as a 15 year old girl i have been through a lot in my life already. i have been depressed before, i am diagnosed with CRPS and an auto immune disorder. my point of this post is to tell you that no matter your medical issues or emotional issues, there's still beautiful to your brokenness. it will get better, you just have to stay strong and positive. i have lost a lot of friends in my past and i always feel like it's because of all my issues. i've been bullied and beaten. the truth is, there's a special friend who God has for you and for me. God has my significant other picked out already. He knows that this person will tolerate my medical issues and be willing to help and love me through all of it. you just need hope and you need a lot, i mean i lot of faith. it's a real battle but God will put the right people in your life to help you through it. i have found that playing video games is a great way to make friends and have fun while still resting. at my current state, i am having major ankle and knee pain and when i walk or am active at all i lose my breath and have trouble breathing so going anywhere is a hassle. finding the good in your situation is very important and can't explain enough how much it helps. i have also found that watching this one specific youtube helps me on the hard days. her name is Mary Frey and she is my role model in so many ways. she has the strongest faith to keep her going through all of her medical issues and a loving husband who helps and supports her through all of it. she also has the CUTEST service dog in the world. i love her channel because she never fails to put a smile on my face and motivate me to keep going. i cannot express my thankfulness for her in words but she is absolutely amazing. if you ever need a smile or laugh or motivation, watch her youtube.
I am very humbled and blessed and also very excited to announce that I recently did an interview with Girl Defined! I have also decided that I will be doing a giveaway of the Girl Defined Book! How to enter: 1) Read the interview 2) DM me on @ProofOfHisLove (IG) the answer that impacted you the most and why 3) wait patiently! "But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." -Romans 8:25 Contest ends 11-26-16! I will announce the winner in my story and a post! The Interview Bethany:
1) is there a time that God spoke to you? what came out of it? A few years ago I was going through a very difficult relationship with a young man and desperately needed to hear form God. I had a lot of questions about the relationship and wasn’t sure if I should continue pursuing a relationship with him. I was stressed, overwhelmed and in desperate need of an answer from the Lord. I turned to my favorite Bible verse, Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” I decided to do just what that verse says. I trusted in the Lord with all my heart, I leaned not on my own understanding or feelings, I acknowledged God in all my ways and I trusted that He would direct my path. I was so amazed to see how clearly God answered my prayer. Although He didn’t speak to me in an audible voice, or write on the wall, or anything like that, He did make the decision clear. I was no longer supposed to continue the relationship. After I made that decision I had so much peace and just overwhelming relief. I was (and am) so grateful that I followed God’s leading and trust in His guidance. 2) what is your favorite way to spend time with God? I love going to my room, sitting on my bed, and just spending time alone with God. I have a journal that I love to write out my prayers, thoughts and praises to God. I love to read through the Psalms and write out my favorite passages in my journal. I also love to listen to praise and worship music and write out the lyrics in my journal. Being alone in my bedroom with my journal and Bible in hand is my favorite way to spend time with God. 3) what is the best way to overcome doubt? The best way to overcome doubt is to combat it with truth. Doubt often creeps in quietly and ends up camping out in your brain when you least expect it. As soon as you realize you are struggling with doubt, stop, pick up the Bible and remind yourself of truth. Don’t allow doubt to destroy you. If you are feeling unloved and unworthy, remind yourself of what God did for you and what He has to say about you (Psalm 139:13-14). Always combat doubt with truth. Don’t let doubt camp out in your mind. Take it to Scripture and combat it with truth. 4) how do you deal with drama? Back in high school there were certain girls that were known by their drama. They were jealous, flirty and just liked to stir the pot. They always seemed to have reason to create drama. Honestly, I chose not to be their good friend. I didn’t want to be a part of the drama and I didn’t want to get sucked into it. I would really encourage girls to avoid the drama queens. Don’t be their besties. Be kind and show Christ like love, but don’t make them your closest friends. There is a saying that says, “show me your two best friends today and I will show you who you will be tomorrow.” Choose wisely and make sure those closest to you will push you towards Christ. 5) what is some advice you have for a single teenage girl in a society that highly supports dating? We live in a culture that is obsessed with guys, romance and having a boyfriend. So often our “worth” as girls is tied directly to our relationship status. We as christian girls need to take a step back and remember that our worth has nothing to do with guys and everything to do with who Christ says we are. We don’t need a boyfriend to be valuable. We are valuable because Christ loves us and He gives us value. Don’t feel pressured to date because everyone else is doing it. Take a step back and ask yourself what the purpose of dating is. How will this help you accomplish your goals? How will this encourage you towards Christ? Is this the best timing? What temptations will arise because of this? Be wise and be willing to ask yourself the tough questions. Kristen: 1) what is something God has helped you with in the past? Back in high school I dreamed of meeting and marrying my true love. I wondered who he would be and how I would meet him. One day I met the man of my dreams. We began a relationship and we have now been married for over 5 years. I never could have anticipated what God had in store for me. I never even considered the idea that I would struggle to get pregnant and end up with two miscarriages. I had a glittery view of my life as a married woman and imagined children would easily come for me. God had/has a different plan. I have had to surrender my desire for children to God over and over again. I’ve had to put my trust in Him to the test and believe that He truly does know what’s best. I’ve had to give up my dreams of a perfect little family and choose to serve God in the way He see’s best. It hasn’t been easy, but God has been faithful. He has given me so much peace during the past few years. I am continually learning to trust in Him. 2) what is your favorite book of the bible and why? I absolutely love the book of Ephesians. It’s filled with tons of practical application on how to live and how to honor God. I’ve read it multiple times and always find that there is something new for me to apply to my life. I highly recommend it! 3) what is the best way to keep God in the center of a relationship/friendship? I have to be so intentional about keeping God in the center of my friendships. I’ve learned that I can’t depend on other people to keep God at the center, I have to lead in this way. I really encourage you to make sure that you take the lead in this area. Suggest doing a Bible study together, memorizing verses, joining a small group, or, just sharing how God is working in your life. Take the lead and initiate the spiritual side of your friendships. 4) what is your favorite way to spend time with God? If I don’t get my time in with God in the morning, I often don’t get it done at all. I’ve really tried to make my morning quiet time a huge priority. Sitting on my couch, snuggled in a warm blanket, dog snuggled with me, and my Bible in my lap is the best. Oh, and coffee. Lot’s and lot’s of coffee to help keep my eyes open. Finding the best time, place and setting helps so much. Find a cozy spot, pick the best time (when can you be most consistent) and just make it happen. It won’t be easy but it will be worth it. 5) what's some advice you have for a teenage girl in a relationship? I’m twenty-nine years old. I can’t believe it. I feel like I was a teenager yesterday. Time truly does fly. I really encourage you to get serious about growing in your character. Don’t wait until you’re my age to start growing. I really encourage you to make a big effort to start growing now. Pick up a good book, start listening to christian podcasts, find a mentor and just start growing. God's word says to love others and to treat others the way we want to be treated. We are supposed to be honest and not hide things. Especially when it comes to God's word. We as Christians are supposed to share His love with the world, but we tend to get scared or nervous. We have to be brave. When I was 7 I had no fear at all. I would talk to anyone about anything. One night my family and I were at Chili's and I felt the need to tell our waitress that Jesus loves her. So after we ate I went to her and told her that Jesus loves her and she smiled really big and hugged me. I will forever remember that moment. The thing is, why can't we do that now? We need to start being brave and try to save this world. If you look around, you can see how messed up this world is. I mean c'mon! Boys and girls can pick their gender and restroom. Target doesn't label clothes by gender anymore. It's becoming hard to even want to leave the house. You know it's bad when you can't tell what gender someone is. This world needs our help. Are you willing to take a chance and be brave? "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them." -1 John 2:15
There are a lot of things in the world that seem "normal" but that doesn't make them right. You can't tell me that losing your virginity at 14 or walking around throwing out F-words at 12 is normal. The world will try and make you believe that it is normal because satan is everywhere dangling sin in our face like a carrot being held in front of a horse. In Romans it says to be in the world but not of the world. It is our jobs as Christians to be in this world but not of it. We're supposed to stand out, not blend in. It may be easier to blend in but that doesn't make it right. Here's a simple analogy for you- think of the typical teenage girl, always up to date on all the new trends and listening to all the cool music, and wearing 100 pounds of makeup. THAT is how you blend in as a teenage girl. I am so far from perfect but I strongly dislike makeup and I wear whatever I want to wear, mostly comfy clothes. Trying to blend into the world is like relaxing in a lazy river, it's nice at first but eventually it gets old, you get sun burnt, you get hungry, and it just gets plain boring. That's like being in this world, it's nice at first but after a while of "going with the flow", you start to get hungry for change, you get hungry for God. It also just gets plain boring! Take a few minutes to look at your life, are you just going with the flow or are you trying your best to stand out? Are you unique or are you just like everyone else? "don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person." -Romans 12:2 In this post I want to talk a bit about friendship. To start this one out, what is a quality that you want to keep in your closest circle of friends? Good influences. If you are a christian but your closest circle of friends are atheists, is that healthy for you? no. Am I saying you shouldn't be friends with them? No. Not at all. I'm just saying that whoever is in your close circle of friends is who will have the most influence on you. You also want your friends to have good character and treat you right. I know what it's like to be bullied by close friends. It's hits hard and it never fully leaves you but you can turn it into a lesson for yourself and as a testimony for others. Friendship is so important in life. Yes we have family but friends are people you can hang out with and talk to them about stuff. Life would just be plain boring without friends. Let's be real here. I will be the first to admit that I don't have a lot of friends. I have two close guy friends and one girl friend who lives about 24 hours away. I'm praying everyday that God will help me meet new irl friends. I have my xbox and IG friends and I love them but it's not the same as friends you can hang out with. Pray to God, build a relationship with him and friends will come. God has a plan for us, we just have to trust Him. "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend." -Proverbs 27:17 Okay so today I'm going to talk a bit about dating. I've talked about it before but I want to go a little bit deeper.
To start, What are some good qualities in a good girlfriend/boyfriend? -Christian -Good personality -No vulgar language -Respects purity -Cares for others Now, Why is it important to look for these qualities? You want someone who will help you grow closer to God, not farther. Personality is what truly matters, not looks. Vulgar language simply isn't attractive and it isn't Godly. Purity is so important. It's so easy to lose it but also easy to keep it if you're careful. A man/woman who cares for others is so important. If they don't care for others, how can they care for you? Lastly, It is so important to get to know the boy/girl first. If you jump into a relationship too fast, it won't end well. I can say this from experience. Challenge: Read 1 Corinthians 13. How can these verses help you in a relationship? feel free to leave a comment :) Blessings, Mad <3 When I was in first grade my teacher assigned all the girls in our class a fruit of the spirit for a song. We had to make a sign for ours and hold it up when the song said our fruit. Mine was "Self-Control". I never really thought about the true meaning and characteristics of each one. So I looked into all of them, here's what I learned. Love; An intense feeling of deep affection. What is love? Love is a very overused word that people don't completely understand how strong it's meaning really is. You can easily say "I love you" to people or a boyfriend/girlfriend when you don't really know the true meaning of the word. To love someone is to truly care for them but also to have a deep affection for them. true love doesn't come fast or easy but it comes when it's true. God loves us more than anyone ever will. Our family falls right under that. Your future wife/husband comes next. After that there's close friends. Love is strong. Before you tell someone you love them, stop and think. Do you really love them or are you just saying it to say it? Joy; A feeling of great pleasure and happiness. It is so easy to lose joy in your life when you lose a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend or a family member or when your parents get divorced. It is so important to remember the true joy in your life, God. Everything else is just extra. Look at your life right now. Count it all joy (James 1:2). If you lose God, you lose joy. If you have God, you have joy. Peace; Freedom from disturbance Worrying is something we all do. It is natural for us to worry about everything. especially as a teenager. What we don't do, because it can honestly be hard is give all our worries to God. There's no reason to worry but we do anyways. God can give us peace if we just trust that He has a plan and that we don't need to worry. Patience; The capacity to accept or tolerate delay or trouble without getting angry. God has a plan for all of us. We tend to crave the "perks of being in a relationship". example- cuddling, dates, etc but what we sometimes forget is that we are valuable and we shouldn't just date anyone who likes us. God has the one for us and we just have to be patient. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” Numbers 14:18 says "The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion." Take a minute--think about how you react to things. If someone steps on your foot by accident, how do you react? Do you show love and forgive or do you show hatred and get angry? The Lord calls us to love one another. He loves us despite all we do, so why is it so hard for us to love one another? because we are simply imperfect. One of my favorite quotes, that I mostly use to describe myself is--"I am perfectly imperfect." Truth is, whether you believe it or not, we are all sooo far from perfect. We all are perfectly imperfect. We should all strive to be like Jesus. I mean c'mon! He died for us! He never sinned once! He is the only person to ever walk the earth who can honestly say that they have never sinned. He showed love and never hatred. One of the 10 commandments says to love thy neighbor as thyself. Do we really follow that rule? Not all the time! Nobody is perfect, but we should all at least try. To close this off--imagine a world where everyone hated everyone--then imagine a world where everyone loves everyone. Which world would you rather live? YOU are apart of this world. It's up to you to choose how to act. Do you want to try and make this world a better place or do you want to help make it worse than it already is? "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on it's own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoices with the truth." -1 Corinthians 13:4-6 We live in a world now where it is practically a crime to love Jesus. I honestly think that it is ridiculous. We live in a FREE country, and in this "free" country, people are getting suspended for talking about Jesus. People are asked to take off a cross necklace in class. Where did our freedom go? As pretty much everyone knows, ISIS is a terrorist group. They have been in certain parts of the US. They do not like Christians. They will ask you if you believe in God, and if you say yes, they kill you. It is so sad and I despise it. I have one question for you--If you were in a life or death situation, asked if you believe in God, would you say yes? or would you say no? If loving Jesus is a crime, I'm guilty. "but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." -Matthew 10:33 Let go and let God ![]() Genesis 18:14 says "Is anything too hard for God?" and when you really think about that, like really think about it, you start to realize. nothing is too hard for God. No matter what the problem is, God can handle it and help you through it. I've been through times in my life where I am constantly worrying and stressing. I get really bad anxiety before social events such as birthday parties, concerts, and stuff like that. I've learned to just let go and let God. Last summer, I was having trouble sleeping because I was going on a day trip for my friends birthday. It would be me, her, and some friends from her school. I had never met them before and I was scared of being left out. I talked with my mom and we prayed about it. I woke up the next morning and was straight up having a panic attack. I was beyond nervous. I lied in bed and started watching some NF music videos on YouTube. After one of them, I texted my friend about it. After we talked about it, I began to tell her what was going on and how I was having really bad anxiety. She asked me where I was going and she tells me that she is going to the same place! Her and I had met over text in a group chat made by my friend, so we hadn't met face-to-face yet. I felt almost all of my anxiety go away. Just the thought of her being there made it so much easier. After her and I met and I went home, I really thought about what had just happened. God knew I would have bad anxiety so He made it possible for her to be there so that it would help my anxiety. That is when I really started to let go and let God. (the picture above is me and my friend when we met) |