Over the past couple
of weeks it’s safe to say that God has really been laying something very strong
and powerful on my heart. As the days and weeks have gone by everything just
gets clearer and clearer and I know without a doubt that it is His will and plan
for me in the future. He simply wants me to build my faith. Become closer to God. Make my relationship
stronger. Become more comfortable with my faith and with His word. As I have
pondered on what He is trying to do in my life and how I can be the person he
wants me to be, I came up with some personal goals for myself along with why
exactly I want to be a more “Godly” woman. Not only for my family, peers, and
friends but also for myself.
As God was, and still
is, working in my life, I had a big eye opener one day thanks to a friend of
mine. After it happened I went ahead and asked her if it was okay for me to
talk about it in my blog because it had such a dramatic impact on what was
already being done between God and I. It was a couple of weeks ago that I
received a Facebook message from Savannah Swanner simply saying that God had
been laying it on her heart to ask myself and another friend of mine to become
involved with the Young Adults group at Longs Chapel. Okay, some of you guys
are probably thinking what is the big deal about that? So what? Well to me, it
was a VERY big deal. Just thinking about all of the people God could have laid
on her heart to become involved He chose me. Me! Recently I have not been very
open about my faith and relationship with God to outsiders, so for her to think
of me as a Christian woman and to get me involved made me feel so blessed. “I
must be doing something right,” I thought. “Do other people think of me as a
leader of Christ?” It is amazing to me how God can do works and great things
for you through other people and give you opportunities you have been longing
for. Along with Savannah’s message giving me the right “push”, there are 3
young women in my church who did the same and probably didn’t even know it. I
call these ladies my role models for Christ. Every time the church doors are
open they’re there, worshiping God like that’s all that matters, singing in the
praise band, volunteering for every little thing, and in my eyes just being
amazing women of God. No matter the
situation. I couldn’t tell you how many times I have thought, “I want to be
just like them.” And recently it’s probably been a million. Once God laid it on
my heart to build my faith and relationship with Him, I went straight to those
3 ladies and guess what? All of them were there with eyes, ears, and heart open
to give me the best guidance they can and will along with many sincere prayers.
After I received the message from Savannah it became clear to me that God works
in ways that we may not always expect or quite understand, as He did her.
Therefore, I chose to not walk this path alone and instead allow some help from
“Godly” women along the way.
So, as I mentioned
before I have came up with 5 main goals that I believe can help me build my
faith with God. I believe that creating personal goals and milestones for
myself and my faith will be much more rewarding and bring me closer to Him
along the way…
Goal #1: Find a church “home.”
My first goal is
actually already accomplished. I have recently been attending Faith Community
Church with my boyfriend, Bradley, and have come to call it my church “home.” I
am truly blessed to attend such an amazing church that welcomes you with open
arms, praises and worships Him whole heartedly, and always leaves you wanting
more. I never knew church could be considered “fun.” Now please don’t take that
the wrong way, but at FCC it’s safe to say that everyone is NOT afraid to
worship. And I mean worship! Whether it’s raising your hands, praying on your
knees, singing at the top of your voice, or dancing in the isles… It’s all for
Him and nothing else matters.
Goal #2: Get
involved.
This is my next step
in my plan since I have already became somewhat established in a great church.
I want to become involved in community groups, children’s church, praise band,
bible studies, you name it! I feel that getting involved within my church and
developing relationships amongst those people will create a perfect opportunity
to build my faith, and what better way than that? That’s what He would want me
to do.
Goal #3: Create “Godly”
relationships.
This goal ideally
goes along with my second goal, and that is getting involved in church. Getting
involved in church allows you to be around people who all have the same want
and desire as you, and that’s becoming closer to God. It helps you to build
relationships with others who may be going through the same things as you are,
creates support groups, and most importantly brings you together with others to
worship and learn about Him. In my opinion,
“Godly” relationships can make such an impact on your walk with Christ. As I
mentioned before, it was 3 ladies who just partake in their normal routine at
church that inspired me and made me want to be more. Having “Godly”
relationships are very powerful in my eyes and I’m sure that God will bless
them in every way possible.
Goal #4: Explore the
bible.
So this step can seem
very simple, but to me it’s rather not. Everyone knows all the popular bible
verses, bible stories, main people, etc.… But I want to know more. My goal here
is to explore the bible in depth and read about stories that can be related to
our every day life because I guarantee you there are more than one! If you have a situation or problem going on in
your life where you do not know what to do, I want to be able to turn to the
bible. Read what Jesus did. Learn what’s right and what’s wrong, how to handle
things, how to treat people just like He did. Become familiar with the word and
make it my number one resource!
Goal #5: Be
comfortable spreading the “word.”
To me, this is goal
is SUPER important. I have recently come across times where God’s word is
needed and longed for, however I do not know exactly what to say or how to say
it. Yes, those times should be exciting because you’re getting to talk about
Him and spread the word but they can also be discouraging if you do not feel
120% comfortable with it. Now I’m not going to throw the word on everybody, and
become all pushy about God and everything, but if I believe I need to introduce
someone to a relationship with God then I want to feel okay doing so. I cannot imagine how rewarding it would feel
to bring someone to God and to the word, and to give him or her the longing for
His love that I have. I’m sure there is
no better feeling.
So why do I want to
become a more “Godly” woman? What does it mean to me? Like I said before, I do
not want to build my relationship with God for other people, but instead
myself. All of the goals I created are part of my plan to become closer to the
“Great I Am” and most importantly my Lord and Savior. It’s safe to say that I
wouldn’t be near the person I am today without God’s saving grace and
unconditional love. There is no other relationship more important to me than
the one I have with Him, and in my eyes it needs to GROW. Get bigger. Consume
my life. It can never be “too” good so why not take charge and build on it? God
has blessed me in a million ways I never thought were possible, and I want to
give him the glory and live my life day by day for Him. “Jesus paid it all, and
all to him I owe.”
Unfortunately my walk
with God isn’t going to make a 360 change overnight, it’s going to take time.
It’s going to take me raising my hand during worship at church and feeling
uncomfortable once or twice, stuttering the words out as I’m trying to tell someone
about God, feeling like I’m all alone but in reality He is there, and engaging
myself with others like me. For those of you reading this, all I can ask for is
your prayers. There are not many things in life that you can be totally sure
about, however this is definitely one of them. Working on my life due to God
laying it on my heart couldn’t feel more rewarding and I can know without a
doubt that it’s his plan and will for me. I couldn’t ignore the obvious signs!
It’s time to build on faith.
>>> Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." -Proverbs 3:5-6 <<<
XOXO - Savannah
