New Year’s REVOLUTION

Why hello there world! This may be one of the most important blogs I have ever written, so I’m skipping all the formalities. Nope. We ain’t got time for that, so I’m gonna just dive right on in. For starters, allow me to share with you a couple statistics. Please, read these closely. 

DID YOU KNOW: 

• worldwide about 20-30 MILLION LEGAL abortions are performed each YEAR
• in 2017, 47,173 Americans died by suicide( the rate of suicide is highest in middle aged white men)
• there have been 1,300 school shooting incidents since 1970
• 2018 had the highest number of people KILLED, including the shooter, in school shootings (51 dead)
• there are approximately 750,000 heroin users in America today( do you know what that does to your body?)
• tobacco use in the US costs an approximate $100 BILLION a year, mainly in healthcare costs
• Methamphetamine is mostly abused by people between the ages of 15-25
• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes(63%!!!)
• 80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes
•  In 1960, 92% of homes were headed by two parent families. Today that percentage is 67%
• the total incarcerated population in the US is 2.4 MILLION( thats a 500% increase in the last 30 years)
• In 2018,in Colorado alone, there were 342 DOCUMENTED cases of human trafficking( um, hello! thats in our back yard!)
• 25% of all kids in foster care will experience PTSD
• 71% of girls who age out of the foster care program will become pregnant
• 20% of children in foster care will become homeless after the age of 18

Now. I want you to take a moment and breath all of that in. Believe me, writing this is no easy task. I had to sort though a ton of research and statistical studies to find these random tid bits. I mean, really, let these things sink in… Does this not tear your insides up? I know for me to go over and re read these things, its absolutely gut wrenching. Now, ask  yourself, what is the common theme??

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                                                            BROKENNESS

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When I read these things and go through all these stories, the number one thing I hear/see is brokenness. We live in a broken world. This is the state we’re in. Now, you know what I personally have noticed? Even in my own life? I dont know if you have read any of my previous blogs from last year, but I had mentioned there was a time in my life that I did struggle with depression, suicide, and laziness. In fact there are days I still have to fight very hard because man o man, I’m human too. But even within all this brokenness and pain, life is so sweet and beautiful. Now, one thing I definitely do struggle with most recently is time management. So you know what I do? I give up, lay on the couch, turn on Netflix, and scroll through Pinterest. For those of you who use Pinterest you know how much of a trap this can be! But, for me, what I spend most of my time researching, is ways to be better with my time, and self help. How ironic is that? The one thing I do that inhibbits me being good with my time, is looking up how to be good with my time. Ugh. Now, I know for a fact that I am not the only person who does this. Now then. I have a question for you. Again. WHAT IS YOUR NEW YEARS RESOLUTION??? 

I’ve never had a New Years resolution but every year at the beginning of the year God gives me a word or a phrase that models another way to live my life and chase after Him. In 2018 it was Love is an Action Word. It was during this time we adopted my little brothers I was learning what true love really looked like. Thank you Lord for blessing me with amazing people and family in my life who demonstrate this every day. Anyways, in 2019, the phrase or scripture God gave me was There is no Fear in Love. This was right before I was going out of the country and I was dealing with a lot of heavy spiritual warfare. I lived in so much fear and there was no way I was going to be able to fully open my heart and love those kids if I didn’t push through my fears. Now then, THIS YEAR, my phrase comes from Ezra 4:10.

                                                                 ” Rise Up, Take Courage, and Do It”

Simple as that. Be courageous. Do the thing the Lord has called you to do. But you see, this scripture goes way beyond me deciding to go to college and start the next season of my life. No. You see, right before I started school, over winter break, I had the opportunity to go visit a friend. Now, there was alot of history here so we won’t go into detail, but my relationship with said person was..toxic. For both of us. But the Lord had asked me to give it up to Him and not take it back. He said, throw it into the fire. Have you ever heard the song Burn the Ships by For King And Country? If not you’d better go listen to it. This, this was my ship. And I needed to get rid of it, and venture into the unknown with the Lord in hand not worrying about what I left behind. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do and it wasn’t just because I didn’t want them out of my life. It was because I knew them. I knew their hardships and I wanted to be there and help. But the Lord has other plans. And I know I cannot fix them. That there is a deep brokenness that only God can deal with. This moment however, broke me. I was a wreck. My heart hurt so incredibly deeply that I struggled to move forward with the rest of my week. However. I was going through some old photos of my mission trip. And then I came across the photos from the summer session for the horse ministry. Growing up, when I was a gymnast, my mama used to always tell me ” Remember why you started”. And it is this very phrase that keeps me working hard and taking an overwhelming course load. Because, I have seen and experienced brokenness first hand. And it is these kids I will get to work with this summer, that keep me focused. I want to give these children something so incredibly important. And the thing is, I technically cannot give it to them. Only God can. But I am blessed with the opportunity to get to reach out and help introduce these children to Christ and the overwhelming, never ever ending love of God. 

Now then. Back to new year’s resolutions.I was in my Deviant Behaviors Sociology class the other day and we were watching a video on children who are in prisons. It was  pretty interesting, but I couldn’t help but cry. Something in me has broken because I don’t cry too easily, yet here I am watching a video in class and my heart is aching for these kids and their stories. Did he deserve his time and jail? Yes, murder is a crime. But for a twelve year old to purposefully plan to murder someone, there’s definitely something missing. Fast forward to today and in my Human Growth and Development class. We had to watch “the miracle of life”. I thought i was going to pass out. However, How amazing is it,that Eve was the first to sin in the garden, yet God gave women the ability to bear children? I mean, that is pretty incredible. Granted giving birth is supposedly one of the most painful things a human can go through. But, if you ask any mother, they wouldn’t have changed a thing if it meant keeping their little newborn. That’s a pretty amazing gift. Now. Look back at your life. Are you thankful? What would you change? Would you change anything? I will admit for the sake of my pride there a few things I’d like to go back and do over. But would I be who I am today had I not learned those lessons the way I did? I don’t believe I would be. It is for this reason I am thankful for all that has happened in my life. Now, seriously, think about it. How are you living your life?        Dear christian… I’ve seen your instagram stories at Thanksgiving and Christmas. New years rolls around and we spout off words of how thankful we are for all the people in our lives and yadda yadda yadda. But, are you living with a thankful heart? If you were, what would you be doing? How might living with a thankful and joyful heart change your life for the better? Back to Pinterest, the number one thing I see people posting are ways to either improve your mental or physical state. You see all these self help advertisements on how taking a bubble bath and using this essential oil and getting a pet is going to make you a better person whos nicer, wiser, and more pretty. Granted, I would never knock down exercise because exercising create endorphins and endorphins make you happy and happy people just dont kill people(okay, theres my little Legally Blonde moment)  Man, sometimes I wish this program had emojis(shoulder shrug). Man I crack myself up!

ANNNNYWAYYSSS… What would happen if everyone in the world didn’t cheat on their spouse, didn’t have any run ins with the law, didn’t lie or steal or be selfish? The world would be a lot better place wouldn’t it? You know something else? They’d have a better life as a whole, but they’d still go to hell. Thats right. I said it. Hell. Big burning lake of fire. I say this nonchalantly but the truth of the matter is it is a very serious matter. Now then. How do all these things I’ve brought up, correlate together? Well, this is for you christians. If you were looking for your sign to get up and do something. This is It. We live in a broken world. Very broken. Shattered. But if you claim to love Jesus more than anything, prove it. RISE UP!!! RISE UP CHURCH! The time has come to put our boxing gloves on, step up to the mat and face Satan. When you wake up. WAKE UP WITH PURPOSE. When your feet hit the ground each morning the devil should be saying “oh no theyre up!” and trembling with fear because you know what? GOD IS ON YOUR SIDE! Do not let your fear get in your way. It’s time to step up, get out there and greet the day with a renewed passion. This is not my new years resolution to being a better christian. This is a NEW YEARS REVOLUTION. I want to see a fire for God start here in Meeker, Denver, America, and the World so large that the aliens on Mars will see it and think they have two suns. You get the point. This is it. We have to start living boldly. Living with confidence. But most importantly. Living with intention. When you read those statistics above, your heart should be weaping. You should be ready to move forward with the faith that God will give you the right words to say, and will guide your every step.  Read your Bible. The Bible says it is a two edged sword. When you engage in spiritual warfare you can bet your lucky stars the devil is going to be ready to put whatever fire you light up out. But there is one thing the devil cannot take away. Well, theres several, but a big thing is your salvation. He cannot take you from the fold of God. Cling tightly to Christ with everything you’ve got. Ministry is hard. Some would say it’s even tiring. As someone who does a lot of ministry work, I would have to agree it’s tiring. And there are days your heart breaks in such a way that only God can make sense of everything, but you know what I have found to be even more tiring?  Idleness. I get tired of sitting around feeling sad and not doing anything about it. It’s tiring to be living in the same cycle of sin. I do what I do because I love God and this is what He has called me to do. But I also do it because I have seen how truly beautiful life is. And man it breaks me to see that there are people even adults out there who have no idea how great their life really can be. Don’t you want to share that with others? Theres an accronym for JOY. If youre chasing after happiness, well honey, youre going the wrong way. Theres only one person who can bring real happiness and everlasting JOY. And that Jesus. Then start serving Others. and last is Yourself. 

This is it church. Be bold. Live with intention. Share Jesus. Lets light up the world and dance and shout and celebrate with the angels in heaven. Worship wholeheartedly. Stand amazed at God’s handiwork when you see the Sun rise. This is a New Years REVOLUTION. Get moving.

With all the love in the world, B.