Let us Run

There are times my passion has all but disappeared. I don't always feel like reading my bible or praying. I don't always feel like going to church or being kind.

Sue me, but I don't believe I'm alone in this.

To be called a child of God is a most wonderful gift, one that is worth fighting for. It is not always easy but the joy and fulfillment that is received from God our Father is a beautiful, and at times, overwhelming thing to experience.

Where, then, was my passion? My drive for bigger callings? I have felt at times that it has altogether slipped away. Where was that burning fire from inside- the one they claim can never be quenched?

It is there, I assure you. Constantly bright, but I had somehow missed it. Forgotten its presence, or perhaps disregarded it intentionally. I can honestly not say. 

I can only say that the effort it takes to roll up my sleeves and fight for what I know to be right, is altogether worth it.

Every single moment.

"...And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God," (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Grab That Ax and Let's Get Chopping

I can't do that.

I'm not smart enough.

I'm too busy.

What if I go and never get married?

My past is to dark.

You know, we come up with a lot of excuses. God calls, and we become afraid, so we hide behind the shrubs of these lies. We find comfort in the state we are in because it involves no pain, no confusion, and no fear.

It also includes no growth, no impact, no victory, no revival. 

So how's that going for you? Are you willing to look at the cross, see lost souls dying, only to crawl your way back, right behind the shrubs of those lies? Because I know I have done it. It's nice back here. There is shade and I think if I can stretch out my arm far enough I can probably reach some grapes or something.

So God calls.

Will you go? Will you hide? In all reality, God's not on His knees begging you to do it, as if you're the only one. 

No.

If you don't do it, He'll send someone else. But He called you. He called you because He not only wants to make an impact in those lost souls- He wants to make an impact in you. 

So maybe you're not qualified to do the one thing He's called you to. I am certain the reason He does this is so that it can be known among all that it was not you who did this great thing, but God Almighty. 

And I'm about to tell you something, so hold onto your socks because this leaves room for no more excuses.

"God is not looking for ability, but availability," (Holly Wagner).

Where He's calling you will stir up some fear. It will make you cry, and your heart will pound a thousand miles a minute. But when you are at your weakest, that is when God shows up and shows off. 

So I am raising my hand. Send me, God. I am pulling out my largest ax and chopping down these shrubs of condemning lies. (because I own a variety of axes). Shoot, I'm grabbing the shovel and digging out those roots too, because I will not let these lies exist in my life any longer.

God is calling me and He is calling you. 

So look around. Where is God already working in your life? Join Him there. It's not about what great thing you can do, but what great thing He's already doing. That's where we need to be. 

You need to love, because the scowl on your face is not becoming on you.

You need to sing, because your life-song is leading others into the throne room of God.

You need to speak, because when you open up your mouth diamonds come rolling out.

You need to lead, because there is an army rising up, and someone needs to go first.

You need to listen, because no one has ever taken the time to listen to that young lady's story.

You need to fight, because we are on the winning team and we are about to take that land. 

And you need to go. Because He has called you.

He has called you. 

"For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that He has chosen you," (1 Thessalonians 1: 4 NIV).

"He has saved us and called us to a holy life- not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace..." (2 Timothy 1: 9 NIV) 

"Look at the nations and watch- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told," (Habakkuk 1: 5 NIV). 

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Saved to a Life

Jesus,
Starting now, I will place my life in your hands.
I will rise with the new sun and choose daily to follow you.
I will not dwell on my past mistakes, for they are things You don't even remember.
I will take a moment to quiet my heart and sit at your feet.
I will put others before myself and search for the opportunities you give me.
I will choose to be the woman you created me to be.
Nothing more, nothing less.
I will be me.

I will always ask you to soften my heart, though I know it comes with pain and hardship.
I will not allow this world to change me, but You alone, so I may look more like You.
I will choose daily to follow You
to fight for You
to run to You
to love You

I will also become weary, but I know that You are my strength.


Dear friends,
There are times in our lives when God will bring us to our knees and remind us that we cannot do this alone. He's been showing me lately that this life spent in comfort is less than ideal. I've been brought to a point where I cannot stand to continue as I have.

I want to give Him everything. Every single little thing I have to offer. I want it in His hands because He knows what's best. He knows the steps that I take and He will lead me to a FULL life.

He has saved me to a life.

Yes, God has saved us from death. Yes, He has saved us from eternal separation from Himself. But He has not only saved us from damnation, but has saved us to live a life as blameless and as pleasing to God as possible. We make a decision to follow Christ, but it does not end there.

We must choose daily and hourly to follow Him because He has saved me to a full life. This is why I will rise daily with the new sun and set aside myself, for it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

Don't settle for mediocrity, friend. God has more for you.

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Spring is here and I will dance

The sound of Spring rings with sweetness as I see the flowers blooming, pollen and love dancing in the air, and new and old friendships rekindling.

During this season I notice the passion in me growing, that of which I prayed so un-passionately for. The Lord is calling you and me to do good things. He's calling us to be His sons, daughters and servants. He's calling us to something that is so much bigger than you and me. And this is not something we can do alone.

I need you and you need me. We, servants of God almighty, need each other. There is something so powerful that takes place when a group of people, who are passionate about the same things you are passionate about, come together.

The Lord did not call us to do this alone. When Jesus prayed for the disciples in John 17, He said, "...Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one," (V. 11 emphasis is mine).

I think we as a church could do a much better job at being united, but the root of any effective ministry begins with deep and fervent prayer. I will begin with prayer and ask God to do a work in us, His servants, and let that love pour out into those in which we are serving. 

There is no more time for questioning whether or not we can do what God is asking us to. 

"Pardon me, my lord," Gideon replied, "but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

The Lord answered, " I will be with you..." (Judges 6: 15-16). 

Gideon goes on to defeat the Midianites. He may have wondered how he could do it, but He did it anyway knowing the Lord would be with Him.

The Lord is with you and me too as we serve Him in the ministry He has called us too. Step out and move. Do not let your fears hinder you from doing a great thing.

In my opinion, a life spent in stagnant Christianity is less than ideal. And I would consider that the understatement of the year.

So this Spring, unlock the window and open it wide. Let this warmth take root in your heart and carry it with you day by day. Take a walk and say a prayer. Go on a drive with the windows down and enjoy every minute of this beauty the Lord has given us. And I've been learning quite joyfully that you can't take time when it comes time to dance. 

Even if you're not very good at it.

Original photo via

Why do I write ?

"For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice," (T.S. Eliot).

I don't write for the sake of being heard or admired.

I don't write because I want to add my input on all of today's trending topics or concerns.

I write because I have to.

I'm not an English major or an aspiring author, and I don't think I'd even label myself as a "blogger".

But I have to write.

I write because I feel I'd be disobeying God almighty if I didn't. I write because sometimes God teaches me things and sometimes I have something to say. I write because, when life gets a little rough around the edges, and I feel my passion fading, I can go back to what I wrote in the past and remember all the lessons I once learned, and all the lessons that are yet to come.

I don't write for you, but if you are encouraged in the midst of my ramblings, then I am glad. It's my prayer that it will encourage you, and motivate you or make you laugh.

I write for Him. I write for me.

In this brain of mine, there is a lot floating around (most of the time). And there are days that I don't think a single thought worth any value or even worth remembering.

But there are moments when I cannot deny that the Heavenly Father is speaking truth in my life, and when that happens, I can't help but write.

I write because I don't want to forget a single thing He tells me. It's much too important.

I write because I have to. There's no other way to life.

Happy Sunday Folks. Palm Sunday, that is.

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; If it is serving, then serve; If it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully," (Romans 12:6-8).  

We All Want to be Somebody

I spend a lot of my time trying to figure out the human brain. I'm not doing a great job at it, mind you. But I'm also not a psych major.

In my short time on earth, though, I have found a somewhat obvious trait found in most people.

We all want to be somebody.

Not just anybody but somebody. Someone who is important. Someone who is remembered. Someone who made an impact on a person's life and it began a domino effect into hundreds of other lives.

We want to change and rearrange our lives so that we may be considered important. So that we may be considered great.

We have this dreadful fear that we will be forgotten. That we will have lived out our days, just to be a drop in a bucket. A spot on a map. A single sand on the beach. A head to be counted.

We want to be somebody.

Oh, how important it is to us.

But I think we've got it all wrong. It's not about becoming the best or most important, for "He must become greater; I must become less," (John 3:30).

It's not about being seen by all or being remembered.

It's not about me or you. It never has been! It's about Jesus Christ! He is the one who deserves all glory, honor, and praise.

"The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing," (John 6:63 Emphasis is mine).

The words we speak, are not should not be about us, but Jesus Christ for HIS glory. And it is not our words that give life, but the Holy Spirit. Do not boast about what you can do for God.

"He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else," (Acts 17:25).

All I'm saying is that we need to stop trying to become the best of the best- changing who we are in order to be considered important. We ultimately are not trying to impress God but PEOPLE! Why do we do that?

Probably because we're sheep. We're just dumb.

The word tells us "on the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts," (1 Thessalonians 2:4).

If you want to be great, then you must become less. Serve the Lord. Do not be disappointed when nobody sees you or pats you on the back and encourages you. Do not be disappointed when you are not rewarded. Because He sees you, and the rewards that He will have for you will be far greater than any you will receive here on earth.

I don't know about you, but I no longer want to be a great person. But I do want to make a great impact in the Kingdom of God. Sometimes these things will go unnoticed, but I am not willing to compromise who the Lord is calling me to be in order to be considered important in the world's eyes.

Do not become someone you are not, in order to become someone important.

"I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God's thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, and most precious thing in all thinking," (George MacDonald).

Hm, that's good stuff. We'll close with that.

Mountain Altitude and How I Bought Pringles

Boy, have I been busy. And it's not one of those "good busys."

You know. Like the ones where the person's super popular and has all these fun things on her agenda and can't fit any time for you. (Not that that'd be good).

Me? All I do is work, work, work and school. And church. (I add that as a side note because I actually enjoy that part of the schedule!)

Adding all that together can become pretty draining and it leaves hardly any room for alone time with Jesus.

Don't get me wrong, I start every day off by reading the Word, but I'm talking about getting alone with Jesus. Quieting your mind and escaping from all the chaos of this life I'm living.

This weekend I got to do just that. I am just so sure that the altitude in the mountains works wonders on the human soul. Or makes you crazy. Either one.

After work on Friday I hopped in my car and drove up to a college retreat in Big Bear. I was leaving an hour later than everyone, so when I got to the cabin, and all the lights were off and there were no cars in the driveway, I kind of started to freak out.

For one, because I was all alone in a foreign land, but mostly because I really had to pee.

So I call up pastor Todd and he says they're about ten minutes away. Well great. I didn't know if I could hold it. So I got out of the car and looked to see if there were any bushes or anything.

But I decided that I didn't want to get eaten by any bears.

I hopped in my car, drove to town, almost ran some people over and found a market. I think the guy at the register must have known I couldn't hold it because he let me use the employees-only bathroom.

And then I bought some Pringles. Yep.



Okay so then the retreat actually started. And the message that the Lord had for me was a good one.

Change is good. And going up that mountain was a big one. Let's stop writing in the planner with permanent ink and use a pencil with an eraser.

A really big eraser.

I've heard it said that vision leaks and mine most certainly had. I am so entirely thankful that I serve a God who, whenever I want to throw in the towel, is always there to pick it back up and allow me to start again.

A Word's Just a Word

Some people choose a word every new year to determine what they want the year to look like. Some examples I've heard are:

Brave
Create
Achieve

I've never done one of those before, but if I really think about what I'd love my word to be, I'd choose serve.

I want to take the passions God's given me and use it to pour into young girls lives. To dig deeper into the knowledge of God and gain wisdom through His word. I want to become smaller so that He can become bigger in my life. I will put aside my wants and desires and challenge myself more. I will be present in situations and learn what it means to serve on my knees.

Because let's face it, a word's just a word until you make it an action.

And this year, and all the years that follow, I want to serve my God.

"Whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many," (Mark 10: 44-45). 

"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it," (Matthew 16:25). 

It Was My One Year Blog Anniversary and I Missed It

So It's a month past my blogs one year anniversary. Why the heck didn't I pay better attention to this? This, my friends, is a big deal.

So, late or not, I decided that blogging about my one year anniversary is a given.

When I created this blog, I wanted to write. I had something to say and I wanted people to hear it. Mostly I was a girl who wanted to be heard. I had passion and it needed to be placed somewhere, so I made this little pretty place. F. Scott Fitzgerald said it best:

"You don't write because you want to say something; you write because you have something to say."

Since the creation of this little blog, there has been a lot of changes. I think all for the very best. This is me saying what the heck was I thinking? Seriously though, I have no idea what made me think that was cute.

But that's how we all start. It's okay to start at the bottom, in fact, the only way anyone starts anything is from nothing. Jimmy Hendrix had to learn and practice playing guitar. Walt Disney had to practice drawing. The Eiffel Tower, at one point, didn't exist until someone drew up the blueprints and got to work. Neil Armstrong had to train and learn a lot of.. stuff, like rocket science or something, before he went to the moon.

Okay so the point is, to do anything we're passionate about, we have to start at the bottom. It takes practice and determination and at one point along the line, subconsciously or not, we decide that we will not give up and we keep going.

When I started this blog I had to come up with a niche. At the time (I think it's still in my About Me portion) I wanted this to be a place where I, a young lady, discovered who I am in this big confusing world. But it's not that at all. Not even then.

This is a place where I am discovering who God wants me to be, and walking towards that goal.

I never intended this to be a place where I told you what to do or taught you the bible. There are times in my life where I feel inspired or times when I believe the Lord is teaching me something. Sometimes things happen in my life or the lives of others that I feel would do someone else some good if they heard the story. This is where I write those things.

I hope this can be a place where you sometimes visit and feel inspired to go out and change your little corner of the world. I hope when you come here, you will know that you are not alone in this difficult time of your life. Or even in the best days of your life. You are not alone.

 We've come a long way from 17-year-old-me. There have been some wrong turns along the way but somehow it all brought us here, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. 

13 Ways to Get You Out of a Spiritual Rut

I love the Lord and I spend a lot of my time at church serving or just sitting in service. This is great, but sometimes what happens (and I'm sure I'm not the only one) is we get in some kind of spiritual rut. The good news is that we don't have to stay in this bottom-of-the-pit, why am I even here?, mentality. The Lord will continue to grow us and bring us closer to him. Below are a few ways that I've come to believe can help bring us out of a spiritual rut. This is by no means a code that works for everyone. God might work His way back into your life in a completely different manner. These are just things that I've noticed have helped me in the past.

• Turn off the TV.
• Treat the world better than it treated you. You may be down in the dumps, but you will never regret serving others and placing them higher than yourself.
• Lose your fear of being wrong. Sometimes we stop in our tracks because we fear doing or choosing the wrong thing. But sometimes we need to take steps, praying and trusting God, even when we're not sure where we are going. There may be a time where you take the wrong step. I believe that God will make sure that it either doesn't work out, or shows you in some way that it's not his will.
• Go on a run & pray. If you hate running, go on a walk. Atmosphere can sometimes put everything into perspective.
• Listen to John Mark McMillan. (Bottom of post).
• Get a mentor. Find an older woman in the church who will listen and speak wisdom into your life. Or find a discipleship group.
• Read the Word of God. Instead of always trying to figure out what God is saying to you right at that moment, find out who wrote the book, who it was originally intended to, what the author is saying to them and what the circumstances were in that particular day and age. (I may do an entire blog post on how to study the bible).
• Go spend time with a friend and tell her everything. Girls like to talk, and the cool thing about best friends is they want to know what's going on in your life and they want to encourage you.
• Share your passion. Vision leaks. It's so easy to continue serving and forget why we do it in the first place, so even when you feel your passion is fading share it with someone in order to remember what it is and why you felt that way in the first place.
• Get a cute, cheap journal and pray. You can pray in a number of ways. Sometimes when I pray silently, I find that it's easy to drift off track. So what I like to do is journal my prayers. It organizes my prayers, puts my thought in order and usually by the end of my prayer, the Lord somehow changes my heart or reminds me of his faithfulness.
• Go to Starbucks, get a fancy drink & read a book. There are a lot of books written by Christian women with the hopes that we may grow closer to our God. Some are very empowering, but always, always make sure to line up their words with The Word and see if what they say is really biblical.
• Remember God. Remember God and all of the times when He has proven Himself faithful in your life. He was faithful then, He is now. He may have you here for a reason.
• Serve. In times like these, you may not feel like serving. But this might just be a time where you need to trust Him. Serving may be what gets you out of this rut and remind you of Him.

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What is a Servant?

What would happen if I began to serve others with the integrity of Jesus Christ? What if I began to lose myself in service to others? Could you imagine the effect? The love that would be spread? Oh, how the Lord has been changing my heart. I always pray for Him to break me. The reason behind this? I couldn't really tell you besides the idea that it would draw me all the more closer to Him. And do you know what happens when I pray that?

He breaks me.

He always, always breaks me when I ask Him to. Sometimes I'm like, What the- maybe I should pray for something else...?

I find, even though those have been some of the most difficult times of my life, I wouldn't have it any other way. All of those broken times in my life- every single one- continued to reveal to me just how faithful the Lord really is.

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh," (Ezekiel 36: 26).

And that is what He did and continues to do in my life. I think, even now, He is breaking me without any circumstance bringing me down. Everything in my life is going pretty good, but He's still working in my life. He's been constantly reminding me what it looks like to be a servant.

It started with an image of a nurse kneeling beside a child's deathbed. Kneeling. This was her job, but she genuinely cared for this child.

Then there's the story of the good Samaritan. A man was beat, robbed and left to die on the side of the road. Both a priest and a Levite saw him but continued on, deciding they need not help him. But a Samaritan, who was traveling, and most likely had somewhere else to be, took pity on the man. He got to his knees- down to the man's level- and bandaged him up. He took on the weight of this man and lifted him onto his donkey. This man was a servant.

As servants we are warned not to do it for others to see.

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your father in heaven," (Matthew 6:1).

 It says the same thing, not only about giving to the needy, but about prayer and fasting. Hypocrites do it to be seen as righteous, but is most likely never done when they're alone. They received their reward.

"store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steel. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also," (Matthew 6:20-21).

And of course there's our ultimate example: Jesus Christ. The Lord has shown us what is good. He has shown us what it means to be a servant. For our very God of the universe came, not in power or to rule over us, but as a humble servant to save us. Let us take after His example.

He has revealed to us His love and it is because of this that we should learn from Him and love our neighbors. This is what He asked us to do. We might not feel like giving love- what does that even mean? How do we even love someone. Love is not a gooey feeling. We are to serve others and put them before ourselves and the feeling of love will follow.

Lord means master. When we call him Lord, we are calling ourselves slaves.

So why then, do we call him Lord and not do what he says? I want to be willing to step forward when He tells me to. I want to make an impact in my little corner of the world. I want to be a servant.

  

When We Don't Know Where To Go

I was thinking about my last post, about going when the Lord tells us to. But I realize that sometimes we don't know what He wants us to do. Even when we pray for Him to show us what it is - even when we are willing- sometimes he doesn't reveal it to us.

That's when we need to trust Him. To just serve Him.

I mean, I'm not saying to go flirt with the boy because you think that's who God wants you to marry. I'm talking about serving the Lord here.

If you're having trouble figuring out if the Lord will have you leading worship or serving in the children's ministry, then do something. I believe that He will let us know if it's not what he wants us doing. I think that if He doesn't want you serving in the children's ministry, then you wouldn't be serving in the children's ministry.

I know that the Lord wants me leading worship. Why?

Because I'm leading worship.

I know that the Lord wants me interning for the Becoming Girls Conference. Why?

Because I'm interning for the Becoming Girls Conference.

It's as simple as that. Go when He tells you to go. And if He doesn't say anything, go anyway. He'll let you know if it's not what He wants.

No one ever became employed by being a couch potato.

When The Lord Says Go, Go

    KJ Photograghy

"And the lord said, 'Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.' So we crossed the valley." (Deuteronomy 2:13).

There's something so simple about this verse that it hit me in such a complex way.

I don't need to write a ten paragraph post on this verse, but the simplicity of these words did wonders for me.

God told them to cross the Zered Valley, so they crossed the valley.

And that's that. No questions asked and no answers given. They went simply because of faith. They could have stopped and looked at all the negativity, but they chose to remember the times The Lord was faithful.

In Psalm, David also chose to remember God's faithfulness.

"Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"

Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.

I will remember the deeds of the lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago," (Psalm 77:9-11).

May we choose to walk even when there is uncertainty in the air. Just remember that The Lord is leading us.

Becoming Girls Conference | Becoming Brave

It wasn't the conference that changed my life. It wasn't the Candy/ Popcorn bar. It wasn't the totally cute totes or the brave face paint. It wasn't the cute colors or the wonderful worship songs.

What changed my life was God.

It was the months of preparation. It was the weekly meetings with my new, dearly cherished friend JoAnna, where she watched me cry countless times as we both pored out our hearts. It was how God stretched me farther than I ever planned or thought possible. It was the passionate prayers I prayed alone in my car.

God changed me. He grew me. And now, I will never worship the same, pray the same, or live the same.

On my way home from the conference, I was was so insanely sad because it was over! But I also rejoiced because I watched God move in the lives of so many women, young and old. I didn't want it to end, because I didn't want God to stop using me.

And that is something He will definitely NOT do. He wants to use me, and He wants to use you. We just need to take those steps.

Im so excited- scared but excited- for what God has in store for me next.

There is no greater joy than to worship and serve my God, who loves me.

Passion: Christ Is Core

Today my good friend Arrielle Ontiveros will be writing on her thoughts and views on passion. I miss you guys and I'm sorry I haven't written recently, I've had a crazy busy couple of weeks. Love you guys! Most sincerely, Bailey.

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What Is passion? Websters dictionary defines it as an "ardent affection for or devotion to some activity, object, or conception."

Passion, in short, is what drives us to achieve.

What do you think of when you hear the word passion? Sports? School? Your future? What about God? Would you say you're passionate about your faith? Jesus our Lord and savior certainly was. Just how passionate?

It says in John 2:14-17 "and he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers doing business. When he had made a whip of chords, he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen and poured out the changers money and overturned the tables. And he said to those who sold doves, 'take these things away! Do not make my fathers house a house of merchandise!' The his disciples remembered that it was written, 'zeal for your house has eaten me up'"

Can you imagine that? Zeal indeed. He was so moved by their blatant disrespect and defiling of his fathers house, that he not only flipped over the tables and let out all the animals, but it says he made a whip of chords to drive them out.

If Jesus was this passionate about God, and we are to "...have the same attitude that Christ had." (Philippians 2:5 NLT), then shouldn't we also stand up for our faith?

Now, I'm not saying that the next time someone takes the Lord's name in vain or says how stupid they think he is, you should flip over their desk and start beating them with a book (please don't do that. That's called assault. You'll go to jail!) But shouldn't we at least ask them why they feel that way and share the truth of the gospel with them?

Think about those things that you are passionate about such as sports, music, you're grades, and ask yourself 'if I was half as passionate about God as much as all these other things how much work would I be doing to further the kingdom of heaven?'

A whole lot, huh? Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't be passionate about other things, especially if you're using that passion to glorify God. However, be zealous for Christ as well and don't be afraid to speak up about your faith.

Love, Arrielle

Passion: Vision Leaks

Passion.
 
It's what drives our every move. It's that step forward when you feel like you can't make it anymore. It's a hand being raised as high as it can reach. It's an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action. An interest followed by exaggerated zeal.
 
Can it be that God created in each of us a different passion that all work together for the furthering of his kingdom?
 
Ask yourself: What kind of culture, aspect, and growth are you trying to create with your life?
 
Because I don't think the question is 'How much passion do you have,' but 'What are you passionate about?'
 
For a long time my passion was music. But it wasn't just music, it was more than that. It was worship. I was a church three days a week, involving myself with the high school worship team. I had a family there and a place to belong. If I wasn't at church doing worship, I was at home practicing, singing, playing guitar.
 
And then it was gone.
 
Not the music. I could still sing and play guitar- but my passion. I started asking myself if I ever really was passionate. And now, looking back I know that I was.
 
But vision leaks. You will be so passionate about your own individual interest, and then one day you might find yourself unable to even look at the paintbrush. There's nothing wrong with you. We can't always have passion just as we can't always feel the presence of God in that all powerful, peaceful, revealing way that God sometimes chooses to gift us with. Because if we always felt God's presence, it wouldn't be as powerful as the way he does it now; waiting for the moments we need him most so that we can bask in his glorious presence and give him the praise that he deserves.
 
So remember that just because you can't feel God, doesn't mean he's not there. And just because you feel lack of passion, doesn't mean it won't return.
 
The negativity of the enemy may sometimes be overwhelming. But how do you take air out of a bottle?
 
You fill it with something else.
 
We need to continually be refilling ourselves with vision and drive. I've found that a good way of doing so is reading my bible and praying.
 
It makes one guitar strum something more than music. One brush of paint, more than a picture. One basket shot more than a game. It turns into, not what you can do, but what God has given you the ability to do and how you can offer it back up to him.
 
It turns into worship

"Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the name of the Lord out of a pure heart." 2 Timothy 2:22