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

TheChallenge pt. 2

Do you remember my post at the beginning of the year titled "The Challenge"? Well here is an update. Doing something for 30 or 60 days straight is hard! I have not yet succeeded.

We are creatures of habit, good ones and bad ones. We are also people who fill our days. So no matter what it is filled with (sleep, tv, work, etc.) those things are our habits. In order to add a new one we must subtract from an old one. That is where we find most of the trouble.

So if you have been attempting a challenge I want to encourage you to not give up! Also a 30 day challenge does not have to start on the 1st of a month, it can start today. Don't give up! Keep trying! The bible says a righteous man will fall seven times and still get back up.

Good luck!

~Awaken Us~
Brenna Stanford

A Little Story for You

Recently a conversation about God and church arose between me and another person. They quickly began to quiz me asking why it is okay to go see a movie if there is a scene with some nudity or a couple of cuss words when pornography and cussing is wrong. This conversation snowballed. Every answer I had they picked away to try to find a fault in it. Every example I gave they shot one right back except more extreme and wanted to know the difference.

When one question was posed and the only answer I had was that we don't have the qualifications or the ability, much less the place to say if someone will go to heaven or hell. That was not good enough for them. It was this very black or white thing to them based upon your actions.

I became frustrated and upset. I didn't have the answers for them. What answers I did have they picked away and found fault in. I felt very frustrated because I know in my depth what I believe is not faulty, but I could not find the words to show them. Then I became upset thinking about how I just messed that conversation up. I couldn't show them or tell them what I know.

I spent the next little bit thinking about this. Every detail of it and asking God questions. I desperately wanted to be able to explain all of this. I relaized that there is a LOT I do not know. I also realized that this person was basing my faith and relationship with God off of acts by humans.

It's not about what you can and can't do. If that is the concern or the focus then you won't find the answer. Christianity isn't about a list of rules, do this and don't do that. Christianity is about a relationship, not a religion.

When you meet someone you don't start the conversation off by telling them that you'll be their friend and they can be yours but here is a list of things you can do and a list of things you can't do. It is the same with God. He is not asking you to do all of these things or quit doing those things before he will be your friend.

God simply wants you to ask him to be your friend, your savior, your father. Your God.

Yes in a relationship with God you will soon find there are things that you don't do anymore. You will also find that there are things that you will start doing. This is not because someone is forcing you. It is because there is a part of you that doesn't want to do those things or that wants you to do them. All of that will come in time and won't be forced on you by any person.

All God asks is that you would accept him, his son and his spirit. He wants you to gibe up your entire life to him so that he can make it better! You do that by simply saying, 'God I need your help. I give you control of my life. I believe that you are God and sent your son to die for me. I believe that you raised him from the dead and that he know lives in me.'

Driving Without Any Lights

Have you ever been driving at a time of day where it's not really dark outside but not really bright out either? The past couple of days have been like that around here because it has been rainy and dreary outside. During this time I have noticed that 99.999% of the people have their lights on, but there is always that .001% that doesn't. So I began to wonder why don't you have your lights on?

Why Are You Driving Without Any Lights?

I began to think about this. There had to be some sort of explanation! I began to ask the questions, Did you forget? Are you completely unaware? and Are they broke? If you are anything like me then your mind spiderwebs from one thing to another based on even the smallest of similarities or associations. Although, this time my thought spider webbed themselves into asking further questions.

Did You Forget?

Did you simply forget to turn them on? Were you too busy rushing around to remember to turn on you lights? Or is it that you can see fine, so you didn't think to turn them on or didn't think it was necessary?

Are You Completely Unaware?

Do you even know that you are driving around without your lights on? Did you think they were the automatic ones that came on when you started your vehicle? 

Are They Broke?

If your lights are broke then how did they get that way? What happened to them?

Life Happens. So many times this is the answer to the What happened? question. When you go through life just driving along trying to not speed or hit anyone you may get stuck behind a big dump truck that's full of stuff. When out of no where they hit that pot hole in the road and out from their truck flies some rocks. They bounce off the road and hit the front of your car. They scratch the paint, maybe chip a window but they completely bust out your headlights! You weren't necessarily doing anything wrong, life just happened. Now your lights are broke.

They could even have just gone out. Maybe it was bad wiring or maybe something was knocked loose. Nonetheless, they're out.

Maybe you're driving around without your lights spiritually. The same questions apply. We can become so busy that we forget to turn on our lights spiritually. We get so busy rushing around with our crazy schedules that we forget to take the time and praise God for the day. We forget to ask him to forgive our sins and show us how to be better. We forget to stop, breathe, and focus on God. We forget to ask him to take control of this day and recommit to live for him this day.

We can even think that we don't need our lights on because we can see fine. The problem here is that there are more people on the road beside us. I remember when I was young and this circumstance arose my dad would always get frustrated and mumble under his breath how they have a dark car and you can't see them coming. If we are driving that car without our lights on then others can't see us. As Christians we are to shine our lights not so we can see, but so that all the world can see. Making sure we turn on our lights isn't just for our benefit, it is for the benefit of those around us also.

We can even be completely unaware that our spiritual lights aren't on. You see we drive the vehicle with the automatic lights. As soon as we start our car they come on. So we go to church once, maybe twice a week. We are all fueled up and ready to hit the road! Right? Wrong. I recently listened to an interview with John Maxwell and he said that the only thing that is automatic in life is death. So logically that would mean that turning our lights on spiritually is not automatic. We must intentionally take the time and turn them on every time we hit the road. (Every time we wake up)

Our unawareness could also mean that no one has ever told us we must turn on the lights. Have you ever been told about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Has anyone ever told you that there is a God who created this whole world and everything in it, then gave it all over to us? Have you been told that we biologically want to sin, that the skin we are living in desires to sin? But did they tell you how God can't look at us when we sin so he sent his son, his only son, from heaven to earth to be born in human flesh and to live a sinless life so that in the end he would be beaten and put to death brutally carrying the weight of EVERY PERSON'S SIN? That includes you and I. Did you know that all of that happened so now you can go through Jesus to receive the forgiveness from God?

Maybe you did know this. Maybe your lights just got broke while going through life. Whatever has happened, whether someone busted out your lights or your they went out over time, be encouraged right now in knowing that they can be fixed!

If you are one who has never heard about God, or maybe you need to be reminded, you can do that right where you are at this moment. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead then you will be saved!

Do you know all of this but have just been too busy or didn't know that you needed your spiritual lights on for others to see? You have the opportunity right now, wherever you are to stop, focus and talk to God. Do you need your broken lights fixed? Call upon his name. He is the healer! Do you need to re-prioritize? God says that if you put him first then everything else will fall into place! If you just need to take that step of maturity in your walk with him and start shining your lights for others then he can help. Ask for guidance!

I pray that every person who reads this is encouraged, empowered and awakened!

~Awaken Us~

Brenna Stanford