Born to be Free

I've never found myself so taken by the night skies as I have been this summer.  The openness and dazzling lights have ministered to my soul in ways I'm not sure I possess the words to explain. I cannot help but look up. There are patterns of living in which we can fall into.  Things which may not be inherently evil, but have tamed our souls in ways which we must not allow. This past Sunday, I was privileged to attend a Sunday morning service at a church local to the area I am currently serving in.  The pastor's sermon was regarding how we as Christians may look back to the past and long for "the old days" when we felt more comfortable, secure or in control - instead of holding fast to the God of the past, present and future. "God isn't the one playing hard to get here," he said. Have we allowed ourselves to slip into patterns of thinking which inhibit our abilities to trust our everyday to the One who holds every single particle of the universe toge...

Today's post is a bit different from what you may normally see around here - but I'd appreciate your bearing with me, as it is a topic I have been longing to share about with you all. The purpose of Juvenile Justice Ministry (JJM) is to form relationships with young people in many different types of youth-serving institutions (detention centers, probation, correctional facilities, group homes, residential treatment centers and emergency shelters).   It is through these relationships that the Gospel is being shared with teens that are otherwise largely shut off from the world, and life skills training is offered which aids these young people in being able to reenter society successfully.  This is happening all across the nation!  Sounds like a great thing, right?  So are you wondering why you've never heard about it? Well, the harsh truth is that although there are almost 1,300 juvenile detention facilities of some sort in the U.S. - only about 30% of them have a...

Once about seven years ago, I stumbled across a slim paperback entitled something along the lines of  Can I Know the Will of God? ... It's a topic you either hear about every Sunday or not at all when you "grow up in church".   Those who don't talk about it are perhaps a bit intimidated at the idea of making any claims as to what the will of God is..... Those who talk about it all the time tend to speak of it as a rather abstract principle - something only the Creator knows about, which somehow we must stumble along in pursuit of with little knowledge of just what it is we're looking for. I'm sure you can look back on your life (or what you've lived of it, so far) and take note of things or opportunities which arose that were doubtless brought about only by the work of God.  A new job popping up out of nowhere, a physical healing, the chance to finally pursue the dream that had been on your heart for years... A couple years ago, I found myself with such an...

What is to be the goal of each and every Christian life? To be conformed to the image of Christ and bring the Hope of the Gospel to all nations. When our Savior walked among us, He taught us the greatest commandment - you should love the LORD your God with all that is within you - and you should love your neighbor in the same way you treasure your own life. When the Messiah came to earth, the people of Israel expected a King who would overthrow the government and justify the hatred in their hearts towards those who ruled over them. But what sort of a King did they get? One who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey's colt, not a warhorse (John 12).  Who paid taxes to a pagan government (Matthew 17).  Who tended to those who were sick and in need, while challenging religious leaders to embrace compassion over legalism (Matthew 23). He put the lives of others before His own. He submitted His life, His work and His desire for His own interests to take precedence to His Father's will (Ph...

A steadily increasing amount of people I meet believe imagination and fairy tales to be just a "cute phase" of one's early childhood.  Things to pack up in unlabeled boxes and store on a closet shelf. Many who would identify as evangelicals define these beloved stories and far away places our minds wander with them as a distraction, an escape.  As unnecessary junk accumulating space in our heads where other things - facts, formalities and the "real world" should instead reside. But the world and the people therein are not simply what we perceive by way of our senses.  Many would like us to believe matter is all that truly exists - that there is no great magic - no direction, value or significance to our lives, or any life.  We're just a bunch of particles after all.  Or are we? Are our lives defined by the sort of order science provides for us?  Have we taken earthly tools and chosen to use them to interpret both the temporal and eternal? The world and the ...

Hey there!  For those of you who are new to this space, I thought I should introduce myself. My name is Amanda, and I've been writing here at Born to Be Free for over three years now! I studied Intercultural Ministry with Global Frontier Missions for two years, and now I continue my studies in various other subjects in addition. I serve at a camp in Missouri during the summer, read alot - from theology to juvenile fantasy to nonfiction on Cold War Spies, enjoy listening to many differing genres of music (but there's always a Billy Joel song for every mood), and I'm always super excited to talk about Bible Quizzing and Juvenile Justice Ministry. So yeah, that's a bit of who I am. :) I'd love to hear a bit about you!

Oftentimes I find the LORD speaks to me by bringing up certain symbols and/or phrases wherever I go.  In my conversations with people, the books I read, podcasts and songs I listen to, etc. One of the symbols He keeps bringing up is a suitcase - a rather obscure item to be sure. I've spent the past three weeks unpacking (no pun intended!) this word - what it could possibly mean. I just arrived back from spending time with a woman I consider my mentor in California.  Currently I have about two weeks left before I move home from a season of ministry spent in Missouri.  My suitcases have been packed and unpacked quite frequently as of late. I think we tend to believe that God will grant us crystal-clear direction in regards to what paths we should choose - and often He does. But lately I've discovered that sometimes He doesn't. Some days the Spirit will make things so abundantly clear that you have no doubt in your mind about which choice to make.  Then again...sometime...