Rooted in Assurance

Grind week has arrived. Suddenly, the months you had to complete the final paper, project, or study for the exam have disappeared and only days are left. Something along the lines of "I am not going to survive this semester!" and other panicked thoughts flood your mind. This weekend, driving back from Florida, I had the privilege of listening to some well-timed podcasts from Breakaway Ministries, a campus ministry at Texas A&M. One of the podcasts reminded listeners to not allow the enemy to have a seat at their table. What does that mean though? Who is our enemy? What table? And what does that have to do with finals week? To place this statement in context, I want you to read Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your ro

"If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote 'me too' as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem," Alyssa Milano. Young adulthood is difficult. We are searching for truth: what we stand for, what is right and wrong, and what does that mean for our lives? But mostly, we just really don't know. We don't know what we are doing. We don't know what comes after graduation. We don't know the right way to handle all of the things that come our way. As Christians and college-age kids, we desire to honor God, but many of us also have a yearning for relationship with another human. This is not a bad desire. But we struggle to know how to balance loving God and the biblical way to find a partner. Personally, I describe my dating life as a series of unfortunate events. I really don't mean anything against guys (the ones I've dated and otherwise); my purpose is not to blame or vilify men. Howe

Cancer. A hateful, nasty, cold blooded killer. I hate it. We all hate it. It is a great and terrible darkness. We research cures. Run to raise money for that cure. We plead. We bargain. Too often, we lose. We took my grandma home from the hospital three years ago. She had stage 4 colon cancer, and we knew our time with her was limited. At the time, I was in my freshman year of college, just finding myself. I've changed my degree three times since then, and transferred schools as many times. However, every step of the way I was reminded of Grams, one of the strongest women I know. When Grams was my age, she was working on her undergrad degree just like me, except she had two kids. After she graduated, she worked every day to break the glass ceiling. She was ambitious, and she was strong. As I begin applying for law school and graduate programs, I think back on that day three years ago. I think of her advice and her firecracker personality. I remember pleading with her and

"As Christians, one of our chief commitments should be not only preserving our own purity, but also protecting and honoring the purity and morals of others." -Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth      Modesty. Every teenage girls' favorite lecture. Ha. We definitely hate this talk, both having to give it and receiving it. But why? What about this topic is so controversial? Our human nature, ruled by the flesh, and therefore prone to rebellion, leads us to choose disobedience rather than choosing to glorify God and follow his commandments for us.     I guess to begin we need to get at the heart of the issue. What is our motivation for how we dress? And does it really matter? So many times I hear girls complain about having to cover up, guys should be able to control their eyes and thoughts better. But ladies let's be honest, we are just as easily distracted when a guy does not dress modestly (whoops the secret is out, girls are attracted to boys and struggle with tempta

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day" -2 Corinthians 4:16 Working at a summer camp is at the same time one of the most exhausting and rewarding challenges an individual can experience while in college. You learn humility as you serve those around you and little lives are placed in your hands. It's actually really terrifying: parents entrust you with their children and tell you to have a nice day. Meanwhile, you are monitoring these kids as they climb over 50 feet in the air, making sure they don't drown at the pool, and let's be honest, keeping your emotions in check as they ask for the hundredth time (you think I'm kidding) "what are we doing next?" It's sassy, it's sanctifying, and its satisfying. I live for the little moments: the beautiful, gospel moments when a kid gets it. The sweet (exhausting) moment when you're sitting there after playing capture th

I realize that while I have had this blog for about a year now, I have never taken the time to explain the title, "Crossroads." My goal is to tackle the tough questions and issues we face as Christians. I am not trying to say that my opinions are the right ones, just that I've done my research and would encourage you to do the same. I encourage you to consider multiple sources, multiple points of view, and form your own conclusions, not just assume those of the individuals around you, even your teachers or parents. With that said, my heart is burdened for my country as we face several crossroads.   There are several "crossroads" throughout Athens. If you've ever been downtown, you know what a truly sanctifying experience it can be trying to navigate. There are roads that suddenly become one way, or a stop light with more options than there should be (Thomas, Oconee, and Broad, I'm talking about you sweet friend of mine). You get stuck at the light for

"I'm just trying to learn to be a content pringle. It's a lot like a single pringle. But really not ready to mingle. Just learning to wait on Jesus." - Excerpt from conversations with my roommates *Disclaimer: I do not suggest this post for young readers. This topic is intended for my peers (I would say for adults, but really, what is an adult anyway.)*     Dating in our modern culture often feels like series of unfortunate events. Nobody is perfect, and that's okay. We get hurt, our hearts are tender, and we often seek approval and acceptance. But we should be wise about where we go to satisfy these desires. Sometimes, immaturity in this area can lead to mistakes in how we handle our relationships. This has been a common conversation with my roommates lately, and I figured I would share some of our advice on "what not to do in dating." I don't say this because I'm perfect or have dating down to a science. I've just made a lot o

"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives."   The weekend of Easter is a time of reflection, to remember what Christ has done for us and what that means for our lives. It begins with Good Friday, which, when you first think about it, sounds kind of ironic. How could the day Jesus died actually be good? Without his sacrifice, however, there is no resurrection, no victory over sin and death. Because Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose three days later, we can live an eternal life through him, free from our sinful natures and our pasts.   Saturday is a little more difficult, though. I place myself in the apostle's shoes, I ponder how they must have felt; all of their expectations had been completely destroyed. Jesus told them that he would leave for a while, then come back for a time (John 16). They didn't realize what his words mea

" You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again you did not know." -William Wilberforce     Three and a half years ago, I was first introduced to the fight against human trafficking while interning for a non-profit near Atlanta. At the time, we were working very closely with a group known as Street Grace, which focuses on creating awareness for Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, as well as inspiring others to join the fray.   After attending several training sessions through Street Grace, my eyes were opened to the full scope of the issue. I immediately felt the call to take a stand, attending further training in order to become a volunteer speaker. By God's grace I was able to speak at events across the state of Georgia. I continued to seek opportunities that would allow me to fight the injustices of human trafficking, and God consistently opened doors for me.   A few weeks ago, God lined up an incredible outreach opportunity on Fulton In

   The burden of our past can be a heavy one. We have all stumbled in some way, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23. At times we can feel overwhelmed by the weight of our inequities and failures, as if we could never be saved or forgiven, as if we are defined by our pasts. I think one area the enemy loves to exploit and that burdens us in a way other sins don't is the topic of purity. Some questions that I have heard others ask and that I have asked as well include, "What does purity mean? What does that look like in my life? What if my purity has been diminished?"    God has been working on my heart this week through the Revive our Hearts series "God's Beautiful Design for Women." Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth has been walking through Titus 2, and even has a book titled "Adorned" on the same topic, which is also changing my life. I actually cried on the bus at school while reading the description of her w

      Forgiveness doesn't always come easy; it requires humility and grace. Our pride, on the other hand, can create major barriers in our life when it comes to healing and forgiveness. "Why should I humble myself and seek out the other party? They messed up, not me. How dare they do this to me?"     Our society loves to support this mindset, encouraging us to get back at the other person, even when the other party may not have done anything to us, and our pain is caused by a perceived injustice. We are told to hurt them as much as they hurt us, to cut everyone else out of our lives and walk around with a chip in our shoulder. We choose to blame our brokenness and problems on another sinful and broken person. By doing this, we lose sight of our identity and where our healing comes from.     Thankfully, we don't have to live our lives bound to the bitterness and pain. I've heard it said that a lack of forgiveness is like drinking poison to spite the person