Strength Dignity Life

Colleen Myers talks with us about how her views changed, and her priorities were reoriented when it came to her heart for the broken. After acknowledging the sin and abuse in her own life, she was able to see broken people as they truly were, in need of God’s grace.

Colleen Myers shares the series of events that lead to her journey with healing and her call to begin a non-profit ministry. She, along with her husband, founded PLUR Life Ministries, a ministry focused on reaching out to the broken, the lost and the hurting. They are known as “rave moms and dads,” sharing truth with people in some of their most broken states. Colleen is an Addictions Treatment Counselor and a chaplain with a heart for God’s grace and mercy. But, to get to the point of being a Titus 2-woman, Colleen’s heart and will had to change.

Colleen grew up in an abusive home where it became easy to default to judgment. Comparison became easier than confronting her own need. Now, she calls herself a “recovering judgmental Church Lady” because growth and healing is a continuous process. Through PLUR Ministries, Colleen and her team across the US share what true peace, love, unity, and respect are, and where they can be found in Jesus.

To learn more or to get involved in PLUR Life Ministries check out the links below:

raveoutreach.com

In part two of this episode, Apryl Ortiz and Avion Blackman share how God lead them to their future husbands. Along with a list of standards, God gave them a contentment and resolve to glorify Him above all. Listen today as they share their stories and other nuggets of wisdom.

Avion asked for renewal and knew she wanted a man as committed to God as her father was. She would not be unequally yoked. She would not settle for anything less than a man of God in action, word, and deed. Apryl too shares her similar story of how she met her husband. God’s ways are not our ways, but He is faithful, nonetheless.

Make sure to check out Christafari’s new album: Fly, out on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube. Composed of songs written by her family, Avion shares her heart in the production of the album made to bless people with hope. Christifari’s mission is to reach the lost at any cost while making disciples of every nation as musicianaries. Being faithful to their call, not pausing for a pandemic, the Christifari musicianaries are humble servants who seek to glorify God.

Check out Christafari’s mission in 2 minutes.

https://youtu.be/hEayL2LBa2M

www.christafari.com/donate

Instagram and Facebook: @avionblackman @christafariband

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Avion Blackman is a musicianary with the band Christafari. Being a victim of abuse throughout her childhood and young adult years, Avion tells us about her first experiences with grace and how that transformed the way she views God.

Avion is a Trinidadian reggae recording artist and grew up with music all around her. Her dad was the famous singer, Ras Shorty "I" responsible for pioneering the style of Soca Calypso. When her dad committed his life to Christ and started living for the Lord, Avion recognized the change in him. A lot changed in her family life from then on, but Avion still had to struggle through her own battles. She tells the unfortunate truth of being molested as a child.

Avion encourages us this episode as she tells young women that the only way healing can happen is in the light. When things are covered up and hidden, Satan has his way with them. When things are brought to light God can heal. Through the years, Avion went through both insecurity and healing and she started to seek God’s heart. She wrestled with bitterness and she found that surrender is simple and reconciliation is possible.

While life is not perfect, God loves us and hurts with us. Avion describes her experience of learning about free grace and of her identity in Christ. While God gives us mercy and grace to be human, Avion also describes our responsibility to seek and honor Him. God goes above and beyond what we expect. And when we abide in Him, we find ourselves prepared to do great things in His name (2 Samuel 22:30).

Instagram and Facebook: @avionblackman @christafariband

Check out Christafari’s mission in 2min.

https://youtu.be/hEayL2LBa2M

www.christafari.com/donate

Subscribe to get the latest music and music videos

When we think of global missionaries, we don't often consider how their commitment affects their families. When Leah Yee’s parents began serving when she was just 11, she was completely changed and grown. Today, we talk about the ways God has constantly been at work in her life.

Apryl and Leah discuss the difficulties and challenges of what it was like for Leah to live in Ensenada, Mexico. She was thrust into missions and her life changed completely while on the mission field. There were times when she had trouble seeing what God was doing. But God, in his faithfulness, worked in her heart as she accepted the place God had her in for that season.

Leah began studying at a school of worship in Ensenada, learned Spanish, and began performing with Música de Movimiento, all while learning to do missions in Mexico alongside her parents. She began in ministry young, but Leah encourages us in that God can use people of all ages for his glory. As He changes us and allows us to be thrown into “lion’s dens,” He never leaves us, and He molds us into better reflections of Himself. Listen today, as Leah tells us about how to encourage our missionaries on field and what we can do to help.

To reach out to Leah, you can follow her on Instagram: @leah.yee

To listen to Música de Movimiento, you can find them on Spotify and YouTube.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1qDjgJp4309K5Luv08G0gz?si=GgyhNgW3TRegc212sSzNGg

To learn more about the Yee’s ministry in Ensenada, Mexico, you can find them on Facebook: Peter and Tami Yee Missions

https://www.facebook.com/Peter-Tami-Yee-Missions-766182586726311/

Nikita Carter is a full-time musicianary with the band Christafari. Christafari uses their platform to spread the gospel to the masses through music and dance while on tour. In this episode, Nikita shares stories of healing, growth, struggle, faith and the reason all her work is worth it.

Nikita’s stories encompass the importance of community with other godly women. She describes their frustrations and says that “sometimes you have to be quiet and gentle and let God work.” As her trust grew in God, who knows us better than we know ourselves, so her worry lessened. Nikita has seen how God has worked miracles through Christafari’s music. Their music ministers to people all over the world as they work toward telling thousands of people who Jesus is and what he has done.

Tour life is not what it is cracked up to be. But it grew Nikita and the rest of the Christafari family as they dealt with uncertain and varying schedules. They learned lessons in flexibility and through relationships with their fellow bandmates. Nikita shared her life verse, 2 Corinthians 5:7 “We walk by faith and not by sight” and how through it, the bible became more real to her as she was rooted and grounded in it.

We all struggle with sin in our own ways, but the bible encourages us to move forward with the teaching of “The Adulterous Woman.” Jesus encouraged the woman to leave her sin behind, and “Go, now and leave your life of sin.” We can still be used for Jesus if we are ready, willing, and available.

Please, get involved! Reach out to Nikita and learn about Christafari’s mission.

Check out their mission in 2-minutes:

https://youtu.be/hEayL2LBa2M

Www.christafari.com/donate

Subscribe to get the latest music and music videos

YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook

@christafariband

You can reach Nikita Carter at:

[email protected]

Www.nikitancarter.com

Instagram: @nikitacarter

We all have choices, but we are called to surrender and take up our cross daily. Listen, as Kasey Pot shares her own story and inspires each of us to set out and live a life of abandon for a God who is worth it.

Kasey is a former cast member of True Girl, a show on tour designed spread the gospel to moms and their daughters ages 7-12. Their purpose is to travel through North America, sharing the truth of Jesus and the message that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

As much as Kasey is living the gospel now, she didn’t always know and love Jesus. She grew up in a non-Christian home, her dad becoming saved when she was 10 years old. God, in his mercy and grace, allowed her to see a change in him as he began to live out his faith. As she experienced church and youth group in middle school, Kasey confronted the lies that all young girls hear. God brought her to people who loved her and cared for her despite who she was as a sinner and God’s grace became real to her.

We aren’t promised a pain free and easy life. Kasey lets us in to the details of how she faired spiritually and relationally while living life on tour with True Girl. Kasey welcomes us into her story of how she became a part of the True Girl team, learned to read the Word through a mentor, how to live for Jesus, and how to pursue a life in which she bears her cross daily.

To listen to Kasey Pot’s newest releases “My King is Love” and “Adore” find her on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube. On Instagram, you can find Kasey via her handle @kasey.pot

www.mytruegirl.com

When life doesn't turn out like imagined and expectations aren't met, we are left without hope or vision of the future. Today, Jenelle Eggleston tells of her experience with uncertainty. When we surrender to Jesus and trust that he's in control we can find peace and comfort in the unknown.

In this episode, Jenelle tells us about her life after high school and what lead her to commit to missions. She tells us about her experience at UC Irvine over the past three years, and how she was reached, equipped, and sent out. While at UCI, Jenelle was taught valuable skills which include praying through the Psalms, reaching people relationally, and encouraging students with the Word of God. Even when life is rocky, and we don’t have a clear vision of the future we can trust that God is in control. Listen as we talk today about full-time ministry and God’s call to reach the unreached.

If you would like more information about RUF and Jenelle’s future with missions, please reach out on Instagram @jenelleagain

If you would like to donate to Jenelle’s vision and her work reaching students with the gospel at the National University of Colombia, please visit: www.givetoruf.org/donate/1978

Many young adults find themselves back at home for this season of life. In Part two of this session, Linda Anderson gets into the nitty gritty of familial relationships when reentering the family unit by giving us questions to ask ourselves and quick phrases to keep in mind.

Linda explains that family is where we develop essential patterns of how we perceive the world. We must practice being aware of these patterns, the sins they cause, and our reactions to them. We must act in growth rather than memory. There is a difference between “honor” and “obey.” It is so vital to your walk to have safe people and a community you can go to, to work things out. It’s never too late ot seek counsel and a different perspective.

Though we are surrounded by these patterns and are aware of the inappropriate ways to set boundaries, we are still responsible for acting in kindness, gentleness, and love as God -through the Bible- calls us to.

Today, we are discussing boundaries with Linda Anderson. Linda tells us what to look for in healthy mental, physical, and emotional boundaries. She gives us key examples of boundaries found in the bible and practical tips on how to handle building and maintaining healthy relationships.

Linda Anderson is a graduate of Liberty University where she studied psychology, religion, and communication. She earned a Bachelor of Science and is now a biblical counselor.

Boundaries and relationships are tricky to handle, as each situation is complex. Linda explains the difference between boundaries and rules. Rules determine the spheres of our lives, like sports and work - while boundaries operate within those spheres. The scope of boundaries and rules helps us in answering questions like, “Who’s in control?” and, “What freedoms do I have in this relationship?” During this episode, we cover how to establish proper boundaries in an appropriate way and how to identify safe people.

Linda delves into the relationship between Galatians 6:2 and verses found in Galatians 5 that speak of when we should carry one another’s burdens and when we should carry your own load. She explains that we are responsible to others but not for others. And describes key phrases to help us be aware of when we are overstretched or have instituted poor boundaries.

When our self-identity is rooted in Christ, that confidence extends into our other relationships. In Ephesians 4:32 we are shown why we should communicate with kindness. And in Proverbs 15:1, we look at our own emotional limits. As we grow, we gradually learn to ask questions such as, “How can I honor God with my words and attitude in this situation?” and, “What’s the best way for me to respond?”

Our relationships with our parents can be some of the hardest to navigate. Joe Garcia, pastor at Gateway Church in Brawley, discusses this topic and how to practically fulfill the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:12) in honoring our father and mother in a way that honors God.

We know that we were made for relationship because we were made in God’s image. God lives in a perfect relationship. So, what does it look like to love others well by His example? How should the gospel impact our everyday interactions with the people closest to us?

Pastor Joe covers what this looks like as we navigate living at home. He also identifies the difference between setting appropriate boundaries and when we should employ our gift of self-control. He tells us through his own experience, that initiating difficult conversations is tough but it makes things easier in the long run. As we remove “I” centered thinking, we look at how our parent’s perspective could be influencing their actions. And this brings us back to honoring God in the two greatest commandments found in Matthew 22:37-39, to love God and to love others well.

For more information and to virtually attend services, visit Gateway Church at: https://www.gwbrawley.org/