I Am A Sinner

 Happy Monday!

Do you know those quotes that says, “YOU are your biggest critic” … “YOU are your own worst enemy” …

Well, this past weekend I felt all these quotes coming true, right in my own life.

Have you ever prayed for God to give you patience and then that same day you end up yelling at your family or getting upset with that one car who thinks it’s okay to go 40 in a 55 (haha I may or may not be speaking from deep experience here). Or maybe you have prayed for God to keep you strong against temptations but you still find yourself straying away everyone once and awhile?

I AM A... S I N N E R

Romans 7:15-20

 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

I use to look up this bible verse and almost laugh at how relatable it is to me EVERY DAY. Every morning I wake up and read my devotion… I decide that today is the day I will glorify God with my day and remain in complete tune with Him… today I will do what is “good.”

This past weekend I found out that I have been really hard on myself lately and really felt like I haven’t been living up to my own expectations or even God’s for that matter. I know this sounds silly but I also feel like I can’t be alone in this feeling…

It wasn’t until Sunday morning, when my church gave a really powerful message about the song Reckless Love, that I really started noticing how disappointed I have been with myself.

I know some Christians are skeptical when it comes to calling God’s love “Reckless: utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless” and I thought it was really interesting how the worship leader at my church brought light into this situation.

I guess before we get any further I will link the song HERE: Reckless Love by Cory Asbury, for those who have never heard it.

Here are the words Cory himself spoke through his Facebook page about this issue:

“When I use the phrase, “The reckless love of God,” I’m not saying that God Himself is reckless. I am, however, saying that the way He loves, is in many regards, quite so. What I mean is this: He is utterly unconcerned with the consequences of His actions with regards to His own safety, comfort, and well-being. His love isn’t crafty or slick. It’s not cunning or shrewd. In fact, all things considered, it’s quite childlike, and might I even suggest, sometimes downright ridiculous. His love bankrupted heaven for you. His love doesn’t consider Himself first. His love isn’t selfish or self-serving. He doesn’t wonder what He’ll gain or lose by putting Himself out there. He simply gives Himself away on the off-chance that one of us might look back at Him and offer ourselves in return.”

Now, since I feel I have been pretty open and vulnerable with you guys I won’t stop now… lol. I am not normally a very emotional person and I give off the “tough girl” act a LOT; however, I will admit when it came to hearing these words in that moment I did get a little teary eyed.

Everything about that message, about that song, was exactly what I needed to hear and now I hope that it’s everything you might need to hear as well…

No matter where you have been. No matter what you have done. No matter what you have gone through… there is NOTHING that can separate you from feeling God’s grace and His love.

Our pastor came up on stage and began the prayer that I thought would be appropriate to finish this post with and it goes like this:

"Thank you Jesus... for never giving up on me."

Ugh.. I just felt so much power in those 9 simple words.

Also, I just discovered this new company called Aligned Blessings and their mission is to provide apparel that serves as excellent conversation starters like the shirt I am wearing here:

They have a lot of new summer arrivals so if you are interesting in ordering anything click here and enter in the code: CZale15 for 15% off your next order!!

Hope you all enjoy and have a wonderful week! Thanks for making it to the end…

until next time

xoxo ღ