4/18/2013

On April 18th, 2013 my father passed away. Even typing that feels so foreign to me.
I have debated over and over 15 times in my mind about whether or not I should post this blog, because of what people would think. Whether I am attention hungry, or a nut case…. But then I got a God punch right in the face. I have revolved everything around me instead of pointing and glorifying Him.

I don’t know what point you are at in life at the moment or what situation you are going through dear friend, but the “what if’s” will destroy you. Do not allow yourself to be a victim to darkness. The Devil lies to us and deceives us into thinking that we can’t find freedom in pain that we are feeling. We are deceived into thinking that we are stuck. But my lovely friends we are not.

We are not stuck, and we are not hopeless. Galatians 5:1 says this, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Whatever you are facing right now, I pray that you choose to desire God, and believe that He causes all things to work together for good. Do not become a victim to the darkness of slavery, and choose to walk in the light.

Through every situation that we go through we are able to glorify God with it.
I am praying for you guys, and I love you all.

Above All Else…

I have been told all my life that it is vital that I guard my heart. Guard my heart in relationships, friendships, situations, etc. We teach that in church, Sunday school and many times that is the advice we receive when entering into a new relationships and friendships. But do we actually grasp what this means to guard our hearts?

While I was pondering this thought today, I began to examine my own life and my own hurts that I have went through. Most of these hurts came from the truth that I wasn’t guarding my heart. I dove into unhealthy situations because of my own selfish desires that I was going to make this work. No matter what the consequences would be. We are completely self-destructive when we do this, and I know that we have all been there at one time or another.  Again, I ask the question what does it actually mean to guard our hearts?

Proverbs 4:23 says “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.” When I see this verse I am reminded that most of the hurts that I have caused is from what I have kept inside of my heart.  I have learned how vital it is to stop and examine my own heart, and let go of any bitterness, or pride I have stored in it. This begins firstly with the confession of my sins.

We find our freedom, in the forgiveness that God gives us Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” When we have God’s spirit living inside of our hearts, we are able to have the discernment God provides us to lead us in the right steps of life. What we have in our hearts flow the springs of life.

My encouragement is that we all take time to truly examine our hearts and to truly mediate on this last passage from Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Have a great week friends!

-Brooke

Thoughts & Walls.

It’s definitely been one of those weeks, where every single one of my thoughts are running wild and rapid throughout my mind. I start to envision the possibility of the way certain situations will turn out in multiple scenarios, and replay them over and over in my mind. By the end of the day, I am about ready to hit my head against a wall. I’m sure you friends have never been there right?

I think the major part of this problem is, that we become stressed and overwhelmed because we aren’t including God in our thought life, and the situations that we allow to run wild in our thoughts.  I am wanting to hit my head against the wall, because in these thoughts I am the one in control. Which means I need to be smacking my head against the wall, and there would also be a lot of other people hitting their heads on the wall too when I attempt to take the lead. Basically there would be a lot of damaged walls, and a lot of bruised heads. It would be a vicious cycle.

2^nd Corinthians 2:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”  I find this verse so comforting friends. Every argument, every pretension, and every thought we take captive and give it to God. In return we find the peace we have been searching for.

Our thought life is so powerful, and it eventually reflects our actions. We need to make our every thought, pure, and lovely, and accepting in the eyes of our Creator. When I wake up some days, and my thoughts are running crazy about the day, or the future, I literally have to say out loud “God, I am not doing this again today.” We know that when we rely on the Lord for strength, that He remains faithful and that He conquers all.

I love you all.

-Brooke

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”

Philipians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things”

2nd Corinthians 10:3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”

 

Soar & Fly.

 

….”But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings [like eagles] they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not grow faint.”

Soar on wings like eagles. I began to ponder what that exactly meant. The Lord gives us wings like eagles, not ducks, not chickens… But eagles. I know that all sounds absolutely ridiculous, but that was literally my thought process. I knew we were also compared to sheep numerous times throughout the bible, because sheep can’t function properly without their shepherd for guidance. So why eagles then?

I then began my conquest on eagle research. Yes. Eagle research. After about an hour’s worth of studying, I stood in awe of how amazing our God is. Brace yourself for this. Eagles have the strongest wings compared to any other bird. Also, when eagles have poison in them, they fly up to the highest point they can, and the sun suck’s the poison out of them. Which is what the Lord does, when sin has poisoned our lives; he cleanses us from our poison.

If that doesn’t bring your soul happiness, get a load of this. Revelations 12 tells a story of a woman, a child, and a dragon. Imagine this all, there is a woman about to give birth to a son, who is going to shepherd all nations, and all of a sudden this great fiery red dragon decides he would like to kill the infant. The Lord gave the woman a place of safety in the wilderness where she stayed for 1,260 days. The dragon is so outraged at this point, his main focus is to find this woman and kill her. Then here comes the best part of the story; The Lord gives the woman two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly away to safety. Our God never leaves us, never forsakes us, and always provides.

This whole study, has made my soul fall more and more deeply in love with our Creator. We need to have faith that when tough times come which they indeed will, not to fret. Our savior promises us that if we trust in Him he will give us those wings like eagles. We will soar, and we will fly.

-Love, Brooke

Revelations 12:14- “The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness where she was fed for a time, times, and half a time.”

Isaiah 40:31- “But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength ; and they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”

Situations

Situations. Oh, situations.

Sometimes we let them get the best of us right? And sometimes… these situations literally make us fall to our knees praying out for peace.

I usually find myself saying “How did I let myself get in this situation.” Then all of a sudden it smacks in right in the face. It’s because I convince myself that I know what’s better for me, than God does. Doesn’t this sound ridiculous? How could I ever know what’s better for me over the One who CREATED me?

The answer is we simply don’t. Parting ourselves with God, is exactly how we wind up in these situations. It all starts with trusting our own feelings, and relying on self alone. I don’t know about you guys, but doesn’t it seem that we always fall back in the same situation that we told ourselves we weren’t ever going to do again? In my own experience, I always knew that God was saying “Hey Brooke… We’ve talked about this before, and you know how this is going to end up. Come back to me.” Thank the Lord for his grace, and forgiveness.

I begin to think about the Israelites, when they are traveling to Canaan in the wilderness, and how much we relate to them. God commanded to them to obey Him, and know that He would take care of them. But instead they complained, disobeyed and tried to do things their own way, and they did not take notice of the blessings God had given them. God knew what he was doing then, and He knows what he is doing now in our lives.

I don’t know personally what situation you may be struggling with, whether it be within friendships, addiction, relationships, abuse, finances, health, etc. Whatever situation came to your mind while you were reading this, I encourage you to drop to your knees, let go of your pride, and give it to the Lord. Know that whatever situation or trial you are going through God is bigger, and God is stronger, and God is fighting for you, and He loves you. We don’t have go through these things alone. Love you all. – Brooke

Exodus 15:24-26: ²⁴ And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵ So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, ²⁶ and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”

Exodus 14:14: The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 

Forgiven

Forgiven.

Forgiven. What does that actually mean? Also what does it actually mean to live like we are forgiven? I know we have all probably heard that we are forgiven of our sins, because of what The Lord has done for us on the cross.  But do we actually grasp the concept of what this all means? Do we actually wrap our heads around the fact that when Jesus was being nailed to the cross that he was thinking about each and every one of us, and that he loved us all so much that he took each and every weight of our sins upon himself so that we can know life through Him. Do we truly get this?

A question I have been raising to myself here recently is why sometimes our biggest battles in life has to deal with forgiveness. Usually the forgiveness we don’t want to give is to a person who hurt us, who rejected us, who abandoned us. You catch my drift. But notice that all of those things I just described, is everything that Jesus has forgiven us for. I don’t know about you, but I know that I am guilty of doing each of those things to the one person who loves, and desires me the most. Jesus knows our hurts, because he has felt our hurts, and He still and will forever offer us His love, and His forgiveness.

Colossians 3:13 says: “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”  It’s vital that we remember that.  I used to believe that giving forgiveness to somebody that had hurt me would be their way of winning, and having some sort of power over me, and it wasn’t until God showed me that the weight of carrying around anger, and resentment towards people, is an awful and self-destructive way to live your life. We are able to find freedom in being forgiven and also in giving forgiveness. We need to remind ourselves that we are all children of God, and when we grasp this, the bitterness that we once felt will be replaced with love, and forgiveness that God has given us.

Matthew 18: 21-23- Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

2 Corinthians 2:5-8 -Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

Ephesians 4:31-32- Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Humility…

Imagine this setting, a small store crammed with with tons of kids and teenagers, and its over 100 degrees outside, and to add on that your extremely fatiqued. This small young boy comes up to your register with his small purchase, and you happen to notice his black eye. You become interested in knowing why this kid has a black eye and ask what happened. He explains that he is from a boy’s home and an older kid punched him because he wanted his seat on the bus. Your palms start getting sweaty because you don’t know what to say to comfort this young child, then you proceed to check him out. The boys face soon becomes sad because he realizes he’s a total of 10 cents short, and goes to put his toy away. You know that 10 cents isnt going to set you back any so you tell him you have it covered and grab a dime out of your purse.

The boy floats in & out of your mind throught out the day, because of how honest he was about his background, and his story. You can’t believe your eyes because in walks in the same boy. He is smiling ear to ear, and he is bursting with excitiment. He walks up to you and holds out his hand & says “I found this dime on the ground and I wanted to repay you.”

Amazing enough this actually happened me this past summer at Falls Creek church camp. This young boy no older than thirteen made such an impact on my life, and helped me revaluate my heart. This kid who didn’t have much of anything was still willing to give. This is called humility. This is called God’s love & light shining through a young boy.

I am reminded of Luke 21. The story of the poor widow who gave all she had into the offering. Take a wild guess at what she gave to the offering? Two coins! This woman had lost her husband and had no money but she was still willing to give. It truly amzes me how God can bring people into our lives for a short time and they make such an impact on our lives. Just like the widow the young boy had God light shining through him. I am reminded daily by this story, not to be selfish, not to be proud, but to be humble. When we humble ourselves that’s when God’s light prevails. When we realize that everything on this earth is just temporary and that the reason of our existence is to serve theGod who made us, that’s when our view on life changes completely. I challenge you & myself to not hold onto temporary things of this world, and like the widow and the young boy give everything you have to God & love, love, and love.

Luke 21:3-4 says “I tell you the truth, He said. This poor widow has put in more than all of them. For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

Matthew 16:26 says ” What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”