A Life Worthy of My Calling

A few years ago, I was called to go to Ecuador. I just knew in my heart that God had work for me to do there. The calling was clear but the provision wasn't there yet. So I left it alone and continued serving in ministry where I was.

I have also been called to children's ministry, and one of the biggest issues in Ecuador is the corrupted society. Because the Ecuadorians have been without Christ for so long, sin has been allowed to corrupt every aspect of their lives, including their children. It has caused young girls to lose their childhood and their innocence and I really feel led to give my heart to that area, so come hell or high waters, I will go.

I have been blessed to live a lifestyle that is ripped out of their hands at a very young age. 

 A lifestyle of purity.

Many girls In Ecuador are abused before they are even considered a teenager. And it makes me sick to sit in my cushy chair in my comfortable house, with a warm cup of coffee in my hands, listening while beautiful, well produced worship music flows from the speakers of my top-of-the-line, 60 inch television while I know what they are going through.

That is my story, and by the power of the Cross, and I'm sticking to it.

But, I need your help... 

 

If you would like to help me get to Ecuador, please send me an email at KimbreElise@gmail.com and I'll tell you how you can help.

If you would like to learn more about the amazing things that are happening for the Glory of God in the jungles of Ecuador, go to:

www.junglemissionary.com

 

The Farmer

Last week, I was walking through our garden that we plowed under in September, wrapped up in my Carhartt jacket and boots. It was 55 degrees and in case you aren't well versed in the terms "y'all" and "Roll Tide" and "Bless your heart," in Alabama, we call that COLD! As I avoided stepping on the fall crops, I was completely surprised to walk up in the bean patch and find a perfectly healthy (and beautiful) rattlesnake bean plant.  (See Picture) Why was I surprised, you ask?  Well, because I'm the farmer, and just last month, I, myself, decided it was the right time to plow all the bean plants down.  They had served their purpose. I didn't need them anymore.  They had given me all they had.  And I was done with them.  So, I decided to plow them under to make room for something I deemed worthy of its valuable space.


Well, God said I was wrong.

Sometimes the farmer knocks down the plant before it is ready to die.  God plants seeds inside of us and sometimes they take time to bloom.  Who tends those seeds is our choice.  If your farmer is having a hard time trusting God in a particular season, he'll accidentally plow down a plant before it has had a chance to bear its best fruit.  (Numbers 19:12) An impatient farmer will kill the plant before it blooms, never realizing the consequence of his actions.


Your farmer isn't necessarily bad. Some farmers just aren't YOUR farmer for YOUR season.  You wouldn't trust a dentist to cut you hair would you?  NO!  Your farmer has influence on your life and destiny.  Choose your farmers wisely!

Trust in the Lord

O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Psalm 84:12 (NIV)

Many times in The Bible faith has saved people, sinners, murderers, adulterers, and even you and me. But the lack of faith has caused a heap of trouble. Even the super heroes of The Bible had their moments of unfaithfulness. 

Abraham didn't have faith in God's covenants and took things into his own hands by having a child with his wife's servant. The Israelites could have taken the whole Promise Land, but they didn't trust God to fight their battles and they were later overthrown.

I know that our distrust doesn't create the same consequences as it did in The Old Testament, but God has saved us from so many things. And still we don't trust him with the little things like tithing and trusting authority.

God deserves our trust, and when we trust him he blesses us. He never ceases to amaze me and blow my mind everyday.


"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
 Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

Remembering 9/11

Today, 14 years ago, "our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts." Many children were left fatherless, motherless, and some even orphans. The city of New York was dark, covered with smoke, dust, ash, glass and debris. Many firefighters, police officers, military service men and women and innocent civilians were killed. There were those killed instantly- as the men and women serving our country rushed to the site, as fast as they could, being stopped in their tracks as the buildings fell on top of them. The surviving ones- running, not from terror, but right into it, searching for the ones left alive. As our whole country mourns, two more planes crash. One into The Pentagon, and another brought down by U.S civilians willing to give up their lives for my country. 

And today there are kids without parents, women and men left widowed and a country with no security. So now we must pray. Pray for healing in the families of those killed and left disabled during this tragic terroristic act, pray for healing in our country, our schools and our churches. And pray that as the media and schools talk less and less about what happened yesterday, we the people talk more and more about the truth about who we are as a nation. 

Just hours after this happened, our then-president George W. Bush gave a speech that not only threatened the terrorists behind the mass act of terrorism. Please take five minutes out of your day and listen to the words of a man who knew how to run and take care of our country.

Former President George W. Bush Addresses the Nation

The Power of Knowledge

We study our memory verses and read our Bible every day. 
But do we really know and apply what we're learning?
 Do we really care enough to get the whole picture? I know I'm guilty of just reading, never really paying attention to the story or how God's trying to speak to me. ...Always just reading it word after word, 5-10 minutes a day. 

But God deserves more than that. He deserves our everything, in our worship, in our study and in our serving. (The Bible actually says to "study to show ourselves approved unto God, 2 Timothy 2:15) I know, we're only human and only God is perfect but why not at least try to give Him what He deserves? We can try to give him our all, to become disciples and to lay ourselves down.

 Revelation 4:11 says:

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

Our Complaints Are Causing Us To Complain

Do we as Christians hold ourselves accountable when it comes to complaining? I mean we have more than most people. Why would we complain about earning less than our peers. What does it matter?

In Luke 18, a certain ruler asked Jesus what it takes to get into heaven. Jesus didn't tell him that he needed to say a tiny prayer, or look your best for church every week.This is what he said:

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

(NIV Mark 10:21, Matthew 19:21, Luke 18:22)

 Yeah, I know that's no American Dream. But who wants that? The average American owes over $200,000 in debt! Did you get that? $200,000! Since when is owing a bank $200,000 a dream? Well it's no dream of mine. 

And the more we complain, the less content we are with what we have, which causes us to buy more stuff we can't afford to pay for, which causes us to complain even more about how little we have.

Let's stop complaining and start being thankful for what we're already blessed with.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus

(1 Thessalonians 5:18)

For the love of God, put yo' Spiritual Clothes on!

 We all know how stressful the first day of school is. Whether you're in private, public or homeschool. Waking up early, staying focused, fighting off the tormentor and trying to get good grades is hard. But we always seem to survive. Physically, at least.

Every year things change. Rules, teachers (For real: mine lost thirty pounds and has bangs. (( I'm most definitely getting an A)), classes, and all in all ,we change. We grow up. And old temptations fade while we face new, bigger ones.

But as we have a better chance. We have an armor that protects us from everything around us.

1. The Belt of Truth: Helps us to discern the fine line between the truth and the lies.
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness: Helps us to be obedient even when it's nearly impossible.
3. The Gospel of Peace: Helps us to be ready for trials and tests at all times.
4. The Shield of Faith: Helps us to have faith in the hard times.
5. Helmet of Salvation: Protects us from the death of sin.
6. The Sword of the Spirit: Helps us fight off the enemy with the Word of God.

So as we go through school this year, let's remember to arm ourselves everyday. Everyday we fight a spiritual battle. When we don't fight, we lose.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground...

Ephesians 6:13

Seek Me

Last Wednesday I took a friend to church with me.

 He is a Christian, but he doesn't have a home-church. 

He loved the service and the worship. He made plenty of new friends.

We were in the car on the way home and he told me, 

"Your church is like my old church. At your church, they play the same music and that kinda stuff 

but it feels different, it feels so much better..."

(Now, I know that church isn't about what it feels like, but the conversation went deeper, about conviction and responding to God's voice...)

After hearing my friend talk about the differences, I was flabbergasted at what I said next. It didn't feel like it came out of my mouth. It wasn't anything that I would normally say. It had to have been The Holy Spirit speaking through me. 

"The difference between good and not-so-good churches is not about about the music or the message or the translation of the Bible they read. It's about the anointing and the acceptance and the desire of The Holy Spirit."

It's an important reminder, not just for a kid who isn't used to being in church, but for us, too. 

  Church can't be good because the music is good. 

It can't be good because the speaker or preacher is "on point." 

It's not good because it's entertaining or dramatic or "turnt up."

Church is good because the Holy Spirit is there waiting on us. He has the power to invade our hearts and make sinners want to repent and turn their lives around.  He has the power to raise the dead to life, not just physically but also our dead and broken hearts. He has the power to break strongholds and revive broken dreams.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 14:26

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 145:18 

So... There's this Guy.

So... there's this guy in my life. 

He is the perfect man for me. I don't need anybody else. He is loyal, courageous, generous, loving, strong, tall, smart and he loves food just as much as I do. We are so alike, I thank God every day that He put him into my life! We love the same music, the same TV shows and the same movies. When we go out to eat I always say, "I want what he got." We're perfect for each other!

Here's the shocker:  He's in love with another woman...  But I'm okay with that, because he's not my boyfriend, or my fiancé, and no he's not my husband, either. He's my daddy! I just wanna' say "Thank you for putting up with me!"

 Happy Father's Day! I love you, Daddy!

What do you Expect?

Insecure. Shy. Vulnerable. Emotional. Disrespectful.  Rude.  Inconsiderate. Ignorant. Careless. Rebellious. These are all names used to describe teenage girls. My Generation.  Me.   It reminds me of a quote by Sir Thomas More. 

“For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them.”

Hmm isn’t that interesting? How much of a difference could we make if we lived accordingly to Proverbs 18:21? The power of life and death is in the tongue. Our parents tell us that we can change the world but in our heads we say “Yea right! We’re just insecure, shy, emotional (and the list goes on) children. The only world changers we know are the homosexual basketball players being praised for coming out of the closet or famous women walking around dressed like prostitutes with all the men they could ever ask for”. 

Well I’ll step down from my soap-box and finish this shin-dig, but first I’ll tell you about myself. My name is Bre Elise, I love kids, and Jesus, and reading. The gym is one of my best friends, I like food and coffee, I love my dog and I know how to cook, clean and change diapers. Oh yeah, one more thing, I’m fifteen years-old.

Okay, so the point of this whole thing is that  we don’t have to be what everybody expects us to be. We can be bold without being disrespectful and we can be vulnerable without being crushed, We don’t HAVE to be emotional, careless Kylee Jenner or Kim Kardashian wanna-bes. Let’s try something, this week, not this year or this month. This week. Let’s not try to be better than anybody else but instead try to be a better person than you were yesterday. Not too hard. Eh? 

So, what do you expect from me?  Do you expect me to be insecure? Shy? Vulnerable? Emotional? Disrespectful?  Rude?  Inconsiderate? Ignorant? Careless? Rebellious?  If you do, you don't think very much of me.  I expect more.  I expect myself to "put off" those expectations and rise to the expectations of people who genuinely love me and a God who truly knows my worth. 

To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24

Let‘s do this everyday, together. Just put off our old self and be renewed.