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Loved Notes

You were created to love and be loved. And we're here to share the message that God has loved you with an everlasting, unchangeable love through His son Jesus.

Be encouraged, because you are treasured by the One that created you.

18/07/2023

You’ve heard the saying “hurt people hurt people”, but what about the opposite? If we believe we’re unconditionally loved, won’t we love others selflessly without expectations of getting anything in return? If we truly see the nature of our sin and how we’ve been forgiven, won’t we be quick to forgive others and show mercy? If we are filled with the Holy Spirit’s fruit, won’t we go out of our way to fill others up when they need it?

I’ve lived in self preservation mode. It’s exhausting trying to keep the scales balanced of who deserves what from me. I’ve stopped myself from saying or doing something Christlike because i didn’t want to give more than i was receiving. Nothing could be more un Jesus like than waiting for someone to prove why you should treat them how Christ treats us!!

If we are receiving our true joy, fullness of life, and love from Him, we have an unlimited cup to pour from. When we know we’re taken care of by Him, we can give those things to people who might not ever reciprocate. Because that’s how He treats us.

15/07/2023

happy saturday 🍯✨

this crewneck was such a big hit after it first dropped and now it’s rereleased in the CUTEST yellow!!! grab now on the site 💛

https://loved-notes.com/products/like-honey-crewneck

29/06/2023

It happened again.

I felt like i was growing so much in my faith, I had just gotten through a “rough patch” and come across the other side even more confident in who Jesus is, what He wants for me, and how He loves me. As I was praying this weekend, i felt a tug to spend a little extra time with the Lord, and I listened. And then He revealed a deep and painful blindspot from my past that I had been sitting on for years without giving it to Him.

In that moment, I was devastated, confused, and shocked by my own ability to genuinely be so blind to a trauma that has been left unhandled for so long and that cuts so deep. I felt shame, anger, and so much pain for my past self that stuffed emotions away instead of running to the loving Savior I’m so thankful to know now. Recovered memories surfaced and I could quite literally do nothing but weep. But i know God never reveals any kind of pain or sin in our lives to keep us there. I heard Him say “Give everything back to me.” and all I could do was listen.

Life is too much to unpack all at once. And if you’re someone who has experienced deep trauma, betrayal, or abuse, the wounds can only be healed by the blood of Jesus. But He also loves us enough to take us through healing at the pace that is right according to His sovereign will. He knows us best. He sees our hearts. He knows what we can handle, what’s beneficial to unpack, and what will eventually be used for His glory (everything, if we let Him).

So let me encourage you today. It may feel like you’ve taken three steps back if you’ve just had a revelatory moment about a sin problem or past hurt. You may feel a huge burden to “fix” or “heal”. You might have felt like you were further along this journey than you actually are, but ANYTHING surrendered or re-surrendered to the Lord is a mile sprint in the right direction. It’s so much easier to run the race without the baggage of shame and hurt weighing you down. It’s a gift to unload it all onto Jesus. He already paid the price for it, and if He’s calling you to deeper healing and surrender, I know it’s because He’s going to redeem it as much as we let Him.

See it and surrender.

28/06/2023

Design 2 of 3 dropping THIS FRIDAY!!

13/06/2023

I was living with the intention of discovering my “truest self” for years. I personally thought that a life without rules, boundaries, or religious ideologies would be the best place to find my “true self”. (What if my true self loved the things that religion hated?) It all made sense to me. The best way to figure myself out was to get rid of any rules, try everything, and see what felt right.

The thing is, the worst thing you could possibly do if you’re looking for freedom or truth is to look inwardly and satisfy the human desires of your heart. Because in my own pursuit of freedom and finding myself I ended up a lonely, miserable, hopeless addict, without any real friendships or meaning in my life.

When you’re looking to find who your human self really is, you’re gonna find out really quickly that the most natural self of every human being is poisoned with sin, selfishness, lust, hate, anger, and insatiable desires for more. To uncover the true nature of your humanness will leave you in a dark place.

You can the rest of this weeks’ blog post by using the link in my story highlight or at loved-notes.com ✨💗

09/06/2023

Sneak peek of one of the designs from the limited drop coming 6.30 ✨

Can you guess this month’s theme?? 🤠

28/01/2023

I’ve grown so comfortable in recognizing how weak I am in my humanness, that sometimes I neglect to focus on how MUCH God gives us when we enter His kingdom as a child of His.

When our hearts are aligned with His, or we’re praying that our desires reflect His for us, we know God wants to give His children good gifts that fulfill the desires of their heart. Just dont forget He created that heart to desire Him 🥲❤️

also literally couldn’t write this without thinking “PUT ANOTHER BLESSING ON THEM KARI!!” over and over lol

21/01/2023

Exodus 33 details the aftermath of the events that took place with God, Moses, and the Israelites on Mount Sinai (God giving them the Ten Commandments and then the Israelites immediately disobeying, forging, a false god and worshiping it.) The last thing we heard from God was his rightful admonishment of the Israelites, who despite God’s ultimate care, provision, victory, and MERCY, could not seem to stop blatantly disobeying their LORD! (me)

After all the Israelites had done to grieve their God, questioning His authority, goodness, and love for them, and seemingly forgetting all of the mighty works He had performed to save them, you have to wonder: what comes next for these guys? God’s response to the Israelites is one that reveals exactly what kind of God He is. He tells them to pack their things up, and to get going, because He is faithful, and He’s going to give them exactly what He promised. He tells them that He’s sending His angel to go before them, they will be protected, and then they will be delivered to the Promised Land, the paradise promised to their ancestors over 400 years ago. In a place where God had every right to strike these sinners to the pit of hell, He did the only thing He will ever do: be faithful, holy, and merciful.

The catch? He’s not gonna go with them. And not in a petty way either. In an “if I go with you, I might have to judge you and destroy you because I am holy.” kinda way. This is the true test of heart posture. Because if the Israelites heard this and were ok with it, God knew His people cared more about what He could give them than who He was to them. Thankfully, they were brokenhearted.

They knew they had messed up big. And I think we know that too, sometimes. We get so caught up in pursuing the “things” of God, that we forget the biggest miraculous blessing we could ever wish for is the presence of God Himself. We find ourselves seeking job security or a relationship, health, affirmation, or even “religious” things like leading groups or speaking on a stage, or being a worship leader. In our Israelite-ish tendencies, somewhere along the way we stop looking to God and start looking past God, at the future we believe He’s promised us. God sees the greediness of our hearts. He can tell when we idolize the very things He created and start to misuse them for selfish gratification. And like we see over and over again in the Bible, God loves you too much to let you proceed into the Promised Land with leftover bo***ge of sin, idolatry, and distrust. He’s gonna halt you for a bit and give you time to think about it. He’s gonna bring you to a crossroads, and see if you pick His way or your way. He might even let you run past Him, and you’ll hear Him calling out to you from behind, but God’s presence can’t lead you if you aren’t fully submitted to seeking His presence. And here’s the thing: even if you think you’re gonna make it to the Promised Land without God, you won’t. Because He’s the only one who knows where it is.

And so this moment with the Israelites feels a lot like that. They have been seeing the miracles of God. They really wanted the blessing of the Promised Land from God. They really liked the protection, provision, and faithfulness of God, when it benefitted them. And they were sad when they heard God wouldn’t be with them, they really were! But the only ones to seek the face of God were Moses and Joshua.

I’ve had (billions of) moments when I knew I wasn’t seeking God’s face. I was looking past Him and towards whatever else I thought was most important at the time. And after I realized I was in the wrong, I slowly and sheepishly meandered my way on over to God, scared that things would be awkward. I know I chose the present over the Presence. I kept my eyes off of the true prize, and now God is going to yell at me and make me get sick (lol idk). Can I make a cool correlation?

Jesus gives us a very similar illustration of this situation in Luke 15. A generous, loving father has two sons, and one chooses the present (his inheritance) over the presence (of his father). He comes to the realization of just how far he’d strayed. (If you haven’t caught on yet, God is the father, you and me, and everyone else in history is the prodigal son.) He realized the blessing of inheritance was worthless compared to the love he found in his father. He musters up enough courage to come back home, expecting his dad to banish him to live with the servants. You want to know his father’s reaction?

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” Luke 11:22-24

Our God is just and jealous, but man is He a ferociously loving Father. He sees where your heart is at and what you idolize, but the second you come to the realization that you don’t want a single thing in this life if it means you can’t have Him, He is running after you down the street! You were lost, BUT! God sees that BUT! in the Israelites! He sees their emptiness and recognizes that they are finally starting to get it. He knew we would be sinful and straggling, and there is grace for that. BUT He cannot settle for anything less than your whole heart. It isn’t who He is.

So, to the lost, are you willing to give it up? The relationship you’re desperately clutching? The drinking habit you swear isn’t sinful? The title of “Pastor” because you know you aren’t in any place to be shepherding others right now? Because your Father is waiting in the street for you! That kind of love isn’t only for the unsaved. Or will you continue on into the wilderness with God calling out after you? Getting more lost and more lost until you finally realize the same thing He’s been telling you all along - God’s presents are absolutely worthless unless He’s there to enjoy them with you.

20/01/2023

Let me set the scene:

God has quite literally moved oceans for the Israelites. He miraculously delivered them from 400 years of slavery, provided literal bread from heaven, parted the ocean to create a safe getaway path, and even presented them with a pillar of smoke and fire (His presence) to go before them as Moses leads them according to God’s direction. This has all led them to this moment in history- God giving Moses and the Israelites the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.

This experience wasn’t insignificant. Humanity was created with a sense of moral right vs. wrong in our hearts, but these commandments, these good, helpful, loving commandments, were going to be our first step toward a covenant relationship with the LORD God! God had gone above and beyond to prove His faithfulness to the Israelites and had shown time after time that 1. He is all-powerful and 2. He loves us and is faithful to fight for His children.

As if His miracles weren’t enough confirmation that God was with them, God revealed the commandments to the Israelites by literally addressing them with His own voice from heaven. They’re standing at the foot of a mountain, His presence equally awe-inducing and terrifying, and He reminds them “I am the LORD your God who delivered you from Egypt.” How much more certainty could someone need?! He addresses the Israelites, the elders of the nation are invited to spend some time with God, and then after the covenant between God and the Israelites was made, God calls Moses up to the mountain once more for further instruction to be given. Moses asked his brother Aaron to be in charge and left to go be with the LORD. Seems like the Israelites finally got it together! (lol)

Let me remind you - the Israelites had just heard God’s voice, saw multiple miracles occur, and even witnessed God’s very essence manifest as a burning mountain while He spoke to Moses. But their minds aren’t focused on the miracle - being allowed to experience God’s presence - they’re focused on how long they’ve been waiting for Moses to come back down the mountain so they can get moving again.

They knew the promise God had made them, their only responsibility was to patiently wait and serve God with grateful hearts, but impatience got the best of them and they decided to take matters into their own hands. The Israelites got together and told Aaron they were tired of waiting, so Aaron took their gold jewelry and made a golden calf for them to worship. Even worse, they got drunk, and had an o**y, all while still claiming the golden calf was the LORD?! Not their best work. Even knowing the past history of the Israelites (who are, indeed used by God in the Bible as an illustration of all Christians,) a drunken o**y worshipping a false god while the real presence of God was still visible had me scared for the Israelites!! Like guys. Be fr.

When God saw what they were doing, He sent Moses back down to stop them. And their excuse? “You were taking so long! We didn’t know the reason why it was taking so long!”

In all honesty, I found myself in the same spot this past week. I know the promises God has made me, His Spirit is within me, and He loves me and has never allowed a waiting period without a purpose. But how many times do we, as Jesus followers react to a period of waiting like the Israelites? We experience the glory of God and submit to His authority, only to get impatient when things don’t happen immediately. Then, we try to maneuver His plans with actions of false worship. “Worship” with the intention of getting God to do something isn’t worship, it’s manipulation. And that’s not how Yahweh rolls!

We want everything to happen right now. All of our questions answered, all of our problems solved, all of our heart issues fixed, our dream job, dream man, we want it!! And if God’s timing isn’t aligned with our timing, we start to let the lies seep in. The lies that tell us it’s okay to settle for a gold calf because God “isn’t doing anything” in our waiting period. All the while, God is watching us with a broken heart because He knows His plans are perfect, and we’re creating more heartbreak, further separation from Him, and prolonging the process when we refuse to submit.

The best news is God gives us a choice in the matter. I don’t know what you’re waiting on, but I do know if you’ve been settling for a gold calf (or having a drunken o**y) God’s mercies are new every single day. He wants this period of waiting to draw you near to Him. He wants to show you just how fulfilling His presence can be. He wants to teach you, shape you, and love you into being the person equipped to handle the answer to the question “Why is it taking so long?”.

What if, just like the Israelites, God is a million steps ahead of you with the answer, the provision, the guidance, and even making ways for you to be blessed and glorify Him according to His word? All He needs is for you to be faithful, listen and obey, and seek Him above all else. Fight the lies, and the temptation to try and speed up His timing, because it’s gonna be such a sweet moment when your waiting is over, and He reveals to you in a moment “This is what was taking so long!”

30/12/2022

If i had to describe 2022 in a word, it would be HUMBLING. I feel like every single facet of my life was challenged in an embarrassing or unexpected way this year. I was pretty much struggling through each “surprise” 🥴 not really opening up to anyone, and pretending like i was still a great enough Christian that i was prioritizing my spiritual growth through it all.

NOPE!!! Physically, financially, relationally, emotionally, at work in family in friendship, there have been HARD situations to navigate this year. Spiritual discipline went to the wayside which made it so hard to fight. But i also know i have never learned so much from Jesus Himself about how we are called to reveal our brokenness to others. Too often, i see (and have been) a part of people being vulnerable where they want to be. It’s easy to tell whoever your audience is half truths or to pick and choose which parts of your struggle are allowed to see the light of day. Can i tell you how harmful that is?

Sometimes i think we believe the lie that by speaking out a situation BEFORE God has “solved it” we will be let down by the answer, or that we’ve prohibited His ability to work in us by revealing to others we’re still sinful. I’d tell myself if i were completely honest with others, they’d question my relationship with Jesus or if I’d ever experienced life change at all. Lies, but also, is self preservation seriously that important to me? That id put a limit on God’s call to confession, community, and BOASTING in weaknesses because i want other Christians to think I’m a good Christian?? How shallow of me.

Because nonbelievers don’t need to see our Christ following lives as a picture of us being so righteous we don’t have any of the same issues as them. That isn’t true, and doesn’t make sense. And when i say “issues” I don’t mean sharing moments of sin in a way that makes them lighthearted. I mean we need to boast in our insecurities, doubts, pain, WHILE we preach the Gospel. I am BROKEN but Jesus made me whole. I have ADDICTIONS but through Christs strength i can turn away. I am SCARED of the future but Gods Word promises me better. Any of the relief or knowledge we have as Christians to combat the things of this world are definitely not from ourselves!! I’m getting comfortable in recognizing and intentionally speaking out my own shortcomings because i know when I humbly approach my God, He sees my heart and stands in the gap. How can He stand in the gap for someone who refuses to recognize its there in the first place?

I leave you with this, if you hold the idea that you don’t have anything sinful or a struggle in your life and you are a Christian, i deeply implore you to read Luke 18. If you find yourself “so glad you arent as worldly” read Luke 18. ALL OF US are desperately, undeniably undeserving of anything from Jesus. Recognizing that and knowing our emptiness provides a vessel for His honesty and truth is so much more powerful than anything we can come up with on our own.

06/12/2022

happy december!!! in honor of my fav birthday boy, use code HAPPYBDAYJESUS to get 20% off of any order thats 2 items or larger!!

this new drop is my fav one ive done yet 🥹 and i keep praying for 2023 and how God wants me to use/grow my skills to glorify Him more!! (Id greatly appreciate if you all prayed for me as well. I stay praying for you 😆)

having people make Christmas orders these past few weeks has made me SO grateful. I pray over every single design/order and i just know God can and will use ANYTHING to spark a faith conversation with someone that needs it, even if that something is a comfy cute little sweatshirt!

which design is on ur christmas list?!?

26/11/2022

I’ve spent the past month or so in the most emotionally and spiritually exhausting states of my life. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

Unfortunately, when my world feels like its been flipped upside down, one of the first things i stop putting my energy towards is my list of “want to dos” When work and stress and projects and relationships and mental and spiritual warfare and cancer and what ifs are flooding your mind, it’s easy to flip the switch to autopilot and allow yourself to mindlessly fulfill the tasks you need to do to survive, and come home, sleep, and do it all over again.

It seems like autopilot would be easier, but that failure to fight is actually exactly where satan wants us. because he knows that when we fight back against the voices telling us to give up, people start to notice and ask questions. sometimes, the weapon isn’t formed to kill us, or to turn us away from God, it’s created to distract us, to numb us, to keep us stagnant and tired. and I can’t fulfill my God-ordained purpose by spending another miserable night alone in my room.

my depression and my anxiety are evil weapons of the enemy that try to stop me in my tracks. my mom’s sickness is a weapon to try to scare my family and others into questioning God’s sovereignty and goodness. busyness and tension at work is a weapon to try and puff up my pride and distract me from the dozens of lives Jesus is calling me to pour into. but the scripture doesn’t say the weapons will never be formed!! it says they cannot, will not, will never prosper against us because of the love and power our God has bestowed on us.

SPEAK against them. call them to the LIGHT. STOP suffering in isolation. REBUKE them in the name of Jesus. I’m not kidding. demons have to flee at the sound of His name. and we have work to do, and no time for the darkness the enemy is throwing at us!!

03/11/2022

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

My tears have been my food day and night,
while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”
My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭42‬

20/10/2022

i created this graphic a little over a month ago because of a verse in James that elicited SUCH an excitement in me!! Basically it goes, keep your hopes high, because Jesus is coming back one day to make everything perfect again.

Little did i know how much I’d need hope for the future a few weeks later. We all do! But God ministers to us through our past actions sometimes, He’s the best like that 🤍

HOPES ARE HIGH OVER HERE!!

this set of hoodies/shirts are pretty special to me rn. now available to buy :)

(thanks to the beautiful for being the sweetest model)

19/10/2022

do you KNOW who you’re talking to when you pray? when you cry out to God, wondering how something so horrible could be happening? when you’re so caught off guard by something the enemy throws at you, you feel like you can’t physically move? when you’re so overwhelmed, lonely, tired, and hopeless, your mind is screaming at you, “God forgot about you this time!”

when those times are happening and you start to pray, who are you praying to? a god who is apathetic and disinterested in humans, sitting up in the sky watching us, and sometimes if we’re really lucky, he decides to intervene and do a good thing because enough people prayed about it? because if that’s your god right now, i hate to tell you this but, he sucks.

do you know who the God of the Bible is? thats my God, my Father. the One who created me, and you, and this universe. He spoke one word and set both spiritual and physical life into motion for eternity. my God chose His people and made promises to them that He will keep FOREVER, even after we’ve sinned against Him. He gave Word after Word to His people through prophets, promising that one day, He’d send a Savior for us and we wouldn’t have to endure His righteous judgement. He kept that promise when He sent us Jesus. Jesus prayed to His Father, God, and His prayers to His Father were not prayers that you pray to an apathetic, uncaring, incapable, inhumane God.

Jesus called out demons, spoke against satan himself, healed the blind and sick, stopped a raging storm, raised a man from the dead, and even raised Himself from the dead after being gone for 3 days through the power of God’s Spirit.

[FINISH IN COMMENTS]

17/10/2022

some of the most desperate, scary, unpredictable, and hopeless situations in my life have been the times when God is without a question, carrying me right in His hands through it all. This is what my God has done for me before. He will do it again for me, for you, for anyone who believes and asks. We do not serve a one-miracle kind of God.

Peace that passes understanding.

Strength and endurance beyond my own physical capability.

Problems and conflicts resolved in a way even greater than i could have imagined.

Restored emotional and spiritual health after years of dead religion.

Generational sins broken.

Inexplainable financial provision where there shouldn’t have been any.

Directed paths, guidance to positions and roles, and divine placement in careers.

Supernatural conversations with strangers and moments I KNOW God had ordained and planned.

The opportunity to be a part of a family system and have so many “non-blood” family members that love each other deeply, sincerely, and without any reservations.

Addictions, destructive habits, and debilitating patterns of thought and action destroyed.

Anxiety, fear, depression, and mental illness overcome.

Knowing that wherever I do, whoever i meet, whatever i do, whatever is done to me, my God is BIGGER and DELIGHTS in protecting me and using evil for His good.

Our God is not a God that needs to be convinced to do good works. Everything about Him is good, powerful, perfect, mighty, loving, constantly seeking to do right by His children. If you need encouragement today, i ask you to boldly BELIEVE and approach the throne of God for some. He is not a one-miracle kind of God. He has you, He has me and my family, and He is waiting on you right now to surrender your big bold prayers to Him.

13/10/2022

“But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.

Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.””
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:13-14‬ ‭

available in shirt + sweatshirt.

check it out 🤍

06/10/2022

(apologies in advance for the unsolicited boy advice. this is part of my story and my heart has been hurting recently.)

a very wise person once told me growing up “when someone SHOWS you who they are, believe them.” i am not implying that people can never change (i did) or that people can’t make mistakes (i do often).

HOWEVER

when searching for a partner, this idea of examining actions over words is a NECESSITY. i have watched (and have been this girl) dozens of close friends finding themselves “trapped” in a relationship with a man who isnt who he seemed to be when she first met him. after the initial excitement wears off, she realizes shes in love with a man who is lazy, inconsiderate, lustful, or just straight up not the Christ follower he claimed to be.

what if i told you there’s a secret to determining a man’s character, without having to date him first?! there is.

EXAMINE HIS FRUITS!!! are the claims made by his mouth backed up by the choices he makes? does his personality at church contradict how he acts outside of those four walls? are his closest friends ones that are faithfully following Jesus?

the fruits of the spirit are joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control. which areas of his life are evidence of God’s Spirit at work?

if you take away the lovey dovey texts and halfhearted conversations about “wanting a Christian girlfriend” the state of his heart is VERY clear. God is not a God of confusion, and speaks to being unequally yolked and the treachery it brings many times in the Bible.

There is room for a man to grow closer to God. Jesus does save and transform lives. BUT, if you find yourself continuing to date someone that is not bearing fruit with the hopes of you being his savior? That will only lead to heartbreak, destruction, and more often than not, a growing separation between you and the Lord.

ladies, we have to be faithful enough to believe and KNOW God knows what is best, especially when it comes to picking a husband. examine his fruit. is he equipped + striving to be your partner under Jesus? or are you the one constantly having to remind him to be the man God called him to be?

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some common internal phrases i use when I’m relying on my OWN strength to try and fight against spiritual strongholds: - Nothing will ever change in this area. It’s been like this for years, why would it get any better now? - People would never respect or love me again if they knew about this. Telling others wouldn’t make anything better. They’d just judge me or think they’re better than me. - I know God could heal this if He wanted to, but I doubt He cares enough to actually WANT to change anything about this situation. - I will never be able to stop thinking this way. I have thought this way for years, and i can’t imagine how hard i’d have to work to change my mindset. - I know i can control myself, but the other person is the issue. How can things be healed if they don’t want to fix this? I trust God, i just dont trust other people. - I need to protect myself from getting hurt again. I know God sees me but sometimes He allows pain. I don’t want pain in my life, so it would be easier to shut everyone else out and do this on my own. - I need to fix this before I go back to God. He can have this area back when Ive come up with a solution for the problem. It doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus is the ONLY way to break strongholds at the source. But, He allows us to pray for others and intercede for the strongholds in their life.

For every weapon in the armor that God gives us, there is an ultimately powerless but seemingly useful “flesh” weapon we try to use. Instead of truth, we rely on manipulation and people pleasing. Instead of righteousness, we strive for whatever makes us successful, relationally or financially. Instead of relying on the power of the Gospel, we try to smooth talk our way into ministry (or around it). Instead of faith in the living God, we struggle to maintain power and control by keeping our lives surface level, where we can see everything. Instead of relying on the Word of God, we lean on our own understanding to navigate relationships, our walk with the Lord, and how to combat sin. Our struggle to keep everything in our own power will ruin our lives. It is only when we come to a moment of realization that we truly cannot live life on our own, that we will find the power of Christ that longs to set us free from the shackles of our sin and heaviness.

The biggest example of FEELING bad for our sin vs. REPENTING of it is Peter and Judas. Both men FELT the weight of how they betrayed Jesus. Only one of them went back to the Lord to repair the bond that he thought his sin had severed. Our sin (especially deep heart sin like lust, anger, pride) is such an incredible opportunity to connect with Jesus and have Him reveal our hearts. Peter experienced such an intimate bond with Jesus after the restoration of their relationship. Judas suffered until he took his own life because he couldn’t deal with the shame. God’s plan for our sin is always for us to find healing, surrender, and to feel empowered to know how we will overcome it in the future. It’s all about us giving our hearts over and turning to Him. He cares so much more about our honest struggles towards Him than He does us being “perfect”

boundary setting and discernment are NOT the same thing as self preservation!! please hear me: your safety and emotional/spiritual health is paramount in relationships. HOWEVER!!! if you find yourself constantly weighing how an action step will make you look instead of whether it’s the loving thing to do, you might be battling self preservation. our fear of man often gets in the way of us loving like Jesus did; humbly, consistently, without expectation, and without self-seeking. if we care about making sure we’re maintaining a certain image more than making sure we’re loving others well, then approval of man has become our idol. how many times to avoid apologizing because we’ll feel silly? when do you find yourself talking yourself out of reaching out to someone because you’re sure they’d never do the same for you? here’s the truth: if we have a secure identity in Christ, then our obedience to Him should not be determined by whether or not we think our actions will produce our desired outcome. we can trust that God is our provider of affirmation, love, and guidance. trust that if He’s calling us to love someone humbly, He can also provide reconciliation or send us healthy relationships to fill our buckets as we pour out to others. Day 17/75 sharing my God thoughts 🥰

i remember it took me a while to unlearn the way i grew up seeing God. It was so difficult for me to view God as anything other than a semi-displeased, angry father figure that was just waiting for me to mess up so He could punish me. Honestly reading Exodus changed the entirety of my view of Yahweh. To see Him consistently and faithfully provide, love, guide, and protect the Israelites that seemed to do everything SO WRONG LOL showed me the faithful steadfastness of His love that i had been missing for so long. He hurts for me when i hurt. Jesus is gentle and lowly in heart. God fights for me and is faithful in our covenant, even when I’m not. And get this…He LOVES to bless his children! If you struggle to see Gods love for you take time today to really ask God to show Him the lies you’re believing about His heart. God is love. Our view of love is so warped, but who better to learn from than literally love Himself?! Day 16/75 sharing my God thoughts ✨☀️ took yesterday off because honestly friends it’s been ROUGH these past few weeks. one of those times that you’re simultaneously so close to the Lord but also limping through life. im so happy i have Jesus 😭💗 there’s been lots of prayer which is producing more faith so seeing it as a blessing!!

if you’re being too hard on yourself after stumbling, there’s freedom in Jesus. although He calls us to pursue Him, chase holiness, and keep Him at the center, He also knows how us humans are. when we fall, we can rely on Him to pick us back up and set our path straight again if we let Him. we don’t have to punish ourselves for our shortcomings! extra self-imposed discipline usually ends in burnout anyway. at the end of the day, our small steps towards obedience make more effective habits than trying to change everything all at once. there’s grace and mercy for every shortcoming ❤️ Jesus wants nothing more than to help you make the next right step towards obedience, healing, and worshiping Him. “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭24‬:‭16‬ ‭

it’s easy to think the harder we chase Jesus, the easier our external circumstances will get. if anything, the most biblical expectation we can have is that the more we follow Jesus in this life, the more hardship and spiritual battles we can expect! here’s the thing though, Jesus does expect us to tap into the endless joy, love, and perseverance He gifts us. He doesn’t call us to stick our heads between our legs and give up. how could we push others to pursue Him in their struggles if every time we experience hardship, we turn in the towel and start complaining about how easy our lives should be? He give us His strength to make it through. and He gives us freedom to boast in the hardships because thats where His glory is shown. the super apostles didn’t glorify Jesus, because they were doing great on their own. perfect successful happy people don’t really need the strength of the Holy Spirit! (sarcasm) but our willingness to endure suffering for Jesus shows His power all the more. pauls life sucked by worldly standards, but for the sake of Christ, he pushed on with the strength God handed to him. and i bet when He met Jesus face to face at the end of his life, he wasn’t thinking twice about those shipwrecks!!

the book is RESET by @debrafileta and its life changing for people like me that really love Jesus but also really have some emotional issues to work through 😂💗 it’s a blessing to have the Holy Spirit empowered capacity to reject negative thoughts or lies from the enemy. we’ve gotta stop letting him have a playground in our head!! Day 8/75 sharing my God thoughts ❤️🥳

one of the biggest lies the enemy has used against me for YEARS is that i had the power to control most areas of my life. i didn’t realize I believed this lie, but my actions spoke for themselves. the decisions i made in faith, usually had a plan b. if i felt like i couldn’t see the outcome of a situation playing out how I’d imagined, id either back out or try to manipulate the results. reflecting on that is less shameful for me and more upsetting, because in reality i just didn’t have a clear understanding of who God really is. when you know who your God is, you know you can trust His heart for you. when you know how powerful He is, nothing is impossible. when you see how clever and merciful He is, you realize even closed doors are an option for Him. learning more of God’s character is the key to trusting Him with your past, current, + future circumstances. be still and get to know God.

church this morning was simultaneously a slap in the face and a big hug from the Lord 😂 pride legitimately is the root of so many of my own heart struggles. my inability to trust others, my people pleasing, my selfishness, my lack of discipline were all birthed from the original sin of pride. if we’re being honest, every instance of lack of complete surrender to Jesus is rooted in pride, because we either have an inflated view of ourselves or a deflated view of our holy God. whatever it may be in your life, I’m praying against pride in my own life and asking God to search my heart to show me where i need to surrender more!! i hated the life i made for myself…it lead me right back to Jesus. so i need to remember that the next time i get cocky and try to sail through life on my own!! Day 6/75 sharing my God thoughts 😉 (it was gonna be a walk thought but it’s like 100+ outside haha)

If your love for others is contingent on how much they have to offer you or how “good”they are behaving, thats not the love of Christ. At our very worst, in our sin and unrighteousness, He died for us. His love doesn’t wax or wane depending on how much we’re praying or reading the Bible, and we don’t get less of His love in our sinful moments. Don’t believe me? Believe Him. Jeremiah 31:3 John 15:9 Galatians 2:10 Romans 8:38-39 1 John 4:8-9, 18 Romans 5:5 Lamentations 3:22 Ephesians 5:1 Day 4/75 of sharing what God’s speaking to me on my prayer walk ☀️💗

The WESTERN COLLECTION is live!! Shop the limited collection now at loved-notes.com. I’ve also restocked/revamped some of my favorite old designs for you to enjoy 💗 Hope you’re loving these little beauties as much as i do haha

I’ve been a Christ follower for almost 3 years now, which means it’s starting to become familiar when a cycle of spiritual warfare is beginning. The two most prevalent emotions i start to feel in times of attack are darkness and death. You might think that death isn’t an emotion, but truly it’s the only word to describe what spiritual warfare or an extended without connecting to the Lord feels like to me! In Jesus is light and life. We can’t experience true life or light apart from Him. We also can’t experience true darkness or death when we’re in Him. It might feel weighty or unbearable in your current season, but in Christ we have assurance of knowing any death or darkness looming is just a season, a pruning, and a preparation for something wonderful on the horizon.

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