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A Journey Through the Psalms | Take Courage

Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear,

though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

Psalm 27:3

Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14

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The Bible makes it clear that we face a daily battle with darkness and its rulers. It's naïve to wake every morning and ignore the battle around you.

Even when we're aware of the war around us, there are days when the darkness and struggle seem overwhelming. We may feel as though we've entered a great battle with no armor or weapons, combating feelings of doubt, disappointment, and hopelessness as they try to take root in our lives.

When the enemy seems to be winning the war, we must remember that our confidence and courage should not lie in our own ability to fight, but in our Lord who has already won the battle. We must shift our focus from what we cannot do, and raise it to the one who has defeated death and destruction!

In Exodus 14:14 Moses tell the Israelites, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Not only do we draw courage from the Lord, but we can rest assured that He is on our side and fighting for us. It's a great comfort to know that you're on the side of the One who cannot lose.

Spurgeon reminds us , “Faith's banners will wave in spite of the foe.” The enemy cannot destroy our faith, and he cannot overcome us. The Lord will fight and win the battle, we must wait on Him.

Pictured here is the ditch that surrounds Ft. Granger in Franklin, TN. This was once a sight that represented war and destruction; It is now more beautiful, and peaceful than one could imagine. Just as we face days when it seems there is too much damage done, and there is no way that victory is at hand, we must remember that our God is a God of renewal. He is making all things new. Take heart believer, the destruction you feel now will not last.

Intro: A Journey Through The Psalms

Last winter was a tough one for me. At times it seemed a darkness came over my soul with no warning or reason. I found myself crying through daily chores until my tears had run dry. I was newly married to pretty spectacular beau, had a fun job, and a great church family. Why was I so sad? It didn't add up.

As my husband noticed I wasn't quite myself, he pursued me and explored what was going on. Together, we talked through the external things going on in my life: the gloom of winter, the solitude I faced during most of the week, recent life transitions, et cetera. And while these were definitely factors in my sadness, they were not the ultimate problem. As I began to explore my heart, a growing sense of loneliness was revealed. I had shifted my focus from God to my immediate circumstances, not believing God to be who He claims to be, and fulfilling the hopes He has promised.

I wasn't believing that He would never leave or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5); I rejected Him as my helper (Psalm 54:4); I denied Him as my true comforter (Isaiah 66:13). While my external circumstances had a real role in this darkness I experienced, it was also true that my sin of unbelief helped the darkness to linger. I want to be careful to say that I am not comparing my story to someone who suffers from depression, and I am not saying that depression is a result of sin. But in my story, pain and sin coincided together.

During this time I had little desire to read scripture, though I knew my heart needed the words of the Lord to sustain me. My husband recognized that need, and we began to read from the book of Psalms every night.

This is not the first time that the book of Psalms has served as a great reassurance. These pages in my Bible have seen my tears in the past, and undoubtedly will again in the future. I mean, what girl can't relate to David when he says “Every night I flood my bed with tears”? That's the story of junior year, am I right?

The book of Psalms serves not only as a source of comfort, but one of inspiration. I announced Facebook and Instagram that I'm setting sail on a new creative project. This is something that I have been wanting to do for a while now, but couldn't quite put my finger on how to accomplish it. Thankfully, my husband is more creative than I am, and helped to reign in my thoughts.

Over the next few weeks I will be Photographing and writing through the Psalms. It will be a mini devotion of sorts. I do not claim to be a great photographer, and I'm definitely NOT the best writer. I do, however, believe that we are to use what we have to glorify the Lord and point others to him. I pray that my mediocre gifts will point to a great, creative, and holy God.

  

Knox

Sojourn Church does ALS challenge.

I was a little hesitant to do the ice bucket challenge at first.  It seemed a bit silly to me, and I was concerned about the money going toward embryonic stem cell research.  My mind was changed after I realized the gratitude and support that came from those actually suffering from ALS.  Also, you can donate to the Mayo clinic in order to ensure your money will not be used for embryonic stem cell research. 

Most of us from Sojourn Church were challenged and we decided to all do it together.  It was a bonding experience to say the least... Even the kids got in on it! 

Kelly Ripa was so right...

One morning, around this time last year, I was watching Live with Kelly and Michael. If you know me, you know that I love Kelly and Michael. In my head we are best friends. Anyway, that morning they were discussing what age was their best age. Kelly immediately said that her favorite age was 23. This was exciting news for me since I was days away from turning 23. Everything in me hoped that she was right.

KELLY RIPA WAS SOOOO RIGHT! 23 was the best year yet. I know that (Lord willing) I have a lot of life to live, but it is going to be awful hard to beat 23. Here are a few reasons that this past year was the best year:

I got to marry the best looking guy in the universe,

After I married him, I got to go to Jamaica with him!

I got my first tattoo,

                                                I finally settled into my new town (nashville),

Souls, Stories, and Stockholm

Though I only spent a little over a week in Sweden, I can look back and see that I had many great experiences. One of the greatest experiences was simply getting to walk around and talk to the people that lived there.

I have a great curiosity when it comes to other humans and their stories.  I always have. I love people and I love stories.  I think that is why I love antiques so much... They belonged to a person from another time, and that person had a story. 

It is my personal belief that we are created by God (though that my not be yours), and he made us in a way that we can relate to one another. There is hurt, happiness, disappointment and love.  It really is amazing to see that we are all created to be so different, but there are commonalities in every soul.  

We all have a story to tell, but at the same time, we should be willing to hear other peoples stories. We should be interested in those around us.  I encourage you to find a stranger and asks them about their story. 

Maybe that means being brave and just talking to someone at a coffee shop, or maybe that means you create a project that can allow you to meet others and share their stories. 

Just try it, you will be glad you did!