Jump.

Everyday, we wake up. We get out of bed, brush our teeth, and get ready for whatever the day has to give us. So many people can do this everyday, unfazed and unbothered by the routine off it all. I think about a life filled with that sort of routine and every bone in my body screams no. I want a life filled with so much more than routine. I want a life where I am constantly making life changing decisions that make my heart race and my head spin. I want a life where I am constantly ready to jump.

I shouldn’t be the only one though. As Christians, we are called to jump. We are called to be ready for Jesus to lead us onto the path least expected and walk the path with pride and confidence that we are protected by him. Psalms 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.” We are always supposed to put that fear aside when it comes to God. We don’t have to be afraid of our future because it is literally held in the hands of our Creator (who so obviously loves us!).

So often I find myself second guessing a decision or a choice because of a fear of failure. As much as I want to be the person who fully and whole heartedly has faith in God, sometimes I’m not that person. Sometimes I pass on opportunities or decline offers because I think about all the “what if’s…”

“What if I don’t make enough money?

“What if they don’t feel the same way?”

“What if I do it wrong?”

“What if I fail?”

These are all questions I’ve asked myself. The good thing is though, I still have so much life to live. I have so many more moments I can say yes to and so many more days on this earth to “jump.” My challenge for myself, and for everyone else, is to take a chance on saying yes. Follow your heart and follow whatever God tells you (even if it’s scary!) because chances are, your life will be so much more joy-filled than before. I cannot wait to fill my life with all the amazing adventures God has in store all because I decided to jump, and I hope you do too!

-baylee

10 Things I Know About Jesus

Jesus used to be this big, scary, intimidating figure in my mind that made me fearful of religion and fearful of my faith. What I’ve learned though, is that while Jesus is a larger than life figure he’s not scary, and he’s not just in my head. He is real and powerful and more loving than anyone or anything on this Earth ever could be. These are just a few things I’ve learned about Jesus!

He knows you. He knows you and he loves you not because of all your beauty but in spite of all your ugly. He praises the good things you do but will never cease to forgive the bad things.But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved. – Ephesians 2:4-5
Your sin is equal. You are not better or worse than the person next to you. Which means you have no room to judge others! God will do that when the time comes (and his judgement is probably a little more important).For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. – Jame 2:1-
You were not given a mouth to speak negativity, and you weren’t given ears to listen to all the bad this world has. Always speak positivity, and always remember to listen to the best in the world!Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. – Philippians 4:8
Every step you take, and every thought you’ve had has a purpose. You were made with a purpose. Nothing you’ve done has gone without reason behind it, so make sure you make your decisions and choices based on that purpose.There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens – Ecclesiastes 3:1
He loves you more than the birds in the sky and the trees in the ground. With all that love given to you, don’t forget to show it to someone else.Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? – Matthew 6:26
Given the chance, He would die for you time and time again. Make every second of your life worth that death.We despised him and rejected him;
he endured suffering and pain.
No one would even look at him—
we ignored him as if he were nothing.
“But he endured the suffering that should have been ours,
the pain that we should have borne.
All the while we thought that his suffering
was punishment sent by God.
But because of our sins he was wounded,
beaten because of the evil we did.
We are healed by the punishment he suffered,
made whole by the blows he received.
– Isaiah 53:3-5
You have been instilled with a strength that can overcome everything life throws at you. You will never not be able to handle life’s struggles.Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. – Proverbs 3:5-6
Jesus radiated love and mercy in every aspect of his life. He did that through the trials and hardships of his life, do the same to others.This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. – 1 John 3:16-18
Jesus didn’t act unkind. Jesus didn’t hate. Jesus didn’t cast judgement. You are more than capable of treating people with the same attitude!But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord’s kindness, as long as I live, so that I may not be killed – 1 Samuel 20:14
He always wants what’s best for you. Even if it’s not exactly what you think is best for you, it will always be the best and most positive impact in your life!“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you, and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future” – Jeremiah 29:11

Always find new ways to learn about Jesus. Stay curious about His life, and His promises and everything else will fall into place.

– Baylee

So Will I

Over the course of this summer, I have traveled to three major places. New York City, Cozumel, Mexico, and Colorado/ New Mexico. I fell in love with the atmosphere and the fast pace lifestyle of New York, the bright blue waters of Cozumel, and the natural beauty of Colorado. While the three places couldn’t be any different from one another, one thing that was unanimous in all three was the pure awe and amazement I felt in every second of every trip.

The world is so much bigger and so much more beautifully diverse than any one person could ever comprehend. From the depths of the oceans in Cozumel to the tops of the Rockies in Colorado to the bright lights of New York, I felt small. I felt tiny and insignificant to the world. But then I think of John 15:16, “You didn’t choose me, I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit so whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” And I’m reminded of a God who would choose me over every mountain, valley, ocean, and skyline. His love for you has no boundaries, no restrictions, and no ulterior motives. Which, guys…that is a miracle in itself! Worldly love will never be as pure as the love God has.

I think about how mind blowing-ly huge our world is, and I’m even more mind blown when I remember that our God is even bigger!!! We each have our own plans and decisions in life but what’s funny, is that God just throws those plans out the window. He knows how much better we will be when we do what he wants. Things of this world and the thoughts we have can be large, but no where near God’s thoughts and plans for us.

I believe in a God of miracles. A God who, regardless of all the other aspects of this world, will love you and take care of you as if you were the only thing that mattered. This world is big, and beautiful, and complicated but one thing that could ever be complicated is his love and his plan for you. It is okay to feel small in the eyes of the world but in the eyes of God, you are not small and you are not insignificant. You are big, and important, and loved beyond believe. Never forget that.

I have learned that if the mountains and rivers and oceans of this world can praise your name, So Will I.

Beware the Conventional

To start off- I wanted to say that I got the idea for this post from a sermon at my home church (shoutout to River City Community Church- y’all are the bomb)!

Whilst writing this, I really did have to think about what direction my life was going in and if I was working towards a positive future. The truth is, I am still unsure- unsure about my future and career and everything in between. I know I’m just checking boxes at this point trying to move on to the next chapter of my life. The hard part is focusing on the now. I’m letting myself settle into a constant pattern without growth and change. Isaiah 43:18-19 says “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing new things! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Our constant comfort that we draw from the conventional is only going to make us grow farther from our rightful path “through the wilderness.” There are so many times ever day where I would rather just go with the flow and not go out of my way to do something I know would have a positive influence on my life. Some days, it’s okay that I’ve done that; some routines keep you grounded (as mentioned in other posts- I love routines). But there are other times where making a life changing or spontaneous decisions are good for the soul. Spontaneity teaches you to adapt and grow while taking you completely out of your comfort zone. The plans that just feel so right without having to think it through are my favorite ones. Like when God told Abraham to follow where he was told, Abraham asked him where he would be traveling to and God simply told him that he’ll let him know when he arrives. Your life on this Earth is so precious and short that you can’t go through it and just by going through the motions. Your heart has a heartbeat for a reason!

One of my favorite quotes is by Charlotte Erikson and it says “I hope there are days where you fall in love with being alive” My goal is to continue to strive to have that mindset and really fall in love with the life I’ve been given because life is too fun to not have fun!

A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Memories

So for my digital media class I have to make an app (I know- so tech savvy) and it basically has to be something we’ve never seen before or an improvement to something we’ve already seen. I thought about how cool it would be to have a “positive thoughts” app documenting different quotes, videos and pictures that I love. Well, first of all…I suck at making apps and the majority of the time while making this app I had no idea what I was doing. But that’s not the point of my story- the point is while I was scrolling through my camera roll for pictures that made me happy (all of the pictures for the app had to be original) I thought about how funny some of the stuff that makes me happy was! Like genuinely the most random stuff and it made me think about how the people in my life can make me “heart-tightening, yellow-feeling-y” happy. So much of what I have is silly pictures of my friends and family. Captured purely for the reason that I wanted that moment to live in my life forever. My brain may not always remember it but thank goodness my cell phone does right (lol. just kidding!). But while I had some really funny pictures (inserted here!) My boyfriend with some goats attacking him because of food, one of my best friends and I in donut costumes, another one of my best friends and I KILLING it in our Christmas outfits, and last but not least my friend Jaeden looking like he’s about to strut his stuff at summer camp.

While I have some really funny pictures (which makes sense, I obviously am surrounded by some really funny people), I also have some pictures that take me back to important moments in my life. My first missions trip, praying with my boyfriend Garrett (yes he has a name- I can stop just calling him “the boyfriend”), feeding my best friend a sandwhich after a loved one had just passed away, and so many others. So many memories that I’ll forever hold close to my heart. (Pics inserted here!)

But seriously, these moments are such a blessing to me because every time I look at them I’m reminded that there is a God who loves us and wants us to enjoy life! We were given the amazing opportunity to capture and remember the best (and hardest) parts of our lives and to grow into better people because of those experiences. Today I was reminded to go back and indulge in those moments- the ones that make my heart happy and remind me that my life is so much greater than I’ll ever be able to comprehend.

Yellow Lights

There’s a lot of things in this world that make me happy. Some of those things can be found in the dollar section at Target (my personal fave) while others are found in the smaller everyday parts of my life. When I think of those things (big oak trees, my sisters laughing, jumping really high on a trampoline- just to name a few) my heart does this little tightening and I seriously cannot help but take a deep breath and smile because I am so incredibly blessed with the smaller everyday parts of my life. Like seriously, think about it; how lucky are we to be able to find joy out of the world around us??

When I was little, I was taught the Story of Creation in the bible and how God created the earth and humans and plants, etc…(you know the story I’m sure). And while the story has always been something that I knew, I never really understood the immense meaning behind it ’til a few years ago. Y’all…God really like…did that! He seriously created EVERYTHING just by willing it so! When will your fave ever?!? My favorite verse in the story has to be Gen 1:14-15 “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on earth’ And it was so.” Our lives are so impacted by the light that he gave us and it fills my heart (it’s doing that little tightening as I’m writing this) to know that he has given us what we need to shine on our brightest days for Him. This is part of what sparked my love for the color yellow.

In my head, yellow has always been the color of happy things. One of my favorite quotes is “I really just want to be the warm yellow light that pours over everyone I love” and that is exactly what I think of when I think of yellow. My hope is that with all of the mess that has filled our world, I could fill my blog with things that make my heart “feel yellow” and maybe bring some of that sunshine to others. So, to close I am going to list a few more things that make my heart go “!!!” and make my mind go yellow.

Coming home to my family after being at school for so long and being attacked with hugs and kisses from my sisters (and my doggo!)
Eating way too many .50 cent corndogs with my boyfriend on Halloween
The first time jumping in the river in the summer
Hearing my mom’s tough-but loving advice after a long, hard day
Hearing a hundred sweaty tired kids worship God at summer camp
Driving through back roads with sunlight peeking through the trees
Cry-laughing in the car with your best friend because summer went by too quick
Making babies smile
Seeing your parents faces when you make them proud
Listening to songs that make you feel a little something every time you hear ’em
Laughing at life because sometimes Jesus shows you a little bit of his sense of humor

This is what makes me happy. And I hope, anyone reading this finds those little pieces of happiness too.