scriptures over anxiety.
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7
cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7
peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. not as the world gives do I give to you. let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. - John14:27
for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. - 2 Timothy 1:7
“therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. are you not of more value than they? and which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? and why are you anxious about clothing? consider the lillies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. but if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? therefore do not be anxious, saying ‘what shall we eat?’ or ‘what shall we drink?’ or ‘what shall we wear?’ for the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” - Matthew 6:25-34
worship songs for your playlist.
scripture — what you choose to fill your mind and ears with is vital.
Give Me Jesus by UPPERROOM
Jireh by Maverick City Music
Our Father by UPPERROOM
Fear Go by Mercy Culture Worship
Homecoming by Bethel Music
Famous For by Tauren Wells
The Story I’ll Tell by Maverick City Music
Egypt by Bethel Music
Breakthrough by Red Rocks Worship
Defender by UPPERROOM
Heart on Fire by Citipointe Worship
Open The Scroll by UPPERROOM
Do It Again by Elevation Worship
All Hail King Jesus by UPPERROOM
Protector by Kim Walker-Smith
Champion by Maverick City Music
Real Thing by Maverick City Music
Grave Clothes by Tribl & Maverick City Music
Old Church Basement by Maverick City Music
Thank You Jesus for the Blood by Charity Gayle
season of singleness.
It all begins with an idea.
my goal in writing on this topic is to shoot the idolatry of marriage in the head. marriage is beautiful; it is a gift that God created in Genesis. my issue lies in when people put their hope and joy in finding “the one.” it is exalting the gift above the One who gave it from the start. I see in Scripture both married and single men/women who do great feats for the Kingdom of God. Deborah was married (Judges 4) and ruled an entire nation, leading them to victory over their enemies. Ruth was married, initiated a fast that affected the history of the Jewish people. the Apostle Paul was single and wrote most of the New Testament, evangelized most of the first century world, and witnessed incredible miracles. Peter was married, and walked on water, healed the sick, and preached the Gospel all in the power of the Holy Spirit. from these examples, we can see that you can be mightily used by God and marriage is not a prerequisite for that. if you have a desire to be married, then know it is probably from the Lord, since He is the author of covenant. my challenge to you is to keep marriage in its proper place. marriage will not satisfy you, only a relationship with Jesus will. nothing can be above your relationship with Him and if it is, that is an idol. in essence, the Gospel is found in Luke 9:23, “if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” those are the very words of Jesus, not mine. in the Christian life, nothing is guaranteed is in this world. Jesus is our treasure. the only thing He promised we would have is peace and joy in trial, knowing we’re not living for this age, but eternity. I advise you to surrender your desire to be married, fall in love with Jesus, and trust His timing is better than ours. God has adventure in every day of your life. the purpose of life is to know God, not to get married. if it comes, wonderful. if it doesn’t, you still have a whole life to spend falling in love with Jesus Christ.
love, Andrea Claire
reading the Bible.
I want to share the beauty and power of reading your Bible daily. Why? Imagine that each day, you have a bag of seeds, choosing where to scatter them throughout your day. And in the years to come, tangible fruit will grow. Would you like your life to have fruit in 20 years? 50 years? Choosing to invest in the Word of God will bring you peace, joy, and life. The Bible is not just another book, and it’s not segments of history made by man. It is the living, breathing, love letter from your Father. Ever had a pen pal? Before the times of social media, people wrote each other letters. It was sentimental and sweet. The Bible is your personal letter from God.
Instead of viewing the Bible as sixty-six separate books, read it as one story spanning the course of all of history. Genesis 1 literally starts with the words “In the beginning,” and the final book Revelation describes the end of the age. Every book in between is the account of various men and women who either served God, or not. Every page in between has purpose and the Lord wastes nothing. The Bible is not a self-help book guaranteeing you a painless life in 30 days. No. This beautiful book is meant to point you to the Savior - Jesus Christ. And let’s not get it twisted, He is not just in the New Testament beginning in the book of Matthew. Jesus is in every single book of these holy scriptures. I encourage you to go find Him.
God wants to talk to you, He wants that intimate time with you. And there are several ways that He speaks. The Bible is one of those primary methods. In order to know the voice of God, you have to dive in and learn the Bible. If you are seeking clarity, direction, or a word from God… but you are not in your Bible, it’s like trying to call someone without dialing their number. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t understand everything, or even find some parts boring. That’s normal, and this is a process. I challenge you to commit, like really commit, to reading your Bible every day. Make a plan, get a Bible reading app, grab some friends, and study a book of the Bible together. We have very little excuse in America for not reading it. Our issue isn’t access, it’s hunger. We are full on other things such as our career, relationship, or social media pages… but refuse the actual words of life. When I was in Bible college, one of my pastors said, “Your Bible is not your textbook, it’s your daily bread.” So come and feast, it’s free.
Love, Andrea Claire
words are weighty.
Let’s address flakiness. What I mean by that is the tendency to say one thing and do another. Yeah girl, we’re going there.
If this is the case for you, there is something out of alignment in your character.
“Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking on a lame foot.”
- Proverbs 25:19 NLT
I want you to do a quick evaluation of yourself, are you unreliable, or are you faithful? I think that the answer to that question is connected to our words. Proverbs 18:21 says “The power of life and death is in the tongue, those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Your words carry weight, they matter. They can bring life or destruction. If you say you’re going to do something, but you don’t do it, you are lying. It’s really that black and white. Jesus said this in Matthew 5:37 “Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.” (ESV) Can I call us higher? Can we match our words with our actions?
Psalm 15 gives a list of qualities of those who ascend the hill of the Lord and one of those things is honoring your word to your own hurt. This means that if you make a commitment with your tongue, you’re going to honor it even when it’s inconvenient or costly. This isn’t meant to scare or shame you, it’s meant to illuminate the power that your words carry. If you struggle with this, practically you can get a calendar or planner to help you keep track of things. And not be afraid to tell people no.
Don’t let fear of man rule you, it’s a snare (Proverbs 29:25). I’d rather have an honest no than a yes I can’t count on.
James 1:19 encouraged us to “be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to become angry, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Another practical thing you can do it talk less. Think before you speak and really determine if you’re able to follow through with the commitments you’re agreeing to. For example, if someone invites you to an event instead of frantically replying yes in a moment, you can give a proper, sincere response after you have calculated if you are able to attend.
People who honor their word are trustworthy, ones we can count on. Let’s be women who only say what we mean and honor the Lord and the people around us with our words.
Love you, Andrea Claire