Juliana Elizabeth Travis

          Every day we have things to thank God for giving us. Here are a list of five things to be grateful for when you need something to bring joy to your life or just to be thankful for in general. 1. A ll things work together for our good. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” -Romans 8:28 2. We are loved. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins”  -1 John 4:10 3. We are never alone. “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”   -Matthew 28:20 4. We have peace in the midst of chaos. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”  -Philippians 4:7 5. We have a place held for us in Heaven. "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, t...

Where do you pour out what you are struggling with? Who do you run to when you need to vent about a problem? Is it your friends, your family, your social media? Your friends and family may give you temporary peace in the midst of your battle, but it is only a matter of time until you are consumed by the fire again. Opening up on a social media platform may feel good to voice your struggles, but the backlash and negativity that you will receive will only make the baggage heavier. We’re fighting all these battles and venting them out to the people around us with hopes that we will have victory when in reality we are just digging ourselves a deeper hole. When we pour out to humans, we fill up with worldly ideas that never should have been taken in anyway. Those worldly ideas turn into worldly drama and before we know it we are drowning in a sea of lies that can never do anything for us. But when we pour out to God, we are filled with His love and grace and mercy and He gives ...

          Lent is a 40 day long fast which starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter.  The 40 days  represents the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness resisting temptation from the devil.  To learn more about Lent and the Methodist beliefs, click here .           As Ash Wednesday approached, I thought a lot about what I wanted to give up for Lent this year.  I honestly could not think of  anything to give up.  I spent a lot of time thinking about things in my life that distract me from God that I needed to get rid of.  Number one on my list was my phone.  I debated for days on this one... should I really give up my phone for a month and a half?  I made a list of things that I do on my  phone that are a distraction-- texting, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and a few games.  I often find myself scrolling through my  social medi...

          Sometimes it seems like we have unrealistic ideas about what a relationship with God consists of.  Many people see it as "Oh, I'm saved now, my sins are forgiven, I have a fresh start, I can do what I want and nothing bad will ever happen to me  again."  However, this statement is wrong in so many ways.            God says, "Come as you are. Bring your brokenness, your sin, your shame, your guilt... bring it all to Me and I will give you rest."  Sounds easy right? But God also says that it will not be easy. In order to follow Christ,  the Bible says, "We must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him."  We must give up everything to truly submit to His ways and this is extremely difficult.  God says in John 16:33, "I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation.  But take heart, I ha...

         About a year ago, I decided to start a campaign to raise money for a charity. I had been looking for a charity to support for a while, but none of them really stuck out to me as the one I wanted to choose. As I was looking one day,  the song Oceans by Hillsong UNITED was running through  my head.  I came across The Water Project and started reading about it.  And I knew immediately that was the charity I had been looking for!         Water plays a huge role in each our lives. Water affects our health, education, and many other things. Nearly 1 billion people across the planet do not have access to clean, safe water. We don’t realize how lucky we are to have clean water in our homes and cities.             My goal is to raise $60,000 and I have raised about $3,000. Watch this video and check out their website to learn more: thewaterproject.org     

          I've seen this quote many times and have never really understood the exact meaning behind it, and as I was scrolling through Pinterest today, it hit me.            In a hallway, there are usually many doors that open into different rooms. In this scenario, think of a hallway with two doors, one behind you and one in front of you. Both doors take you to different places in your life. The door  behind you is something from the past that you're still hanging on to, even if it's just by a single thread. The door in front of you goes into your future, however, it has not yet been opened for you. The hallway is representative of the testing place for God to see if  you are truly ready to follow Him.               Now here comes the true test: Will you wait for God to open the door to what he has greatly planned for your future, or will you turn back to t...