The Ichthus Experience

Wednesday morning I got up at 6:30, grabbed my bags and headed to church to have a short Bible study, then drove to Lexington, KY for the Creation Ichthus Music Festival. Little did I know how much fun I was going to have and how much I was going to grow.

Day 1

Day 4

On the first day, my group got there around 10, after talking to the most random people and getting lost several times. I didn't really know the people I was with because I only moved to the church a couple of months ago, so making new friends was really good for me.

If you've ever been to a camp of any sort, you know it's pretty common to connect with people extremely fast and be able to mess around and still get to know each other through deep conversations. I really enjoyed being able to do that.

Newsboys Concert

The concerts were crazy! I saw a whole range of artists from rap, to indy, from heavy metal to contemporary pop and hymns. I loved all of it, and got 2 albums. My favorites were a band called Author and a singer/songwriter named Abe Parker.

I also got a whole bunch of free stuff, but aside from that I bought 2 t-shirts that I love and really want to show you!

On the second and third days it rained really hard and since the festival was held in a horse park, everyone got muddy and gross and smelled of something quite similar to animal poo.
I had to give up my poor green flip flops which did me no good anyway, and battled the rain head on.
Everyone was stationed at a canopy pole in our camp ground during the storm so we wouldn't blow away. I secretly enjoyed the rain because it was cold like back home, instead of hot and disgusting.

God's promise after the storm :)

Saturday was a gorgeous last day. We played Frisbee with strangers and tied dental floss to the legs of one of thousands of June bugs. I couldn't believe that it was already over, and how much I had learned about God through talking to others and hearing music.

A henna tattoo I got for free (before it dried and peeled)

 :) I'm sorry to bore you all to death, so I'll wrap it up. Thank you for reading and hopefully you all have had a blast this week too!

Have you ever been to a music festival?

Devo Monday//Representing

Hello! It's Devotion Monday and today I'm looking at how we talk :)

Being a Christian means that we are "not of this world." Different. And it doesn't mean we are always cool. One way I see that a lot is through our speech. When we talk, we need to represent Christ. 2 Timothy 2:16 says "But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness" 

I'm not saying that ALL CHRISTIANS DON'T CURSE AND THEY ONLY TALK ABOUT JESUS THAT'S IT. Because that is not true. We aren't perfect, but we do need to represent Him with our words and actions. 

So next time you have a conversation with someone, specifically a non-believer or new Christian, remember that you are on this Earth to represent the love of Christ. Not to be the coolest person ever. It's really challenging, but we can work on it together :D 
So what do you think? Easy? Hard? Let me know in the comments
Have a great week everyone!

Devo Monday//Relax

"Even to your old age and gray hairs
    I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

Isaiah 46:4

I really liked this verse that my friend JULIA showed me~ It is saying that when you grow up, and go throughout life, God will STILL be there! So take a deep breath, take a few steps back and see how much the Lord has provided for you. When you trust in Him, dealing with sin and life in general is just so much easier, because you know that whatever happens is for His glory and His plan, and he will rescue you. :) Have a good week

Fashion Friday//Jamie Grace

Jamie Grace is a new-ish Christian singer that I have seen in concert a few times. Her story is amazing so if you haven't heard it, look it up! Of course a crucial part of her outfit is her white boots but unfortunately I couldn't find a good pair that suited her.
Jamie Grace's style is very young and exciting. She dies her hair pink, talks about boys, wears dresses, dreams of marriage. She is a fresh 20-something with a thick Georgia accent who loves the Lord. I find her very inspirational so I decided to pay her a tribute :)
PS in concert I saw her wearing cute socks so I added some in this!

Jamie Grace by converse-r-cool featuring a white bodycon dress

Devo Monday//Friendship

In this day and age, teenagers a lot of times, classify themselves with their friends.

So if you have a lot of friends, you are popular, no matter how good or bad they are for you, or how well you know them. 

That societal norm is rather unfortunate, and it leads countless young people down paths where they would never go if that hadn't had that influence on them... if that makes sense. 

You feel?

I'm not really sure what we can do about it, other than to not classify ourselves or others by popularity, seeing as we're all equal people. 

Aaaaaanyway, Proverbs 27:17 says "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

From a Christian mindset, that means that people influence one another, so we should surround ourselves with people who won't influence us to be sinful or tear us down. Instead, have encouraging friends that will help you grow in your walk with God, and you can help them in return. THIS DOES NOT MEAN that you should only be friends with those that share your beliefs. Sometimes to grow your faith you have to be challenged, and besides, you can't make disciples of people that already are. Make good friends, with people that won't hurt you all the time. And remember to have community and fellowship with other believers as well. Christianity is based on relationships with Jesus first, then others. Make friends and make them well :) Have a great week

Devo Monday//Strength

 Hi there! 

>>So I made a new friend during spring break, named Asriel. She has 2 amazing Christian IG accounts ( @all.for.his.glory and @keepingitcoveredandcute) She posts a lot of devotionals along with super cute edits she makes! So I decided to try it out. She also just made a blog that you can check out here. If you don't already know this, I am a Jesus-loving teenager :) 

I don't know how many of you will be interested, but I really enjoy this type of stuff.<<

Isaiah 40:31 says "Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary." 

This a huge encouragement to me as a young Christian. When I read this verse I see people in my life that remind me of this truth. Some of my mentors that I look up to, show me what it is like to have this "new strength". 
What is it like, you ask? Well when I see someone like that, I see a determination to glorify God. They are just bursting to the top with love. But they don't act like they are perfect either. As a Jesus-lover, you recognize that your own strength isn't sufficient. That's why we rely on Him to take care of us, and He doesn't fail. Which brings me back to the verse. "They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary." 
When you trust God's perfect power, you will not be tired of glorifying Him. Of course we are humans and we make mistakes. But the Lord is always there for us :) So take this as an encouragement for the week ahead. When you trust in God, you will gain new strength. 

//What did you think? Any tips on writing devotionals or creating edits?//

Have a great day,

Brenna

Why Harry Isn't Scary

 If you don't personally know me, here's a totally not random fact about me. I love the Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling

And it makes me really sad when I see kids that think the series is THE DEVIL and if they read it they WILL MOST DEFINITELY BE STRUCK BY GOD WITH LIGHTENING AND ACNE!

 I understand if a parent doesn't think their child is mature enough to read it, but as a Christian who has grown up with these books, I can tell you that they aren't chock-full of black magic. Their spells are Latin, and they don't actually work. 

JK Rowling uses themes that strongly resemble the Christian faith, kind of like in Narnia.

Look at this face. How is that bad?

Harry displays courage and love

Hermione shows intelligence and a good heart is better than looks

Ron is a true friend, who will stick by your side

Ginny is a great example of being a bold woman

Neville teaches us how to stand up for ourselves, even to our friends

Snape proves not all bad people are bad

Dumbledore proves not all good people are good

And those are just a few characters. 

So please, please do not judge these books by the cover. 

***Based on an amazing video by Katie Gregoire, seen here