Christina M.

Christina shares with us the verse on her phone screen, how she deals with anxiety, and what her married life has inspired her to be.

Christina M.

Inspiring biblical passage of the moment: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

This verse has been my go-to in every aspect of my life! I even have it on my homescreen for my phone to use as a daily reminder.

Spiritual growth focus at the moment: I’ve been dealing with a lot of anxiety, a lot more than I usually do. I’ve always suffered from it for as long as I can remember, but the past month and a half have been pretty rough. Again, that Bible verse, 2 Timothy 1:7, definitely has been key in helping me relax and trust all that God is doing in my life.

Profession: Right now, I’m in my senior year of undergrad, majoring in English, with a concentration in professional and media writing. I’ve also taken a lot of public relations and advertising classes. My goal is to land a job in one of those two fields as a writer, so we’ll see how that works out in 3 months!

A one sentence bio of yourself: Maybe, “Full of faith and grace and a little bit of coffee.”

When did you first encounter God? Oh that’s a tough one. I think as a little girl, even being surrounded by pagans, somehow, I was always drawn to God and the Bible. I would try to read this barely opened Bible my dad had, and I would open up to random pages. I didn’t really understand what I was reading, but I always knew it was special. It wasn’t until I was about 19, and I’d been attending a Christian church for quite a while with my parents that I actually acknowledged who God was. It was a Sunday morning at this church I used to go to and the pastor was talking about an upcoming baptism and for the first time I realized all that Jesus endured for me to live. It was in that moment that I accepted Christ into my heart and really understood and acknowledged who God was to me. I cried the whole day afterwards just in awe explaining to my parents what I felt.

“I didn’t really understand what I was reading, but I always knew it was special.”

What has helped you grow spiritually in this season? Well, I just got married to my husband a little over two months ago, and it’s so encouraging and really awesome to see how a marriage represents the Lord loving the church as His wife. This new journey has made me not only want to be a good wife but just a greater follower of Jesus. I’ve made it a top priority to consume myself in scripture and growing my relationship with Him for HIM and for my husband.

“It’s so encouraging and really awesome to see how a marriage represents the Lord loving the church as His wife.”

Just read/currently reading (and what has it taught you?): I was just reading Zephaniah chapter 3 and from verse 8 on, it’s just so encouraging. In my Bible I highlighted verse 17, “The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” After reading that, I’m just wowed by the love He has for us, He’s always right there to call on!

“He’s always right there to call on”

Top three essentials: Let’s see… my phone for my Bible app for sure (unless I’m carrying a bag, which is rare, but I’ll have my Bible in there), mascara, and my fuzzy socks (I call them heaven socks because they’re seriously so soft!).

How did God speak to you recently? A few weekends ago, I was listening to IF Gathering’s yearly women’s conference, and the speakers were talking about Paul’s letter to Timothy. One speaker, Rebekah Lyons, was talking about anxiety and pushing through that. I’m on the worship team at my church, and there are times that I lead songs and a lot of times I’m always fearful of not being good enough or messing up but as Rebekah was speaking she said, “God didn’t pick the wrong girl for ministry, Satan picked the wrong girl to mess with.” And her whole message was just so encouraging to me with leading worship and feeling worthy to lead people. I’m still a work in progress, but I’m getting there! Her message definitely gave me hope in trusting the work God is doing in my life.

“God didn’t pick the wrong girl for ministry, Satan picked the wrong girl to mess with.”

Hobby: Hmm, is petting a dog a hobby? *laughs* I enjoy reading fiction novels when I’m not reading books for school. I love snowboarding, although I haven’t given myself time to go this season and anything that involves being outside I love, especially hiking or going for walks.

Top three practical tips for staying spiritually strong:
1. Reading the Bible is so important!
2. Constant communication with God;
3. Devotionals or reading other people’s faith-based blogs, I think, could be helpful.

Favorite person in scripture? Jonah’s story is remarkable to me. I think in a lot of ways we can be like him and try to turn away from what God is asking us to do. His story just seems so relatable to me, with him being so stubborn.

“I think in a lot of ways we can be like him and try to turn away from what God is asking us to do.”

What do you want people to learn about God when they look at you? I hope people can see His light and the joy I have because of Him. I always hear the song “Let them see you” on the radio and the lyrics are so beautiful. I just want my life to be like the song says by reflecting back to God and how great He is.

Favorite season? Definitely, fall! I live in the mountains and the foliage is always so beautiful. And also because I get to wear scarves and hats, they’re my favorite, when I want to feel cozy.

Favorite holiday? Christmas! I seriously love everything about the holiday. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

A dream you have? I honestly have no idea… for a while it was to graduate from university, and it’s finally happening for me, and I have a wonderful husband/ best friend now, so I’m actually not really sure.

A special tradition you and your family engage in or keep: The only tradition I’d say my family and I have is buying a Christmas tree together every year. But my husband and I want to make it a tradition to visit the place where we were engaged every year just to relive and celebrate that moment.

Question you will ask when you get to heaven? “Jesus, can I finally hug you now?”

Thing you want to raise awareness about: That would be bullying and how it can affect people so heavily. School was always pretty hard for me from elementary school to high school and it affects sooo many others, it’s something I’ve always been pretty passionate about.

What do you usually do before 9 a.m.? I wake up at 7 for school every morning, so it’s your typical make breakfast, eat, get dressed, and drive to campus since my first class starts at 9. A lot of times, it’s hard to find a parking spot right away, but if I do, I’ll sit and read a devotional or a few verses from the bible before class starts.

What is on your nightstand? I don’t have a nightstand, but I do have a dresser! All I have on there is my small goldfish Steve and a bottle of water.

Define Christianity in a sentence: I think it can be as simple as having a close relationship with God and constantly working on that relationship through prayer and reading His word.

For more Christina:
Instagram: @christinaslovely
Blog: https://fulloffaithandgrace.weebly.com/

Until next time, keep witnessing!
XOXO