Wednesday, May 21, 2014

saying yes // a guest post + a giveaway

***GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***
***WINNER IS DANIELLE R. CONGRATULATIONS!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GIVING BROOKE SO MUCH LOVE + FOR SUPPORTING OUR SHOP!!***

y'all. i could not be more excited to introduce you to my sweet friend brooke! we've known each other for years through our high school youth group + at baylor, but just reconnected over the last year or so through social media and our common love for africa and trying to live on fire for the Lord! she is awesomesauce, y'all. and she's dreaming big dreams of going overseas with noonday as the extra special blogger that gets voted to go by YOU!!!

you can vote here. all you do is click vote. you don't even have to put in your email!

be encouraged today. her post will bless you! and stay tuned for a little giveaway at the end of the post!



Hi friends, my name is Brooke.  I'm married to Freeland & we have 3 kiddos: River, Wylder, and Chapel. I just became an ambassador with Noonday and I'm really excited to see what the Lord is going to do through it! I blog about our life over here. We are also currently in the process of adopting through the foster care system here in Ohio.  I'm so excited to be doing a guest post with Becky! (because she is the sweetest EVER) She asked me to share my heart on saying “yes” to the Lord because we both deeply feel that the Lord is calling so many of us to start saying YES.
 

I feel so passionate about the way I see a movement of the Lord awakening desires, dreams, and passion in people. Its incredible and I'm so encouraged. But I also feel like He is going deeper and calling us to press in actually say YES to those dreams and passions too! I feel like I see Him calling us to know who we are as women, wives, mothers and friends and to also feel secure (that means-let go of your insecurities!!) and walk in freedom to know He created us a certain way for a certain purpose. The gifts, talents, passions and dreams we have are for a reason! The restless feeling we have is for a reason! The place we live and relationships around us are for a reason! Its as if He is sitting and waiting for us to just say yes.. and then pull open this curtain to show us all He has and then display His glory in all new ways.

I'm not a writer and I definitely don’t have the gift of teaching so all I know to do after praying about it, is to share what saying yes is currently looking like for me and my family!



For me, this has looked like such a journey and process of learning & knowing who I am & it is also knowing what the passions and dreams that I have are. Its taken me pressing in, paying attention and asking the Lord to show me those things or remind me of them. Then I think it is a matter of being brave enough to believe they are there for a reason and begin to speak them out loud and share them with people! The thing that has amazed me the most is how as I have begun to ask the Lord what He desires for my life and what my dreams and passions are, He has begun to mold my passions for the things that stir His heart and the things He is passionate about. I believe as we do this He begins to reveal His scripture and passions to us in such a new way! He opens our eyes to the world around us and breaks our hearts for the things that break His!

Saying yes, at times, has been an emotional moment of hearing from the Lord and surrendering and then saying yes.. but its not always this radical moment of hearing His voice or its not like there is always a burning bush in front of me. Sometimes saying yes is just simply walking in faith and obedience to what I read in His word or to the small nudge I feel. Through asking & submitting, He has birthed so many new desires in my heart. He had given me a desire to advocate and seek justice for those in poverty. He has given me a heart to give a voice to those who don't have one and share other peoples stories. He has given me a heart for our neighbors and for relationship with women all over. I just wonder what if I hadn't said yes? I know last night I would have been missing out on the revival happening right in front of me in our neighborhood.. and in the next few months Id be missing out on loving another child and seeing God restore my son or daughters life. Most days it feels like He has lit a fire in us. 


Here is the deal though, just to be real with you guys, sometimes saying yes for me also looks like this: being willing to let go of my comfortable and ‘easy’ life and allow the Lord to come all up in it and wreck it. Knowing that even though I may no longer be comfortable or have the simple life I once did - my life will now be filled with so much more joy and passion than I ever imagined. It does sometimes feels like I could easily say “never mind my life is just fine how it is” though and turn around and go back to it being simple. Instead I choose to know I was created for more and I choose to remember what the Lord said and be obedient to what He is calling me to.

I'm learning that I also have to make room in my life so I can say yes to the Lord... so it means that I have to know what to say no to as well. Saying yes doesn't mean I never doubt or question what the heck I'm doing. Honestly, I often question and doubt myself probably at least 80% of the time. It feels so much easier to believe lies most days than to know the truth. I constantly have to go back to the word and remind myself why I'm doing what I'm doing, and remember that God is who He says He is and God can do what He says He can do. I'm also finding that for me, its easy for me to say yes to the big things and believe God in those...but in the little things or in the things that make me uncomfortable its so much harder to be faithful! He constantly reminds me that my faith is not in myself... its in Him. This really has very little to do with me.

I'm so passionate and excited about this! I wish I could sit and share my testimony in person with each of you and hear all of your testimonies of how the Lord is moving in your life too. But I can encourage you and testify that God doesn't call certain people to say yes.. He calls ordinary, tired, lazy people like me to say yes! Saying yes to the Lord and the dreams He has given me is what has restored my life and my joy and relationship with Him! Its made my relationship with the Lord adventurous and real. I'm not sure what it looks like for each of us...maybe its saying yes to a job, a mission trip, taking care of your neighbor, finally getting together with that friend, forgiving someone, staying home with your kids, or maybe its saying yes to getting on your knees and praying for someone or even serving your husband better! Sometimes I feel like we just need to start somewhere...and that's half the battle! Even if its simple .. just say yes and move forward. Are you restless and unfulfilled? (like I was) Then go ask the Lord what to do...and then get even crazier and DO IT! Whatever it is or may be, I encourage you to say “yes” to that nudging you have from the Lord because when you do, I believe you will find it to be such an adventure you will wonder why you waited so long!

My favorite part of all of this is that us saying yes will allow someone else to be brave enough to say yes. Us saying yes will give your kids the ability to say yes one day!  I absolutely believe our dreams and passions will leave our children with greater destinies.  I cant imagine what the Lord will do with our generation of women (an Esther generation!) once we all start saying yes to our part and running our races that are put before us! It makes my heart pound when I see this vision of what He is doing all over. I feel like most importantly and one of the things I get the most excited about is cheering each other on.. and getting on our knees and praying for each other! I'd love to hear dreams and desires and passions each of you have that you've already said yes to or that you're about to jump in and say yes to! Lets all do it .. and lets all cheer each other on!

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thank you so much, brooke, for following God's call for your life! you lead by example and i love following your journey!


and in honor of her journey, i thought it would be fun to do a little giveaway from our therefore go collection!

today little branches is giving away this little 8x12 sign! enter to win using the rafflecopter entries below! **Winner will be announced Friday!!!** Good luck and remember to go give Brooke some love!!
 

26 comments:

  1. I'm going to say yes to playing with my kids more intentionally!

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    1. Yes!!! I think this is one I struggle with every day!

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  2. I am saying yes to spending more time with my children by letting go of my full time job for a part time one.

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    1. Sunny! This is SO hard. I will be praying for you!

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  3. Go Brooke! I've been voting daily for you. Love your heart!

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  4. I'm going to say yes by being more of a morning person...getting up early to workout and have quiet time more often, before the kids wake! I pray I can put God first and also remember to take time for myself!

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    1. Ashleigh! YES! My day runs so much smoother when I have a few minutes of peace and quiet with Him in the morning. Even if it's JUST five!!!! :) I promise it'll be worth it.

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  5. I said YES today to starting a food swap in my area. I'm not living in fear anymore for HE has made me brave!!

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  6. I am saying yes to my children more and saying yes to when I feel like God is calling me to do something, that may not be in my comfort zone.

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  7. I am saying yes to letting go of the comfortable and letting go of what I know in order to live by faith & not by sight.

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  8. I am going to say yes to loving my kids with all my being today!


    freebiegoddess03@aol.com

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  9. I'm going to say yes to living in the moment and not worrying about tomorrow.

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  10. I am going to say yes to forgiveness, as well as handing over my worries to the Lord because I can find refuge in Him.

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  11. Been praying for you Brooke and voting! I've recently said yes to taking time to get myself in shape, physically and spiritually.

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  12. I'm saying yes to go outside my comfort zone! I have so many plans and things I want to do and I'm ready to put them into action!

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  13. Sweet, sweet Brooke! Love watching your family and heart grow for the Kingdom. Praying and voting!

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  14. I love this. Im saying to adoption right now!!!

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  15. I love this.. Im saying yes to blogging and starting to write!

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  16. I'm saying yes to a van camping trip my husband has been dying to go on.

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