Fully Submerged

During the last couple weeks I have really been working hard to keep a mind focused on prayer despite working these crazy work hours for the summertime! One thing that I have been reminded of a lot lately is to not get comfortable in the presence of God. We are each called to be more than ankle deep (or luke warm) in our walk with God.
We should constantly be surrounding ourselves with things that create a more spirit filled way of thinking so that we can continue to grow in our walk and put that way of thinking to work in prayer, in church, and in our everyday lives. We are constantly given opportunities to bring glory and victory to God! Whether it’s just lending a helping hand to a friend or coworker or speaking with someone about who Jesus Christ is! 

Now this also goes hand in hand with showing God’s love! Just as 1 John 3:17 says, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” As we work hard to grow in our walk with God we are placed around people to help encourage us and for us to encourage. We encourage by showing love and affection, as well as respect and integrity. I am so blessed with the people God surrounds me with because they encourage me when they see I’m doing good but they also aren’t afraid to speak up when they believe I’m doing something I shouldn’t be. God uses them to help me grow and make me a better person. 

My main point is that we need to surround ourselves with like minded people and strive to run at God with everything we can while living in a constant prayer state of mind! This is how we grow and eventually become fully submerged in The Holy Spirit! 

-Beki

Black Moutain 2016

Recently my boyfriend and I went to Black Mountain, North Carolina to celebrate our two year anniversary! It was a week full of adventure and excitement! (and most importantly, relaxation)

We stayed in a cabin on the KOA Campground between staying at his Sister’s house in Swannanoa. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. Camping is always such a relaxing, fun time for me. I’ve been camping since I was a young kid, but I had never stayed in a cabin before. It was still just a little too chilly for tent camping this early in spring!

Along with eating at every local restaurant we could, we also went hiking at Catawba Falls. It was simply beautiful and hard work! By the end of the three hour hike, my ankles were on fire.

I’m so blessed with a partner who supports me and loves living life the way I do! I couldn’t ask for a better best friend!

 

HITTING THE REFRESH BUTTON! (On my blog)

I guess it has become a trend for me to not keep up with this blog, but I have been spending a lot of time working and working at the church for our media team and youth group. With that being said, I have had nearly 5 months to think of new ideas and new experiences to tell you all about!

Before I dive back into my frequent posting I’ll catch you up on what I’ve been getting caught up in!

Now, in late December to the first week of January I was in Disney World with my family which was one of the best experiences ever! (Will have blog post up in a week or so).

Then I spent three months working very hard and just helping run media at my church! This is definitely my biggest passion and what I love putting all of my time and work into!

I also am in the process of beginning my own artistic photography business. We will be making short films and also photographing events for people! So with that I have been out taking way more pictures and doing some weddings and parties; I’m even working for an indie wrestling company which is absolutely a learning experience.

Finally, last week Andy and I went to Asheville, NC for a week to celebrate our two year anniversary! We went hiking at Catawba Falls and stayed in a cabin on a camoground. It was the perfect spring getaway! (Also a post coming soon).

So you got a peep at two upcoming posts, along with vegetarian recipes, weekly devotional posts, and a lot more adventuring and photos!! (Maybe even a brand new project!!)

I hope you’re as excited as I am!
♡ Beki

Life Breaking Through

I haven’t written in a long time (well at least not on WordPress). I have began a few new projects and got sort of wrapped up in how busy life has seemed to be. Well before I dive in to what I came to talk about I will give you a brief update on the mayhem!

 

I was water baptized for the second time. It was wonderful! I got a second job and have been doing Christmas photo shoots for families and couples I know. It’s been fun and a great learning experience. I’ve of course done plenty of photo shoots with friends and what not, but not in a formal posed setting. I have also been doing plenty of shooting for the church and editing. I believe I’m getting a lot better; I’m even venturing into video editing for our youth group! My family and I are leaving for Disney World on Christmas Day! And yes, there will definitely be a blog post. I have been writing through all the chaos, not blogging, but working on a novel (or novel idea). Other than this I haven’t done much more except I have been spending a lot more time with friends and my family which is absolutely wonderful. Last but not least, our church began a Welcome Team which I was approached to participate in and I am so glad for it. I don’t even complain about waking up thirty minutes early to stand outside and meet new people. It’s one of the most fun ministries I have served in and  it is most certainly one of the best things for our church in  my eyes. I cannot wait to see where we go with it!

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In all of my busy schedule in the last 2 months I’ve been forced to remember one very important thing: God makes all things new. He brings everything and everyone to life. We have life through him and that’s the thing to be most thankful for: Our everlasting life with God!

Sometimes I get in such a rush in life that I forget to slow down and enjoy each moment. I get anxious and stressed out when there is such a simple solution, prayer. I am learning to trust Him and let Him guide my decisions instead of trying so hard to figure out the best choice on my own.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

The bible says repeatedly that when we are saved, we are made new in Him. No matter what you have done or where you have been there is one thing that will always be guaranteed, our God is a forgiving, loving, merciful God. He created us and knows the mistakes we make. Yes it’s constantly repeated but it’s because it’s the greatest miracle the world has seen: He sent his one and only son to die for our sins. Jesus wore our cross on his back.

I wrote back in September, maybe, about Picking up our cross no matter how heavy and pursue Jesus with every might that we have! Matthew 16:24 states, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'” I know as well as anyone that it is not easy to just turn your back on your life, habits, and even friends. Some things aren’t as good for us as we want them to be and that’s a very hard lesson to learn. But with every want you lay down for the God you need there comes a sense of freedom and peace in your heart and life.

Just remember throughout your week that you have a God who doesn’t strike down, but a God who gives life to every person seeking him and brings joy to every moment.

Thrilled About God [part II]: Autumn Renewal

^{” 1}  How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
 ²  I long, yes, I faint with longing
to enter the courts of the LORD.
With my whole being, body and soul,
I will shout joyfully to the living God.
 ³  Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young
at a place near your altar,
O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
 ⁴  What joy for those who can live in your house,
always singing your praises.    Interlude

 ⁵  What joy for those whose strength comes from the LORD,
who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
 ⁶  When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, [6]
it will become a place of refreshing springs.
The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
 ⁷  They will continue to grow stronger,
and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.”

-Psalms 84:1-7

I wrote a couple weeks ago about being thrilled about God and I do not feel as I touched on that as much as I would have liked. This has been a thing on my mind for several weeks now and its something I feel I cannot shake.

Your relationship with God isn’t about simply getting to heaven. And I hear it all the time people talking about heaven and hell, which yes is a very serious thing, but I do not feel like it is the sole purpose of being a Christian. As a teenagers who attend to get their parents off their back or because it is something you “have” to do. I feel like very often this is what pushes so many youth away from the church. They see church as a chore and sometimes even a punishment! A relationship with God is not based on a set of rules or guidelines.

You can’t focus on rules,church, and religion. Our God is a pure, loving, compassionate, forgiving God; I think that is something to celebrate and adore! He has done absolutely everything for us.He is generous and kind.

As I have written about before I have been re-visiting all of my old prayer journals since the time I was saved in my freshmen year of high school to the present day! Today I found an entry from Oct. 13th, 2013 and it really seemed to correlate with everything on my mind lately so I decided to share it.

“God when we walk with you, I begin to get chills, I feel your presence and it thrills me to get a step closer to you and the goals you have set before me each and every day. I fall in love with you more and more each day; each time you help me out of an awful mood or help me appreciate how wonderful life is. I am stirred by how you continue to bless me even though I constantly feel as if I am failing you.”

I definitely can look bad and say that I meant every word. I am thankful for all God has done in my life and it encourages me to continue in his path and stay focused on Him always. I become more in love and more thrilled every morning that I wake up. My only objective is to show others that kind of relationship because it is incomparable.

xoxo,

Beki

Children of the World

I was so honored to see the Children of the World Choir minister at my church last night; it was a true blessing. It is an organization through World Help. Though they’ve been to my church before this was my first time seeing them and photographing them as well. It was an honor. Check on their website to see if they are coming to your church soon!

xoxo,

Beki

Thrilled About God

I’m constantly hearing my pastor, worship leader, and just people in my church saying “lift up a shout of praise to the Lord!” During worship I see people jumping, dancing, and truly making some pretty awesome noise for the Lord. I’ve learned that as a follower of Christ, the best thing you can be is thrilled about God.

I have seen it happen many times; kids come home from church camp or a conference and they’re on fire for God. It lasts for a couple weeks or months for some and then that flame is blown out like a lantern without oil. I’ll let you in on a little secret: the oil is being thrilled for Him. Being excited about God, about your friendship with our Savior, about your relationship with our Father. We get so wrapped up and focused on all the “rules” and “requirements” that being a Christian calls for that we become a religious group rather than a body of Christ.

Don’t get me wrong, turning your life to God calls for a special will strength to leave behind the worldly things that consume your thoughts and replacing them with positive, Godly thoughts. It is just much more easier when you remember how wonderful and glorious He truly is. It’s exciting news. It’s the good news!

So today, rejoice and praise Him. & Tell someone how Thrilled about God you are!

A Break Does a Working Mind Well

I haven’t posted in a week due to some serious adventuring. From walks downtown to go cart racing in Myrtle Beach, its been a good couple of days off! Here’s some pictures I’ve snapped over the last three days.

xoxo, Beki

Bible Verse of the Week!

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
Matthew 5:23-26 NIV

xoxo, Beki

Taking Up Our Cross

I do not remember where I got this book, but I got it four years ago. It is called “A Call to Die” by David Nasser. It is a forty day fast to rid your life of selfish habits and focus on God. I began it when I was fifteen in the tenth grade. Of course since I am the disorganized, lazy, mess I am I never finished it. I do not even believe I got half way through.

Today, I re-dedicated myself to it to see where it could take me and what it could teach me! I will also compare my reflections on each day to my fifteen year old self’s answer. Day one is called “Take Up Your Cross” (hence the title of this post). It was a simple, yet powerful lesson on Jesus truly meant when he asked us to take up our cross and follow him [Matthew 16:24] and all I can say is WOW!

Since the sole purpose of the book is to teach people why it is so important for us to give up our selfish desires and serve, it only seemed like the perfect fit to describe how extremely intense Jesus was. David Nasser explains that a cross is not just a necklace or something hanging on your living room wall. The cross was one of the most excruciating, painful punishments, saved for the lowest of lows during this time. So we can only imagine what Christ’s disciples thought when Jesus said to pick up their crosses. They thought he was nuts!! But Jesus knew that whatever God had called him to do had to be done. He had to give up comfort and acceptance. Something we are faced with every day; we choose whether or not we decide to say yes or no to the selfish desire to be comfortable and accepted in our life.

David lets us in a little secret about our walk with God: Our obedience is worth it.

It was very interesting to see how drastically different my reflections were on just day one. My favorite one was the question asking you to describe the benefits of denying yourself and taking up your cross to follow Jesus! Let me tell you; fifteen year old me was very wise compared to nineteen year old me.

My answer then: “The number one benefit is eternity with our Savior Christ Jesus! By following him, others will follow you, and by following you they will be led to him!” 

My answer now is definitely along the same lines, but not quite as simple I believe. I find that the many benefits of denying yourself and taking up your cross to follow Jesus all boils now to one thing everyone is searching for: happiness.

I’ve struggled for so long wondering why I wasn’t good enough, why I didn’t fit in, or why I was always at home crying, depressed, and all alone every night. With God in my life, mind and heart I feel an all consuming joy washed over me. It doesn’t last twenty minutes and fade away like smoking does. It constantly refreshes itself and I am always reminded of the many reasons I have to be blissful and happy. God brings joy to my life like nothing I’ve ever experienced. He reminds me that living a life for him is the only way to live a life for myself!

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24]