DISCLAIMER

My relationship with God is mine, it is personalized to my life and what I need. Your relationship with God will need different things, but hopefully, you can maybe get something out of what I say. 


A few things I want to make clear before you read any of this. 

#1. No book can ever replace the Bible. No book can ever add to the canon. No book can contradict the Bible and be considered truth.

Please do not take this as me adding to God's word or thinking that I have anything "extra" to say. You could put this down and only read the Bible, and you would miss nothing. I fully believe in the sufficiency of scripture.

That said, I also believe in the lifting up of each other and learning from each other's mistakes and processes. That is what I want this to be. I am not putting myself above you as a spiritual teacher, or thinking that my words are special or super meaningful. I am not saying that I know more than you. I humbly present my walk with God so far. He has saved me, is saving me, and will save me. I am a work in process.

He is God, I am not. If the Bible says otherwise or the Holy Spirit convicts you otherwise, please listen to that and not me.

Never exalt anything above the Bible. It is our life. If we lose it, we will die.

#2. I am going to be learning until the day I die, and that is a mercy because I don't even know what I don't know. I am very grateful that I have the freedom to be stupid and limited. I don't have to know everything. And there are a lot of things that I learned that may seem obvious to you. I don't think any of this is profound but it is what I have learned. If I get something wrong or say something poorly, I have grace because I don't have a whole lot of expectations for myself. I ask that you have the same grace for me. 

#3. The way that I am, I present things as absolutes (and some things are indisputable absolute truths, like God's goodness), and I tend to talk in extremes because when I am writing it, it is the strongest thing I feel. Sometimes I'll say "The most important thing" about one thing, and then again "the most important thing" about another. 

#4. My life experiences are wildly different than yours. I have had a remarkably easy life, and I want to acknowledge that. I don't know your life, but God does. I may not be able to speak to your situation, but God can. I believe wholeheartedly that whatever your situation is, God holds the answer. That can look like a wide variety of things and a vast timeline, but He is in it all. If you look for Him, you will find Him. 

#5. We need the Holy Spirit in everything we do. I need the Holy Spirit with me in everything I write, everything I read, everything. So, I ask that you take a moment and focus your attention on the Holy Spirit, have Him with you as you read this. 
Dear Holy Spirit, we are so grateful for your wisdom and comfortable presence. You were sent to teach us, and we open our hands with all the pride and fear and hurt that have held onto so tightly. We ask that you take those filters and those assumptions from our minds. We want to see clearly, we want to hear clearly. We love that you bring clarity. You help us get out of our own way. Help us, Holy Spirit, in this and the rest of our moments. We love you and we trust you. Amen. 

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