Genie In A Bottle

Currently I am reading the book of Exodus, and have been in the story of Moses and all of the plagues on Egypt. Chapter 9 verses 27 -30 & 34 - 35 just rung in my heart.

27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “TheLord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”

29 Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to theLord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is theLord’s. 30 But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.”...

34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

You see all I could think about was how when we're going through something and our lives are a mess we tend to cry out to God. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. God wants us to cry out to him. It's the second part of this scripture that rings so loudly. After Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail had stopped, then hardened his hearts again.

How many times have we been going through something in our lives and we desperately want God to step in and intervene and clean everything up. He does, then we take back control. We only want to surrender our mess to him, not our entire lives. This whole mindset of God as our own personal genie in a bottle is so upsetting.

Have you ever had a friend or knew someone who was bad about using people? Maybe they used you to help them out of a situation or circumstance and just as soon as everything was all better they bolted. You probably won't hear from them again until there is another problem. How does that make you feel? Used. Worthless. Unimportant. That is the same thing that we do to God so many times.

Thankfully enough our God is a God of grace, love and forgiveness. He holds no grudge against us and only wants the best for us. So if you can relate to Pharaoh and you know you haven't completely surrendered over your life into the hands of the one who created it, there is no better time than right now to do so!

All you have to do is talk to him. He knows your heart. Be encouraged! Be set free! Be awakended into your destiny!

~Awaken Us~

Brenna Stanford

Awakening: An Open Book - Unify!

You know, I am not "educated" in theology or anything like that. I do not even have a college degree. What I do have is a personal relationship with my Father, Savior and Comforter. I gain the majority of my knowledge from the Bible, the book that is alive and active and speaks to me.

One thing that I have seen and heard over the past several years of being in church is the great dispute between discipling and saving all people. My question is why on earth is there even a dispute between them?! Both are biblical. What I've seen are the 2 types of people, the 2 different callings and passions. There are those who are called to go out and to speak to whoever they can wherever they can and the goal is to bring forth an encounter with Jesus Christ and in that reap a soul into the kingdom of God. Then there are those whose purpose is to take those who have encountered Christ and teach them how to grow and mature spiritually. Both of these types of people are right! Neither is wrong! Jesus came to seek and saved the lost. He also commanded us to go make disciples in all nations, meaning of all people.

What I am getting frustrated with is the competition or "I'm right and you're wrong" bickering that is going on between the 2 groups of people. If you are called to teach are you telling those who are called to sing that they're wrong?... NO! We are the body of Christ. 1 body, many parts. That's it. God created us all specifically to have different callings.

So why don't we please get over ourselves and our pride and stop worrying about someone else's calling and worry about our own? If we can do that then we can glorify God in the calling that he has placed on our own lives. If you are called to speak to thousands in order to seek and saved the lost than do that with all that is in you!!! If you are called to disciple and teach a smaller group, than do that with all that you are!!! Quit fussing at each other and bringing division into the body of Christ!

God is calling each and every single one of us to awaken into our destinies. He wants us to rise up and move! Move in what you've been given. Move toward his goal of reaching and loving all people. Do it in the manner that he has called you to! Let's unify together under Christ and really make an impact!

~Awaken Us~
Brenna Stanford

Awakening to Grace

Awakening: An Open Book 

I have recently been reading in Genesis. Over the past couple of days I have read Jacob's story. In this I have realized that God's grace is shown even in the old testament. 

I am a new testament girl, Jesus says do this, don't do this, show love, serve others, etc. The old testament is hard for me because it's just stories. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, it's just more difficult for my comprehension. But God has used Jacob's story to show me a new realization of something I already knew.

Don't you just live when that happens?! It's like a bookshelf. The shelf is the foundation and what holds the things. Overtime if we don't take everything piled up on the shelf and wipe it off, dust can settle and we can forget what the shelf looks like, it's true color. God does this to me all the time. He takes off all of the other beliefs and ideas I've piled on top of my foundation and gets all the dust off so I'm reminded of the real color of the fundamental truth.

I was saved only by God's grace through his son Jesus Christ. So that fundamental truth of grace and it's awesomeness is inside of me. A part of my personality that has existed for as long as I have has been my very black & white, right & wrong understanding. Even though I received grace, I hadn't ever fully understood it. I still don't think anyone can fully understand grace. But one area that I have struggled in is viewing actions and wondering why God doesn't react in a certain way. Reading all of the mess-up's and mishaps of Jacob I began to question and ask God why he still blessed him and why Jacob was still prosperous. I just could not understand.

Through all of that and some situations and circumstances in my life God began to show me that his grace is bigger than any sin we can ever commit. That he will continue to pour out his grace on everyone so that those who don't know him will know him and those who do will be taken care of. We are all his children that he loves so dearly. Yes God does HATE sin and we get punished for our mistakes, but the punishment does not equal the end of our lives or the end of God's love for us. Grace, it's our second chance, our third chance, our ga-zillionth chance.

If you are struggling in accepting God's grace today, then please let this be a reminder of the true meaning of grace, LOVE. Let us all be awakened in our souls of how much we are loved and looked after. Let us accept this grace and go forward with our lives and our hearts seeking after God and all his desires!

Have a great day!

~Awaken Us~
Brenna Stanford

How Long Will You Work for What God Has Promised?!

One of my goals is to read the Bible in a year. In doing this I am reading.in Genesis. Today I read the stories of Jacob and how he built his family. [Chapters 28-31] I remember the last time I read those stories and thinking his father-in-law cheated him multiple times! This time it was something else that stuck out to me.

In verse 41 of chapter 31 Jacob says "It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times." If you just rake that as face value then all that stands out is dude got his wages changed a lot.

Don't forget what God sent him there for, to get a wife. All Jacob was supposed to go do was get a wife and bring her back to the place of his father. In his mind I'm.sure he's thinking like a week or 2 weeks tops! Instead he ended up raising his family there.

I wonder how many of us have been in a place, are in a place or is about to be in a place like that. A place where God says go here and do this and we are picturing it taking "X" amount of time, when really the place God is sending us to will take 20 years of hard work...

You see Jacob didn't just go and hang out for 20 years, he worked his tail end off! And was cheated multiple times out of what he was told he was going to receive. You know he had to have thought more than once 'what have I gotten myself in to?!' But he kept on, there is no record of him getting upset with God because it was taking too long or he was being cheated. He just kept on working and God gave to him what was his.

Are you in that place right now?! You're in that place of obeying God and listening to his commands, staying strong and enduring. Doing it all because of a promise he gave to you once. That promise might have been given a few months ago or a year. Maybe even 20 + years ago. How long will you wait for God? Will you choose to endure until the end?! Remember the promise! Genesis 28:15 God promises Jacob, and you and I, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Abide in that today!

~Awaken Us~
Brenna Stanford

Stand Firm!

Check out this song! And this one!!

I just want to take this time to encourage every body who is going through a storm or facing some sort of difficult time right now. Stay strong! Stand firm!

God has the victory for you! Sometimes the most beautiful sunrises come after the darkest night! If you're in a shadow, know it's because there is light on the other side. No matter how hard or how long it is in that place, there is a victory for you! Just keep holding on, Stand Firm! Don't give up!

Below is a list of scripture to keep in mind!

Exodus 14:13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance theLord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.

2 Chronicles 20:17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

Psalms 40:2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

Proverbs 10:25 When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.

Mark 13:13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Luke 21:19 Stand firm, and you will win life.

1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

Philippians 1:27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel

James 5:8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.


I hope you feel encouraged! Your mind will be the biggest part of the battle. You have been given control over it. You get to decide what you will think. So think and focus on the promises of God, not the appearance of circumstances!

~Awaken Us~
Brenna Stanford

An Open Book

One thing I have never been good at is painting a pretty portrait and letting everyone believe that is the real picture. Growing up this got me in trouble with my parents. I guess I have always been a very very open person. An open book if you will.

So here I am. I want to be able to share the struggles or successes I have. If anything that I go through, good or bad, can help someone else then why not?

If you have been keeping up with my posts you know that I am newly married and expecting a son! This is our second year of marriage and we are by no means experts. This is also our first child and neither of us have ever been parents, so we definitely don't have all of the answers for parenting!

Before I was married I was an intern turned into an employee at my local church. All of my identity was found in God and Life Church. All I did was study the Word and spend time with God, weather I was serving in an area of the church or if I was study the word! So that was all my days consisted of.

Then I got married and we bought a home and now we're expecting a son. With that comes growing a relationship with your spouse, keeping your home clean and preparing for your child. All of these things take time out of your day. None of them are bad things, but it has been very difficult for me to find the balance in putting effort into those things and still putting time into my relationship with God. It's been trial and error, so far more error than success.

Recently I texted my pastor/ brother-in-law questioning how to figure out a balance in all of this. I wanted the response to consist of a minute by minute break down of a typical day and how much time I should put into this task or that one in order to have the most time with God, in prayer and studying the word. This was not what I got back.

Through those types of talks with people I respect I have come to the realization that I cannot compare my life now to my life then. My identity is not only who I am in Christ now, my identity is also Zack's wife and soon our son's mother. My life has changed a lot. In this my daily routines and schedules will change. But I serve a God who is with me at all times. I serve a God who I can constantly pray to. My spirit calls out to his. Serving him does not only consist of things I do in the church, but also submitting to my husband and being his helper. I serve God when I take care of my home and my family.

So if you are going through a change in your life, don't feel bad or condemned if you can't spend 3 hours a day in the word or prayer anymore. Know that our worship to God is also taking care of the things he has given us and doing our tasks with an attitude of worship!

~Awaken Us~
Brenna Stanford

Awakening - What Can We Do?!

Awakening - What Can We Do?!

As I was getting ready the other day my brain was thinking about all that the upcoming days would hold. One of which was a meeting between multiple churches. So my brain began to spiderweb itself into thought about all of the churches we have locally. With those thoughts also came the reminders of how divided our community is because of the how the churches differ in some doctrinal beliefs. I did not go to Bible College. I have never studied theology or the doctrines of specific churches. You would be right in saying that I am uneducated in these fields. I will not deny that.

The book I have studied is the Bible. I have yet to read it through, front to back or cover to cover. Over the past 4 years of my salvation I have studied the word of God and the teachings of Jesus. I do have a close personal relationship with my Savior, my God and the Holy Spirit. I am confident in that. Even though I, nor anyone else, do not and will never be able to understand and comprehend fully all there is to know about God or have all of the answers, I know the character of my God.

Because of this I know that I can stand today on my belief that doctrines and fundamental beliefs are good, they are not the answer to who will or will not go to heaven. Doctrines came about because different people believed a little differently than some others. There is not one person on this planet who can answer for God and say that person is going to heaven or hell. We have never been given that place to judge. We will never be given that. You see God looks at our hearts. He knows who he does and does not have a relationship with.

We, as the body of Christ have got to be unified together. We have to put away our differences and decide to come together and stand on the fact that we know and believe that Jesus is the son of God who came to the earth as man and lived a sinless life. That he was beaten and died to carry the weight of our sins and over come death and hell to be resurrected into heaven again with God. All of this so that we can be saved and live under the grace of God.

Psalms 133

How good and pleasant it is

when God’s people live together in unity!

It is like precious oil poured on the head,

running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron’s beard,

down on the collar of his robe.

It is as if the dew of Hermon

were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the Lord bestows his blessing,

even life forevermore.

This scripture says it all. How pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity! It is THERE (in unity) that the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore! We have to decide if we are going to be a part of this New Thing that God is doing by putting aside our differences and making the choice to live in unity. Unity is defined as the state of being united or joined as a whole; harmony or agreement between people or groups. This doesn't say that unity is just putting up with one another. Just in my little town in Southeastern Oklahoma God has been and continues to create these divine appointments that can play a role in creating unity. 

So what will you choose? Will you sit back and continue to stand on your disagreements and watch as God begins this new revolution? Or will you decide to do as God's word commands and make a conscious choice to live in unity with others and be a part of the Awakening?! The choice is yours!

~Awaken Us~

Brenna Stanford