September 2014 archive

Do you believe God delights in you?

Even when we sin, God delights in us. He cheers us on and is our number one fan. Always.

“There is a level of bond in love that a parent has for their kid that you don’t have for anyone else… There is something special about the parent-kid love.” – Jefferson Bethke

That is the kind of love God has for us.

God loves us even when we are struggling through seasons of sin. He loves us when we fall. At my church today, my pastor Aaron Proffitt said, “Even in our most sinful moments, God wants to be close to us and encourage us.”

Is this hard for you to understand? It is for me. (more…)

God’s Love Letter to You

You know those nights where you feel so unloved and alone? When you wish you could have someone to hold you and tell you they love you? The love we experience on earth will never compare to God’s love for us. Our hearts have been made to cry out for a love that can only come from our creator.

A guy may seem like the best fix, but only God’s love is a lasting solution. This truth is written all over the Bible.

Did you know that the Bible is God’s love letter to us? Isaiah 43 is a great example of a love letter from God. When I study scripture, I like to read it and then write it out in my own words. This helps me better understand what I have read. For this particular chapter, I read the passage as if God hand wrote me a love letter in beautiful calligraphy. I wrote it in my journal in the exact same way. You can do the same thing. (more…)

Will my classmates ever know Jesus?

College Students and Faith. JoyPedrow.com

I walk out of class in a daze. So much sadness. So much pain. Jesus, will these people ever come to know you? Will they ever experience your life change? When will they experience your healing, forgiveness, redemption, grace and love?

This is my last semester of undergrad at the University of South Florida. I’m taking a class called Storytelling, and each week we share personal stories from our lives. During class last week, students shared one sad story after the next. Topics included: abortion, death, getting kicked out of the church, loss of friends, moving, getting arrested, abuse, and more. I was left questioning, God, when will you change their hearts?

In class, I looked around at my classmates and thought how beautiful each person was because God created them in his image. God, shouldn’t that mean you care about them? Yet, they don’t know you at all. Do they want to know you? Do they even have the information that you exist to be able to make this decision?

So many thoughts. So many questions.

Then, I think about how God saved me. What makes me different? Why did God choose me? I’m just like them. I have similar stories of pain and brokenness. I have screwed up just like them. What makes me different than them? (more…)

I am a Female Freshman: The Painful Realities of College

The painful realities of freshman in college. JoyPedrow.com

Pain is running rampant on college campuses across the globe. Still in college, I have seen and experienced the pain. Some women lack an understanding that they have a God in heaven who loves them and created them with a plan and a purpose. Not knowing about God, they turn to the things the world tells them will provide pleasure and satisfaction. For a college freshman, those things include: boys, sex, drinks, a perfect body, and cool friends.

Maybe you live in a bubble and don’t realize this is happening on our college campuses. Please, open your eyes and realize that pain is spreading like a disease. Women are hurting themselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and Jesus is the only one who can provide healing.

I’m sorry for the language, but I want you to read the honesty and pain in her words. This is a poem written by a freshman who is living in the pain:

(more…)

Delight in God’s Ways

Sin is fun. If sin wasn’t fun, then we would have no problem walking away from it and constantly obeying God. I don’t always want to follow God and his ways, but I’m asking God to begin changing my heart. I want to view his commands as beautiful gifts wrapped in shiny blue paper. I want to desire to obey him more than I desire the sins in my life.

If I take the step and turn to God, searching for the answers, then maybe I’ll begin to understand the purpose of his commands. (more…)