Michaela Deprince Photographed Performing As Myrthe During Giselle By Ian Gavan (source: 1 2)

You are blooming. Please give yourself time.

This is by far one of the best Christian/bible memes I’ve ever seen.

In Jesus name amen!💯

True friendship

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around superficial friendships and genuine friendship. I have spent a lot of time trying to rate/categorise my relationships with all the people I consider “friends” and probably about 80% of them would fall in the superficial category. What do I classify as superficial? I see it as lacking in depth, character and understanding. Or rather, very little foundation of trust. Those relationships where you just scratch the surface of friendship love and God is never the topic of conversation. As a Christian, I crave a friendship where we can speak about God for hours, where we can help each other and lift each other up. The genuine love and understanding you have with each other and that Christians are meant to have. God put us in this world for the mere purpose to be in communion with each other and help each other, not just to scratch the surface. When loving one another is this kind of love: There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13). This is genuine love, being willing to die for your friends or being willing to dedicate your life/ time to holding your friends accountable in Christ. I’m tired of Christian friends who don’t speak about Christ. I’m tired of feeling like the very people I go to church with are more into superficial/worldly conversations than in God. I’m tired of friends who talk about materialistic things and have never mentioned God outside of church once. I’m tired of pretending to be into superficial conversations when I don’t understand a single thing. I feel like the very people you go to church with are the ones who forget the true meaning of friendship itself. God designed friendship to be a beautiful way of uniting each other due to a common factor in each friends heart (CHRIST!). As Christians, we should take Jesus’s example and fellowship and love the way He did. We should be different than worldy friendships, and rather be pure and gentle and bear with each other in honesty and love. Some questions I’ve had to ask myself have been: “What makes me a Christian?”, “Do I act differently to those in the world?”, “Is my life a living testimony that I AM a Christian?”, “Does the topics of my conversation with friends glorify God?”, “Do I pray for my friends? ”, “Do I speak about God as much as I should? ”, “Can I really speak about God on a deep level with people I think are genuine friends?” I honestly haven’t been able to give a yes answer to either one of those questions, and I feel deeply condemned. As a Christian, I should be open about my faith, especially with the very people I think I’m closest with. I shouldn’t try and be accepted in a group if most of it is superficial stuff. I shouldn’t try and hide the fact that I’m a Christian but I should BOAST about it. I should make it know to everyone. And I should surround myself with people who do the same too. So my challenge this year is to be able to answer yes to every single one of those questions. God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you and give you His peace.

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Hosea 6:6

best advice you’d give a girl ?

Sometimes, as women, we’re pressured to always put others before ourselves and give with little to nothing in return. Being giving is a beautiful quality to have, however, it shouldn’t be at the expense of your personal autonomy. If you keep giving and giving without getting anything in return, it’s easy to become used to the feeling of scarcity. Know that you deserve the goodness you give other people too. Iyanla Vanzant once said, “My cup runneth over.’ What comes out of the cup is for you. What’s in the cup is mine. But I’ve got to keep my cup full.” Pour into yourself too. When you make sure you’re good, you’ll be able to better help others.

With that being said, the best advice I can give is to focus on yourself. Do your best to make sure you’re balanced on all levels—mental, physical, spiritual and emotional. Avoid being distracted by the opinions of others and wasting time on significant others who aren’t sure about you. Avoid seeking other people and things to fulfill you. Be one of your own sources of fulfillment so you don’t have to look outside of yourself for it. Believe you’re enough. Know your worth and what you want in life and allow it to flow to you. Be like a cup—receptive to the flow of abundance. In the meantime, invest in your joy, your goals, your well-being and your health. Fill yourself up with peace and joy that comes from within. Be giving but don’t let other people take advantage of you. You are the longest relationship you’ll ever have. Make sure the relationship you have with yourself is compassionate and healthy.

Hosea 10:12

If you plant goodness, you will harvest faithful love. Plow your ground, and you will harvest with the Lord. He will come, and he will make goodness fall on you like rain.

He can cleanse your slate and it make it new!

Can’t I just start over God?

We feel the pain and loss now, and we do not see the end from the beginning, as God does, yet God tells us that the sufferings we have to endure in this world are not worthy to be compared with the glory He has laid up for His people in heaven (Rom. 8:18).

R.C. Sproul, Everyone's a Theologian