friends!
so, it's been WAY too long, i know. but, to be completely honest, i have started this blog about 100 different times, but continuously don't know what to say. but, i remembered that whenever i started this thing, i told myself that God was gonna take care of it. He was gonna be in charge of my life & whatever came from my life would go to this. so, instead of making it sound more complicated, this has been my life as of late.
summer has begun. it's in a full swing & guess what? i already miss Jonesboro. i don't mean that in the "i hate home, send me back" way. i just mean that i miss a lot of the people who made up the past nine months of my life. something i notice when i come back home is how lazy my walk with Christ can get. i steadily find myself doing stupid things or saying awful things that i never would have said if i was around other people. it's become a struggle now. not even something that i can snap out of. it's a struggle to be peaceful & deal with situations the way i should.
my best friend, Katie, and i were discussing life last night after a Youth Rally that we had attended. we both have been discussing how we let the reactions of the people around us choose our life. i can definitely say that i care most about what people think of me and how they perceive me. to see people that i care for most not understand why my heart breaks for the lives they live hurts. i want people to know that my life is not the example of Christ that it should be. & instead of looking at me & saying "Nicole, look. you've had some serious issues with [insert issue here] and i wanna not only pray for you, but encourage you & keep you accountable for this mess.", they look & say "girl, you got some issues. you need to fix them so you can get back on your feet again."
while at the Make Your Move rally last night, a girl came to me discussing how her life had been radically changed by someone who invited her to a conference, where she gave her life to Christ. & now, she strives to tell her messed-up family about the love & forgiveness that Christ extends to us on a every day basis. she discussed how she felt dry. just completely empty from God & that no one understood her. i told her quickly that any Christian that is pouring into someone's life with encouragement & love is hurting. they so desperately need the love & encouragement that they are handing out.
so, saying this, i encourage everyone reading this to find an accountability partner. someone to pour into their life, to pray for, to be encouraged by, to love on, & to love. i am blessed to say that Bryanna McClanahan & Katie Sims are the best accountability partners i could ever ask for. God has blessed me with these two & it's been an amazing journey with both of these beautiful women.
i'm definitely praying for the friends at ASU that i have that i know are suffering from home lives, issues with friends, or just life in general. i pray that you know God is trying to use you through all your mishaps and hurting struggles. i love you all & i hope you know that if ever you need someone, i'm here to help.
until next time.. because we are all a [work.in.progress]
love&prayers :)
