2 Corinthians 4:6-7

"For God, who said, 'Let there be light in the darkness,' has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of God. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves" (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).

The Lord has called each of His children to live a life of radiance, to reflect His glory to the ends of the earth. Just as we learn in Psalm 34:5 ("Those who look to the Lord for help will be radiant with joy..."), when we look to Jesus, who is the One True Light (John 1:9), we are transformed and are filled with radiance! Hebrews 1:3 says, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word." Our radiance is simply a reflection of Jesus Christ, the Radiant One. 

In Marian Jordan's amazing amazing book entitled "Radiance", she shares some incredible personal stories and revelations from her life as she's learned that "a radiant woman reflects the radiant One". She says, "Reflecting the love and light of Christ to a broken world is the natural response when we spend time worshipping him. The more time we spend in the presence of Jesus, the Light of the World, the more others will see that 'Son-kissed glow' on us... As we are conformed to be more like Him, we become radiant women who are lit from within by His Love" (Radiance, 35-36). Throughout Marian's book, she paints this beautiful picture of woman who are falling in love more and more with Christ; and through this divine romance, the Lord never stops pursuing us. He will never fail us. He will never forsake us. Find comfort in that today as you pursue radiance in the radiant One.

Lord, Take It From My Hands

"My main work is to clear out debris and clutter, making room for My Spirit to take full possession. Collaborate with Me in this effort by being willing to let go of anything I choose to take away. I know what you need, and I have promised to provide all of that-abundantly!"

My dear friend Anna-Louise shared this with me, from "Jesus Calling" today. Today, this especially spoke so gently and beautifully into my heart.

Many times, we start asking God why He takes things away from our lives, whether it be losing a family member, missing out on a great opportunity, falling short financially, or losing a relationship with someone you thought you could have for a lifetime... But we must remind ourselves that when God takes things away from us, it is for our own protection, to reserve our hearts solely for the Lord. He knows what is clutter and what is valuable. He is the only One who can sort out what is debris and what is pure. He promises to remove the brokenness and strife to replace with His unfailing Love and eternal Joy! He has everything we need; its just a matter of letting some things go, then we can experience His blessings-His true abundant blessings.

This afternoon, I prayed the following, which brought me to realization of my desperate need for Him:

"Father God, my heart feels like its in a million pieces. Rather than my attempting to pick up every single piece, I invite You to pick up and take away all the clutter, all the debris, all the strife that is causing me to turn away from You. Take it from my hands. It is not worth holding onto. You are all I need. I am desperate for You. In Jesus' holy and precious Name, Amen."

James 4:8

This morning I received an email from my dad that I'd like to share.

One of my favorite scriptures is James 4:8 which has an interesting, almost geometrical concept: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  Think about that for a moment.  When we draw near to God in prayer (in meditation, in thought, in study of scripture, and in our God-centered attitude and character) he actually then takes a step closer towards us.  And for each step we take towards him, he takes another step towards us, each time reducing the space, time and distance between us.  Mathematically, I guess you could say, He would then be twice as close to use when we draw near to Him, and twice as far away when we don’t draw near to Him.  This is really reassuringly good news, especially when this nearness and his presence will comfort us in our disappointments, our loneliness, and our regrets.   Maybe this is the real reason we learn math. Love you, Dad

Every time I come across this verse, I am blown away in amazement at the power of God's presence. There are times when I feel so distant from the Lord, almost as if He is just someone I've heard about and had some cool experiences with. But the powerful truth proclaims that His Spirit is alive and active in our hearts! And each step we take closer to Him, closer to the cross, He meets us just as we are and invites us into His presence more and more intimately. James 4:8 tells me that Jesus desires to grow intimately with us each day. Enjoy His friendship. Grow deeper and deeper, closer and closer. Draw near to Him. He will draw near to you.

One Proud Kappa

All the hard work has now paid off! We (Baylor's Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority) performed our pigskin act, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?", for the first time dressed in full costume, makeup, hair, etc. and in front of an audience. (The audience being Pi Phi, ATO, and KOT, which was very nerve-wracking). I've never felt such a wave of adrenaline in my body, as we were waiting for the curtain to come up, right before I went out on stage for my solo. I absolutely LOVED every second of it, though! I literally couldn't stop smiling, even when I was off stage. I am so tremendously blessed by all the precious girls of Kappa Kappa Gamma! Seriously, I couldn't be more proud to be a KKG!

All dressed up ready to perform with Kathlin, Mol, Annabeth, Rach, and H-butt!

The wolves' makeup seriously was creepy..

simple prayer to my Jesus

Give me a heart that loves You more than anything else in this world. 

Psalm 34

One day this summer, my 16 year old sister (Molly) came to me and told me she wanted to memorize Psalm 34. I loved hearing her desire to meditate on and memorize Scripture, especially when I heard "Psalm 34" come out of her mouth. This chapter is my favorite passage in Scripture. My favorite verse comes from this book (Psalm 34:5), which says: "Those who look to the Lord for help will be radiant, and their faces will never be ashamed." So, together we worked on memorizing this passage. If you've never memorized Scripture, I strongly encourage you to do so. It is a challenge for me, but it is so worth it.

For instance, today I walked outside of my house, felt the cool breeze on my face and looked up and was almost blinded by the radiant sun. As I walked to class, Psalm 34:8 came to mind, which says:
 "Taste and see that the Lord is good; for those who fear Him will have all they need."

Praise the Lord for being a God who supplies our every need. He is the One who shines His light on us, and turns our sadness into radiant joy! Amazing how much a difference my day has been because of His powerful and comforting Scripture!!!

Psalm 34
 ¹ I will praise the Lord at all times.
      I will constantly speak his praises.
 ² I will boast only in the Lord;
     let all who are helpless take heart.
 ³ Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
      let us exalt his name together.
 ⁴ I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
      He freed me from all my fears.
 ⁵ Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
      no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
 ⁶ In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
      he saved me from all my troubles.
 ⁷ For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
      he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
 ⁸ Taste and see that the Lord is good.
      Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
 ⁹ Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
      for those who fear him will have all they need.
 ¹⁰ Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
      but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
 ¹¹ Come, my children, and listen to me,
      and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
 ¹² Does anyone want to live a life
      that is long and prosperous?
 ¹³ Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
      and your lips from telling lies!
 ¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good.
      Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
 ¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right;
      his ears are open to their cries for help.
 ¹⁶ But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil;
      he will erase their memory from the earth.
 ¹⁷ The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
      He rescues them from all their troubles.
 ¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
      he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
 ¹⁹ The righteous person faces many troubles,
      but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
 ²⁰ For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous;
      not one of them is broken!
 ²¹ Calamity will surely overtake the wicked,
      and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
 ²² But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
      No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Satisfaction in Christ

Ephesians 5:18 says, "Be filled with the Holy Spirit..." To be filled, something must first be empty. To be filled with the Spirit, you must be empty of yourself and full with Christ and His Love. Remember that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Life. As His Spirit fills you with life, you are empowered to live abundantly- having life to the full (John 10:10).


To find God, you must seek Him with your whole heart. God created you with a heart to be totally captivated and in love with Him, to be passionate and on fire to glorify Him. You cannot seek God while you are doing your own thing. Both your eyes must be fixed on the Lord. In the same way, you cannot be completely filled with the Spirit if you aren't completely empty of yourself. Let Psalm 51:10 be your prayer today, "Create in me a clean heart, O God."


To give you a personal example of this concept, the past few months/year my heart has been extremely conflicted while dealing with a particular relationship. Nothing was making sense, I had no clue what to do, and I became so worn out from having such a conflicted heart... Until I came across Psalm 37:3, which says, "Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." All God wants from me is my heart and my faithfulness. The verse tells me that, as a young woman in waiting, I need to use these days of singleness to dwell on the positive things the Lord has for me and to develop stronger and more intimate faith in Him. I prayed that the Lord would empty me of myself, so that He could fill me with His love. Apart from that, life would make no sense. I know God is using my days of singleness to challenge me, teach me, and reveal Himself to me in ways I've never witnessed before. I am excited to see where He leads me. It is my prayer and ultimate desire that I may live life to the fullest. Abundant life is what I long for. Life in Him is what I need.