Weeds, words, and the Word

Weeds.

Just about every garden I have ever seen has them. 

They grow seemingly over night and unless you are persistent about uprooting them, they will choke the life out of the beauty that is growing in your flower bed. 

Today I was out in a flower bed, working before the sun became too hot to bear. My mama was on her way to come help me but for about 15 minutes I had the place to myself. It was quiet with just the sound of cars passing by and birds chirping. The job of pulling weeds was almost relaxing. 

But as I was working, my hands digging deep into the soil to get the very base of the root, the Lord began speaking to me. Not in an audible voice, but a whisper to my soul. 

He said "This flower bed is like your heart, Lace. You have let certain sins not only form but take root in your life. Some of them are new, and will be simple to get rid of. But others have taken deep, deep root in your heart. To the point it will take some yanking and pulling and maybe even a little pain."

I continued to work, pulling up the deep seated roots of the flower bed as the sun began to grow higher and hotter. I began to think of the areas in my life where I haven't been obedient. The areas of my life where I haven't been a good steward of what the Lord has given me. Relationships, habits, attitudes, and self care flashed through my mind. With each weed I pulled up I asked forgiveness for the areas in which I have allowed complacency to settle in and become home to me. 

You see, if we are not careful, the weeds will take over the flower bed creating a mess and killing off the beauty that it was designed for. 

We were designed to be beautiful souls. To display the beauty of Christ every where. Yes, while we are still here on earth in sinful vessels, there will still be the opportunity for weeds (sin) to work it's way back into our life, but we have the power to uproot them in the name of Jesus. 

We need to uproot them as quickly as we notice they are rearing their ugly head. 

Our lives will show the symptoms of weeds growing in our heart. We will display beautiful flowers, or withered flowers who have been choked out by weeds and the inability for water to nourish us.  

That is the biggie, weeds prevent the water from fully nourishing the roots of plants.

Similarly, sin prevents the Word from nourishing our soul. 

This is the thing about pulling these weeds out of our lives..it takes work. This seems to be a touchy subject and I want to emphasize the fact that it is not work that earns our salvation. Faith alone grants us salvation. However, we cannot continue to do the same things we have always done and expect God to pull all the weeds while we continue on in our behaviors and habits. God gives us free will (1 corinthians 10:23) and we also gives us His Spirit to supernaturally help us rid our life of sin. We CANNOT do it on our own. But we must do our part.

 If it is gossiping, you must deliberately choose to shut your mouth and choose to change what you're thinking about.

If it is laziness, you must choose to get up and do something productive.

If it is gluttony, you must choose to step away and have self control. (2 timothy 1:7)

If it is judging others, you must choose to ask forgiveness immediately and train your brain to think about at least one thing good about that person you have the habit of judging. 

If it is pride, you must continually ask forgiveness when it rears its ugly head and choose to find ways of putting others before yourself.

If it is complaining, you must decide for yourself to choose joy and to see the good in whatever situation you are in. (philippians 4:11)

These are just some ideas. Things the Lord has taught me in my walk with Him. Talk to Him and ask Him to help you find ways to actively fight against the sin patterns in your life. (ephesians 6:10-18)
This is kingdom work.
This is sanctification. 

Today, I am thankful for a God who gives such a powerful word even in the most mundane of tasks and for His grace which never runs out. 

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is good for you. You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is beneficial. 1 corinthians 10:23

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. -Colossians 2:6-7

Romans 8:11

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Philippians 1:21-22

 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. 

Colossians 4:2

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 3

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

2 Timothy 1:7

God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self control.

Titus 2:11-14

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Ephesians 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Taking Thoughts Into Captivity

I am overwhelmed by my own sin. How thoughtless, careless, unapologetic I can be. Throughout my twenty years of life, I have tried to be like Christ out of my own flesh and failed...so so horribly. And then after a good amount of failing, the discouragement of believing that I can never possibly achieve the godliness the bible calls me to I have settled for my own form of godliness, complacency. Not being satisfied with where I am at with the Lord, but not thinking it possible to achieve what He's called me to. Until earlier this year before my wedding I read this verse and read with the knowledge that this applies to me too, not just the perfect girl down the street (metaphorically). 

It is from 2 peter 1:3...it says "His divine power has granted to us ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness THROUGH the KNOWLEDGE OF HIM who has called us to His own glory and excellence."  (emphasis mine)

His divine power has granted to us ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness...that means he has given me through His Spirit the fruits of His Spirit. He has given me everything I could possibly need to live a life of godliness. There are no excuses.

I was telling the youth group this earlier this week...to live a life for Christ begins in our thought patterns. 2 corinthians 10:5 says "take every thought captive to obey Christ" and another translation says "We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ." 
According to this verse we have COMPLETE control over our thoughts. The more we think in a way that is honoring to God, the more our actions will reflect our desire to honor God. 

Realizing this was such a game changer for me. It has literally reshaped every aspect of my life. I used to think that if I thought about something but didn't act on it then it wasn't a sin. But I couldn't be more wrong! Philippians 4:8 says "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things" 

For example, judging someone in my thoughts but not telling someone out loud, or having a disrespectful attitude towards my husband thinking in a way that was not glorifying to God.

Changing our thought patterns from that of sin to scripture will change the way we see life. We will get to see the world more through God's eyes as we meditate on His word when we have the temptation to sin. 

We have the capability to live a life of godliness through the knowledge of our Lord. How amazing is that?! There are no excuses. We must live as the bible tells us to and take it literally, not as suggestions. God has given us this awesome privilege of knowing Him and being shaped after Him "being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator"(colossians 3:10)

This is something I learned a long time ago and it still gets me today. Put your name into 1 corinthians 13. God has called us to LOVE. And if we are not displaying these characteristics in our lives then we are way off base and need to get our priorities straight. For the greatest thing we can do is love! (1cor 13:13)

Lacey is patient

lacey is kind

____ does not envy

____does not boast

_____is not arrogant

____is not rude

____ does not insist on their own way

____ is not irritable

____ is not resentful

____ does not delight in wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth

____ hopes all things

___ believes all things

___ bears all things

____ endures all things

put your name in there! If these traits do not characterize us, then we are not loving. I know I need to work on these things and pray for some changes in my heart. But I am so excited to grow! 

 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to^[a] his own glory and excellence,^[b] 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,^[c] and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸ For if these qualities^[d] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 peter 1:3-8

Love,

Lacey Beth

S U B M I S S I O N

Submission.

The word seems dirty. As if you are putting yourself down to be walked on. Letting someone else have the final say, and you backing down. 

But submission is so much more than that. 

I have always struggled with submission. It was always so hard for me as a strong-willed, hard headed child to submit to my parents. I always thought my way was the right way and didn't want to admit it when I was wrong. 

But my big ugly pride that hated the word submission became so clear to me when I got married. Because now, I have to submit to my husband. Well actually, I don't  have to, but I get to. 

I knew that I had a problem with being wrong, and I knew I had a problem with being a control freak. It was a pride thing I needed to work on and I realized that, but around the time of the honeymoon, I began to realize that it was as equally a pride thing as it was a failure to submission.

On the honeymoon, it was my first time to go on a long trip with just one person. Now I have always felt the need to be in control, and tried to be in control on our honeymoon. I was telling Matthew how to drive, how to get through the line boarding the cruise, how to navigate a boat full of people, asking him over and over again if he had all our information to get on the boat. Finally he just looked at me and said "Will you just trust me? I love you, I WANT to take care of you...let me." That shut me up right there in my spot. God just thudded me on the head and said "THAT is what I have been trying to tell you your whole life. Just trust me. I love you. I know whats best for you. I will take care of you. Let me be in control."

You see, I was not only refusing to submit to my parents, or refusing to submit to my husband, I was refusing to submit to God. There was a deeper heart problem that came to light through marriage, and  it needed change. A huge change. 

God is "yearning jealously over the Spirit that he has made to dwell in us." (James 4:5) But by me refusing to allow the Spirit to live and flourish on the throne of my heart, I was quenching His Spirit in my life, and then sitting back and wondering why I wasn't hearing from Him or learning. 

James 4:7 says "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

I was not submitting to God. I was not resisting the devil. The devil was not fleeing from me. 

My life felt like a huge giant wrecking ball came in and destroyed me. I was playing tug-a-war with the devil. Me on one end trying to pull my life to the finish line by myself, and him on the other trying to drag me down with him. By my selfish pride not allowing me to submit to God, I allowed the devil whisper lies into my ear and bring chaos into my life.

But God was not far off, He was yearning jealousy over the Spirit that He has made to dwell in me. All He desired of me was to submit. To obey. To resist the devil. But I was so caught up in myself, that I couldn't even listen. 

Submission means humility, meekness. 

It means to allow God to have my total attention, and have his ultimate way in my life. 

And we have to get out of the way and let Him work. 

The devil knows you. He knows where you are most likely to fall and pursue other things rather than the Lord. For me, it was having my way, for you it could be an idol in your life, or a habit you can't break. It could be anything. 

The devil desires to tear you away from the Glorious One. He desires to entice you and destroy you. 

Submit to God. Resist the devil. 

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties upon Him because He cares for you. 

Be sober minded; be watchful. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. RESIST HIM, standing firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters around the world" 

 1 Peter 5:6-9

In Christ,

Lacey

Youth CITYSERVE Camp

A week before the wedding, Matthew and I had the privilege to take our youth group to camp! The way in which they were able to go was such a God thing. 

We did not have the money to take them and the youth did not have the money to be able to go,  so individuals in our tiny church sponsored them to go! I am constantly taken aback by the generosity of our church. We really are a family!

City Serve Camp is not your ordinary camp. The morning starts off with a worship service and then for the first part of the day, the youth and leaders go out into the city to do various mission projects. Then when they come back, there is free time and another worship service and sermon at night. It was amazing.

Our youth group LOVED it. They loved to serve and they loved to hug on little kids. It was truly an eye opening experience for them! But more than anything, I think what they loved most was worshiping with about 100 other kids their age all pursuing Christ with arms raised high, knees bent at the alter, and hearts humbled before God. I think it really changed their perspective on what it means to follow Christ...abandoning the idea of fitting in and instead submitting to Him and worshiping Him with every fiber of their being. 

After the worship service at night, we would break up into our youth groups so that we could all talk about what God is teaching us and where He is leading us. That time was so precious and will be treasured forever. Spending time with my girls as they poured out their heart,  crying happy tears, and praying over them just about made my heart burst because it was swelling with SO MUCH JOY! 

God was working in that camp in our youths lives and it was so evident. 

 Here are some pictures! But I am a dummy and I can't figure out how to turn them the right way. 

We all cannot wait to go back next year! 

A Verse Weighing On My Heart

However I consider my life worth nothing to me, my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task that the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the good news of Gods grace.

Acts 20:24

Why is life even worth living if I am not testifying to the good news of Gods grace? 

My life is pointless if I am not spreading His word. Pointless. 

As His witnesses, He has called us to so much more than living for ourselves. SO MUCH MORE.

Our life is fleeting, a short breath on earth. What are we doing with it?
Living for ourselves?

Or living for Christ? 

How much is your life and worldly desires worth to you? nothing?

or everything?

So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the 

air.but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, 

after I have preached to others, I myself will not be 

disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9: 26-27

Our Wedding!!!

 Hello!

A month later and we are finally back into the swing of life. We both went back to work at our part time (32 hours a week so almost full time) jobs the week after the honeymoon and we have just been enjoying being together and enjoying life as a married couple :) We are both SO thankful for the blessing of marriage. The privilege of being Matthews wife is just about more than I can stand, and I cannot put it accurately enough into words! It is so awesome to think that God has had it in his plans to have us for each other. Matthew was set apart for me to be his wife since before he was born and vice versa...that is so awesome!!! Anyways...we are obsessed with the idea of marriage and even more obsessed with our Savior. We are so thankful to Him for saving us from our sinful selves, for setting us apart for His glory, and for bringing us together for making HIS name known. eeeeeee!!! I just can't contain my joy!

The months leading up to the wedding were some crazy times, I want to post about the youth camp and the youth group and wedding planning...but for now, just the wedding in general. One of the greatest days of our entire life!

Our deepest desire was for this wedding to point people directly to Christ, and many people were praying just for that. We wanted it to be simple, and worshipful. 

The day of the wedding went so smoothly and I have to take a second to give a HUGE shout out of praise to God for that one because if any one knows me very well they know that I have a tendency of messing everything up. The morning of the wedding was very slow and peaceful. I was able to have a priority time that was not rushed and then my mama and I went to go get our hair done. I was trying so hard to soak in every single moment! After that we went straight to the reception and got finishing touches done to our reception hall. It was so perfect. MY DREAM. I am not even kidding I have had an exact idea of how I wanted my wedding reception to look since I was younger, and this was a replica. Such a blessing from the Lord!

Soon my bridesmaids arrived and we all did our makeup till the photographer and videographer arrived. Matthew and I had decided to do a first look so we could really capture the moment and spend some quality time together before the wedding, and let me tell you...I am so glad we did. When I was younger, a mentor advised me to pray for and write letters to my future husband. Now, I am SO glad I did. At the first look I gave him a compilation of letters and prayers that I had written him throughout the years ( I think the earliest letter/prayer I found was from 6th grade). As I was going through my journals to find these prayers from throughout the years, I couldn't help but cry tears of joy for the goodness of our Savior!!! Looking through the years of how my prayers to God progressed, from immature prayers (around the sixth grade mark) asking for someone handsome, to prayers from my older years crying out to God to protect my mind and heart and purity to save it all for my future husband, to our dating times when I asked and wondered if Matthew could be the one, to the morning of our wedding. I gave these to Matthew to read so that He could know and tangibly see how God had divinely placed him in my life to be my groom. That I had waited for him and prayed for him and that he was the only one for me. 

Many tears later and we were off to do our wedding pictures, YAY! I don't have them all yet and I can't wait to see them! After the wedding pictures it was time for the wedding. WHATTTT??? Time flew by so quickly! I was so so nervous but after my bridesmaids and wedding coordinator prayed over me, it was like all my nerves flew away. I was so ready to marry Matthew and vow before God to be true to Him for the rest of our lives!!! 

The only music we had was a group from my church who sang a hymn a capella, and my childhood best friend who played the violin.  My daddy walked me down the aisle to a mixed melody of You Are My All In All and canon in D. The look on Matthews face melted me all over again. 

The ceremony was so simple, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. We had a huge cross on the center of the stage covered in flowers and we had some flowers on the pews but that was it. Matthew and I chose to say our own vows which are now ready to be framed and hung by our bed. I kept them in our original handwriting because I don't want to take away ANY part of that perfect day!!! 

One of my accountability partners read colossians 3:12-17 and after that we went and prayed at the foot of the cross as the violinist played come thou fount on repeat till we were done. I honestly have no idea how long we were down on our knees praying. We had so much to thank Him for in that moment! 

Once we finally got to kiss each other as a married couple, WE WERE SO EXCITED!!!!! Obviously by the looks on our faces :)

The reception was SO FUN! It included cake, central BBQ, Frank Sinatra, the wobble, line dance songs, my brother dancing to footloose....the whole deal. 

Then it was off to the honeymoon!!! YAY!!!!! :)

Oh, and here is a sneak peak of our wedding video! 

Can't wait to show y'all more pictures! So thankful for the Lord and the blessings He provided to us throughout the engagement to allow us to have such a wedding. It was truly ALL the Lord's doing!!!