I have always been a Christian, but it wasn't until recently that I really felt as though I had a true honest relationship with Jesus.  Jesus has always loved me... but it wasn't until I established a firm relationship with him that I really felt he was smiling down on me.

There are so many ways that we can help Jesus draw closer to us... to feel him smile down on us... to help us feel that "sunshine in our souls"

The biggest challenge in my own life has been to try and live it according to God's will. To be obedient. To be quiet and listen to what He is trying to tell me on how to live my life. In John 15:14-15 Jesus says "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." To be obedient and follow God's commandments draws us closer to Jesus. Jesus wants to smile down us. He wants to love us. He wants us to be his friend.  He wants to be the sunshine in our soul.

What are some things in your own life that you struggle with that make it hard to get that "sunshine in your soul"?

There is not any one of us that is perfect. We have all done things in our life that put a rift between us and God. But if we repent and ask Jesus for forgiveness all is well. His love for us is unconditional.

The biggest challenge in my own life that causes darkness rather than sunshine is all the "noise" in my life. I am currently going through an amazing study at church and in a home study called http://www.quietinganoisysoul.com/">Quieting a Noisy Soul. Its  a video series led by Dr. Jim Berg. I am no way affiliated with him or his organization, but have just found this to be an AMAZING series that has been a real blessing in my life.  In the coming weeks I'll be blogging about some of the things I am learning from this.

It is my hope that by you reading about my own journey that you will be blessed and find that sunshine in your life which can be difficult to find during these busy, noisy times.


**Lyrics by Eliza Edmunds Hewitt