I Hate Religion

5.28.15

I know, I know, I'm not supposed to hate anything... but if we are being honest, I hate religion.

I was driving down the road this morning and since were in the south there was a church on every corner. Each one being different: "Church of God, First Baptist Church, Church of Christ, Baptist, etc." Each one telling you what you have to do to be a Christian, each one telling you what you have to do to be in good standings with God. But here is the TRUTH, Jesus didn't come to earth to SEPARATE us by religion, he came to UNIFY us as ONE body of Christ. Religion my friends is man made, not made by God.

"In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all. (Colossians 3:11)

Take a second to reflect on the last part of this verse, -- BUT Christ is ALL and IN ALL. What about the famous verse John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not persist but have eternal life." It doesn't say that whoever is _______(baptist, catholic, etc. fill in the blank) that believes in Him will have eternal life. It says whoever, meaning ANYONE can have eternal life. Please hear me when I say that you do not have to be a certain religion to have Jesus Christ as your personal savior.

A couple of years ago I read the famous book Jesus > Religion by Jefferson Bethke; it has so many great points and I can't help but share them with you.

One of my favorites is: "What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion? What if I told you getting to vote Republican really wasn't  his mission? What if I told you religion right doesn't automatically mean Christian? And just because you call some people blind, doesn't automatically give you vision. I mean, if religion is so great, why has it started so many wars? Why does it build huge churches, but fail to feed the poor? Tell single moms God doesn't love them, if they ever had a divorce? Yet God in the Old Testament actually calls the religious people whores." This says it all.

Religion and church is becoming more like a competition. Who is better than who, how many people do you have at your church, type of competition. But if you are a true follower of Jesus you won't care about the petty stuff, you will rejoice and be happy because as Christians we are fighting for the same cause, to save lives, to help others. I love the church, and I'm not telling you to stop going to your church, I am warning you to be careful on what you hear. Not everything a pastor might say is true, before you decide to believe something ask God, He is the one who has the answers, and read your bible, it is the only truth. 

Three more quotes from Jesus > Religion.
1. "When I was trying to earn Jesus by being good, I missed the real Jesus who wants us to love him and serve him not for what he gives but for who he is- dangerous, unpredictable, radical, and amazing." -- Going to church doesn't mean that you are going to heaven, knowing the Bible doesn't either. It is you heart and what you do to glorify Him. It's your fruits you are producing with love and joy. 
2. "One of my favorite things about Jesus is I get to drop the act, admit I'm not good enough, walk in freedom- and that's the good news." I am not perfect, and neither are you. But how awesome is it that God loves us anyway!! Nothing can separate you from His love. NOTHING. 
3. "When I say I "hate" religion, I am not saying I hate the church. I'm not saying I hate commandments, traditions, or laws. I'm not saying I hate organizations or institutions. But what I am saying is that I hate any system that upholds moral effort or good behavior as the way in which we can have a proper relationship with God." -- the end.

Don't let religion keep you from God's power. We have the power to heal; we have the power of Christ!


"But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love of what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people!" (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

We are the church; we are the body of Christ. Lets join together as one to further the kingdom of God. He is greater than anything out there. Give Him glory in all you do!


you are loved, you are forgiven, you are blessed

His daughter,
      Starla Conroy 

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

 for our "God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:28-29 

What Is Your Legacy?

5.26.15
Good Morning! I hope you all are having a great week! Shane and I went on a camping trip to Mt. Cheaha, which is the highest point in Alabama, with my sweet family. It was a much needed relaxing weekend! I encourage everyone to take time away to spend with your family, no cell phones, no worldly things to bother you, just you and your beautiful family!






Here's a few pics from our adventures:

"Today I shall behave, as if this is the day that I will be remembered." - Dr. Seuss

Two questions:
1. What is your legacy?
2. How will people remember you?

This weekend I began thinking about my legacy. I kept wondering how people will remember me. This really hit me hard because it made me think about the way I act and what kind of legacy I want to leave. While thinking of this two biblical people came to mind, Judas and Paul.

Lets take a minute to reflect on the legacy that Judas left. Judas was a disciple of Jesus who was known as a thief (John 12:4-6). Judas "A FOLLOWER OF JESUS" was known as a thief, and stole money from Jesus and His disciples. He was a man with his own ideas and motives. It wasn't long before Judas' love for money caused him to betray Jesus to the men who wanted to harm Jesus. All it took was 30 pieces of silver for Judas to betray his own King with a kiss. All along Jesus knew what was going to happen. I asked myself "Why didn't Jesus stop it?" I believe that this shows that God is a God who allows you to choose what you do and what you believe. He didn't force anyone to follow Jesus, it was all a choice. After the betrayal Judas felt remorse and tried to return the 30 pieces of silver.

Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was full of remorse and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. "I have sinned by the betraying innocent blood," he said. "What's that to us?" they said. "See to it yourself!" So he threw the silver into the sanctuary and departed. Then he went and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5)

Guilt-stricken Judas went and killed himself! This is the legacy he left: betrayer and thief. He left people wondering where his heart was. It is no ones place to judge whether he went to heaven or hell but the fact that we have to question it shows something. People remember Judas as a betrayer, and not loyal. As one who didn't allow God to have complete control.

Then we have the apostle Paul. In his earlier life Paul was known as Saul who persecuted Christians, but God had a plan for him, as He does for us all. A flash of light from Heaven came down and the Lord asked Saul why he was persecuting Him and then went on to tell him to go to Damascus and he will be told what to do. Saul was blind and ate or drank nothing for three days. Once Saul arrived in Damascus the Lord sent Ananias to heal him and show him the power of God. It was later that his name was changed to Paul. Paul proclaimed the name of Jesus everywhere,  he was so filled with the Holy Spirit that demons feared his name (Acts 19:11-17.) Paul taught the churches who were spiritually dead the power of Christ. He wrote 13 books in the new testament. He teaches us about God's love and how to love. Paul is the one who teaches us how to be a true follower of Christ. He was a man that was relentless, passionate, and filled with love. He dedicated his life to God.  Paul loved God so much that he even died proclaiming His name.  He is a perfect example of how God uses those who are weak and turns them into powerful people to save others in His name.  One of my favorite verses written by Paul:

Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. Instead God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God had chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world, what is viewed as nothing, to bring nothing what is viewed as something, so that no one can boast in His presence. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29) 


So what kind of legacy do you want to leave? Do you want to be known as the one who was selfish or mean, one who was a lover of the world, one who craved attention, one who started drama, or the one who hated everyone? OR do you want to be known as the one who was loving, unselfish, kind, and loved God?

Take a deep look into your life... if you died today what would your legacy be? Would you go to heaven or hell? Its not what you leave behind, it is what you did for God while you were here, it is what you proclaimed, and it is how people know you. God wants to use you!!! He doesn't want you to proclaim His name yet show no actions or produce any fruit. Do you want to be like Judas who left a legacy no one would want? Or like Paul, who loved everyone and lived his life out for Jesus?

It isn't to late to change your life around, I know I am going to!! I want to be like Paul! Sometimes I feel unworthy and like I can do nothing to change this world, but then I think of Paul and how God used him and I know that God does have a plan. People may get annoyed by everything I post that is mostly all about God, but this is just one of my ways of sharing how great HE is! It is so easy to forget that. He is all I can think about and I want to live for Him! I encourage you to live for Him to. I am not perfect, I fail everyday, but each day I am made new, and you can be to!!

If you are feeling like you aren't leaving a good legacy ask God to help you and change your life around. Pray to Him! He hears the tiniest prayers. He WILL help you if you give Him control.

If you are feeling like your leaving a good legacy then keep up the good work! Be sure that your actions are for God and He receives all the glory.

We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so be sure your life is right today!

you are loved, you are forgiven, you are blessed

His daughter,
      Starla Conroy

Feel free to email me and comment! I would love to hear what you all think! XOXO

Brother by Fate, Brother by Christ: A Testimony of Gods Power

5.20.15

Hey guys! I wanted to give you beautiful people a chance to hear from someone else besides me! In honor of my little brother graduating Friday I chose to let him tell you his testimony! If any of you know Trace you know how much he loves our God! Here you go!

WARNING: THIS IS LONG, PLEASE MAKE TIME TO READ THIS 
The Holy Spirit has been really pushing me to share my story of his works in my life. I have been doing this for many years now,  but never uncensored. Many times I have shared my story and it has been ridiculed. I see people with stories similar to mine also getting talked down about. People (in the church) criticizing the way that God has revealed himself to others. I just want to ask that you have an open heart about everything I am about to say. You may not agree with it, but nothing I am saying is made up, it is 100% true. Sometimes God will do something in our lives that doesn't make sense, we may not understand, or we may not agree with. We as Christians must always believe that all things are possible. I know that God has such a mighty plan for each and everyone reading this!!

I grew up in a Southern Baptist church. (Before I say this I want to make it clear that I have such a strong love for this church and I mean nothing I say in a negative.) Growing up in this church gave me such a firm foundation on the Bible and the word of God. I got "saved" and baptized at the young age of 6. At this time, I really had no understanding on the true love of God; I believe that I had not yet fallen completely in love with him. As I grew, I attended church very time the doors were open and I was a good kid throughout middle school. I always said I had a relationship with God, but did I really? What are the true signs of a relationship with God? Looking back now, I see that I didn't have a true relationship with God. God was just a mere acquaintance that I couldn't care much about.

I started high school with most of the same mindset that I had always had. I was what you could call "religious." I was strict and disciplined on my Bible reading and prayer time, I would listen to nothing but Christian music, and I was at the church leading worship and serving every time I could. Many would say I was a "strong" Christian and on the right track. I spent about three years of my Christian walk in this routine. Don't get me wrong, all of the things I was doing were great things, and they continue to be great. The problem is that I had no true love or experience backing that.

As I am writing. the Holy Spirit is speaking to me so strongly. Just know that me writing this at this moment is so prophetic. The events I am about to talk about happened EXACTLY two years ago. It started off just a normal Sunday morning. I came into church, walked into Sunday school a few minutes early and began talking to my friends. Two of my friends had just recently had a strong experience with God's power with another church. They began telling me about the stuff that happened; they talked about miracles, healings, and signs and wonders. Things that I was a stranger to and honestly believed they were only contained to the Bible days. Before they told me these things they said I would probably think they were crazy, I said I wouldn't (mainly so that would tell me.) After they told me the events of that weekend I thought they were nuts. I never told them that, but honestly I did. Church that day went like the normal routine, I got home, ate lunch, then back to church a few hours earlier than usual. The door was unlocked (praise God) and the building was empty, so I walked upstairs to the youth room and just laid there for a couple of minutes. I had no intentions of having an encounter with God or even spending intimate time with him. As I laid there I felt something leading me to worship. I began to sing out a song, immediately something washed over me and I threw my hands into the air and began crying like and ugly little baby. As I proceeded worshipping I felt something physically clasp my hand together. I was then comforted and felt God instructing me to fall deeply in love with Him. It was at that moment that everything changed. The way I expressed myself in worship, the way I lead worship, and the way that I lived my life changed. Whenever you fall in love with God you can do nothing but move, dance, swing your arms, and weep when you enter into His presence.

What happened next was something that I can't explain (I even googled it.) I explained it as one of the signs and wonders. This is something that has been highly criticized and ridiculed by many traditional denominations and theologians. Many people will probably criticize me for saying this now. I feel that it must be said though. I looked down at my hands, clothes, and surroundings, everything seemed to glow and sparkle! I didn't think much about it until I got home. Once I got home I had another time of worship and prayer in my room; remembering what had happened earlier I looked around. My bed, clothes, sheets, hands, and feet were covered in the same thing. I took to google and found out that many people called "gold dust." People mainly experience this when they have had a radical encounter with God. While reading I found where many people criticized it and called it a "false manifestation constructed by Pentecostals to add to an emotional experience." I immediately rejected the statement as bull crap. That night, I was baptized with the Holy Spirit. The gifts and works of the Holy Spirit done in the bible are still happening today! The enemy is using false doctrine to blind our churches to the truth!

I wish could share more with you, but I don't want you to spend all day reading. I really just want to encourage you to not reject anything as false until you actually know where it is coming from. Just because it is something that you have always believed doesn't mean it is right. God is doing mighty works in the Earth today and is preparing for another wave of His Holy Spirit.

Trace Vining

This my friends is a powerful and true testimony!

"And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams." Acts 2:17 

I encourage you to read Acts and learn what God does! It is so powerful! I also want to challenge you to take time in that inner room, your prayer closet (future blog), and ask God to show you His power and love! Thank you for reading this!

You can find Trace here : Facebook, Twitter, Weather Blog,

Photo Cred: Leslie Hubbard Photography












you are loved, you are blessed, you are powerful

His Daughter,
       Starla Conroy

Have you Faced Rejection?

5.18.15

Rejection. The word that cause emotions to rise, that causes pain that we keep hidden.

Have you ever been rejected?

Maybe its been by a guy or girl, maybe even your parents or family members, what about the "friends" that didn't accept you or want you anymore. I know deep down we have all felt some form of rejection. I know I have, and it hurts. Thats right it hurts. It's okay to admit it.

Let me tell you about a woman named Ruth who was rejected, and she didn't even know it.
The book of Ruth demonstrates how the Lord shows His covenant faithfulness to His undeserving people. Ruth was a beautiful woman who was loyal to her friends and was a devout worshiper of God. Ruth went through many challenges in her life, but instead of turning her difficulties into mourning she turned them into riches. Ruth's story shows us just how much God works in each of our lives and how amazing His plan is for us if we obey it.

Ruth was a widow who followed her mother-n-law to Bethlehem where she met the love of her life, Boaz. It wasn't long until Ruth made an appeal to Boaz for marriage. However, before Boaz could redeem her there was another man who had prior claim to the land, which included Ruth. He went to him and asked if he wanted to redeem it and he said, "I want to redeem it." (This man has no name)

Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you will also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man's name on his property." The redeemer replied, "I can't redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can't redeem it." Ruth 2:5-6 (HCSB)

It was there that Ruth was rejected, and thankfully she didn't hear this because this could have affected her walk, which was so strong.

How has rejection affected you and the way you walk? Has it taken your happiness and turned it into sadness, has it caused you to put a wall up and allow no emotion to come through? Has it caused you pain and tears? Has it caused you to tell yourself you are not worthy, you are not pretty enough, or good enough. I have been there, and friends, I know it hurts. I hurt for you because though I may not know you, I love you, for God is love. This pain is only the devil squeezing his slimy self into your life. DON'T LET HIM WIN.

This person who rejected you is missing out on your love, and your friendship. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Don't let the world tell you anything else. This person that rejected you was not your redeemer! Just like the man was not Ruth's redeemer. Ruth did however have a redeemer named Boaz. Her story ended just like a fairytale.

God allowed Ruth to experience pain and heartache because that is what it took for her to get to Boaz. He had a plan for her. A perfect plan. At the time Ruth didn't know that she would soon be the great grandmother of the great King David! Yes, thats right the mighty David. All because God had a plan.

Just like Ruth, God has a plan for you. The people that rejected you could have been God's way of protecting you from making a mistake. People are going to reject us but our God is fighting for us, and is protecting us! Turn that rejection to God and understand that He has a plan!

Don't forget that God understands your rejection. He was and is rejected by many. So lean on Him, talk to him. He is your friend, and a good, good father. Let God be your Boaz and let him redeem you! It feels amazing when you just let go of that rejection. He will never reject you and will always love you. The next time you are rejected, thank God and allow His will to be done and not your own.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; He was despised, and we didn’t value Him. Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. (Isaiah 53:3-5 HCSB)

you are loved, you are forgiven, you are redeemed

His daughter,
      Starla Conroy




an orphan in El Salvador who was rejected 

you don't miss a thing: Bethel Music/Amanda Cook 

You are Beautiful

It's finally Friday! 5.15.15

I hope you all have had an amazing week! This one is dedicated to all females out there! 

Did you know that according to research done by Dove: 

• Only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful
• Only 11% of girls globally are comfortable using the word beautiful to describe themselves
• 72% of girls feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful
• 80% of women agree that every woman has something about her that is beautiful but do not see their own beauty
• More than half of women globally agree that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty critic

Am I the only one who can relate to these statistics? 

All my life I've been told I was beautiful by my family and other people, but I never really believed it. No matter who said it I could never convince myself that I was beautiful. This is crazy to admit because I have always been confident in myself except for this. I always thought my friends and everyone else was way prettier. Of course if you ask Shane what he thinks about being beautiful he just says, "Show them a picture of me and they will know what being beautiful looks like." Of course you can never listen to guys!! This all led me to think about how people define the word beautiful. Today's society defines it as a person who has outer beauty, slim figure, and no flaws. In the book of Ether (my favorite book in the bible) it talks about the demands of being beautiful. 

On the seventh day, when the king was feeling good from wine, Ahasuerus commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who personally served him, to being Queen Vashti before him with her royal crown. He wanted to show off her beauty to the people and the officials, because she was very beautiful. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command that was delivered by his eunuchs. The king became furious and his anger burned. (Esther 1:10-12) 

When everyone heard that the queen refused the king it caused chaos and it angered the king, he then banished Queen Vashti from his presence and her position would be given to a woman more worthy and she. So in comes Esther, who was adopted by her Jewish uncle Mordicai. She "won the approval in the sight of everyone who saw her." (Esther 2:15) She was the most beautiful in every way. However it isn't till the end that she reveals her true beauty. She is the most beautiful when she stands up for what is right and saves many jewish lives. That inner beauty that she showed was far more precious than her outer beauty. You see God doesn't care what you look like!

Your beauty should not consist of outward things like elaborate hair styles and the wearing of gold ornaments or fine clothes. Instead, it should consist of what is inside the heart with imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very valuable in Gods eyes. (1 Peter 3:3-4) 

This verse was referring to wives and you might be one, but I do believe that this can refer to everyone! This is hard because I do love to look nice because I just do! But before I look nice, I try and make sure my heart looks nice also. I do this by examining my heart and the things that only God knows. I ask for forgiveness for each sin and pray that I show kindness to everyone I come in contact with, we never know what that person might be going through.

I challenge you to find your beauty in God and in your heart and I promise your inward beauty will shine so bright that you don't even notice what you look like! I still work on this but together with God we can overcome it! I encourage you to first talk to God and allow Him to work, then talk to someone if you are lost and feeling worthless because you aren't! You were made for this world just like the beautiful Esther! God has a mighty plan for you!

you are loved, you are forgiven, you are BEAUTIFUL

His daughter,
      Starla Conroy 

The devil is real? What?!

Happy Wednesday beautiful people! 5.13.15

I pray that everyone is having a fantastic week! I am enjoying the time I have off before I start babysitting this summer! Just a little update on my life: This month has been an emotional one; from finals and 4 hour test, to graduation of loved ones, to our ministry work, to my crazy life. Through it all I watched the devil work hard to get me to fall, and sometimes I would for a minute, but then I remember how BIG our God is and how mush STRONGER He is than the devil. The devil knows just how to get to you! He will use that one thing that aggravates you and times it by 5000 just to try and cause you to fall. I have watched him do it since I rededicated my life, even two weeks ago, and just this morning. It always tends to happen when I am doing something for God, and when things are going great. I am sure you all can relate! In this time I become weak and ask God what to do. He usually just tells me "Don't you remember who I am? The alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. You have the same Holy Spirit in you that came into the upper room. You have the same power as Jesus the one who healed many! You can banish the devil and get rid of him. I am the one who created him." Then sometimes He says, "Starla, you are doing this for me, for my glory, not your own. Let it go!" (Sing frozen here.) As I am writing this in tears, tears of joy because God is so powerful, I can feel Him wrap me up and calm me and tell me He has everything under control.



Yesterday I had the chance to help my mom prepare for our camping trip; we cleaned and made a trip to the lovely Walmart for camping supplies. It was a busy day, but as we were cleaning up outside I noticed a dandelion in the yard and I couldn't help but to go pick it and blow it, making a wish like a little child. In doing this God reminded me of the story of Mary and Martha.

While they were traveling, He entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.” The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42 HCSB)

Martha was so excited that Jesus was in her home, she was also distracted by "her many task" while her sister Mary was sitting at the Lords feet hanging on every word that He said. Just like Martha we can be so caught up in our task, our life, trying to be perfect, that we forget to sit still and listen to God. To just spend time with Him. We (myself included) get so busy with Facebook, twitter, Instagram, the news, and many other worldly things that we forget why we were put her on this earth. We were made to worship Jesus, to share his love, and to spend personal time with Him. It is an intimate relationship. Martha was worried and upset like we can be, but Jesus says only one thing is needed and that isn't found in doing more, it is found by sitting at Jesus' feet. It doesn't take much to have a deeper relationship with God, if we only have an open heart and come ready to receive.

Its so much more than reading a verse or even knowing the whole bible. If we don't have a relationship with the Lord then we have nothing. He says "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord Lord!' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?' Then I will announce to them, 'I never knew your! Depart from Me, your lawbreakers!" (Matthew 7:21-23) We can do all the miracles, the works, and claim His name, but Jesus makes it clear that a true disciple of His livens a transformed life made possible by God.

Does that not scare you like it scared me years ago? When I read that right before I rededicated my life I was scared. I knew that the Lord would have told me to depart from Him, and that broke me. Now I know that I will be with Him one day, because my life is changed. All I do is for Him! I challenge you to look deep into your life and see if you have changed. See if everything you are doing is for Him and not yourself. Don't let the devil win. The Lord is waiting for you don't run away from Him! I am not perfect and I fail at this, I even get busy doing work for the Lord that I forget to take time to be with just Him! crazy huh? Thank you for reading this, I truly gave you my heart and it means the world to me that you would read this! Please feel free to comment and share!

you are loved, you are forgiven, you are blessed

His daughter,
        Starla Conroy

One of my favorite songs by Bethel Music: A Little Longer 

Should We Love the Terrorist?

5.11.15

Should we love the terrorist? The ones who harm innocent people, the ones who burn down buildings just to make a statement, the ones who bomb buildings and fly planes into trade centers?

The answer?  yes.

Everywhere we look we hear of some act of terrorism going on around the world. Maybe we hear about it more in this day because of the increase in social media and Internet resources. Terrorism has been going on since the beginning of time. We mostly hear of these terrorists being Muslim. Terrorist can however be from anywhere; they can be in our government, or even our neighbors.

** Did you know that there are around 1.6 billon Muslims in this world according to The Week. Most of which do not show acts of violence.
However, there are some who do, such as the well known terrorist group called ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).

It breaks my heart to get on Facebook or the news and see all of the crimes they are committing and all of the innocent lives that have been killed because of them. What breaks my heart even more is to see the reaction of hatred of fellow Christians towards these terrorists. Yes, what they are doing is wrong, and yes our government is not the best, but that is no excuse to hate these people.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone's eyes. If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: "Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay," says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good. Romans 12: 17-21

The Lord says to leave room for His wrath and to conquer evil with good. If we love Jesus then we must obey His word! These terrorist LOVE the attention and hatred they get from us, its just the icing on cake. It bring them pleasure to know what they are doing gets to us. Whether they be overseas or here in America.

Our greatest command is to love!

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. If we love on another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:7-12

It is hard for us to love these people who tear down and disrespect something so precious to us but this life is not about us! God put us hear to share his love. The way that these people will see God is through us, and the love we share towards others. This love can't be through what we say, we have to mean it and show it through our actions. Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with action. 1 John 3:18

If you are anything like me you might be thinking well God, you want me to go and find these terrorist and love them??? I don't believe it has to be that way UNLESS you have been called to do so. We can pray for them and instead of reacting in hatred react in love. We may never come in contact with one but we may come in contact with a victim of terrorism and its our job to reach out to them and love them, show them God is stronger than the hatred. 

Not to brag on my husband but I was asking him last night if he had heard of the martial law stuff and he simply answered "No, I turned our country over to God." This just blew me away because if anyone knows him knows how he loves our country and how much he hates it being done wrong. I used to hear many conversations of it. If we could all turn this country over to God and let Him have His way our world would be much better! We are the body of Christ, and the only way we will see a change is if we start acting like Christ who prayed for His enemies even as He was dying. "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34 

Why must we love them? Because God is love and if we are Gods children we must love also!

We can change the world, but it first starts with prayer; prayer for forgiveness and to love others as we love ourselves. Let the world see love and kind acts of God in response to terrorism.

you are loved, you are forgiven, you are blessed. 

His daughter, 
             Starla Conroy 

Mount Rushmore: with my dad former member of the USMC



















Thank you for reading my blog! Please feel free to comment and share with #sharethelove! I would love to know what you think. God Bless!!

New Creation

Happy Saturday!!! 5.9.15

It's a beautiful day here in this small town! With tomorrow being Mother's Day everyone is super busy! I pray you all have a wonderful weekend!

It was on my heart this morning to share with you how I became a new creation. 

*I love the message version of this verse!*

       "Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you." (2 Corinthians 5:16-20 MSG)

Such a powerful verse! It says if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation! The old things are gone and new things have come!! When I rededicated my life and truly became a follower of Jesus my life was changed forever. The things that I used to do that didn't honor God were gone! I had no desire to do any of it! This wasn't as easy as it sounds, but I believe God never wanted it to be easy. If it was easy to be a Christian then everyone would be doing it! It took work for me to change my life around! The first thing that I had to do was let God help me. As humans most of us don't ever want help because that would weaken us and our pride just won't let us do it. But as Christians we must let go and humble ourselves to allow God to help us. When I did this my life became so much easier! His ways and His will is so much stronger and better than our own. I was so relieved when I knew that God almighty was going to be my helper. Boy was I glad that I did allow Him to help because I couldn't have survived the storms I faced without Him! 

         The strongest storm I faced in my life as a new creation was having to let my friends go. I love my friends to death, and would do anything for them but in order for me to stay true to God I had to separate myself from the sins I was committing. Now did this mean that they weren't still my friends? no. It simply meant that until I was strong enough in my walk to not fall into temptation that I needed to stay away. This truly hurt me, I became lonely and would wonder why I was doing this. But it was then in my weakness that God swept me up and carried me through it. I became His friend! When God did this I became filled with joy that I couldn't hold in! You see God gave us this life, he sent His ONLY Son to DIE for us so that we could be free from sin. Knowing that God gives us so much makes me want to honor Him in everything I do! My motto is "If it doesn't  honor God don't do it, say it, or listen to it." This doesn't mean I'm perfect, I sin everyday! But every time I do I hurt because I know it hurt God. I then pray for forgiveness and ask God to forgive me for my sin! **this is the best part** He forgives me and I am made new again!! He is so amazing! 

Thank you for reading this, you will never know how much it means to me! Don't forget to honor  God in all you do, and if you proclaim to be a Christian but haven't been changed I pray right now that God will help you turn your life over to Him! Allow Him to change you, you won't regret it!  He is not a demanding God, He is a forgiving God. He is our father! He will bless you for your love towards Him and others! 

You are loved, you are forgiven, you are blessed! 

 

love His daughter, 

               Starla Conroy 

Photo: taken by me somewhere out west 

Who am I?

Good Morning!! 5.8.15

As you may know I am Starla (Vining) Conroy! As I was laying in bed last night I was asking God "what do you want me to do?" And boom! Here we are! You see I have so much to say! Many of you who know me might know how much I love to write! I have pages and pages full of my thoughts!  God told me that I didn't need to keep them hidden any longer because this is His gift to me. A gift I need to share! I pray that this blog will impact someone's life! All Glory be to God.

I want to first tell you my story. 

   I was born on 8.30.93 in Starkville, Mississippi (Hail State). My lovely parents are James and Tina Vining. They also provided me a brother (Trace Vining) on 3.6.98. I was raised all my life in church; my Nanny would take me or my family. I was saved and baptized at the age of 12. I knew what it meant to be a Christian and I loved the Lord! Soon I entered the terrifying world of High School where the world seemed so much bigger. P.S. It was there that I met my sweetheart Shane! In high school life got harder, the demands to fit in and be popular were so high! My friends all started going separate ways and I soon began to fade away in my walk as a Christian. I stopped going to youth on Wednesday nights and really didn't want to go on Sunday's. Don't get me wrong I loved God but my love for softball, boys, and my friends was so much more! The more I fell away the more I sinned. I graduated high school in 2011 from West Blocton High. I made different friends and then went on to play softball at Marion Military Institute. Softball was the most important thing in my life at the time! The demand that athletes face day to day is definitely challenging. My first semester of college I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It wasn't long before God took away the thing that was being put before Him, softball! In December of 2011 I had to have knee surgery for patella femoralis and decided that my career as a softball player was over. I transferred to Shelton State in the spring of 2012 during this time I wasn't the best person. I was a bad friend, and I intentionally sinned all while proclaiming to be a Christian. *If you knew me during this time I apologize for anything I may have done wrong!* During my first semester of college I was depressed, I went through a bad breakup and it really got me down. I didn't understand. I kept searching and searching for the right guy to make me happy again and it never worked. I was broken though many didn't even know, but God started showing me that there is hope. He showed me that I was searching for happiness in the wrong things. I then started putting my life in Gods hands. If I couldn't make myself happy and be able to stand alone with God then a guy would only make me happy for so long. It was then that God led me back to Shane. We started dating in the Spring of 2012, together we made mistakes but we both found God. I learned that in my life from High School on was a life of a lukewarm Christian.

      "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16 HCSB)

      At that time in my life God wanted to spit me out of his mouth. I was saying I was a Christian but my actions said differently. I was simply a fan of God, cheering Him on whenever something good happened, but only for a second. Once I realized this I rededicated my life over to God and changed completely! On 8.30.12 Shane asked me to marry him! He had surrendered his calling into the ministry! We helped each other in our walk with Christ and had a great support system. On 8.3.13 we got married! Our lives changed forever in February when we went to El Salvador on a mission trip! It was there we met the most amazing people and truly humbled ourselves! God showed me that he put me in this world to help the helpless! We have been so wrapped up in God ever since! There's so much more we can do but it starts with change! We are all here for one reason and that's to share Gods love! I do believe that if you are a follower of Christ and are putting things or people before God that he will take them away! 

I pray that this encourages someone! I am not perfect but I am a forgiven child of God and a follower of Jesus Christ! He loves you so much! His love is unending! 

***** please feel free to leave comments, email me, tell me what you think!! 

God Bless, 

   Love His daughter, 

                Starla Conroy