My soul is restored because an empty grave

March 15th, 2006 was THE BEST day of my life. I woke up that day, went to school and that night went to youth group at church. A man by the name of Jason Bruns gave his testimony for the first time in public and I was the one who got saved when he gave the altar call. His wife Anna prayed with me, as did a singer on stage, Tessa. Tessa took me under her wing that first year I was saved and I'll forever be thankful for all she taught me about serving God. I looked around after we finished praying and there was roughly 50 teens gathered around me. 

I've always said this, but in that moment, I felt TRUE love for the first time. I understood it.

I was physically born in Wellington, Kansas, but I was spiritually reborn there as well. Wellington has a special place in my heart and when I pull into that town as a 31 year old woman now, I have a peace rush over me. I was restored that night, nearly fourteen years ago. I don't claim to have it all together or figured out when it comes to being a Christian, but I strive daily to get closer to God and ask Him to purge anything out of me that is not pleasing to Him. My desire in life is to see others saved and those who are saved, draw closer to Him. So, that is the only reason for me writing. I thank you for the love and encouragement. I know you could be reading from much more talented writers at this moment, but I promise I will keep it simple and real, as I always have, and I won't change from my redneck ways. I'm Dave Gaston's daughter, as I always remind Grant. :)

He restoreth my soul... Psalm 23:3

Restore. It's a verb. An action. It means to bring back. Renovate. Return. Repair.

Are you letting God restore your heart? I am saddened by the faces I see when I go into a public setting. It doesn't take me long to find that most of the faces are not restored internally. Their soul is a mess. Their face tells the story of what is raging inside. Some people are good actors though. I've been a good actor before, so I can detect the pretty well!

What are you needing God to restore in you? Is it your marriage? Left and right I'm hearing of marriages failing. I think people not only give up too easily, (I think they said "I do," to the "better" but not to the "worse.") I've only been married 12 years and a few months, so I'm not here to say I have it all together, but I will say I married Grant for the worse just as much as I married him for the better. I married him for the sickness, not just the health. What about you? Did you marry that person just because they were on their best behavior during the courtship months and the engagement time, they always worked out and had a six pack and a full face of makeup and they always gave you compliments?

I want to know... did you also marry them even if they were to get fat, ugly and mean?

 I told you I'd keep it real!

With all seriousness though...

I believe too many people have their head stuck in their phones and not in their spouse's life. Let's say you spend on average, just one hour a day on your phone. Checking emails, texts, looking at the weather forecast, reading your "Bible App," talking to Grandma. Let's imagine you only spend one hour a day doing anything on your phone. 

Can you honestly tell me and say that you spend that same amount of time cherishing and loving your spouse? Probably not. I don't mean asking how their day was and making small talk like you would with a regular friend or a parent. I mean husbands, asking her if you can do the dishes tonight. Hallelujah, I just felt the Lord writing that! :) Wives, initiating "alone time" and making it FUN, not a chore. God gave this to husbands and wives! It's not wrong or dirty or gross! Husbands, asking your wife if you can take her on a date and you NOT bring your phone. Wives, walk over to your husband and give him a long hug and tell him how you want to just sit and stare at him for a while and thank him for all he does for your little family. This should be normal activity in marriages. It is big red flag when you have more negative to say and think about your spouse than positive. Take that marriage to the ICU and spend some extra time loving each other and praying together. No marriage is perfect, but I believe it can be heavenly when both the man and the woman are preferring the other above themselves.

Let God restore your marriage today! That is HIS will for your life. It's not His will for you to stay glued to other people's lives while your own marriage is suffering. Or even if your marriage is fantastic, you still don't need to have your head stuck in other people's business. Be a friend, take time to lift others up on a regular basis, that is something I learned from my mom, how to be a good friend to others, but always, always, always, keep your center focus on your spouse and kids. And when the kids are grown... your marriage will not suffer because of the empty nest, but it'll flourish because even when the kids were still at home, you put much needed attention and emphasis on your marriage. Remember, Eve was created for Adam to be a helper, not the kids to be his helper, or his mom or his best friend... the wife was created for the husband. So always make your marriage top priority over all. All the other relationships will fall into their rightful place when you're obeying God by serving and loving your spouse firstly.

God wants to restore your past, your failures, how you are rude and snippy to others and make your own family walk on egg shells around you. God wants to REBUILD that area of your personality. Maybe you're a teen or young adult reading this. God doesn't look down on you for your wrong choices you've made in the past. He wants to restore the pain! He wants you to learn to forgive, love and walk in freedom, TODAY. Not tomorrow... TODAY!!!!! My buddy Dalton Jordan shared a song with us yesterday called Empty Grave. I loved a certain line in it.

DON'T WAIT TIL' TOMORROW
TO LAY DOWN YOUR SORROW
FREEDOM IS HERE TODAY

I'm personally a big southern gospel fan. I actually prefer the old hymns that are 50, 60 years old. But this one powerful song! I'll link it at the bottom.

It's time for us to understand fully that we can have freedom today all because of that empty grave!

God wants to restore your soul and let you feel the warmth of His love and the joy of His peace. Only when your pride is gone this can happen. You must say YOU were wrong. Say sorry! Ask for forgiveness instead of always playing the victim. Let God in today. Right now. While you still have breath in your lungs. He's been patiently waiting for you to do so.

God wants to restore your health. I'm not the only Christian out there dealing with any level of stress at any point in life. We all face it, but my question to you is this, how long are you okay with just facing it without God? I believe it says in the Bible to put on the whole armor of God because we are to face a trial and issue head on with HIS power and protection.

NOT OUR OWN PRIDE AND WILL.

(Read that paragraph above at least one more time!)

Do you know what happens when you have on all your armor? When you hold up the SHIELD OF FAITH? You allow faith to protect you instead of FEAR. Man, I feel that! When we have FAITH in God, faith like an itty bitty child, we are being obedient to God! We are disobedient when we try to take situations in our own hands and declare that WE know the right way, WE know what's best, WE are the one who isn't treated fairly, WE need to have the last say. No. No. No. We can't have that mindset if we are ever going to get freedom. True freedom comes when we have faith to let GOD fight out battles instead of us always wanting to take the reigns and set others straight. I've had to let God fight for me several times. It's been hard at times to shut my mouth, and keep it shut, but I've learned that doing life on my own, feeling sorry for myself, wishing someone would come running to me to apologize... that was not a way to live. Not for this child of God. Misery loves company, so do not fall for the lie from Satan that you must voice all your feelings out loud to get past something. Think of Joseph in the Bible... think of Hannah being taunted by the "other wife who could have babies," think of Job... think of Jesus on the Cross... think of those martyred in the Bible and those TODAY being persecuted. Sometimes it's not easy being a Christian. It isn't for wimps, I'll tell you that. It takes a real man or woman of God to be quiet, and let God fight for them. Even unto death.

My mother in law and I have a super close relationship. My mom said when we first got married that Rhonda and I are like "Ruth and Naomi," and that is what we've always called each other.

I told my mother in law a few months ago that I felt I was "choosing comfort over freedom" in a certain area of my life. It is easier to stay comfortable and protect your feelings from others, especially those who hurt your feelings, rather than to chose freedom by allowing God to fight your battle and you let go of the pain and you chose to walk in God's promises and love each day. That is what I finally had to do! If I can do it.. YOU CAN TOO!

So, I say to you today, whoever you may be and however you came across this little, plain, and rather pitiful, :) blog site, DO NOT LIVE YOUR LIFE ANY LONGER BEING BOUND BY SATAN AND HIS WAY OF THINKING. 

The devil says "you're never going to be enough."

Christ says, "I've won the victory and you are MINE!"

There is freedom in Christ when we lay down our pride, stop pointing fingers at others and simply kneel down at the feet of Jesus. Open your Bible. Read it. APPLY IT. Live it.

Pray. Pray like you've never prayed before. Pray spontaneously. Pray without worry of who is listening and who might stare. I lived how I wanted until I got saved March 15th, 2006, FOURTEEN years ago, PRAISE THE LORD. I was bought and paid for and I will live victoriously because God has RESTORED my soul. And I will allow God to restore my mind and soul daily as I pick of my cross and follow Him. He restored my parents marriage and our home around 20 years ago and now I am married to a godly man, who helps me to see the beauty inside of me and loves me for who I am. Thank You, God for giving me life everlasting when I accepted You as Savior on that Wednesday night as a lost and confused 17 year old girl.

I pray that you will seek God today. Get sin out of your life. If it doesn't make you feel closer to God, ditch it. If it draws you closer to Him, make more time for it. 

God loves you and He is waiting for you to talk to Him. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFxmPonKXkQ


(If this link doesn't work then look up Empty Grave by Zach Williams.)