For His Glory

You don't need me to tell you how bad 2020 has been. From Covid-19, to being at home for 9 months, to missing friends, to social injustice, to an unprecedented election, to losing loved ones, to Christmas day bombings, to natural disasters, to life plans getting put on hold, 2020 has depleted many of us. As did many of you, I had high hopes for 2020. This was going to be my year. When I turned 23 in January, I said this year was going to be, "No insecurities, no doubt, no depression. Year 23 is all God." Well I've had a lot of insecurities, a lot of doubts, and a whole lot of depression, but I've still had a lot of God. With the way this year has turned out, it seemed easy and safe to lower my expectations for 2021. I didn't want to be disappointed if things don't return to "normal" as I thought they would. Last year, I got my hopes up and the year was not at all what I expected. But then I remembered a Scripture I read a few days ago that has re...

“He who is satiated [with sensual pleasures] loathes and treads underfoot a honeycomb, but to the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.” (Proverbs 27:7 AMP) Over a year ago, I read this Scripture and the Holy Spirit dropped a bomb of revelation on me: I’d been the honeycomb tread underfoot, and I’d also been the hungry soul—the soul longing for and seeking and maybe even a little desperate for love, which caused me to be blind to bitter men—thinking that they were sweet just because they were interested in me. Maybe that L word is a little strong for you, and you’re not looking for love. Maybe you’re just going through a dry spell. Like dryyyy, where your phone isn’t lighting up, no one’s sliding in the DMs, you’re not going out with anybody, it’s just you. Sometimes it gets lonely. You might not want a serious relationship, but just somebody to go out with sometimes, somebody to talk to, somebody to hang out with… just somebody. Although we may not admit it, many of us are l...

Note: I always write from a place of candor on here, but some things I’m more reluctant to share than others because I’m afraid of what people will think. This is one of those times. BUT, the name of this blog is “For His Glory” and when I started it, God told me that everything I went through would be used to give Him glory, hence the title. So, I’m sharing this because God placed it on my heart, and I want to be obedient. I wouldn't want my selfishness to impact another young sister who needs to read this because I know I definitely needed to see this when I was younger (and now as well). It's a little embarrassing, but if you can look past me and see Christ, that's all I ask. I live in my head a lot. A type 5 on the Enneagram with a 4 wing, my mind can go on for days. I’m also an avid book reader and a hopeless (hopeful?) romantic, so I can escape from reality to a far better scenario in my head fairly quickly. It’s a gift from God for creative writing so I’m than...

A lot of people look at my life from the outside and say that I’m doing well. I’m working full time in my field straight out of college, I’m also a dance teacher, I do some freelance editing, and I still train and take dance classes on a regular basis. That right there is a lot to be thankful for. So why has this past year been the hardest of my life? Before I graduated, I had a vision of what my life would look like post-graduation. I would have moved as far away from the south as possible, been living on my own, dancing in a company, teaching dance, making new friends, living my best life, etc. I didn’t know that a year later I would be living with my parents back in Nashville and working a full-time office job. My senior year and the summer afterwards were filled with many unfruitful auditions which resulted in a lot of rejection. When I came back home to Nashville, I decided to take an unpaid position with a small local dance company. I’ll just say that the starving artis...

I've wanted a relationship for a longgg time (like since 7th grade long). I wanted to be wanted, I wanted to be appreciated, I wanted to be valued. I wanted to be loved. That desire to be loved landed me in some uncomfortable and sometimes hurtful situations. I found myself repeating the same cycle with different people. Each time running back to God wondering why I kept falling into the same situations again and again. Eventually I sat down and made a list of what I was ultimately looking for, and it boiled down to a few things: love, value, worth, and affirmation. Growing up, I've always heard that God is supposed to be your first love, but in writing that list, I finally got it. All that time I was thinking a guy was going to give me love and validation when in reality, I should have been looking to God to fill that void because that's a job no man can do. The process in which I let God heal me was a satisfying one. I spent a lot of time in prayer and in the script...

Recently, I had the chance to go to a concert for a very well-known rap artist. During the breaks between songs he took the time to continuously brag about himself: how he’s traveled all around the world, has his own private plane, several number one albums, lots of beautiful women, etc. While everyone was shouting his name and the girls in front of me were falling out as he jokingly extended an invitation for a few ladies to ride back with him in his plane, the Scripture Matthew 6:2 popped into my head: “I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.” As I looked around at the roaring crowd, it suddenly became clear that this would all pass away — the celebrities, the fame, and the money would come to an end. When I got home that night I read the rest of Matthew 6, and in verse 19 Jesus tells us to “store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” I started thinking about treasures and how ...

When I thought about glorifying God in my life I would often think about what I can do in my schoolwork, on my job, in my friendships, or in a future romantic relationship to bring Him glory, but I never stopped to think about how I could glorify God right now in a state of singleness. Of course I had constantly heard the single woman’s encouragement verse, 1 Corinthians 7:34, “The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband.” but I never took that as a way to glorify God, it was more of an advantage of being single that I read whenever I needed to feel better about not being in a relationship.  One definition of the word “care” means to attach importance to. So you could read verse 34 as, “The unmarried woman attaches importance to the things of the Lord.” Whatever you think is important is what you give first place to. If you want...