Emily Louise Keller

May Five Faves: Beauty Edition

Hey Y’all!

A few weeks ago I did a poll on Instagram to see what content you wanted to see here on ELK, and the results were quite conclusive. My main concern, aside from posting what I feel the Holy Spirit leads me to write, is giving y’all the content you want to see! That being said, you will start to see a lot more beauty and lifestyle posts! I’m super excited to dive deeper into these topics, as they are huge passions of mine. So, today we have my May Five Faves: Beauty Edition. Without further adieu, let’s get started!

1. L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise in “Mystic Black” ($7.99)

Moving to a humid climate presented a whole new set of challenges when it comes to makeup, and to be honest, I’m still trying to figure things out. My regular mascara was holding up fine early on when it was still cool, but once things started to warm up, it was just not doing the trick. Enter Lash Paradise. This mascara is my new Holy Grail mascara. It is seriously amazing! It goes on great with its smooth consistency and bristle brush, and doesn’t flake or run. It truly lives up to its name, because, y’all, the volume is REAL! I have pretty long lashes, but they go through phases of thickness, so this mascara is a must have. Not to mention its gorgeous packaging! To top it off, I picked mine up at Kroger for only $7.99- I’m tellin y’all, it’s an all around 10!

2. Covergirl Get In Line Eyeliner in “Black Vinyl” ($7.49)

Another change I had to make when we transitioned from the Phoenix to Atlanta was my eyeliner. I had been a gel eyeliner fanatic for years, but for some reason the climate here just did not agree with it. I was honestly terrified about the thought of switching to a liquid because I had always heard people talk about how difficult it was to use. All I have to say is- I don’t know what those people were thinking! This switch to liquid liner has forever changed my life. Covergirl recently did an overhaul on their image, and I am here for it! This product is simply perfect. It has a contoured handle that makes it super easy to hold, and a fine, tapered tip that makes it perfect for a thin, simple line, as well as a bold, sassy cat eye. The liner itself is very smooth and goes on very clean. Overall a perfect makeup bag staple!

3 &4. Sinful Colors Base and Top Coats ($1.99 ea.)

So this one is technically 2. In case you haven’t noticed, I am all about a good bargain. I was in need of some new nail polish, because for the most part I do my own nails, but I wasn’t about to spend $9+ a pop. I had used Sinful Colors nail polish before and thought it was fin, but had never used them with their own base and top coat, so I decided to try it again. My nail polishes have a pretty big job, considering I am 1) a nail biter and 2) a nail polish picker, but let me tell you, when these three polishes are combined, neither of those two habits are an option! The polish goes on so well and bonds even better to you nail. Trust me, I tried picking the polish out of habit, but it was not budging! They have a wide array of colors, and even have a gel line that I cannot wait to try. On top of all those great qualities, each bottle is a steal at only $1.99, but I got mine on sale at Walgreens for 3/$5.00. If you’re on a budget or can’t make it into the salon, I would highly recommend you check them out!

5. Joon Hair Care Saffron Hair Elixir Oil with Pistachio and Rose Oil

So, if you didn’t see it on my Insta, I chopped 14 inches of hair off and donated it to Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths in January. I loved the cut my stylist gave me, but after a couple of months, I started to really miss my long hair. On top of that, Jon-Paul, who usually stays completely indifferent when it comes to matters of my beauty and fashion preferences, told me one day that he really missed my long hair. So began the process of growing my hair out. On top of taking biotin, I wanted something that would keep my ends and lengths thick and strong. After using it for 8 months herself, my friend recommended that I check out Joon. BEST. DECISION. EVER. It literally takes 2 little droplets to coat my hair and smells like heaven. On top of keeping my hair looking amazing, it also acts as a heat protectant and helps speed up the drying process. I usually wash my hair every other or every third day, so after I get out of the shower and towel dry my hair a bit, I rub two little drops in my hands and run it through my hair. Then, I brush my hair using my Wet brush, just to make sure my hair is evenly coated. It leaves my hair feeling so soft and smelling so amazing, without making it oily or greasy. It is also a cruelty, sulfate, and paraben free product- SCORE! They sell the vials in two sizes, 1.1oz ($28.00) and 3.1oz ($50.00). I got the smaller size and have only used maybe 1/8th of the bottle over the course of a month. Total including shipping and handling came to be $35.00, and has been worth every penny!

That’s it for today! Comment some of your fave beauty products below or on my insta post- I’d love to try them out!

XOXO

ELK

A Grand Proposal

Every girl dreams of the day when the man of her dreams drops to one knee, tells her how much she means to him, and pops the question. We all love the idea of the happily ever after dream we have dreamt since we were little girls becoming a reality. Most girls, no doubt, have in their minds or on their Pinterest boards what the perfect proposal will look like, and we all hope he gets it right! On the second anniversary of our engagement, I wanted to share with you the story of how it all went down!

First off, let me give you a some quick backstory for context. Jon-Paul and I knew from the very first week we started dating that this was it- we had each found the on! He had just returned from a trip to the Arizona, where he visited the Grand Canyon (important) a couple weeks prior, and after a beautiful whirlwind first week of dating, we just knew. I can’t explain the feeling. I don’t know how to describe it to someone who hasn’t experienced it themselves, except that it’s an overwhelming sense of peace and excitement at the same time. Shortly thereafter, he moved out to Phoenix in October of 2015, and I moved to Tucson with my parents in December of 2015, then later to Phoenix in March of 2016. I was waiting patiently for the proposal- okay, maybe not so patiently! We had discussed our future countless times from where we wanted to end up living to how many kids we wanted to have and what names we would give them, and I wanted that life to be a reality. I was so excited to get the show on the road!

Fast forward to the week of Easter 2016. Jon-Paul had a horrible stomach virus followed by food poisoning. It was miserable! Poor thing was completely drained come Easter Sunday when my family came up to Phoenix to attend Easter service with us, which was of course followed by a nice lunch out. Now, Jon-Paul is not a particularly chatty person on the regular. He more so likes to observe, especially when he’s around my rowdy family! Because of this, I didn’t think anything of his quietness during lunch, especially because he had been sick. The next day, he called me and said, “How are your parents with surprises?” I said, “Uhhh, well, it depends of the surprise… why?” To which he responded, “Well, you know, I wasn’t feeling very well yesterday at lunch and I felt bad for not talking much, so I decided to go down to Tucson to see them.”…………. Now, mind you, Tucson is a two hour drive from Phoenix. In my mind, I just KNEW he was going to ask my parent’s permission to marry me. I was about to jump out of my skin from excitement! I told him to call my parents and let them know he was coming, and he did.

I am THE worst when it comes to surprises. I have a love hate relationship with them. I love the excitement, but I hate not knowing what is happening. So, from that point on, I made sure to have my nails done every 10 days or so, always made sure that my makeup and outfits were ON POINT, and may or may not have done some snooping through Jon-Paul’s phone trying to find out some details. We had planned a trip for my mom’s birthday up to the Grand Canyon, and I thought maybe it would happen on that trip, but I had convinced myself it wasn’t going to happen then. My mom had the whole thing planned out down to the minute. She had told me multiple times that we needed to be at the canyon by 11am on the Monday after her birthday because we still had a 4 hour drive back. She probably mentioned it in every conversation for like 2 weeks. This, logically, led me to believe that something was planned at 11am! Then, the day before our trip, she told us that the 11am arrival time was not a thing anymore and that we could take our time. In fact, she encouraged us to stop at some towns on the way up and make a full day of it. I was in shock! That is so 100% the polar opposite of her personality!

The next day, we started on our way up to the Grand Canyon. We stopped about an hour and a half into the trip to get breakfast and wander around one of my favorite towns, Sedona. As much as I was trying to enjoy myself, I was so stressed about time because I was convinced my mom would still be upset if we arrived too late, and our trip would be ruined! I also reeeeaaaly wanted to see the GC! So I rushed Jon-Paul to the car after about 2 hours in Sedona and told him we had to get going. But, he had other plans. He wanted to take the scenic route- a route that would add a whole hour onto our drive! As worried as I was, I went along with his plan. We drove through the most beautiful national forest and stopped at a beautiful lookout and took it all in for a minute. Then my brain kicked back into overdrive and we were on our way again, only to have Jon-Paul tell me he needed a potty break. We stopped at a gas station in the middle of nowhere and I pumped the gas while he did his thing. I finished pumping and pulled up to the store parking lot and waited. And waited. And waited. I wondered if he had fallen in! 10 whole minutes later, he came walking out with a gigantic jug of windshield wiper fluid. “What the heck is that for?!” I asked. He responded with, “Well, you’re almost out and there’s a lot of bugs out here. We will probably need it.” I rolled my eyes and waited as he fumbled around with the hood and started pouring the liquid. You would have thought he was pouring molasses!! He was moving soooooo slow. I finally went over, snatched the jug from his hand and dumped it all in the container myself! I was slightly annoyed at this point, and rushed us back on the road.

When we arrived to the canyon, I was so taken aback. It didn’t even look real. It looked like a painting or a green screen. We walked up to the main overlook and were just in awe of the beauty. Then, my dad, who was in the middle of a Facebook challenge promoting awareness for ptsd, saw a little cliff that we could hike to and said he wanted to film his pushups for the challenge down there, and asked Jon-Paul to film it. I said I’d go along as well. We hiked our way down there and filmed the pushups, after which Jon-Paul asked my dad to take a picture of us. Little did I know he was actually recording. Jon-Paul took me to the edge and started to tell me that a little less than a year before that, when he visited the Grand Canyon, he was in this exact spot trying to send me a picture and couldn’t get it to send. (fun fact, there’s like zero cell service out there) He told me that it kept failing to send, and he said out loud, “Ugh! I just want to talk to her!”, and in that moment he realized he had feelings for me. He then got down on one knee and said some stuff that I honestly don’t even remember because I was so flustered and excited! I immediately said yes before he could even finish asking me to marry him! I was shaking and so so happy. Then, he turned me around and his whole family had flown out to be apart of the day! In fact, because they were using buddy passes, they weren’t able to fly in on Sunday as planned and had been traveling right behind us our whole trip! They only passed us while we were at the longest gas station stop known to man lol! As if all of that wasn’t enough, he proposed on the anniversary of my grandfather’s passing with a diamond from one of my grandfather’s rings. It was simply perfect. We drove back to Phoenix and went to dinner that night and celebrated the day. It was so beautiful and magical and wonderful.

And that’s how I would sum up the past three years since Jon-Paul and I have been together. Beautiful, magical, and wonderful. I’m so grateful everyday that God brought us together. It was definitely not something either of us expected, but it has been the best years of my life. He is the most kind, loving, funny, caring man I could have ever asked for. He surpasses all of my wildest dreams everyday, and I am so glad I said “Yes” to him two years ago. Ladies, if you get one thing from this post, let it be this- Do not settle for a man that treats you less than what you deserve. I promise you that it is worth the wait! There is absolutely nothing that can replace the feeling of knowing you are with the one that God intended you to be with. Wait for the man that will exceed your expectations and surpass your wildest dreams, and give you a beautiful, magical, and wonderful life.

XOXO

ELK

You’re Never Gonna Let Me Down

I have been stressing about writing this blog for a long time now! I was supposed to do a “first week in Atlanta” update and got completely swamped with the move. I was honestly so stressed because I made a commitment to building up the blog this year, and in order to build it, I had to actually be posting on it! We had so many great things happen in that first week, but I just didn’t feel led to write- something that I rely on God heavily for. If He doesn’t give me the okay to release something, it doesn’t get released! Needless to say, there’s quite a few backlogged blogs! But now, after more than a month here in the blessed ATL, I understand why God had me wait.

Today is a special day. It’s the day we set aside to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Every church will have a special service planned out that was undoubtedly rehearsed at least 3 or 4 times. The choirs and pews will be significantly more full, attire will be nicer, and hats will be bigger- if you’re in the south, that is. The band will rehearse to make sure every note is perfect. The singers will make sure the know every lyric. The preachers will try to write the perfect message to inspire newcomers and veterans alike. I truly love the excellence that we strive for on special services- in fact, I think we should have that standard for every service- but what’s so funny and so beautiful is, the Spirit Of God will show up regardless of our attempts at perfection. He always does, as long as He’s invited! I think sometimes we forget that. We get into a situation and wonder if God will show up this time.

I’ve found myself in a couple of scenarios recently where I got to the point of wondering if God would show up. Just because Jon-Paul and I had the faith to make this move to Atlanta does not mean that that faith hasn’t been tested. We have faced circumstances that seemed insurmountable. And at times I wondered how in the world God was going to provide and what I could do to “help” him. I was driving down the road one day and felt to Holy Spirit say, “Baby, how can you have enough faith in God to obey Him and pick up and move your family across the country, and not believe He will provide in your everyday life?”

I was so taken aback, and in that moment, my faith was taken to a whole new level. In our short time here, we’ve seen God move more powerfully than ever before. We’ve seen our bank account tripled TWICE, been offered and accepted amazing jobs, locked into a great church, and seen God provide every step of the way. We’ve been given prophetic words and words of wisdom left and right- as if God is reassuring us that we made the right decision. To use the words of Jon-Paul, it’s like we are reading a book and there’s a new surprise on every page. We didn’t have all the answers when we came here and we still don’t , but God does. He has been so unbelievably faithful.

I think it’s so easy for us to underestimate God. We think we have to help Him out, like He isn’t capable of doing it himself. Or even worse, we think he’s too busy with other stuff to show up. But honey, He always shows up. Every time. He gave His only son for you. And that Son was beaten, whipped, scared, hung on a cross, and pierced; he died, took the keys to death, hell, and the grave, rose again and ascended into heaven ALL FOR YOU. What makes you think he will let you down now?! He worked to hard to save you to let you go now! He loves you too much! If he battled hell for you, I can guarantee you He’s willing to take on your current earthly circumstances.

On this Easter Sunday, while you are in your church service or eating a delicious meal, just remember how much you are loved and cherished. You are loved by a God who will never let you down. He will show up in your life and meet you right where you’re at. You just have to invite Him (Revelation 3:20). I sincerely pray that you have a wonderful, joyful, safe, fun-filled day.

Happy Easter, Y’all!

XOXO

ELK

Dear Phoenix

Dear Phoenix,

The time has come for us to part ways- I’m trading in my cactus for a peach. Moving on up to the east side… well, east coast. Our bags are packed, moving truck loaded and on it’s way, and our hearts are full of so many emotions. You were a city of firsts for me. You are where I had my first apartment and lived on my own for the first time. You’re where I lived completely away from my family for the first time. You welcomed me home on my first night of being engaged, as well as my first night home from my honeymoon. You brought me my first cracked windshield, flat tire, dead battery and traffic ticket- it was not exactly a fun time for Joan. It was here where I learned so many valuable lessons in my first years of adulthood and being a wife. And for that, I’m forever grateful.

Not to hurt you feeling, because you are truly a great city, but the real kicker here is the people that inhabit you. The kind, generous, loving, caring, fun, and beautiful people we met here have changed our lives forever. We have made lifelong friendships here, and grown our family by countless members. We have made so many fantastic memories in you, Phoenix, and that is due in part to the beautiful family we have made here. Our CFTN family has carried us through good times and bad, never wavering. They welcomed us with open arms and warm hearts, and released us with blessing and rejoicing. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Your name is so prophetic, Phoenix. In Greek mythology, the Phoenix is a bird that, after around 1400 years of living, burst into flames. After 1400 years, the bird is tired, worn down, and ready to be done. What’s so beautiful about this is that from the ashes of the old bird, a new bird- young, strong, and ready to take on the world-emerges. I believe God brought us here to experience our Phoenix season. It’s quite poetic and creative. Props to you, God. The fact is, we were tired, worn out, hurt, and ready to be done and rest. From the moment we got here, we were lit on fire. It was a breath of fresh air. Then, from the ashes of the old emerged new, strong, eager little birds, ready to take on the world. We were healed, whole, and happy, waiting for God to tell us what was next. We were not expecting this move, but God spoke, and here we are.

We are currently two lovebirds driving in Joan (my Mini Cooper), with three guitars, two cats, a litter box, a PS4 (because GOD KNOWS that couldn’t go in the moving truck), and a suitcase, making our four day journey to the next step in our destiny. We don’t know what the future holds, but we are confident in the direction God is taking us. We cannot wait to see what He has in store for us in Atlanta. He is a good God with a plan and a purpose. He knows exactly what He’s doing, even if we don’t, and that’s okay! We are confident in the fact that He is our provider, our peace, our joy, and our strength.

To our friends and family in this beautiful city, we love you with all our hearts and we are so grateful to God for bringing us together. We will be back in the future. To the leaders who poured into our lives during our time here, thank you. You are each an example of just how good our God is! To our friends and family in Atlanta, we cannot wait to see you! To my parents, thanks for being so supportive of us during this move. Although it’s not to PA, we will be a heck of a lot closer! And lastly, to you, Phoenix. Thank you for providing the perfect backdrop for this season in our lives. I will miss seeing random mountains in the middle of the city, watching giant haboobs sweep across the city, and the absolutely breathtaking sunsets you provide. I will not miss your drivers, though I think it’s worse where we are heading, nor will I miss your 120°summers. Thanks for being so fantastic these past two years. Catcha on the flip side, boo.

XOXO

ELK

Georgia On My Mind

The saying, “God works in mysterious ways” is used pretty commonly- Lord knows I’ve said it way too many times to count. It is usually the follow-up to an ironic story with a happy ending, or when something happens in our lives that we don’t quite understand. It’s like implying that, though you may not know how something is going to play out, but you know that God will work it all out for your good. He knows how to orchestrate events in your life- good or bad- to bring you out on top. He takes the ugly and makes it beautiful, the tragic and makes it joyous, and the unknown and makes it territory to conquer. We go through life as Christians knowing this and believing it, but it’s not until we have to fully rely on God to make our nonsensical situation make sense that we truly understand the beauty and the mystery that is our loving Father.

For Jon-Paul and I, that season is in a way just finishing, but also just beginning. We have recently been going through a season of having to fully entrust our entire lives to God more than ever before and believing that He would make a way where there quite literally seemed to be none. It’s so funny, because we thought before this season that we had given it all to God. But, it took going through this for us to realize that there were so many areas we were still relying on our own strength in and not giving God room to be God. At one point it seemed that we were getting bombarded from every angle possible with problems, from finances, to family, to friends, it seemed like new wounds were being made and old wounds reopened every way we turned. Needless to say, it was a very trying season. But, hindsight is 20/20. I still 100% believe that we heard the Holy Spirit clearly. I believe it was a God ordained season that we had to go through in order to draw closer to Him. He does, after all, work in mysterious ways.

Rather than focusing on the negative consequences that were many, but brief, I want to take time to give honor where honor is due. We talk about God being our loving Father God (any Father-God-ers out there???), but what Jon-Paul and I had the privilege of experiencing over these past few months made that more real to us than ever before. It was like when a parent takes the training wheels off of their kids bike for the first time. You get them all ready- elbow pads, knee pads, and a helmet- and take them out to the street, show them how balance and steer, and hold the bike as they start to pedal. They are wobbly at first but soon have the hang of it, so long as you are holding onto the back. Then the time comes for them to try it on their own. You tell them to start pedaling and they yell pack, white knuckling the handle bars, “Don’t let go!” You tell them you won’t, knowing full well that if they are going to learn how to ride, you are going to have to let go at some point. But, just because you let go doesn’t mean that you aren’t still running behind the bike, ready to pick them up when they inevitably take a tumble. You pick them up and dust them off and tell them to try again.

I believe that God sometimes allows us to go through things so that we learn to rely on Him and become even closer to Him. He’s like the parent teaching their child to ride a bike. He gets us ready- prepares us with a vision or word, gives us the tools through His word, and gives us promises that He’s faithful to the end and never forsakes us- and then begins to teach us. He doesn’t cause the storm or hardship, but He uses to His advantage what the devil meant to take you out, knowing full well that you have the full armor of God and can handle anything with His help. I believe this is why we went through the season we did. We followed God’s word, and though He didn’t cause the problems, He used them to draw us closer to him. He drew us out into the deep where the waves were crashing, and we had to realize that he didn’t want us to fight to keep our heads above water, but rather He wanted us to let go so he could guide us safely to the other side. We had to rely on Him like a child does with their Father. He had to dust us off, bandage our wounds, and take us to a vulnerable place to give Jon-Paul the biggest word He’s given us in our relationship.

In November, Jon-Paul and I went to Atlanta to visit his side of our family for my sister-in-love’s wedding and Thanksgiving. Now, on previous trips, I fully enjoyed myself and loved seeing friends and family, but could never see myself living there. If you aren’t familiar with the area, it’s very humid, there’s about a million freeways surrounded by trees, complemented by like 5,000 little small towns and suburbs. It’s all very pretty, but for the absolute most directionally challenged person in the world (a.k.a moi) it can be a little (a LOT) overwhelming. But for some reason, from the moment we landed this time, I felt so at peace being there, and a very strong pull to be there. I was a little (a LOT) freaked out by it to say the least. So much so that I kept this to myself for 5 days. I was concerned that I was just feeling this because of the turbulent season we were in, and I didn’t want to make any rash comments. But after 5 days, the Holy Spirit was not letting up. So on our drive up Chattanooga to see some good friends, I sheepishly asked Jon-Paul how he was feeling about Atlanta. His response was one I was not expecting. He replied, “It’s weird, I’m actually feeling a strong pull to be here.” I couldn’t believe it. He used the EXACT wording I had been mulling over in my head for five days! My first thought once I wrapped my head around that fact was, “Oh, crap.” This had come out of nowhere. Despite the tough season back in Phoenix, we were still so in love with our life here. After all, we have an amazing church, friends, mentors, etc. So we spoke with some mentors in our lives and decided we really needed to lift this up in prayer. We had every reason move- proximity to family, more music opportunities for Jon-Paul, not to mention the undeniable move of the Holy Spirit in giving Jon-Paul and I the same wording; but we also had every reason to stay. So we asked God to give us a “No”- a reason not to move. We prayed and asked God to show us by a specific day. We asked that if He wanted us to go, that he would give us an abundance of confirmation and clarity. The days following that prayer were suspenseful. We were awaiting God to give us direction, and He did.

We are so excited to announce that the Kellers are moving to Atlanta on February 23rd of this year! This is such a bitter-sweet time, to be honest. We are so very excited for what lies ahead, but also very sad to leave this wonderful place called Phoenix. All emotion aside, we know that God has prepared a way for us in the good ol ATL. We are so appreciative of all God has done here in Phoenix. He brought so many amazing people into our lives here, and we will never be the same because of it! I’m a firm believer that we as Christians are not meant to stay put in the same place for our entire lives. I believe that we are to glean from every stop along the way and take with us to the next place everything we have learned. Lord knows the amount of knowledge we have gained here in the past 2 years. So now we are asking you to join us in praying for this journey! We know that God has already gone before us and made a way for us to prosper. We are truly so excited and a little nervous, not gonna lie!

I know now that if we had not been taken to that vulnerable place with God, we may not have been receptive to His word for us to move- especially myself given how closed off I’ve always been to the idea. And as hard as that season was, I would do it all again if it meant I would gain this new level of intimacy with God. Not only did it strengthen our relationships with God, but it made Jon-Paul and I grow closer. We truly relied on each other during that time for strength and emotional support, and also comedic relief! I just love seeing how God works all things for our good! He loves each of us so very much. He knows exactly how to communicate with us and show us His love. He knows what we need in our moments of despair. He knows how to mend our wounds and comfort our hearts. He goes out of His way to show us His love. He is such a magnificent, mighty, loving, kind, powerful, gentle God. If you get one thing from this blog today, I want it to be this- never take for granted a trying season. Never think that just because the seas are rough means that God isn’t there. He is always with you. Guiding you, protecting you, helping you up, dusting you off, and telling you to try again. Even when you can’t feel Him, He’s running right along side you, ready to catch you. He will always catch you. He will always work it together for your good. His plans for your life are so much bigger than your storm. The destiny He’s placed on your life alone is enough to carry you through the hardships. Never doubt God’s intentions for your life. He’s got it all figured out, no matter what you choose to do. He does, after all, work in mysterious ways.

XOXO

ELK

The Future is NOT Female

I was scrolling through Instagram the other day, and I saw an image that truly saddened my heart. It was a picture of a young girl, no older than 6, wearing a shirt that said “The Future is Female”. I was angry and sad that this young, impressionable baby girl’s mind was being so polluted with such a false idea. We are living in a day and age full cultural confusion and deception. One of the biggest lies our generation is currently facing is feminism. By definition, the word feminism means the advocacy for women’s rights on the basis of equality of the sexes. Before we really dive into this, let it be known that I am ALL FOR equality. Women should be treated with the same respect as men, and we should have the same rights as men. That is, after all, what the very definition of feminism states.

All throughout history we see the mistreatment of women. We were seen as second class citizens that needed to stick to cleaning, cooking, and baby making/raising. We were degraded and disrespected, and told that our opinions didn’t matter. Things like owning land, having a will, having a bank account, and voting were strictly off limits for women in the United States up until the 19th century when the first strong wave of feminism hit the US. That wave would continue up until 1920 when women finally gained the right to vote. The Kennedy administration in the early 1960’s used women’s rights as one of many platforms for campaigning. Unlike the first wave of feminism, the second wave would bring to light more personal topics such as sexuality, issues in the workplace, family and home life, reproductive rights and marital rape. This would be followed by a third wave that would hit in the 1990’s, which was fueled heavily by the media and pop culture. All of these movements would give way to where we are now- hot and heavy in the middle of the fourth wave of a new “feminism”. This is an unprecedented movement, the likes of which we have never seen before. It seems as if the issue of feminism is quite literally everywhere. We will find issue and offense with basically anything at this point. In this movement, feminists are still fighting for reproductive rights- the use and coverage of contraception, affordable and good quality reproductive health care, education on sexually-transmitted disease, and abortion. That is another topic for another time, but I will leave it at this- the “right” to terminate, or kill, a baby because you don’t want it… okay. They are also waging war on “wealthy, white men” and every conservative citizen in the United States because their beliefs don’t match up with their own . Now look, I get it- a lot of wealthy, white men have abused their power in horrid ways. But does that really mean that it’s necessary for a woman to dress up as a giant vagina and march up and down the street asking for the government to use tax-payer money to cover the cost of a woman killing an unborn baby? Modern day feminists have set standards of disrespect, vulgarity, and self-glorification. This brings me to my main point- one of the main driving forces behind the feminist movement is wanting equality and respect. My question is, how on earth do you expect to ever be respected when you are offering nothing to respect? Any good that could possibly be brought about through the movement is being tarnished by the radical and obscene displays of “feminism”. Well, my friend, if being a feminist means marching around with vulgar messages on a poster board and wearing explicit costumes, I can guarantee you I will not be signing up any time soon!

Moving right along. Many of today’s women are so concerned about what their male counterparts are doing and getting, that they have been blinded to another, much larger and more harmful epidemic tearing apart the female culture… girl-on-girl hate. From the outside looking in, most people would think in this day and age that women are all pro-each other and for women rising up in the ranks, but have you ever read some of the comments of girls social media pictures? It’s absolutely cruel! Our automatic response as women when we see another woman’s success is to say, “Oh, well that’s great, BUT… I could do better.” or “Awesome, but why would you wear that?” We constantly look for something to lessen the value of what another woman has done in order to make ourselves look better. This is something we are ALL guilty of- myself included. So once again, we are expecting something from someone else that we aren’t even giving to one another!

The saddest thing, in my opinion, is that society as a whole has lost sight of the beauty of being a woman. They have been so busy chasing after what they “don’t have”, that they have forgotten what we do have! Women are beautiful, strong, sensitive, and complex beings. We have the incredible ability to function in logic and emotion at the same time. We can grow and carry a human being inside of us for 9 months. We can raise children, keep a household, work our dream job and be a support system for our family all at the same time. Women are amazing! God has gifted women with so many beautiful attributes that only women have yet, somewhere along the line we decided that wasn’t enough. God has placed extreme value on every person, male and female. He has created us to be equals yet, individuals. Men and women were created physically, mentally, and emotionally different from one another with the sole purpose of complementing one another. This means that there should be a mutual respect from one to the other. The fact of the matter is, man needs woman, and woman needs man. Equals, but individuals.

Rather than trying to be the “supreme sex”, we should be focused on honoring and respecting each other. I believe that God is restoring women to their rightful place in society. He wants us to be successful, powerful, wealthy, functioning members of society. Because of the way modern feminists act towards and think about men, I believe feminism is the “fake version” of the life God intends for women. God will never upgrade your life by degrading someone else’s life. That would imply that He wants a better life for one person that he does for another. This is the main reason why the words on that little girls shirt saddened me so much. My belief is that the future is NOT female. A future that is female is a future that cannot sustain itself. The same is true for a future that is male. The only route to a prosperous future is for this world to realize the true meaning of equality- that no man or woman is above anyone else, regardless of income, race, sex or religion. My prayer for this world, and especially for the next generation of young ladies to grace it, is that they would understand this concept better than those who came before them. I pray that they know their worth, and that they would never let anyone convince them otherwise, but I also pray that they would know the worth of those around them. We, as women, need to do better. We need to bring ourselves above the line of disrespecting ourselves and others. We cannot control what others do, but we can control how we respond. I know from personal experience that it can be exhausting to experience the continual bombardment of hatred, complaining, and negativity, but rather than allowing that to stir up those emotions in ourselves, allow it to fuel a fire for positive changes. Mother Teresa once said, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” That’s where it all starts. Raise up your young girls to be strong, independent, self-confident, and self-respecting without making them believe that they are above anyone else in this world. Teach them to be gentle and kind, because at the end of the day, it often takes more strength to be kind and loving than it does to be hard and callous. Raise up your young men to be strong, yet sensitive; to respect and protect women. Teach them that, though they may be the physically stronger sex, there is a strength in women that this world needs. There is nothing wrong with knowing your strengths, but being able to acknowledge other people’s strengths and how they complement your weaknesses is a game changer. It’s called humility, and this world could you a healthy dose of it. I challenge you today, especially the women who are reading this, learn to exemplify humility. It doesn’t make you a weak person to acknowledge your weaknesses. In fact, it makes you stronger.

XOXO

ELK

New Year’s Intentions

“I’m going to lose weight!” “I’m getting a gym membership!” “I’m going to read 10 chapters of the Bible every day” “I’m going to quit smoking!” Every year, right around this time, we all set out to accomplish at least one thing big in the year to come. These life changes are often called “New Year’s Resolutions”. We start out with the best intentions of making our lives better, but usually lose our vigor around the 6 week mark. Life gets in the way, we get busy, or, if you’re like me, you just get plain lazy. You start to allow yourself to skip the gym once or twice a week, or let yourself have that brownie after dinner, and soon, you’re sliding down a slippery slope. This is usually followed by a sudden realization, about 3 months down the line, that you have completely lost sight of your big resolution to become the “new you”. This begs the question, “Why?” Why did you lose the resolve to make yourself better? And why is it so hard to get back on track? I think there’s a few reasons why.

Lack of accountability. I have come to the conclusion that mankind needs accountability. Lord knows that I do. A few years back, my mom and I started working with a nutritionist to lose weight. This wasn’t some crazy fad diet, but rather a lifestyle change. We did AMAZING on it. I lost upwards of 50 lbs, and was the happiest I had been in a long time. I am convinced that the reason I was so successful on this was because I had fantastic accountability. I had to weigh in every 3 days and send the nutritionist my weight. My mom and I shared our goals, wins, and losses with each other often. We cooked for each other, so we knew what we were eating was on the plan. About 8 months into this, I moved out of the house and stopped working with the nutritionist. I stayed good for a few months, then, for lack of better word, fell off the wagon. Since then, it has been a horrible uphill struggle to lose weight. This goes for more than just weight loss. If you want to start gaining muscle and going to the gym, pick a gym buddy to encourage you and for you to encourage. Want to read your Bible more, set up a Bible Study date with a friend or significant other. Make it a time to fellowship and build your relationship with God and your “person”.
Lack of planning. I am a girl who loves a plan. If you’ve been reading here for any length of time, you are aware of that by now. If you set out to do something without a plan, your chances of failing are a whole heck of a lot higher than if you had prepared properly. I would encourage you this year, if you are setting “resolutions”, come up with a solid plan of execution. Make a schedule for yourself, get your accountability, and even start before the New Year to give yourself some practice.
Don’t buy into the hype. You don’t have to wait until New Years Day to start your resolution. Start now. Don’t wait. Don’t do it because everyone else is, do it because you want to.

This year I am trying something new. Rather than calling my list of life changes “resolutions”, I am calling them “intentions”. These are things I intend of starting and finishing. As a form of accountability, I am going to run and jump off the cliff of privacy and share my New Year’s Intentions with you. This is something of mutual benefit- I have the accountability of my readers, and you can get an idea of some life changes you can make! Here we go!

Health Intentions: As I stated above, I fell off the health wagon a few years ago and have been scrambling ever since to get back on. This is MY YEAR! I have set up accountability with two of my very best friends in the whole world. I am texting them my weight every Monday, and sending my measurements once a month. I have also given myself deadlines to reach certain goals. I also have purpose behind what I am doing. I am not doing this to be skinny. I am doing this to be HEALTHY and HAPPY with how I look. I have some small goals within my big intention. I want to be able to run 2 miles straight without stopping. This may seem like no big deal for some of y’all, but I literally cannot stand running. I have a stipulation for myself that I cannot get a gym membership until I can eat healthy and exercise daily for 2 months straight. I believe these little things will help me accomplish my goals!
Spiritual Intentions: I want to start actually reading my Bible. I have always been one that thought listening to Worship music was enough, but I feel like God is wanting a deeper connection that can only come from reading His word and watching it come to life right in front of me. My plan for this is to set aside time at least 3 days a week to really dig in and study the word
Marriage Intentions: I have two marriage intentions for 2018. One is to learn to set aside time for just us. No phones, no technology, just us and good conversation. I feel as though Jon-Paul and I have learned the importance of saying “no” to things that take away from that time we set aside, but we have not applied it! The second thing is to apply the knowledge we gained when we took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace class. We gotta buckle down these finances!
Friendship Intentions: This year, I want to set out to become better at making friends and building relationships. Many of you may not know that I can be social when absolutely necessary, but I really prefer to just chill at home with my cats watching Netflix. I want to become more social this year! I want to stretch myself by learning to love going out with and making new friends.
Family Intentions: I want to get better at calling people this year. As many of you know, my grandmother passed away just a few days ago. We had a fantastic relationship and spoke often, but going through this has taught me just how short life is. Once it’s gone, you don’t get to see that person until you get to heaven. I want to become a better daughter, granddaughter, niece, daughter-in-love, sister-in-love, and aunt. Social Media is great for keeping up with big events, but there’s nothing like having a good conversation on the phone if you can’t actually be there in person!
Personal Intention 1: I started journaling a few weeks ago. I have gotten pretty good at it, but I could definitely stand to be more consistent with it. It is such a great form of therapy, and I want to venture into bullet journaling- the best of both worlds- creativity and organization!
Personal Intention 2: Blog more consistently! I have been absent the past few weeks due to the holidays and my grandmother passing, but I am back with a vengeance!

I am so excited for what lies ahead in the year to come! 2018 has something special in it for everyone, and I cannot wait to see what it is! I want to hear back from you, my faithful readers, as to what it is you want to hear from me in 2018. Comment away and tell me what topics you want me to tackle in the year to come, as well as what your own personal New Year’s Intentions are! I love you all dearly and I am praying for 2018 to be your BEST YEAR YET!

Happy New Year!

XOXO

ELK

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I want to talk about a relatively hot topic right now. It is a controversial subject, and I understand that not everyone is going to agree with my stance. That is totally fine by me. I wrote majority of this blog a few months ago in an effort to release some of my frustrations in a healthy way. In fact, it was not intended to be released, however I later felt the urge to release it, and I believe that the one year anniversary of last year’s election is appropriate timing! It is absolutely impossible to go anywhere without hearing something negative about our government and its leaders. Whether it’s the president, a congressman, a senator, or a police officer, negativity is quite literally everywhere. News headlines are “This person is a racist bigot”, “So and so had an affair” “Someone can’t seem to keep their mouth shut”, etc. Very rarely do we see a positive headline. When you are constantly flooding your mind and heart with negativity, especially toward one demographic of people (in this case politicians), eventually you begin to exude negativity yourself (Matthew 12:34) This is why God told us in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for out of it flow the springs of life.” In other words, the environment you allow your life to soak in will be absorbed into your heart, and you will begin to live like that which you surround yourself with.

Back to the topic of our leaders. I understand completely if you disagree with what they say or do. Just as an example, for the most part I like him, but I do not always agree with everything President Trump says, or how he says it. If you allow that disagreement to fester into anger, and you start secluding yourself into groups that only feel the same as you do, you begin to soak in an environment of negativity. Negativity exudes from you and you begin to only speak negative things against the person you disagree with or have even been disrespected by. My question for you is, does the Bible not say to love your enemies? (Matthew 5:44). When you love someone or something, you naturally show respect towards it or them.

You may not like the leadership we have in place as a nation today. You may not like certain aspects of our functionality as a nation today. I know there are areas I don’t like. And that’s okay, because there is always room for improvement. You may not like it, but you should respect it. I want to encourage you- If you are a Bible believing, God-fearing Christian, God has commanded that you respect the leaders He puts in place. Romans 13:1 says: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” There is so much in this! Let’s break it down:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities: No one is exempt from what Paul is about to say!
There is no authority except from God: God- our amazing God- is in charge! He is over every leader, and He alone puts them into their respective leadership role. Be it a parent, teacher, employer, policeman or president, God has put them there for a reason.
And the authorities that exist are appointed by God: God put all our leaders in place. You have to grasp this concept. Paul is literally writing this to the Romans who had one of the most corrupt, tyrannic, cruel governments ever! And he is telling them to respect their leaders! I mean, we are talking murders, incest, slavery, and huge injustices from the roman government, and Paul is telling them to respect their leaders. And you thought our government was jacked up.

A lot of people would argue respecting government officials with, “Well, they don’t respect me, or my race, or my religion, so I am not going to respect them.” But if this is a command from God, who are you to say who deserves respect and who doesn’t? Just as God commands to respect leaders, He also gives several other commands such as, “Thou shalt not lie, steal, etc. And, love thy neighbor” So if we apply the same, ”He doesn’t respect me, I’m not respecting him” principle to those, it would look like, “He stole from me, so I’m stealing from him”; or “He lied to me, so I’m going to lie to him”; or even worse, “He didn’t show love to me, so I’m not going to show love to him”. Ultimately, you cannot fight disrespect with disrespect. By all means, stand up for injustice, speak up for those who don’t have a voice, and love those who need love, but do it in a respectful manner. When you disrespect someone, you are ultimately disrespecting God. The same is true for the opposite- when you honor someone, someone created in God’s image as a child of His own, you are honoring God. If you truly cannot find it in your heart to respect someone, I would challenge you to, at the very least, respect God enough to give Him the benefit of the doubt that He might actually know what He’s doing. I am fully aware that we have some big issues to fix in the country. I know and believe that racism still exists today. It breaks my heart to see it. I have, believe it or not, experienced it myself. I think it’s disgusting and ungodly to the max. I cannot wait to live in a world where we define each other by our actions and not by our skin color. But you cannot fight racism with disrespect. Instead, prove them wrong. Show them that they are the ignorant ones, not you. Real change can only come about through radical love. Love everybody, even your enemies. Respect everyone, even those that disrespect you. The Bible says in Romans 12:1 (MSG), “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.” Would you honestly present a life to God that’s littered with judgement and disrespect just because someone may or may not have done it to you first? God did not call us to live according to how the world treats us, but according to the call on our lives. (Eph 4:1-3 MSG, I Peter 3:8-12 NKJV)

My heart breaks at the state of our Nation. There is so much division and hatred from ALL sides. But we were not called to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2). Renew your mind! Try to see things from a new perspective! I may not like the state of our beautiful land- the land that so many have worked and fought and died for; I may see a million things that need to change and improvements that could be made, but it doesn’t worry me. It doesn’t stress me out, because I know that we are and always will be ONE NATION UNDER GOD. He has never failed us, and he never will. I also know that God has appointed the proper leaders for such a time as this. He is in control. He knows what he is doing. Now it is our job to pray for our leaders (I Timothy 2:1-2). Regardless of if you like or dislike your leaders, you should pray for them. Below are some scriptures to pray over our leaders:

The Fruits of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22-23 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

This is pretty much all-encompassing. Pray that your leaders would walk in the fruits of the spirit. That they would not only portray them in their own lives, but that those they come in contact with show them as well.

Wisdom:

I Corinthians 2:16 “16 For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”

Proverbs 3:21 “My son, let them not depart from your eyes— Keep sound wisdom and discretion;”

James 3:17 “17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

Proverbs 2:11 “11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you,”

Our leaders need wisdom. They are making countless decisions every day that not only affect them, but their nation, as well as the rest of the world. The wisdom they need is one that only God can give.

Rest:

Matt 11:28-30 “28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Stress, anxiety, and restlessness should probably be included in the job description for any government leadership position. Pray for your government officials to have supernatural rest amidst the craziness that is their lives. When you are rested, you are more likely to make sound decisions.

Protection:

Psalms 59: 1 “Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Defend me from those who rise up against me.”

Psalm 91

Threats are made against our government officials every single day. Whether they are empty or legitimate doesn’t matter. The fact of the matter is there are legitimate enemies of the United States, both foreign and domestic, that would love to bring harm to any of our head honchos.

Health- Spiritual and Physical

3 John 1:2 “2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers”

In order to do their jobs effectively, our leaders need to be healthy, both spiritually and physically. Plead the blood of Jesus over them and their families. Declare that no weapon formed against them shall prosper.

I truly hope you hear my heart through this. I do not want this to be the start of a political debate. We get enough of that from the news media and social media, and quite frankly, I’m exhausted from hearing it all. We never know if what we are being fed is fact or fiction when it comes from those sources. But the one thing that will always remain true and constant is the Word of God and what it commands us to do. As Billy Graham said, “It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge, and my job to love.” Stay in your lane. Love. And where there is love, there is respect.

XOXO

ELK

It Is Well

It’s no secret that life can be hard. For some situations, that’s an extreme understatement. It can present situations that are cruel, painful, sorrowful, and seem insurmountable. It is an unchangeable and unfair guarantee that you will face difficulties in your time on this earth. So, how then, do we keep moving forward? Take a look at the lyrics below from the song, “It is Well with My Soul”:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

when sorrows like sea billows roll;

whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Refrain:

It is well with my soul,

it is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

let this blest assurance control,

that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

and hath shed his own blood for my soul.

(Refrain)

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

(Refrain)

And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

even so, it is well with my soul.

(“It Is Well with My Soul”)

Some of you may be familiar with the story behind this song, but I’m going to go ahead and share it for those who are not. Horatio Spafford was a businessman residing in Chicago with his wife and 4 daughters in the late 19th century. He and his wife, Anna, knew all too well the cruelties of life, as the death of their son to pneumonia and the loss of their business in the Chicago fires happened in the same year. They managed to push forward, trust God, and rebuild a thriving business despite these great losses. Little did they know what lie ahead of them. In 1873, two years after the loss of their son and business, Anna and her 4 daughters boarded a transatlantic ship heading for Europe, leaving Horacio behind to manage the business in their absence. Four days into the trip, the ship carrying the five Spafford ladies collided with a much larger, iron hulled ship, resulting in the death of over 200 passengers- all four of the Spafford daughters included. Anna managed to survive and was taken to Europe. On his way to join her, Horatio Spafford was called up to the captain’s deck 4 days into his journey and told that they were passing over the final resting place of his four beloved daughters. According to Bertha Spafford Vester, a daughter born to Horatio and Anna in later years, her father left the captain’s deck and penned this very song.

After reading this story, I encourage you to re-read those lyrics. What does it mean for it to be will with your soul? How does a man who has lost everything write something so beautiful about the goodness of God? How do you attain a state of wellness of your soul? The answer to that question is a very simple one- you can’t! Not by yourself. No man is strong enough on his own to attain wellness of the soul. Try as you might, it is just not possible. But when you enter into a partnership with God, all it takes is a whisper and He is there to comfort and console you. He sends Holy Spirit to flood every fiber of your being, soul included, with His love, joy, comfort, and peace. There is often confusion during the storms of life that God has brought them about to teach someone a lesson or because He is angry, when, in fact, the storm was never God’s doing at all. The reason we experience hardships in life is not because we have an angry God, but because we live in a fallen world gripped by sin. The good news is, God may not have created the storm, but He can certainly take what the enemy meant to destroy you and make it a platform for you to stand upon, undefeated, to declare the His glory.

In order for it to be well with your soul, your soul must first be healthy. So how do we achieve that? I’m glad you asked! Accessing your direct line to the peace of God is vital to a healthy soul. The Bible speaks so many truths pertaining to the peace that accompanies God. Philippians 4:7 states, “And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, shall keep your hearts, your minds through Christ Jesus.” There is no natural way to keep your peace when all hell lets loose- but THANK GOD (literally) we may live in a natural world filled with a million anxiety triggers, but we have the ability to believe and function in the SUPERnatural. God knew exactly what we needed in this life, which is just one of many reasons He sent Jesus to the earth as a model for us. Jesus gave us multiple examples of what it looks like to have peace even in the chaos. He exemplified the attributes of having a soul that is well. He WAS peace. Because his soul was well, he changed the atmosphere just by walking into a room. He could walk into a chaotic situation, and suddenly it was still. Because His soul was well, his physical demeanor followed suit, and in turn, so did the atmosphere wherever He went.

Secondly, He allowed God to be God. If you can grasp the revelation that God is God, and you are not, you will be SO much better off. Who would want that responsibility anyway? You have to know that God is in control. He knows what He is doing. You have to come to the realization that it is not your responsibility to make it all happen- it is your responsibility to let God make it happen, and to open your ears and heart to what He would say to you and where He would lead you. Psalm 23:1 says “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” The reason for you not wanting anything is because your Shepherd already knows everything that you could possibly need and He is ready and willing to give it to you! Part of having a soul that is well is letting go and letting God! Trust Him- He will never fail you.

Communication with God is essential for maintaining the wellness of your soul. This is a two-part explanation. First- like my pastor always says- If you REVEAL it, God can HEAL it! God loves hearing from you. He loves listening to you. I am not a parent yet, but I am a child, and I know for a fact that I annoyed my parents more than once. But, our heavenly Father does not get annoyed with you talking to him- be it your needs and wants, or just conversation with Him. Too often we feel we are burdening God if we present our needs or talk to Him about our problems. Some of you were probably even told growing up that God is too busy with more important things to listen to you “complain”. Well, my friend, that couldn’t be further from the truth. His word would not tell us to cast our cares on Him (Ps. 55:22, I Peter 5:7) if He didn’t want to hear them and help you! God has also given people the gift of the ability to counsel those who are hurting. There is such a negative stigma towards counseling, and it is truly unfortunate. We are such a prideful people that we don’t feel we have license to not be okay. We have to be seen as “perfect” in the eyes of the world, and going to see a shrink must mean there is something wrong with us. But you are only as sick as your secret. I would love to take credit for that awesome revelation, but that belongs to Pastor Carl Lentz. Nevertheless, it’s a profound truth. If you continue to bury and make hidden every hurt, disappointment, frustration, need, want, or desire, it will being to manifest in your behaviour. Part of keeping your soul well is giving God the parts that aren’t.

The second part of this is what happens after the storm, once you’ve decided to ask God for the things He wants to give you and you get them. For most people, our prayer life is never better than when we are in need or when things are cray-cray. We’re like, “God, I need a new, higher paying job, a car, and a few husband prospects STAT!” or, “God, I need you to speak to all 67 of my unsaved family members in a way they understand so that they will be saved by the end of the year. M’kay? Thanks! Love Ya ;)” God, being the loving Father He is, gives us the desires of our heart all in the proper timing, but more often than not, as soon as we get those things, we revert back to maybe praying at church and, if we’re feeling super holy, over our meals, and that’s about it until the next storm. Now, there’s a few problems with operating this way, but a big one is, you get all of these things, and now you have new relationships to build, a new occupation to learn, a car that needs gas and maintenance, a romantic relationship to nurture and a decision to make on whether or not this is the right person for you, and a family of baby Christians to help teach and lead, and you decide to play God and leave Him out of the equation. Cuz you got this, right!? Wrong. Because, then we get mad when we become burnt out, bitter, and back at square one! We are a funny people, aren’t we. The Bible is very clear on how to find rest and sustain it. Matthew 11:28-30 tells us, “28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” It also says in Psalms 55:22, “Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you;” As it turns out, the secret to keeping your soul well is not so secret after all. You have to give it to God! And, in order for you to give it to God and for God to sustain you, you have to be in communication with Him! When you have an open line of communication with the Father, He is able to dispatch His Holy Spirit to help you and His angels to protect you. This doesn’t just mean praying here and there once or twice a week- it means being in your Word. If you want to hear what God has to say to you, you’re in luck- there’s a 66 chapter book chock full of His logos words for your life! It means going to church, building relationship with your fellow sheep, and being an active participant in corporate worship, even when you don’t feel like it! Some of the greatest breakthrough comes from pushing through your emotional and physical comfort to connect with the supernatural. Do not disconnect from the source of divine rest for your weary soul (another nugget from Mr. Lentz).

It is possible for it to be well with your soul, even when it is not well with your world. You cannot allow yourself to become a victim of your circumstances. Trust me, I know just how crazy life can be. The enemy is no respecter of persons- his mission is to steal, kill, and destroy anything our God gives us. That includes our peace. But, our Jesus didn’t give His life freely for you to go and live in a constant cycle with the same outcome of a tired and worn out mind, body, and soul. He did it for you to be more than a conqueror, to have the best life possible here on earth because of the beautiful bridge between heaven and earth He created. There comes a point in life where you have to make the conscious effort to say “It IS well!”, even if it’s not. This world is in a very negative state, and if you do not know the worth of your soul, the world will be the first to place a false, cheapened value on it. When your soul is well, nothing negative can stick. Remember that saying “I am rubber you are glue, whatever bounces off of me, sticks to you”? Imagine your healthy soul as rubber and the enemy as glue. When your soul is well, whatever the enemy throws at you bounces off of you and sticks right back onto him. When was the last time you checked up on your soul? Maybe it’s time to start working your way to a healthy soul. That may look different for each of you, but I encourage you- never be ashamed to reach out for help. Sometimes it just takes talking to someone. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in the right direction. If you feel led to go to counseling, do it! It doesn’t mean you’re crazy- it means you’re human. Make sure THE counselor is in on it too. God is the ultimate counselor, and He wants to listen because He loves you more than you will ever know. I definitely do not have it all figured out, but I am here for you, as well. Day or night, call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me! My prayer for you today is that the peace of God- the peace that passes all understanding; the peace that allows parents who have lost everything to rejoice- would flood your heart, mind and soul. I pray it is well with your soul.

XOXO

ELK

What’s Love Got to do with It

Love is an amazing, beautiful, wonderful, mysterious, adventurous thing. It instantly changes an atmosphere. It creates a safe space and a warmth. It births intimacy, both physically and emotionally. Love is empowering- when you know you are loved, you feel as if anything is possible. You feel strong and beautiful and at peace. Love means trust. I honestly don’t think you can have love and not have trust. When you love someone, you will go to the ends of the earth to make sure they are taken care of- that they have everything they need and that they are safe. When someone you love is happy, it makes you happy. When they are hurting, you hurt. When they are sad, you feel sad. When they are angry, part of you feels angry as well. There is such a special bond between people who love each other- be it family, friends, or lovers. Growing up, I loved love. I could sit and watch romantic movies or read romantic books till the cows came home. It was just so beautiful to me. I loved the feeling I got from seeing two people so in love that they would do anything for each other. I loved seeing real life love, too. I had and continue to have a beautiful example of love between my parents and grandparents. I loved seeing couples interact with one another. Seeing true friendships with a foundation of love made my heart happy. Watching a parent’s unwavering love for their child warmed my heart. As I’ve grown older and become married myself, I, too, have been able to experience the wonder that is love. It’s hard to think of a love greater than the love I have for my husband. But I know it’s out there. In fact, I get to experience it every day.

See, when I think of how much I love my family and my husband, and how much I am loved by them, I can’t help but think of how much more God loves me. The love between God and his children is the greatest love story of all. Even when we go back to the old testament, before grace replaced the law, we see His love for us. We see it in His creating Adam and Eve. Again in his warning to Noah, and the promise He made after the flood. Abraham experienced it with the birth of Isaac. Moses saw it time and time again, even in the wilderness. David saw the love of God at every turn in his life, from shepherding as a young boy to being king of Israel. Daniel saw it when he was delivered from the lion’s den, and Jonah from the belly of the whale. Then we move on to the New Testament, and right off the bat, God gives us the greatest show of His love this world will ever experience. He loved us so much that he sent His only Son to endure all of the sin that had ever been and will ever be, and to die on the cross for us. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we get to experience an abundant, grace filled, love filled, everlasting life! How crazy a love is that!? We not only get the amazing examples of love that the Bible gives us through the old testament and the new testament in Jesus, and Paul, and Silas, and Timothy, and John, and all of the miracles that Jesus performed, but we get to experience this love and greater on a daily basis. Every second of every day is filled with the extravagant, unending, unwavering, love of God.

Even more so, when we think of the effects of our love on other people’s lives or vice versa, how much greater, then, is the effect of God’s love in and through our lives? God’s love is what raises the dead to life. It heals the sick and broken. It brings joy and peace and strength and healing, and salvation. In His love we find hope, and vision, and restoration. When being examples of God’s love becomes our sole ambition, we become unstoppable. As a result, when we offer ourselves to be the vessels and conduits of God’s love on the earth, we possess the power to change atmospheres through the power of His love.

Why then, do we feel we have the right to disregard this love? We fear things and become anxious as if God isn’t in control. We become depressed as if we don’t have an unending supply of joy. We feel alone as if we don’t have the Holy Spirit that sticks closer than a brother. We act out in anger as if Jesus isn’t our peace. We mistreat others as if God hasn’t called us to love one another. Worst of all, we become prideful and think we can do this thing by ourselves, when in reality, we desperately need the love, grace, joy, and peace of God. Can you imagine what we would accomplish as a church if we fully grasped the concept of God’s love for us? We would be able to set aside our selfishness and our prideful ambition, and fully chase after the things of God. I believe our generation is one encounter with God’s love away from a total and complete reckless abandon of our selfish ambition and prideful ways. We are one encounter away from an abandonment of our own wills and saying, “God, I don’t care what it looks like, or where you take me, or what I have to go through.” This is because we know that our God’s love is so vast and beautiful that it will carry us through even the darkest and lowest places. Our revelation of God’s love is so very crucial. It is the key to unleashing Heaven on earth. Our being yielded to God’s love is the key to His Kingdom come, and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Today I would encourage you to take a look at your life. Look at the people you come in contact with and influence. I don’t care if it’s for 5 minutes on the bus or train, or if it’s someone you live with. Analyze your interactions with them- have you really been showing the love of God? Trust me, I know this can be difficult, because life isn’t all cotton candy and gumdrops. People can be mean and nasty, and you don’t always want to show them the love. But ask yourself, what do you stand to lose by loving people? I can guarantee it’s nowhere near what you have to gain.

XOXO

ELK