Ana NelsonAna is devoted wife and mother of two (with one on the way!). She is the founder of She Found Grace and holds one of her ministries through her Instagram. Ana's purpose is to share her faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in hopes to encourage other women through her story. For the Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage. 1 Corinthians 7:14 When women ask me how I "got" my husband to change I always respond with two things: 1) only God can change a man's heart 2) what are YOU doing to bring him closer? Many times, we as wives, are the reason most arguments begin. Call it lack of wisdom really, many times we are the reason there is stress in the home. What I always go back to is this: are you acting like a child of God or are you acting as his mom? Men don't need a mom; they need a wife who listens to God. Though they might not know what Jesus may look like, our husbands should be able to know there is something different about us. The Jesus in US. Here's an example from my own marriage. I knew my husband would get upset when I would tell him what to do (what man doesn't, right?), so when I came to Jesus the way I spoke to him was one of my convictions from God. He noticed that I went from nagging, condescending, loud to calm, humble and respectful. I started asking, "would you mind doing this?" or "what do you think if we did this?" Simple right? You should have seen him face when I changed my way of "telling him what to do." As wives we see the potential in our husbands and want to change him so badly- so he may have see that he can't do this on our own. Our approach is all wrong. We can't change him, but we can change ourselves. Through this, our husbands can soften their hearts and come to Jesus one day or get so mad that you're different and may ask "WHY on earth are you nice to me?!" Or as my husband's said, "there's something different about you." Windows of opportunity to show Jesus. Now, once in a while I meet women with a husband who just won't change and they choose to leave them because their husband just can't be near the light. This a whole new kind of darkness in a man. But let us NEVER be the reason our husbands leave us. What I mean is, as a woman of God the LAST thing we should seek, is to leave our husbands, to "teach them a lesson." "To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace". 1 Corinthians 7:12-15 ** if you are in a physically violent relationship this does not apply sisters, get help. I have seen many thick-skinned men turn to God AFTER the wife has decided to come to Jesus and change the tone of the house. I've seen men ask about Jesus AFTER they notice their wife was "different." I've seen men change and I've lived it through the change. There's nothing God cannot change, when we allow him to; but as women we are the one who cracks the door open for Jesus to come in to our husband's life and by that I mean letting him rule your personal life and your actions. In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success. Proverbs 3:6 _________________________________ Here's another example from my own marriage. When my husband would invite me to partake in things I no longer deemed to glorify God, I NICELY declined. I didn't go on preaching to him about him being a sinner... my husband had no idea who this JESUS was and much less why it was a sin. Another example. I didn't deny him his right to be intimate with me as punishment. That's right ladies, I still loved him and showed it when possible. Many times I've known of women who deny their husband sex because they are now, "too Holy" for him, so they let it be known. This infuriates husband's and if your husband isn't Christian and has a problem with women and sex... and you KNOW you are being a stumbling block, then you have set the perfect situation for the enemy to bust in and play with your marriage. Many women still can't understand this one because they feel they are being played with when in reality, it's an open door to show that God created sex and its beauty. If you were to ask my husband he would say to you "there was something different about the way you loved me, and I noticed." If we want our husbands to change, we must be an instrument in God's hands. We must come to Jesus and let him change us first and allow God's spirit guide us and our husband will notice. We are not called to baby sit our husband but we as Christian women are called to do good to them for the rest of their lives as scripture says. Doing good to them sometimes - no - many times, calls us to repentance as wives, and in turn, change. Not so our husbands may be happy, but to see we can be Holy in the eyes of God. Anything we do that draws us closer to Jesus will impact our husbands. Some may see the impact in days, some weeks, maybe months’, others years and somethings sadly, never. It took my husband four years to comer to Christ and all I had was my personal salvation and a willingness to follow Jesus because I loved God, not because I wanted to control my husband. In my personal walk with Jesus, somewhere along the way my husband saw it and wanted it too. Let us pray and ask God to give us the strength, the patience and the wisdom to reach our husbands. If you are reading this and want God to come in to your life, I beg you, to ask Jesus to forgive you, to give you a new life and that his Spirit comes to you and guides you. Find a church that disciples and connect with fellow Christians, you don't have to walk alone. Give your life to Jesus, friend. I take no credit for my life, but if I ever did anything right, it was to follow Jesus and really give my heart to him. Much love, Ana Nelson
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Pictured above: Hand-lettering by Kaitlyn Boyd, a friend of mine I met through the Christian Instagram Community. Connect with her through Instagram! You can find the link to her blog in her bio as well. Have you ever taken a step back and thought about the content that of which we follow on Social Media? Several months ago I had to take a moment where I unfollowed almost every account on my Instagram that was not a Jesus based account. It's not that I didn't care to see my friends' precious children or all the beautiful selfies (I still got to catch up with that on Facebook!). No- I really just did not want to have to scroll through any potential negativity; let's just say I was in search of encouragement anywhere it could be found. I sort of made my Instagram as an outlet for when I could not sit down and dig into my bible or a bible app; in doing this, I still had the option to scroll through Instagram and see scripture, devotions and daily encouragement. Isn't it true what we fill our hearts with is what we will pour out as well? What we feed is what we seed. What our Social Media feeds are filled with is probably a portion of the seeds we will sow. I don't know about you, but growing up in a generation where cell phones and the Internet really progressed rapidly, I tend to naturally spend a lot of time on my phone. Yep, I said it! More than I would like to admit, really. I have tried fasting from Social Media apps, by deleting the app and adding it back once I felt I was ready. But are we ever really ready? Isn't it too easy just to slip right back in to how we were before? My point is this: I should be able to get on Instagram and not be bombarded with negativity. Stay with me here. I have control over whom and what I follow. I know God is working in His people and building up an army to be a light through Social Media platforms because that is where the world is! If I stopped getting on Instagram to interact with others and share Jesus on my account, then what good am I doing (read this post about using your social media account as a vessel)? Instead, my heart is hopeful for this Jesus-loving community on Instagram to flourish so we may portray a positive atmosphere for all who are seeking encouragement. Aren't we meant to work for the Lord, in whatever we do? Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. So, if I made the choice to disengage from Social Media due to the worldliness present, would I be working for the Lord? Or would I be selfish by shying away and not pressing into the mess and shining a light for Jesus? Matthew 5:14 tells us we are the light of the world, like a city on a hill. We are to be followers of Jesus and strive to walk as He did. Though, we will never be able to do this perfectly, we still have His Holy Spirit in us. With His strength, we have the ability to press on. Matthew 9:11-12 explains how Jesus interacted with and spent time with the sinners and tax collectors (portrayed as unrighteous people). These were the people Jesus picked to be His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. In the process of pursuing more Jesus-centered accounts on Instagram, I have met many wonderful women who seek Jesus day in and day out, throughout the good times and the messy times! I am forever grateful for their constant encouragement and inspiration they provide each day through their accounts. What I have learned is this: Do not shy away from situations that obviously need Jesus, but do filter what you are filling your heart with. Continue pressing in to what Jesus calls for you to be doing and do it well! Pictured above: A prayer by a friend of mine whom I met through the Christian Instagram Community. Connect with Shanaya through Instagram @Exist2Worship and through her blog Exist2Worship. She also leads a bible study via Facebook.
The summer before I began my freshman year of high school I decided to truly follow Jesus and live sold out for Him, no matter what. Of course, the sacrifice and choices I made wasn't all so cool for many of my friends. That summer I lost a large majority of those friends. Once my freshman year began, living for Jesus became very difficult, rather quickly. The high school atmosphere is full of negativity, cursing, and simple a whole lot of ungodliness. After surviving the loneliness and temptation which came with my freshman and sophomore year, while fighting a good fight of faith, I looked back and realized one thing I wish I would have done before I started. I wished there would have been a high school survivor guide for Christians. God being amazing as always- gave me the brilliant idea to create one myself. God gave me the idea to create a YouTube series with interviews, Q&A's, discussions and much more! God opened up many doors for me to partner with AMAZING Christian social media influencers such as Christian You-Tuber Kirby Minnick, also know as @kirbyisaboss. The beautiful, Jesus loving-San Diego based model- Lauren Lebeouf. As well as many more! Being a high school student myself, I've learned and I know the temptation and struggles about how challenging it can be. Living in the high school atmosphere and staying strong in your faith, seeking to live a life that is pleasing to God is not always easy. After experiencing these things, my desire to create an outlet to inspire fellow high school Christians to live boldly for Jesus Christ in their own high schools grew even greater. Thus, how The High School Survival Guide- The Christian Edition was created! It is my prayer that this project will help and inspire high school students to live boldly for Jesus in their high schools and enlarge the kingdom and the body of Christ! -Kiersten Abernathy |
Kalie LandChristian wife, mama, student, and homemaker inspired by Jesus and the simple things in life. Humbled by our gracious God. Aspiring to make a difference any way possible by trying to be the loyal Christian that God is molding me to be. Archives
November 2016
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