Christian Confidence on Campus

Whether you've been following my blog for a while now or are a new visitor, my goal of this blog is to encourage those in their walk of faith throughout young adult life in college. I'm thankful for readers who are Christian and Non-Christian but today I want to walk through something for those questioning their faith and exploring Christianity. Via Unsplash.com As I've mentioned in a previous blog post about my testimony (if you haven't read it, you can do so  here ) accepting Christ into my life has been the best decision I ever made. This is not because life has been all grand and nothing has gone wrong in the past year, but because even through the hard times I have a living and faithful hope. This message is for everyone, everyone needs to hear that Jesus died for you and me and is calling you into a relationship with Him. When I realized I needed Christ Via Unsplash.com When I came to the end of myself realizing that my life had been dragged down by...

Me with my own Bible With our world changing, there is a lot of uncertainty and confusion about what life after the coronavirus could possibly look like. I want to encourage you today knowing that while this is crazy for us, God is still in control and has this planned out for His good. Here are some Bible verses that have been encouraging me during this time: Philippians 4:4-7 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14 "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upw...

I was raised in a Christian household and grew up going to church. Being homeschooled most of my life, I loved church because I got to be with friends and hang out for a couple hours with people. Once middle school came, I went to a public school. I was the awkward new girl but still managed to make great friends that I still connect with to this day. Going into high school is when I started losing sight of a faith I thought I had. I started focusing more on the drama in my friend group, fun extracurricular activities like theater, my job, and eventually my boyfriend. I still identified as a Christian and went to church and even Christian clubs, but I never connected with any leaders. During this time church and clubs became more of a social entertainment for me.  Intervaristy Urbana 18 Conference  When I had to choose a college, I decided I wanted to pursue a degree in fashion which was a big interest of mine. I chose to go to Stevenson University due to my own pa...

Studying the Bible can be difficult and confusing, especially if you're new to reading the Bible. Here are some resources that have helped me out in learning more about the context of what is in the Bible. Via Unsplash.com Small Group  I am so thankful for Zoom and the ability for my small group from school to still be able to meet every Monday night. Bible study/small group may sound super boring and just like a school class for some, but it's the best hour and a half of the week for me. In my small group this semester, we are going through the gospel of Mark and learning more about how Jesus lived and walked on the earth years ago.  Regardless of your education and which college you attend, I'd love to invite you to my small group on Monday nights from 7-8:30pm on Zoom. The small group is hosted by United Church in the Owings Mills community. Leave a comment if you're interested in hearing more! Bible Project Logo The Bible Project Before I ope...

With a lot of time on my hands at home now, I've been getting way too much screen time. I decided to download some Christian apps I've never heard about to test them out and see if they helped my devotion time and encourage me throughout the day. Echo App The first app I downloaded is called Echo Purpose: Prayer journal Features: Pray with small groups, follow your church's feed or join any prayer chain, share prayers Available on: App store and Google Play Price: Free Review: I usually get so distracted when praying and it's hard to stay focused. After I added all my prayers to my journal, all I had to do was click "pray now". All of my requests came up and I got to pray for everything I had listed. I also got to set reminders and get push notifications for when I should take a minute to pause and pray.  Overall: 5/5 She Reads Truth App The second app I downloaded is called She Reads Truth Purpose: Devotions and wallpaper...

It is safe for me to assume that a lot of our college careers have been cut short from in-person classes and on-campus housing, to online school. It may be for some time or the whole semester, but not a lot of us are able to be on our college campuses right now. Via Unsplash.com I struggled with this a lot and found out 2 ugly truths about myself: 1) I take a lot of things for granted 2) I am very selfish It's true that I never realized what I took for granted until its gone. My relationships like my best friends and being able to see them every day. Seeing my professors and being able to ask them questions in person. Places like my comfy dorm room. The coffee house. The gym. My on campus job. I've discovered a new deep appreciation for all these relationships and places and opportunities and have learned that everything I love could be taken away in an instant. I've also realized I've done more complaining and wallowing in sadness in this season then any ...

Out of all genres, it’s different for me to answer the question “What kind of music do you listen to?”. Because for me, 90% of the music I listen to is Christian music. Okay hear me out. Christian music- it’s not boring! There’s so many kinds: rap, worship, contemporary, gospel, etc. My favorite type? Well, it varies.  Christian rap When I'm at the gym working out and running 3 days a week there's no better motivation then listening to Christian rap artists. Blasting rap that is speaking truth from the Bible is the best type of motivation I need when enduring a hard workout. I also work at a Christian summer camp all summer long where we dance to Church Clap by KB and Lacrae. It keeps the mood uplifting and entertaining. Playing paintball and arrow tag with Mineo blasting in your ears is hype- teens and counselors love it.  Via Unsplash.com Rap artists: Lacrae  Andy Mineo Trip Lee KB Tedashii Social Club Misfits Top 3 Favorite songs: "No Ch...

Loving others is easier said then done, especially loving others who have hurt you in your life. I have been put to the test throughout my college life so far about loving people who have hurt me and it is still an ongoing lesson I'll be learning the rest of my life. Via Unsplash.com Realizing the Hurt Hurting because of the actions of others is hard. I have been hurt by friends and family members within the past 8 months of my life. There have been situations where conflict comes up, I have said harsh words, and ended relationships. I have been so full of feelings of being let down, not feeling good enough, and being judged.  How to Deal with the Hurt  The hardest part of the process of hurting is knowing how to deal with it. How individuals deal with hurt is different across the board, however, one thing is true- we need to go about handling our hurt in a healthy way. It is clear that mental illness is rampant throughout children, teens, and young adults. We n...

Via Unsplash.com This Sunday at my church we had a guest speaker who talked about community and how vital it is for Christians to be living together in love and harmony with one another. In Acts 4, Peter and John (two of Jesus' disciples) are thrown in prison for healing a man in the name of Jesus. The rulers let them go but warned them not to speak of Jesus publicly ever again. I'm so glad Peter and John didn't listen to them. Instead, after they got out, they went to their friends house and gathered everyone to tell what happened. The friends prayed together for boldness to continue preaching their faith under pressure. Acts 4:31 says, "And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shake, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness" ESV.  Boldness was a word I was repeating constantly in my prayers at the beginning of 2020. The word kept popping up and making me...

College life is a long hard struggle that comes with discouragement and trials. In the Bible, God speaks on many situations college students encounter.  Self-Esteem Psalm 139:14 "I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well" NIV. It's so amazing to find your identity in who Christ says we are, He says we are wonderfully made, good, perfect, beloved, children of Him and every day we should rest in knowing who God says we are, not what the world says we are.  Hardships Zephaniah 3:17 "For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs" NLT.  This verse puts me in awe of God. He is not only living among me, but he takes delight in me, calms my fears, and rejoices over me? Wow. The God of the universe in all his holiness. He's here for you too and w...