The following notes are from my pastor's sermon at church; they encouraged me so much, and I pray they are a blessing to you as well!

Last time, we unpacked the glorious promise of Jeremiah 31:14, realizing that God wants to satiate our souls with living water and soak our lives in His all-sufficient presence.  This is a wonderful truth to apply to our lives; but most of us fall short of living it as we should.  We know that our Lord is all we truly need—that He alone can bring lasting satisfaction—but we focus our energies on earthly things as if they will fulfill and complete us.  We convince ourselves that “if only” we could have this thing or reach that place or become this different person, we would finally be happy; and instead, we wind up empty and miserable.  Our gracious Heavenly Father wants much more for us than this!  He wants us to know true satisfaction, to walk through each day with joy, and to showcase His glory before an empty, miserable world.  His vision for His children is not merely to survive the daily grind, but to thrive in the midst of its challenges.  Here is a description of the life He wants for us.  The last verse is one you will recognize.  “. . . [A]nd they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord . . . [T]heir life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more. . . . I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.  I will [satiate] the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord” (Jer. 31:12-14 ESV – emphasis added; same for the following verses).

We finished last time with the reminder that believers are “a royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9), separated unto God for holy purposes.  A wonderful promise comes with this separation.  God spoke it to the tribe of Levi in Leviticus 18:2: “Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.”  God Himself wants to be our inheritance, our portion!  No thing(s) He could ever give us would be equal to the gift of Himself.  He said this to Abraham in Genesis 15:1b: “. . .  Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”  In Him alone is all we really need and more than we could ever want.  No one else in all the universe has the ability to satisfy us fully; but our all-sufficient God can and will.  Here is His promise to us: “And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness [abundance], and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD” (Jer. 31:14).  Let's explore a little bit of what this promise means.

Darling Virtuous Daughters,

​For most girls, talking comes easily.  Praying is just talking to our Heavenly Father.  My favorite prayers to learn from were David’s because he candidly prayed from his heart to his Father.  I think of how he spent so much time alone caring for his earthly father’s sheep, yet he was never really alone.  He had the best companionship that anyone can have.  I have learned from the prayers of David that I can share from the depths of my heart with my Father, He knows my thoughts, but why not take the time to share them with Him?  Girls, there is no one else who can be with you always, or love you so deeply as God.  Tell Him your every concern, your thankfulness, and ask His forgiveness when you’ve sinned.  The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.  Psalm 145:18  Won’t you spend some time right now talking to the Lord?

“Pray without ceasing.”- 1 Thessalonians 5:17

The Scriptures tell us that Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. Toward the end of his life, he admonished young people with the following: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.”  

Dear Sisters,

I​ would like to share with you my experiences in daily Bible reading. About four years ago (I was 10), my dad bought me a “Read the Bible through a year” Bible. I was very excited about starting, so the next week which was now New Years (how convenient :)) I began the long process in God’s Word which is bringing me closer to Him than ever. I have now read the Bible through three times and am working on my fourth year. The Lord has taught me soo much in my 5-10 minutes I spend with Him daily.

It can be challenging to maintain a cheerful attitude and a vision for a future family when that future family seems so elusive. If you’re like me, the prospect of marriage may appear slim. Mr. Right isn’t around and he’s not even on the horizon or over the horizon. It’s easy to wonder if he died at birth and the possibility of becoming an old, grouchy spinster continues to loom bigger and bigger. While your friends get married and raise their children, you are still waiting and waiting, and waiting some more. Your overflowing Hope Chest becomes more of a Hopeless Chest and you wonder if life has passed you by. 

Jesus loves me!

Think of the worst kind of girl you can possibly imagine, walking in sin, poor, shameful, rejected, impure, ugly, needy and yet rejecting help, living on the streets in rags, acting out in rebellion, the lowest class possible.

​Now, let your mind imagine the most impressive, powerful, rich, loving, highly regarded, high-ranking, well known, prestigious, wealthy, happy, mighty, perfect, pure, handsome man. 

“Take my love, dear Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.”

​I have sung those lines time and time again. The words are beautiful, and I long for them to be more than just a sentiment; my prayer is that they would ring true in my life. In this article, I would like to share a few thoughts regarding keeping Christ as our “First Love” (see Revelation 2:1-5). We are most fulfilled  when Christ is our All (Psalm 107:9). I hope these things I am learning in my own journey can be an encouragement to you, dear sisters in Christ.