Shine the Light

You toss and turn around, struggling to open your eyes, to this brand new day. You finally let your blue eyes meet the day and God did not wake you up today to have another "good" day, another ordinary day of getting by. 

He woke you up this morning to make a difference, to live for Him & to be the light.  

Matthew 5:16

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." 

Each day we live is a new day to manifest The Lord and teach people what He did for us. 

One of the best lines I've ever heard is "if it's good news to share, you won't mind sharing it". The good news of our saviour and what He did on that cross for us, is the most exciting news in the world, and it's the only thing God wants us to do for what He did for us. Just share the gospel with the world, share his Love and have people know the amazing news!

A lot of times, people who don't believe or who aren't Christians think that you're supposed to feel  something different & sometimes people do, and sometimes people don't, it's all on how you connect with God (The Holy Spirit). But the feeling is living for him, and being the light in the world for him because of His sacrafice. 

I find it quite fair that that's all we do is love Him back, because he loves us so unconditionally. 

Jesus is Love. And Real Love can live within us, all if we let it! 

Shine your light today. 

Gift of Life

One of my favourite quotes is from my favourite writer, and it is part of a really cool YouTube video (I'll link it below) on a message to his daughter. 

"You are literally a living breathing human being with a heart, brain, creativity, intuition & more! How awesome & rad is that!?" 

You have been blessed with this amazing gift of breathing, finding your place in this world... Which trust me, I know isn't easy. 

We're constantly drifting from who we think we are & what we need to be, but maybe that's not Gods plan for your life. 

The gift of life is a beautiful thing. God didn't design life for us to give up on it, or scare others with the thought of them being without us, or sitting on our couch watching repeats of addictive television shows. We were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) for God to use us in our everyday lives for the better of other people & Gods works to have the whole world see His love for each of us. 

His plan is ultimately greater than anybody can imagine, and that doesn't mean it will be 'great' the whole way through. There will be challeneges & heartache & tears & anger & resentment & the scariest decisions you'll ever make. He never said it would be easy, but I'm telling you that from know what His love feels like, it's beyond worth it. 

A lot of people lose who they are during life's trials & hard days. We're put on trial and tested to see the hardest parts of life, to be at our weakest; so that God can show us how strong and amazing He  is, to show us how strong we can be, but also how weak we can be without Him. 

That's where the easy days slip, and where I'm justifying my statement of "it's not always going to be easy, but it'll be worth it". 

Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." 

God has you here right now for a reason, you're going through everything you're going through because it's His plan to have you go through it. You'll make decisions (sometimes the wrong ones) you'll learn the hard way, you'll lose people you love, meet new ones who will only be in your life for a lesson, there will be the people who stick with you & show you Gods love in a way you wouldn't imagine, and there will be the people God brings into your life to stay. You just have to let Him, let him love you & allow Him into your heart; to prove to you that all that is within you is worth it. 

The Gift of Life is amazing, you don't have to be one bit perfect at living it, you just have to know who to live for. 

                    xoxo Victoria 

Jeffersons video: http://youtu.be/DHxTlmpZAPk

My other blog: http://teenthoughtsforyou.blogspot.ca/?m=1 

Instagram: http://instagram.com/victoriahiggins11 

Business Inquiries/ advice email: 

thoughts.feelings.blogged@gmail.com 

Forgiveness is My Own

Regret is more often than not, unplanned, unwanted & unneeded in our own opinions. But regret happens and it forms us, and helps us see the better in life (most times) if you look in the right places, you'll find blessings through error: 

To the point, I have come to realize that God never stops handing out his love. He will never be able to give you enough of his endless love, even when you've run scarce, fled from His word & his will and lived for yourself.. Sometimes you really can only learn the hard way. 

In more ways than I can count, I regret a lot of things I've done as a person, as a teenager and as a christian. I often feel as though I have failed God, like he will never stop being disappointed in me and won't want to bless me because I truly don't deserve it from all the mistakes I've made. 

Thing is, God loves you endlessly and unconditionally, and in a way that He can and will not ever stop pouring His blessings out to you. 

Before this past month, I never would've realized that through the experiences that cause you to let go of people who aren't meant to be in your life, God takes ultimate control and holds your hand and protects your heart & His never ending healing process is forever within you. Having your regrets and mistakes made into reasons for Him to want to bless you, reasons for you to believe in Him more, reasons to call out to Him more & to see that you are so much better off in Gods name and word than staying in a situation where you feel like you can't even hear Him anymore. 

Grace is never handed to you on a silver platter with a side of scrumptious purple grapes... but the freedom in finding grace and knowing you belong to Christ through having people you once loved removed from your life is one of the most eye opening experience you can encounter. 

You don't have to keep yourself in bad company to realize you'd be better off without them. God wants you to lean onto Him, for guidance and help. Even when your cry out is a whisper & a shout into the void, it's heard & He knows your heart & what YOU deserve. He will provide. 

A time in my life, where I feel like my cry was mediocre, and quiet... it was heart felt and loud to God. 

Your heart never stops feeling what your mind tells it not to, and God knows both better than you know it. 

Finding peace in error and forgiveness in regrets is like letting 10,000 bricks fall off your shoulders and taking a step back from them to look at what you've been made of, and what has made you who you are. 

It's never going to be immediately that you notice a new change happening in your life, but God has this amazing plan for you, for you to realize that He is enough, He loves you & He forgives you. He sets you free from mistakes and loves you with a steadfast love. 

What is yet to create you is still ahead & there are errors ahead, and possibly regrets.. but never stop believing God knows your heart & will forever be by your side through it all, even when you don't know He is.  

1 John 1:9

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Isaiah 1:18

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

1 Timothy 1:15-16

15 "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life."

          Thank you, love you guys! <3

Life in Boxes

Now, I know all of you reading aren't in the process of moving from one town to another; but I've put a lot of silly little thoughts into it, and came up with the wacky idea that each box I unload into my new bedroom, is a step taken in life.
I haven't taken the second to count how many boxes I have, but as I've cut the tape from each one and revealed what I had packed away for a month and a half, I see a whole new opening in life. Each box representing where I've been, where I'll go and who I'll become. I am the type to look back on things, and I'm quite the sentimental type, so it's hard for me to do this all.
I haven't even quite hit the fact that I will never be sleeping in my old bedroom ever again, and that's hard enough. I opened a box of books today, and put them onto my old black shelf, I love reading and that box to me, represented continuation. I can move on, continue forward, and start my new beginning- just like you start a book, but a good book never truly ends..
I opened a second box, and it represented blessings. I know that's so beyond broad, but it showed to me that this new home, this new start and all these boxes.. are a blessing in the rough, a blessing in the loss of 30 pounds from lifting, and the amount of muscles I've gained in the past 24 hours.

 Each day is a new day to start fresh from, unload another step, and move another mountain.
Although you may not be unloading boxes, what're the life steps you're unloading or the blessings you have in your life? What do you need to remind yourself of today, and how has God giving you grace and love today?
Life is always going to be a pile of boxes, we just have to remember which ones are worth looking through. (if that made any metaphorical sense) Which memories are worth keeping and what we need to let go of.
It's been a busy few days for me, so I apologize if it was too short, or not enough inspiration. But thanks for reading, leave a comment below, let me know what you think and keep smiling! :)

 

Quick Inspiration

As I look around this class room, I look at each person & I think about my soul; how deep it is and how much God loves me. Then I think about each individuals hearts and minds and how deep their souls are & that most of them don't know Jesus. I see that they don't understand the love of God because their focused on so many other things. But it's so crazy to think of how complex each person in this rooms heart and minds and souls are & yet God always has time for us. He never leaves one of us out, whether we know how or not. 

He loves YOU even though you don't know, he cares about YOU even though you don't feel like he does. He sees you. Sees your heart & loves you completely. 

I can't sit here and try to convince you that you're loved. But I can hope and pray for the best for your life & pray God opens your mind and heart and has you see his love for you. Open your mind, you may just see things that change your life. 

Welcome to the Planet

"Welcome to the planet, welcome to existence. everyone's here, everyone's here. Everybody's watching you now, everybody waits for you now. What happens next, what happens next?"

So what does happen next? 

When we're born our life is pretty much splashed out in front of us. You're born, learn to walk, talk, then it's potty training & everything else babies "should be learning" and you do funny things older people laugh at and think are cute.

Then it's bikes, school & making friends. It's all layed ahead of you though.

You eventually have to go to school to have the grades to go to college/uni to get a career & once you get the career you pay off the debt that going through school to get the career gave you. Little silly if you ask me. 

It's already said before you're alive what you'll do, but no one knows what you'll do with what you get. Some are fortunate enough to have all that handed to them, others face challenges that test their daily walk through life. 

What do you do with what you have? 

Today I challenge you to do one thing with what God gave you. I know that's quite broad, but if you just thought of something I must have said something right. 

Whether it's an ability God blessed you with, a skill, fortune, your advice, education, something that can and will alter someone's day through the grace of God. 

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for The Lord and not for men." Colossians 3:23 

I dare you to move.  

http://youtu.be/uw018L6KOaY

The Hands

As weird as this concept may be, I'm sitting here staring at my hands. 

The marks, lines, seeing the daily struggle they endure, just by being my hands. 

The day before last I was at work & I broke a coffee pot in my hands, I have scratch marks from that, I have hang nails & chewed tiny bitter nails. Nervous habit. But yet, I still go everyday using them the same as I would any other time. 

God uses our hands to tell a story, to create who we are. If you look at your hands right now, what story would they tell? 

There will be sin, there will be celebration & there will be scars. 

Job 17:9 says: 

"Yet the righteous holds to his way, and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger."

No, not everyone's hands are clean, not everyone can even endure life with hands. But let them tell your story, whether you're with or without them, let God also use your hands to do good, to be pure, to tell your testimony. 

When you look at your hands today, see them with eyes of inspiration, knowledge of the past & the knowing what the future can hold for you. What God needs you to hold in your hands to live out his will. 

With the hands of The Lord on your life, you can and will be stronger and stronger. 

So let your hands praise him, you were fearfully and wonderfully made! 

1 Timothy 5:22

James 5:13 

Isaiah 41:10