Hypocrite.

Hypocrite, according to Google, is a person who indulges in hypocrisy. Synonyms of that word are; pretender, phony, fraud, fake.

I say that to say this.

Have I drank? Yes.
Have I had premarital sex? Yes.
Have I abused prescription drugs? Yes.
Have I lied, cheated, begged? Yes.

Does it make me a hypocrite because I don't live that way anymore and I preach to others about my experiences in order to help set them free from that bondage?

Nope.
It makes me changed.

I am not the person I was a year ago. Heck, I'm not the person that I was yesterday.

Even the Apostle Paul preached about how he had to reevaluate himself on A DAILY BASIS to make sure he was walking the walk AND talking the talk.

As humans we make comments like... "I saw her at a party one time..." "He used to call me every night while he was engaged..." "I have seen dirty pictures that got forwarded around" blah blah blah.
But why do we do that? Maybe all of that is true. Maybe you just read it on Facebook. Maybe you flat out made it up.
But why? To tear others down? To beat up on their walk?

As Christians, we are to help each other, to etify and make each other better.
We are to USE our past mistakes as tools to show non believers that we aren't perfect. We ALL screw up. But, in Christ we have forgiveness, love, mercy, and grace.
We are to turn from those sins and learn from them.
Not belittle each other to make us look better than the other one.
How in the world does that make us Christ like?

It doesn't.
It makes us weak.

I am in no way proud of alot of the choices I've made over my 23 years on Earth, but God is using that. He's using me.

I can now sit down in front of a group of students and honestly truly relate to them.
To the sex.
To the pregnancy.
The drugs.
The lies.
The pain.

I'm not one of their parents telling them to say no to sex, drugs, and rock n roll because it's bad. I've lived it and I can speak from the heart about why they should stay away.

So does it make me a hypocrite because I once was lost but now I'm found and I'm not afraid to shout it from the rooftops?
Nope.

Hypocrite is only a word for the weak. And name calling is for 3rd graders.

All That I Am,
Katie ♡

The day I wore that white dress.

I remember my wedding day like it was yesterday.
In the back of my mind it wasn't really a big deal because I was already part of the family and Tyler was already a part of mine.

But, at the same time, it was a huge deal.

I didn't have the fairytale wedding that I had dreamt of as a little girl.

But, it was my wedding. My day.

Our Big Day.

I remember standing at the alter and looking back at all the people there. All the people that were rooting for us. That had been rooting for us since day one.

We made it.

After the wedding. After my daddy walked me down the aisle and my parents gave me away. After the cake and the hairspray and the bubbles and birdseed...

After the party was over.
There I was, standing face to face with my husband.

In that moment, I realized that I had nothing to give him.

I lost my virginity at a very young age... to the man I later married..

But in that moment when I was ready.. mentally, physically, and emotionally ready to give myself to my husband.

I had nothing to give.

My heart was broken. Torn to pieces.

I thought back to all the times my dad had the talk with me. He tried so hard to explain the reasons why we "wait".. but I was young. I didn't really care.

No one does. Not anymore.

You see, in God's eyes when we sleep with someone, we are instantly joined together as one. We are in that moment married.
Take a minute and think about who you are married to...

Will they make a good parent?
Be a good provider?
Love you when you're ugly?

All of these things my parents told me to think about before I even DATED a guy much less slept with him.

And now, all I have to say is.
This sex before marriage thing is no joke.
We don't get to "test drive the car before we buy it"
That's not the way we were designed. Period.

Think now to all the divorces you've been in or you've seen.

Sex. Intamacy. Adultery. Pornography.
That's the leading cause.

For a long time I struggled with the thought that I wasn't "good" enough for my husband.

Had we only slept with each other. Those thoughts would have never invaded my head.
Had we waited until marriage...
My whole entire life would be different.

That's the way God programmed us.

To lay with one woman. To lay with one man.

I love my life. I would not change anything.

As christians we take sin too lightly.
We think that you shouldn't drink.
We think you shouldn't smoke.
Do drugs.
Listen to dirty music.

But we avoid the sex topic. We let our kids start dating when they're 12. We let our kids watch vulgar movies. We let our sister kiss in the backseat. We make a joke with our brother about his girlfriend.

It's not normal. It's sinful and blasphemous that we turn the other cheek to this because it's accepted by everyone else.

We are called to be different. If we blend in... how will anyone ever see the gospel?

Think about the day you, your sister, your daughter, your friend has to walk down the aisle in that white dress...

All that I am,
Katie ♡♡♡