Weekly Round Up
Weekly Round Up
Hello everybody!!!!
It’s Saturday again and I’m ready for REST. This week was full and wonderful and weirdly long. I think short weeks are always that way aren’t they?
Ok, honestly hour. You guys know I’m big on transparency over here so here we go. This week I had my first ever real deal Instagram hater. I’ve had weird spam accounts and nasty comments before, but this was just a regular person who had a real problem with me and my page. And here’s the deal, I always thought that when I got my first hater I wouldn’t care, I’d brush it off and move on because I do have pretty thick skin and I’m pretty strong. But the messages came at the worst possible time. I was exhausted, I had been working on the blog for hours, and I had this little glimmer of doubt in my mind about whether or not all my hard work was even worth it. And then. Bam. Right in that moment the really mean DMs started flowing and I just felt defeated. I felt discouraged on all levels and I was tempted to put it all down and walk away.
But, here’s what I did instead. I opened up my Bible. I read and felt my heart lifted. And then I prayed, “God if I’m doing what you want me to do, please make it super clear to me. I only want this if it’s what you want.” And He did. He always does. He showed me His faithfulness every single day this week and confirmed all the things He is doing in my heart. He gave me a fresh excitement to be on here sharing with you.
And now, for our weekly round up of encouragement I am going to share all the ways He lifted my heart this week. My hope in sharing these things is to encourage your heart in the same way mine was this week. So, without further ado, here are my 5 top encouragements from this week!
Matthew 28:18-20 this is the verse I opened up to right after I read those messages and I felt totally discouraged. This is what it says: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” This is one of those super humbling verses that reminds me how much all of this is NOT about me. Our job as believers is to MAKE DISCIPLES. And then, not worry about whether or not people hate us for it. In fact it’s a promise that they will sometimes. But it’s 100% worth it for the people who grab on to the good news and find hope and life in Jesus.
This quote from @lindsey.maestas on Instagram (go follow her) “If God is equipping you for something, and has called you to it for his glory, pursue it! The moment we allow fear to hold us back from making a move, the more we miss out on something that He is behind.” Basically exactly the words my heart needed exactly when I needed them. If God is for us who can be against us? The answer is nobody. The Lord’s plans for us are so much better and more beautiful than we could ever imagine and when He calls us to pursue something, we have to follow. Because we have no idea what kind of beauty He has in mind for us.
Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” It’s one that never gets old and never stops comforting my heart. Be strong and courageous. He will never ever leave.
This quote from Morning and Evening by C.H. Spurgeon “The smallest love toward God and the simplest act of obedience to Him are better than the most profound knowledge.” I think a lot of times we get it in our heads that we have to have it all together but the truth is, just having a simple and beautiful relationship with God is far better than any amount of knowledge and “togetherness” we could ever have.
Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot this book is one of my all time favorites, and one of the first I grab if I am feeling overwhelmed or anxious. I’ll share with you the particular quote that encouraged me this week. (“He” is referring to Jesus) “His was a quiet heart. We see Him move serenely through all the events of His life - when He was reviled He did not revile in return. When He knew that He would suffer many things and be killed in Jerusalem, He never deviated from His course. He set His face like flint. He sat at supper with one who would deny Him and another who would betray Him, yet He was able to eat with them, willing even to wash their feet. Jesus in the unbroken intimacy of His Father’s love, kept a quiet heart.” Hold on a second while I cry about this quote. Wow. So good. It’s unbelievable to me how I let myself get so caught up in the things that hurt me here on earth without looking up and realizing the gift I have been given. The life Jesus modeled for me is so beautiful. His love, patience, kindness, and goodness outweighs anything that I could ever understand. And I want to live every day of my life with my eyes focused on Him and everything that He is.
So there we have it! Five of the things that took me from feeling super discouraged and sad to remembering who I love and who I serve. God is so faithful to lift our hearts when we look to Him.
I hope that you are all encouraged the same way I was this week, and that you know how deeply loved and known you are.
I’ll see you all on Wednesday with a little post on creating a quiet time routine!
Love, love, love you all!
Sarah Paige
1 Corinthians 16:13