Bold

We all have a voice. Even if we choose to use it or not. It's there. When we use our voice, it can be for two reasons: To speak your heart or to speak the world. The first one is self-explanatory. You can speak what you feel is right by speaking your heart. Now, the second one, let me explain.
As humans, we look for acceptance. We search for it from people by the clothes we wear, the things we do, the way we act, and the things we say... And even sometimes, by the things we don't say. When searching for acceptance, we have the tendency to silence our own voices and mimic the voices of others. We cuss, speak inappropriately, and sometimes... we let the offensive actions of others slip by us in fear of rejection.
I'm writing today's blog because I'm guilty of it. I am guilty of "pleading the fifth" when I should have spoken up. I am guilty of cursing and talking inappropriately. I am guilty of searching for that acceptance of the world that is so hard to find these days. Most importantly-- I'm guilty of being a hypocrite.
You may think calling myself a hypocrite is pushing the boundary, but it's true. I am for sure a hypocrite. By speaking of the world, I never speak my heart. You may think that's understandable, well look deeper into the meaning of "speaking your heart".
In my first blog, I talked about how we are the brides of Christ. I mentioned how our Creator is our Husband. If you've forgotten or just didn't read my first blog, let me refresh your memory:
"For your Maker is your husband-- the Lord Almighty is His name..." -Isaiah 54:4
Well, when you get married to someone, you make many commitments. To love each other until death, through sickness and health, rich or poor... But mainly you make one giant commitment: What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. I know some couples like to joke around with that and such, but take it seriously for a moment. God is our husband. What's His is ours and what's ours is His. Let's add our hearts into the equation.
God has given us His heart. His beautiful, strong heart, and He hopes to have ours in return. (If you claim to be married to God, I hope He does!) But here's the thing... When we choose to speak of the world and not from the heart... We choose to silence God's part of our heart too. Doesn't that stink! You never realize how bad it is to speak like the world until you realize you're "shushing" God and telling Him that He'll get His time to shine later... If He's lucky.
Why do we do this? Why do we silence our Husband, our Father, OUR CREATOR? It all boils down to one thing: Acceptance. The world didn't like Christ, Son of God, so why would they want to hear about Him? They don't! Don't believe me? Listen to this little whit of information:
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first."  -John 15:18
They hated Him. They hated Him because He poured out God's heart! He let His mouth become one with His heart, and He spoke. Jesus was bold. You're probably thinking, "Yeah, but He was sinless. Perfect!" Yeah, He was.. And He still died just like we will. What makes Him bold is speaking God's heart even when He knew the world would hate Him.
God knows your heart. It's His to hold! He made it, formed it.. He knew every trial it'd go through, and He is attuned to its heart beat.
"God, who knows the heart, showed that He accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them..." -Acts 15:8 
Be bold. Speak from your heart... No, speak from God's heart.
Ever feel alone? Be bold, speak up. Ever feel hurt? Be bold, speak up. Ever just wonder about life? Be bold, speak up. Ever have anything on your heart? Be bold, speak up.
"So that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." -Romans 15:6.

"Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid..."
-Pretty Little Liars.

Is it too late for the White horse?

"When I was a little girl I used to read fairy tales. In fairy tales you meet Prince Charming and he's everything you ever wanted. In fairy tales the bad guy is very easy to spot. The bad guy is always wearing a black cape so you always know who he is. Then you grow up and you realize that Prince Charming is not as easy to find as you thought. You realize the bad guy is not wearing a black cape and he's not easy to spot; he's really funny, and he makes you laugh, and he has perfect hair." -Taylor Swift. 
Every teenage girl has believed the same thing that Taylor believed when she was little. That there's a Prince Charming and he'll come on a white horse. He will be everything you want and he'll just be everything. End of story. Happy ending. All that. As we have grown up though, we have slowly out grown our glass slippers and let go of the fantasies we dreamed would be our reality. We have learned to "settle". We assume that every fairytale writer had a very good imagination but in the end, they had it wrong.
What if that's not the case, though? What if, just what if, we're the ones that had it wrong. Maybe, just maybe, we're not meant to be looking for Prince Charming in stores or at school... Maybe we're supposed to be looking for him somewhere else. In our hearts.
Crazy, I know. But just think. What are the characteristics of the normal "Prince Charming"?

• He rescues the damsel in distress. 
• He plunges himself into evil's wrath to save his love.
• He is reliable. 
• He is strong. 
• He is understanding.
• He seems to be dream-like. 
• He will love you unending. 
• He comes with a happy ending.

Every person is or has been the damsel in distress. (Even boys... there is probably another word for it, but it's whatevs.) We have all needed that saving grace... that heroic figure to step in. We have all need that salvation... We have all needed and still need Jesus. He laid down His life because He knew we would need to rely on Him and He was strong enough to take the weight of our burdens. He was understanding, and such love like this, that He'd lay down His life, was dream-like. It didn't end there, though. His love is so unending, that when we sin and fail Him over and over again, when we cheat on our Husband (Yes, Jesus is our Husband, Groom-- I'll get into that later.) He slips our wedding dress back on. And no matter what, no matter how much we play Maleficent (Evil Step mother from Sleeping Beauty), He still holds out His nail scarred hands and leads us to our happy ending with Him. Jesus is our Prince Charming. He won't cheat on us; He will be faithful and true; and He comes on a white horse. Don't believe me? Let's turn to the Bible, shall we?

"I saw Heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True." -Revelation 19:11

We fail, we break commandments, we sin... But here's a little thing that will shock you the most:: No matter what, when we confess our sins to our Husband (Jesus), He slips our white wedding dresses over our heads and just lets His love pour on us as He admires His newly pure bride. How shocking is that?! Jesus doesn't want "a break", or divorce, and He sure doesn't want time away from us. Truth is: He wants the opposite! He wants a break from the break, He wants to remarry us, and every second He wants to spend with us! That shocks me that this perfect, selfless Man wants to spend time with this crazy, worldly, screw up! Don't believe you're a bride before a fiance or a girlfriend or that you're even a wife? Let's turn to the many examples of scripture again.

"I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ."
-2 Corinthians 11:2
"The bride belongs to the Bridegroom..." -John 3:29a

Proof! We are brides meant for Christ. We are His amazing, beautiful brides! Corina and I always had this inside joke that really isn't a joke.. "Always keep on your wedding dress." That seems like a weird saying, but think about it: If you're having a hard day or just a tough time, just vent to your Husband! He'll see you in your wedding dress and think of you no differently then He did on your wedding day. He'll be understanding. He'll be open. The Lord who made the stars, the sun, and even you...He'll be Prince Charming on His white horse. 
 
"For your Maker is your husband-- the Lord Almighty is His name..." -Isaiah 54:5