The World of Brianne

Winning by Worship

2010-03-14T15:03:00.003-04:00

Before you read any of what I am about to say, pick up your Bible and read 2 Chronicles 20. "Brianne, you want me to read out of the Old Testament?" Yes, I do. Follow along with me. Ask yourself what you could learn out of it.

In this story, three armies were coming to battle the kingdom of Judah. Judah was a bit nervous. The King Jehosephat (sweetest name ever) called the kingdom together to seek the Lord's face on what they were to do. When they came together, they all put their focus on God and made Him bigger than the problem. One of my favorite verses in this chapter is verse 12 where it says, "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

In the midst of this, God's Spirit came upon Jahaziel and he said, "Do not be afraid at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's." How easy would it be to be afraid knowing that three armies are coming after you, your land, your wealth, all of your possessions, your livelihood? I'd be a little scared.

The amazing thing is the next day Jehosephat's army went our early. Looking at the circumstances would have been very discouraging. Instead of being negative and looking at their resources, Jehosephat stood out and told his people to remember what the Lord had said to them. He told them to believe in the Lord and they will succeed. Know what his next plan was? Send the worshippers out in front. How's that for strategy? This next part is my favorite; the worshippers go out and they sing and shout, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever!" Is that the song that you would be singing right before you go into a battle you were pretty sure was impossible to win? How many people can say that when that is about to take place?

My friend, battles come. Notice Judah didn't back away, they stood and fought. We, as Christians in this generation, are going to have to believe in what the Lord has said to succeed. We are going to have to Praise Him for His enduring love above ALL other things no matter what the situation looks like. Who actually, in adversity, thinks right off the bat, "I'm not going to think about what I don't know, but Who I do know and His love endures forever. He always causes me to triumph (2 Corinthians 2:14)."

That day the kingdom of Judah won against three armies. THREE! Not just one or two, but every single one that rose up against them. Not only were their adversaries killed, but for three days after the battle Judah's army took all the spoils from the enemy. For three days they carried stuff! That's a lot of stuff!

This generation is facing some tough battles. God never said they wouldn't come. Sometimes the battles go on, but do you know who you trust? Are you willing to go into a battle and before a sword is even drawn say, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever"?

The battles we face may seem impossible. We may feel as though we are completely inadequate. Do not focus on your own inadequacies but on His ability. With God, ALL things are possible.

It's All About the Fit (Boys and Jeans)

2009-12-28T14:13:00.003-05:00

About a week and a half ago, I decided that I could use another pair of jeans. Jean shopping isn't always a pleasant task for me, but I went. I had in my mind a kind of style I wanted. So I go to Old Navy and decide to try on a plethora of jeans. I wasn't sure what size I was, what length to get, what style was good for me. I just went jean crazy. Some that I had tried on were too big, too long, too short, too small, or just weren't the right color I was looking for. There were some that I tried on that were great in many aspects, but there were a couple things I disliked. I thought to myself, "No matter how much I like the way the jeans look on the shelf or on the rack, it's about the jeans fitting me, not me fitting the jeans." And then, in a moment of sheer brilliance, I realized "Hm...that can actually be applied to boys."

Sometimes when you see something you like and you try it on, it doesn't fit. It just doesn't work. And that's okay. You find another pair that do work. You don't change to fit the pair that doesn't work, you find something that fits you.

So in every girl's wardrobe, there's always that one pair of jeans they have that make them the happiest. They're the favorite. They're comfortable and the make her look good! It's almost like they were made for her because it's all about the fit!

I hope you understand my analogy. And just so you know, I did walk out with a great pair of jeans that day. They were just what I was looking for. As for the boy that fits, he didn't show up that day. That's okay for now though. :)

Stop. Drop. Wait.

2009-07-10T13:27:00.002-04:00

"Be more quiet now and wait for the voice to say, 'be more quiet now and wait for the voice to say...'"
-David Crowder

When was the last time you were quiet? When was the last time you waited and, more importantly, waited with patience? Maybe you should try it more often. Maybe it shouldn't be a maybe and maybe you should do it.

Stop thinking about tomorrow. Stop thinking about the things that are bothering you. Just stop it. Drop it. And wait on God. Give God the attention He deserves and the attention He desires from you! Yeah. I said it. God desires your attention.

What good are you worrying and impatience going to do you anyway? They'll just leave you with a headache. Don't rush. Don't sit and wait for 5 minutes and be done. Learn to quiet your mind and quiet your heart. Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).

Do you want to be a true worshipper? Do you want to have a strong relationship with your Creator? Turn your brain off to everything else and focus on Him. Put your hope and faith in Him.

Be here now. Be here in His presence. Sometimes you'll have to wait to feel it. Don't let that stop you. Be where you are, where you are. God is there. God is here. Open your eyes to Him in THIS moment. Right here. Right now. Even when your world is upside-down, find your peace and center in Christ. That will only happen when you take the time to find Him.

I'll leave you with a quote. Elisabeth Elliot said this:

"The life of faith is lived one day at a time, and it has to be lived- not always looking forward as though the 'real' living were around the next corner. It is today for which we are responsible. God still owns tomorrow."

Book Review #1

2009-03-31T09:07:00.002-04:00

"Developing the Leader Within You" by John Maxwell

Now that I have been acquainted with THE John C. Maxwell for a couple years, I thought it was time to actually read one of the books he always talks about.

Here's what I got out of it:
-Realize your potential.
-Care for people and not just your personal agenda.
-Be a person of excellence. Go the extra mile.
-Success is achieved by planning and sticking to the plan!
-Separate the good from the best.
-Be a person of integrity. People won't follow you if they don't trust you. (This doesn't just apply in the leadership arena. Integrity is important to God.)
-If you want to grow, expect change. You're not going to grow without it.
-Nobody likes a bad attitude. Don't let it get in the way of your growth.
-Leaders see potential in others and encourage them to go for it.
-Learn how to be a problem-solver. People always have problems.-
-"The size of the person is more important than the size of the problem."
-"Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it."
-Motivate people. Your dreams aren't going to come true without them.
-People buy into the leader before they buy into the leader's vision.
-"All great leaders possess two things: one, they know where they are going, and two, they are able to persuade others to follow."
-Be a model for people to follow.
-"God's gift to me is my potential. My gift back to God is what I do with that potential."
-Learn self-dicipline. Conquer yourself before your conquer the world.
-Take responsibility and accept accountability.
-Become character-driven instead of emotion driven. Commitment vs. convenience.

Those are just a few of the things I got out of the book. I encourage you to read it if you plan on being a leader of something somewhere in your life. You'll get a lot more out of reading the real thing than reading my really really brief Cliff's Notes version.

I give it a B.

Phobia

2009-02-26T11:08:00.003-05:00

"The fear of man brings a snare (a trap), but whoever leans om, trusts in, and puts his confidence in the Lord is safe and set on high." - Proverbs 29:25

"The Lord is my Light and my Salvation-whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?"- Psalm 27:1

It is human nature to fear something. It is a constant uphill battle for many people. It could be a fear of losing money, losing friends, losing someone's good opinion, losing something. I have noticed in my own life that I have feared/fear a lot of different things. I'm not talking about my irrational fear of snakes or your fear of spiders. I'm talking about something bigger-the fear of people. What if they don't like me? What if I'm not good enough? What if I get rejected? What if I say something wrong and I look bad? All these "what if" questions! At some point in their life, everyone has asked themselves one or all of these questions.

Fear is the antithesis of faith, or the opposite of faith. Where faith is, fear is not and vice versa. There are 5 things that I have noticed about both of them.

Fear:
1.) Originates from Satan.
-John 10:10 says he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Fear is stealing, killing, and destroying your faith everytime you let it win.
2.) Resides in your heart because of insecurity.
-You are taking your word about yourself over God's Word.
3.) It is selfish.
-The moment you are in fear, you aren't just trying to protect yourself, you're refusing to let a light shine in you for other people to see.
4.) It starts with a loss.
-The glass is half-empty. People living in fear see only what they lack.
5.) Paralyzes your effectiveness.
-Ever heard of the phrase "scared stiff?" Fear doesn't act or move. It stands still. It is bondage.

Faith:
1.) Is from the Lord.
-Romans 12:3 says that God gave each of us the measure of faith. It is necessary for you to exercise it.
2.) Comes from an intimate knowing of God's love and power.
- "There is no fear in love, but full-grown love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love." 1 John 4:18 The more you get to know God's love, you're faith increases.
-1 Corinthians 2 :5 tells us that our faith is not to rest on man's power, but on God's.
3.) Concerned about God and other people.
-Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6).
-In Matthew 28:19&20, Jesus tells his disciples to go into the world and tell everyone about Him. That doesn't happen without faith in Him. Once you know His love, you can't just keep it to yourself.
4.) Starts with what you have.
-The glass is always full! If someone living in true faith sees the glass half-full, they will know God will fill it up until it overflows.
-Kingdom living says that with God anything is possible at any given moment. God is more than enough for you.
5.) Faith takes action.
-It is impossible for a person to be stagnant if they are feeding their faith everyday with God's Word. They'll want to move and want to share! It is freedom.

The battle is in your mind, but let faith take root in your heart. Guard your heart and your mind so you won't be swayed. Remember it is not you who live, but Christ in you.

So basically that's about all I have for you today, kids. Thanks for lending me your eyes. I hope you continue to learn and let your faith develope. God began a great work in you and He will bring it through to completion. I shall leave you with some scriptures and I pray they speak as much to you as they did to me.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. - 2 Timothy 1:7

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. -Isaiah 26:3

For I the Lord your God hold your right hand, I am the Lord, Who says to you, Fear not, I will help you.- Isaiah 41:13

Have I not commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9

Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.- Luke 12:32

Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God's peace which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. - Phillipians 4:6&7

:)

La-La-La-Love

2009-01-13T18:07:00.002-05:00

The past couple months, God's really been showing me how much He loves people, including myself. Do you really know how much He loves you? Really? If you could only get that one thing...just that ONE thing, it'd change things. It'd change you. It would change you to change things.

Take a look around you. His love is displayed everywhere. Are you breathing right now? That's because He loves you. You breathe Him in and out everyday and don't realize it. That breath is a life force. In Him you live and move and have your being. Why? Because He loves you.

His love for you cannot be expressed enough on earth. He gave everything for you, just to have YOU. With that love He has given us, if we recognize it, comes the enablement to rock the world for Him. The cool thing is that your love will grow more and more for Him and His people when your realize that love. It's big. It's ginormous. And it gives. It gave to you.

It's astounding how much people don't realize this simple fact. We try sooo many other things that fail, but the thing that will work we ignore. But once we realize the fact that God is the only one who can fix us, fix our hearts, fix the world, it's so much easier to cast out distraction. Nothing anyone has ever said to you, nothing you've ever said about yourself can keep you apart from God's love. Nothing can snatch you from His hand. What manner of love is this? The God kind of love. He's never left and He never will.

People look for love in a lot of different ways. Stop looking everywhere else to find that fulfillment because it breaks His heart! Christ suffered a death no one else could ever handle. Do you know that you were on His mind the WHOLE time? Yeah. You were. He abandoned paradise so you have a life with the Author of love. He died and rose again for you because He has too much love to contain. HOW CRAZY IS THAT!?

Let God mend your heart. He's the only one that can do it. You are His prize and He wants you to know it. Knowing this love takes away fear until nothing is left but His perfect love and peace. Nothing is too big for this love. His love always wins.

All God wants is you to return love back to Him. Don't fight it. Take whatever is distracting you and holding you back and put it on Him. Put it on the cross. He takes your heavy burden and gives you a light one. He doesn't like to see you struggle or hurt. Nothing is too much for God's redemptive love. It casts out fear and confusion and leaves no trace of evil. Christ's love is all for you.

There's a place in God's Kingdom only you can fill. Doesn't that make you feel warm and fuzzy? There's a specific calling on you and there are dreams inside you. And your heart didn't make those dreams, He did. It's His dream and you get to live it. There's so much in store for you if you throw everything else out and take His love in. Those dreams take some work to fulfill, but guess what? His love and grace covers that too. You better believe He works all things out for the good of those who love Him.

I encourage you to learn more about love and draw closer to Him. Dive into Him and get lost in His love.

What can I learn?

2008-12-11T12:20:00.003-05:00

This week hasn't been the most pleasant week. Two very special people in my way have passed away.

Tuesday and Wednesday were the calling hours and funeral for my great aunt. She was a very sweet lady, very patient too. She was a peacemaker. I wasn't very close to my aunt, but it still felt like a piece of me was missing. I felt bad for my uncle who has now watched his 4 siblings and his wife die. So strange. Can you imagine how that feels? I can't.

I was sitting in the funeral service on Wednesday behind my uncle who was sobbing. I wanted to just give him a hug. I can't stand watching men cry. It's heart wrenching. Anyway, I was just sitting there asking God to not only give comfort to my family, but asking Him what could I learn from all of this and how could I be a blessing in this situation?

I can't lie and say it wasn't nice to see some old relatives. It was. We only see each other at weddings and funerals. Not many people in the family have been getting married though. Kind of a downer that all we're left with is funerals. But it was so nice to see distant relatives and old friends just talking about the "good old days." I hope I can have that when I'm well into my years.

On Tuesday night, as many of you know, my uncle also passed away. This one is a tougher pill for me to swallow. This is like losing another grandfather. I was much closer to him than I was to my aunt (who was on another side of the family if you don't know). I can only say good things about him. What I can't seem to get over is the Sunday before he had his stroke, I went out to lunch with him, my aunt, my grandma, and Tina. I'm just glad my last words to him were "Thank you," and "I love you."

I don't mourn the loss of him because I know he's much better off where he is now. He's seeing all the fruits of his labor and enjoying God's overwhelming presence. I just mourn because it happened so fast. I just think about those he left behind.

So God is still answering my question on what can I learn from all of this and how can I be a blessing in these situations. But here's what I got so far....
-God is in everything good in your life because everything good in your life stems from love. He's in love you share with the people around you.
-And His love comforts, it protects, and casts out fear, so always be on the lookout to love. Do the best you can.
-Family, even distant relatives, are blessings. You can all learn from them. If there's closeness there, it's not a bond easily broken.
-If your earthly family is strong here, how much more is God's family?
-To sound cliche, you never know what tomorrow brings, so be prepared.
-Think about what you want people to say at your funeral. It makes you think. How do you live your dash?
-Death was never God's intention. How silly were we to chose it?

That's basically all for today. Sorry if this was too long. This was just kind of me venting.

My girls

2008-12-01T16:53:00.002-05:00

I'm here at school. I have an a hour before my next class starts. Yay. I shall blog.

I know Thanksgiving is over, but here are some girls that I am thankful for....

Janna - Today I went out with a friend from back in the day. Janna Reynolds. Wow. It's been awhile. We've known each other for 8 years now. Sheesh. I haven't seen her since her graduation party. She stopped in Cranberry to have lunch with me on her way back to George Mason in DC. She's brilliant and can debate like no one else I know. She's destined for greatness. On top of all that, she's engaged. What?!?! This is the girl who I used to go to my math tutor with in 7th grade, who called me Henry the 8th, who had the greatest birthday parties ever. Man. Life changes so fast. It was definitely nice to have that connection again with someone from my past outside of my family. I think I've really needed that the past couple weeks. It was definitely refreshing to see and talk to her again.

Tina - Last Sunday, after an incredibly long day of work, I came home and was quite ready to pass out on my bed and not wake up for the next 12 hours or so. That didn't happen. Tina was up and I went to go say goodnight to her. We ended up talking for 2 hours. That happens with friends...especially when friends are girls. But it wasn't just the normal "Let's talk about school and work and boys." It was deep. We went through our old journals together, shared about what we'd learned in the past couple years, shared scriptures that stuck out to us. We both learned a lot from each other. It was a divine appointment. Again, that rejuvinated me. Having friends who encourage and build you up are so much more than just people you take for granted, they're God-sends. They're the true friends.

Stephy-Loo - My wife. *giggle* She's amazing. We always have a great time together - baking, jumping on a trampoline, or watching old Disney movies. She's always the voice of reason. She's the one who has her head on straight. She's got it all-brains, beauty, and wisdom. She's a great example to everyone on how to be godly. I respect her and love her very much.

Krystle - I've only known her for a short time, but man! What a firecracker! :D She's got such a great heart and a great passion. She's funny too. She's got so many gifts and a great testimony. We really have a lot in common and I'm really excited to get to know her more.

Vanessa - What girl in Revolution does not want to be Vanessa? She's amazing!!! Again, her heart and her passion inspire people. She's not afraid to be who she is and the best thing is she knows who she is. She's awesome.

Christy Williams - Some of you will get to meet her very soon. She's coming to visit me in a couple weeks. Her creativity and optimism astound me. She's done it all. Written books, started magazines, directed movies, written movies, written comics, she paints, draws, photographs. If it's creative, she does it. She's brilliant and sooooo talented. She's always uplifting and telling me I deserve the best even when I don't believe her. She's has so much potential and I can't wait to see her grow into that.

That's basically all I have time for now. These are not the only women in my life I am thankful for. I encourage you to write down who it is that you are thankful for and who you admire and respect and why. It'll keep you grounded and help you realize what you should be or are striving towards.

2008-11-21T13:36:00.003-05:00

Today is a pretty relaxing day. No school to worry about. No work until after 6. And I got to sleep in...waaaaay in. haha! It's nice.

I'm spending my time building myself up. Today I'm taking it easy. Today is my Sabbath; my day to just be with Him. I'm learning the difference between rest and laziness. I have not perfected not being lazy yet, but it's a constant process. God delights in our rest because it should be in Him, but He hates our laziness.

God has really been showing me how important it is to realize that time is money. How are you spending your time and what is it being spent on? So think for a second, if you will. There's 24 hours in each day. How much do you do you spend sleeping? On average 6-8 hours. That leaves us with 16-18 hours left in that day. We should realize, even as we're young, that we're not going to be here forever and that we have to find a life of purpose. If we are not living our days for Christ, our days add up to nothing. I'm not saying that you just have to get into a "works" mentality and just have to work work work. I'm just saying that you have to speculate how much idle time you have in one day. Like I said before, God delights in our rest, but He despises laziness.

Psalm 90:12 (NLT) - "Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom."

Proverbs 12:11 (AMP) - "...but he who follows worthless pursuits is lacking in sense and is without understanding."

Ecclesiastes 11:9 (NLT) - "Young man, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy ever minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give and account to God for everything you do."

I forget who said this, but I heard it a while ago and it really stuck out to me. "When God wants to grow a squash He grows it in one summer; but when He wants to grow an oak He takes a century." Which lasts longer; the squash or the oak tree? This also reminded me of Isaiah 61:3 when God was saying that His people may be called "oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." Before it talks about being "oaks," it talks about the Spirit of the Lord and the anointing for setting the captives free beauty for ashes, etc. You should read this chapter. It's amazing.

Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 in Luke 4. The Spirit of the Lord God was upon Him. Jesus is the One who set us free to be "oaks of righteousness." It takes some time to grow into your calling. It is also up to us to use our time wisely to become those strong trees.

This was very long so I appologize. I hope you got something out of it. This was just a good chance to share my heart.

Have a good day!

My first blog

2008-11-16T20:46:00.001-05:00

YAY!!

So here it is. The kick-off. My first blog EVER! Schweetness.

I don't really know what to say in this one. I just had the time to start it, so I did.

I'm really tired at the moment. I don't mean just physically tired either. It happens. I'll feel better soon. Thank the Lord for the holidays. YAY, GOD!!!

This is an awesome beginning. I promise I won't always be this boring.