Abide in his love always.

My heart has been in such a different place this semester. I think part of it is because there is a lot of changes coming in the next few months. Along with Graduation and ending my time as a leader, I am officially moving to a Young Life Camp, Crooked Creek Ranch, for a year long internship in August! God has honestly made the transition an easy one, and I'm excited for this next year of life serving God in a community of believers at one of my favorite places in the world.
With all that said, I have found myself treating life a little differently. I have had trouble with trusting the Lord with ending commitments and starting new ones. I have found myself at times so afraid of change. Because of that, I have become less vulnerable with not only my friends, but also with Christ. I have been less willing to be real with myself.

But God is so good because he has revealed so so much to me in the past few weeks. The beauty of Christ and his grace is that a relationship with him brings freedom. "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 We are suppose to feel free from the burdens that come with being apart of this sinful world. Christ has BOUGHT us that. It's the very heart of the entire Gospel! We are suppose to walk in freedom and faith by living in the light of the Spirit's work and not rely on our good works. Sometimes I wanted so badly to be selfish, to not commit to something that requires so much energy, so much time. However, with our constant pursuit of Christ, we are FREED from feeling that selfishness. We will gratefully obey him and his plans for our lives. We must keep pursuing him, through change and through transformation.
 - Christ has set us free from the law. we have been freed. Rejoice!

Jesus has also called us to abide in his love. Sometimes I am so doubtful of myself, especially in this time ending my ministry at Red Bank High School, that I didn't do enough and that I didn't fulfill what I thought was my purpose there. These lies were because of Satan, and him making feel like since I haven't seen his fruit, I have failed. But God, through his word, has reassured me! Our fruitfulness is assured. The vine that we are connected to, Christ, guarantees us that we will produce fruit, no matter if we see it or not. Now, knowing Christ, we were created to bear fruit. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10) ALL of this comes from simply abiding in his love. " I am the vine, and you are the branches, if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Submit to him. Let him take control. Simply ABIDE. His fruitfulness is ours!
 -Rest here. Endure here. Remain here. Abide.

Thanks to all who have supported me throughout this entire year, financially, prayerfully, and by just being a continued encouraging presence in my life. I am so excited to see how God uses this past year's experiences to prepare me for my year as a year-long Intern.