Dinosaurs!!!

Hey all!!

I haven't written in a few weeks and so I thought I would share with you what we did as a class on Friday. 

Last week we didn't celebrate Labor Day on Sep. 1st. We waited until Friday so that we could go to a place called Dinosaur Valley. It was so much fun to see all of the different kinds of Dino Foot Prints in the hard rock. I thought I would show y'all some pictures.

The First place we went to was the Creation Museum. It was so amazing to see all of the evidence that God really did create the world in six days and then rested on the seventh. Here are some of the things I took pictures of.

This is a fossilized water creature. 

This is a small portion of an Ark Replica that explains how Noah and his family were able to retrieve fresh water from the outside. 

These are Bibles that have been collected from different time periods. Some of them are bound with goat skin and others a simply paper. I wanted so badly to touch them. It's a good thing they were covered with glass.

This is a complete book of Isaiah written on Sheep Skin. It is from the 1800's and was written in Russian.

This a the Complete Torah written on deer skin. It was written in Iraq and is from the 1800's as well.

And while being at the museum was really fun, it was even more awesome when I got to see the dino tracks in the rocks.

I have to tell you that I felt prehistoric while looking at all of these amazing foot prints. It is so amazing to think that God created these amazing creatures and that it wasn't that long ago that they roamed the earth.  :)

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 - And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 - And God said, let there be light:  and there was light.

God is the creator of the world and of our very selves. He is the one who made us and formed us. He loves us and that is why He sent His Son to be a perfect sacrifice for us.

John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

Brianna

You Call Yourself A Christian?!

I heard a story today that literally made me sick to my stomach.

A church in the town over from Bowie lost their pastor the other day. He was jogging by the local lake when he had a heart attack and died. 

Now, that is a very sad story, and I am grieved for the family of this pastor. But what makes me angry is that the church is personally evicting the pastor's wife from the parsonage in less that three weeks because her position as "Pastor's Wife" is void and she has no way of paying them rent.

What kind of church would do that?!

We love the name Christian. Christian means to be identified with Christ. It means to be Christ like. 

CHRIST like.

Would Christ evict this woman simply because her husband is dead? 

NO! That wasn't a rhetorical question. The answer is absolutely NO.

 

Luke 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

 

James 4 :17  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

 

Galatians 6:2  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ

 

Ok. So just from these simple verses I can see that God would wish us to love and sacrifice and do right for a person in need. Or any other time. What kind of Christian are you if you don't LOVE? What kind of Christian are you if you show no MERCY? What kind of Christian are you if you haven't any GRACE?

Especially to your own?!

What did Christ do for you on the cross of Calvary? He showed LOVE, MERCY, and the most amazing GRACE this world has ever seen. I am nothing without Christ and I assure you that you are in the same boat I am in. Do you call yourself a Christian? Do you?

How do you portray Christ to others? 

That isn't a rhetorical question either. 

You need to be honest with yourself and choose what kind of Christian you will be.

Love God. Love People. 

LOVE.

MERCY

GRACE

Those are the words of my love story with Christ. And I am not doing Him any favors by hiding that love from the world when they need it the most.

.....Choose you this day whom ye will serve......

As for me? I will serve the Lord.

Brianna

I MADE IT!!!

I made it!! 

Ok. So I have actually been here in Bowie Texas for about nine days. I have been settling in  and visiting churches in the surrounding areas. I have even managed to locate some thrift stores.  :) shhhhh......don't tell my mom.  ;)

I am so excited to be here at the BBTI this year. I have an awesome room mate and some pretty cool class mates. There are four families attending along with four single girls. Yes, we are a small class. The BBTI is not a college. It is a nine month school that focuses on teaching linguistics and bible translation skills. It's purpose is to teach the missionary how to go into another country and learn their language, culture, and life style effectively and efficiently so that they can spread the gospel correctly. 

There are so many cases in which a missionary goes to a foreign land and has no clue how to reach the people. Or he does it the wrong way. As Christians our goal should be to not only spread the gospel, but to make it clear so that there isn't confusion. 

Today was the first day in orientation. I will attend another day of orientation and then class starts on Monday. I have a feeling that I will like the classes. One of them is all about writing reports on other Missionaries, Countries, and People Groups. :) I am very excited!

So please keep all of the students in your prayers as this year will stretch them in many ways. Each on of us is stepping out in faith. The life of a Christian is built on faith. We are all depending on God to provide our food, rent, clothing, and vehicles. There is no time for a job so we truly are relying on the Lord. 

I have already begun to see different things that God has provided and I know He will keep doing so.  :)

If you are interested in learning more about BBTI please visit the link below.  :)

http://www.baptisttranslators.com/

Brianna

STORY TIME!!!! :)

The other night at church my pastor told me a story that I want to share with you.

My pastor was talking about the purity of Christ. Of course we all know that Christ is pure. 

He is Christ. What else would He be?
Matthew 28:3 - His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

Revelation 1:14 - His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire; 

 "White", of course, is a symbol for purity.

There is no arguing that Christ is the pure lamb of God and is the ultimate Savior of our sins. He is perfect and true in every way. 

Well, in thinking about something as white as snow, my pastor mentioned how a few years ago he had washed his white van. He talked about how many hours he had spent really getting it clean. He made sure every nook and cranny was free from dirt. He thought he hadn't missed a thing. But then it snowed. IT SNOWED! We all know how frustrating it is to clean your car and then it snows or rains. It just really messes everything up doesn't it? 

Well, he was looking outside at his white van and all of the beautiful fresh white snow surrounding it.  

Suddenly his van didn't look as clean as he thought it was. He started noticing spots that he had missed. He didn't even know those spots existed! Where did they come from?

I thought this little story was amazing. It reminded me about the comparison between us a Christ.

No matter how hard we try, we can never really be cleansed from sin. And that is the point. Christ is the only one who can cleanse us from sin.

Sin is anything we do, say or think that displeases God.

Lying, fornication, pride, disrespect towards parents, selfishness, taking the Lord's name in vain, worshiping false gods, killing, adultery, theft, coveting........just to name a few. 

And no matter what you say, you know you are guilty of at least one of these.
Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
 Don't worry, I am too. 

Even a little "white lie" is sin. Which is kind of ironic considering the fact that we are talking about the color white symbolizing purity. 

The fact is that we are all sinners and no matter what we do we cannot be pure enough to enter into heaven. That is why Jesus Christ came to earth and died on the cross. 
John 3:16
  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
We are not perfect. But I serve a God who IS. And no matter the transgression, no matter the crime, no matter the wrong, my God can save you from it. 
1 John 1:9
 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
 Romans 10:13
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

I'm so glad I serve a God who can save me from my wretched past and lead me into a beautiful future.  :)

Brianna  

 

 

Challenge Accepted

So I went on a trip to Tennessee. Of course I already told you that in my last post. But, I wanted to share something with you that had been given to me while I was there. 

It was a challenge.

Actually it was more of a confrontation. :) You see, the Pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church is not afraid to tell it like it is. He is very straight forward and abrupt. Some people may find it very offensive, but I find it refreshing. There are too many pastors these days who sugar coat everything. And let me tell you, Pastor Ron Ralph of Cornerstone Baptist Church does no such thing. :)

He didn't confront me personally. But he did confront something that I had been...... sorta struggling with. 

PINTEREST. 

Yes I said it. Pinterest. Although his exact words were not, "get rid of  pinterest", he still challenged me to give it up. Now let me tell you about myself. 

I love Pinterest. I can spend hours upon hours scrolling through the endless pages of DIY projects and gluten free recipes. In fact, my life got so revolved around the silly website that I couldn't hardly talk of anything else. Sad, I know.

But believe it or not, my addiction is not what challenged me to deactivate my account.

Bro. Ron was actually talking about raising children. I know, how did I come to the conclusion of deactivating my pinterest account while listening to a sermon on child training? Good question.

Well, let me ask YOU a question. How often has an inappropriate picture popped up on the screen when you least expect it? If you are honest with me then the truth would be staggering.

Bro. Ron's statement was that we should be careful about what we allow our children to see. No parent should be willing to put filth in front of their child's eyes. It is a parent's responsibility to guard the eyes and the hearts of their young ones so that they can grow in Godliness. So that they won't have to struggle with things like lust and pornography. Those are some blunt words, but they are true. 

I cannot tell you how many times I simply tried to look up a recipe, project or even holiday idea and there would be the most horrible pictures on the screen.

Now, once again I am not a child and I don't have any children of my own. BUT. I am still a child of God. I am still responsible for what I put in front of my own eyes. I am still responsible to guard my own heart. 

Philippians 4 :8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Even though I was not purposely looking for the wrong things I was still subject to them. 

Now, most people would tell me that it's not my fault and I can't help it. 

But I can.

By choosing to use a website that will allow such things I was choosing to look at them. It WAS my fault. 

So I gave it to God. After I got home from my trip I deactivated my pinterest account and I don't plan on going back. I want to put pure things before me and someday ,when I have children, I will make sure to put pure things before them as well.

 
Titus 2:12 - Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Romans 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

And the way to do all of the is to get OFF of pinterest and INTO God's word.

Brianna 

Life as I know it, is about to become........interesting

Ok, so #1 - I just got back from the BEST trip ever! My sister and I were invited to a Music School in Carthage Tennessee. It was amazing! I learned so much and met some pretty wonderful people. We were only gone for about twelve days, but I feel like I lost a month of my life. Here are some pictures to take a gander at.  :)

But that is not where it ends. I CAME HOME SICK!! I have been home for about a week now and I have had a terrible cold ALL week. God is good though and I am getting better. Praise the Lord it is just a cold and not the flu. There is always something to be thankful for and I am thankful for that.

But........my life is about to get even crazier. Next weekend my Aunt, her four young boys and my Nana are coming for a visit. we haven't seen them in many years and so this will be a glad reunion. They are going to be here for a week. Wow. Including my brother, Titus, there will be FIVE little boys running around the house. We are going to need some serious therapy after it's all said and done.  :)

And....To top it off, I only have three weeks before I pack myself up and move to Texas.  :( I have so many people that I want to see before I go and I just don't have the time. Not to mention I am going to miss my mommy very much. I am very excited about what the Lord is doing in my life and where He is taking me. It's amazing to know that He has everything under control. I know that the Lord will provide and that He will take care of me. 

Anyways.................Here are a few more pictures from my trip to Tennessee. I absolutely loved it there and if you are ever in CARTHAGE TENNESSEE on a Sunday or a Wednesday, please stop by Cornerstone Baptist Church for services. Sunday worship is at 10:00 am in the morning and 6:00 pm in the evening. Wednesday night worship is a 6:00 pm. 

The Prayer For Miriam

Yesterday was a very happy day for me. I could not help but verbally praise God for His tender mercy and grace. Yesterday, we all got news that a Sudanese wife and mother of two, will be released from prison. She stood firm in her faith and refused to renounce the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. She is truly an inspiration to me. What must it have been like to sit in a prison cell each day holding her two babies? I have no children of my own but I doubt that any mother would enjoy watching her two year old beg her to let him go play outside, and feel the sun on his skin. I am also not an expert on prison life, but I know that she did not have the luxury of which many of our  prisoners do in this country. But she has kept her faith and God has blessed her.

But there is one thought that goes across my mind this morning. I have received many emails from different people about the release of Miriam. Each one of them call for celebration!  :) Everyone is so excited that the Sudanese Government did the right thing in letting Miriam go. But NO ONE is bothering to give the glory to GOD. Everyone keeps saying that it is because of individuals signing petitions ( I did sign the petition). They keep saying that it was our voices that moved the heart of Sudan. But they are very wrong. Miriam believes in a righteous God, and so do I. If the Sudanese Government had chosen to keep Miriam and her children, Miriam still would have praised God. I still would have praised God. The Bible is very clear that we as Christians  WILL suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3 :12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

But God was the one who turned the hearts of the Sudanese Government. He may have used a petition to do it, but it was Him who brought Miriam and her children through this dark time. He orders the steps of this Universe. So please, give the glory to God. I know Miriam is.  :)

Brianna

The picture used is from Bing Images and is not my own.