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

21 DAYS UNTIL I MOVE TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

In case you didn't know, I will be a part of the Disney College Program this fall, and I couldn't be more excited! I posted the announcement a while ago, but much has happened since then. Also, nothing has happened since then.

Mostly, I've been waiting.

Wondering and wondering and wondering and wondering when will my life begin

Maybe you're waiting, too. Perhaps for you college starts in the fall. Maybe you're waiting for a new job or a move or simply a new school year. Maybe you, too, are counting down the days instead of making today count.

If so, I have some words of encouragement for you, but it is really just one word:

Today. 

Let's learn the art of today.

The art of one day at a time kind of grace.

The art of diligence in today without worry about tomorrow.

"Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)

Jesus knew that we could only handle one day at a time. He knew that our hands are small and our capacity to do life even smaller. Although He is unlimited and does everything at once, He created us to do one thing at a time, one day at a time.

Today. 




For a planner, though, today can be hard, especially if tomorrow is uncertain. For a girl who likes to know everything, today isn't always enough. I want to know tomorrow, too. And sometimes living in today is hard simply because tomorrow looks so much more exciting.

Today is hard, small, and scary. Living fully in today might be life's hardest challenge, a challenge we can't fulfill on our own.

That's the point. We can't live today alone. We can't live today confident in our own ability to handle and plan things. We also can't live today in hopes of tomorrow.

This is where Jesus comes in to save the day, to save today. 

You see, Jesus calls us to live today with Him. He calls us daily to lean into Him as our anchor and hope, as our helper and friend. We can trust in His unchanging grace for all of our tomorrows as we diligently and joyfully live out all of our todays with Him.

Maybe that's why Jesus instructed us to ask God to give us our daily bread. Maybe that's why God only allowed the Israelites to take one day's worth of manna at a time. This way we keep coming back to Him each morning with new need. This way we receive great joy in His provision each and every today.




The beautiful thing about today is that Jesus is here. The God who created time steps into time with us to do today. And He loves us today. He wants to talk to us today. He is providing for us and holding us today. He has a mission and purpose for us today, even if today is hard, boring, or uncertain.

How will we live today? Even in the waiting, even in the uncertainty and troubles that tomorrow may bring, we are given a precious gift in today. Let's celebrate and work in it.



Are you in a period of waiting or moving? How have your learned to live in today? Are you excited for the many other Grace in Disney World posts coming in the near future?

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