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The world glorifies “busy,” idolizes being seen, and praises never missing a beat.

So what happens when the Lord leads us into a season of being “under construction”? The kind that doesn’t, at the time, feel like being lovingly protected at all, but feels a lot more like being disciplined, isolated and buried?

I have fought this place myself. I tried to pray it away; I tried to get myself out in my own strength; I tried to avoid the uncomfortable process of refinement, until I saw Who was with me in the fire. Surrendering in this place gives you a new lens and perspective to see this season for what it really is, a beautiful gift of grace.

God has a way of leading us into seasons of hiding, pruning and refining. These are the times where our character and relationship with Him are built; it’s where the foundation of our faith is laid. It’s where we discover His nearness in a new way, where chains are broken off of us and everything about Him becomes personal.

God is most concerned with who you are and the condition of your heart. His mercy protects us from fulfilling promises prematurely, because ultimately they will crush us if we aren’t prepared for them. As you wait for whatever you’re waiting for, allow God to work on your heart and character. The fruit you bear will allow you to sustain the calling He has for you when it’s time.

So, if you feel like you’ve been buried, there’s something you should know.

Remember what happens before seeds bloom and grow?

Friend, take heart. God has a beautiful plan for you, and this is only the very start.

-Carly Lynn

Hi friend, how are you doing? I don’t mean this in a casual, surface-level kind of way. I mean, how are you actually doing? How is your soul doing? It’s important for us to be discerning and walk in wisdom as we move through our day to day lives. It’s important for us to evaluate our thoughts, attitudes, emotions and heart postures and shine the light of scripture on them.

In Psalm 103 we find David speaking to his own soul, commanding his soul to bless the Lord! Not every circumstance we encounter is from God, but a lot of times God allows trying circumstances to happen to us so that we grow, both in character and in relationship with Him.

As children of God, we are new creations. We have a new nature, and we must act like it! That means taking authority over your flesh, speaking to your soul and thanking God in the midst of what you don’t understand. This is what David was doing.

Tests and trials can create transformation, change our perspective, challenge us, cause us to dig deeper into scripture and cling to the Word, presence and voice of God like we never have before. They refine us!

Friend, whatever stage of life you find yourself in, I challenge you to take a bold and brave stand and speak to your soul, commanding it to praise the Lord. Isn’t He worthy?

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:1-5

“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 42:11

-Carly Lynn

We are meant and made for more. This is the truth. From cover to cover this is what God has spoken to us in His word. You, reading this right now, were 100% made on purpose, for purpose.

These words resonate with me on so many different levels. Why? Because regardless of how many times lies have tried to bully me, I know I’m made for more. I know it deep inside my bones. And I know you do too.

I want to encourage you today to remember. Remember how it feels to walk boldly with purpose; fully convinced you are seen, heard, loved and called by the King.

Remember what it looks like to pray big prayers and dream big dreams.

Remember the faith that declares you’ve seen Him show up before and believes wholeheartedly you’ll see Him do it again. Remember who you are: royalty.

Seated in heavenly places, a co-heir, a child of the Most High.

The world needs what only you uniquely have. God made you and gave you what He didn’t give me. This is why the enemy works overtime to cause us to individually doubt our purpose and to collectively cause division.

How will you continue to become better at the gifts you’ve been given?

How will you bring to life the vision you’ve been specifically born with and gifted?

I can’t wait to watch and see.

-Carly Lynn

There is this common misconception about Christianity that makes God seem like He’s keeping something from us. Like He’s trying to hold us back from doing what we really want to do because of His “rules.”

Eve believed the snake in the garden over God. She fell for this lie too (Genesis 3:1).

The lie that God is keeping something good from you and therefore you must go outside of the boundaries He has set to get it. The snare that steals from your future, because you lack the faith and patience to trust Him now.

The enemy’s lies are cheap. God’s promises are priceless. They can’t be bought. They are of value far beyond anything any of us could possibly afford. Yet, just like Esau (Genesis 25:33), we trade our royal birthright for soup all the time. Therefore the enemy’s lies are cheap, and at the same time, incredibly expensive. When we buy into them, they cost us everything. Time, relationships, opportunities, peace, purity, purpose, and most of all, our relationship with God. Our relationship with God becomes distorted when we buy into and believe lies.

Every boundary God has set is for your protection. He LOVES you. He made you. He IS the way, the truth, and the life. His boundaries protect and prevent you from unnecessary regrets, shame, and pain.

Looking back on my life, I can confidently say that Jesus’ ways are 1000% better. Always.

If I had known that earlier in my life, it would have prevented me from buying a lot of cheap lies that left me empty.

Praying you and I both find the receipt for every lie we’ve bought and return them for God’s priceless promises 💙

-Carly Lynn

The missing piece, is the Prince of Peace.

The world’s peace is different than the Word’s peace. The peace the world offers is fleeting, short-lived, and completely dependent on circumstances. Meaning it has zero foundation and no guarantees.

God’s peace is connected to His presence. As we abide in Him and walk with His Spirit, peace becomes our portion. Peace is a byproduct of spending time with Him.

“He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” -John 14:17 NLT

I am in no way saying that we will not endure trials or be hard pressed, quite the opposite. But there is a peace that surpasses all understanding. A peace that you can have even when everything else around you is spiraling out of control.

Before I met Jesus, peace for me was more so the absence of chaos. Now I know peace is a Person. A Person that permeates every part of my life, even in the midst of chaos.

When we intentionally choose to turn from worrying about everything, to praying about everything, we enter into the peace of Philippians 4:6-7.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The missing piece, friend, is the Prince of Peace 💙

– Carly Lynn

I personally have learned how very much I need God to order my steps. Otherwise, my own self-directed steps only lead me in circles, down undesired paths and leave my efforts unfruitful.

I need Him desperately in my everyday, real life to be Sovereign. Sovereign over my schedule, over every setback and over my own stubbornness. Sovereign to create supernatural shifts that constantly take me from trying to operate in my own strength, to relying completely on His.

Studying and being diligent in spending time everyday in the Word is what activates the promises of God in our lives. We must know what the Word says so that we know His voice. Through the Word, the Holy Spirit illuminates the path set before us!

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105 NKJV

“Turn my eyes from worthless things and give me life through your Word.” Psalm 119:37 NLT

“Direct my footsteps according to your Word; let no sin rule over me.” Psalm 119:133 NIV

I share this today to encourage you to confidently run to the feet of Jesus. At the end of all of this, our schedules can’t save us, our worldly accomplishments won’t redeem us, and our “busy” won’t bring us the peace our souls constantly crave. Only He can.

So come sit at the feet of Jesus, friend.

Bring everything you have; all the questions, hurt, pain and heavy burdens.

Give Him your heart and ask Him to clean and heal it,

show Him your feet and ask Him to lead them.

You’re His Beloved, and He’s been waiting for you 💙

-Carly Lynn

I was surfing through my social networks the other day and I realized how small I felt in comparison to all the people I looked up to. From friends to influencers, one thing I noticed in common was the nuanced dissection of mental models, the newest philosophical discussions, and the flurry of inspirational startup quotes. They all melted together into a large paint pot of complicated fraudulence.

But at the time, it had me thinking: what makes me better than them? I have always been competitive. When I was young, I wanted to be the most outspoken in Sunday school. As I grew a little older, I wanted to be the smartest in my class. Now, I found myself wanting to be the most successful out of everyone around me.

A pattern I saw myself constantly trampling upon was that especially when I admired someone, I inadvertently tried to BE them, and in many cases, lost myself in the process. What I realized was simple. I had begun determining my worth through my comparison with others.

I see a lot that so many people’s definition of success is just “to be happy”. But isn’t happiness still so unfulfilling? At the end of the day, happiness is fleeting and what my soul craved wasn’t the brevity of laughter. It was eternity with Christ.

So I had fallen into the pitfall of constantly chasing happiness. What ensued was expected. Countless sleepless nights were riddled with questions. Was I truly productive today? Have I done enough? What can I do better to be a better person? I was always chasing self-improvement because I was never enough. And in that aspect, I was right. Chasing happiness showed me: no, I wasn’t enough. I was never going to be enough. I always had something else I could prove.

Retrospectively, I look upon myself and ask WHO I was trying to prove my worth to. Myself? My friends? My family? Regardless of who it was, no amount of proving would be enough. But I realized that it didn’t matter. God had already approved of me. So what more could I need? What I was searching for was already freely given with grace unbounded.

I have always been a goal setter so I promised myself this year that I was going to make myself a motto to follow. After weeks of thinking, it came to me. Be a spiritually, socially, and mentally edifying person. And while I worked so hard to continuously achieve more and reach these goals I set for myself, I found my soul hungering just for Jesus.

I know God is good. I’ve witnessed His presence and His love. I’ve felt the peace that transcends above all understanding and I’ve experienced grace undeserved. Slowly, I have been working on tuning out the white noise of the world and setting my eyes on things eternal. What I learned from all my years pursuing God and trying to understand His will and heart was that I just needed to return to the beginning. Back before my heart was calloused and bruised. Back before I found an incessant need to prove myself. Back to where it all started, when I experienced my First Love.

Humans are naturally predisposed to sin. Therefore, it can be so tempting for us to turn to worldly sources to seek validation for our identity. When we do this, it may seem like God is more distant from us. However, this is simply not true.

You may have heard the saying that God’s faithfulness runs through all generations. This means that He has never left us and never will leave us. On the flip side, we are actually the ones straying away from God like the prodigal son left his father in the gospel of Luke (Luke 15:11-32). Our Everlasting Father is always here with open arms waiting for our return, and although He may seem silent at times, it is important to understand that He is never absent.

Satan is here to distract us from returning to our relationship with Christ. His entire mission is essentially to tear us away from Jesus by drawing us closer to sin. Satan is actually referred to as The Accuser so the first step to getting out of a spiritual rut is to be aware of the lies and spiritual attacks that the Devil may be feeding us. This can be in the form of thoughts like “you’ve already sinned, so God doesn’t care anymore” or “you aren’t worthy of salvation”. Once we are aware of this, it is of the utmost importance that we are intentional about not letting these lies affect how we treat our spiritual journey.

Intentionality is ultimately the key to keeping a healthy spiritual relationship with Jesus. Living in a world shrouded by lies and temptation means that as Christians, we must be intentional about everything we do. From the thoughts we have, to the words we speak, to the actions we take, God calls us to do everything for His glory. This may look different for everyone, but there are certain steps that can be taken to make this process easier.

There are a multitude of ways that God speaks to us. One is through Scripture. The God-breathed Word is a love letter to His children, us. Spending quality time to read the Bible on a regular basis is so important in understanding who God truly is and how He has called us to live out our lives. One common mistake that occurs when reading Scripture however, is to read it just for the sake of doing so. Again, this goes back to our lack of intentionality. When we read the Bible, it is vital for us to do it with the intention of understanding it and faithfully applying it to our everyday lives.

That’s not to say that Scripture is easy to understand. Where do I start? How do I understand how to contextualize everything in the Bible? One recommendation I have for those who are struggling with this is to invest in a good devotional book. The one that I am currently reading through is called New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp (which I highly recommend!) but there are many great devotional plans that can be found on the Bible app on your own phone as well.

Another way God speaks to us is through prayer. Prayer is very often viewed as a one way communication with God, but in reality, it’s meant to be an open dialogue between us and the Divine. You see, when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He tore the veil that separated us from God by bringing in the Holy Spirit. That’s why when things arise in our lives or in Scripture that we don’t understand fully, we can ask God. When we stray from God, we can ask Him for His mercy and grace to extend into our lives. When we are grappling with anxiety, we can ask God for guidance. When we struggle in our relationships, we can seek God for peace and wisdom. Bring God into your lives holistically. Every aspect of your life should be completely immersed with God’s presence.

Every Christian has been through a spiritual rut at one point or another, but it is what we do with that that truly determines where our journey with Christ is headed. Our Father is waiting. Will you return?

In the gospel of Matthew, God gives us two of His greatest commandments. The first is to love Him with everything we have and the second is to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). Unfortunately, with our current state of quarantine it can be really difficult to keep in touch with all of our friends and family, let alone find ways to express our love to them. Here at Elevated Faith, we’ve compiled a quick list of 3 great ways to show your love to those around you even when you might not be able to interact with them face to face.

1. Send them a handwritten letter.

In this digital age, nearly everything is electronic. E-mails, phone calls, text messages, etc. The positive aspect of everything being digitized is that we can easily communicate with anyone from virtually anywhere. The tradeoff of this fast-paced technological society is that all forms of communication seem a little more impersonal.

A good way to avoid this detachment when reaching out to our loved ones is through handwritten notes. Even just a simple “hello, how are you?” can feel so much more personalized on paper than in text. Another great idea for a letter would be to include a handwritten prayer inside your message which is a great way to solidify Christ’s bond between you and your loved ones. You could even include one of our “WWJD” (What Would Jesus Do) bracelets inside each of your envelopes for a special touch *insert wink emoji*.

2. Buy some extra groceries.

This next one is a little less romantic and a little more realistic. In the midst of the pandemic, grocery shopping, whether online or in person, is a huge pain in the neck. Not to mention, if your neighbors are elderly, going to the nearest supermarket is an added danger to their health. A good way to serve and love your neighbors is to buy some extra groceries and leave them on their doorstep with a little note of appreciation. Believe me, they will appreciate it!

3. Wear a mask and social distance!

This one is a little self explanatory. Given the nature of coronavirus, wearing a mask when in crowded public spaces such as a grocery store is an easy way to care for those around you.! Studies show that if someone who has contracted the virus wears a mask, the chance of transmission decreases significantly. Since the virus can show up as asymptomatic, it is always a good decision to wear a mask even if you don’t think that you have the virus. When you wear a mask and social distance when possible, you are not only caring for yourself and your own health, but you are caring for the thousands of essential and frontline workers. They are risking their lives so you don’t have to risk yours.

We hope that these tips can help you reflect God’s love to your loved ones and even strangers. Be safe, be kind, and love your neighbor like Jesus would.