What to do with your life??

Until recently in my older teenage years, I've always stressed out about how I was going to live my life and how my future was going to go. Namely, I wanted to make sure that I was doing God's will in my life, and I hoped, hoped, hoped that I would never make the mistake of going to the "wrong" college, getting the wrong career, marrying the wrong person, moving to the wrong city...I kind of waited for God to suddenly appear in a glowing figuration as I prayed and send me to a country as a missionary, or tell me to go to this college, or just give me some kind of mission for my future!

But what I never knew was that, although God certainly does choose to personally in a very direct way guide us on a specific path... most of the time, we should just focus on glorifying Him in our daily lives, loving others at least as much as ourselves, and doing what we desire.

Whoa... did I just say that?? Doing what we want in life?? Let me explain.

Something that changed my perspective on this concept was a book excerpt by John MacArthur called "Found: God's Will". I encourage you to find it and purchase the book - it's definitely worth it. But he described that if we simply find our delight in the Lord, He will shape the direct of our heart and we can simply go after what we want, whether that's being an artist, moving to California, or volunteering for something. This is not an unbiblical concept. You see Paul and the team of people he was doing missionary work with in Acts executing this philosophy. Check out how it turned out:

"Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them." Acts 16:6-10

Paul and his companions simply went from town to town, preaching the gospel everywhere, and where they want. They decided that they wanted to preach in a certain place of Asia - so they tried to get in. The Scripture doesn't say how the Spirit did it (perhaps it was by a closed door of opportunity?), but He kept them from going into the area. They kept trying, though! They didn't just give up and write it off as not God's will! In life, it's like we're all in a maze of walls, mirrors, and opened and closed doors, and we bump into these things and feel our way through until we find the right opening to continue on. And that's exactly what this missionary team did. They kept trying to get into Asia. Through that, it led them to other areas where they might not have gone otherwise to preach the gospel, but also they were led down a slightly different path - God wanted them to go to Europe! Christianity no longer would be an Asian cult, but spread throughout the globe through their missionary acts there.

This post is getting long, so I just want to encourage you girls about something I've learned and am learning. Abide in God, and prayerfully and intelligently go after what you want as long as it's holy, and don't give up. Pray, pray, pray, and worship Jesus, and live how He wants you to live - in kindness, in relationship, in strength, and in the Spirit, and don't worry about getting some grand vision from God about what to do with your future. If you are simply with Him, He is with you, and watching out for you - so go in life. Run. It's a short run until we reach eternity with our Father - let's live it to the fullest and to the glory of God.

Do Not Worry?? But What About...??


Matthew 6:31-33 (NIV) says, "So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Today, I was texting back and forth with my fabulous friend, Christina. She's been looking for the perfect place in Uptown Dallas to live. You've gotta understand---this girl knows what she wants, and she won't settle for anything less! She had an amazing hope built in a fantastic townhouse in a prime area of Uptown, but sadly, it recently fell through. So, she's back to square one. She's getting a bit antsy and anxious about finding the ideal home. As we were texting, I told her not to worry, it will find her! Christina then prompted me to check her Facebook status. She had the verse above posted with the following comment, "Well...what about 'where shall we live?' We need a fabulous place in uptown to live and still no luck so far!" I laughed at this and then became inspired for this posting.


How many of you feel like Christina? How many of you are becoming impatient, anxious and a bit desperate for something that you feel that you want or need RIGHT NOW?! I'd go out on a tall stiletto here and say just about all of you, including me. But, once again, we are worrying. Even though the good Lord didn't list every single worry or want or need that a girl could possibly have in that verse (we would have to have another Bible written just for those) doesn't mean those worries and stressors aren't important to him.


The thing is, we don't give him our worries or problems. He asked us to cast our anxiety upon him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7) , but us stubborn-headed women are determined to figure it out and handle it ourselves. Sometimes, us independent, strong-willed women like to think we have control over every aspect of our lives, however, when we take off with our own ideas and desires, we often find ourselves in a middle of a gigantic shoe store with absolutely no idea what shoe to buy! We had it all planned and then we find ourselves freaking out thinking....omg, what now??


Ladies, we often don't stop to pray and ask if (insert desire/need here) is in his will. Is it his will for us to have that perfect townhouse or make that career change....or buy those $725 Manolo Blahnik pumps?! Maybe, maybe not, but who cares? Being in the middle of His will IS the PERFECT place! And that's where we fail as strong women. You see, it takes more strength to admit you need some help and to let someone else take over. It's called delegating. Give it ALL to the One who loves you. He created you. He knows the PERFECT plan for you----yes, even the PERFECT place for you to live, Christina. So, stop and pray about it and be determined to be in the middle of His PERFECT plan for you. It will all work out for the best so...don't worry (even about the place you will live)!



Brynlea Taylor Cunniff is a tomboy in a tutu. With a desire to be the Proverbs 31 woman God created her to be, she walks down the runway of life hand-in-hand with her Designer (in heels...and cowboy boots). Brynlea has a true passion for the young ladies of today's generation, so she has a blog dedicated to devotions, fashion and everything girly! Follow her on http://fabyoulousgals.blogspot.com and Twitter @bryntayl. She would love for you to join her Facebook group "Fabyoulousgals" for Godly encouragement and girl chat!

A Worry Box

Hey Girls!
Ahh...the summer is counting down! Well, hopefully you're all enjoying it.

Anyway, I was on vacation with my family at a Christian family camp in NH. It's absolutely beautiful and refreshing. They have activities for the teens, and one day they split up the guys and girls and had devotions. Most of what they talked about was the same old stuff  you hear all the time. But one thing struck me: our leader was talking about anxieties and worries and how they don't honor God. She said that she has something called a Worry Box. Let me explain.

She keeps a small, decorated box on her desk with a particular Scripture that comforts her written on the outside (for instance Matt. 6:25-34). She keeps a pen and paper inside it. Whenever she becomes worried, anxious or stressed out, she writes the issue down and puts it inside the box. By doing so, she gives each concern to God and trusts Him with the result. After that, she doesn't allow herself to worry about that issue. Instead, she simply reminds herself that it is already in God's hands.

I love this idea! But what if I expanded that idea to something called My Thought Box. You see, I also struggle with worrying, but my bigger problem is my thought life. I am constantly fighting a battle to think pure thoughts and not let the Devil speak lies into my mind. So, for me, writing down anything I'm struggling with in my mind and putting that in a box (i.e., visually handing it to God), would be even better!

This is by no means a magic fix. And there is certainly nothing wrong with simply praying or journaling about your concerns...I do this as well. But for those like me who are very visual, this can be a great way to hand over worries and concerns to God. I can't wait to try it!

Megan


Megan Brainerd, from New York, is a busy nursing student who loves to hang out with her friends, read, and play the piano :) Her email is piano93@verizon.net.