I Will Give You Rest {Devotional}

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I know many of us have heard this verse or parts of it many times, usually when life gets busy or things seem impossibly hectic. This past weekend, I was visiting my home church and during worship, the theme seemed to revolve around needing rest. Matthew 11:28-30 was shared and it was a fresh reminder for me that each day we are supposed to need God, it’s not expected that as we mature in our relationship with Christ we need Him less. In fact, the opposite is true.

As I mature in my walk with God, I see more and more how dependent I must be on Him. And when I’m dependent, it’s as if I am taking His yoke, letting Him carry my burdens, and allowing Him to give me rest. That's what he wants.

On the long drive home, I heard the song “I’ll Keep On” and the words hit me –

Faith is something I am not accustomed to
Trusting other people’s something I don't really love to do
It's like I'm standing in the rain and You offer me a raincoat
But I would rather stand there being wet than take the handout

Why don’t we let God give us rest from the things that toil in our minds? Is it that we don’t fully trust Him? Is it that we just aren’t used to having someone to rely on? Is it that we don’t actually believe God when He says he wants to relieve us of our burdens?

He loves us and cares for us more than we know and he wants us to come to Him; it is how he designed us – to need Him. So, let Him have everything weighing you down... He can handle it.



~ words by Ariel Kuhn

{6 Reasons to do a First Look}

The First Look is a wonderful time when the bride + groom see each other before their ceremony. While I completely understand if people choose to travel the ‘traditional’ route, I am so in love with this idea. 

My husband and I did a First Look and it is still the {reason number one} most memorable moment of our wedding day for me. To have that special time, {reason number two} just the two of you, is something you’ll never forget!

The quiet few moments to say hi and pray together will provide {reason number three} peace of mind. It gives you both time to really take each other in and enjoy each other before the craziness of the day begins.

It also allows you {reason number four} get some of the photography “formalities” out of the way. Which ultimately means, {reason number five} more time to party later!

Oh yeah, and grooms? {reason number six} You’ll still cry when your bride walks down the aisle. Promise.

<3 Stephanie

image: stephanie rita photo

All Things Made New {Devo}

Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 

     When the flowers bloom and the trees bud and the chill of winter loses its sting, I am reminded that our home here in this broken world is a temporary one. Because God is making things new and alive again for a season as a precursor to the grand remaking of the earth that is to come. Our temporary renewal brings temporary life. The ultimate renewal promises life forever remade and brokenness eternally banished. We will be his people, and he will be our God. FOREVER. This truth brings me joy; incredible, life-giving, worship-inducing joy. Make us new, God! 

~ Sarah Elyse 

Our Oakland Adventure | Brittany Stites

Today we have a guest post by Brittany Stites, who is sharing about her and her husband's journey of planting a new church in California. God has taught them a few lessons along the way, so read on! Thanks Brittany!

My husband, a pastor, and I came from an amazing church in small town Martinez, California. (You know it's a small town when they shut down Main Street for the annual Homecoming Parade!) In October 2014 we were graciously sent out to plant a church. Now we live in Oakland, an awesome urban area, full of culture, color, creativity. I couldn’t be more convinced that we were created to live in this sort of setting! It has been a short 3 months since we moved here and I couldn’t feel more at home. I am seriously IN LOVE!!!!! And every day my love grows deeper and wider for this city. I am literally bursting with adrenaline as I sit and type, wishing you could see my excitement! I think I could run about 5 miles right now!!! Okay, so I think you know I am overflowing with joy to share some of our adventure! 

Making the decision to “Church Plant” was a no brainer for us. It has been in the works for almost 7 years - starting with a passion planted in my husband’s heart during college. As we dug deep through the pages of the Gospels and Acts, our hearts grew with a love and excitement. Now being able to actually live out what we day-dreamed about is absolutely and positively the most joyous and wonderful thing we could be doing in this world.

Now with all the rainbows, glitter and unicorns that planting brings, this has been by far the hardest and most challenging season in our life (and it’s just the beginning). But thank you Jesus for working in and through us to bring you glory! With every tear, frustration, and moments of being stretched and having no answers, Jesus has carried us through it all. We couldn’t be more thankful for the hard stuff, without which we wouldn’t be growing or looking to Him. Even though the learning process is hard and seems as if we will never understand, there is always (usually) that moment when the light bulb begins to glow – and it is beautiful.

When we began the official process of our adventure, we sat down with our mentors. As I talked, the words “I hate the church” spouted from my mouth. Later our mentors graciously responded with, “Brittany, we want you to love Jesus’ Church, the Church is beautiful and Jesus is patiently waiting for the day when He gets to be reunited with His Bride.” As they said this I realized I used the wrong language and furthermore I didn’t hate people. What I did have was a strong dislike for Sunday Services, the building, and all the stress and anxiety that those brought me. I have learned the power and importance of language. Yes, these are simply words, but the more you hear and use words the more a belief is formed from them. Example: if a person is told they are ugly and continues to say it to themselves, they will soon believe they are hideous and not even worth to be looked at.

The word “Church” means something a lot different than what a majority of people think of when they hear the word. It is not a place or a building, an event or a program. It is you and me and everybody who believes in Jesus and is filled with His Spirit. WE ARE THE CHURCH! PEOPLE! I am the Church when my daughter wakes up an hour early and I don’t get time to myself, but I get to show her grace and love and begin to build her character and teach her about Jesus. I am the Church when I have to apologize to my husband for disrespecting him. And he is The Church when he gives me grace and forgiveness! This is a very beautiful thing! But when we associate church with a few hours a week or a location, even subconsciously, we forget that the Church is a body – not a building.

We have chosen to use the word gathering, rather than church, to describe what we do each week. We see the Church as a family that comes together to celebrate, learn and worship – not simply as an event / building we attend. This simple word change in my everyday language has begun to change my perspective of the Church is – and my love for people has grown tremendously. My husband and I have taken a different approach to “Church Planting” then what we originally thought we would take. We didn’t move to Oakland with a large group of people, a building, worship pastor, children’s department, hospitality team, and service flow. We moved to Oakland with a missionary perspective. A missionary doesn’t immediately build a building then begin preaching and teaching to its congregation. They first get to know the culture and its belief. They learn what they celebrate, how they have fun and what they struggle with. A missionary begins to build strong friendships with neighbors and finds connections with others in their city. They take part of things that are already up and happening instead of starting their own thing, all the while being the hands and feet

All in all we are not called to plant a church – we are called to plant the Gospel by being present as Spirit-filled people. Don’t allow the weekly services and buildings to distract you from your day-to-day call to BE the Church – you have everything you need in Jesus!

Words by Brittany Stites

Keeping Life on Track (When it Feels So Off the Tracks) | Ariel Kuhn

    Today's blog post comes from my good friend Ariel. She's a newlywed and photographer and amazing woman of the Lord. Today she is sharing an important part of her story with us. Thank you for your wisdom, Ariel! 

~*~

    There are all kinds of books you can buy, articles you can read, and advice you can hear about how to deal with changes in life (no, I’m not talking about the “change is just around the corner” video you saw in health class…). How to adapt to moving away from friends and family, how to get used to being married, how to get out and meet new people, how to church hop ;) . But what happens when all of that, adding in a tendency toward introversion, takes place at once?? Well, in my case a mental explosion.

     I am a homebody. I went to college 45 minutes from my mom and stepdad's house in New York in a town that my dad and step mom live in and even commuted to my own church (which I love, like a lot) each Sunday – people wondered if I even went to college. The year after I graduated I lived at home, worked at a wonderful school where I already knew some staff, helped lead the youth and young adult groups at my church, hung out with my friends when I wanted to, saw my little sister when she came home from college, got to chat with my mom whenever a breakdown was coming, visited my dad at work,…everything was peachy.

     I had always imagined when I met the man I would marry, naturally he would follow me to my hometown and attend my church and fall in with my group of friends. We would live near my family (I mean, who wouldn't love my family?), I would get to keep my life...all with the added bonus of a husband. I imagined my life to be very neat, orderly, and even easy.

     Well, let me tell ya, my imagination didn't concoct the outcome where my boyfriend, Jon, and I break up in college, he moves to Ohio (who cares, right?), two years later we decide to date again, we do long distance, he proposes, we get married, I move to Ohio (oh, I guess now I should care) where I know no one, I look for a job and get welcomed into a church that hasn't known me since I was a kid, all while fighting my introvert nature to be perfectly content curled up at home for the next 5 years not speaking to anyone. That, my friends, was a lot for me to take in.

     Jon and I would talk about plans for where we were going to live once we got married, and I would literally cry when it got brought up because I knew I would be the one to move based on our circumstances. I would get overwhelmed and then we'd have to halt the conversation and he would wait another few weeks to bring it up again. Then we would start the cycle all over again.

     Maybe pathetic, but that's me - I like my routine and I like knowing what to expect and moving to a state that I couldn't even find on a map was definitely not routine and I absolutely didn't know what to expect. I was scared.

     And I'm not ashamed to say that 7 months later, I'm just now getting the hang of things. Which brings me to what I want to share (now that you understand my inner workings). In all that mess, my relationship with God took a backseat. I felt like I was holding on by a thread and thought if I even uttered a prayer, I would bawl my eyes out thinking about everything changing in my life.

     But I had one truth - God never changes. He is the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). We can't go anywhere or do anything if we aren't connected to Him - and despite our schedules and busy thoughts - there has to be time for him or we start to whither. I was definitely feeling the withering. I started paying more attention and being more intentional about my days. I saw what steps I could take to make sure, in the craziness, I didn't forget or dismiss my relationship with my Heavenly Father. Here’s what He showed me:

1. Try to hear what He's telling you through the noise. 

He mixed up my world so I would learn to turn to Him and trust His plans above mine. I was so rooted in what I thought I wanted I wasn't open to anything else. I had to pay attention to see why I had to move and why everything in my life got flipped upside down.

2. Make yourself a schedule.

When I first moved, I didn't have a job and would let days pass where I didn't open my bible or try to be productive at all because "I didn't have to." Even if it's while eating breakfast, on your lunch break, or right before bed - having a scheduled devotion time (and great devotional - I recommend "The Daily God Book" by Erin Keeley Marshall) creates an expectation. It becomes easier to get back in the habit of spending time with God when you know there's an uninterrupted time designated for it.

3. Make an effort...at your pace, but make an effort. 

To some, it may not seem as though I moved fast enough into making friends or taking ownership of my new surroundings (still calling my mom's house "home" and the church I grew up in "my church"...actually, those things still may happen ; ) ) but at my own pace, I opened up to people I came to trust, found a job, and got acclimated to this new place. Making the effort is key, it's easy to sit back feeling sorry for yourself, but if you try - you'll be met halfway. God has favor waiting for you.

4. Have a rockin' husband.

I realize this isn't something everyone can check off their list, but my purpose in saying it is have someone who knows you well and who you can be completely open with. A best friend. Your momma. There were times Jon had to push me to attend our young adult group because I wouldn't want to go, or times I tried to do too much when he would tell me to calm down. Having someone to talk to about all the havoc in your life helps settle your thoughts.

5. Trust.

If you love God and you've devoted your life to Him, know He will take care of you and He has a plan. No matter your circumstance, He is there and He wants to hear your voice so don't stay quiet. See what He's showing you.

     I know it's been a long, hard journey for me to go through life being turned around every which way. But now with a clear head I can see I wouldn't have had to get out of my comfort zone had I stayed where I was and I have a feeling God needed me to. There's a lot I've learned about marriage and about my personality and about my maturity that's invaluable to me at this point. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I wish I could go back a year and tell myself that moving isn't so bad, it'll take time, but there are doors to be opened there that can't be found anywhere else (I should hope myself would believe me, haha).

     I learned a lot, as cliché as it sounds. Mostly, I have learned to find the branch and cling - because that's where our nutrients come from, it's where the spring in our step comes from, and it's where life is given. That's where I want to be.

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John‬ 15:5

The Order of Blessings | Victoria Myers

   Today's blog post comes from a lovely blogger named Victoria. This is her debut post on Joie Mag and we are lucky to have her be a contributing blogger in the future! Thank you Victoria for writing from your heart and speaking the truth about our identity in Christ.

~*~

   Getting married at 22 years old must have sounded a little scary some people in my life. Not necessarily to my closest family and friends-- they were gracious and supportive. Instead it seemed like classmates, the lady at the nail salon, online articles, the grocery store clerk, and select others wanted to advise me otherwise. They were worried about all sorts of things—that I wouldn’t ever get to travel, or do an internship, that I wouldn’t get to enjoy living alone, that 22 is just too young and that I was probably just getting married for the whole wedding ordeal and a happy ever after type of thing.

     It probably wasn’t until a few months into my marriage that I realized they were right. Or, actually that they could be right. Not about the traveling, the internship, or the living alone—but that they could be right that my heart is capable of simply wanting to get married just for the sake of the backyard wedding, a name change, and a happily-ever-after-be-forever-satisfied-type of thing. Throughout our engagement I became more aware of this temptation, I was caught up in the whirlwind of planning our wedding and supporting two friends with theirs and in the process I was falling more in love with marriage. Which is a beautiful process and I’m grateful for the ways God spoke to my heart through our engagement about what marriage is and how He designed it to be. Grateful that He reminded me that my heart is indeed capable of wanting the wedding and the happy marriage more than Him. That somehow everything between the proposal and the aisle could make me more satisfied than His grace. That all the life to come after the vows we would make could somehow redeem me more than the Cross.

     Like, I said God graciously revealed this to me throughout our engagement which helped me choose Him first. Of course I was a sinner when I planned our wedding, a sinner when I said “I do,” and still a sinner as I continue to live out life with my husband—and choosing God first will only be something I succeed in with the work of Christ in my life. Being aware of this danger that my own heart could hold, I intentionally entered into marriage with an understanding that it’s not created to fulfill me, it will eventually disappoint me, and that my husband’s and my brokenness are made one in the same only through Christ’s work on the Cross.

     This allowed the start of our marriage to be real, flawed, and truly joyful as we sought to understand that our sinfulness only pointed to God’s perfectness, and that our end only pointed to a God that is never ending.

     Fast forward a glimpse into our marriage—the wedding pictures are now posted on Facebook and the wedding band on my ring finger feels like it’s always been there. Husband and I start dreaming up future baby names. We plan out our first girl and brainstorm for the first boy, and I had then created a note in my phone with a running list of possible names and at least four typed out names that we will absolutely use no matter what our in laws or coworkers say. Then I realize, I knew where my heart was going. Yearning for something beyond the now. Desiring something that God has not yet willed to me only because my heart wants to believe that it might fulfill and complete me.

     Through these moments I realized, it’s not that wedding dresses and baby names are things we cannot choose. Rather, we must choose the primary blessing before the secondary. Choose our Creator before the wedding dress, and our Father before the baby names. Throughout our engagement I was aware of the temptation to find my identity in getting married and becoming a wife, and once dreaming up baby names for the future littles I was placing my identity in my hopeful days of motherhood. My heart was seeking these titles to fulfill me, to give me value and worth. What a gift it is that these titles are not my identity, that instead it’s Christ’s work that has made me pure, whole, and redeemed. That I am a daughter of the most High and a vessel for His grace and truth to those He brings into my life. Whether I am a wife or a mother, it is the source of our Primary blessing that is my sure foundation which lets me live out my identity in Him and experience the secondary blessings He ordains for my days.

     Whether we are in the midst of the season or seasons away from the reality—we should find our identity in the Primary blessing, the redemption we received from Christ on the Cross and the live that we may live as God has gone behind, before, and with us. It is through this that we may truly appreciate the fullness, nature, and timing of the secondary blessings; that we may come to know His design for the gifts He has willed to us, and the timing He has ordained into our days. Praise Him with me-- the God who has given us such sweet blessings to worship Him for and such sweet dreams to wait on Him for.

Written by Victoria Myers | Images by Anna Christine Photography

By His Wounds

Isn't this a sweet reminder of Jesus' love for us? With Easter approaching, I wanted to remind myself of the sacrifice that Jesus made for me. For you. He freely gave himself up so that we wouldn't have to suffer. I sometimes still have a hard time fully grasping that concept. Thank you, Jesus, for your love.

~Stephanie

Colossians 1:16-17 {Devo}

In a season when so many things are seemingly falling apart, Colossians 1:17 has steadied my heart.

"For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

The truth that Christ is constant and stable in the midst of an ever-changing life landscape comforts my heart in an extraordinary way. Not surprisingly, "Steady Heart" by Steffany Gretzinger has been an anthem I cling to in the darkness of these seasons.

May the words and melody of this song strengthen your faith in a God who is always faithful.