Let Go, Let God.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 4.6-7

WOW, it's been awhile since I have been on here, BUT I'M BACK. This post will focus a lot on how, as humans, we need to let go and let God. This saying comes up in our everyday lives through situations and instances that we can not control. Of course, it is easier to think of this when your frustrated or something particularly doesn't go your way, but it's hard when a big situation arises and you don't always want to say "Let Go, Let God" because you want to fix it and control it now.
That's the problem with our society today. It's all about what's going to happen now, and have a future plan now, and knowing everything about every moment now. This is just my look on life, and you don't have to agree with everything I say, but it is all about the now BUT it's about living in the "now". It's not all about knowing what's going to happen every second of the day, just let go and let God. We read it in bible verse after bible verse "let go of your worries and suffering, and God will carry you through." Now I know that is not the exact words to any bible verse, but it can be summed up in various ways.
A lot of you may know, I have been through a lot of suffering the past couple of years. Believe me, its hard to let go and let God. I thought that I could control my emotions, control my feelings about certain things, and even control the exact way I 'think' I should live this life I have been given, BUT I CAN'T. Of course I have some say in the little things like how I'm going to perform on tests, or what my major will be, or even where I'll be living in a year (and yes those are the little things), but I have no control of how those exact steps are going to fall into place. That is where God comes in, and we have to let him intervene in our lives and help us out.
Today in mass, father talked about how the Lord is willing to help us as long as we ask. The verse Mark 10.51 says it all. "Jesus said, 'What do you want me to do for you?' and the blind man said to Him, 'I want to see'." Jesus gave sight to the blind, giving him the choice to live his life. The blind man chose the life of following Christ. Are we not all blind? Are we not all searching for sight of Christ's works? I believe that we should all take a moment and think about what is blinding us from Christ, and how we can ask for sight to better our faith in the Lord.
I know for me, there has been a lot of up's and down's going on, and I have been wanting to control them all, but I can't. I need to learn to ask for the sight of faith, that I can trust the Lord's judgement in his plan for my life. It might not be the most ideal, but I know it's the life I am suppose to live.

This song isn't a particularly christian song, but I do look at it as a song that is asking to be closer to God. It's this new group I found called The Paper Kites, and I love their music. Check out this song, Bloom:

-Erika Watson

You have a Question? ASK.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7.7-8)

For those of you who actually read my blog, thank  you, but I just wanted to let you know that this post is kind of like my last one in a way. I talked a lot about asking for help when you needed it the most, and how as humans, that doesn't come easiest to us. Not only is asking for help a hard thing to do, but asking questions in general is something that goes away as we get older. I know a lot of you have experienced that time when a child keeps asking and asking and ASKING you multiple questions, and you wonder how they could have so much to talk about; it's because they are curious. We are all curious in some ways, it's just as children, we are not afraid to ask. As we grow up, for some reason or another, we feel like we are bothersome for asking questions, or that our questions are not important, but they are. How are we going to figure out anything through life if we don't ask questions and know the answers?

Do not be afraid to go and
live your life. 

Through this passage, Christ is telling us that if we do not seek for answers, we will never know. If we do not ask, we will never receive. As humans, we have to break down those barriers and make ourselves vulnerable to asking questions and opening up to others whether it makes you uncomfortable and awkward. And believe me, I have learned to just embrace my many awkward moments and situations.
One example that I have noticed in the past couple of days of how asking questions can change a life, is when I went to talk to  the dean of the School of Education, Dr. Rock. Just one day, I decided to email him and ask if I could meet up. I had no idea what exactly I wanted to talk to him about, just that I had a question about what I was going to do after I graduated. Just through that 30 minute meeting, Dr. Rock had different people I could contact, many opportunities that I could possibly do after I graduate, and he told me that I could come in and talk to him whenever I needed to. Through one simple email and a question, I had some kind of plan for my life after college.
It doesn't take extreme courage to ask a question, yet an open mind to do so. Do not be afraid to make yourself vulnerable to the unknown. We all have to do it one way or another, so do it with an open and steadfast heart. Christ calls us to ask questions, why not answer Him?


Erika Watson

This is your LIFE, are you who you want to be?

"Jesus said, 'Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.' Peter replies, 'Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water.' So Jesus invites Peter to come. Peter gets out of the boat and begins walking on the water toward Jesus. But when Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and sees the wind and waves, he begins to sink. Peter cries out to the Lord, and Jesus immediately reaches out his hand and catches Peter. As they climb into the boat together, the storm ceases. Then the disciples worship Jesus, saying Truly you are the Son of God."

What are the wind and waves in your life keeping you from following Jesus? This passage is relevant to all of our lives, yet we don't follow it to the best of our abilities. The Lord is there for us and will do anything and everything to help us follow his path, but once we lose sight of the Lord's teachings, that is when we begin to sink in our sins and sorrows. Yet we can all be saved by the Lord if we just ask and pray.
Recently being retold this story a couple days ago at CCM, I have constantly tried to live up to this passage. I have been reviewing the obstacles in my life that are keeping me away from Christ, asking myself "What people are in my life for the betterment of me?" and "How can I change my ways for the betterment of Christ?". Growing up, I always felt the need to belong, just like every other human being; but does that mean having to please everyone in order to do so? Not everyone I meet in my lifetime are going to be my best friend, are going to want to hang out with me, or even like me, and that is what has been my biggest "wave" keeping me from Christ. People are meant to come in and out of our lives, whether they stay there or not is our decision.

Life is too short not
to jump and scream.

That was just one example of what I have been trying to change in order to keep my eyes on Christ. Also, Lent is coming up soon; a time to truly reflect on your own personal life. Jesus gave his life in order to save ours, what can we do to honor that act? I know the biggest question coming up the next few days is "What are you giving up for Lent?" It is always nice to give something up, but you can also do something good instead of giving up something. To give you an idea, I am going to babysit for free. Some couples with children just need time to themselves in order to build on their relationship, so why do they have to pay for that? There are so many things that one can do through this time of forty days and forty nights, but do we have to stop there? Why not keep the good deeds flowing through the next couple of months, years, maybe even lifetime. We have to get out there and at least try to follow Christ's teachings.
What I'm trying to say through all this is that we can no longer be selfish. In order to love yourself and love others, you have to have a strong and loving relationship with Christ first. God gave us the power and will to do whatever we want in this lifetime, why not follow Him in the process? I am.

Through everything you go through, Christ is always there with you, holding you oh so tight!!

Erika Watson

The Road less TRAVELED..

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach." (Romans 12.6-7)


God has blessed us with many talents and instruments to use to the best of our abilities, but are we truly using them? This is an issue that I feel, as a student, I struggle with daily.

My amazing family:
Little brother Evinn, Me, Big sister
Erien, & Big brother EJ.

With the many pressures from family, peers, and social statuses, do we really know what we want to do for the rest of our lives? Luckily, I have not had too much of a problem with doing what I want to do. When I decided to be a teacher, my parents backed me up. When I decided to spend my whole summer working with kids in the middle of WV, my family supported me. And when I decided to go travel the UK twice, it didn't surprise my friends one bit. I have been truly blessed with a great support system, to figure out how to use my talents that Christ has given me.
I know that it is not that easy for others to do so. With the pressure from parents "strongly encouraging" them to graduate with this major, or with friends wanting them to be a completely different person. Who are they to say what kind of person you should become. Call me crazy, but I believe Christ gave us our own mind, body, and spirit to live the life we want to live through His name.

One of the amazing places I visited:
Big Ben

But stepping down from my soapbox, I just wanted to encourage all those reading this to do what you love. For the past couple of weeks, I went to go visit friends across England and Scotland. It had to be one of the best journeys I have ever done because it helped me to appreciate the meaning of friends. Even though I did travel to an amazing country, the best journey that I did make was to visit my family in California and Texas. Spending Christmas and time with them made me appreciate the value of my family and how blessed I am to have them. They support me in all that I do, that I can enjoy life and actually be me. I love teaching and helping children grow so why wouldn't I become a teacher? Traveling the world is my passion, so why not do it? Life is too short to worry about the if's, and's, and but's of life, so go out and live it.
I have learned through my many experiences from the past couple of years, that we do not know how long we are here on this earth, only God does. Life is too precious, so go do what makes you happy!!


-Erika Watson