“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” – John 15:2

I’ve been getting pruned, y’all! Spoiler alert: it’s not cute at all. In fact, it’s painful and difficult to go through. So, why? Why must we get pruned? What are the benefits? Why are certain things getting addressed in us that our neighbor still gets free reign to do at their will? I don’t have all the answers but I hope I can give a little insight, based on my own current experience.

So John 15:2 says that God prunes those who are bearing good fruit so that they can produce even more fruit. So first thing first, if you’re getting pruned, you’re winning. God is pleased and is only trying to elevate you. Remember that truth as you maneuver through the frustration of it all. The frustration comes from feeling like you’re getting picked on. In my own experience, I started to get convicted by seemingly every little thing I did or didn’t do. If I had a not so nice thought about someone…convicted. If I didn’t give the homeless guy any change I had in my pocket…convicted. If the lyrics to my favorite songs were not so “holy”…convicted. These are just a few examples of what I’ve been going through. While those examples might not seem that serious to you, to God, they were for me. So once you recognize that God isn’t cool with what you’re doing or aren’t doing, you can move forward to dealing with it.

Dealing with it is probably the hardest part. Not only is God suddenly in your face telling you all about your wrongs, you’re now left trying to reconcile what He said with what you want to do or how you feel about it all. Spoiler alert (again): You have your own will and you can totally choose to ignore God. Maybe that’s the tempting route to take, but wait a minute. What’s really the benefit in ignoring Him? Remember John 15:2. God is pleased, He’s just trying to make us that much better. When we ignore His call out to us, we sell ourselves short. We tell God that we are cool with being stagnant, complacent, and stuck. We have no desire to reach the heights God wants to take us. We have no motivation to be our best selves. Is that you? I would hope not. So we must stop and reevaluate what’s actually going on and how to move through this process successfully. The way to do that is through submission AND honest conversation.

I think we often hear how we should obey God because He is right and knows all. While that’s true, it’s also incomplete. We aren’t just obeying God because He’s this dictator making us do what He says, without any care to our feelings or concerns. We are obeying Him BECAUSE He cares about us entirely, and following Him brings about the best results in our lives. With that revelation, submission and honesty don’t necessarily become easy, but they become the goal. Because He cares both about my feelings and about my growth, I can come to Him and tell Him how I feel about this pruning or the rules He’s putting into place. Spoiler alert (one more time!!): The rules or expectations for you aren’t going to change! What will happen, however, is that there will be help. God will put people or scriptures or everyday resources in front of you to push you along. For me, those resources came through friends (they didn’t even know they were helping), other distractions (new hobbies to do), or scriptures that reminded me of the importance of alignment with His will. When you begin to feel His help, there becomes more of a desire to follow through in the pruning process. You’re getting His help and growing! It’s a win-win. Submit and stay honest and see where you end up!

I’ve said all this in a way that suddenly makes the pruning process seem painless. I promise, it’s not. Even with help, with baring your soul to Him, and keeping your goals, it’ll still be hard. It’ll still be frustrating. It’ll still be annoying. Pruning doesn’t happen overnight and neither does your tolerance and acceptance of it. The prize never changes though. We’ll bear more fruit. Yes to fruit! Yes to blessings! Yes to opportunities! Yes to healthy relationships! Yes to prosperity! The end result is good. It’s worth it. Stay strong and cross the finish line.

Keep growing, twentysomethings!

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
– “Oceans” by Hillsong

 
I moved cross country a little over three weeks ago for a new position. While I was crazy excited for the new experience, I found myself equally nervous. Outside of the normal jitters that come with moving to a new city, I really battled with insecurities I had regarding my ability to be successful. Fear. Even though I wrote about how pointless fear was, in my last post, here I was still entertaining it. It’s a process to shake that off! The key towards the freedom of fear, in that moment, was to remember the sovereignty of God. He knows it all and has all your steps ordered. He is in control. Period. My job then was to not entertain fear, but rather enter into a place of God-confidence. This is the shift.

 
Shifting, simply, is moving from a place of human dependence to God dependence. I think it’s so easy for us to give ourselves or others a value that determines what we can or can’t do or whom we can or can’t trust for direction. I was so accustomed to looking at friends and family to give the okay and the push necessary for me to tackle obstacles or to take certain opportunities. While there’s nothing wrong with having a healthy support system to help you, depending on them for everything gets very limiting really fast. This move brought to my attention how badly I needed to let that dependence go. There’s no one here with me to hold my hand and give me the play by play now. It’s only me and God. I needed to change focus and perspective!

Let’s be honest. It was always me and God in this together. Funny thing is, we tend not to realize that when there are so many others vying for our attention. For these three weeks, I’ve really been thinking about the benefits of this solo journey with God. What comes foremost in my mind, every time, is growth. Trust without borders. Now is the time to really spread those wings and flex those faith muscles. Without our usual safety nets, we have to give ourselves up to God wholeheartedly. We have to trust Him and His plan for us, even when we’re not privy to that information yet. We have to open up and allow Him to move us forward into the perfect plan and peace for our lives. It’s time to let Him show out on our behalf. The challenge then is to simply let Him do what He wants without our resistance.

I’m currently on this shift journey and I encourage you to join me. It’s not an easy or straightforward journey, but the return on your investment is huge. God is good on His promises and hasn’t messed up yet. It’s so important to let go and release our control over situations. It’s so important that we stop asking everyone else for advice before consulting with Him. This is a chance to experience life and have it more abundantly. Let the fear go and open up. He’s got you!

Keep shifting, twentysomethings!

God provides, so why do I worry about my life?
When you come to my rescue a thousand times.
Every other voice, it is a lie.
God provides.
⁃ Tamela Mann “God Provides”

As a new season in my life approaches, I’ve met it head on with anxiety. That wasn’t quite the word you were expecting, I’m sure, but bear with me. I think that often we believe that once we start moving in the right direction with God, that we start handling things without a sense of fear. That’s the goal, surely, but as imperfect humans, we all fall short.

 
My anxiety came primarily from not being able to see the future (clearly I wish I was Raven Baxter!). I wasn’t sure what this new season would look like or if I’d really be prepared to handle it. I would question God and my circumstances, momentarily forgetting that God orders our steps. It wasn’t like all this was new to Him. Frankly, if He was cool with the path I was on, I needed to be cool with it as well.

 
I heard this song, God Provides, at church many Sundays ago. I can remember automatically feeling engrossed by the lyrics and feeling both humbled by and grateful for
His love.
His loyalty.
His protection.
His provision.
It made me, both then and now, reflect on my attitude towards change. Why be worried or anxious when God already has His plan in place? Have I forgotten that He wants a future and a hope for me? Have I forgotten that with His purpose comes His provision? Don’t all things work for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose? There is truly nothing to fear. The unknown to us is already both known and completed in God’s eyes. He’s leading the way. All we have to do is trust Him as we move forward towards the finish line.

 
I simply encourage all of you to breathe and relax. It seems scary. It seems uncertain. It seems too hard to get through. Regardless of our perception of the situation, it is already finished in God’s mind. Remember the Lord’s Prayer: “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is (already) in Heaven.” It’s finished. Rest. God provides.

Don’t let fear win, twentysomethings !

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8

 
When this journey initially started, I had my own ideas of what the plan for my life should be. I thought about myself in a specific job, with certain people, and in relationships that I thought were filling. Those ideas didn’t last too long before God moved me into the unknown. I was thrust into a season of not knowing much of anything at all. The very essence of who I was or who I thought I was came into question. Being the planner and perfectionist that I am, I struggled because I needed to know what was next and what I had to do to get there. While God was never completely silent during this process, He was definitely a little slow with the revelations.

Honestly, I think that’s the hardest thing. God’s timing. Everyone says you shouldn’t rush God because there is a time and season for everything. While that’s true, that’s also ridiculously hard to live through. You don’t know when or where or even what in most cases, leaving you, or at least me, feeling lost and helpless. But God said to trust Him and that’s what I did.

My trust journey is a journey all it’s own. Quite frankly, it can be very struggle prone from time to time. One day you might catch me fully committed and without doubt and the next, I’m as anxious as I can be. I’m still working in this area. The comfort though, throughout this, has been that God wants to give a future and a hope. That realization, if nothing else, has been life changing. Regardless of what it looks like, it’s all going to turn out well. Stay the course and run your race.

With that said, in my own life, I’ve recently seen the fruition of all this trust work. Reflecting on these past 9 months or so since I graduated has shown me that God was simply setting the stage. All of my cries, all of my fighting, all of my conversations, and all of my self reflecting got me here. I’m no where near perfect and I still have much to accomplish in this journey, but God never left. He told me to trust my situation. Even with the self doubt, the feeling of lack, the feeling of insignificance, and the feeling of confusion, still trust. And I did. So here I am now, moving across country for a job that I’m excited about. Not only that, but there is extreme peace surrounding me. God moved when He was ready and boy, did it make a difference. In my own strength and in my own time, I could have been in a situation that wasn’t best for me. God always has my best interest at heart, and that is true for you too. I urge you to stay close to Him and gain those trust muscles. It makes a world of a difference.

Keep trusting, twenty somethings!

“So do not fear, for I am with you;
 do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” -Isaiah 41:10
This transitional period in my life has been hard. Not just because I’ve been fighting or because I’ve been working hard to keep the faith. It’s been hard because it’s been lonely.

Loneliness is subjective, right? Oftentimes we can declare loneliness yet we are surrounded by many people. My version of loneliness came primarily because I felt like no one understood me and my struggles. I felt like I couldn’t express myself nor could I grow and expand with people. What I came to realize, however, was that this isolation period was necessary. It was exactly what I needed to grow.

Loneliness brings forth a lot of self reflection. Initially, my views of myself were defeating. I didn’t think I could do it, I wasn’t sure if my decisions were great, and I definitely didn’t know what I offered to this world. These thoughts were built upon comparing myself to others, not having a strong sense of power, and not understanding the journey of life. It wasn’t until my period of loneliness took a turn that things started to come to light. It wasn’t until I started to ask for help, got in an ugly cry or two, and tried to redefine my narrative that things started to look up. I definitely can’t, and won’t, give myself that much credit though. Y’all know who hooked it up.

God has a funny way of putting us in situations we don’t want to be in so that we have no choice but to look up at Him. Being isolated and lonely left me with no where else to turn. All my efforts led to dead ends. I got tired of putting in so much effort with no real results. The breakthrough came when I got fed up. As soon as I got honest and told Him how irritated I was with myself and my situation, peace started to come through. It wasn’t instantaneous, but with God nothing usually is.

As the shift started, God started working on me. That’s when the fight began. That’s when the self reflection resumed. This time however, I wasn’t looking so much at my apparent failures. Instead, I focused on how I could grow and mature. Spiritually, this became my top priority. I wanted to become closer to God. I wanted to believe that all the promises He declared would actually be a reality for me. God took my desires and started to make them the reality I hoped for. Not to say that all is perfect and crystal clear, but those periods of isolation matured me to a place where I finally felt secure. There’s no need to feel inadequate when God is behind you.

I say all of this to offer encouragement. If you’re feeling alone, misunderstood, isolated, or just doubtful, it’s normal. I encourage you to self reflect and find the gaps in your peace. Once you’ve identified them, take it up with God. Watch how God will honor your honesty and start to make moves in your life. As I’ve stated before, God doesn’t play with His kids. You’re limitless. Take the time to grow and mature in the Lord and watch what begins to happen.

Look up, twentysomethings!

“You’re not gonna shock God with your authenticity.” – Touré Roberts

 
I have been struggling with writer’s block for the past few weeks. Not because there wasn’t anything to say, but rather, it didn’t feel right, good enough. It wasn’t until a few days ago that the topic came to me. It wasn’t until this morning, that the words became clear.

I’m just going to get a little personal in hopes that it relates to you. I have been going through a period of transition. I’ve spoken about it in these blogs before, from life after school to growing in faith and trust. One thing specifically has been the fight for the real me. I don’t know about you, but it’s quite easy to be fake. It’s easy to say one thing but do another. It’s easy to put on a beautiful smile but be quite literally dying on the inside. That easiness is troubling and hindering. God has been trying to change me.

I was quite a good faker. I loved to tell both God and the people around me how good I was. I wasn’t the type to ask for help. I’d rather be there for someone else. I wasn’t the type to be honest about my flaws. I’d rather focus on my highlights. And while on the surface this seems okay, even natural, it’s not who you are. To be blunt, you can’t get blessed in this state.

“Blessed in this state” is a new concept to me. One would believe that God blesses you because He loves you. It’s all good then, right? Eh, not so much. I’ve been learning about the importance of destiny. Why am I here on the Earth? Why am I in or not in certain situations? As these months passed, God began to make it clear that in order to live out my destiny, I had to stop with the games. I had to stop being okay. I had to stop denying that I loved unholy things. I had to stop denying that God could be irritating and seemingly unfair at times. I had to stop.

Maybe stopping sounds easy but trust me, it’s not. It has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. When you stop denying, you start to stand in agreement with God. You start humbling yourself and making room for God to come in and heal. While that’s great and all, that’s also the time that the fight starts. Your fleshly you and your spiritual you are now at war. In this war, you get tired. You’re now fighting the same thing you used to love, while simultaneously being on God’s team, not 100% sure how God is going to do what He has said. This is not a fun experience. Not at all.

So here I am, still fighting. There are days when I feel full of slay and power. There are also days when I feel about ready to die, ready to quit. I’ll ask myself is this all really worth it? I survived before I started fighting so I’ll be okay if I stop now. But God isn’t having that. Not even a little bit. It takes nothing before God will remind me of His promises or remind me of who I was (and all of the ratchetness involved). It’s true. I may not see how He is going to work it out. I may be confused and irritated and restless. But He knows that already. The power is in being honest about it.

Tell Him about your struggles and watch Him hold you in His arms. This is a fight worth staying in. Imagine you on the other side. God has your back, so keep those hands up!

Knock em out, twentysomethings.

“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11

Sometimes things just look bad. I’ve been in situations and seasons where it all just seems to be going downhill. Can you relate? When you can’t fathom a different outcome outside of failure. Where, despite positive encouragement, you’re still down, low, and helpless. If that’s something you’ve already been through, then you attest that it gets better in due time. For those who haven’t gotten out of one of those seasons, I’m here to let you know that it’s not worth your sadness or fear.   Anytime we are in moments like I’ve described, it takes more than just saying “it’ll work itself out in the end”. While true, it feels almost like an empty promise. Words without the real belief behind them, don’t amount to much. And more than that, sometimes it feels like people who offer advice are so quick to tell you to move pass those emotions. It’s fine to be sad and unsure. The key however is to keep those emotions in tact. Feel those feelings and then move forward with a renewed motivation.
The plan to move forward is simple: just move. Sometimes you’re not sure where to move to and that’s okay too. Just start making steps. Maybe that means you keep applying to jobs. Maybe it means you keep reaching out for advice or guidance. Perhaps it means practicing self-care. Whatever it means, do so.
After you start moving, believe and know. God does not play with His kids. It may feel like he’s not listening or he’s simply not there, but that’s never the case. Sometimes he’s waiting on you to be still, to stop thinking you’ve got it, or simply to work that faith you’ve been given. No matter His intention, you still know that he doesn’t have you here to fail, to feel lost, or to be unsure of yourself. He wants to prosper us. He wants to give us the ultimate glo’ up. Let him do His thing.
Whenever you feel behind in life or even a failure, remember that you’re not. Believe that you’re not. Hold onto that promise as you continue the journey. Remember, a future and a hope is all He wants to give you. Don’t fret. Pass the test and don’t forget: you’re up next! Your glo’ is already on it’s way.

Keep faithing it, twentysomethings!

It’s amazing to think about how much we believe we know. We can provide the solution, the quick fix, and the right words to finish the sentence. It’s equally as amazing to think of all the times we fail, the times our expected outcome never happened, or when our solution yielded nothing more than a temporary thrill. Our problem is that we “know” it all without knowing much at all. To grow is to acknowledge how lost we are and how badly we need assistance. It’s not possible for us to be happy all in our own strength. Now while this has the potential to turn into a hyper religious sermon, I promise that that’s not at all what I’m trying to do. Rather, I just want to be upfront and hopefully allow you to see yourself in me. If you do, we can then work together on bettering ourselves. Ready? Let’s go.

I was convicted about a week ago in regards to this very topic. During that time, I was very frustrated and irritated with my life. Not that any specific thing was going wrong but rather my life as a whole irritated me. I wasn’t thrilled. I didn’t feel particularly motivated. I still felt confused about my next steps. While those are all normal feelings and reactions, what we do next is super important and telling. A week ago, I responded with aggravation, with deciding to still keep with my same methods (hoping for different results), and allowing myself to be alright with just feeling average.
During one of those nights last week, I was confronted about it. “When are you going to give up and let me do this?”
“How long will it take until you’re tired enough to stop?”
Those were the questions I heard in my head and knew exactly who it came from. The Lord was sick of my mess and needed me to be sick of it too.
“Get up and let me sit down.”
“Move out of the way so I can drive.”
“Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.” *
It was an epiphany for me. Not only was it okay for me to not know what to do, what to expect, and how to prosper in my strength, I was never meant to know. I was never meant to make all those decisions. I was never meant to have all that stress on me. Especially not when God was here the entire time waiting for me to chill out so He could move on behalf.

It would be great to evaluate your decisions and responses to daily life. Do you feel overwhelmed with your life and trying to do it all right? Is your victory or defeat based in your power? Are you finessing solutions just so you look like you’ve got it all together? If you answered yes to any one of those questions, then I suggest you just get still and rest. Life has a way of making you feel pressured into making rash decisions. It has a way of making you feel like everyone has it together except for you. But it’s lying. You’re fine. You’re not behind. You’re not lacking. So rest and receive. Let God sit down in your driver’s seat and determine the course for your life. The sooner you get out of His way, the sooner you’ll feel better. The change won’t happen overnight. There’s a pretty high chance that you’ll feel restless while you wait (at least I did!). It is important, however, that you stay the course. Rushing God won’t bring you any result you haven’t seen before. Let Him work and watch yourself start breathing easier.

Keep your peace up, family. Until next time, twentysomethings.

*Isaiah 46:10

Lately, it’s been pressed on my heart to talk about the need to say thank you. Life can be so crazy and so full of highs and lows. It’s easy to get stuck at an obstacle or a disappointment and feel like that’s all there is. But despite that, say thank you.

To say thank you is to acknowledge that there’s still something to smile about, to inspire you, to strengthen you, and to bring joy to your life. When things are going badly or things aren’t moving fast enough, say thank you. Thank Him for the now, for the was, and for the will be. Say thank you for the breath in your body, the sun that is shining, and the movement of your limbs. To say thank you is to say your current situation can’t keep you down. You will not lose your joy, your motivation, and your peace. So whether everything is perfect, terrible, or somewhere in between, you are still here standing. Gloriously. That’s the beauty of God during this journey.
Are you breathing? Thank you for another day of life.
Is the sun shining? Thank you for being able to see the sun’s beauty and feel its rays.
Were you late to work today? Thank you for protecting me from possible dangers in my commute.

You get the idea. It’s a great move to seriously practice the art of saying thank you and meaning it. Center yourself in gratefulness and watch what God will do.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17

Until next time, twentysomethings.

It’s been pressed on my heart to change my perspective. It’s so easy to look at life, focus on the low moments, and decide to have a negative outlook.
“I never will.”
“I don’t know how.”
“They don’t understand me.”
I challenge you to switch it up. Why worry about the rain clouds when you know the sun is right around the corner? Remember, though tears come at night, joy comes in the morning.* If you’re struggling with self doubt or just lack of opportunity, search for the sun. Realize the blessings in your life. Work on the things you know need improvement. Continue to practice self care and love yourself throughout this twenty something journey. If one thing doesn’t work, try something else. If something failed, try one more time. Allow yourself to conquer the defeat.
“I certainly will.”
“I can learn how.”
“I’ll explain another way so they’ll understand me.”
Realize that trials aren’t here to hurt you but rather to build you up. Your foundation and confidence is that God has it under control. Enjoy the journey. Trust the journey. Prosper in the journey. It’s not over yet. The sun is shining somewhere.

* “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” – Psalm 30:5