Every Womens Battle

Hay Girls, (and guys)I want to come to you as a sister in this note. I am the oldest of 4 girls, 1 of 17 grandchildren, and 12 of the 17 are girls. I always joke that when God called my into ministry He called me to girl world. I have such a place in my heart specifically for girls, to see us get our heads around this idea that we are loved and adored by our Heavenly Father. NO LOVE will ever compare to His. So as you read this ,read it as if I am coming to you as a big sister, just sharing my heart with you. One of my favorite things to do is sit with my sisters and cousins and just have girl talk. We are close in age so its just one big slumber party when we get together. And my awesome guys I'm also sharing this with you as a sister…letting you in a little into what the deepest issue is girls struggle with. If your thinking its we want to know we are beautiful it runs a lot deeper than that, I love you guys!! Girls everything I am about to say I say with love and as one with you not above you. This is an area I still have to wrestle with everyday with God. I love you and I more than anything am just wanting to bluntly sister you…if that’s ok! I’m so glad you are reading this. I’ve said this before if I had a choice I would not read my own stuff or listen to me, but I have to cause I have to live in hear and its tough living in hear I need you know that. I don’t have to convince you that God uses the foolish I hope. 2 Cor 10:12-13 “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you”Girls the biggest battle you have to admit that we battle DAILY is insecurity? As girls we are eatin alive with measurements (Physically, emotionally, literally, and spiritually.) Nothing has gotten us in more trouble or caused us more pain then our insecurities. There will never be a guy in the room checking out the girls in the room like the girls in the room. We will know more about what the person sitting next to has on then what we have on. We are constantly checking each other out seeing were we fit. Do I measure up? (Lets be dead honest!!) But I am praying for healing with this in my life and in yours. What if we really let God deal with us in this area? Cause its BONDAGE, BONDAGE! I want you to think about these three things: Who are we trying to measure up to? Who are we trying to measure up for? Who are we trying to measure God by? 1)Who are we trying to measure up to? 2 Cor 10:12-13 nothing is any less wise then comparing ourselves girls to ourselves (each other). Comparing means judging. The definition of judging – Comparing to one another the similarities and differences. Nothing is more foolish then comparing ourselves to each other. Hear is something that helped me and hopefully will help you. Give the person(s) a face – who. We have to face the [who] or we will never be set free from generalities of bondage. We want to see the truth and to be set free because nothing is making us more miserable than our insecurities…NOTHING! Ok…now this is why this is so tricky… [you may adore this person or you may despise them] [You could just as easily adore the person as despise the person] If you despise the person most likely it’s because of jealousy and it you adore the person it’s more likely you idolize the person. To women jealousy is a big thing to us (I know every single one of you girls struggle with it…don’t lie…you might not say it but we have all been at some point or are jealous of someone(s)). But it is a product of- acting out of insecurity.Who is it that threatens you? Who and why are you threatened. What is it that threatens you, and what is it you feel like they are threatening? You have to identify the root of the problem. (See guys it goes a WHOLE LOT deeper then we want to feel pretty) When someone is threatened they will act out of jealousy a lot of times in criticism. ( ex. She is just so sweet, she just seems really cool, and you say well...she wasn’t that nice. WHAT IS THAT??...lol) I have a friend who I grew up with and am still friends with today. She is one of those girls that just is so pretty its almost unfair… you want to hate her but you can’t cause she’s so sweet. But as long as I’ve know her ,every time I see her she is put together. Her hair is wonderful, her face, clothes, smile, everything wonderful.It’s just exhausting feeling like you have to measure up physically all the time. If it is not Jesus Christ who sets you apart, who when you lay your head on your pillow at night, if it is not Jesus who make you special and gives you your worth and value we are in for a life time of misery.When it is not Jesus, you are going to pick the wrong guy, your going to pick the wrong future... Beth Moore told a story of a woman who told her “tell these girls to deal with their stuff before God before they get married.” Girls, you don’t want to pick your mate out of the unhealthy side of yourself. Can God perform a miracle should you do that YES! But that is plan B and not plan A. You don’t want to be choosing your guys out of your own insecurity. If you find yourself having to look absolutely perfect for him or act absolutely “perfect” for him when he walks through the door…THERES NO WAY TO SUSTAIN THAT!! We just need to be set free, we are who we are… We need to be free to just love people.“Whoever you are most jealous of you start praying for God to bless and it will heal your heart towards them.” Christy NocklesGIVE IT UP TO GOD!!! Ask God to give you a love for a person you may absolutely despise. Tell on them, that’s fair, tell HIM! Deal with it before God…but let Him set your sweet heart free cause its miserable!!2) Who am I trying to measure up for? Gal 1:10 “Am I not trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ.-Side Note- How awesome would it be if we really let God heal this in us. Can you think of nothing more the enemy would love then to distract you, when God wants to do a profound work in your life. If the enemy can distract you with something absolutely ridiculous he will. We are not going to let him, we are going to deal with this before God, because Satan is driven by jealousy. In Ez 28:14 it says he was the “anointed cherub”…but he wasn’t God.-Gal 1:10 – anyone who we seek the approval of (as a lifestyle) we are a slave to. The only way we are set free is to be a bond slave to Christ. …But whoever’s approval your trying to get, you’re a slave to. God can set you free!!God can do what He says He can do. John 5-Its no ones fault that I am in this mess with this person. I am going to take responsibility for my end of it , let God deal with them on theirs’ and let God deal with me on mine. We can cease getting their approval without ceasing to love them. If you are going to live to please people that’s going to be a tough road, because some people freely give acceptance, and some others you are constantly fighting to get. Some of the hardest people to lay on the alter before God are some of the people God will give you the most freedom from! “It’s a whole a lot easier to get God’s approval than it is man’s.” Gregg Mattes. God will always be 10 times more merciful with you than people will ever be. God is security and fulfillment…that’s were you find it, not people!! 3)Who are we trying to measure God by? Isa 40:5/ Isa 46:5 “ To whom will you compare me or count me equal. To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?” -Who are we getting God mixed up with? And this happens all the time and especially with our earthly fathers, or a host of other people. “To whom will you compare me…” -We tend to get God mixed up with people. And we better behave ourselves. If you think if my pastor fell,youth pastor, mentor, Louie Giglio, Beth Moore, Francis Chan, Christ Tomlin, and anyone else you admire for their faith and walk with the Lord, if you think ,if they fell my faith would not survive it…then you have them mixed up with God and we better behave ourselves. God will never fall off that thrown…NOT EVER!! -People fall away from Church or God a lot of time because somewhere along the way they decided people are not worthy so church is not worthy, we need to be careful! We are all human!! GOD IS NOT A BIG US…HE IS GOD!!! “God is light and in him is no darkness at all” 1John 1:5 God has NO dark side! God has NO perverse side! God has NO impure motive towards you! NONE!God is NOT messed up! God is NOT a freak! God is COMPLETELY HEALTHY, and refuses to be co-dependant with you…AMEN!Completely full, needs nothing, self exist, He’s just GOD! So much of our misery is out of insecurity. You need not be threatened. You are completely loved by someone you can completely trust. God new what he was doing when he made you. He knew what he was doing when he set you on this earth at the time and place he did. (Act 17, Ps 139). Through our personalities sanctified God wants to do something sticking amazing!!! I love you girls and guys!!! Below is a link to a series called “Beautiful” By Perry Noble. It’s a 7 part series, but the first 2 messages are what I pray you go and listen too!!! I love you girls and guys!! http://www.newspring.cc/series/beautiful Philippians 1:6 (ESV) “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

No Not One

Hay yal- Just wanted to share something cool God just is teaching me. Right now I am in the middle of reading a book by Beth Moore called “Believing God.” What is so amazing to me is God always knows what you need to hear. If I have learned anything this year it has been that His Word is powerful! I always knew that reading the Bible was important but this year I have seen the power in God’s Word in my life!! Tonight though I was reading and the chapter is titled “Believing you can do all things through Christ.”Phil 4:13. In the chapter Beth talks about Joshua and the call that God gave Him and in that He told Joshua in Joshua 1:9 “Have I not command you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discourage, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” The whole idea in the book is faith. We say yes I believe IN God but do we Believe God? That passage just jumped off the page at me, that no matter what circumstances may be, to not be discouraged, God will give you every place you step your feet for the glory of His name if you let Him. My favorite part of the book was this part; Im just going to quote right out the book. “ Immediately after God told Joshua to not be terrified or discouraged, He gave him the important reason. The reason had nothing to do with the absence of terrifying or discouraging circumstances. On the contrary, Joshua had never faced anything so frightful or potentially disparaging. What reason did God give Joshua for turning from fear and discouragement in the face of huge opposition? “The LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” When Jesus told his disciples not to be afraid in the storm, the reason wasn’t the removal of their frightful circumstances but the presence of their Savior. “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid” Matt 14:27 Remember, faith is never the denial of reality. It is the belief in a greater reality. In other words, the truth may be that you are presently surrounded by terrifying or terribly discouraging circumstances. The reason you don’t have to buckle to fear and discouragement is the presence of God in the middle of your circumstances. Call upon Him to step His One and Only shoes onto your territory and take over like the commander of the LORD’s Army (Josh 5:15). Hear Him say to you the words He said to Joshua: “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” That place, the circumstance, is holy because God stands on it with you. You don’t have to fill His shoes, Dear One. Take off your sandals and walk barefoot in His wake.” After reading that the song “No Not One” By Christy Nockels new album that I had gotten yesterday kept echoing in my mind, Almost like God was saying there is no one like me Brittney..NO NOT ONE!! Here are the lyrics!! If you can, go get the song or album on iTunes! But I wanted to share with you what God is teaching me!! Love you guys!!NO NOT ONE: Christy NockelsNo better word than from Your lipsNo perfect life than what You livedNo greater gift, no not oneNo brighter star has ever shinedNo better hope for all mankind No higher mind, no not oneNo one has ever knownThis kind of love You've shownThere has never been a greater love Than Your sonNo, Not oneAnd there will never be a name aboveNo, Not oneWith His life You have forgiven usHope has comeHope has comeAnd there will never be a greater loveNo, Not oneNo image true or sweeter frame No simple word can match Your nameNo greater fameNo not oneNo one has ever seenThe depth of Your majestyThere has never been a greater love Than Your sonNo, Not oneAnd there will never be a name aboveNo, Not oneWith His life You have forgiven usHope has comeHope has comeAnd there will never be a greater loveNo, Not oneNo greater call - You gave us all a reason to liveNo greater love - You gave us all a reason to giveNo greater life - You gave us all a reason to shineNo greater love - forever mine!-Love yal- Eph 3:20Brittney

Every Sunrise Sings Your Praise

Sunrise:Have you ever had one of those mornings were you just wake up early for no reason? Well I had one of those Tuesday Morning. It was about 5:30am and I am pretty sure God just woke me up, He wanted to show and tell me something. Didn’t know that at the time though, at the moment I just thought well, guess I’m awake. So I grabbed my book that I am reading (Beloved Disciple By: Beth Moore) and went out on the balcony to read. At this point it is about 6am in the morning, so there is just enough light outside that I could read, the sun had not come up yet, but you could see by the colors in the sky that it wasn’t going to be much longer! Now, I looked up in sky and saw one star, one really bright star!! I just thought it was really cool so see one that early in the morning, you couldn’t see any of the other stars since the sun was about to come up, but you could see this one. It was one of those moment were you just have to thank the Creator of the Universe for the little things, like stars in the sky. Your probably wondering when I’m going to get to the reason I wrote this note. Well I thought the best way for you to understand is for me type out what I was reading as the sun was coming up, God just wanted to meet with me that morning. An intimate moment…that no matter who I tell no one else was there but God and I. It was a moment between the Lover of my Soul and I. What is even cooler is as the sun was coming up this chorus kept playing in my head “Every Sunrise sings Yours praise, the Universe cry’s out Your Name, singing praises all my days now that I am alive! It’s all because of Jesus I am alive” Were I was reading it picks up at Beth just talking about what may have been going through the mind of John after seeing all the healings Jesus had done that day. That moment when you are just trying to soak in all that happened. Don’t forget the John was a young guy, a fisherman, he was human just like you and me, so can you imagine seeing all he saw, it would be one of those moments where you lay down at night and are just trying to process all that happened that day!! Imagine getting up and knowing, this is not going to be just another day, I’m following Jesus, who knows what could happen…I agree when Beth Moore says if she were John the thought she would be laying there thinking is “Is there nothing this man can’t do?” Side note---I had no idea this is what was in store for me to read this particular morning---“When John awakened that morning, his mind could not have conceived just how many mercies were new that particular sunrise… Can you imagine walking right beside Christ? Knowing what size sandal he wore? Recognizing, His accent, And favorite figure of speech? …Remember to not over spiritualize John. He was as equal flesh and blood as you and I, but what he witnessed reached far beyond the natural realm.”A solitary place: “Very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him. (Mark 1:35-36)“….my dearest times with Jesus on this plant have been in the secret places. That is heaven to me…”“In Revelation 22:16 Christ said “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and Morning Star.” The Morning Star is the bright planet Venus in the eastern sky before or at sunrise. I’ve seen it many mornings. When I get up to have my Morning Prayer time, outside is still as black as night. I love the comfort of knowing that the sun will rise during the course of that precious time with God. I often step out on the porch, look at the sky, and behold one star that shines far brighter that the rest. That morning not far from the lapping waters of Galilee’s shore, the bright Morning Star rose while it was still dark and lit the desolations with the lamp of Glory. Only God saw. Oh child.” Our heavenly Father asks us today, “would you rise for only Me to see?” (that is what got me))). Mark tells us Jesus went to a solitary place. To be reading everything you just read while just having seen the morning star and watching the sunrise as I’m reading just took my breath away. Even sharing this with you I’m just reminded of the part “Would you rise for only Me to see?” ---I read this later that day at the pool--- “In Mark 1:36 tells us that Simon and his companions went to look for Jesus. The only companions we have meet so far in Marks’ Gospels are Andrew, Peter, James and John, so we can almost be certain our John was among them. Notice they weren’t called disciples yet. I’m not sure they qualified as learners and pupils yet! Whoever the companions were, the terminology of the original language tells us they were tracking Jesus down, almost like a manhunt. The Greek word katadioko, translated “to look,” is often used in a hostile sense. I’m not suggesting they were hostile toward Jesus but that they were quite anxious and maybe even a little put out with Him that He wasn’t where all the people were. We see no indication from the text that they hesitated for a moment of respect or awe when they found Jesus praying. They barreled on the scene with. “Everyone is looking for you!” I would like to offer a little conjecture that the companions tracking down Jesus may have been Peter, James and John. Later in His ministry, these three men were chosen by Christ to watch Him on several different occasions in the inner places. Something caused Jesus to single them out. I believe Scripture will prove that it wasn’t their spiritual maturity. I think two primary motivations compelled Christ to draw the three into several intimate places: 1) The fact that they just didn’t “get it” at times2)The fact that Jesus knew once they did “get it,” they’d really get it!In other words, I wonder if Christ might have thought, So you’re not the boundaries type, are you? OK. I’ll take you behind some ordinary boundaries, but I’ll hold you responsible for what you learn while you’re there. Just food for thought….I have a friend whose little boy thought he was the teacher’s pet because she seated him in class right in from of her desk. He didn’t realize for years that she was motivated by his discipline problems. Why didn’t she just send him to the principal instead of expending so much energy on him? Because she knew the child had a student in him, and she was determined to find it. And she did. We’re going to see Peter, James and John get their desks moved to the front of the class. Just like children, at times they might be tempted to think the Rabbi moves them there because there were the Teacher’s pet.”I don’t know about you but I can relate! It reminds me how much Jesus loves us, and is patience, merciful and gracious with us far beyond what we deserve, and how I don’t have to instantly have it all together, I am a work in progress!Eph 2:10 “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”Phili 1:6 “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” The story Beth told reminds me of the kids I have at work (ASP), the ones that tend to miss behave more, or who are a little more defiant, want to push the limits are the ones you have to keep an extra close eye on, and keep extra close, but as you love on those kids that at times make you want to pull your hair out, they are the very ones that will run up and grab your neck and give you the biggest hugs your have ever had, and want to be your helper, they just want to be right there with you. So I get the idea, sometimes they have the idea you are keeping them so close because they are your favorite, verses I am keeping you close so you stay out of trouble…hahaha…Those are the moment when I really see God as a Father…I just feel him telling me “stay right herd by Me, and you’ll stay out of trouble...hahaha