James Chapter One

James is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Today, I'd like to share some verses in the first chapter that stood out to me as well as what they mean to me. I'll be using the New King James Version. 

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James 1:2-6 "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into carious trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have it's perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." 

>>>This verse has always been hopeful to me... but also confusing. It says to count it all joy when in trials. Huh? When I'm in a trial, I usually just go into survival mode and don't really think about being joyful. Looking for joy in trials is so much harder. But then, it goes on to say that when our faith is tested (during the trials we face), that patience can grow in us. Patience is a virtue. In other words, trials can refine us. And make us better people on the other side. I like it when it says that we can ask God for wisdom. That He gives to us liberally (in generous amounts) and without reproach (disappointment). So, if we come to Him and ask for wisdom, He will give it to us freely. But-- there's a slight catch. We must ask with childlike faith. Because if we doubt that He can, then we don't really have trust in Him. 

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James 1:17,19,20 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation of shadow of turning.... So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

>>>Ah, I love this verse! God gives us gifts. And He is never changing! Then, in the next verses, it says how we should be swift to hear. (Meaning we should listen and regard those around us.) Slow to speak. (Meaning we should think about what we are going to say so that we don't say something we will regret.) And slow to wrath. (Slow to anger.) 

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James 1:22-27"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be. blessed in what he does. If anyone among you things he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

>>>Being a doer of the Bible means that you've heard it, but it doesn't stop there. You go out and apply the Bible's teachings into your every day life. God wants us to walk the walk, not talk the talk with no action of faith. It's interesting that this verse mentioned a mirror. I thought it was a pretty good analogy. Then, it talked about deceiving your heart. Maybe we tell ourselves things for so long but never fully live them. Or maybe we believe lies that we tell ourselves. 

In the last part of these verses, it talks about pure and undefiled religion. And along with the acts of kindness mentioned, I think the verses from above paved the way for this definition. Pure religion is finding joy in trials, practicing patience, believing God's promises that are never changing, acting on that belief, listening to those around us (selflessness), slow to speak, slow to anger, and kind to those around us, unspotted from the world. 

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What is your favorite verse in James chapter one? 

Do you have a favorite take away from the verses I've mentioned? 

What do you think is a virtue of those with pure and undefiled religion?

 Comment below! 

Many Blessings,

Brooklyne Elysse 

I Will Lift My Eyes // A Poem

I Will Lift My Eyes

Written by Brooklyne 

I will lift my eyes 

To the hills 

From whence comes my help?

My help comes

From the Lord 

Who made heaven and earth. 

I will lift my eyes 

To the One

Who is sovereignty 

For God has 

Supreme power

And shows loving kindness 

I will lift my eyes

To the heights 

For if God is for me

Who shall be 

Against me?

God has already won

I will lift my eyes

To Jesus 

The lamb of God who

Undeservingly  

Was slain for me 

A selfless sacrifice 

I will lift my eyes 

To my Savior 

Who rescues and saves

The weak, frail 

And weary 

He’s my anchor in the storm 

I will life my eyes 

From the waves 

And the wind so fierce 

For greater Hands 

Hold me than 

That which is in the world 

I will life my eyes 

To the Lord 

My Heavenly Father

Prince of Piece 

Deliverer 

From whence comes my help!

Psalm 121:1,2 NKJV

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills-- From whence comes my help? 

My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."

Sometimes I forget to "lift my eyes" to Jesus from all my worries and troubles. It's easy to get so absorbed in life happenings to forget to look up and know that God has already won the victory! This poem is to serve as a reminder to keep our eyes on Jesus amidst the storms in our life, He will never let you down. 

This poem reminded me of this song ^^ and I thought I would included it in today's post!  

What did you think of this poem? Was there a verse that stood out to you in some way? Have you heard the song "Look Up Child" by Lauren Daigle before? What are some ways that we can focus on Jesus more, and our worries less? I'll see you in the comments below! 

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(P.S. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TOMORROW! 
Check out last years Forth of July post HERE! And if you want, bake that cake I shared the recipe for... it's worth it, trust me! *winks*)

Mind Over Matter, Trust Over Fear

Good morning, afternoon, or night... wherever you are in the world! For today's post, I am going to be talking about my theme struggle. Basically, most of my devotions and poems are around this topic, because I am constantly struggling with it. It is my hope that you are able to apply this post to whatever you may be going through right now.

Last Wednesday I posted a poem (to read it, click HERE) talking about trusting and obeying in God's leading even when you feel inadequate for the job. To me, that poem was just a plea asking God to help me trust Him more with the unknowns in my life. Because I am still learning how to surrender my plans, my worries, my fears, etc. over to God. In this post, I am very real and sort of blunt. With that being said, this post is also very close to my heart and the main reason I am sharing it today is because I feel that this is a message that someone needs to hear.

~*~ 

Last year, we went on a vacation to Florida. On that vacation, my Dad spontaneously suggested that my family go parasailing (I mean, we are on a trip, so that means we must do something EPIC!) #havingadadwholikesadventure 

My first reaction was thinking these things: 
“Um, no thanks!”
“Count me out.” 
“Not really my thing.” 
“I’m not that adventurous.” 
“Turtles and dolphins, sure. But FISH! SHARKS! JELLYFISH!???”
“No, no, and NO! 

Yeah, so parasailing was way outside of my comfort zone. It was unknown to me because I had never ever done anything like it before. To be honest, I’d rather not get eaten by a hungry shark! So, to play it safe, I was planning on not going and just watching my little sister and dad do it. 

But my “play it safe” plan soon changed as I got to thinking. I started wondering if it could end up being fun, and by playing it safe, would I miss out on a super fun activity? Would I look back on that vacation and wish I had stepped out of my comfort zone and just went parasailing? After all, you are attached to the boat! What could go wrong? (Of course, multiple things to do with sharks and jellyfish popped into my head, but sometimes you have to stop yourself when you start to make up detailed stories of what could go wrong. Because that is what they are—made up…) 

Eventually, I decided to give it a try. We ended up finding a place that did parasailing, and reserved a spot for the next day. That night, I was getting really nervous and almost backed out, but me and my older sister were going to do it together (Who knew you could go two at a time!), so that made me feel a little better. 

The next morning, we arrived at the place, and I was crossing my fingers that it would go smoothly. But then, I saw a video of some other people parasailing. And in that video, they were really close to the water, like, um, their feet were in the water! Now I was really nervous, I did NOT want to get dragged in the water! 

Thankfully, for the rest of the “adventure,” I was able to let go of my worry and really enjoy myself. Mind you, I was praying very earnestly!

The boat ride was fast and bumpy, which was really fun, and we saw mama and baby DOLPHINS! The actual parasailing was a blast! Once you were up in the air, it was amazing to see so much from that far up! We saw all sorts of jellyfish and even sharks up there… (my dad and little sister even saw a sea turtle!) It was both scary and so much fun! We did get put down in the water for a second before the ride was over, but it was a short time (only long enough for me to get a mouthful of salt water from screaming/squealing!)

After it was over, I was SO glad I had gone! We even bought the picture packet, so we have proof that we went parasailing and survived!  

Have you ever let fear control a decision? Have you ever just “played it safe” and stayed in you comfort zone? That zone where you don’t have to rely on your Trust in God? 

^^ I know I have definitely answered affirmatively to each of those questions before. It’s hard to not fear the unknown. That is so human nature, isn’t it though? 

I think so many times we stay in that place where we are comfortable. We don’t want to step out because there are too many “what if’s.” If we are uncertain of the outcome, we most likely won’t push ourselves out of that constricting comfort zone. And one of the reasons why we do this, is because we put our trust in ourselves all too often when we should be putting our trust in the capable hands of God. 

When we trust only ourselves, our comfort zone is controlled by how we feel. We know what we are capable of doing from past experiences, and when there is something new (like going parasailing) we worry and doubt in our ability, letting our comfort zones hold us back. We are the ones who have created our comfort zones. 

When we trust God, there is no such thing as a comfort zone. If we truly are surrendering our worry over to God, and letting Him control the outcome of a certain situation, then there is no comfort zone to hold us back. We only trust and obey. 

As hard as it is, I think it is so important to NOT let our fear and comfort zones control us. Because if we let this happen, we would never grow. It’s like exercising: no pain, no gain. If you never work your muscles, you will not get stronger. Sure, you will be sore in the "growing" process, sometimes it’s down right painful. But in the end, you are stronger because of it. 

Likewise, if we never exercise stepping out of are comfort zones, those boundaries we set for ourselves will never get bigger, only smaller. Yes, it will be scary. It might be terrifying. You might take a chance, and it won’t work out right. It’s not guaranteed to work out perfectly. But by stepping out of your comfort zone, you will learn and you will grow because of it! 

Don’t be confined to the boxes, labels, and comfort zones you put yourself in. Comfort zones might feel safe, but trust me, they aren’t. If anything they are dangerous. Because by having a comfort zone that somehow “justifies” not doing something that God has put in His will for you, you are saying that you trust yourself over God. 

God has a perfect plan for you. He promises to be with you through it all, but our comfort zones act as barriers that the Enemy has placed in our way to slow down God’s plan. 

So if I know this truth, why do I still let my comfort zone control me with fear? I don’t know. But what I do know it that I want to get better at saying “no” to my comfort zone and saying “yes” to my trust in God alone. WE are all a work-in-progress. And I will be the first to admit that I let my fear and comfort zone (that I, myself, have created) to make my decisions for me. Not all the time, like when I went parasailing, but a whole lot of other times I have decided to opt out of something because I was scared. 

I can tell myself all that I want, but the truth is the truth. 

I can say: I am a introvert, I’m too quiet, or that I’m so awkward. These are “boxes” that I use as excuses (and most of the time I use them negatively.) The thing is, maybe I am some of these, but these adjectives are not my identity. My identity is found through Jesus Christ. 

The real truth is: I am chosen, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I am His. This is who I am. 

I’m not saying that we should never use the words that put us in labeled boxes to describe our personalities, I’m saying we should not use these words to define who we are as children of God. We are all so unique and original. 

So I am encouraging each of you (and me) to trust God with your future and decision making. Listen to His voice, not your own voice that lets the comfort zone rule you. Pray about it, and then if you are persuaded that it is what God is prompting you to do, take that step of faith. 

Trust that He will be with you every step of the way.  
Trust that He will be your Guide.  
Trust that He will be with you if you fall. 
Trust that He will be with you to pick you up when you do.

Because if we trust in ourselves and rely on our own fears, we will never know God’s outstanding plan-- the plan that blows our comfort zones clear out of the water! His plan is so much greater and so much better than we could ever begin to understand! 

Here are a couple pictures of our parasailing adventure!

Psalm 18:30-32

"As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect."

Do you struggle with letting your fear stop you from taking that step of faith? (You're not alone!) What do you do when you want to trust God but can't let go? How have you stepped out of your comfort zone this week? How can I pray for you? Even if it is a silent request, let me know and I will definitely be praying! 

Lets talk in the comments below! <3

For You, Lord // A Poem

For You, Lord

Written by Brooklyne 

How far would I go for You, Lord?

How much would I suffer for You? 

How long will I be faithful to You? 

How much would I give for You? 

Would I travel 9,429 miles, for You? 

To be a light, the salt of the earth

To stop looking at me and start looking at You

Telling those I’m around about Your goodness and mercy

Will I take that leap of faith, for You? 

Way outside of my comfort zone 

For a chance to be Your hands and feet

To a place of my fear and unknown

Would I stop doubting and start having faith, for You? 

Then I could stop fearing the giants 

And start hearing your calm reassurance

Listening only to your promise that You will never leave me

Is it truly the Cry of My Heart to follow You?

When following You means being different

When following You means surrendering self

When following You means Your will, not mine

~*~

How far would I go for You, Lord? 

How far would I go it to bring one person closer to You?

How far will I take up my cross and follow you? 

How far will I be a soldier, for You?

Lord, please give me what it takes to travel 1,000,000,000,000+ miles, for You

Give me the strength for when I suffer for Your names sake

Give me courage when I step out of my comfort zone, following Your will 

Give me words, when I have none 

Lord, please give me what it takes to serve You 

Give me comfort when I’m hurting

Give me calmness and peace when I’m frazzled

Give me enough faith to trust in Your plan

Lord, take away my selfishness and worldly ambitions 

Take away my doubt in Your plan

Take away my worry that things will go wrong

Take away my fretting

Lord, take away sinful nature that always is searching to satisfy

Take away my bad habits that cripple me to do Your work

Take away fear of the unknown

Take away my stubborn micromanaging 

~*~ 

Lord, I know you will give me my every need

For look at the Lillies of the Field.

Help me to trust in your faithfulness.

Be my guide and my strength. 

So when I wonder how far I will go for You,

Remind me how far you went for me.

You left Your throne for me

You suffered for me

Lord, You came to this earth to die for me.

Because You love me

Because You care

Because You are faithful

Jesus, thank You for all You have gone through… for me. 

This poem is very raw and has special meaning to me. I wrote this because I was inspired by a friend when I saw how God was working in her life. 

So in a way, this poem is dedicated to her. <3

 This poem talks about following and obeying God's guidance even when we don't necessarily feel ready or don't feel good enough for the calling. But I think we have to realize that we don't have to be ready in order for God to work in our lives and in others. He want's us to come to Him now. Even when we don't feel ready. Even when we don't feel good enough, because God is enough. And it's when we feel like we can't make much of a different when God really shows you that indeed, you can.

Maybe God is calling you to witness to someone right now. So I'm encouraging you to take that step of faith and give it to God. Send that text. Smile to that person who always looks lonely. Talk to that friend. Write that Bible verse on a sticky note. Play that musical instrument. Be that light for Him. Because no matter how small the light, a bright light can be seen from thousands of miles.

The opportunities are endless when we let God write our story! So let Him. 

Matthew 5:13-16 NKJV

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp-stand and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and 

glorify your Father in heaven."

Because this poem was deep, was it hard to understand? (Sorry if it was, sometimes you just have to write what's on your heart even if it doesn't make much sense...) How are ways that we can shine His light to those around us? 

What has God been teaching you this week? 

Share your thoughts in the comments! <3 

That Moment When Life is Like a Roller Coaster

That moment when you wait in line, not sure of what the roller coaster is going to be like. 

That moment when you fasten your seat belt. 

That moment when you say a prayer. 

That moment when it starts off.

That moment when you start your slow climb to the top of a steep incline.

That moment when your almost to the top. 

That moment when you want off the ride… right now!

That moment when the roller coaster goes from strait up to strait down. 

That moment when your hanging on for dear life. 

That moment when you can't breath. 

That moment when you scream.

That moment when you raise your arms up.

That moment when the rides over in a second.

That moment when you laugh.

That moment when you go and ride it again.

Roller coasters go up and down, right and left, upside down and right side up. They might seem unpredictable, but really, they are mapped out and planned to go wherever it’s tracks take them. When riding a roller coaster, you might be having the time of your life, you might be scared for your life, or both. 

I think roller coasters are fun, but don’t ask me to go on one that goes upside down. Nope, no thanks, I would rather live a nice and long life.

Some rides make me dizzy, others, I want to ride over and over again. Some rides I am terrified while on them, but when its over, I’ll think that it was super fun! 

I guess what I’m trying to say is, just like the roller coaster goes up and down, right and left, upside down and right side up, so does our emotions when we are on them. 

Isn't this so much like life is? 

That moment you are waiting, not sure of what’s ahead.

That moment you are getting ready.

That moment you are saying a prayer.

That moment you are starting a new season in life.

That moment you are moving slow, but you know that it won’t always be this way.

That moment when you feel like you are on the top of the world.

That moment when you regret a decision.

That moment when life plummets strait down at record speed.

That moment when you are hanging on for dear life.

That moment when it hurts so bad.

That moment when you scream.

That moment when you finally are joyful.

That moment when you are out of the woods.

That moment when you laugh.

That moment when it starts all over again.

Although your life might feel unpredictable and scary at times, always remember that God laid out your life's tracks. He built it and mapped it out just for you, and His ways are always better than what any man-made plan can even begin to compare too.

Enjoy where you are on this crazy roller coaster ride they call life. Because one day you’re going to look back on all that you have been through, all the times that flew by so fast. Times that were fun and times that were terrifying. When that season in life is over, you might even miss it, wishing it back.

Life is like a roller coaster. Take the chance, pray always, and cherish ALL of the ride, both highs and lows. Trust Him with the outcomes of each situation.

Stay rooted to the “tracks” that God has made for you, and thank Him for the carefully laid plan that He has for you, because when we are following God’s plan for us, there is no limit that is too high or too hard for us. 

Do you like roller coasters?

Can you see how roller coaster rides and life are so much alike? 

How can we enjoy this ride, even if it's hard? How can I pray for you? 
Let's talk!