Vienna Waits for Who? :)

Can anyone else relate to this song? :)

All of Your Heart

Stop trusting yourself. Because you can't do it all. 


This was a scary reality that I was faced with a few weeks ago.

Have you ever had one of those days where you think you can do it all? Where YOU are the one who's going to make a change? YOU alone hold the key to the future. Have YOU ever felt like YOU have the weight of the world on your shoulders?

Well... you don't. At least...you don't have to. Because someone else already bore the burden for you.  Someone way more powerful and stronger than you is in control. 

It took me quite a while to learn this... in fact, I didn't even come to this realization until a couple of weeks ago. I was reflecting on my life, the blessings and the trials, and all of the sudden I realized that I had done absolutely nothing to affect the happenings in my life.

Things happen... but they don't happen by chance...and they certainly don't happen because of my own efforts. They are clearly shaped and molded by someone ever so much greater than me.

It was then that I realized that I can't do it all. Not alone at least. I don't even know if I'm meant to do anything that will affect truly meaningful change. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, or the next day... but I do realize one thing: I need to let go. To let go of the things of this world, of my deathgrip on the plans that I have for me and just give into God and the plans that He has for me.

Jeremiah 29: 11 is a frequently quoted Bible verse... but why so many people stop at verse 11, I'll never know. Jeremiah 29: 11-13  says:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

These past few weeks taught me to let go of my own heart. Because in reality... my heart is not my own. In fact, as a member of the body of Christ, I have allowed Him to fill my heart; making it ever so much more His than it is mine.

I do not claim to have given every part of my life over to the Lord. The worries and toils of everyday life pull and tug at the desires of my heart; causing them to stretch in all directions.  But I can commit to trying. And you know what? I think I now know what it means to be free. The word freedom has been given such new meaning and I never knew it to bring such joy!

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17

I started out this blog post by saying to stop trusting yourself. And I meant it. But that doesn't mean that you stop trusting.  Opening up your heart and giving your whole heart to something or someone other than yourself, takes the greatest trust anyone could ever ask for. 

So, I'm saying it today. I'm going to try (that doesn't mean I won't fail) to give ALL OF MY HEART over to the Lord. It'll be quite the journey and I would encourage you to take it with me: who knows were it will lead... but hopefully it will "set [my] heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." ~ Colossians 3:1

Hello, World! Hello, Youth!

"Hello world, hope you're listening, forgive me if I'm young... or speaking out of turn." ~ One Republic

These lyrics from the song, "Come Home" by One Republic were the inspiration for my blog. The 21st century reveals a new world of communication, a new realm of influence, but the same call to young people.

This call-- to be active and involved in the world around us-- is not an new one, but rather an old call. It is a cry from the world to be aware of what is going on. To be on guard against those who would deceive us. But most of all to know what we believe and why we believe it.

Rather than being taken up by the latest whim or caprice, we must remember those old truths that remain the same; timeless, unchanging and solid:

 The truth of Jesus Christ!

Perhaps the true inspiration for my blog was not the lyrics of One Republic, or the cry of the world, but the timeless message of the gospel of Christ:

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." ~ 1 Timothy 4:12

This blog is intended to encourage the youth of the world to come alongside those who are older and wiser. To learn from the mistakes of the past, but to recognize that the past often has more truths to share than faults to reveal.

It will take hard work. It will require more than typing, thinking, or dreaming (although those are vital components to a life well lived). It will require action.

Sometimes, action requires a change of heart first. Then it requires that you to answer the call. Not the one on your phone, or your Mom begging you to come down for dinner, but the ultimate call.

What is God asking you to do today?

World, it's your turn to answer.