you are more. i am more.

I've started many posts about what is on my heart from my Good Morning Girls study, but have published none of them. They never felt finished, seemed rambly, and I just wasn't really getting my point across I guess.

So today, I just want to share a little bit about my own heart and how I'm feeling after a full 8 week study of Colossians and now studying the favorite verses of the girls that have been on this train with me. What a wonderful way to meet people by the way. An online bible study, where you share your most intimate prayers and struggles. It's pretty great I tell you. 

Let me know if you'd like to join a group or need more information on gmg. My group is on instagram (stephaniesclark) so if you see me posting verses with this little #instavotion hashtag there are 16 other women in my group that do the same thing every day. This is how we keep each other accountable.

There has been this constant theme through this study that stands out for me. I guess it's something I need to remind myself of often, or God needs to remind me of often because I'm hard headed. 

2 Corinthians 5: 17 - 21 explains: 

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

God gave us the gift of salvation. He gave us Jesus and Jesus gave his life for mine. I did nothing and do not have to do anything to deserve this. It was a gift. God is a merciful and graceful God. He took who I was and made me new. He does this constantly, because he forgives my mistakes, my bad choices, my bad attitude, my laziness, my jealousy, my materialism. I am forgiven because God has given me grace as a gift. I am forever thankful for this, because I am an imperfect person. 

I have so much more to say, but I just can't get it into words tonight. I shared with the Colossians group that I have felt so blessed and motivated by the music of this band over the past few months.  This is the best way to get me to really listen. Put it to music. I think God knows that. Today, I journaled about really listening to God. To stop asking questions constantly and just be still and listen. So here's what I'm hearing today at least. In the words to this song, He uses verse 17 and 21 to really bring home the point that we are more than our mistakes because we are a new creation. As a believer in Christ, we have been remade. 

Thank you God that I have been remade.

xoStephanie