One word to describe me: planner. Maybe some of you would say the same, but maybe some of you say you could care less about making a plan. Hmmm... even those who say they aren't a planner have plans. Plans to get married one day, to have a nice job, to live in a certain place, or maybe you are making plans for what you want to do this summer or just what to eat tonight! We have to plan. It's in our nature to plan. Some of us plan more than others.
Even God gave plans to those in the Bible. He even had the greatest plan ever that would solve the biggest problem known to mankind! You know, when we screwed up, our ancestors Adam and Eve wayyyyy back in the Garden of Eden. They sinned, ate the fruit that God told them not to eat. Sin means disobeying God. But God, because of his deep, unending love for them, and everyone else who came after them, including you and me, made a plan.
His plan was the greatest of plans. He planned to send his son Jesus, who is fully God, to live on this earth and receive every temptation and hardship that we also experience here. But he didn't sin. He never messed up because He was perfect. This was crucial because his purpose of coming was to die on the cross IN OUR PLACE to receive all the wrath that God had for us because of our mess ups and sins. His purpose for this plan is so that all of us, no matter who you are or what you have done, have a chance to receive eternal life and restore our broken relationship with a perfect God. This means that if you accept Jesus because of what He did for you on the cross, believing that you're so broken and need a Savior, then He will adopt you into his family, call you His child, and give you an eternal home with Him when your time on earth is over. And while you're on earth, He will be with you every step of the way. He is the only thing on earth that can satisfy you and make you whole. Because sin invaded this earth, our lives are broken and hard, but living with Jesus makes it so much easier to get through the hard times.
Our plans will fail. We aren't God, so we aren't all-powerful and all-knowing. We will never know the perfect plan for our lives. We will never understand why things happen the way they do. One day, our lives could seem to be going perfectly then all of a sudden, the unthinkable, unplanned event happens and we're back to our broken and sad lives that don't make sense to us.
But this is one reason why God's plan is so amazing. When our plans fail, we know that if we belong to Christ and accept Him to be the Lord of our lives, then He has the perfect plan for us. Romans 8:28 says that all things work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purpose. This includes the bad, unplanned events that occur in our lives. Proverbs 16:9 says that the heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
I am working through an unplanned event in my life right now. I feel like God has just taken me back a few steps in my life. But even though it hurts, I can already see how God is using my unplanned event to remind me that I am so broken and STILL in desperate need of Him even though I accepted him as Lord when I was so little. He's reminding me that even when I think I'm awesome and have it all together, I actually can't make any good plan on my own. He is the one who gives the best and perfect plan for my life. He is the one who already gave me the best plan that has ever happened in all eternity. And I am so thankful that He did plan to die for me and that I now live with Him. I can trust that when my plans fail, his plans never will. And I know He only has good things to come for me.
Get at me if you want to know more about what this means for your own life!
Love,
A
Friday, January 25, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Here I am. again.
Yes, I have neglected this blog. It's been on my heart today to write a post. God is really working in my heart right now, and I would love to share with you what is going on. Maybe this will encourage you because you're going through something similar. Or maybe this will just be interesting for you to know what is going on with me. Whatever it is, I hope that God uses this to speak to you just like he has spoken to me.
I titled this blog "Let's be real". Sorry, it wouldn't let me call the domain by the title, so I used my twitter/instagram username (allybent). Here's why I titled it that....
I lead/work in a ministry with high school students called Cru high school in the Raleigh/Durham area. I love it. Most of my girls have heard me say multiple times, "Let's be real", or something along those lines. Why? Because our culture and world today is SO GOOD at hiding, hiding from what's really going on in their lives. I hate that. I love and value genuineness and realness, and I know God does too. Check out 1 John 1:5-10 that talks about how we should walk in the light, our sins and selves exposed, because God is in the light, and then, we can have REAL fellowship with Him and other believers.
One blog that is written by a couple of my friends has really inspired me because I can see God working through these 2 girls, Heather and Kelly, and their blog because they are real with girls on the issues that we face. Please go read it. It's called A Girl Like Me.
Now, I don't think that we should use technology and social media to be real with others. Technology and the internet is just another way that we can hide. It's easy to tell a complete stranger, over the internet, without looking at them face to face what is going on in our lives. Key phrase there is "face to face". I hope and pray that through my posts, you will be encouraged to seek Jesus first in every part of your life, and also to talk with others, people you know and who care about you, about something brought up here that hit something in your heart.
That is the purpose of my blog posts: That they will lead you to see and seek Jesus in every part of your life, and that they will encourage you to share with others (face to face, or at least verbally) what is going on in your life and heart.
I'll be back soon to share about something that has just happened in my life (and it sucks), but I know that God is using it for my good and His glory. Hopefully it will also encourage and challenge you.
Love, A
Yes, I have neglected this blog. It's been on my heart today to write a post. God is really working in my heart right now, and I would love to share with you what is going on. Maybe this will encourage you because you're going through something similar. Or maybe this will just be interesting for you to know what is going on with me. Whatever it is, I hope that God uses this to speak to you just like he has spoken to me.
I titled this blog "Let's be real". Sorry, it wouldn't let me call the domain by the title, so I used my twitter/instagram username (allybent). Here's why I titled it that....
I lead/work in a ministry with high school students called Cru high school in the Raleigh/Durham area. I love it. Most of my girls have heard me say multiple times, "Let's be real", or something along those lines. Why? Because our culture and world today is SO GOOD at hiding, hiding from what's really going on in their lives. I hate that. I love and value genuineness and realness, and I know God does too. Check out 1 John 1:5-10 that talks about how we should walk in the light, our sins and selves exposed, because God is in the light, and then, we can have REAL fellowship with Him and other believers.
One blog that is written by a couple of my friends has really inspired me because I can see God working through these 2 girls, Heather and Kelly, and their blog because they are real with girls on the issues that we face. Please go read it. It's called A Girl Like Me.
Now, I don't think that we should use technology and social media to be real with others. Technology and the internet is just another way that we can hide. It's easy to tell a complete stranger, over the internet, without looking at them face to face what is going on in our lives. Key phrase there is "face to face". I hope and pray that through my posts, you will be encouraged to seek Jesus first in every part of your life, and also to talk with others, people you know and who care about you, about something brought up here that hit something in your heart.
That is the purpose of my blog posts: That they will lead you to see and seek Jesus in every part of your life, and that they will encourage you to share with others (face to face, or at least verbally) what is going on in your life and heart.
I'll be back soon to share about something that has just happened in my life (and it sucks), but I know that God is using it for my good and His glory. Hopefully it will also encourage and challenge you.
Love, A
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