Influence

Us, as women, have such a great influence on others. I think it is so important that we make sure we use our influence very wisely, because we can get ourselves into a lot of trouble when we use our influence the wrong way.

1 Timothy 3:11
In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

In this passage of scripture, Paul is talking specifically about deacon's wives, but I think that we can also strive and pattern ourselves after this lifestyle and goal. This past weekend, I have seen girls use their influence to maliciously gossip about someone, I have seen girls use their influence to disrespect a guy, and I have also seen girls use their influence to uplift and encourage one another. I know you hear people say this all the time, but we have to have some serious self control when it comes to our words. I think that what we say has the biggest influence on people around us. You have so many people watching you, waiting to see how you react, how you speak, and how you live your life. I want you to think about the kind of person those people see in you. Do they see a beautiful reflection of Christ? Or do they see a girl who claims to know God, but is completely contrary to His Word with her influence?

1 Timothy 2:11
A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.

Our job is to be quiet. To quietly bring glory to God through respecting and influencing others for Christ. Being quiet doesn't mean you never speak and you never have fun. But it does mean that when you do speak and have a good time, you are very cautious with your words and your actions; that you have self-control over yourself. When you have that self-control and when you decide to use your influence for good, it will affect people in such an uplifting way that shows how much God means to you.

In His Love,
Jessica

Hillsong

Girls, I don't know what your going through today, but this song always lifts me up and makes me so happy.
Your sister in Christ,
♥♫•Madison

Quotes: Mere Christianity

"It is something like that with Christ and us. The more we get what we now call 'ourselves' out of the way and let Him take us over, the more ourselves we become. There is so much of Him that millions and millions of 'little Christs', all different, will still be too few to express Him fully. He made them all. He invented--as an author invents characters in a novel--all the different men that you and I were intended to be. In that sense our real selves are all waiting for us in Him. It is no good trying to 'be myself' without Him."
--C.S. Lewis

Technology

Hey Girls!

Tonight at my friend's youth group, the youth pastor shared a really eye-opening verse with us.


1 Peter 5:8 (New International Version)

8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

We should be applying this verse to every area in our life, but especially in media. Do you ever catch yourself getting hooked on a website or just spending a ton of time on facebook? I know I do. The enemy is using that time for his own purpose. We spend WAY too much time hooked onto technology. It seriously eats up a ton of time. Did you know that if you averaged 2 and a half hours of technology a day that would equal a TON of work hours? You could spend all that time reading your Bible or investing in your sibling! Be creative! :)

You guys, God has given us such an amazing world that we need to communicate in.....and not just in texting.

Your sister in Christ,
♥♫•Madison

Take a look...

I would dare to say that every single one of us looks in the mirror at least a couple times each day. We check to see if our hair is in place, if our teeth are clean, if our face is presentable, to touch up our makeup. Usually, we just want to make sure we don't look bad.

Although it's good to pay attention and take care of our outer, physical bodies, it's even more important to evaluate ourselves spiritually. The Bible is kind of like the mirror for our soul. It points out the flaws and mistakes in us. And just like we try to fix our physical flaws we should try to fix our spiritual ones also. If you were to take a look into your mirror, the Bible, what would you see? I know that in myself I would see a dirty, rotten, ugly person. But I can work to change and clean up myself so that my reflection would be pleasing in God's sight. Ask the Lord to reveal and show you where you are dirty and need to be made clean. Dig deep in God's Word to understand how to transform yourself to be more like Him!

Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.


In His Love,
Jessica

School!!

Hey Girls!

Once again, I apologize for not posting more often this summer. Now that school has started I am back on my regular posting schedule. I am so excited for this upcoming year!! I cannot wait to see all God has stored up for iheart!

Speaking of this upcoming year, most of us have either started school or are about to start. I personally, am dreading starting this upcoming Monday. However, I know that it's part of life and summer will be here soon enough next year!

This school year is going to be filled with new things, new friends, new places. You never know what God has up His sleeve. My prayer for this upcoming school year is this:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please help this school year be dedicated to you. Help me to honor you in all I say and do. Give my mom wisdom as she teaches me and my brothers. Give me endurance to get good grades and always push forward. Let me work being glory to your name. Help me to be a disciple outside of my schoolwork and into my other activities. Let this be a year of your work and your glory in my life and all the lives I touch through you.

Your servant,

Madison

I shared my school year prayer with all of y'all so you can write your own prayer and dedicate this school year to God. He is the one who gave us all our knowledge and talent. He is so worthy. This upcoming Monday(or whenever you start school), I challenge you to be excited about your school year and go into it with a cheerful attitude.

YOU CAN DO IT! :)
Your sister in Christ,

♥♫•Madison

Wisdom from Him

Where do you turn first when you need wisdom? Understanding? What about discretion and knowledge? I have a tendency to ask my friends or parents when I need help. However, when problems arise in life, we should turn first to the Bible.

Proverbs 1:1-7

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young-let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance-for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Christian friends and authorities are often one of God's greatest tools to speak to us, but the best advice comes from the Bible. Check who is influencing you. When storms arise, do they point you back to God, or their own wisdom?

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Lost your joy?

Psalm 43:4
to God, my joy and my delight

Psalm 126:3
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

Psalm 16:11

You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.

I've talked to lots of people who say that they doubt their faith; they don't really feel connected to God and they seemed to have lost their joy. They no longer take delight in His word; in spending time with Him. Just because you have lost that "Jesus feeling" doesn't mean you have entirely lost your faith. Even the great King David felt this way:

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.

David wrote this psalm right after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband. He had sinned and was coming back to the Lord with a repentant heart. He knew he hadn't lost his salvation, but he had lost the joy of his salvation. Sometimes I think that is the problem with us. We sin so much, and then we expect everything to be perfectly fine between us and God. But we can't have an intimate, close, and personal relationship with our Lord without repenting of that sin and asking Him to fill and restore us to Him. I've had to do that recently; I had to come before God and ask Him to make me my all, my joy, and my fulfillment. If we don't consistently come before God asking for repentance, then we will feel far off and distant from Him. Plead with your Savior to show you your sin and ask Him to be your joy, your peace, and your everything.

In His Love,

Jessica

The low down, the what's-what, the dealio.

At lot has been going on here at iheart. We are all in the midst of praying and seeking God's will and His next steps for our ministry.
There will be a new template up shortly, however this will not be the finished product. We are hard at work on a custom template to give the blog a fresh new look and better suit our needs.
Above all, we need YOUR thoughts!

If you have just a few minutes, please shoot us an email (iheartministry@yahoo.com) and answer a few quick questions.

How can we better serve you? How could you get more out of iheart?

What could we do better in terms connecting more with our readers, leaving comments, etc?

What topics would you like us to post about?

Please add any other thoughts! We would love to hear them!

~Becky, on behalf of iheartministry

Turning that Spark into a Flame

Spiritual gifts. All of us have them, but the majority of us don't use them in the right ways or with the right motives. These amazing gifts of God can be used to bring so much glory to Him, grow us closer to Christ, and edify other people.

2 Timothy 1:6 (New Living Translation)
This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you... For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

I have read these verses before but never really put the two together. First, Paul tells Timothy to fan into flames his spiritual gift; to use it for the Lord. Then he goes on to tell him not to be afraid! That is something that can really get to all of us. We are afraid of using our spiritual gifts. God may be calling you to start or be apart of a pretty daunting and overwhelming task where you will put your spiritual gift into play. Don't be afraid of what others will think or the stress that may come from that! We have the Holy Spirit inside us that gives us power and strength to overcome those fears. We all have talents and abilities that we can fan into a flame that shines the light of Jesus. We have this little spark inside of us. But I challenge you to turn that spark into a bonfire! Turn it into something that radiates Christ inside your life.

Maybe you aren't quite sure what your spiritual gifts are. Something I find very helpful is a Spiritual Gift Test. I can't promise you it will be completely accurate, but it gives you a general idea of areas you may be gifted in. If you are gifted with giving, see what ways your church is involved in helping the community. If you have the gift of music, maybe you can look into joining your church praise band; and so forth. God isn't going to endow you with a gift and then not provide any way for you to use it! Search for ways you can serve by using your spiritual gifts. Don't be afraid to step out there and use it for Him.
What are your spiritual gifts? How are you using them for the glory of God?

In His Love,
Jessica

We change, God remains.

2 Timothy 2:11-13
Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
if we disown him,
he will also disown us;
if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.

In the midst of all our struggles and storms, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). One of the many things that amazes me about the Lord is that he is faithful, whether or not we put our faith in Him. He is always trustworthy and constant, not depending on if what think. Wherever you are in life, if you've pulled away from God or are having trouble trusting Him, he will still come through. Isn't it comforting to know that the Lord of the universe is not dependent on our every whim?

Seasons

As school is starting back up and we are getting back into the swing of everything, I can't help but think about all the different seasons of life God has had me in. Looking back, I can see how and why God had me in every situation. I can see how I have learned and grown through each experience and I can also see how God has used me to help other people. Some of those things I wasn't completely happy about going through, however, now that I have seen the outcome from the other side, I am so glad that those things happened. We are all beginning a new season of life and sometimes it can be sad or a little nerve-wracking. But you can always know and trust that God has the best in store for your life. His times are the best times. He has you in every situation for a distinct purpose and whatever circumstance or situation God has you in, you can be okay with it. Because there is a time for everything. He may have you in a time of dancing or a time of mourning, but you can always know that it is His timing.

Ecclesiates 3:1-8
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Preserved in Him

Psalm 119:50
My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

Life is hard. Suffering and temptations come often, and they are daunting! Remember that whatever you are going through, no matter how difficult it is or how big it seems, you will come out on the other side. Christ has given you life, hope, and a future (Jeremiah 29:11, John 10:10). He has overcome the world (John 16:33). If you have put your faith in Christ, there is always something waiting for you. He has promised eternal life and a home in Heaven (John 14:2). If you haven't surrendered your life to Him, do that today. What are you waiting for? If you have any questions or need someone to talk to, emails us any time: iheartministry@yahoo.com

Our God

We can never comprehend what a magnificent, powerful, and awesome God we know and serve. Just to think that we have a personal relationship with the Creator of all things is amazing! Romans 8:31 says: "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" In this life, there will be so many people that will try to make you doubt your faith; doubt the very existence of this so-called God you serve. But you can know without a shadow of a doubt that our God is the only God. That He is the Name above all names. Don't allow those doubts to even faze you. God IS real and His Word is Truth. If God is for us, if He on our side, we will come out victorious in the end!

Love will hold us together...

Psalm 63:3
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 13:10
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

1 Corinthians 13:8
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

2 Corinthians 5:14
For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

1 John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 4:16
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

Precious Life

Psalm 139:13-14
¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

I don't think we understand how precious each and every one of us are. God created every single human being on this earth; male or female, black or white, rich or poor, homeless or sheltered. I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and I know it full well. But this world does not know full well that God is amazing and He has a plan for everyone. They do not consider God a matter to be thought over or comprehended, so they do whatever they please. And when you do not have the knowledge that life is precious, you do not care who you hurt or what you do.
This past week, a man in Connecticut shot and killed 8 co-workers and then resulted in taking his own life. I do not know this mans motives, but I do know that he did not value life and he did not consider that those people were masterpieces that God Himself created. He was mad or upset about something and took matters into his own hands and killed people. People do not understand that GOD is the Author and Perfecter of life and He gets to decide when people begin and end.

3,700 abortions are performed DAILY in America. 43 million are performed yearly across the world. Does that not bother you?
Our world puts more value in trees than it does innocent babies. If someone went around cutting down 43 million trees a year, people would be in an uproar. And yet, us as Christians are not in an uproar about abortion?

My purpose is writing this post today was to explain that life is so precious to God and it should be considered precious to us as well. This is not a matter to be taken lightly. It makes me so sad to see people disregard life and think that they have the right to take it themselves. Please consider what your part in this is. When you tear someone down with your words, or ignore the new girl at school, are you really valuing life? Luke 12:7 says that, "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered." God cares and considers you a beautiful precious creation. He knows how many hairs are on your head!
Don't forget to cherish life. It is so precious to God but our world puts no value in it unless you have or do things that they consider worthy. We are all worth something to Christ. Consider life precious.

In His Love,
Jessica

Hey Girlies,
I'm so sorry for the lack of posts from me lately. I've been so super busy. I've just been loving summer and have been out of town most of it. :)

Anyway, recently I've been struggling with a friend. I've kinda been protective of MY life and MY friends even though she is lonely and needs them too.

I have been selfish with my thoughts concerning her. I have never wanted her in on my social life. My dear fren Rebecca (thanks darlin), has really opened up my eyes to what friendship is all about. Even though this girl may annoy me and I may not want her as a friend, she NEEDS me. As much as I don't ever want to admit it, I have sometimes put her off and have even been kinda rude. This is so not the Christ-loving attitude I need to have.

Even though it may hurt me in the process, I need to be nice to her and include her. God is using this as a learning tool. :)


Philippians 2:3 (New International Version)
3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

I hope this encouraged you today! :)
Your sister in Christ,
♥♫•Madison

Fragrance of Christ

Every path He guides us on
Is fragrant with His
Loving kindness and truth.
Psalm 25:10 TLB

Think of God directing you down a path. A path that is completely different from the path anyone else is traveling. But on this path you can practically smell Christ; His Word, His grace, His love. You can inhale and tell that you truly are following the Way.

Most of us are going to make some pretty life altering decisions on this earth, and many times, the direction and path God wants us to take is not perfectly clear to us. As I really thought over this verse, I came to the realization that whatever path God is calling me to take, I will know without a shadow of a doubt that it is His will. I will have completely peace and assurance from Him that it is the right direction. You may be thinking, "but how will you really know?"

Because I will be able to look down that path and see Him in every aspect and every detail. I will see His orchestration and smell His fragrance. And if I'm not completely sure that it is His will, then it's not. Because the path He will lead any of us on will not be a direction that is contrary to Him. It will be filled with the beauty and fragrance of our Lord and Savior.

But there is another piece of the puzzle we have to add in. You can't coast along in life straying from God and expect to be able to figure out what His will for you is. In order to be able to distinguish the fragrance of Christ, you have to know what it smells like! You have to plug yourself into God's Word and meditate on it so that you will be able to recognize how Christ smells. That is the key to figuring out the path that God wants you to take. You familiarize yourself with God's Word and His fragrance, direction and will for you will become clear to you. He will never lead you somewhere that is adverse to Himself and His Word. :)

In His Love,
Jessica