Welcome to Truth Be Told!

It's been a huge blessing to have so many people read these blog entries. With a passion for writing, I felt it laid on my heart to use my life, with all of it's ups and downs, to relate to others and help them with whatever they may be going through. My prayer is that God will speak to you through my writing, just like he has spoken to me. Although many of my blogs contain personal information and opinions (my life is an open book), I seek to only write what I know to be true - revelations that have been made to me from God through his word and Spirit :) As I have stated in many of my blog entries before, I am not perfect, nor do I claim to be "holier than thou" or "have it all together". Anyone that knows me would tell you that I am far from that. I'll be the first to tell you that I am a horrible, messed up human being who would be nothing without the grace of God. So all the thanks to him, for using my life to help others and further his kingdom :) I am just a messenger, my friends! Enjoy these entries, be challenged by them, and use them to grow closer to God.
Love,
Lottie


Sunday, December 11, 2011

Love is Time

When you love someone, you give them your time. 

It's so true right? 

I wrote an article for Her Campus UNI entitled "You Know He Likes You If..." and it was basically an article with opinions from various college women about how they can tell if a guy is in to them. As I looked through their answers, a common theme ran throughout:

When you love someone, you give them your time.

It's the pursuit. It's the commitment. It's the sacrifice. What it all comes down to is the giving of yourself and your time. That's how you know love and show love. 

Writing that article made me realize how ridiculous us girls can be at times. We spend wasted time on boys that we hope will talk to us and eventually date us, even if deep down we know they have no intention to. I can't tell you how many times I've heard both guys and girls say 'if he wants to pursue you, he will'. Simple. Hard to swallow. Truth. 

Now, I've come around to accepting this truth over the past couple months. I've had to swallow my pride and stop chasing, hoping, and wishing. I have learned to be patient and to stop complicating things so much. It's simple. If he wants to pursue me, he will. And how will I know he's pursuing me? Through the amount of time he dedicates to me. This can be seen by the amount of texting each day, taking the time out of his day to hang out with me, or take the time to have actual conversations that goes beyond small talk. He might even do something with me that he doesn't care to do nor has time to do, but does it anyways. These are all pretty strong indicators of a man pursuing you. He does it with his time. 

The more I thought about this concept, the more I thought about my pursuit of Christ. I say I love God, but if one of the strongest ways of showing your love for someone is by sacrificing your time, then I really need to reevaluate myself in that category. How much time do I spend hanging out with God, serving others for him, or digging into the Word? How much time do I give myself each day to talk to him? Thirty minutes before I go to bed? If this was my relationship with a man, I'd be the worst girlfriend in the history of the world. 

Truth is, our relationship with God is exactly that: a relationship! One that involved communication, quality time, serving one another, and genuinely loving each other. When you love someone, you would never fathom only speaking to that person once when you wake up before work, then once before your go to bed just to tell him about all your problems that need to be fixed. You would show your love for that person by giving him your time. 

When you love someone, you give them your time. How much time are you giving God? 

Friday, December 9, 2011

Amazing Because It Is

This song "Amazing Because It Is" by The Almost has been in my head for about two to three weeks now and I am not upset about it one bit. It's been speaking some huge truth into my life. (Shout out to a friend of mine for introducing me to this song - you know who you are). 

I'm the type of person who lets fear drive. I'm the type of guy who let's it drive".

This is me. Anyone who knows me knows that my life is fueled by fear. This fears range from extremely irrational to very understandable but either way, I have a fearful heart and it has been taking a toll on me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I was listening to a Mark Driscoll sermon about "Jesus and Anxiety" (look it up on iTunes) and he was naming off some of the physical signs of an anxious person: 
- unusual mood swings, anger  and depression
- adrenaline rushes that make it hard for your body to calm down
- exhaustion
- nervous twitch
- disassociated or checked out 
- paranoia and suspicion (not so much a physical sign)
- weight change
- moments of panic
- feeling overwhelmed
- fantasying about dying (yes, even Christians do this)
- insomnia
- self medicating with alcohol or drugs (which obviously lead to health problems)
- irritability
- wreckless driving
- IBS, headaches, heart trouble, chest pain, chronic illnesses, mental victim, stomach troubles
- shopping sprees (also not physical, but I thought it was ironic..since I am a frequent shopper and now have a fashion blog - whoops!)

Why am I mentioning all these signs? Because almost all of these relate to me and this is how I know I let fear drive. My prayer is that none of you have to deal with fear and anxiety, but let's be honest, it's prevalent in our society. On a side note, just know that when I speak to you about ways to overcome fear and why we can't let it ruin our lives, I speak to you out of brokenness and humbleness because it's the exact issue I deal with on a daily basis.  

Now I'm going to throw you for a loop.

Today's blog isn't about fear and anxiety. That's a topic for another day. Today's blog is actually about God's grace and how simply amazing He is!

Yes, it's true, I am a fearful, anxious worry-wart. I am broken and a quite frankly a mess. Contrary to popular belief, being a Christian doesn't make life "easier". It's actually harder. If you're truly striving to live a life worthy of the gospel, then that means you don't have the freedom to live a life for yourself - a selfish, independent life. You can't give in to your sinful flesh and indulge in certain pleasures. We are tempted to return back to our old selves. We have seen the light, know what it means to walk in the truth, and now we have to abide by these rules set by God. And it is hard. At least I was naive to all my problems before God showed up. I didn't realize how corrupt my mind was or how many times a day I sin. Now I am blatantly aware. And it sucks. 

But realizing how much I suck has been the best thing for me. 

Cuz I'm addicted. I'm needy. I'm lost. Without you. I need you. I need you. 

Oh God, I need you. I need you so bad. I am a ridiculous wreck without you. With you breaking me of my idols and revealing sin in my life, I have become more dependent of you. I am realizing that I cannot do this life alone. There's something more that I'm living for and it can't be for myself.  

We all deal with the same stuff.

"No temptation has overcome you that isn't common to man. And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" - 1 Corinthians 10:13

We are all tempted. Even though I struggle, I at least know that God will never leave me. I can always, always count on him. Even if I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. He is my crutch. My question remains: what do people who don't know God do? Who do they run to? Who can they count on? truth is, we cannot live this life on our own, for ourselves, apart from God. We all suck and are in need of a savior. 

Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost. But now I'm found. Was blind but now I see. 

God, thank you for loving me even though I suck. God, thank you for blessing me far beyond what I deserve. I am a horrible disgrace to your name and yet you stick by me and love me anyways. I mess up, I knowingly do wrong, I don't love others the way I should, and yet you never let me go. You are the peace in the storm, the faithful provider; my strength and protector. I am so beyond blessed to have such an amazing Dad in my life! Undeserving of such amazing grace. Thank you God.