When the Thunder Speaks

Growing up I spent a ton of time at my nanny's house, especially during the summer. Her front porch is where we made memories. I can remember going outside before a storm and listening to the thunder and watching the lightening in the distance. She would always say "when it thunders that means God is talking." Well it wasn't until today while I was listening to the thunder with my baby boy that I realized when God speaks it is like thunder.

Bravo, God, bravo!

Gods and all angels shout, "Encore!" 

In awe before the glory,

in awe before God's visible power. 

Stand at attention! 

Dress your best to honor him!

God thunders across the waters, 

Brilliant, his voice and his face, streaming brightness-

God, across the flood waters.

God's thunder smashes cedars, God topples the northern cedars. 

The mountain ranges skip like spring colts, 

The high ridges jump like wild kid goats.

God's thunder spits fire. 

God thunders, the wilderness quakes; 

He makes the desert of Kadesh shake. 

God's thunder sets the oak trees dancing 

A wild dance, whirling; the pelting rain strips their branches. 

We fall to our knees- we call out, "Glory!" 

Above all the flood waters is God's throne

from which his power flows,

from which he rules the world. 

God makes his people strong. 

God gives his people peace.

Psalm 29 MSG 

This amazing scripture describes how powerful God's voice is. When he speaks you can't help but listen and you won't forget it. You may ask how do you know when God is speaking to you? God speaks to you when you call out to him, when you pray to him, and seek his face. He comes to you when you want him. He is always there. We should expect God to speak to us. He always has something to say about the situation you are going through. It can be real easy for Gods voice to be drowned out by worldly things such as the TV, cellphone, or even people. When we are expecting God to speak to us we will always be listening and waiting for Him to. The more that we spend time reading Gods word and getting to know Him on a personal level the more that you and God will talk. When God becomes your best friend you talk like best friends, its the most incredible feeling in the world! 

David was in awe of God's power just like we should be. This scripture proves how powerful God is and how when He speaks trees crumble and mountains move. God can be a mighty God with a strong voice but God can also speak in a still voice, a whisper.

Then He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord's presence."

At that moment, the Lord passed by, 

A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains 

and was shattering cliffs before the Lord,

but the Lord was not in the wind.

After the wind there was another earthquake, 

but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 

After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. 

And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. 

When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle 

and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

1 Kings 19:11-13

In this scripture God comes to Elijah strong showing His power but speaks to Elijah in a calm voice, showing Him that He is calm God who can speak in whispers. When you hear God whisper to you don't second guess it, listen to it and take action. Like a father God speaks strongly when He needs to and whispers when the time is right. 

Don't ignore God's voice. Call out to Him, and he WILL answer. Your father loves you and longs to talk to you! 

His Daughter, 

       Starla Conroy 

Photo: Trace Vining 

 

Choose Joy!

Joy! What is joy? Joy is something that is deep within and stays. As a Christian joy is a good feeling. It is something that will reflect when others see you, a contagious type of emotion. Its something that is hard to disappear. I love seeing the joy my child has when his daddy and I play and laugh with him, his personalitly is so contagious!

As a Christian joy is a fruit that God says we should produce in our daily life.

Galatians 5:22- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

So where can you find this joy? Joy is found in spending time in Gods presence. To have joy we must have God. I love what the book Radical Growth says: "Researchers found that the most joyful Christians have four specific characteristics: 1. A feeling of being forgiven, 2. Forgiving others, 3. A feeling of life purpose, 4. A strong sense of gratitude." She goes on to say that "joy is directly linked to accomplishment. When we accomplish what we set out to do, we experience deep satisfaction. When we live the life we were created to live, we will experience joy! If you lack joy, you usually lack purpose. But purpose looks different in the Kingdom of Heaven. It's not what we have, who we know, or who knows us, but rather it is an ability to see our life from heavens perspective and agree with that perspective." As a Christian we should be able to find joy in all situations because we should look at the situation from Gods perspective. Ask yourself; "How would God react?" or "What would Jesus do?" I always end up changing my thinking when I ask myself these questions. The great thing about being able to find joy in all situations is that the joy will shine and be contagious to others! When we aren't joyful we end up bringing others down and get called a "joy sucker."
When we see life through Gods perspective it is impossible not to have joy because joy is found in God!

I receive so much joy when I worship our amazing God. The lyrics that He gives artist to write speak to my heart and I can't help but to praise Him and rejoice (joy) for all that He has done in my life. I feel so loved when I cry out to Him. When we worship Him He comes down and wraps us tightly, its honestly the best feeling in the world! It is unexplainable. It gives me joy!

God gives us blessings everyday but sometimes the devil will work hard to hide them and try to steal your joy but don't let him!
John 15:16 MSG says "You didn't choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won't spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you." 
Ask God to show you the blessing that he gives you! Ask God to give you joy! He keeps his word; search and you will find!

So I challenge you to choose joy! Choose God!

Joy comes when we seek God.

If you find yourself lacking joy, spend time with God, invite the Holy Spirit to come and He will give you that joy you lack. Ask Him to show you what your purpose is. Change your perspective and see things through Gods eyes.

Seeking joy is a choice, I pray that is what you choose.

I love each of you and I can't wait to see that joy shining bright!

Starla Conroy

LOVE this joyful child! 

Taking a Risk and Growing in God

It's Sunday in Alabama and it's extremely hot and humid. I took my little boy outside to swing on the swing because he LOVES it outside, he is Gods child. While we were swinging I started to ponder on when my relationship with God started to grow. As Christians we should always want to grow! It was then I realized that my relationship started to grow when I took a risk. I stepped out and TRUSTED God.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 

When Shane and I got married in August of 2013 we both knew that we wanted our marriage to be a marriage centered around Christ and we wanted grow together with Christ. It wasn't long before we were asked to go to El Salvador on a mission trip.

Before I went to El Salvador my relationship with God was at a standstill, I was happy but deep down I knew I wanted more but I had no idea how to get more. I hope that makes sense! So we decided to go to El Salvador, we decided to take a risk.

When most people hear the word risk they think of negativity but a risk is the potential to gain or lose something of value. Of course we will never lose God but taking risk can either have a positive or negative outcome on our relationship with Him. I suppose the Christian phrase for taking a risk would be "stepping out in faith."

Stepping out in faith I went to El Salvador and it was the best risk I ever took! It changed my life completely! When I got back home my relationship with God was so much deeper. I continued to take risk by serving and doing things that I never would've done before like praying with others at the altar. I realized that for my relationship with God to prosper I had to step out and act like Jesus and his disciples. The disciples were constantly taking risk. Just like Peter when he stepped out onto the water, he looked back and fell but when he put his focus on Jesus he strived and walked on the water. Storms will come and cause us to fall it can happen to us all but the most important thing we can do is step out and take a risk. We are Jesus' disciples, don't forget that!

Fast forward many risk and a baby later, I stated to notice my relationship with God becoming content and not growing so I examined my life and prayed and prayed for God to show me something that I can do to grow in Him. It took a while but God answered my prayer and told me to start a small group in my home and to invite many woman in my community so I trusted God and I did. I love small groups but I am so much better at expressing myself through words. I could write a book better than I can lead a small group but that isn't what God wants. So I am taking a risk and putting myself out there and opening up to women, most whom I hardly know. It hasn't been easy, I have felt alone in it all but God and my husband have been by my side to encourage me.

I am saying all this because I want you to grow your relationship with Christ. No you don't have to go to another country there are so many ways to step out on faith. Pray for a stranger or share the gospel. Let God show you who He is and what He can do in your life! As we discussed in my church this morning, do something!

James 1:22 Be doers of the word and not hearers only. 

XOXO,
     Starla Conroy

P.S. This blog is a huge risk for me, being vulnerable on the internet is never easy, so shoutout to all you bloggers for taking a risk! 

Wife, Mother, and a Child of God

On February 3rd, 2016 God gave me the best gift I could ever receive (besides my husband of course), He gave me my first child, Thomas "Tucker" Conroy. When I found out I was pregnant my world was changed. I was so excited but I didn't know what to do. We had just started our ministry at small church and was excited to see it grow, but God had different plans. He changed our world and told us that our most important job at that moment was to prepare ourselves for parenthood. He wanted our relationship to be stronger than ever when our little boy got here. It was very hard for me especially because my calling that God had gave me at that time had changed and I had no idea what to do with it. I honestly thought being a mom was as simple as it sounds, but little did I know.

Being a mother is the most amazing experience, whether adopted, birthed, or a godmother. Every woman is called to be a mother in some way or fashion. Before I became a mom I thought the most important thing that I could do for God was to spread His word, but now I feel the most important thing that I can do for God is to raise a child who walks and talks with the Lord. To do that I believe that it starts at home, by talking to God first, being a Godly wife, and then a loving mother.

Proverbs 14:1 "A wise woman builds her house." 

Scripture tells us that a wise woman builds her house, she doesn't tear it down with harsh words and filled with worry and stress, she sets the mood for the house and creates the atmosphere. The wife and mother is in charge of setting the atmosphere of the house. It can be hard some days but I choose to fill my house with love, positivity, and cheerfulness. We are our children's biggest influence, when they see us happy they become happy, if you are stressed and worried then they will feel stressed and worried also. You may say "that isn't as easy as it sounds," well I believe that it is when you PRAY and ask God for these things. Ask for your day to great and happy! Ask for blessings upon your life and forget the negative. Look to God for grace and he will give you a healthy heart to create a healthy atmosphere. Its never to late to start building your home. Begin by being positive, clean your house happily knowing that it a clean house makes a warm feeling of love and not chaos. Everything you do, do it for the Lord! Something as simple as making the bed will bring everything together.

Proverbs 31:27 "She watches over the ways of her household." 

As a wife and mother it is our job to watch over the functions and ways of the household. We look after the children and what they do, it is our job to disciple them and teach them right from wrong. As a wife we cook and clean for our husbands. We make the plans, making sure our children and husband are where they should be and on time. These are not instructions from me, they are from God. He has given us a large responsibility that we must grab ahold of and never let go.

I love my job as a wife and mother, but most importantly I love being a child of God. The hardest thing about becoming a mother was being sure I made time for God. I have to lean on Him more than ever because without Him I couldn't do it. Be sure and take time out of your day to be with Him. Turn off the TV and just be in his word. Some days I can't find time to be alone with God so I include my child with it. I sit and read scripture to him, praying that it will grow with him. In all the chaos don't forget your husband, build him up, tell him nice things, ask if you can do anything for him, and don't cause him worry. We are in charge of the house, so watch it closely and create a loving atmosphere.

Don't forget we are the biggest influence in our children's life.

Titus 2:4 -5 "train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled." 

I encourage each of you to reflect on your lives as a wife and mother, as I am writing this I can already find faults. Pray to God and ask for His help to come into your home and transform it from the inside out, so that others can see a change. I love each of you. We are all strong and wonderfully made.

His daughter,
Starla Conroy

Are you Treating Your Husband as You Would Treat Christ?

Hey guys! It has been a while, I have been working on this blog post for over a week now, before I shared I wanted to make sure I applied it to my everyday life. For the past few weeks our ladies bible study has been reading A Woman After God's Own Heart and it has been amazing! It has definitely helped me change for the better. It hasn't been easy though, last week we started reading about our husbands and even if you aren't married it will be beneficial in the future. The part that stood out to me the most was when she asked a simple question about respecting our husbands:

"Am I treating my husband as I would treat Christ?"

Think about it.... how well do you treat your husband? I know I had to stop and think about it and boy did I feel bad!

So lets talk about husbands and how this book has helped.

We are on assignment from God to follow our husbands leadership, that means we must submit to them! Yes, submit to our husbands! But not only are we to submit to our husbands the bible says that we are also to submit to others. In Ephesians 5:21 it talks about being filled with the spirit and  "submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."

In marriage it is our husbands role is to make the final decision and he is ultimately accountable to God for his decisions and as wives we are accountable to God for how we follow.

Some may ask "What if our husbands aren't Christians and they don't follow Gods will?" The answer is given to us in 1 Peter 3:1 "In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your OWN husbands so that, even if some disobey the Christian message, they may be won over without a message by the way their wives live" Now don't get me wrong we must submit to our husbands but if what he is asking of you goes against Gods word then we must stay strong in our faith.

The book gave some great examples of how to follow our husbands:
- Dedicate your heart to honoring your husband: we first have to decide to follow our husbands and dedicate ourselves.
- Remember to respect: Do you ask your husband to do something, or tell him to. Show him respect at all times, and also speak about him with respect!
- Respond to your husbands words and actions positively: Start with saying nothing if the response isn't positive, then start to respond with a single word like "sure." Stay positive!

Once we start to do the small things it will get easier! I definitely struggled but each day is getting easier! Now yes we must submit, but let us not forget to serve!

Whether you are married or not we are all called to serve, as a wife however, I am supposed to help my husband. We must be a team, there is no competition in marriage. (This can be difficult for me because I love to compete with my husband with silly stuff!) It really helped me when I finally understood that God gave me my sweet husband and its my job to help him.

First we must commit to help our husband- it is your decision on whether or not you want to help him. To commit to helping our husbands we need to make helping him the priority of our everyday lives.

Second we must focus on our husband- The book tells us to ask our husbands these two questions every day: 1. What can I do for you today? & 2. What can I do to help you make better use of your time today?

When we serve it makes God happy because we are following His will.

Some ways I serve my husband is by keeping the house straight, having clean clothes for him & yes I even put his clothes away (unless he volunteers) , organizing the bills, cooking for him and fixing his plate. I feel that this is my job and yes I do fail at it all the time!! Ask yourself, is what you are doing hurting or helping your husband? I learned all of this because I have an awesome mom who always put my dad first and she serves him happily everyday!

I believe that it is all about what we want to do. I want to be the best wife I can be so I am motivated to serve my husband! They say a happy wife is a happy life but I also think that can work both ways!

Now ask yourself, do you treat your husband as you would treat Christ? Make this your goal, it has helped me so much!! I hope you all can use this to make your marriage easier, I know it has helped mine! I encourage you all to read this awesome book!

you are loved, you are forgiven, you are a wife
His daughter,
Starla Conroy

P.S. --- Don't forget to pray for your husband everyday!

IT'S A NEW CHALLENGE! A Humbling Challenge!

It's a great day!! God is so good! I'm not going to lie, the devil has been trying to get to me for the past two days. From using stuff to steal my joy in my pregnancy from trying to burden my relationship with God. The devil has emotionally wore me out! I hate admitting it but I boast in my weakness because God came in and shunned that evil away! I have such a peace this morning while writing this!

"But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 

While I had something totally different in mind, I had half a blog written then God was like hold up! I have something better in store for this!! IT'S A NEW CHALLENGE. You know you see all these challenges on the internet, most are crazy. But this is different. In the scripture above it says; "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Now read this in this version

"Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then He told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into is own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size- abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And the weaker I get, the stronger I become.  2 Corinthians 12:7-10

The famous Paul was glad to boast in his weaknesses!! It is time to humble ourselves my friends. We have so much pride these days, we are afraid what others might say. If I tell you what I fail at then I am just making myself look weak, that is what we tell ourselves. What we don't realize is that when we boast in our weakness and are happy to boast in them our God comes in and makes you stronger!! It glorifies Him! He is the almighty, not us! So lets humble ourselves and boast in our weaknesses! I challenge you to first thank God for being the Almighty and admit your weaknesses to Him, then share this post sharing a weakness you have! Others will see it! This gives God all the glory not ourselves!!! It is an humbling challenge! If you can tag me or comment so we can get together and awesome presentation to give God the glory! You guys are awesome for doing this!! It's hard to let your pride down, but this life isn't about us! It is all for God!

"When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom." Proverbs 11:2 

If you are experiencing the devil in your life right now the best thing to do is just stop and pray. Stop trying to fight the devil and let God fight Him for you! He WILL win!

you are loved, you are forgiven, you are humble

His daughter,
     Starla Conroy

All of Gods creations are beautiful! 

Are You Really Any Better?

Hi! It has been an awesome week! It has been full of friends, family, my sweet husband, and our AWESOME God! Today I tweeted something that really got me thinking... like I haven't stopped thinking about it and I am constantly reminded of it when I get on social media, Facebook is the worst!

It said: "Are you really any better than the person if you are talking about them?" I mean are we really any better than that awful person who in your eyes is just the worst if we are talking down about them?? Remember all sin is the same except for blasphemes against the Holy Spirit.

Lets get into some scripture.
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people. For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us- not by world of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy- through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:1-5 

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immortality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I tell you about these things in advance- as i told you before- that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self control. 

 I love these scriptures! In the book of Titus Paul tells us to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people! Social Media always brings out the true colors of people, I have seen so many people bashing others. It doesn't matter how awful of a person they might be there is still no reason to call them names or point out their sins all while proclaiming the name of Jesus. Don't forget we are all sinners. I don't recall Jesus ever badmouthing people to His friends, I do however recall Him loving the sinners and hypocrites, he loved the worst, the least of these! So if you call yourself a christian, are you really any better than that person you are talking bad about? Its not just those in the political field, or in jail, its everyone!  I know I catch myself doing this all the time. "Oh well she did this, that is awful," knowing I am a sinner just as everyone else is. Its time to stop putting down others and lift them up! Instead of talking about how awful they are, pray for them and show them Christ in you!!

I also love where Paul says avoid fighting, when we argue with one another are we showing them Christ? Or is it the devil setting us up? There is always going to be someone who disagrees with you, that is life. If it is against Gods will pray for them! Instead of calling them out in public go to them privately and try helping with a loving attitude. Arguing isn't going to change someones mind!

Don't forget it isn't too late for someone to accept Jesus into their lives. Like I stated earlier the only unforgivable sin is blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. These people we may talk about have feelings, even the president has feelings. Prayer is powerful if we devote ourselves to it!

I've said "you" a bunch so don't get me wrong, I am talking to myself also! Next time the person in the government does something you don't like, pray for them. Next time that girl or boy doesn't something bad, pray for them. Pray, Pray, Pray. Ask yourself, are you really any better? Don't misunderstand me, the things that I don't stand for I try and do something about it, there is a way to go about handling situations, the way God would, or the way the devil would. Don't let the devil win!  It is time to make a change right now! If God has been talking to you while reading this then don't ignore Him! That hurts Him so much when we let our fleshly desires come before God all because we don't want to change. Change is good, with change comes growth! Change right now! Say a prayer and make a vow to start changing the way you talk about others and handle situations. God wants to help you so allow Him!


you are loved, you are forgiven, you are changed

His daughter,
      Starla Conroy

All this rain has me wishing I was back on this island where the sun always shines!