How?

In my last blog, we talked about living, not necessarily a “balanced life,” but living in Rhythm…focusing on others and seeing beyond our own “bubble.” This week, I would like to talk about how that is possible – how we have the power to live beyond ourselves.

I’ve been reading “Forgotten God” by Francis Chan and I highly recommend it as a must-read for every believer. It speaks to the person of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Spirit in and through us on a continual basis to produce not only the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, but to produce true and lasting change – the “something” that sets us apart from the world.

Chan quotes A.W. Tozer in his first chapter entitled “I’ve got Jesus. Why do I need the Spirit?,” saying “We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves with the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone….[We] have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost.”

So many times, we imitate what the world prioritizes in our own lives and then try to “add in” a little Jesus or a little Holy Spirit and expect our lives to look different, feel different or be different than those around us.

Romans 8:9 says that “You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”

Many of us know about the Holy Spirit, but when it comes to experiencing the Spirit in your life it’s a different story. Take a minute and reflect on the last time you undeniably saw the Spirit at work around you. If you can think of a recent experience, take some time and thank God for moving in and around you, but if you can’t, maybe it’s because you’ve been ignoring the Spirit, having a lot of head knowledge about Him, but not much of a relationship.

To quote Francis Chan, who I think puts it best, “It is an astounding truth that the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. He lives in me. I do not know what the Spirit will do or where He’ll lead me each time I invite him to guide me, but I am tired of living in a way that looks exactly like people who do not have the Holy Spirit of God living in them. I want to consistently live with an awareness of His strength. I want to be different today from what I was yesterday as the fruit of the Spirit becomes more manifest in me.”

My prayer for each of you, as beautiful women of God, is that you will pursue the Holy Spirit of God who lives in you and be continually filled with His presence, His peace, and His purpose every day; that you would not just survive in your marriage, career, home, or ministry, but that you would FLOURISH!

“How do you balance it all?”

Ladies, you had some great questions!

Let’s start with the one that was most asked: “how do you balance it all?”

Sometimes, I think it might be nice if there was a simple formula, a 1+1= a balanced schedule kind of thing, but, you know what? That would be boring! There is no set formula because you are unique, the gifts and calling and season God has you in are unique. And that is beautiful!!!

In the midst of our beautiful, full lives I would love to give you a few practical thoughts that have helped me:

1) Time with God is a daily necessity. We each need God. I need God to be the wife I am called to be. I need God to be the mother I am called to be. You need God to be the woman He has called you to be in every area of your life. My time with God is a daily necessity. I need His perspective. I need His paradigm. I need Him to live out the abundant life and purpose He has called me to.

2) Seek first the Kingdom of God. I shared a message on this very point at our recent women’s conference, Summer Splash. It’s easy to get caught up in all of the details of our lives and lose sight of the things God has called us to. It’s also easy to make a change, to gain God’s perspective and start reaching out to those around you. You can watch the message here:

3) Live in rhythm. Balance isn’t the goal! There’s a good chance that the minute you finally get everything figured out, Christmas is around the corner and the family is coming in town, except your sister just realized she can’t host your grandparents, and the kids are sick, and Jenny has a final project and could you please make all the homemade pies and figure it all out? There is a rhythm to life, a natural changing of the seasons. My husband started out our year at Milestone preaching on this very subject. You can watch the message here:

4) Learn how to say no. This one is the hardest for us women! We love to help and care for others and be involved and it always seems like a worthy cause and the right thing to do but sometimes the best thing for everyone (you, your husband, your kids, the person you want to serve) is for you to just say no. The enemy of great is often good. What are some things that are good but keeping you from great? What do you need to say no to?

I hope this helps and empowers you to tackle the busyness! I’m excited to see all that God has for us as we put Him first, seek His kingdom first, learn to live life in rhythm and learn to say no.

Please feel free to keep posting questions! What else would you ask if we were sitting across the table from each other at our favorite coffee shop?

Summer Splash 2010…WOW!

What an amazing time at Summer Splash!  Starting with Friday night, just seeing everyone show up with great anticipation and hearts prepared to hear God , followed by our amazing worship team and then our phenomenal guest Speaker, Holly Wagner, was awesome.  Even the rain couldn’t put a damper on our night!  Saturday was just as wonderful, starting with the hilarious Swagger Wagon skit and then ending with the tear-jerking cardboard testimonies (yes, this pregnant woman was crying!)  I was truly so thankful, as I looked across the stage and through the crowd and saw all of the many, many Milestone women who are making a difference in the lives of others every day!  I am so proud of each and every one of you…my heart fills with joy when I think about the impact you are making on others as you walk out the Isaiah 52:7 and Isaiah 61 scriptures.

I hope that every one of you left the conference knowing that you can be the hands and feet of Jesus and knowing that your life makes a difference.  As the body of Christ, we always want to represent Him well, and I know that you do day in and day out.  If this was the first time you have ever heard that or believed that your life and love toward others can make a difference, I pray that you will make the decision to step out…that you will run with vision, and walk in love and compassion!

Thanks so much to all the volunteers that made this past weekend possible!  Literally, there were hundreds of men and women who sacrificed their time, talent, resources and energy to make Summer Splash a refreshing and wonderful time for the women of our church and our community!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

The response for the shoe tree and the school supply packets has been tremendous and I am so thankful that the kids who receive these blessings will know that someone loved and cared enough to step in and make a difference.  By the way, we have extended the school supply drive through this Sunday.  If you haven’t taken part in one of the mission projects and still want to, pick up a packet at the church office this week.

Stay tuned as I begin to address some of your questions in the next few days!

With Much Love,

Brandy

New Beginnings!

The other day, I was thinking about how much I would absolutely love to be able to sit in a coffee shop and talk about what’s going on, what God’s doing in your life, and what’s next. However, I know with our crazy schedules, between raising children, grocery shopping, soccer practice, baseball practice, making our house a home, date night, and all the wonderful things we have going on at church, that’s not quite possible. In the midst of my musings, I realized a blog might be a good way to start the conversation. So, the purpose of this blog is to bring women together, to connect and pursue all that God has for us as a community, online and in life.

I am passionate about women realizing their value, contributing to the body of Christ and making divine connections with other women. Even more so, my heart is that you would meet Jesus in a real way, embrace and love womanhood in the fullest essence of femininity, reach your full potential in Christ, and be equipped to reach out to others.

Life is full of surprises, adventures, lessons and laughs. I am hoping this will be a place we can share our experiences and wisdom. I cannot wait to hear your thoughts!

So, if we were sitting across from one another at our local Starbuck’s, what would you like to know about me? What questions would you like answered in this blog? What would you want to talk about?