My Daddy is AMAZING!!!

So I had a heart-to-heart with my father tonight. Let me tell you, my father shows me Jesus possibly more than any other person I know. For me I have been blessed to truly see the parallel between my earthly father and my heavenly Father. I had been withholding information from my earthly father for more than a year, and tonight when I told him instead of fear or any ounce of anger, my father responded in sorrow and compassion. Even though he is hundreds of miles away, he wrapped me up in his words. The best part was he said, "Julia, no matter what you do, or how many mistakes you make, I will always love you. My love for you is unconditional. I will always be on your side, no matter what."

I am blessed to have such a wonderful Daddy.

Also in my core group tonight we kind of just let out what was going on in our lives, and it was emotional and encouraging. So here's a paraphrase of what Laura (our leader) said tonight. (plus some of my thoughts)

Accountability isn't always calling each other out on our sins or just using words to encourage in our struggles. (While that is appropriate sometimes) It is also about holding one another, and saying "I'm here and I will hold your hand and go before the Throne of the Lord with you, even if you can't walk there yourself, I will help you." And then wrestling in prayer with and for that person.

Slap in the face

Today I went to a new church, while this will not be my new church home, God did take this opportunity to slap me in the face with some truth. Sometimes you try to deny things God is saying to you, but he finds just the way to hit your heart.

Today's message was about trust. Yep, I don't do that well. To be honest there are very few people in my life that I 100% trust without even a second thought. I know they will always be there and I never question that. I try to be an open book for every person I know, but I don't always trust people to have my interests/feelings/life in mind of their actions and words.

I know that God is there, and that He always has my best interest in mind. He wants to protect my heart, my mind, and every other part of me. He is a jealous God who want's my attention. I have not been giving Him that.

If I am going to ask others to keep me in mind I must not only think of them, but I need to have my heart, mind, and eyes set on Christ before I can effectively serve others.