A First Time for Everything

So, I'm a newbie here. It's another first in my life: my first blog!  I'm going to try my best to make this a place where I can (hopefully) encourage you through the things God has taught me and is still teaching me.

You see, through my (short) years, I've learned some pretty awesome things about life and faith! I don't claim to know it all. Actually, I know very little but what I do know is so awesome, that I couldn't wait to share. So, here I am!

The title of this blog is very significant to me. If we're being honest with ourselves, sometimes life just feels like a mess. It can be challenging, confusing, heart breaking and at times it can feel downright impossible. We don't have to look far to see the brokenness not only in our own lives but in the world around us. With abuse, violence, cheating, lying, selfishness, lust, and so many other sins taking over our culture, sometimes it seems hopeless; like we're too far gone.

I've had a few ups and downs in my life and some pretty tough things have crossed my path. It's safe to say that I've been discouraged by what feels like a mess of a life and the mess that's around me.
 But there's a beautiful truth that has helped me through. It has given me hope and a reason to keep on keeping on. There's meaning in the the midst of my mess and there's meaning in yours too!!

If we had to try to find a glimpse of hope in this broken world, we would have one tough search! But, we don't have to find our hope here. If you would look beyond the distractions and look to the one who created us, the one who gave us life, you would see that we have a purpose and a hope much better than anything this world has to offer!!

God created us and this world that we live in to be something beautiful. It was meant to glorify Him, but we twisted it. We sinned. Every day when we sin we are taking things that God created to be for good and for His glory and we're making them about us; about our pleasure, our glory and our desires. When we disobey God's laws we think we're being the creative ones by doing things our own way so they might bring more pleasure or joy. That's taken us here, to this place of brokenness, pain and hurt.

 The beautiful thing is that God is offering His grace and redemption. He's offering to take these things that we've made a mess out of and turn them into something beautiful, into something that can bring us true joy! This true joy and peace flows out of a heart that trusts in Him and obeys His laws. His laws were meant to keep peace and to guide us to joy as we fulfill our original purpose as His creation. It's kind of like when your parents set rules for you as a kid. They set those rules to keep you safe, because what you wanted wasn't always the best thing for you at the time. That's how I think of God's laws for us. They're for our good and when we trust Him and obey them, it's for our own good. The greatest of God's laws says: "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). This is the meaning in the mess! This is the greatest of God's laws that were meant to keep peace and give Him glory and give us joy! Love God. That is at the center of a life of true joy!

My hope for you is that you would know the true joy of loving God with your whole heart. Accept the forgiveness that he has offered through a perfect sacrifice, His son Jesus Christ, and take hold of the life that we were created to live: a life of joy and hope in something so much better than what this world has to offer. God can bring meaning in the midst of your mess, joy in the midst of your sorrow and hope in the midst of your fear! Trust Him.


This amazing, crazy sounding story is what puts meaning in my mess, spring in my step and hope in my life!
My short years have been a journey of learning this truth and so many others. In the next weeks/months/years I plan to share things that I've written along the way as  well as the things that I continue to learn. My hope is that my words will in some way encourage or challenge you to find the meaning in your life and follow God wholeheartedly. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!

One last matter of business: I will do my best to give credit where credit is due and I ask that you'd do the same! Thanks for reading! :)