Monday, April 21, 2014

5 Things Every Woman of God Needs: Godly Women (#3)

Dear friends,

The power and beauty of prayer is a powerful thing as I said in my first and second blog of this series. I just spent the evening at my last Monday night girls fellowship of the year. My friends and I took the this time to pray for each other individually and as a group. Today my heart is happy and thankful. As we prayed out loud, my heart had a million others things that needed to be said. So here it is. Enjoy.

My first year of college is coming to an end. 2 days to be exact. 2 days until I leave the place that I have fallen in love with. 2 days from leaving the place I now call home. It's not forever, in fact, in four short months I will back full of excitement for the year Jesus is going to bring. But for now, I'm learning that is okay to be sad. It has to be okay. My heart is cracking, yet it is so thankful and full of hope. Hope that as I leave, my friendships will not. Every woman of God needs Godly friends, so let me tell you about mine.

Coming into my first my year of college I had no expectations at all. I was excited to meet some friends, get involved and just have fun. Never in a million years did I think that Jesus would bring me friends who would be such a big part of my life. My mom always told me that my dad and her had been praying for my roommate and friends for years and years and when I entered high school I decided to do the same. As high school went on I had a couple awesome friends but that was the end of it. I went to camp every summer in between years and met beautiful people, but even many of those friendships were for short periods of time and others are still long distance and sporadic. You can see where this is going can't you? Well, naturally I came to college with the attitude that there would be a couple close friends, but we would part ways eventually. Turns out I was completely wrong. 

Never in my life have I experienced so much grace, acceptance and love in this group of women I now call my best friends. I found a group where I can go to take refuge; where we can all go to take refuge in Him. I found a place that is full of wisdom, truth and integrity; where honesty is always, in every circumstance, the best policy. Most importantly, I have found a place where the desire to be a better person in Jesus is always encouraged. As I look at my friends, I see Jesus in them. The way that Jesus calls us to love and forgive in reflected in their lives each and everyday. Their attitudes for their futures, although unsure at times, are always followed by a faith that seems so unshakable. Grace and mercy are overflowing in their words, actions and prayers towards me and others each and every day. Jesus is alive, present to the core of their beings. The love they show to me is the kind Jesus calls us all to share, and for that I am humbled. 

Right now I am heart broken to be done with the best year of my life. However I keep reminding myself that it is not the kind of heartbreak that I cannot recover from; instead its the kind that reassures me that I have been given such precious blessings that I never want to take for granted. It is in these moments that I am reminded of how much my Savior truly knows me better than anyone else. He knows and hears my thoughts, needs and prayers even before I think or say them. Take this time to sit and be thankful for those friends that encourage and uplift you. Then write them a letter, letting them know just how much you love them. Pray that Jesus will bring people into your life (if he hasn't already) that will show you to love as he has loved us because it is the most beautiful gift in the world.


"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy or art...it has no survival value; rather is is one of those things that gives value to survival." -C.S Lewis 
            



Today I am thankful. 

In Christ, 
Taler Ray

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

5 Things Every Woman of God Needs: Quiet

Do you know what it is to be quiet? For those of you who do not know me personally, being silent or even remotely quiet is nearly impossible for me. I blame this mostly on the fact that I am extremely extroverted; always wanting to be talking and hanging out with people. With that said, Jesus has taught me the beauty of spending time with him in the one place that I don't like to be: the quiet.

As I said in my first blog of the series, reading the Bible is important to gain knowledge and understanding. Along with reading the Bible we all need time away from everyday life to listen, reflect and pray on the things that are tucked away in the crevasses of our hearts. So how do we spend time properly with the Lord? There is no set list of rules to follow but the Bible clearly says that spending time in prayer is vital to our relationship with Jesus!

The power of prayer is a beautiful thing, that directly connects us with God. So many times in life I have neglected to go to the One who deserves to hear my problems because I think I can figure them out myself, when in all reality I can't. Friends, we shouldn't harden our hearts, but instead should be vulnerable and transparent with our Creator in the quietFor at the loudest times in our lives, we should seek silence. In Psalm 145:18 it says, "The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." In your time alone with the Lord be honest about what is going on inside and out; although he already knows everything, he wants us all to communicate directly with him. That's the beauty of prayer and reflection. Our creator is longing for you to take time for him, for he wants to understand and know his beautiful creation. Part of letting him fully understand you is spending time alone in a quiet place.

There are few places I would rather be than outside under a big tree sitting in my hammock. It is my place where I can relax and just talk with Jesus in such a casual way, just like I would with my best friend. If you will, my hammock is my favorite place to "hang out with Jesus" (pun intended). Some of the best times I have spent with the Lord recently haven't involved me even talking; rather I spend it listening and reflecting in silence. Instead of listing the endless amounts of petty problems I simply wait and listen to what he wants to teach me through his Word. My encouragement for those of you reading would be to go and find that place where you can be with the Lord, letting his speak into your life while you listen patiently, in the quiet.





Wednesday, April 2, 2014

5 Things every Woman of God Needs: #1

There is so much beauty in watching the Lord transform, nurture and bless your life in ways that you never thought possible. What is even more incredible is that as we follow a life after Christ, we can never stop learning, because we are creatures who long for knowledge and wisdom. As women, whether young or youthfully old (age is but a number), it is vitally important to have things in your life that are constantly leading you to better your relationship with Christ; because it is never finished. Our love story with the Lord is one that is constantly being written and revised. In the next few weeks I want to share with you some things that the Lord has showed me that are vital to my relationship with him. The first is time in the Word.
Life gets busy and I can't imagine what it will be like when I am a working mom and wife. College is crazy enough trying to balance my social life with work and then I suppose homework should be included too ( I mean that is the point of college...right?!). Whatever is keeping you busy, I understand. Every woman does. Life gets in the way, even when we have the best of intentions. However even with those good intentions we often neglect the things that are the most important and in this case it is spending time with the One who created us. How are we supposed to find who we are in Christ if we don't make time for the Word? The answer? We can't. It doesn't matter if you are superwoman with superpowers. We cannot grow in wisdom if we aren't in the Word.
"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12
Woah, the word of God is alive and active!  I am jumping for joy as I write this.How cool is that? Even after thousands of years this precious document has been preserved and is good as new. Friends it is so powerful, just as it says here in Hebrews. When we take time to read God's truth it reveals the things that we need to re-evaluate in our lives. If you want a heart and attitude check, read God's word.
Ladies, the Lord has so much for us all to learn, together and separately in Him. It seems comedic to me that we spend so much time searching for affirmation and wisdom from anywhere other than the Bible. This year I learned just how much Jesus longs to be in relationship with us, but it is completely up to us whether or not we want to fully commit the time and energy. He wants to scratch beneath the surface and dig deep into the depths of our souls. If you want to pursue that deep relationship with Jesus then spending time soaking in his Truth is vital; without it our relationship will never reach it's full potential.
The Word gives us everything we need to know about how to live life according to God's will. Reading the Bible shouldn't be something we do just to check it off the list so we can say we did it for the day. No, the Word is food for our spiritual bodies. We should long and yearn to spend time alone with the One who created us. Without it, our spiritual lives shrivel up and die. I know that seems a bit dramatic but it really isn't. Jesus came to earth to die for ours sins and offers us eternal life; therefore we should be doing everything we can to make our relationship our first priority. After all, our earthly relationship will pass away; however our relationship with Jesus is eternal! Praise the Lord for that!
Wherever you are in life and in relationship with Jesus, I pray that your hearts would be convicted. I pray that your everyday lives would include spending time with Jesus digging deep into the Bible and listening to what the words are saying for your heart specifically. Let your hearts be filled and encouraged by his words, for they are beautiful.
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  In Christ, Taler Ray