It is only through the Spirit within me that I have the authority, and self control to hold tightly to the truth of God, and prevail. Regardless of what my flesh may desire.

No matter how the wind may blow, no matter the wilderness that we find ourselves in, or the weariness of our faith, the battle has already been won. Jesus has the victory, and he invites us to call out to him to walk with us, and to set us back on his path.

We must choose to obtain, grasp, and receive His peace. Choosing daily to not let go, or lose sight of it, amidst any season. Like salvation, peace is a choice, not a demand.

Some practical knowledge that I have learned through experience, and my walk with Jesus, is simple. God is a God of peace, not a God of confusion. Thankfully, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we as believers have the ability to know the difference between the world's “peace”, and the peace that Jesus freely offers us.

Money is inherently not evil but the “desire” of money is. Your focus becomes what you can get instead of what you can give. Tithing taught me to give to God first because it represented that I valued God more than the money. My life was transformed from a feeling of lack to blessing and abundance. ‍

Money is inherently not evil but the “desire” of money is. Your focus becomes what you can get instead of what you can give. Tithing taught me to give to God first because it represented that I valued God more than the money. My life was transformed from a feeling of lack to blessing and abundance. ‍

By surrendering my need to do everything on my own, it has brought the true peace of God into my life. God has taken the burden of self sufficiency off my shoulders, and I now rest knowing that my help comes from God. I always believed it was possible, but it never felt attainable, until now.

I have been learning to be a good steward of the time and life God gives me each moment. I am doing this by praying about being present in one task at a time. I ask Him to help me accomplish each item of my day. Before I know it I have not ceased in prayer and my day is done. Spending my day with Him has opened my eyes to how much I can trust Him for.

Until we truly know the Father, we cannot know His love. However, even if we do not know Him, He is still loving us.

However, I am grateful for the ways God has stretched my capacity in the past to prepare me for this time. I have felt the subtle presence of fear and worry, but choose to captivate those thoughts, and remember the truth of God.

This is what we must fill our time with when the fretting and worry starts to crash in like waves overtaking a ship at sea. We must repeat to ourselves and outloud petitions and praises of all our concerns. Then we must be still and let God do His work in us.

God’s expectation of us is different from culture. You often feel imposter syndrome when you’re trying to perform for social expectations, verses declaring what God has already given in your spirit.

Your relationship with your earthly father informs your relationship with your Heavenly Father. When the former relationship is fraught with heartache, it can deter you from seeking a relationship with God because deep down, you are afraid that He too will hurt or disappoint you.

Prayer is a form of communication with God our Father. As in any relationship, the same thing over and over again can become stale. Spontaneous dates are healthy for a marriage. New adventures together strengthen even the tightest friendships. Our relationship with God is no different.

No matter how our circumstances look like, we can always choose to rejoice in God and remember that He is the true source of joy in our lives. 

‍Who you are looking up to can influence the way you see life, the way you grow and the way you treat others. 

Believing the “I am enough” statement can make us mistakenly put our trust in ourselves rather than in God.

Your perspective of life can be simplified to whether you are thankful that thorns have roses or grumble when you find a rose only to be hurt by its thorns. ‍

‍You honor God when you value others above yourself and you are willing to give your time and your service to help them fulfill their needs. 

‍What does your life look like? Is your way of living representing Jesus and His love?

When we go through trials, it’s easy for us to carry the weight of guilt and humiliation with us. However, there is no shame on our chains when we use them to glorify God. 

‍Praying with joy helps us keep our focus on God and rely and rest in Him, regardless of what we are going through.

God is number one in celebrating us, in welcoming us to his loving arms regardless of what we may be feeling or fearing. Pastor Judah Smith sealed the night with the thought, Jesus is over everything.

After a year of attending VOUS Crew, the conference felt more enjoyable seeing the friends I've made and sat in anticipation for the final session. Cody Carnes opened with Firm Foundation. I can't even explain the magic that happened in the arena. Worship and praise filled the air and tears of joy touched our faces.

Through that scripture I could feel God strongly saying to me "I am about to do something new in you through this Conference." And as I walked through the doors of the arena, those words kept resounding in my head. 

‍Having the expectation that God is going to move, even when you don’t see it yet, takes a great deal of faith. Yet, God always honors our faith.

‍Healing brings freedom in our lives. It allows us to let go of heavy burdens and walk in the peace and joy God has for us.

‍Faith is the lens that allows us to see God in everything we are going through and believing He is going to work everything for our good.

‍Vous Conference is a place where we can surrender our hearts to God and allow Him to work in us and transform us from the inside.

Starting with gratitude allows us to change our perspective and honor God for what He’s done in our lives.

Social media is a great tool to connect with others when used right and in healthy doses, however can often be misused as a means for validation and to fulfill our need to be seen. 

Why does your body matter to God? We have heard the saying “your body is a temple.” But what does that mean? 

What you fill your cup with it’s important. What you fill your life with has the power to influence your thoughts and lead your life for better or for worse.

There are a lot of things we can learn from another person based on what they are laughing at. Laughter reveals more than just our sense of humor, it reveals our attitudes, our opinions and our values.

God knitted every one of us in our mother’s womb creating a love connection that transcends struggles, time, and distance.

As new believers we can often feel discouraged when the life we signed up for in following Christ turns out to have problems, disappointments, hardships and or even flat-out failure. 

Being grateful for things God gives to our lives helps us walk in purpose and joy.

Loneliness and Longing can wrap any season of waiting in our lives. But we can rest knowing God is with us, He still has a purpose for us and He will make it come to pass.

Mourning is one of the toughest seasons we can face in our lives, but with the help of God, we are able to find healing and purpose in the middle of it all.

‍When we are walking in darkness moments all we need to do is reach out to Jesus for him to bring the light back into our lives.

The grass is greener where you water it. And you can enjoy your single season by making the most out of it living in completion thourgh Jesus.

We are thirsty for love, approbation, attention, validation and that might draw us into going to the wrong sources that can fill us up for a bit but doesn't really make our thirst go away. Only God can do that for us.

‍Being single in your late twenties can feel very discouraging when you compare your life with what society says. But it can actually be the best season that God has for you.

Healing through heartbreak is tough. But God has a plan to get you through it. He can restore your heart, but you have to be willing to trust Him with all the pieces.

‍We need to break up with the fairy tale that love movies have taught us if we want to have a strong and healthy relationship that is built on God.

Our hearts were made to heal by the love and power of Jesus. He wants us to trust him with the broken pieces of our heart and allow him to restore us.

The Bible teaches us about the gift of being single, and how we can find purpose in it by spending time with God’s affairs.

The biggest lie of being single on Valentine’s day is that you are alone, and need another person to be complete.

We are not meant to do life by ourselves, we need community and people who we can walk alongside with.

In order to bring Christ’s Salvation in Miami, we must be willing to help others, pray for others and seek peace everywhere we go.

We must remember that we are one nation under God and that we are called to live with love for others.‍

‍The gospel drives us to have a life full of joy and purpose where we are called to stop living for ourselves and start living for the sake of others.

Allow yourself to grieve, to feel the pain, the sorrow, the anger. Never allow yourself to believe that these feelings are wrong or faithless, they are part of being human and going through the process. Don’t run away from them, but rather embrace them and allow them to guide you to a healing place.

Heartbreak comes in many different ways, not just in the loss of someone. It can be because of betrayal, deceit, or even rejection. But the Bible says that God is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

The thing about unforgiveness, is that it actually causes us more pain and makes it harder to move on from the past. God instructs us to forgive. So when we don’t, our disobedience creates distance and gets in the way of our relationship with him.

The different traumas in our lives not only can cause us deep pain, but they also influence the way we are and the way we act.

There’s no need for you to pretend like there’s nothing going on inside of your heart. The more you hide it the harder it is to get it healed. Depression is real, and is nothing you should be ashamed of. Your mental health is important.

Psalms 30:2 says, he is willing not just to listen to your prayers, but to help you, to redeem your life and crown you with love and compassion. He knows what you are going through, and you are not going through it alone.

Society has taught us that we shouldn’t tell anyone when we fail, because “what are others going to think?” But there’s a great power in coming clear in things we’ve done with someone who is willing not just to listen to us, but to help us, pray for us, and keep us accountable.

Imagine if an Olympic athlete didn’t go to their training because they didn’t feel like it. Do you think their Olympic dreams would ever be realized? Do you think they would acquire the skills, the strength, and the stamina to win? Of course not! It’s the same thing with your spiritual relationship with Jesus.

Whether we realize it or not, we are always following something or someone. And eventually what we are following is what we are becoming. So the question is, what or who are we following?

The Bible says that if we lack wisdom we should ask God and he will give it to us generously. This wisdom may come through prayer, through scripture, or even through another person. So if you are struggling to know what to do with a situation in your life right now, I want to encourage you to be more intentional with the time you spend with Jesus.

Oftentimes we make our own plans and pretty much just show them to God and “ask for his blessing”. Sometimes not even that. We just make them and don’t even consider making him part of it. But the Bible says that we shouldn’t trust our own understanding and we should always submit our ways to him.

As we enter in a new year, we must be intentional in walking with purpose. What is God’s vision for your life? What is he calling you to do in this new season? What dreams does he want you to pursue? What matters of your heart does he want to work on healing? In what areas does he want you to grow?

At some point, we’ve all been on one side of this conversation. Someone asks, “Hey! How are you?” Mixed in with a garden variety of pleasantries, the response, more often than not, will inevitably include the word tired or busy. We live in a society where the boundaries between work and rest have been blurred and overworking and neglecting personal needs have become a badge of honor rather than a warning sign to slow down. As we see throughout Mark, Jesus created the Sabbath and calls us to a place of rest. Here, we have provided a step by step guide to what it looks like to truly rest.