Mark 10:21

Mark 10:21 "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

The two piles of clothes that I am selling or giving away to a Non-Profit organization in Angola.

Since I have been reading the book, "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns I have felt God calling me to get rid of all of the clothes that I have in my dorm room that I never ever wear. These clothes are from high school and they do not fit me now nor are they modest. God has changed my heart and my passions since coming to college. In high school I felt that I was defined by my clothes. I literally went an entire school year without wearing the same shirt twice. I have over 400 t-shirts in my dorm room right now. I do not wear more than 40 of them. I am not defined by what I wear, nor am I defined by my possessions, but I am defined in my Savior, Jesus Christ. Mark 10:21 has really just been laid on my heart and I can feel God telling me to just get rid of all of these things. 


Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."


Where is my treasure? Is it in all of these clothes that I have prided myself in owning? Is my treasure in all of the things I own here on earth? Is my treasure in my past and how I have overcome? Is my treasure in the relationships and friendships I have? Or is my treasure in Jesus Christ, the One who created this entire Universe & created me and said that "it was good?" I'm pretty sure I know where my treasure should be. Selling all of my clothes is me moving one step closer to putting my treasure in Jesus Christ.


What does God expect of me? Everything


I can't just sit here in my dorm room and not give everything to Jesus. I need to surrender it all to Him. A complete surrender to Christ is definitely something God has been showing me. I need to lay down my past and take up the cross. God wants it all from me. If I want to be a missionary full-time I can't be lugging around all of this stuff everywhere I go. I don't need it, but I am positive there are people in the Angola, IN area that could use these clothes.


Luke 6:46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?"


If I were to truly sit down and read my Bible every single day (something I have been failing at doing) and truly listen to what God is calling me to do, then I would be changing myself daily. I have felt this urge to get rid of my clothes, but why has it taken me two months to do it? Is it because I was "busy," or is it because I was not being obedient to God's call in my life? I'm pretty sure I was not being obedient because I could have taken two hours to clean out my closets. 

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

I am being sent. I am being sent to the place God has called me to: Nairobi, Kenya. I have given up my treasures here in the US to go and be the hands and feet of Christ. Is God calling you to go somewhere? Is God calling you to go and be His disciple here in the US or overseas? Is God calling you to be used by Him, to be stretched and molded to be more Christlike? Are you saying "Here am I. Send me!" Or, are you hesitant to do what God is calling you to do?


Now, here comes the fun part, what is God calling you to do? Is He calling you to get rid of all of your possessions, all of the things you are holding onto? Is there somewhere you have your treasure laid that needs to be refocused to have your treasure in Christ? Are you willing to give God your everything; your time, your possessions, your money, and ultimately your life for the cause of Christ? What is God telling you to do, but you are resistant and not willing to do? Is God calling you somewhere that you are hesitant to go to?


My prayer for you is that you will seek the Kingdom of God and that Jesus Christ in all of His glory will be revealed to you.


In Christ,
Brandi :)

4:37 a.m.

I am sitting in my dorm lounge right now trying to finish up homework before my school day starts in 6 hours. I don't really need to be up right now, but I am. I could have easily started my homework earlier in the day instead of taking that 4 hour nap, but there's just something about right now. Being alone without distractions of facebook updates or the girls on my floor talking to me just gives me a lot of time to think. I am overwhelmed with joy right now at how much God is truly working in my life. I do NOT deserve anything that He has given me. I do NOT deserve this opportunity to go to Kenya and share His love. I do NOT deserve all the material items I possess. BUT God has given me all of these items/opportunities for a reason. Do I understand it? Nope, not at all, but I will rejoice in all that God has done, is doing, and will do. There IS no better way than Jesus. 


Two days ago I had the amazing opportunity to share my testimony of the ups and downs of my life in the past four years in front of 300 people.  If you would like to read what I shared go here- Testimony. I was so amazed and blessed by the responses I received after sharing! The ladies that were sitting to the left and to the right of me BOTH supported my internship to Kenya. I had several people walk up to me during the dinner telling me that I was an encouragement to them. Many people approached me to let me know that they would be praying for me and my missions work. God blessed me so much that night. 


Three days ago, in a 24 hour period, I received almost $500 in support from three people! I am currently up to 48% of my funds raised in 6 short weeks. Please continue praying for God's provision for my trip. If you would like more information about my trip, please comment. I have such a HUGE heart and passion for the ministry I am going to be a part of in Nairobi. God is currently at work in the Mathare Valley and I am blessed to have this opportunity to go and serve Him there. 


I love you all! Be blessed this week! Share the love of Jesus every moment of every day.


In Christ,
Brandi :)

God Speak

I'll be honest, there has been a lot of "stuff" going on in my life. Some bad stuff, but lots and lots of good stuff. God has given me so many different opportunities to share my life, heart, and vision with others. These conversations have been a huge blessing to me. 


Yesterday, I went on a 3 hour road trip with Megan, one of my friends, just to go to Cici's pizza. On our way there we were able to sing Jesus music and to get know one another more. It was such a blessing to be able to spend time with her. We went to 3 different book stores searching for what I like to call "Jesus books." We successfully found everything at the first stop. At the Bargain Bookstore, I found a God's Word translation of the Bible and since I had given away my other copy, I purchased this one. Little did I know, this Bible was going to be a huge blessing to me and Megan. On our ride back to campus, I was reading through different topics within the passages of the Bible. Here's what the topics look like:

Not too long, or too short, but very convicting. We read through about 6 of the topics and with every one that I read, I could feel God just telling me, "Brandi, listen to me, for my paths are straight. Do not put ANYTHING before me. Give everything to me because I love you more than anyone."  This is what I like to call "a stab in the heart" when God tells me exactly what I need to hear. I hate when He does that, but I love it so much. I think it so awesome how God was able to convict me of what was going on in my very own life through this new Bible. I'm sure I will be learning more and more from this Bible! The best part was that it was not only convicting to me, but it was to Megan too. This opened up doors for us to share about our struggles and things that we were letting control our relationship with Jesus. I was so blessed by our conversation and being able to encourage her on ways I have dealt with some of the very things she is going through. We decided to stop at McDonald's before we got back to campus and dig more into the Bible. We were sitting their reading through passages and I was practically screaming at my Bible and at God for how convicting these things were. One of the ladies that worked there approached me and asked if God was trying to tell me something. In my fit of rage, God was able to bless me because I was able to talk to this lady about Jesus. I shared with her about some of the things God was teaching me and how He was leading me to go to Kenya this summer. She is a leader over the youth at her church and it was awesome to have her encourage me. What a blessing!




I know work in the cafeteria on my campus and I have been able to share with my coworkers about my trip to Mexico that I just got back from. Also, I have been blessed with the opportunity to share with several of my coworkers about my trip to Kenya and my passion for it. It has been a huge blessing to be able to share Jesus with these people. I don't know where any of them stand with their spiritual walk with Christ, but I am trusting that He will use me to continue reaching out to them. 




Right now, I will admit that I am very, very stressed from having two jobs, 18 credit hours, a leader in CCH, preparing two speeches for CCH, and raising support. BUT I know that God is my provider, my healer, my love, my everything. I know that there is no need to worry or stress about any of these things. God is really stretching me with my time management. I am a Junior in college and I still don't know how to manage my time wisely. I still spend a lot of time on facebook. I still procrastinate my homework until the very last minute. The best part of it all is that God is teaching me to rely on Him more with the busy schedule that I have. Everyday I am walking by faith and trusting that His Will will be done. 


Kenya Update:
I have raised $1,755.03.
I still need $3,916.97.
God is faithful, and He has provided me with so much thus far. 
I'm placing every single dollar in His hands and I know that He will provide.
If you would like more information about my trip, check out my $5,672 blog. 
If you still want more information after reading the blog feel free to email me at telltheworldthatjesuslives@hotmail.com


In Christ,
Brandi :)