Bloom!

  So many things happen in the week and one of the praises we can continually have is that our Lord is ruler and sustainer of all. As we approach the weekend, here are some interesting links that remind us of our hope in the Lord through our salvation, our calling to love one another and our mission to stand firm in the Bible and preach the gospel to the lost and hurt. Check out this devotional by Elisabeth Elliot, reminding us that every blessing we receive in this life is due to God's grace. Lysa Terkeurst builds on this devotional by reminding us to remain rooted on Christ because He is the only constant source of true Strength, that allows us to walk and not grow weary and faint. Read more about that here . Summer's here and parts of the U.S. are experiencing a heatwave. Last week, a YouTube video by Jessica Ray discussed the evolution of the swimsuit, and modesty is this summer season’s hot topic (forgive the pun, well intended). An article on the Rebelution s

A heroine is defined in the dictionary as a woman who is well-known for courage and daring action. It's further described as someone who is noted for a famous achievement in a particular field or situation. In our Christian faith, we come across stories of women whose testimonies and actions have radiated Christ in their own lives and have inspired others to see that Light as well. The beauty is that these faith heroines point us to Christ and encourage us to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. Elisabeth Elliot may not have lived in the 1700's or even the 1800's, but she is still worthy of the title "Heroine of History". She has made history with her love and devotion to Christ and the spreading of His Kingdom. Many of you have heard of Elisabeth Elliot and the stories of her bravery and love for people. Here's a look at who this woman is... Elisabeth Howard, the sixth child in a missionary family, was born on December 21, 1926 in Be

Right now, I'm eating lunch at my desk: A perfectly-sized cubicle that I almost immediately decorated within an inch of its life. Today, I'm sitting in the place I couldn't imagine nine months ago. Nine months ago, I wrote about entering my senior year of college and all the prayers and pressures and winding paths that went with it. Today, I look back and I see faithfulness - and I'm so grateful. It was an amazing year with new adventures and deepened relationships; my Bible study girls grew in their relationships with God and each other; two of my friend came to Christ and several more are asking questions. And nothing felt quite so good as hitting that gong when I turned in my senior honors thesis. Actually, I hit it so enthusiastically, I knocked it off the table. Oops. A big question mark throughout all of last school year was my job and where I would live. Entry-level positions in public relations agencies are very competitive, and few agencies find the n

   Pastor Charles Stanley once said, “Often times God demonstrates His faithfulness in adversity by providing for us what we need to survive. He does not change our painful circumstances. He sustains us through them.”   Isn’t that a beautiful thought to embrace? Sadly, it is not the easiest thing to practice especially when we start walking through trials and adversity. Of course, every trial and adversity can be told in a story. Every individual, Christ-follower or not, has them. This story is about two friends and two different trials, each used by our faithful Savior to bring glory to his name. The first one began in high school where all we looked forward to was prom, youth groups and colleges. It was one of those seasons in life where you didn’t expect any curve balls to hit. To a girl named Cara, one came and changed her life forever. It was her senior year when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She had no preexisting conditions or genetic predispositions, and was an ex

Summertime's here, girls, and we thought it'd be neat to update you all on what each of us Bloom! girls is up to! God is doing amazing things in our lives, and we are excited to share them with you! Joanna:  I'm really excited about this summer, because I have been catching glimpses of what God is doing and it is beautiful!  I am living in a land where idol worship is the norm and the Gospel is not well known, where spiritual  oppression  is real.  I am so thankful to be apart of spreading God's love here in Taiwan - whether through teaching English, high fives, prayers, or hugs.  These kids are often love-starved and I know the only person that can truly love them - Jesus.  So I will be in Taiwan through July.  Then in early August I will be in a dear friend's wedding in the States.  After that, I am not sure of my plans, but I know my Lord is faithful and will lead  me each step of the way.     Megan: It's a summer of new adventures for m

  I was repeating the song lyrics to myself like a mantra last week. There will be a day, with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears. There will be a day, when the burdens of this place will be no more: we'll see Jesus face to face. There were a few reasons for that, actually - Jessina and I were choreographing a dance to this Jeremy Camp song, and I was reminding myself of this message to give me courage in the face of some difficult things I was facing. There will be a day. I know much has been said about living in light of eternity, but I recently realized that I certainly haven't been living this way. How would my life change, I wondered, if I clung to the promises in the Bible, of the time when everything will be new and wonderful and perfect, when there will be no more burdens, no more tears? Would that promise have any bearing on my life today? I discovered that it does. Trials don't seem so big, because I have my eyes on the Conqueror, and know th

A snippet of where we've been around the web recently... The Light of His Grace : "And if I’m disappointed in myself — then how is God not disappointed in me? How does He look at me with unfailing love and hope that I’ll do better tomorrow but won’t love me any less if I don’t? It doesn’t make sense. And sometimes it just feels easier to cover these insecurities up and pretend they’re not there instead of exposing them to the light." Why Do Bad Things Happen? It's the question we always ask. Ci Chong offers grace and wisdom in a guest post on The Rebelution blog: "David’s peace and comfort, as well as his joy, came from the same source: his deep relationship with God. In other words, David knew God so well he could still be convinced of God’s perfection despite the bad things in his life. God’s perfection was a glorious reality, so much so that David could trust that even the trials in his life were part of God’s perfect plan." Living in the Sacre