Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Changing the World guest post by Moriah Faith

First off, I want to say that I really appreciate Brooke for giving me this opportunity to share some things I've had on my heart. 

Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to change the world. 

I remember when I was 4 or 5, after hearing about Christians in other countries who were killed for believing that Jesus was the Son of God, I scribbled a note in the back of my tiny bible that said "Jesus is the Son of God. Moriah wrote this." I wanted to be willing to die for my faith. I wanted to use my entire life to change the course of this world. 

I know that may seem a little far fetched but I wouldn't be surprised if some of you have had dreams that big too. So today I'm going to give you just a Reader's Digest version of how to change the world in three easy steps.

To start, you need a launchpad. For most of us who have grown up in Christian homes, that launchpad would be our family and church. For others it may be something else. But we all need to get that encouragement from somewhere, even if it's just the word of God. It only takes a spark to get a fire going, but kindling is pretty important too. 

I'm personally in awe of the fact that God gave me strong Christian parents who have homeschooled me since day one and provided so many opportunities for me to grow. I can't speak highly enough of their devotion to raising my siblings and I to love and honor God. 

Another thing is the amazing blessing of living in a country where we're allowed to worship our God and teach others about Him. Yet too often we take for granted our freedom of religion and freedom of speech by shutting up about our faith for the sake of "political correctness" (more on that later).


The second step is to develop our God given talents in order to serve as a functioning member of the body of Christ. To do this we must first find our gifts. 

You may have lots of gifts but find one thing that you enjoy doing, you're good at and that can help others in some way. It's a plus if this gift includes directly interacting with people you may not know. 

Once you've got that down you have to make a plan on how to use it. For instance, I love writing. It's obvious. I write all the time about all kinds of things. I can use that gift to write blog posts, write letters to people and encourage them with my words. There are countless ways to use a simple gift like that. 

When you have put your plan down on paper of what your gift is and how you want to use it, give that to God. The bible says that when we devote our plans to God, He will give us the desires of our hearts. That would be awesome! But we have to totally submit it to Him if we want it to go anywhere. You see? If I have my own little agenda behind it and just want God to bless it, that's not enough. My life has to be His project. That's total submission.


The last step is to actually go out there and change the world.
Once you've found your niche, got your plan, given it to God and you have His blessing, it's time for the rubber to hit the road. So here are a few quick tips...

Don't be afraid. Things will come against you. You may have someone in your life who is discouraging. Don't listen to lies from satan saying that you're not good enough or strong enough for God to use. Just a quick read through the bible and you see tons of stories where God used people like the humble shepherd David, a teenage girl named Mary, a horrible guy named Saul who later became the apostle Paul and helped change the course of the 1st century for Christ. It's people like you and me who end up making history.

Be confident and bold. This means taking risks. You may have to risk your reputation by skipping part of your sport season to go on a mission trip. You may risk being a little short on cash to help out someone in need. You may have to risk seeming politically incorrect sometimes. I don't know what it might be for you but following Christ and doing His will often calls for desperate measures and because our relationship with Him is worth it, we won't think twice.

Most importantly of all, stay humble. I can't tell you how many Christian people have set out to do great things for the Lord only to get caught up in pride and the selfish desires of the flesh. The bible says that God humbles the proud but exalts the humble. With each step you take forward, give God the glory and devote your future to His mission. 

I hope this has encouraged you today! If so, don't forget to like, comment and subscribe. 
God bless and have a fantastic week!

Blessings,
Moriah
 

Thank you, Moriah! :) If you would like to know more about her you can find her links below.

Brooke

Moriah Faith is a 16 year old Christian homeschooler who blogs at The Damsel's Retreat {thedamselsretreat.wordpress.com} where she encourages young women in their relationships with Christ and others. On top of that she enjoys running, photography and graphic design. 

Monday, January 5, 2015

Do Life Big by Jamie Grace



I gotta slow down,
Stop for a second,
Take a look around,

And I gotta take time,
To hear that little voice inside,

Saying I came to give you life,
So spread your wings and fly,
I've got a secret to share,
You are enough to change the atmosphere,

So go and do life big, big
I wanna do life big, big

Break out them blue skies,
I can feel my heart beating inside,
Yeah, it's like a new day,
Woke up to hear You say,

I came to give you life,
So spread your wings and fly,
Now go and show no fear,
You are enough to change the atmosphere,

So go and do life big, big
I wanna do life big, big

Oh, I wanna love, wanna give every day I live,
I wanna do life big,
I wanna love, serve, and give every chance I get,
I wanna do life big,
Oh, I wanna love, wanna give every day I live,
I wanna do life big,
I wanna love, serve, and give every chance I get,
Oh I wanna do life
I wanna do life big, big

I wanna do life big, big
I wanna do life big, big

I wanna love like You,
I wanna give like You,
Oh, I wanna do life big,
I wanna serve like You,
Lay down my life like You,
I wanna do life big...

I wanna do life...
I wanna do life...
I wanna do life big.
I wanna do life...
I wanna do life...
I wanna do life big.
 


We don't have 900 years to live like Methuselah. It goes along with 'Tonight', we need to make a difference, and we need to do it tonight. We can't live our lives being average. Now, I'm not saying just being a stay-at-home mom, or working in an office is average. I'm saying that acting like what you do is unimportant is average. We need to everything so that God gets glory for it. And He isn't going to get any glory when we take the easy way. :) So do life big! 

Monday, December 22, 2014

Tonight by TobyMac

Hey!
Everytime I try to go in alone I get shut down,
Locked up and held captive in the clutches of my down
We go back, we go forth,
We go back
I'm sick with vertigo
Weary of my ways, my days
My lips are frozen
I wanna feel a new day
(There's gotta be more than this)
I wanna live a new way
(There's gotta be more)
I wanna feel a new day
(There's gotta be more)
I wanna live a new way
(There's just gotta be more)

Right here, right now
Under the stars, I promise you my heart

Cause it starts tonight!

We wanna rise,
We wanna touch the other side
(It starts tonight!)
We wanna soar
We wanna reach right out for more
(Cause it starts tonight!)
We wanna rise,
We wanna touch the other side
(It starts tonight)
We wanna soar,
We wanna reach right out for more
(Cause it starts tonight)
Tonight tonight
Tonight tonight tonight
Tonight

Can't feel like any night before
Under the sky full of stars
With hearts that want more
(Tonight)
Like the rhythm no dam can hold
Bein' drivin by a source overflowin our souls
(Tonight)
Won't be like any night we have seen
It changes everything (e-e-e-e-everything)

Right here right now
Under the stars
I promise you my heart

Cause it starts tonight!

We wanna rise
We wanna touch the other side
(It start tonight!)
We wanna soar
We wanna reach right out for more,
(Cause it starts tonight!)
We wanna rise,
We wanna touch the other side
(It starts tonight!)
We wanna soar,
We wanna reach right out for more
(Cause it starts tonight!)
Tonight tonight
Tonight tonight tonight

Tonight

So let us seize this night
Let us make off great
It's on like the break of dawn

So let us seize this night
Let us make our flight
It's on like the break of dawn

Tonight
Tonight

Cause it starts tonight!...

Cause it starts tonight!

I wanna feel a new day
I wanna live a new way
(It starts tonight)
I wanna feel a new day
I wanna live a new way
(We don't wanna fall tonight!)
We wanna rise
We wanna touch the other side
(We wanna shine tonight!)
We wanna soar
We wanna reach right out for more
(We don't wanna fall tonight)
We wanna rise
We wanna touch the other side
(We wanna shine tonight!)
We wanna soar,
We wanna reach right out for more
(We don't wanna fall tonight)
Tonight tonight

(We wanna shine tonight!)
Tonight tonight

Cause it starts tonight!



God gave each of us a purpose, and we need to go out, tonight, and fulfill it. :)

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

The Easy Way or the Hard Way a guest post by Trent Blake

Let me say thank you so much, Trent, for doing this. :)
Also I'm hoping to do this once a month so if any of you would like to do a guest post shoot me an email at brookiefaulkner809@gmail.com

A man was tending his sheep in the wilderness. When they came to a savanna, he gave them time to rest on the soft grass, eat the growing wheat, and drink from the quiet stream. It was the picture of perfectness.

One of the sheep, named “Joe” looks up and sees a large cliff, overlooking a deep valley. Two other sheep, “Dave” and “Bob” see it too. As the three sheep hobble over to investigate, the shepherd sees them going toward danger. He runs over and stands in front of the three sheep. They all stare at him and think. Then, Joe turns around, as Dave and Bob continue around the shepherd, towards the cliff.

The shepherd, then, moves in front of the sheep again. Dave and Bob just look at each other, and go around the shepherd again. Finally, as they’re at the edge of the cliff, the shepherd takes his staff and whacks both of them in the head, so they go back. After considering it, Dave decides he needs to lose a few more pounds before he can fly. So, the two sheep hobble back to the savanna.

We are the sheep and God is our shepherd.

Sometimes, when I comment on this one site, I will get a strange feeling to re-evaluate my words, and ask myself “what would Jesus do in my place?” Sometimes, I ignored it, and posted the comment anyway.  This is like the sheep going around the shepherd and continuing toward the cliff. At first, there was no real change. Then, it happened again when I was in an online debate. Like before, God told me to reevaluate my words, but I ignored the feeling and had the comment posted. This time, however, the consequences were not so easy to resolve. The shepherd hit me with his staff before I could learn to not be prideful and rash to speak.

In that comment, I had severely misrepresented Christ and I hurt the reputation of not only myself, but of everyone else involved as well. Thankfully, that was enough to send me back to the savanna. But it was definitely not the easy way! It stunk!

So, I’m asking each of you right now, when God tries to teach you something the easy way, please listen and don’t make the same mistake I did, and force him to teach you the hard way. Have an awesome day, y’all!

You can find Trent's blog at foreversoldiersofgod.blogspot.com

Brooke

Thursday, November 20, 2014

On Justin Bieber

So first off, I AM NOT A JUSTIN BIEBER FAN! Kapeesh?

Now I'm going to show you some things, remember your reaction.

LOTR / The HobbitHahaha omg this is perfect!
Why do I love this?! Haha!!XD ^^^ *in Pokemon Trainer outfit* BELUGA! USE TAIL SMASH ON JUSTIN!!! *Beluga noises and hits Justin with it's tail*

What was your reaction to those? I bet you laughed didn't you.

Now think about this. Go back and read those, and instead of Justin Bieber's face and name, put in your own. After you laugh at yourself, think about if everyone was posting these things about you, and worse things too. All The Time.

Fit in your own name, "This is why I hate ______ ..." "_______ is so stupid. He/she looks and sings like the opposite gender."

Now I'm not going to go and point fingers in anybody's face. And I'll admit, I've laughed at and made my own jokes about Justin Bieber. But my conscience has been bugging me a lot lately, and I've been thinking. Doesn't the Bible say to love even your enemies. Justin Bieber isn't even an enemy, just an annoying and lost singer, shouldn't I love and be praying for him too?

So he's a celebrity, he's a human being too, he has feelings and emotions, and the things we say affect him just as much as they would affect you. We can't brush aside the fact that when we joke about Justin Bieber or any other celebrity that we are bullying. I bet you never thought of yourself as a bully, I never thought of myself as one either till now.

Guys, when you see that Justin Bieber has done something wrong, making fun of him isn't going to help, it's only going to make the matter worse. Why do you think he's choosing to do the wrong thing? Because everyone loves him? No, because he's trying to get away from all the bad talk, and "harmless" jokes, and critics, but just ends up digging himself deeper. Instead of helping him find his way to sure doom, we need to pray that he straightens his life out, that he finds God as his rock, and we need to try to encourage him to go the right way.

I'm not saying we all need to listen to 'Baby' all the time. Or become 'Beliebers'. But just let everyone know that you are not going to join in the bullying anymore. :)

Do you have any thoughts to share on this?

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

How does He know?

In the Disney movie "Enchanted" there is a song called, "How Does She Know?" about how does the guys girlfriend know he loves her? Does he send her flowers or write her love notes?

But how does God know we love Him? Of course He can see everyone's hearts, but do we actually outwardly show we love Him?

God asks for our all. All of our love, our time, our lives. So if we're really doing that, shouldn't it show?
God loves us, but the Bible says, "Faith without works is dead." Let our actions show everyone that we are Christians.

It is a privilege to be called a Christian, so don't act as if it is a burden or something you should be ashamed of, wear it, speak it, and live it. :) God didn't save us so we could continue on the way we where. He did it for His own glory and because He loves us.

Monday, November 3, 2014

The Proof of Your Love by For King and Country

If I sing but don't have love
I waste my breath with every song
I bring an empty voice, a hollow noise
If I speak with a silver tongue
Convince a crowd but don't have love
I leave a bitter taste with every word I say

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

If I give
To a needy soul but don't have love then who is poor?
It seems all the poverty is found in me

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
Oh, let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

When it's all said and done
When we sing our final song
Only love remains
Only love remains

Let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

Image result for for king and country pictures

 This song is one of my favorites. It reminds me that no matter what I do or say, I need to be doing it for God. Even if I found a cure for cancer, but did it for my own fame and glory, then it would be as if I did nothing. Sure, God would still use it, but He wouldn't be proud of me for doing it.
When we do things for God on the other hand, He will bless it and it will make Him happy. Like a little child who brings their messy pictures or creations to their daddy, when we do things for God it won't matter how small it might seem, He cherishes it more than an offering of $100 in His name. :)

P.S. Sorry this is late and sorry it's been so long. I'll be getting back on schedule now.