Imago Dei means to be created in the image of God. We read in this passage that we are created in His image, but what does it mean to be created in God’s image?

 

Friendships…

Sometimes the whisper of that word can cause us great delight or great pain. Friends are awesome when things are going great, but sometimes fights happen, words are spoken and hearts get hurt. Sometimes even making friends can be hard. Don’t give up though. Don’t close your hearts off to friendships.

“Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul,” – Proverbs 27:9 (MSG)

God created us to do life together. Our friends will be the ones who walk out a lot of life with us. A good friend can refresh your soul and help set your path straight. They dry our tears; they make us laugh AND they can tell when we are moody and love us anyway.

A good friend is much like our best friend Jesus, always there…

They tell us when we need to stop our silliness and make better choices. They show us grace and love when we perhaps we don’t deserve it. They are there to listen and keep hold of our secrets. They champion us when times are hard, they believe in the dreams in our hearts no matter how wild and crazy they can be - and they point us to God when we most need His presence.

A good friend prays with you and for you, a good friend encourages you to search the scriptures for answers and they hold you accountable to the convictions of your heart. They pack you extra samples of their double choc chip cookies, just ‘cause they know you love them. They stand up for you when peer pressure rages and they remind you that you are a daughter of God, a royal princess born for such a time as this.

Do you have a friend like this?

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t just yet…

A good friendship takes time. It means sticking it out when times get tough. Pressing in when they are hurting, taking the time to invite them over to hang out, and it also means being the kind of friend you’d like to have.

If you are struggling with friendships, pray. Ask God to bring you some spirit sisters who will know you well. Spend time with God learning how to be a good friend and listen for the heart promptings of God that lead you to invite friendships into your life.

 4 tips to build forever friends…

1. Ask God for friends.
2. Invite friendships into your life.
3. Spend time getting to know them.
4. Be the friend you want to have.

It’s my prayer that you will find some forever friends and most importantly - that you’d make Jesus your very best friend.

 

 

 

So you are sitting down with a journal in front of you, a pen in hand and your Bible nearby BUT you cannot begin to write…

Your hand is frozen…

Fear grips your heart…

What if I fail?

What if you fly?

What if it’s not a God dream?

What if He whispered it into your heart?

What if I totally miss it?

What if you get it right?

“A man’s mind plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.” Proverbs 16:9 (AMP)

It’s good to make plans, to set goals, to dream for what you want your life to look like. Go ahead and make plans, then keep your heart and mind open to the leading of the Holy Spirit…not your feelings or your fears, but His leading. He will make your steps sure. Commit what you write down to God, pray His will, not yours be done. Then write. Write all those things that are stirring in your heart down that you are deeply passionate about down.

Some things you will learn were perhaps not God dreams, and some were. Faith is stepping out even when you are not 100% sure of the outcome. We are all called to live a Wild Faith.

Dream BIG, don’t be afraid or think it’s a silly waste of time. Some of the world’s greatest achievers were the ones BRAVE enough to dream.

Create a Dream Journal or a Dream Board. Stick pictures, quotes, and scriptures that inspire you on a canvas or pages of a journal. Then put it somewhere you see it daily.

TIPS FOR GOAL SETTING TO HELP YOU ON THE JOURNEY TO ACHIEVING YOUR DREAMS

1. Set goals across many areas of your life, for example, career or education goals, health, personal growth, people, travel, finance, giving, etc

2. Get specific, what exactly do you want? Better grades? Then in what subject, A’s, B’s? Or You want to go on a missions trip, where to? Doing what?

3. Commit to doing something each day to help you achieve your dreams. For example, good grades equal time spent daily studying.

4. When you write your goals down, use the present tense and be specific. For example, instead of writing,

 I want good grades.

 Write

 I am going to study an extra hour each weekday.

5. Give yourself a realistic time frame to achieve your goals.

     6. Sit with Jesus. Seriously, sit quietly and place your dream in his hands. Ask               Jesus if this is something he wants you to pursue and then follow your peace.

     7. Just do it! Once you have peace, take the leap of faith, fight the fears and go           for it. The best thing you can do to get those dreams happening is to start.

If you want to dream more with God then why not grab my FREE devotional called WILD FAITH to help you on the journey.

 

Coming soon... A beautiful space for girls of all ages, especially tweens, to get creative ideas to inspire, empower and bring to life their journey with Jesus.

Stay tuned!