Pray Without Ceasing

             Hey everyone! I hope you guys have been having a good week and a great Sunday! Over the past few days God has really placed the meaning of prayer on my heart.The testing of  my faith and willingness to pray and let God take control has really come into play this week and I believe that I've really grown in my walk of prayer just over the past two days. Life is hard. That's something we all know. But Jesus never once told us that it would be easy. As a matter of fact in Matthew 16:24 He says "If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [ disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if needed be, in dying also]." Doing this is not easy. Denying yourself each day and taking up the cross is one of the hardest things there can be to do. But we have hope. Right before Jesus was arrested to be crucified He prayed. He went aside by himself and cried out to God. "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." (Matthew 26:42) Before praying he said to His disciples "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death..."(Matthew 24:38). Doesn't this sound like us sometimes.? We can become so overwhelmed and burdened with sadness that we become hopeless.  Before taking up the cross Jesus himself prayed seeking peace and guidance in such a dark time. He was burdened and in anguish so He prayed. What does this tell us? We are supposed to imitate Christ and if Jesus the very person who wiped away all of our sin and shame got down on His knees and cried out to God for help then we to should do the same. Taking up the cross is a big deal and there will be times when it feels impossible to do. That is why we must pray.   Knowing that we have been asked to take up the cross, which is a task far to impossible for us to do on our own, we must pray asking God to help us throughout our day. So my challenge to you today is to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) know that your prayers are powerful and effective and that God is listening and will provide all that you need and ask for. My prayer for everyone that reads this post today is that "The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13  

Love,

Sofia

Bethany Hamilton speaking event!

Hey guys! So eight days ago I got to see Bethany Hamilton and her husband speak! I know I'm late blogging about it, but better late than never. Anyways last Sunday my youth group and I went down to Cocoa Beach to see Bethany speak at a church youth group service. It all started about four weeks ago when me and my mom were on our way to my brothers football game. As she was driving we passed a church and my mom said "Sofia, that church sign just said something about Britney Hamilton, Soul Surfer." I then corrected her saying it's "Bethany mom." and then slowly started to freak out. Bethany Hamilton! What? I made her turn the car around so I could make sure she wasn't just seeing things, and it turns out she wasn't. I couldn't believe it. Just a few days ago I had been on Bethany's website looking at a poster to buy and I just casually said " God it would be so awesome if I could meet her or see her speak somewhere." Now the opportunity was lying right before me! For those of you who don't know I'm a huge fan of Bethany. So this was a gift straight from God. I was in such awe at that moment. I never really actually thought that I was going to meet Bethany when I said those words to God but look what happened? Through this God has taught me a huge lesson, nothing at all is to big of a request or dream for Him to make happen or come true. Can I just first say it was one of the top coolest experiences of my life. She of course shared her famous story of loosing her arm, she talked about surfing and her love for God and the amazing things He has done for her life. She then went into other awesome things like saving yourself for marriage, true beauty, and finding hope in God even when life isn't so great. It was amazing, and then to top it all off, her husband Adam came up and spoke. That was awesome. He talked about his past and the struggles he went through. He also talked about how he met Bethany and the importance of having Jesus in the center of a relationship. It was such a nurturing message and so inspiring to see two young people who are so in love with each other but also so in love with Jesus. They break the worlds view of relationship and live out God's view of relationships. I was so extremely blessed to have experienced this. I give God all of the glory for blessing my life with such an incredible gift. My encouragement to you is never doubt! Know that God is listening even when you might not think so and that He is ready to make your wildest dreams come true! Nothing is impossible for Him. 

Bethany and her husband! (They were so cute)

       
     
 Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.” Mark 9:23(MSG)
                             

Top of the Day.

Hey guys! I hope everyone is doing well. Today's post is all about this wonderful striped peplum shirt I got at Forever 21. I love everything about it. The tank top style, peplum fit, black and white stripes, and the cute back design make this top great. Not only to mention that it was six dollars! This top is eye catching so pairing it with something simple like jeans and sandals is my favorite way of styling it. Enjoy!

Love,

Sofia

Oceans

Hey everyone! So I was introduced to an absolutely beautiful song over the weekend. I was just listening to Pandora and all of a sudden it comes on and I was like "woah this is powerful." The song is Oceans by Hillsong United and it is so uplifting! If you haven't heard it, go listen to it now. Anyways I love the part of the song that is placed in the picture above. It really got me thinking about my own life and how I trust God. When we allow our trust in God to be without borders amazing things begin to happen.By putting complete trust in God we open the doors for Him to do amazing things with our lives.  God will lead you places that you never thought you could go. I look at my life and see the places God has taken me, the people I have met, and the things that I have  gotten to do and will be getting to do in the future. I realize that these things happened because, by the help of the Holy Spirit, I knocked down the walls that I limited my faith too. We can't put a rope around our trust in God. We have to trust Him more than we trust anything. It's so important to remember that God is our creator and He knows what our future holds. He designed everything in us and about us. Obviously He knows what's best for us, and when you allow that mindset to take control of your life you will find yourself trying to catch your breath at the beauty of what God is doing with your life.  God calls us to go out on a limb, out unto the unknown where we may become scared of what's to come but like this lovely song says, You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand
When we go out into the deep not only will we find God there but He will carry us into something extraordinary. My encouragement for you today is to throw away the fear that is holding you back from the amazing life God has laid out for you. Pray that God will help you step out of bondage and into His marvelous light. Open your heart to the Lord and He will give you more than you could ever imagine.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. - Psalm 37:5-6

Shoes of the day.

 Hi guys,I hope everyone is doing fabulous! I had no intentions on taking pictures of anyone's shoes today for a post, but when I saw this amazing pair I couldn't help myself. I'm in love.Everything from the peep toe opening , high back, and the white flower make this shoe amazing. These shoes are the definition of classy and can be worn with something simple or something dressy. The best part, she got them at Dillard's for 10 dollars!  Thanks Jenna for wearing blog-worthy shoes.


Love,
      Sofia