I sat at my desk this morning, reading the account of the crucifixion in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In that moment I let myself breathe in deep, letting my heart become heavy with the realization that my Savior carried all of my sin to the cross.

It's a good Friday.

This afternoon I wrapped up yet another English assignment and I felt victorious. Only one more left this semester. 

It's a good Friday. 

Just two hours ago Sonia and I sat outside drawing princesses and carriages and ballerinas while listening to Disney music. The wind blew and the sky was blue like cotton candy. 

It's a good Friday.

But I sit here tonight and I write a short post. 

It was dark. Jesus is THE light...yet it was dark for hours on end. 

Because many years ago my Jesus had nails in His hands, in His feet...they pierced His side. They placed a crown of thorns upon His brow.

The veil was torn- split in two. 

Tetelestai- It is finished. 

He was dead. They put His body in a tomb. 

His Father looked away because our sins- all of my sins- were piled upon Him. 

Scripture tells us clearly that He was mocked, He was betrayed...He did no wrong. He was perfect.

Yet they crucified Him...because He loved us. Because He wanted us to be free from the chains of sin and shame. 

May we celebrate that in three days...death He defeated. The grave held no power. And our Jesus, He is forever victorious in all of our lives. 

"For God so loved the world..."

Today it is Friday. 

Today it is a good Friday...

Because Sunday is coming.

Praise the Lord!

~Bailey

To You, the Girl Looking for Love this Valentine's Day

Today is February 13th, 2015.

It’s the day before Valentine’s Day. My favorite part of Valentine’s Day? The cards from my grandparents and the candy.



Tomorrow is the day husbands treat their wives to a nice dinner and a bouquet of flowers.

It’s the day boyfriends get their girlfriends an oversized teddy bear and a box of chocolates. If they’re lucky, maybe some flowers, too.

It’s the day the restaurants and movie theaters will be full of couples celebrating days, weeks, months, years together.



And it’s the day that so many single girls spend wishing they had a boyfriend who would buy them flowers, tell them they’re beautiful, tell them they love them.



This post is to all of you girls- to all of you girls who are spending this Valentine’s day by yourself watching chick flicks and drowning yourself in self pity and chocolate.

While chick flicks and chocolate are pretty great, let me tell you, sweet girl, it’s not worth wasting your time on. Don’t waste your time, your precious teenage years, seeking after boys.

It’s just not worth it.

It’s not worth the heartbreak, it’s not worth the pieces of yourself that you will lose, it’s not worth hurting yourself like that over…and over…and over again.

Darling young girls, let me tell you something that I have held onto since I was young. Lean in and listen close because it’s really important.


You don’t have to search for love on this earth.

Yes, you heard me right.

No, I’m not crazy!

There is a God who is waiting to love you. He is waiting for you to cherish Him and to run to Him.

And He wants to love you more than any boy on this earth ever could.

His Son died so that He could love you.

Are you hearing that?

You don’t need a boy this Valentine’s day. You need to run to the love of the Father and never, ever let go. Because He won’t let go of you.

Now I know every girl’s dream is to meet a man and fall in love and wear that white dress that makes him cry.

I know because that’s my dream, too.

But here’s something else I’ve held onto for my entire life, throughout all of my teenage years.


The Lord will bring me that man. The Lord will show me exactly who he is and it will be in just the right time.

I look at so many young girls and girls my age…I hear their dating and breakup stories and it absolutely breaks my heart. They’ve given pieces of themselves to someone they knew they weren’t going to marry.


Sweet girl, save your heart for him, for that man you will marry. Wait for him!

Just as I believe God is writing my story, my fairy tale, I believe He is writing your’s, too.

And when it is all said and done, it will be your favorite story yet. You’ll love it more than Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast and maybe even Pride and Prejudice.


I was sitting in youth group two Wednesdays ago with my friend Caroline and we were watching a video of John Piper because our youth pastor was sick. He was speaking on Ephesians 5 and the roles a man and woman play in marriage.

Afterwards Caroline and I stood and talked…we stood and talked about how excited we are to meet that man. To meet the man who will lead us like Christ leads the church. To meet the man who will love us and cherish us like Christ does the church.

My friend, this is what the Lord wants for you. It’s what He wants for me. He wants us to marry the man who will lead us, love us and cherish us. And He wants nothing less because you are His daughter, He loves you and He cherishes you. He wants to see you loved and protected and following in His will.



Two nights ago I was looking at Instagram and came across a post by Ann Voskamp. It was a picture of her husband cleaning the kitchen and part of the caption read this, “I could weep for a quiet love like this, the kind that they don't write movies about, but the Maker writes down in a book of His own. It's not the kind of flashy that makes the red carpet, but it's the unforgettable love that runs red.”

I immediately texted this to Caroline knowing she would love it just as much as I did.

Because that’s just what I want! I want a love that the Maker writes down in a book of His own. I want an unforgettable love that runs red.

I want it in the man that the Lord has set out for me.

And sweet teenage girl, that’s what I want for you, too. It’s what the Father wants for you.

So right now, live in the love of the Father. He’ll give you more love than you ever thought imaginable.

While you live in His love, live being cherished by Him, He’s writing your fairy tale.

Run hard and fast to the love He is holding out for you.

Darling girl, He wants all of you. He made you so beautifully and He made you with a wonderful purpose and plan.

Spend this Valentine’s Day thanking Him for His love for you and this story that He’s writing.

Have no doubt it will be the best story you’ve ever heard.

~Bailey

Always Worth It.

Today is story time. This is not about my book. This is not about writing. This is a story of what God is doing and I had to share it in it's entirety.

Travel back with me eleven years ago. 

In the forefront of our story is a six year old girl with thin blonde hair and brown eyes, always tall for her age. She sat at basketball practice as the coach shared the story of salvation. This six year old's mind was churning knowing that she needed this Jesus in her life. When she got home, she went to her parents and told them what happened at basketball practice. That night that six year old little girl prayed to ask the Lord to be her Savior, to forgive her of her sins and to walk with her the rest of her life. 

Let's fast-forward two years. Around the age of eight, this little girl met a thirteen year old who was in her mom's Sunday School class. Her mom had taught a lot of Sunday School classes and she had met a lot of youth students. But this young girl, this wide-open, crazy about Jesus girl...she was different. 

You see, this thirteen year old made the little girl feel special. She made her feel loved. She showed this incredible love she knew from Jesus to the children around her. And this little blonde girl felt it, too. 

This eight year old and this thirteen year old grew older. As they grew older, they grew closer. Each year their relationship strengthened until the little girl, now thirteen years old considered this high school graduate one of her best friends. 

When she went off to college, this little blonde girl was broken hearted. But the friendship wasn't broken up by college. No, it was only strengthened and shared by two girls now entering a completely new and different phase of life. 

Every week or so, this little blonde girl would receive a letter in the mail from her friend off at school. Letters containing updates on classes and new friends being made. And they were precious to her, no one else was allowed to read them. She would write back telling her college aged friend all about life back at home- how the family was and how her little sister from Rwanda was growing up so quickly. 

Each summer they spent many days together, celebrating the small and big things, like finishing driver's ed and VBS and SWTA. 

That is until this little girl's college age friend passed away. At twenty years old, she had made such a big impact on this almost fifteen year old. No, she would not be forgotten. Her faith and her life would make an impact on all of those she knew- including this fifteen year old. 

About this time, this blonde headed fifteen year old met a seven year old little girl. Her name was Haley and she had brown hair and freckles. This fifteen year old loved this seven year old and she immediately knew: this is my chance. This is my chance to love someone like she loved me. 

So she did. This fifteen year old and this seven year old also grew older. As they grew older they grew closer. When our main character turned sixteen and got her license, she took Haley out for her birthday and made her feel special...hopefully like her dearest friend had done for her. 

When she went away to the beach for a couple of weeks, she wrote to Haley and asked her how things were at home, just like her friend had done for her. She told her to be the young lady God had created her to be, just like her friend had done for her. She told her to chase God with all of her heart and not miss the incredible opportunities He had for her, just like her friend had done for her. 

And when Haley came running up to me before Sunday School today, telling me she had gone forward in church to let everyone know she had the Lord as her Savior and she wanted to be baptized...my eyes filled with tears and my heart soared. 

Because I was able to love my Haley like Paige loved me. I was able to encourage her and hug her and tell her how incredibly proud I was of her just like Paige had done for me. 

All because at six years old I trusted in the Lord as my Savior. Because some things only happen when Christ is in the lead. And today I realized that Paige and Haley and the relationships with so many other children at church only take place because of Him and my reconciled relationship to Him. 

Oh how thankful I am for the love that He shows each of us...this love that I am also able to show my Haley and my Sonia and all of my other kids at church. 

Today I was overwhelmed with gratefulness to be able to love for Him and because of Him. I was grateful for the joy on Haley's face when she told me about her decision. I was grateful for the way Sonia loves to tell me about her day and her friends in Sunday School. I was grateful for every bit of it. 

Most of all I was grateful for His love for me, each and every day that enables me to love others even when it seems impossible. 

So love those around you with the biggest love you can imagine. Today I saw that it is always worth it.

~Bailey (that blonde haired six year old.)

P.S. My sweet Haley, I am SO very proud of you and the beautiful young lady the Lord is shaping you to be. Keep pursuing Him and loving Him all of the days of your life. I love you so, so, SO much. Thanks for being my friend. I can't wait for all of the memories we will continue to make. Have I mentioned I'm proud of you? 

So we might love.

*Whew.*

These last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind- absolutely crazy.

But this week it is Easter and I felt like the topic the Lord laid on my heart to write about was very fitting.

So here we go.
--------

1 John 4:19, "We love because He first loved us."

Romans 5:8, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

His love for us is unimaginable, incomprehensible...beautiful.

I find myself often in awe of how much He loves me. Even while I'm sinning He loves me.

Isn't that amazing?

Last night at church we did a walk through of the death of Christ.

The next to last step was to sit at the foot of the cross and write a prayer thanking God for His sacrifice.

{Let me tell you something about myself: I LOVE to write out my prayers, it feels much more personal that way. The end.}

So, I kneeled at the Cross and began writing. The heaviness of what happened 2,000 years ago to my Savior weighed on my heart. And I poured my heart out to Him.

Because I did not deserve- I don't deserve- that kind of love. Yet He loved me. 

My prayer these past few weeks amidst the business of life is that God would give me opportunities to show His love to those around me.

He died so that I might show His love to others- show His love and glorify His name.

One of these times came last Saturday while I was babysitting my Sunday School teacher's three young children. Sonia had come along to play as they are good friends.

At one point little man pushed his big sister off of the hammock and it left the eight year old little girl in tears. She wasn't hurt- she was just offended.

(After putting little man in timeout for pushing his sister) I did the only thing I could think of to do: I snuggled up beside her and asked her if she wanted to talk about it.

She shook her head and a tear fell down her cheek but I stayed. I laid beside her and asked the Lord to give me the words to speak to her.

She had mulch on her back from where she had rolled off of the hammock(which was only a foot from the ground-no worries people, I'm not a terrible babysitter!). I began to pick the pieces of mulch off of her shirt and her tears stopped.

"Now you wanna talk about it?" I asked again.

She nodded but still didn't say much. I stayed close to her and we laid in the hammock looking at the blue sky filled with puffy white clouds.

Minutes later Sonia and the other little sister came and laid with us on the hammock. I wrapped my arms around the three of them and closed my eyes.

This is what love feels like. And I thanked God for that moment with the three of them. That moment He had gifted me with to love them.

Let me tell you, making the choice to love is the most rewarding thing I think I've done in a long time. It's the tiniest moments that mean the most to me.

The moments that you let Him use you to show His love are incredible. Could you ask for a greater gift- especially at this time of year?

So let me challenge you, as I am challenging myself, to show the immense love Christ has shown us. Pray for opportunities to love- He will give them to you so be on the look out for them.

Christ loved us so He died. But Sunday is coming.

Because death could not hold my Savior down.

He will find victory.

Praise Him for that. And find love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (emphasis added.)

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends."

~Bailey

A New Year.

Here we are. 

It's officially 2014. 

A new year with new beginnings, a chance to make something wonderful! 

Each day is a gift from Him. That's a lesson He's been teaching me lately. 

We can choose to embrace the day and make it beautiful or mope around because we simply don't feel like having joy. 

So, even though it's a new year and we have new chances, The Lord gives us new chances each and every morning. 

"His mercies are new every morning." Lamentations 3:22-23 

As I begin this year with Him, I pray for the attitude to make each day beautiful alongside Him, to take captive each chance to grow closer to Him. 

I surely hope you'll join me not only this year, but each day as well. 

Oh, and happy 2014!!

~Bailey