Hey guys!!! I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long, it's been a crazy few months! Today, I'm sharing a collaboration I'm doing with the awesome @the.carolife! In this post, we both asked each other questions about our religion/faith and answered the other person's questions for us. You can check out Caroline's post here. Here are my answers!
What is one God-moment (when he has spoken to you or nudged you in a certain direction) you have had in your life?
This is a really good question! One of the situations or moments that stand out the most to me is when I made the decision to start my Doula certification while still in High School. (For anyone who doesn’t know what a doula is, the short description is that a doula provides emotional, physical, and mental support to expecting mothers during their pregnancy and after birth. If you'd like to know more about what a doula is, feel free to read the blog post I wrote about it! https://kylj2003.wixsite.com/wonderfullymade/post/what-is-a-doula) I truly believe that the Heavenly Father was nudging me in that direction. He provided all of the funds that I needed to pay for my certification, and I just felt a peace about my decision to start my certification.
What are a few of your all time favorite bible verses and why?
I have so many, so this is a hard question, but I’d have to say that my favorites are:
-Psalm 139:14, “I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” This verse has been one of my favorites for quite awhile because I’ve struggled with negative self-image, and have struggled with accepting and loving the way I look. This verse reminds me that I’m fearfully and wonderfully made, and I’m beautiful in the Father’s eyes!
-2 Timothy 1:7, “For the Father has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” I have struggled with fear and worry about certain situations or things, and I always quote this verse to myself whenever I’m feeling anxious or stressed, and it really helps me feel less afraid, stressed, or worried.
-Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.” When I’m going through a rough patch, or struggling with something, I quote this verse to myself. It reminds me that the Father is in control, and that He has a plan for my life, even if I can’t see it or it doesn’t make sense to me. He’ll always be in control, and he’ll always use situations or events in my life for good.
What do you love about having a faith the most?
I think what I love about having a faith the most is that no matter how alone I feel, I know that I’m never truly alone, because I know that the Father will always be there, and I’ll always be able to lean on Him in times of trouble or confusion, or anything else, and that I can always go to Him in prayer, He will listen. (Jeremiah 29:12)
When you have doubts with God, who do you turn to or what do you do?
When I’m having doubts about the Father, I turn to His word, and that really helps me to remind myself of His promises to me and His love for me, no matter what’s going on in my life. I also like to listen to encouraging and inspirational Christian music when I’m having these doubts, which really helps encourage me.
Now, I'm going to share my questions to Caroline, and her answers to them!
How long have you been a Christian? Were your parents Christians, or did you discover your faith when you got older?
I have been a christian since before I was born. Both of my parents grew up in the church and then proceeded to raise my siblings and I in the church. But as far accepting chrisitianity as my own faith and understanding what it meant for my life, I would say that didn’t happen until middle school during confirmation and various church retreats.
What makes you a strong believer in your faith?
I interpret this question as ‘why do I believe?’ I have a few main points in response, but there are so many more little things that have happened and do happen each day related to my faith that I can’t necessarily put into words and explain. I think that is what makes faith so unique to each person and makes it the beautiful, mysterious element that it is. Anyway, here are just a few of the many reasons I believe.
1) God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit speak to me, nudge me in directions, show me their presence and work in so many ways in my life that it is undeniable that there is a presence guiding it. This idea of believing in something that isn’t earthly tangible can make faith difficult for some, but if we take the time to listen/see/feel we will see where God’s presence has worked in and shaped our lives. We can also see how good “unexplainable” moments have an explanation and how good “coincidences” are not just coincidences: they were and are God’s work.
2) My strong belief is also sourced on the respect for the founding morals of christianity. From the teachings to be generous and accepting, to the lessons on forgiving others, the range of good morals that are fundamental to christianity are full of goodness. Believing in that alone strengthens me because I know my compass is in the right direction.
3) The amount of people who have believed in christianity through history and are still believing in it today is another big reason why I strongly believe. It is a reassurance to me that billions of other people have believed throughout time--there just has to be something really there. In addition to that, being in a church and youth group community have helped me see how God is truly working in other’s lives and that I am not just simply “making this up” for myself.
4) Prayer, worship, sermons, and scripture are a special and holy way to connect to God, and time and time again they have found a way to speak to me. These strengthen my faith and bring me closer to Jesus everyday. And, as far as “God moments” go, each time I engage in one of those, He always seems to find a way to provide the message I need to hear in that moment.
5) Last, but certainly not least, is how I have seen others trudge through difficult periods of life and emerge from them stronger than they were before. There are certain devastating periods of life that are disparaging and nearly impossible to rebound from, but through the hope, peace, guidance, love, acceptance, and comfort of Christ, we somehow make it through. My only explanation for that is that the Holy Spirit works through those situations in explainable ways for good.
What is your favorite Bible verse? Has it impacted your life or inspired you in any way? If so, how?
There’s just so many different favorite verses I have had throughout different seasons of life, but I have to say my favorite one right now is James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” It helps me realize how easy it is to connect with and feel God, and it makes a strong faith seem so attainable. All we have to do is pray, listen, ask, worship, read the bible or other simple actions to lean on God, and He will be right there waiting for us. The door is always open.
How would you say that your relationship with the Father has impacted your life, or made your life better?
Wow, there are so many ways I can’t even begin to think on how to write them all out!! First, I would say my answers to this question can be interchangeable with numbers 4 & 5 on “what makes you a strong believer” question. A huge part of how amazing God is and how He has revolutionized my life is through providing peace and comfort in times when I had nothing else to turn to. Because of faith, I always have this sense that everything is going to be okay, and that I will get to where I am supposed to be no matter what life puts in my path. Being a person who likes to plan for things/know what is coming next/be in control of situations, having a relationship with Christ has truly helped me relax, put my worries away, focus on what matters, and just live life like it is meant to be lived.
There are so many more ways that my faith has impacted my life and made it better. I truly could go on and on, but I would love to talk with you all personally through email if you want to hear more about it!
What is one way you've seen the Father work in your life?
For 7 years, competitive soccer was my life: it was all I did… So when I had several conversations and prayers with God, and He was nudging me in the direction to quit, I was angry and confused. Long story short, after a lot of thinking and time,I knew that God had so many plans for my life and that soccer was preventing those from taking place because it was too time consuming. I did decide to quit after my sophomore year of high school, and I couldn’t believe the way my life was transformed. There were unimaginable blessings, an abundance of time to bring God’s love to others through outlets like my blog, and a personal peace through finally having free time without soccer ruling my schedule. As you can see, the decision to quit wasn’t easy, and I was really scared to step away from something that was my life. But through listening to God’s voice, following His plan & not mine, and trusting that it would work out, the decision was made, and the way my life was transformed proved to me that I had done the right thing and that God truly knew all along this was what was best. If you are interested in reading on this more specifically, I gave a sermon at church about this decision to quit soccer. It is attached here in this blog post. https://carolineclaire239.wixsite.com/thecarolife/post/2018/07/22/sermon-about-soccer
Goodbye for now,
Kyra