All posts tagged: encouragement

Get Out Of The Box!: A Challenge To Be Creative

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“You’ll never think outside the box if you are constantly looking inside someone else’s…Sometimes the most incredible imagination sparks from nothing.” ~CANDICE COATES We are all inspired by something or someone. This is the chain of life and it is a good thing. As King Solomon put it, “There is nothing new under the sun.” (ECCLESIASTES 1:9) The beauty of life is that with each passing of generation to generation, what was once ‘usual’ to the person stepping into eternity, becomes something ‘unique’ for the person who experiences it for the first time. The old and forgotten becomes new again. It is a beautiful thing to glean from the creative wisdom of others, but when we no longer allow our own imaginations to spark with new creative fire, because of the shackles of fear which tell us to play it safe, we are doing nothing more than regurgitating ideas. Our Lord Jesus spoke and created from nothing (HEBREWS 11:3) and in His goodness, He gave us the DNA to do the same. Creativity takes chances. Imagination …

Choose Your Own Adventure: Learning to Choose Christ’s Narrative Series Intro

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The Lord has given you a mission…a vision…a call…an impossible dream. You set out with courage to conquer the goal, but you are met with great resistance. Mountains stand in your way even though He has said He would make your pathway straight. Weapons form, drought consumes valleys in the place where He promised there would be rain. But He promised victory. So, now what? Do you walk by faith or do you rely on your sight? You are now faced with choosing your own adventure. Will you read the pages that the liar and enemy of your soul has penned or will you turn to the pages of Christ’s Truth written for you? Whose story will you make your own? CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE is a series dedicated to helping the Children of God trust Christ’s narrative for their lives, circumstances, and situations no matter how tempting it is to speak out and cling to the enemy’s. The challenge is real but the adventure is worth it! We just have to focus on the …

Start with Confidence: Start Here pt 3

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Several years ago, I had the pleasure of reading an article that introduced the concept of ‘dual idealism.’ Now, because it was so long ago I can’t quite remember which publication it was that I read nor if the phrase they used was ‘idea-ism’ or ‘idealism’, but for the sake of this moment, I am going to fly with ‘idealism.’ What the author of the article was addressing was the anxiety that many authors of fiction face when they have come up with a completely organic and original idea for a story plot, only to find out that someone else, on the other side of the world has been working on a project that sounds similar if not exact! What the author of the article wanted to drive home was that even though there may be similarity in thought that personal design makes each interpretation solely unique. When we are given an idea or vision from God and we embark on our faith journey to see it made manifest we too can find ourselves facing …

What It Takes: A Message For Success

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“It takes time to be a success, but time is all it takes.” ~UNKNOWN What we desire in this life, what we aim to achieve if it is truly a worthy and honest endeavor it is worth the time it will take to make it manifest. Don’t allow the progress of others to discourage you in your journey. You are in a race against only one person; yourself. The prize at the end of this race is having achieved your highest potential. This crown only fits your head. The choice is yours. Time is in your hands. Determine to take one step at a time. *Revised from November 6, 2015 *Photo by Leon Macapagal on Unsplash

Start with Fire: Start Here pt 2

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“We are on fire. Act now.” ~UKNOWN I saw an image of an activist with a sign that read, “We are on fire. Act now.” Instantly, the thought of the words of the Savior flickered into a flame in my heart. The scripture is Mark 9:35-38, which reads: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” What the Lord began to reveal to my heart in light of the sign and then the reminder of the scripture was twofold. ONE: The Lord was saying and is saying to all of us who know Him, that the people in the world are ready, right now, to hear about Him. They are thirsty for the …

Dare to Dream with God by Briana Lassiter

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“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” JEREMIAH 29:11 A few months ago I had an experience with God where He showed me a picture of Himself as a daydreamer and Author quietly sitting in His comfy chair, daydreaming about my character in His story He’s writing. The picture really changed my perception of God and challenged me to stop diminishing my own good daydreams and hopes and start recognizing them as unique desires He has placed within me for a purpose. Sometimes it’s very easy to ignore our dreams and hopes for ourselves based on our own disappointments or expectations not being met in the past, but God doesn’t want that for us, and in fact, says of Himself that He is the One who hopes and dreams up good things for His children! (JEREMIAH 29:11) I challenge you today to stop throwing away your whole dreams and hopes based on past disappointments and …

It’s Worth the Mess: 3 Reasons to Keep Creating

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Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly . . . until you can learn to do it well.” ~Zig Ziglar I have always been a believer that anything worth having is definitely worth fighting for. Having healthy relationships? Worth fighting for. Having security? Worth fighting for. Having victory in maintaining faith? Worth fighting for. I could go on and I am sure that you could add several things to the ‘worth fighting for’ list. But one thing I have often lost the fight in (because I didn’t show up) was in learning new avenues of creating. Why? Because more times than not I was afraid of failure. I wonder if you can relate. The thing about being a creative person–the thing about being human–is that the beginnings of all of our successes begin in a mess. We don’t begin walking with elegant or confident gaits. We fall and we scuff our hands and knees. The same is true for each and every creative venture that we embark upon. Our first drafts will likely be, well, garbage …

Enthusiasm Equals Greatness: A Quote & Encouragement

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*Revised from May 6, 2016 “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” ~RALPH WALDO EMERSON Whatever you set your mind to do be sure to do it with enthusiasm. People appreciate the spirit in which something is done more so than the actual doing. And in that shared spirit is true greatness. “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”     ~II COR. 9:6-7 The Word of God instructs us to be cheerful givers and to sow with purpose from our hearts. Great or small, a simple act of kindness, a story written, a picture painted, or even a glass of water, give it with enthusiasm. It is out of little seeds of enthusiasm sown that fruitful trees of greatness grow. *Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash ~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

A Merry Heart: The Gift of Laughter

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*Revised from May 20, 2016 “The most wasted of all days is the one without laughter.” ~E.E CUMMINGS Laughter, like food, is the one other universal language that every person on this planet not only enjoys but needs to survive. Laughter is the music that is never out of tune. It is the one song that we all can sing, and find ourselves singing along with even if we can’t explain why. Laughter is a gift, a precious gift given to us from Christ Jesus and one that we can give to others. It is a fire that burns nothing but calories! And who doesn’t like that? Laughter is priceless. Be sure to treasure it and share it with those around you. No day or heart is complete without it. “A merry heart does good like medicine…” ~PROVERBS 17:22 ~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Jesus, the Oil of Joy: A Poem by Briana Lassiter

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This is a poem about the symbolic oil of Joy that is made from Myrhh and only offers it’s sweet scent once it’s been crushed. Joy on the inside, joy from within. This is joy; the joy you win. Crushed and bruised, this is released, the oil of joy, the oil of peace. The joy You’ve put into me cultivated with care, now is released. It is all you, Jesus my joy. Strength, peace, confirming, fighting, killing, declaring. These are the things that joy enables when crushed beyond belief. This is it! This is the way, this is joy. A heart that is white, a heart that is clean, a heart that is trusting, what is unseen. Friendship and love, never-ending, not losing, This is the oil, pour it over everything *Photo by MI PHAM on Unsplash By Briana Lassiter I’m married to my dearest friend of 8 years and mom to an energetic 6-year-old. My greatest joys come from traveling with my little family, cooking for appreciative recipients, learning herbalism and natural medicine, and every experience I …