The Life of a Teenager

Homecoming 09

2009-10-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

I don't have very many pics because I was too busy having fun but here is what I do have!

Our Group:Colin, Paige, Jay, Me, Mandi, and James

My Date!!

This was a once in a lifetime experience for me and I will always remember it!!

My Bling

2009-08-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

Visit my new blog and buy some jewelry!!
www.brookesbling.blogspot.com

2009-06-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

I love this saying and i think it's a great reminder to us!
I hope this brightens your day!

DANCE

as though no one is watching you.

LOVE

as though you have never been hurt.

SING
as though no one can hear you.

Seeing Through Christ' Eyes

2009-05-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

I have been reading the book called, "Under the Overpass", which, by the way, is a really good book and i totally recommend it. Anyway, while I was reading it today a song came to my mind by Brandon Heath. It pretty much sums up how I'm feeling and it's a prayer that i give to God!

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what´s underneath
There´s a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work
He's buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared
I´ve been here a million times!
A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all along.
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Lord, give me your eyes so I can see

Somethin to think about: We are ALL beggars at the foot of the cross, broken people in need of mending.

Am I Beautiful?

2009-04-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

I was gonna write about my awesome birthday and the awesome phone I got for my birthday!! But i was cleaning my, much needed, room and came across a paper I wrote back in 2007 and I thought I'd post it!!

She frowns. the reflection in the mirror doesn't please her. But it might get someones attention. Her black shirt's too tight, revealing and uncomfortable, but she won't change, even though she knows she should. She sighs sadly, feeling unsure. Maybe if she wears it, he'll notice her. And if he doesn't she'll find a way to make him.

The Biggest thing guys struggle with is where there eyes go. It's just the way God wired them. While I respond to kind words and a gentle touch, guys respond to what they see. When I walk into a room wearing a shirt that's a bit to low, my skirt too small or my stomach shows when i raise my arms, I'm not helping the guys who see me. I'm harming them.
I know that I can attract certain guys with the clothes I wear. Usually, the girl whose modesty is lacking is surrounded by guys who treat her with disrespect . The fact is I'm sending messages with the clothes I wear. A low-cut shirt says, "Hey, look at my body!" and attracts a guy who does just that. But a modest outfit says, "I'm saving something special." And the guys who are serous about guarding their purity will notice my modesty. It gives me depth and mystery, and they'll see my character rather than my body.
It's what guys will see when I choose to cover up. When I walk into a room wearing a flattering shirt that conceals my top, he'll see my smile. Instead of my midriff showing, my sparkling eyes will catch his glimpse. And he's thinking, "Wow, there's something special about her. She's not looking for attention, but she's caught mine." That's the kind of girl I want to be. And that's the kind of guy I want to attract. But, "I say, "what if I don't catch his attention, or he doesn't notice me?" He may not. But if I've found my security in the Lord, it won't even matter. And I won't need to dress thinking I can make him. I can but my trust in God who, in the right time, will bring me the guy I desire.
One of the main reasons I may wear a revealing shirt or act in ways to gain attention can be summed up in one word: INSECURITY. It's that little voice inside my head that says, Do you notice me? Am I pretty? Will you love me? I've heard those doubts in my head many times.The problem is, through my actions and appearance, I'm directing those unspoken questions to the people around me, whose response may disappoint me. I need to direct those questions to God who after hearing me ask, responds with a, "Yes!" And God's response is enough. I need to change my thinking(and the kinds of clothes i wear) from, "Look at me!" to "Look at Christ in me!" And with changed thinking comes changed actions. That's were my security should come from.

She feels beautiful when she looks in the mirror. A confidence rises in her chest, and she nods her head at the feeling. She knows how much God loves her, and that's enough to hold her head high. the clothes she wears give her confidence. She knows she's saving the details of her heart for someone special. The security she's gained from God helps her act in ways that brings glory to Him. "Am I beautiful?" she smiles when she hears the whispered answer in her heart. "Yes, my child!"

My Life

2009-04-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Ok so, wow! It has been forever since I've written anything!!
Not a lot has really been going on in my life except school and babysitting! I haven't been ice skating cause they took the ice off for 2 months to play soccer, which is the pits.

I know my mom likes to just stay home all the time and that's fine because she's a mom but i don't. I know, I know, you're probably thinking, "Brooke, you just need to be content with your life", but, I'm sorry, I'm not content with doing school for 4 hours everyday and staring at a computer screen basically the rest of the day! Is it wrong to, impatiently, can't wait till I'm 18??

Ok so, that is pretty much all that is on my mind and all that i can think to write about! I need to get my school done too.

p.s. 9 more days till my birthday!!!!

GOD...WHERE WERE YOU

2009-03-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad
Where the West was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said, "Where've you been?" He said, "Ask anything."
Where were you, when everything was falling apart?
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
And all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of 1st and Amistad
Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me.

These words from The Fray's 'You Found Me' keep goin through my head. It sorta expresses my heart. Haven't you had things 'fall apart' on one level or another?

I think It's the tension we feel when we're caught in between the way things are and the way things should be. It's an emotional strain and drain that causes us to remember at the same time that God is good - but also ask why our lives are not.
Like the relationship that started so amazingly well, yet ended with a callous and cowardly texts or messages on Facebook and left us feeling as valuable as garbage.
Like the loss of a friend. Like the disappointment in circumstances. Like the million other things that make us cry out to God and ask - 'Where were You?'

There's this man who lived thousands of years ago who lost more and experienced more pain than perhaps anyone else who walked this earth. His name was Job, and just when his life was going as well as any life could go, here's what happened:

Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's hous, a messanger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and i alone have escaped to tell you." While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and comsumed them, and i alone have escaped to tell you." While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you." While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in thier oldest brother's house, and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you." (Job 1:13-19)

Can you imagine this scene? In just that little of time Job lost everything that was near and dear to him. All possessions and family ripped from his life in a matter of minutes. I think i might have been asking God where He was at that point. And yet, here is the song that came from the pieces of Job's shattered heart:

"Naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. (Job 1:21-22).

Job was human just as much as you or me, but the difference is he didn't have a human perspective. Rather than focusing on the sting of things falling apart, he trusted in the power of the God who holds everything together. He worshiped God with tears and resisted the temptation to blame the evils of this world on the Creator of the universe. WOW!

Things do fall apart, and it is OK to ask God where He was at that time. But there's a difference between asking and blaming.
Asking is trying to find an answer. Blaming is assuming you already know. And what you should know is that God has it all under control. You may feel like He wasn't there in a difficult time but the reality is He was probably closer than you ever imagined. He doesn't need to find you because He never let you go in the first place. That's why we have these promises that we need to cling to during the storms of life:

But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you; When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you." (Isaiah 43:1-2).

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, " I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU, NOR FORSAKE YOU." (Hebrews 13:5).

May these truths go with you in the midst of your trials!

Dare2Share

2009-02-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

I had such an AWESOME time "shreddin the gnar" at D2S!!

For those of you who don't know what D2S is go to www.dare2share.org!

The 2nd question that people have ask me is, "how was the concert?" Yea the bands where great and everything but that wasn't the point in goin the point was to get out of your "box" and share the gospel.
I was parred with 2 people(that don't really talk) to go door to door with and when i found out who i was parred with i was like GREAT I'm gonna have to talk. For those of you who don't really know me that is totally not my thing. But the 2nd door that we went to i was like lovin it!! i don't know if i was hipped up on NO sleep and ice cream or Jesus or all three but it was the best part!!

We came to a house where there was a a guy in his 60's. He was the first person that i have ever shared my faith with and it totally changed my thinking! i hope i get to see him in heaven some day!

God, you are so amazing!! I'm So sorry for not really caring if your children went to heaven or not that was SO selfish of me. With every opportunity i have i want to tell people of your great love for us all! I love you so much!! oh and God be with that man, show him that you truly love him and the only way to heaven is through You. may Your will be done!

JESUS totally rocked my world at D2S!!

What Is Beauty

2009-01-28T07:10:00.000-08:00

How do you define the word beautiful? Most of the girls in the world have been told what beautiful is. For some, beautiful is stretching your earlobes down to your shoulders. For others, it means slicing their faces or backs and then rubbing salt into the cuts so they bubble into designs.

In some parts of Asia, girls smear bleach creams on their faces to make them look whiter.

In Thailand, women stack gold rings around their necks more and more until their shoulders have squished down and their heads are stretched high above their bodies.

A certain African group starts their beauty regime around age 20. First, they make a cut in the lower lip so that the lip can be pulled away from the mouth enough to fit a little round clay piece in the hole. In time, the hole gets stretched, and bigger pieces of clay can be put in. I saw a picture of a girl biting into a piece of toast. But it wasn’t toast. It was a huge clay piece stretching her lower lip out! Without the piece in, her lower lip hangs down to the bottom of her chin. She’s the most beautiful girl in her village.

Unbelievable, isn’t it? You may be thinking, These people are crazy! Who would go through all that junk just to be pretty to the people around you?
ok,so let’s not say they’re crazy until we’ve looked at ourselves first. How many Americans have gotten skin cancer from toasting themselves to a crisp on the beach? How many women have died from plastic surgery?
Paint your face with foundation until it’s all the same, even color. Then paint colors on top of that. If your eyelashes or fingernails aren’t long enough, you can buy fake ones to glue on yourself.
If your figure is too big, you can buy underwear that will squish you in until you can hardly breathe. If you’re too small, you can buy a fake chest built into your bra.
If you’re too pale, you can spray paint yourself to be darker. If you don’t like your hair, you can paint it, too! Change your eye color with contacts. Straighten your teeth by wiring them together.

Fake face.

Fake hair.

Fake body.

Fake smile.

Fake anything you want; that’s how to be beautiful.

It’s pretty easy to see how strange other people’s ideas are but hard to see the ones we read about in magazines all the time.
Am I saying trying to be beautiful in your culture is a sin? No. Am I saying it canbe a sin? Yes.
The world is lying to you about what is beautiful. The world is telling you to not accept yourself as God made you to be. The world says you can’t be beautiful if you’re just you. You can’t be pretty until you look like Barbie, like the girls on TV, like a model.
Well, here’s the truth: Barbie is plastic, the girls on TV are going to get wrinkles and flabby thighs some day and the photos of models are PhotoShopped.
There’s a culture that has a definition of beauty different from any you’ll find around you.It’s God’s culture, and you’ll find it in the Bible.
Let’s look at one of the beautiful women in the Bible: Esther.
The Bible says Esther did have beautiful looks, but I’m thinking she had some competition for the crown. What was it about her that caught the king’s eye?

1. She loved God.
2. She took advice from older people she trusted (Esther 2:20).
3. She wasn’t all about her looks. When all the other girls were going for the flashiest, most attention-getting clothes and jewelry, Esther shocked people by going for a simple, classic look (Esther 2:15).
4. She was smart. She thought about more than just the latest fashions.
5. She cared more about doing what was right than about being attractive and liked—or even being alive! This beautiful girl risked her life to save her people (Esther 4:11-16.)

Esther was a living example of Proverbs 31:30.“Charm is deceptive,(Don’t trust popularity too much.) and beauty is fleeting; (If your worth is in your looks, your worth won’t last.) but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” (Girls who are sold out for God and following His Word are truly beautiful!)
There’s nothing wrong with making the effort to be beautiful in your culture. (Well, I don’t know about stretching your neck out or faking your chest size.) But don’t believe the world’s lie that that’s who you are.
Be beautiful. But don’t make the “beautiful” of your culture what it’s all about. Be God’s definition of beautiful!

The happenings

2009-01-16T13:11:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of a bunch of different stuff that has been goin on and are a little late but i don't care!!

This is the little boy i have been babysitting!!

Our family Christmas!!

Colin thinkin he rocks!

Laina bein mischievous!

Adam bein cheese and Nicole bein...umm...Nicole?!

Brooke being cute as always!!

And Mom bein the best mom ever!!

Jewelry that I've made!!

well, that's pretty much what I've been up too!

Random Thoughts

2008-12-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

WARNING: you may get lost if you read this!

Ok so inside my head it is pretty much like a hurricane! I have a bunch of random thoughts so I’m just gonna start blabbing.

I love Christmas!! First of all because Jesus was born, second it’s the busiest time of year and in case some of you don’t know, I love to always be doin something( we’ll talk about that later) and third I get to give and get presents!! Oh and there is OCC, which is a lot of fun!

Contentment is something that is really hard for me. Most days I just get up, do school, eat, and go to bed. Is this all that God has planned for my life? I don’t know about you but that is just plain….well….boring. Ok so as I am sitting here staring at what I just wrote and a thought just popped into my head. Maybe God is telling me to taking this time of unsocialness and be social with Him and get to know him more and to get closer to Him cause He is preparing me for something that is to happen. Maybe He is not putting a lot of things in my day so I will have no excuse for putting Him aside!

I hate the game of charades and will NEVER play it again!!

I can’t wait till I’m 16 and can drive to like babysitting jobs myself!!

Ice skating is going quite well…I just mastered a thing….. I don’t remember what it’s called; the point is I mastered it!! MAYBE someday if I ever get good enough I could be in a competition! I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what Gods plans are.

Ok so I’m pretty much out of things to say so I’ll leave you with a little poem I wrote:

I Am

I am tender hearted and kind
I wonder if I’ll ever be able to stand up for something i believe in
I hear the sound of music
I see flowers in early morning light
I want to never be hurt
I am tender hearted and kind

I pretend to be someone I’m not
I feel love for the homeless child
I worry I’ll never marry
I cry because i don't understand
I am tender hearted and kind

I understand Jesus will never leave me
I say we can win this battle
I dream of my prince
I try to glorify God in all things
I hope for too many things to name
I am tender hearted and kind

The Most Amazing Race

2008-12-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

There must be something amazing about the TV show The Amazing Race. It's about to rap up its 13th season of people competing for victory with planes, trains, and automobiles.
There seems to be an element or something in most people that enjoys seeing competition, especially when it involves roadblocks, detours, and winners who give it there all to take home the prize.
The Christian life is kinda like that; a competition. And following Jesus is the most amazing race!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and protector of out faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2)

The Bible compares the Christian life with a competitive race with everything already laid out for us by God. Each day we can find clues in His Word and through prayer that tells us where we should go next.
And of course, there are roadblocks and detours that try to slow us down or get us to drop out of this amazing race. Here is where the competition comes in. We are not competing with each other as believers- we are in competition with ourselves. We are our own worst enemy when is comes to serving Jesus.

We let discouragement and lack of faith detour us and get us of course
We let sin and rebellion roadblock our progress and trip us so we start to fall behind.
We may end up getting the wrong idea about the race and drop out:

"You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? It isn't God, for He is the one who called you to freedom." (Galatians 5:7-8)

God called us to FREEDOM!! Have you truly enjoyed the race called the Christian life?
It's getting up each day and fixing our eyes on Jesus- who ran the perfect race and showed us how to truly live life the way it was designed. It's looking forward to His return, when everything will be set straight and the race will be over.
Followers of Jesus-run to win!
I hope you will see each day as a chance to defeat your sin nature and make more progress towards becoming like Jesus Christ, so that on judgment day we can stand in the winners circle with Apostle Paul and declare these words:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. And now the prize awaits me- the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loves His appearing." (2 Timothy
4:7-8)

Five Truths

2008-11-15T11:55:00.000-08:00

Here are five truths that i have been thinking about lately.

Truth #1 God is good.
Often, when I'm having a bad day and things aren't heading in the direction i had planned, I am sometimes tempted to believe that God is not good. But the truth is that God IS good.
Psalm 136:1 says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good."
Despite my circumstances, God remains a good and loving God. He is a able to provide good things for me even when my world is spinning in every direction. He is the giver of peace and comfort and wisdom. God is good!!

Truth #2 It's not about me; it's about Him.
The truth is that God is the creator and sustainer of all things. A me-centered universe is just a big illusion. Christ is the true center of all that is and all that will ever be.
Romans 11:36, "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen."
"God must become greater, I must become less." John 3:30
I myself should not be the main focus in my life and my circumstances. It is not about me, it is all about Christ. He is the source of all things and my life is to give Him glory.

Truth #3 God's word is sufficient to lead me, teach me, and heal me.
Sometime i feel like i have know one and nowhere to turn to for help. sometimes it feels like there is no source of wisdom and advice to help me in my times of uncertainty.
Psalm 107:20 says, "He sent out His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction."
Psalm 119:105 says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."
God's word is living and active. It is God's love letter to me and it is sufficient to lead me, teach me, and heal me.

Truth #4 God is more concerned about changing me and glorifying Himself than about solving my problems.
This is a biggie. Sometimes my prayer life sounds more like a list of wants than a conversation between me and God. God is able to handle any problems or situations I am facing. But the truth is that He is more concerned about my spiritual life than He is about making sure my life is problem free.
Titus 2:14 says, [Christ] gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Truth #5 My past does not have control my future.
I have saved the most difficult truth for last. This is a truth i know is true but, I'm still working on it. Sometime i think that my past does control my future a little bit.
Sure, God is able to forgive my sins and to keep me from repeating my sins, but sometimes it feels like my potential is limited by past mistakes and circumstances. The Bible says that in Him, I am a new creation. My past sins are removed as far as the east is from the west. They are not the compass that determines my future direction.
“ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

well, that's all that has been on my mind lately. Have a great day and God bless!!

ME!

2008-11-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

WARNING: my thoughts tend to wander sometimes!

Hey! My name is Brooke. I'm 14 years old, home schooled, and have 4 other siblings~Nicole-21, Adam-18, Colin-16, Laina-11. I love ice skating and babysitting.
I started ice skating when i was 12 ans start taking lessons when i was 13. It has been a hard and challenging, but also a lot of fun!
Right now i babysit two kids~ Bennett-3 and Tiffany-1 1/2. I like it a lot but, i wish i could do it on more days. Someday i think i would like to be a live in nanny!
Oh...did i mentioned that i have the most awesome youth group ever!! I have some of the best friends!
For a long time in my life I didn't really have any friends but, in God's perfect timing He brought them into my life. I think He was teaching me a lesson on friendship and that He should be the one that I turn to first for advice and such. I think it also brought me closer to my mom..... but then again maybe that's just cause I'm home schooled!
so, anyway, that is pretty much who I am and what I do!

Toodles!!

Hallelujah

2008-10-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

The words to this song are amazing!

Hallelujah by Shawn McDonald

Blessed are the poor
For theirs is the kingdom
Blessed are those who mourn
For they will be comforted
And blessed are the meek
For they will inherit the earth
And blessed are those who hunger and thirst
For they will be filled

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Blessed are the merciful
For they will be shown mercy
Blessed are the pure in heart
For they will see God Almighty
And blessed are the peacemakers
For they will be called His children
And blessed are the persecuted
For they will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Rejoice and be glad
For great is your reward
Rejoice and be glad
For great is your reward

HALLELUJAH!!