Why I'm a Christian

This is a little bit like a testimony, but not quite. A lot of people ask me why I am such a strong believer, why I chose Christianity, and why I want to go into ministry and be a youth pastor. They also ask why I love church and how can I stand to be there, and it's "fun"??!? Yes, it's fun! I love it!
It's said often that Christianity is a not a religion, but a relationship. It's completely true. Jesus is not just "some guy" we say our prayers to. He's so much more than that! He's:
                                          --A best friend
                                          --Alpha
                                          --Omega
                                          --The salt of the Earth
                                          --The way to the Father
See? And there's way more than that as well!!! That's why I am not part of another religion, but in a wonderful, awesome, glorious relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I believe because when I pray, talk to Jesus, or talk about all the wonderful things he has given me now that I'm reborn in Christ, I feel uplifted, like light is pouring out of me. I don't know why I chose it, it just always seemed right. But church is so wonderful because you go and learn so much every week. You get to go and praise Jesus. Why wouldn't that be the best place on earth? And as for me going into ministry, it's because I want to go out and show the world who Jesus is to me. I try every day to get up and make my day devoted to Christ. I want to be the best I can be. I know sometimes I fall short, but He still loves me anyways.

Why are you a Christian? Why do you believe? Send me your story at missionfaithblog@gmail.com, and I'll post it on here! Have a great weekend everyone! Love you all!

Nicole's Testimony

Here is a great testimony from a model, Nicole! She also has a website I've mentioned on here a few times.

I always wanted to be famous.
I had been modeling and acting since I was 5 years old.  I had been with the same agency in Portland, Oregon for about 8 years, and had appeared in numerous publications, ads, magazines, television commercials.  I had my own checking account by the age of 12, and saw billboards with my face on them as I was being driven to junior high  dances.    But I was a  ”big fish in a small pond”.   I was  ready for the big time, and wanted to make it in Hollywood.
I moved to Hollywood at the age of 16 and plunged headfirst into the task of becoming an “it” girl. Although I was still in high school, I partied with well-known actors, had an all-access pass to the hottest clubs, and mingled with the see-and-be-seen celebrities. But because I was young and naïve, I neglected the most basic things that actually would help me achieve my goal of fame: getting a headshot and a resume, taking advanced  acting classes, making sure I got enough sleep at night.
I signed with a small agency and began modeling to pay the bills while making my way through the cutthroat industry that is the devil’s playground. Meanwhile, I witnessed many people compromise their dignity to be accepted amongst the superficial Hollywood standards. From up close, I saw the ‘famous’ people ruining their lives with drugs and excessive partying. I even knew some who sadly died as a result of their extreme lifestyles.
The glamour, glitz and the lights had a dark side that terrified me. Although I was running around with the cool kids and living the life of a starlet, I was still a small town girl in my heart. Not only that, but something never felt quite right when it came time to actually audition. Each time a camera was focused on me, I didn’t feel prepared enough, pretty enough, or completely ready to be scrutinized by the people who make it all “happen”.
I now believe that the fear that prevented me from achieving Hollywood stardom was actually God’s way of protecting me from an industry that chews up and destroys young women like me. But at the time, I was just heartbroken.
At 23, I fell into a deep depression. I felt helpless and foolish that had I allowed myself to get into this position. With no college degree and no alternate plan for my life, I knew I had made a huge mistake. I didn’t know where to go.
I turned to every self-help book available: The Law of Attraction, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, all the Anthony Robbins books – but nothing helped me.
Then everything changed.
Every single night I would look up into the stars and pray for a miracle. I completely gave my life to God. I asked for guidance to lift me out of the horrible situation I was in.  I saw what “making it” did to others in this industry and knew I didn’t want that for my life.  It was at that point that I realized my great truth:
Everything I went through – all I experienced in that dark city – was for a bigger purpose.
I now see the kind of hold that Hollywood’s harmful message had on me since the time I was a young girl. This influence led me to make decisions in my late teens that I now regret. I now see that the body truly is a temple and young girls and women for instance shouldn’t have sex so easily. Girls often look to sex to feel loved but in the hands of the wrong guy it can destroy self-esteem.
It was Hollywood that made me want to be an actress. I was so infatuated with the fame game – it all looked so glamorous – but in the end it was quite the opposite. I’m not saying everyone in Hollywood is bad. In fact, the Hollywood experience helped me to look at what I really wanted for myself. My mistakes were part of my journey and my value system has completely changed as a result of it. I found Christianity and it turned my life around.
My bigger purpose is this: I want to help other young women avoid some of the same mistakes I’ve made.
Using my experience as a platform, I’d like to be a voice that’s out there to help others – especially young women – be their best selves. By questioning cultural norms, exposing the truth of media exploitation and finding and sharing inspiration from scripture and my own life, I can show those who seek it what it means to be a person of value and confidence.
Christianity needs to be redefined for young girls. There is a certain stereotype of how a Christian girl should look, dress and act. I want to show young women that you can be a good Christian and still embrace many parts of the popular culture.
God listened to my prayers. His power helped deliver me through the depression I was in, financially and spiritually. Every single thing I am now blessed with – material and emotional – is because God knew that once I received these great blessings, I would give myself over to Him and in turn show others the power of God to make anything happen. I just hope through my story – and through God’s will – that I can inspire you to lead a more meaningful life.

Anti-Cosmo

Hey everyone!! I have a great cause for all of you to jump on board with! I have brought up the Anti-Cosmo mission before, but it really needs to keep going! Sign the Anti-Cosmo petition on Change.org, and you can get updates on how to help by liking Project Inspired's Facebook page and following the Anti-Cosmo Twitter feed. It's @AntiCosmoMag
Please help out with this wonderful mission, and it's a great way to show your belief in God and how He wants us to do the right thing!!
Also, I'd love to get more "likes" on Facebook to spread the word about Mission: Faith (search Mission: Faith, and you should be able to find it! If it doesn't work, let me know and I'll post a link) and more followers on Twitter: @Mission_Faith :)
And testimonies and/or stories can be sent to missionfaithblog@gmail.com
Thanks so much for your support!

Love,
Kayla

How great is God...

So just a few moments ago, my baby brother almost died. Okay, he's not a baby, he's seven, but he's the youngest. Anyways, the intelligent idea to stick a key in a light socket came to his head, and he did so. He was thrown back into the wall and no harm was done after that.
Had he held the key just slightly different, he might not be here. We are so lucky to have a god that loves His children so much, and a god that knows how we still need him in this world. My mom was sobbing while I sat in another room hyperventalating. I said so many prayers of thanks, and I will MOST DEFINITELY continue to do so!
I'm not sure if I'm right on this, but lately, I've been feeling as if I'm moving away from God. This might be my sign to keep my faith in Him, and to know everything is under His control. Anything can be taken away in an instant, and so God was letting me know this. I doubt I'll have a faith issue for quite a while, if ever again.
Have you ever had a close-call experience that's made you realize God is in control? Tell me at missionfaithblog@gmail.com, and I will share it with the rest of the Jesus lovers here at Mission: Faith!

Praising Jesus,
Kayla

Ways to pray! Thank you Carmen!

Sent in by Carmen-- thank you!

As Christians, prayer is very important to us, but I think sometimes we don't know how to pray. What everyone thinks of when they hear the word "prayer" is kneeling or just sitting and talking to God. This type of prayer is definately good and tons of people do it, but sometimes it can feel a bit intimidating. Sometimes we don't know what to say or we feel God isn't actually listening (even though, of course, He always is). If you don't like whispering to God, it's okay. There are other ways to pray. Write down your prayers or write a letter to God. Tell Him everything, He definately wants to know even when no one else does. Recently, there have been people in my life who have needed prayers. My family had been praying and praying, but it started to get a bit redundant. I wanted a new way to pray for them, so this is what I did. In this empty journal I have, I wrote this: "Lord, as I'm decorating these names, let every second I spend be an hour You spend with them." Then I wrote down each person I was praying for and left some space and drew designs around each one. The whole time I was basically doodling around a certain name,
I was thinking about the person and telling God in my mind to just fill that person up and be with them. There were three people in particular I was praying for. One with cancer, one who had just had a heart-attack, and one who had had a mysterious headache for two straight years. Guess what? God listened. Within a few days, the person with cancer got a cat scan and discovered the tumor was only one-fourth as big as it had been for the past year. The new treatment worked and we will be able to celebrate another birthday with him. The person with the heart-attack began to recover and had no more attacks. The mysterious headache person finally found a doctor who knew what it was from and they have started treating it. Praying does work and God does listen. Never give up on God because He will definately never give up on you.

-Carmen

What are some of your favorite ways to talk to God?

Rachel's Testimony

Thanks to Rachel for sending this in!

So this summer i was at Pine Cove, at the Shores. And let me say it was AMAZING! I was blessed with a wonderful cabin and counselor.

Before camp, I was broken on the inside. I was stressed out and scared about switching highschools this year, and leaving my friends at my old school. I was so angry. I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to show emotions unless i just get completely overwhelmed. I was angry at God for letting me go through this.

Opening day was a lot of fun. My counselor was the one who greeted our car. When I walked up to my cabin, I saw a girl who was in my cabin last summer. I was happy about that because she’s just such a great girl to be around. She’s positive, funny, and mostly she loves the Lord. She helped me a lot during our week at camp.

My counselor was just amazing. I asked her when we were getting ready for bed the first night if we could talk tomorrow(Monday). During our one-on-one she told me I can do anything if I trust and give all my life to Him. It hit me hard. I just started crying, and she prayed with me, and it helped, it hasn’t before. It was an amazing feeling that i will never forget. Later that night at club(worship), during the talk,  i just got so overwhelmed. I was crying, and something hit me in my heart. that i need God in my life. For my whole life. That I can trust my life in Him, despite all i’ve gone through. so on Monday night, June 20, 2011, i accepted Christ. that i will NEVER forget. EVER.

I thank all of my cabin, my counselor, senior counselor, another senior counselor, and all the talks and people i met that week for this. you all have impacted my life for the better. i can’t thank y’all enough.

week 4 this summer was the BEST WEEK OF MY LIFE <3

Let's get Cosmopolitain sold in a Plastic bag!

I'm sure you all know what Cosmopolitain magazine is, and if is absolutely disgusting. It shows what's wrong with our society. There have been many Anti-Cosmo issues out, but one is almost about to go through. Nicole Sione, a model and president of Project Inspired (projectinspired.com), has been petitioning to get this in a non-transparent bag and sold only to adults, and she's almost to her goal. Please, sign this petition! It's such a great cause, and it will stop so many young girls from finding disgusting sexual advice and will MOST DEFINITELY be pleasing to our Lord!
And keep Miss Sione and all other petitioners in your prayers to see this go through!

Through Christ's love,
Kayla

How to be approppriate, and yet still have fun!

Tonight is my school's homecoming dance, and I'm so excited. However, I have had to pray about some things to make sure I honor Christ this evening.
1. Making sure my attire is appropriate! My school doesn't do a typical semi-formal; we have a themed dance. My mom and I went shopping today to get me a pirate costume (the theme is On the High Seas), and when I got home and put it on, it almost showed my underwear. Quite obviously, I cannot wear that! But no worries, with a little bit of searching and cutting, I turned an old vampire dress into a super adorable pirate outfit! I know God is pleased with my decision to stay modest and keep my skirt at my knees!
2. Dancing. I love to dance, whether it's ballet or at a party. But I am always cautious about who I am dancing with. I would rather be the dork in the crowd than be the girl in the middle with boys trying to take her dress off because she doesn't care. I am praying that only the nice boys will dance with me, and in a way that pleases God.
3. After parties. My friend and I are just coming back to my house for movies and whatever after the game, so I won't have to worry about parties. However, I feel it's important to post so all of you know drinking and drugs are not okay, and it upsets God to see partiers passing out, getting high, or arrested. Please, do not get into these things. If you're in a bad situation, call someone who can drive and have them pick you up. They will be happy you did. And if you've gotten into bad things before, know that God loves you and has forgiven you!
I hope everyone has a great night! What are your favorite weekend things to do that are appropriate and still fun? Email them to me, and I will make a post about the best things to do on the weekend!

Love,
Kayla

Remember: God is in control!

Sometimes it's hard to remember that we have someone who knows how our life will go and has everything in order. We Christians know it's not our mom or dad with a calendar that tells us our schedule; we know that God has everything perfectly made for us! We are so blessed that our God is that amazing and loves us that much! And when things don't go right, He can fix it! And if we have sinned, His Son has saved us, and our hearts are pure! Lately, I've been struggling with what my future (mostly short term stuff) will be, but I pray to God and ask that Christ shows me the way. Everything is perfectly planned, and so I will not try and force anything in my life; God will put it in my life when it is the right time!
Prayer is so important when you are confused, and also talking to others is important is well. They can pray with you and give you wisdom as well. Prayer requests can be placed below, or if you'd rather keep it more private, you can ALWAYS email me! I am here to help others in Jesus's name!
Have a great rest of your week!

Love,
Kayla

Fulfilling your dream

Hey everyone! I just wanted to post about fulfilling your dreams and glorifying God through them. Today, I have the opportunity to audition for my favorite ballet (The Nutcracker), and I've been praying all week that I get in! It's been my dream to do this since I was about 3 and my mom took me to see it at the theatre I will (hopefully) be performing in! Full circle much? Anyways, I'm going to make sure if I get in, I will use this to glorify Christ! It will most likely be through lead-by-expamle: stretching while reading verses out of my Bible, praying before shows, etc. That way, I have a chance to show all these dancers who may not be saved a way to Jesus Christ! I feel this is my way to really have an impact! What's your lifelong dream, and how will you glorify Christ through it? Tell me in the comments, or email me a story at missionfaithblog@gmail.com.
Also, please pray for me as I go to auditions! I really want a part!

Through Christ,

Kayla