Disney and Jesus

That’s a huge question but an important one. For this post, I will be using a Disney reference 😍 haha! Maybe you love that, maybe you hate it, but it fits so perfectly. I couldn’t not use it! : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgXpsZa8_i4

As followers of Christ, it is SO important for us to know who we are. I don’t think the church tells us that enough not do they show steps on what that would look like. That said this will probably be a two-part post because we have a LOT of ground to cover!

What is the first thing you think of when you think of your identity? Maybe it is a hobby or your job. While those are awesome, I will legit tell you: if it’s not Christ it’s nothing. I love you but if the first thing you said wasn’t Christ then you will always be striving. You will always be searching for more. Maybe right now you’re doing fantastic at work! Your side hustle is thriving. You feel unstoppable. You would even say you feel “whole”.
I am so glad! Like for real, sooo happy for you! But if I wasn’t honest with you I would be keeping such a good thing from you.

Jesus is the only thing that never changes.

You might say “ya I know”. Then why is your identity in something that literally could be gone tomorrow… That relationship could end. That job.. could disappear. Schools everywhere literally shut down on a whim last year due to a virus no one saw coming. 😐
Everyone is real hurt by those words haha! I’ll give you a sec to forgive me for reminding you of how fragile life is.

On top of the fact that Jesus is constant, He also gives security like no other. I know I am loved beyond belief. I know any baggage I had is now gone. God cast my sins as far as the east is from the west. Amen? More than that I don’t have to look for validation anywhere else because I have the validation of the creator of the universe. The one who made the whole galaxy thinks I am to die for. The one who made the stars thinks I am a treasure.
The best part is, that will never change. On my worst day and on my best, He still loves me.

Out of that love, I can love others. Out of that love, I don’t have to fear what others say about me. Out of that love, I don’t need to search. I have met so many people who are searching. They will try anything the world has to offer to fill that hole inside. It might not even feel like a hole but it can still be there. Do you need validation constantly? Do you conform to whatever everyone else is doing even when you don’t want to? It is possible at this moment you don’t feel that any of this applies to you. However, at some point, it might. When it does, I want you to come back to this post!

If you want to be secure in your identity and you want to be sure of who you are, then you need to have Christ in the center of your life.

Once you have Christ as your center you can be secure in who you are. You know exactly who you turn to when you feel sad, lonely, or insecure. You know where to go if you need a confidence boost. You know your worth and I think, to be honest, that is the best part. There is this line in Hamilton: the musical that says “if you stand for nothing then what will you fall for.”. That is what I think of every time in terms of my identity. I know who I am therefore, I don’t fall for the things of this world. I know who God says I am and that is what matters.

Now that everyone thinks I am the most confident person ever, haha! I will say in complete honesty I don’t always feel like that. The devil is REAL good at wanting to make me feel small. If you found interest in this blog post, you might struggle with that too. The only person who didn’t struggle with that was Jesus. The best part about that though is, even Jesus was reminded of his identity. Let me show you:

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” – Matthew 3:16-17

Right after Jesus was baptized, God the Father literally says from heaven: This is my Son, whom I love; with him, I am well pleased. If that isn’t the best confidence boost, I don’t know what is. After this reminder, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. If Jesus needed a reminder of who he was, think about how much more we need reminders! When we are in a trial or maybe just are having a hard day. It is ok to not always feel the most secure in your identity but you need to know about things. 1. Where your identity is coming from. (hint: Jesus is always the best) 2. how to remind yourself who you are

The best part of your identity being placed in God is that you can know exactly His thoughts for you. There are so so many verses that remind you EXACTLY who you are.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you^[a] free from the law of sin and death. – Romans 8:1-2

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him – John 3:16-17 (THIS is about youuuu! He loved you!!!)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation – 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he^[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship^[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— Ephesians 5: 4-5

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰ and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. ¹¹ In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,– Colossians 2 9-11 ( We are made WHOLE in Christ. So many Christians are walking around broken when they could be made whole.)

Why is this important —>I need to know so fully who I am that when the devil tells me otherwise I can say “nope, you’re wrong!”

Write that down! Put it somewhere. You NEED to know who you are! The devil doesn’t mess around. He isn’t going to say Hi this is the devil speaking, you suck. No! The devil is smooth, he knows your insecurities. The devil knows how to make you feel shame. The devil doesn’t want you to know who you are so he can be the one to define you. Don’t let his smooth-talking make you feel unworthy!

So, why did I say this would tie into Moana? Well let me tell you, Moana KNOWS who she is. Period. The whole time she is confident. She says “I am Moana of Motunui” like a hundred times. She goes through allll these random things that are purposeful but could have easily made her give up. When she is about to turn back and call it quits on her mission, her grandma reminds her who she is. No matter how secure we are, we need people to remind us who we are. However, the more secure you are the less it happens.

I believe God really wants his people to be secure in themselves so that they can love people to the fullest. Part 2 of this will most definitely come soon… if yall want to read it of course haha! 😉 I would love to talk to you more about this if you have any questions! As always, much love and God bless! – Isabel 🙂

Do the next right thing in Frozen 2 is a tear-jerker! As someone who has been in some really dark spaces, I would even call it therapeutic. Disney captured the raw emotion of when you are at a loss and don’t know what possibly be next. I was blown away by it. Anyway, let’s break it down to apply to our faith.

For this blog post, I want to talk to two groups of people. One might be a big group of people, while the other may be a much smaller group. The first includes everyone who is struggling to go into this new year. 2020 hit everyone in the face. Everyone coped with it in different ways and may still be affected by 2020. Thus this group includes anyone coming out of a trial. The second group is the people who have been crushed and run over too many times. They don’t know what to do next because this world just seems too dark. I am sure there are some people in both groups.

I will be referring to the book of Philippians and the book of James mostly. Philippians is four chapters and James is five. I ALWAYS suggest reading these books. If you have struggled with what practical faith looks like in ANY season, good or bad, James is for you. If you need new goals for this year I highly recommend it. James will call you out in ways that you can apply to everyday life.

If you are in a hard season and want to be able to see an example of walking in joy, Philippians is where I would go. Paul writes this book in jail but still tells us how we should keep walking in faith. If you want another good example of being consistent in trials, I would suggest Joseph. His story is found in Genisis 37-50. He went through so much but still choose to serve God every chance he got. He may have cried and yelled but he still chooses God at the end of the day. ANYWAY, let’s get started !!!

You are lost, hope is gone
But you must go on
And do the next right thing
Can there be a day beyond this night?
I don’t know anymore what is true
I can’t find my direction, I’m all alone

I think that in life everyone will feel this way at some point. If you haven’t yet I am so glad! If you want to skip this part you can. However, if you have… Same. In fact, that is why I started this blog. My life has been wild (see my testimony for more haha). The one thing I know is that you will need a lil something extra from time to time. Hope, strength, something to keep you steady. For me, I have found that in Jesus.

Philippians 1:6 has defined that further. God isn’t going to leave us in this space of hopelessness. He says he will bring everything to completion. We just need to believe what he says. This can be easier said than done. (!!!) I will encourage people to hold on to hope constantly but that doesn’t mean I am always a super hopeful person. There might be seasons where it is harder to be confident in God’s ability to bring everything to completion. The important part is to always come back to that knowledge and faith we already have in him.

It can be helpful to look back at your life and write down all of the trials that have been brought into completion. At first, it will seem pointless. It can be helpful later when walking through trials.

I won’t look too far ahead
It’s too much for me to take
But break it down to this next breath, this next step
This next choice is one that I can make

No matter if you are in a trial or recovering from one, the Lord wants to be our comfort. But he also doesn’t want us to get too far ahead. James 4:13-15 we are encouraged to lean into the fact that we don’t know what will happen next. Personally, I think we were ever supposed to know what would happen after every step. While at first, that might seem scary, the more you get to know God the more you know he will take care of you, even when you don’t know what will happen next. So, you take one step at a time.

This is also restated in Philippians 3 more specifically in verses 13-14. It reads ” Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”. I would 100% suggest reading it right now!

When it’s clear that everything will never be the same again
Then I’ll make the choice to hear that voice
And do the next right thing

For this last bit I just want to state that if this is the case for you, I am praying for you. When there are permanent changes and losses in life, it feels impossible to recover. Maybe you need a minute to sit in the weight of the grief of your loss. After you sit and acknowledge the pain, get up. One step at a time choose to keep going, to do better, and to keep growing. Do the next right thing.

If you need advice or prayer feel free to contact me 🙂 I would love to point you in the right direction. Much love and God bless -Isabel

Why God should be your Confidence

(If you haven’t seen frozen 2 go look it up)

Anyone who knows me also knows I am absolutely in love with Jesus.  Anyone who knows me also knows that I am a huge Disney fan.  No shame!  Yet, when I watch Disney, I can’t help but find Jesus, since I want to find him in everything. So when I watched Frozen 2 a thousand times with my baby sister (who decides on movies she wants to watch and then that is all she will watch) I began to see parallels between frozen and my faith. I ended up sharing a couple of these Disney/ Jesus connections with some friends. I said, “When I have my own church one day, I will have a whole series on Disney movies and Jesus.” My friends were super pumped. They said, “Why wait?? Start now!” At first, I was like NO,  but shout out to Kari and Chinerye for convincing me. Without further adieu here is: 

Why the song Show Yourself from Frozen2 should move you to tears….. because God is so good. ☺

Here’s a little intro to the movie in case you didn’t watch it.  In Frozen 2, Elsa reflects on being insecure about her purpose for her life. If you watched the first film, this is basically the problem the whole movie. Her fear and the actions she takes because of it are related to insecurity. In Frozen 2, Elsa starts to hear a voice. She believes this voice will tell her what she needs to know about who she is. She goes on a journey to find the voice, which leads her to a place called, . Atahala. This is where everything should make sense. This should hold all the answers.

The Lyrics

Are you the one I’ve been looking for
All of my life?
Show yourself
I’m ready to learn

As she is singing, Elsa learns that the voice was her mom calling her to come to Atahala. At this point, I have probably lost you.  You are questioning how this has anything to do with Jesus.  Just WAIT. Let me explain! 

Elsa’s story is a beautiful reflection of our relationship with Christ. We all start out with the idea that we need more. What that “more” is looks different for each person, but we pray for MORE. I have talked to many young women who struggle with insecurities and self-worth. I have met guys who don’t have motivation or direction. These issues are amplified if these men or women don’t know Jesus, but even those that do know Jesus still pray for God to give them more to fill that place of insecurity. Yet, what we fail to realize is that when we accept Christ as our Savior AND walk with him daily we come to find our truest self. We ultimately find what we have been looking for our whole life.  Elsa sings, 

You are the answer I’ve waited for
All of my life

Come, my darling, homeward bound

I am found

Show yourself
Step into your power
grow yourself
Into something new

You are the one you’ve been waiting for

Jesus is truly the answer that you have waited for all of your life. He is calling us to himself so we can walk in HIS power. You are not lacking.  You do not need more. I understand that insecurity is something that we all fight, but in high school I began to see how God’s power in me is bigger than anything I face. 

Yet in my senior year, I was talking to some girls about life, and I realized that insecurity can still become consuming for many people, especially those who are insecure in their relationship with Jesus. A freshman in the group said she was very insecure almost every day. She wanted everyone to like her. She wanted to look perfect. I told her that this need would go away by Senior year and she just needed time. However, all the other girls in this group were Seniors and they all looked at me. Then, one by one, they said, “No, I still feel that way.” I was so confused. I have never considered myself a confident person, so why didn’t the other girls feel the same way I did? I realized that, in this particular group, I was the only one who had a close relationship with Jesus. While the others had been introduced to Jesus or had gone to church a little, none had a deep relationship with him. 

Out of that experience, I realized that when you know Jesus well, the rest of the world matters a whole lot less. Without Jesus, it is so easy to feel purposeless, but with him we can be confident that HE has a great purpose for each of us.  My hope is that you understand that your life has purpose and you don’t need more.  The rest of the world may seem to make you feel like you lack something, but your purpose is already in you.  Stop looking for more.

Here are some verses that I hope give you hope and confidence of who you are in Jesus: 

2 Timothy 1:7 – For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.  

1 Peter 2:9  – But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Proverbs 3:26 – For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

Romans 15:13- May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Psalm 62:8- Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

A reminder that God forgives your sins : 

Romans 5:8- But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Titus 3:5- He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

1John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

As Elsa finds her purpose in Frozen 2, I hope you are encouraged to see your own purpose.  If we walk in God’s love and pursue Him, we are directed to the things that we need to pursue Him further. If you don’t know the confidence that God’s love brings, I would love to talk to you more about it. Feel free to message me on Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Much love and God bless – Isabel