"Renew," I thought in January as I mediated on what word I would focus on this next year. "That is the word." 
"The Lord is an everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 

I'm afraid of being busy.

I get anxious when I don't think I will be able to get everything done that needs to get done. I feel overwhelmed when I look at a color-coated planner with a rainbow of words across every inch of space.


Perhaps you are afraid of being busy, too. Perhaps the demands of life seek to wash over you. Perhaps you, too, struggle with enjoying God's work for you today instead of just anticipating the weekend.

If so, I have some encouragement for you today.



This past semester has been, in a word, busy. I had four jobs, school, church, family, and other things like cleaning my room, showering, and necessary parts of life. People often asked me if I had time to sleep or have a social life. I didn't.


I faced my fear of busyness all semester, and it was rough. I can't say that I enjoyed it or handled it well, either. More often than not, you could have found me watching Friends in my spare minutes because I didn't want to try to think about anything. I tried to push my way through the tasks and deadlines, not really submitting to God or resting in the gospel. I didn't feel like I had time for that.




In the beginning of the year, I focused on a word and quality of God for 2019. The quality of God is faithful and the word is renew. I rejoice now in seeing how God prepared me for this season of busyness with those two words.

For in my unfaithfulness during this busy season, God proved Himself faithful. When I faltered, He was unfaltering. When I gave up, He pressed on. When I numbed my mind with Netflix, God stayed close, reminding me of Himself.


"If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is." (2 Tim. 2:13)

He is not going to leave us. He doesn't grow weary of us even when we grow weary of ourselves. This is really true! This is an eternal hope for our souls. He will remain faithful even if we are anything but faithful. That hope is not conditional upon our own behavior, feelings, or success, but solely upon Jesus. And Jesus never fails. 

In time of busy, it is important to remind ourselves that God holds our hand, even when our hands are full. He will never let go, for He is a faithful God. 



Not only is God faithful, but He renews us. Yes, there is abundant grace for us in overwhelming seasons, for God Himself is our hope and strength. He will renew our spirit.

As I thought about the word renew this past semester, I wanted it to apply to my own ability to get things done. But that is not what the renewal of God is about. No, He renews our minds so that we can see more clearly His will, which is what really matters. His renewal is one of hope, not that everything will go perfectly but that He will make everything perfect.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (2 Cor. 4:16-17)



We are renewed in order to get a little closer to this glory, this surpassing beauty that outshines productivity and success and dreams come true. God renews our spirit not so that we can get chase our dreams but so that He may become our dream. 

And in this hope, in this vision of Jesus, we will also find strength to press forward with the challenges at hand, that we may glorify Jesus through hard work and joyful spirits.

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Col. 3:17)



I'm not done facing my fear of being busy, but God has given me comfort, perspective, conviction, and practice in leaning into His faithfulness and depending upon His renewal. I hope that you discover in Him a love far greater than every fear, including the fear of being busy. 

Please leave a comment below with how you deal with busyness and what God has been revealing to you about this. 

Princess Hannah

P.S. PIVOT

"It was when I finally felt content in my singleness that I found the perfect someone. The timing couldn't have been more perfect."

"Once I stopped looking, it just happened."

"Be happy and content with where you are. The rest will come."



I've been told these things by well-meaning people before, and the theory behind these thoughts has always confused me. For, although they sound sweet and solid, underneath this logic is a huge monster of discontentment mascaraing as contentment.

What these kinds of thoughts are saying is that feeling content about singleness will solve my singleness. Pursuing this kind of remedy for a disappointed heart treats contentment as a magical cure for the "disease" of singleness. Contentment is more like an avenue to get what I want than a beautiful place of peace.

The truth is, contentment isn't the answer to singleness. Being content about being single won't solve my problems. It won't erase all of my desires. It certainly won't get me a relationship in the next couple of days.


When I'm content in Jesus, I'm happy to be with Jesus. I'm happy to serve Him, know Him, and follow Him. I'm content in Jesus while I'm single. I'll be content in Jesus if I'm not single. My contentment isn't in singleness but in Christ. 

This past weekend, I led a DNOW, and one of the questions in our study was "what does it mean to be in Christ?" When preparing for the study, I had to pause and think for a spell about this one.

In Christ. I say this phrase a lot, but what does it mean? What does it reveal about God and about how I respond to Him?

I started looking up verses that say "in Christ." As it turns out, there are quite a few instances of "In Christ" in the Bible, 89 to be exact. Here are a few:

In Christ there is life. (Romans 6:11)

In Christ there is grace. (2 Timothy 1:9)

In Christ we are one. (Galatians 3:28)

In Christ we are blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3)

In Christ we put our hope. (Ephesians 1:12)

In Christ we are created for good works. (Ephesians 2:10)

In Christ God forgave us. (Ephesians 4:32)

In Christ there is peace. (Philippians 4:7)

In Christ there is fullness. (Colossians 2:10)

In Christ we will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12)

In Christ there is glory. (1 Peter 5:10)

Oh, contentment is such a small response to these truths! In Christ we have new life, new hope, new identity, and so much more. In Christ there is glory, peace, grace, forgiveness, and purpose. 

This is extravagant! This is joyous. This is worthy of all our adoration, much less our contentment. 

In Christ we can be fully content while also being fully single, not because we no longer desire to find romantic love but because we are saturated with the divine love of Christ flowing through us and in us. Not because we don't face disappointments in life, but because we have put our hope in the One who never disappoints. 

This is not to say that being single will be fun and easy when we are fully living in Christ. Nowhere does the Bible say that "in Christ all of your problems will go away." However, in Christ we can trust God with our desires and disappointments and move forward with purpose and strength from God. In Christ we are free not to serve singleness or feelings but rather be rooted in love for God and others. 



I try not to write much about relationships and singleness because a lot has already been said on the subject and I am rather inexperienced in this playing field. Funnily enough, though, the one time I do sit down to write about singleness, it turns out to mostly be about Jesus.

I wouldn't have it any other way.


Hannah


P.S. if you want to think more about how to serve God in whatever stage of relationship you find yourself in, check out Ben Stuart's sermon series about relationships, later turned into a book called "Single, Dating, Engaged, Married." I've listened to the first few sermons, and they have sparked so much passion in me for God's kingdom!

2018, what a year!


I'm not sure what 2018 held for you. Maybe you experienced new adventures. Perhaps you were met with unforeseen sorrows. 2018 could be leaving you with a hopeful expectation for 2019 or an uphill battle.



During the transition into  new year, this season of reflection and resolution, I have one reminder for you: Don't forget about today.


Don't get so caught up figuring out yesterday and planning out tomorrow that you let today pass you by.


Jesus, when instructing us how to pray, guided us neither into a prayer to provide understanding for the past nor a request for comfort in the future. Instead, he reminded us to depend daily upon the mercies of God.


"Give us today our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)


This reminds me of how the Israelites gathered manna from God in the wilderness. God required that they not store up manna from yesterday nor gather extra for tomorrow. They were required only to gather enough for today. 


Just so, we can't keep holding onto yesterday or revolve every action upon tomorrow. Rather, we are called to live faithfully today, in expectant dependence upon God.


This is not to say that we shouldn't reflect and learn from yesterday. I think that reflection is valuable and necessary part of life. But in our reflections, we must not let yesterday dictate today. We can be tempted to identify "seasons" of our lives and make excuses for today because "that's just the season of life we're in right now."


Of course I'm worried, but I'm just in a season of transition. 

I'll tithe later, because I'm in a season of financial instability. 

I'm not sure about this God-thing because I'm in a dry season. 


Pish posh. God is the maker of the seasons of weather, how would He not also be in control of the seasons of our lives? We mustn't be too hasty to discard something because it doesn't fit in our "season." We also must be careful that we don't lay out self-fulfilling prophesy when we attempt to label too clearly what "season" we're in.


Instead of relying on the past to interpret our present, we should rely on Jesus to fulfill our todays. We need to stop hanging onto yesterday and grab hold of the mission of the Gospel with two hands. And we'd better do that today. 


"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)


Sometimes, though, we are more concerned with the future than the present. I'm guilty of this one. For me, today seems like a stepping stone for tomorrow, rather than the stage on which the true action occurs. My mind is always planning the next step, the next trip, or the next list. It can get overwhelming, if I'm honest.


However, God leads us in a different way. Instead of gathering manna for tomorrow and today, He instructs us to live in His abundance today and trust Him to provide again tomorrow. Plans, when hoarded and clung to in our hearts, turn out much like the hoarded manna in the Old Testament, filled with worms and rotten smells.


"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:33-34)


This isn't to say that we shouldn't make plans. They are useful and a key to making the most of each day. Even God commanded the Israelites to plan by gathering twice the amount of manna in preparation for the Sabbath. Our plans, though, should not be the reason that today is meaningful. That's Jesus' job.



And so here we are, in today, in the moment where Jesus shows up and leads the way. Let us trust Jesus with every day of 2019. Let us come to Him expectantly 365 times, not clinging to the past or leaning on the future but pressing on toward the goal, which is the glory of Christ.


"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)


Happy New Year, and Happy New Day!


Princess Hannah

It's a well-known fact that the middle is the least exciting part of anything. The middle of a movie is filled with small setbacks leading to the exciting part, the end. The middle of a 14-page essay feels like the worst. The middle of the backseat of a van for 12 hours is actually the worst.

Yet here we are, in the middle.




In the middle where we end up watching Parks and Rec instead of praying. In the middle where we wake up already looking forward to taking a nap. In the middle where the days take forever to pass by yet are gone in the time it takes to turn the calendar page.

Yes, we're here in the middle.

The middle is frustrating because not only is it boring, but we know, deep down, that it shouldn't be. After all, there's so much excitement in the kingdom of God that how could we be bored? But it is here in middle where we struggle to see past the long list of things to do and people to meet and Instagram pictures to post. Things get hazy, and we start to lose sight of Jesus because we feel like to come to Jesus means that we have to get our act together, and we just don't have time for that right now. We think that coming to Jesus will look the same now as it did in an earlier part of our season, and we just can't get back to that place.




I'm here to remind us both that God is here with us in the middle. He invites us to follow Him now with just as much grace as He did when we were first saved. He isn't afraid of the middle. The middle isn't too long and awkward for Jesus to come and do His thing.

It is time that we stopped fearing the middle, too. It is time to cease fearing the place where the fog of the future and the mess of the past collide to create the present. It is time to stop wishing that we could go back or forward or sideways or whatever. It is time to follow Jesus, one step at a time, one moment at a time, even in the middle. Even when life's painfully normal. Even when we're confused.




Because however normal or confused or unmotivated life can get, these commands ring true:

"The most important is this, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

(Mark 12:39-31, emphasis mine)

Perhaps if we obeyed these commandments, the middle wouldn't be such a wearisome place. Perhaps it is love for God and love for others, not love for ourselves and our current position in life, that will help us to get up on a Wednesday morning and chose to smile and have joy. Perhaps it is that kind of love that will motivate us more than any #MondayMotivation.

When our lives are about loving God and loving people, the painfully normal days take on a whole new meaning. Suddenly, life isn't about what we're feeling or doing or wishing. Life is vibrant with opportunities, big and small, to obey God and love others.

May we obey these commands as they bring purpose and light to the middle seasons of our lives.




Praise the One who wastes nothing and brings everything into His glory. Praise the One who is with us in the middle, not demanding perfection but commanding love. Praise the One who is the beginning, the end, and every moment in between, including this one.

Let's start in the middle, shall we?

Princess Hannah

It's that time of year again. Finals. Big projects. Late nights. Empty coffee cups piling up.

Who is our companion during this time?

Stress.

It's simply assumed that we students will be stressed during the end of the school year. We go into this season expecting anxiety and all-nighters. We don't always fight the approaching worries. Instead we tweet about them and complain to our friends.

What if I told you that we didn't need to be stressed? What if this year we didn't give into overwhelming anxiety or nervousness?

What if this year we kicked stress in the butt and completely trusted in God? 

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today."

Matthew 6:33-34

These are familiar verses to many of us, but what if we lived like they were true and trustworthy? How would we go into this last stretch of the school year if we based our lives off of those verses and God's trustworthiness?

I made a little infographic to help illustrate how we can approach stress differently as children of God.





How will you go into finals? What truths will you cling to? What verses will guide you? Will your response to stress be the same as the world or set apart?

Princess Hannah

So, I broke my foot.