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The death toll after Hurricane Matthew ripped through rises in Haiti, now up to almost 850 people, I couldn't sit idly by and not help in some way anymore. My home town of Jacksonville saw real devastation as well during this hurricane. I feel that Haiti, after taking such a hit in 2010 and barely having been able to recover from that after 7 years needs my help more so. I hope to be able to make a mission trip to Haiti on my own dime, but until then I am raising money to donate directly to Hope for Haiti. They are putting together emergency buckets containing lifesaving supplies that families need immediately, including water purification tablets, matches, soap, and meal packets.
The Lord calls us to love one another and to help each other. Luke 3:10-11 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?" And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise." I have set up a GOFUNDME account (Link HERE) to try and raise 5,000$ for those who suffered in Haiti because of Hurricane Matthew. It doesn't seem like much but at this point, anything can help. So if you are willing and able, please donate! If you don't want to donate to the gofundme and want to donate directly to Hope for Haiti, the link is HERE. God Bless! XOXO A Nerd in Pearls
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It's crazy how it is so easy to get wrapped up in life. I love to pack my days full with work, school, friends, reality tv, blogging, social media, etc. Yet I sometimes can't even manage to say a 15 minute prayer without falling asleep before I can say amen. I started this page on my blog not only as a sharing tool for all of you but also as an accountability tool for myself. I have had so much to write and say about what I've learned but I couldn't "find the time." Big lie to myself.
It may sound as if I am beating myself up... well I am LOL. I just found out that I missed a very important email with a great opportunity and I started to pray and ask God that if it is his will that it could possibly work itself out in my favor. I stopped myself mid prayer because I realized it was the first time I had prayed all day and of course it was me asking something of Him. From what I have learned, a relationship with God is a two way street. In Him you can do all but that is not without effort on your part. At work, I am organizing a bi-weekly newsletter for all of the interns where we can showcase our writing and our jobs and ultimately let upper management get to know us all a little better.. (all while putting faces to the names) #networking. I asked one of my fellow coworkers to write an article on time management, something we could all use more advice on. As I was editing it today, one of her tips was so simple yet so profound. Write down your tasks in a planner and actually block out the time.... I mean HELLOOOO why didn't I think of that?! I usually buy the planners that just have the month calendars so I am going to buy one tomorrow that counts day by day; hour by hour. I am going to "block out" my time with God, that way I cannot be convinced by the enemy that I am too busy. That way I do not find myself mid prayer feeling extremely selfish or privileged. Well that is enough self shaming and lessons learned for one night HAHA! I hope you all have a blessed weekend! xoxo A Nerd in Pearls I was raised in the church. My Pre-K classes were actually at our church and throughout junior high and high school I attended the same one. Knowing the same congregation for years, it was easy to walk in to the sanctuary with confidence.
During my years at college, because I'm in a new city, it has been a struggle to find a church home. A lot of churches now a days are what we like to call "mega-churches" i.e. churches that use ATMs to tithe or ones that have name brand coffee chains built into them. The music is usually amazing at these churches, but that isn't the most important thing. Being fed by the word and leaving Sunday service feeling like I've learned something is the most important. My recommendations to make this process more comfortable is to invite a friend with you for the first visit! That is always more comforting. Also, if you are settled into a church don't be afraid to be the person to walk across the room and introduce yourself to the person who is standing by themselves during the "welcome." (And don't force the conversation!!! I had an experience one time where I went by myself to a service and during the welcome part, the guy standing next to me introduced himself and then looked pained as he was trying to come up with talking points... I was doing my best as well but it just wasn't flowing. I ended the conversation by saying "Nice to meet you" and then stood next to him in silence for the remaining 5 minutes) LOL that was an example of what NOT to do 😂 If you can't think of anything to say, some of my go to questions would be to ask how they heard of the church, what they do for a living or where had they previously been attending (if they say they haven't been to church in a while don't get the typical judgy look in your eyes but instead tell them you hope they enjoy the service enough to come back!) Rambling aside, walking into a new church can be a little intimidating when instead it should feel like you're walking into the safest place on Earth. It is the Lords bride. I've had to learn to enjoy that and get past the awkward conversations and when I did, I finally found my new church home! Have a wonderful Sunday!! xoxo A Nerd in Pearls The new age relationship can be an extremely difficult thing to navigate. Especially as a Christian. Today's relationship is centered around appearance or how someone can make you "feel" as opposed to the important characteristics of a person mattering.
I have personally struggled with relationships since I was 16 years old. I fell into the trap of the new age relationship and was always left feeling empty, unloved and unworthy. So, I recently began doing a lot of research on love and marriage to understand what I need to be looking for in a man and what I need to be as a woman for him. Thankfully a friend of mine sent me a Youtube series that changed my entire perspective on relationships. Pastor Voddie Baucham gives it to everyone straight and his content is so incredible I have created a list of the most important concepts from the entire four part series. (Youtube content linked HERE) - Love is an act of will accompanied by emotion - The purpose for marriage is to have babies and to raise them to be warriors in faith and to also be a living representation of Christ's marriage to the Church. - Marry a believer of God. - Babies are good!!! - The man should lead in love. - The man should lead in the Word. -The man should lead in righteousness. -The man should lead in selflessness. - The man should lead in intimacy. - The woman should be submissive to the Lord. - The woman should be submissive to her father. - The woman should be submissive to her husband. - The woman should submit to the biblical picture of marriage. I was in sync with Voddie up until he started discussing how a woman should be submissive. Of course it is easier to talk about all the things men do wrong but looking internally at myself I found that I am extremely unsubmissive. I like to lead, I like to control and I hate being told what to do. Now as I recognize this, I feel as if God is working on my spirit and pointing out to me what I need to change. Some scripture that explains that being submissive does not mean you need to lose your sparkle or your spunk is Proverbs 31:10-31. It just means that putting your husband above you and respecting his leadership is vital to a successful marriage. As, "anything with two heads is a monster." I'm sure I will address this topic again and again as I grow and learn more about relationships but for now I hope you all can watch that series and have a blessed week! xoxo A nerd in Pearls  As I know we are all familiar with what a receipt looks like, there has never been one that stands out more to me than the one pictured above. Why? Because if you look closely you will see that it is a receipt for Eternal life. The debt has been paid. I didn't pay this bill the costs are way too extreme.... And that is coming from someone willing to spend A LOT of money on a pair of shoes. Thankfully, Jesus Christ paid for me.
We hear the same story ever Easter and sometimes I replay the story for others if I am witnessing to them but to this day it still brings tears to my eyes to think about how I could be worth all of that. A man who could bleed and feel pain and love was betrayed, nailed to a cross, ridiculed and unjustly beaten. Even during these horrible events Jesus looked to the Heavens and asked his father to forgive them. If that right there doesn't explain the mercy of our Lord then I don't know what does. Again I ask myself... How am I, a sometimes spoiled 21 year old filled with sin and self righteousness, be worth this large of a payment? The answer is simple: because we are the Lord's children and he loves us so unconditionally and wholeheartedly that he would allow his only son to die for us. If that's where the story ended we would all be in serious trouble. Thankfully it continues! After the Lord was buried in the tomb and all thought he was gone for good, He rose again and defeated death! Death has forever lost its sting because now we get to share in everlasting life with our King!! It gives me goosebumps thinking about it❤️ I hope all of you have a gorgeous Easter Sunday spent with family and loved ones! Celebrate how great it is that He is Risen! Kari Jobe - Forever Forever he is glorified Forever he is lifted high Forever he is risen He is alive, He is alive! Everyone knows that death is inevitable. No one will escape it. Even our Lord and Savior had to face death... Granted he beat death but that is another blog post entirely (#Easter #spoileralert).
My grandmother has lived a long and full life filled with children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She reveled in the fact that she had a giant family, especially around Christmas! She would plan all year for Christmas... Literally ALL YEAR, it was crazy but amazing. She has been living with Cancer, Dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's for a few years now and let me tell you, this woman grabs life by the shirt collar and holds on tight. I've never met another person with such a desire to live and I am proud to be her granddaughter. She has not passed yet, praise God, but as I stated before it is inevitable. This post is obviously dedicated to her but also to everyone who has accepted the Lord later in their lives and anyone who will in the future accept Him. At the age of 86 my grandmother finally accepted God into her heart and wanted him to lead her life. She wasn't close to death and she had believed all her life that he was real but something clicked after all that time and she finally understood His love. Everyone is welcome in the Kingdom of Heaven. EVERYONE. We are all worthy because we are all God's children. We all sin equally (I've definitely said a bad word a time or two) and we can all be forgiven. Don't give up your journey with God even during the toughest of moments. Even as our family is struggling with knowing the fact that she won't be here for much longer, we know where she will end up and that is the most comforting gift we could ever be given. Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. Revelation 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will have supper with him, and he with me. Yes this is a fashion blog first and foremost. BUT... I am a Christian and a God loving woman before all of that. I work/live/study in a world that believes in evolution and that the Bible is fiction and I would be lying if I said that didn't get to me. I have to constantly remind myself and read the word to keep my faith strong.
I went through an extremely difficult break up with the man I thought I was going to marry...God clearly knew better. I felt so far from Him and knew that I needed to fix my focus on God and fix it soon. I was so excited to be given a daily devotional for Christmas. It was the type that I could write in too and as an engineer that makes it easier for me to study and dive in. The devotional touched on topics that really hit home like anxiety and worrying about the future. I am graduating college in December, working on applications, trying to raise my GPA, working 25 hours a week, and trying to figure out "what I want to do with my life"... Needless to say I'm in a constant state of worry and anxiety. Or I was... Until I laid it all down at the foot of the cross. I am writing this new section of my blog because I know that I am not the only one that has a busy schedule, anxiety or worry. I turn to my faith in all times. I want to share my journey with God with everyone because I am still learning. This is for all people, believers/non-believers/those who are looking for something that's missing. I am not preaching, I will not preach but I will discuss anything I learn about my faith or any tribulations I overcome. Feel free to follow along or to continue to just follow my fashion journey!! I love you all either way❤️ |
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