus. If I, we, are honest about what is going on in our life, how God is refining us, I really believe that we will be better off.

I just really love how God is using the internet to bring glory to Himself. Jesus, use me.

My prayer for anyone who reads this, is that you will want to seek Jesus more. I pray that my words would cause you to fall madly in love with our God. If you don't know Jesus, I pray that you would ask me about him. I want the world to know this hope that I have. Let us use everything for the glory of God, y'all. It is all about Him. Praise God, it is all about Him.

Anyways, I REALLY love reading blogs!

Going, Going, Gone!!

Wherever you are be there. -I have no idea who this wise person that said this is but I completely agree.

My life over the past month has buzzed by. Literally, it has been such a blur.

People ask me, "How are you?" I answer with, "Great! But I can't breathe because I am so busy." Craig Groeschel would not be impressed with my margin. Let's be honest. I am constantly busy, always running around and getting things done. The positive in that is, I am getting a lot done. The negative is, and the point of this post is that I can't breathe! This is not okay spiritually, physically, or mentally.

Back to my reply: "Great! But I can't breathe because I am so busy."

The great part is so true. I really feel great. I have laughed an incredible amount over the past month. Here comes the but, and it is a pretty big, ghetto booty.

I have been so busy that it has taken away from friendships, future planning, rest, and most importantly time with Jesus.

Break it down now:

Friendships. Whenever I am crazy busy like this, I miss out on having intentional time with my friends. Yes, I have been able to hang out with friends, laugh a lot and have fun. I have been missing out on that intentional time of conversation with them though. I miss out on knowing what is going on in that heart of theirs. The worst part is that I am missing out on certain friendships completely because of my busy schedule. This is not okay. I am a huge advocate of not having half-hearted friendships. HUGE PET PEEVE. Thus, not spending time with my friends as much as I should and more importantly not being intentional has GOT to change. I have got to change. It is time to slow down and have a Philippians 2 mindset. I need to care more about others and consider them more significant than myself.

Future Planning. I will not go into much detail over this because it stresses me out. I was informed this past weekend, that as soon as I graduate I am being cut off. Oh goodness gracious alive, that scares me. I know and love my parents, I trust they will take care of me. Truthfully though, I have GOT to grow up some time. I love college and all the fun that it entails but I must be diligent. I have GOT to be ready for what God has in store. Seminary, Kanakuk Institute, India.....Okay, end of this section, before I cry.

Rest. It is crucial to be intentional about rest. The Lord requires it of His followers. We are suppose to emulate Christ. He took time away from His disciples to be with God. God rested on the 7th day. Basically, I have to take care of myself so I can continue to further the Kingdom. If I run myself ragged then how will I be effective? And all this runs straight into my next section.

Time with Jesus. I am able to reply with a "great," only when I have had time with Jesus. Over the past month, my quiet times haven't been as consistent as needed. I can tell. I will have days where I am on top of the world with Jesus. Then there are days where all I want to do is crash. Matthew 11:28 says, "Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." When I take the time to rest in Jesus, my whole perspective gets set right. I become intentional with my time. I begin to care more about others than myself. I am able to cast my cares at Jesus' feet and just leave them there. That enables me to love better and live better. Jesus becomes my constant, which keeps me constant. Instead of running at an impossible pace-- with Jesus as my focus, I walk with Him and I can finally breathe. As I said, my perspective gets set right.

I can no longer be going, going, gone. I have GOT to slow down.

Where ever you are be there. Be intentional, take the time to speak truth into peoples lives. Love on your friends. And the most important, take time to know Jesus and be known by Him, make Him your constant.

Refined, Sanctified, and Humbled..Ouch!

I am not my own, I have been carried by You.

Everything rides on hope now. Everything rides on faith somehow.

So, when the world has broken me down. Your love sets me free.

-Addison Road.

I literally am listening to this song on repeat: just letting that Truth run through my heart.

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

God is taking me through the refining fire, sanctifying me.

BUT.. it is hard and it hurts sometimes. That is why it is called a fire though, right?

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

Letting it sink in.

God is calling me to big things. "Big things," require obedience and sacrifice. This is all dandy, except for when I try to do it on my own. When I try to take on the world with my own strength, it never works out right and I end up feeling really alone. I then become very frustrated and confused. I begin to question those callings, I ask why me? Why is this on my shoulders? Why am I responsible?

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

Ohhhhh, yeah.

Praise God for best friends, and Proverbs 27:17.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Tonight, my best friend Mika and I were chattin' it up about life and because God is so good, the conversation always reverts back to Him. I began to tell her of my frustrations and the questions that I had. She very lovingly brought to my attention the fact that I had used the words I and me, quite a bit during my rant. She reminded me that, IT IS NOT ABOUT ME. If God has called me to it, He will bring me through it. (Okay, that is cheesey and she didn't exactly say that but the same point was made.) It is so true.

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

Lightbulb. Ding, ding, ding.

I have been bought with a price. I am not my own. I have been called to greater things that are bigger than this world. But, by no means does the Lord ask me to do it by myself. He doesn't ask something of me, then leave me to fend for myself. He provides a way, He gives me the strength, and He equips me. He carries me through it. He gives me precious friends that give me a kick in the pants when I get wrapped up in myself.

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

Praise God.

IT IS NOT ABOUT ME! No matter what, I can rest in Jesus and the fact that IT IS ALL ABOUT HIM. His love sets me free. I am free!

Everything rides on hope now, everything rides on Faith somehow.

When the world has broken me down, Your love sets me free.

Jesus, I am expectant of You and the lives that will be changed because of Your love and Your grace. I will put my faith in what You have called me to do.

Regardless of what the world throws at me, Your love sets me FREE.

I am so thankful for friends like Mika, who aren't afraid to love on me and give a swift kick when my thoughts get jacked. She knows when I need to be humbled, and lovingly brings me back to my knees. I know that she is constantly praying for me-- Praise God because I can't do it on my own.

Refining and sanctification hurt and the process is hard but the end result is beautiful. I become more like Christ!

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

Love.

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13

Okay, so I am going to be honest with you all. I have read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 SO MANY TIMES. That is not the honesty that I am letting you in on, but the fact that I have neglected the rest of chapter 13 SO MANY TIMES.

I read the rest of the chapter just recently and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Praise God for that, right?

Here is what The Lord so mercifully showed me: I can preach the gospel, I can have an incredible knowledge of the Word, and I can have faith that will move mountains but if I have not love, I AM NOTHING.

Yes, I know you can read the passage and understand that clearly, but to take it to heart is a completely different story. SO MANY TIMES I throw the saying, "Just love them" around. I had to ask myself, what does that even mean? How do you just love someone? Someone that you have nothing in common with, that drives you nuts, that intimidates you, even someone that doesn't love you back. What does that actually look like?

Well, let's take it from scripture. Be patient with them, be kind, do not envy them, do not boast about who you are, do not be proud. Don't be rude, do not just seek what is good for you, do not be easily angered with them, don't keep record of their wrongs. Do not delight in the evil in your or their life, but rejoice in the truth. Protect them, show them trust and be trustworthy, always hope the best for them, always persevere through whatever it is going on.

This is what punctured my heart, Do not delight in evil but rejoice in truth. Regardless of what my friends might think, I can not delight in the evil that they, me, or we do. I have got to stand for truth. I am called to have joy in the truth, rejoice in it. That makes me think of my friends who do not know Jesus. Do I delight in the evil of their lives, or share the hope that I have? Share Jesus and the abundant life that He is offering them? Then, hopefully rejoice with them when they choose the truth that I was able to share with them. Yikesamillion. Huge question. Huge responsibility.

Even as I write all of this, this is what goes through my mind. Okay Monica, so you realize what it means to actually, "Just love them." You are even blogging about it. Back to verse 1,

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I only talk (or write) about this then I am clanging cymbal. I absolutely have to show love. I must live in it. Choose love constantly. Now is the time, here is the challenge. LET'S GO.

My prayer is that verses 8-13 are made so real to me.

I cannot wait to see Jesus face to face. Man, it just brings me such joy knowing that is in my future. Now I only know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. GUYS!!!! That is huge. God knows us fully, absolutely! Every sinful disgusting thing, but He shows me LOVE. He is love. He is the Gospel. He lived it out, He died for it. It is now my turn, I must choose holiness over sin. I must choose Jesus and die to my sin daily. I must love the lost more than myself.

Again I say, LET'S GO.

Different.

We are called to live as Christ lived.

Translation: We are to live a radically different life.

Translation of the translation: If we live as the bible tells us to, we will not look, act anything like the world around us.

Don't worry this isn't a judgmental rant, just a heart felt plea. :)

When we surrender to Christ, we die to ourselves. We die to our flesh, to what our body tells us what it needs. Instead we seek Christ with everything in us. We begin to talk about Jesus and who He is in our life. We proclaim His name and faithfulness to our friends.

Recap: Get saved. Die to self. Seek Christ. Proclaim Jesus. Radically different life.

Is this the case in our lives? Is that what our life looks like. Do we eat, sleep, breath differently than the lost and broken people around us?

Or..

Do we look, act the exact same way as our friends who are searching for the hope we have deep in our hearts? Are we trying to fill our lives with anything but Jesus?

Reminder: This is not a judgmental rant. My heart has just been so broken lately. When I examine my life, I see areas in my life that look just like they would as if I didn't know Christ. I watch my dear friends seek people and things in their own lives that are not of Jesus. I watch and my heart breaks. Why do we try and find rest outside of the love of Christ. Why isn't He enough?

We have one hand stretching toward Christ and one hand so deep in the world, stretching toward destruction.

How can we proclaim that Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life, and then not stand on that proclamation?

Why are relationships, our pride, the beer, ourselves, the drugs, the internet, the food we eat, our sleep, and so much more of the world..why are those things so worth it? Why can't we give em' up for the cause of Christ?

Do we not understand that the love is Christ is where there is life?!

A heart change.

I have been asking God to use me to change the world.
From deep within my heart the question has been, do I want to change the world for God's glory or my own? Hmmm, it is a humbling question. I believe this question of where my pride comes from was the beginning to true heart change.

This is what I have learned thus far...
True world change comes from true heart change. It cannot just be church on Wednesdays, Sundays, even lifegroup on Thursdays. It has to be that sweet time, in your secret place alone with Jesus.
I have been serving at Lifechurch.tv this past school year. I have seriously learned so much and have grown an insane amount as well. One of the values that Lifechurch has is that, "People will come for miles to see your passion." Where does passion come from? Does it come from just doing good things? Or does that come from true heart change as well?
At lifechurch, I serve on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Now please don't misread this information being given as to toot my own horn but to paint a picture to get my point across.
Yes, I am super involved in my church and I have been blessed to be able to do that, BUT if my heart isn't truly changed by Christ and what He is doing in my life, it is all for not!
Lately, I have been in a funk..just this time of blah. It is kind of inexplainable, except that there is been lack of joy, peace and frankly Jesus. So I have had to re-evaluate. Where has my heart been? I mean I am at church practically every other day..but seriously where has my HEART been. Not my body or presence but my heart.
I realized in talking with my accountability partner that my heart has been taken by the things OF Jesus rather than Jesus, Himself. My cup was finally running dry. Along with my joy and peace.
My purpose of this post is not to spill what is going on in my life. But to encourage you with this...
The only way we can be a part of God's great plan in loving this broken world is by knowing Him, spending time with him. That is where true heart change comes from. His sweet wispers of His love for us. His graceful convictions in our hearts. It comes from the relationship with Him.
Passion will come from that. A true church will be led by changed hearts. Conviction and life change comes from a heart that is changing. LOVE, true selfless love, comes from heart change.
In spending time with Jesus our hearts will become more like His. Our heart starts to beat for the things that His heart beats for.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of Your heart. Psalm 37:4
Guys, don't delight yourselves in things OF the Lord. But the Lord himself. That is where true heart change comes from. And trust me, the things OF the Lord are still there, but there is joy when doing them because of where your heart is.

You will see Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart. Jeremah 29:13