bread and water

I was only a teenager when God called me to the ministry. Did I feel young? Yes. Did God care? No. He still called me. We see all throughout the Bible that God used young people. Kids and teenagers do not have to wait until their hair turns gray to serve the Lord. You can do something now. Jeremiah 1:4-9 says, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. 9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth” Let’s look at how the Bible handles fears you may have if you are young and feel called. He says, “Do not be a...

  So much of my life when I was younger was lived in fear, anxiety and depression. I tried to hide it because it felt like weakness. I couldn’t figure it out for decades. I had a good husband and cute little boys that I got to stay home with. But I struggled. I began to get set free from those emotional issues in my thirties. Now in my forties I am the happiest I’ve ever been. I realize that it’s ok to take time to have fun, be free, let go of fear, guilt and shame and forgive others. It’s been a long, hard road of healing but I am grateful. For those who may struggle with mental health, I jotted down some things that helped me in my short practical book called Walk without Fear. It’s ok, you can say you’re buying it for a friend. 😉 Grab it secretly at www.brandibecksmith.com or let me know if it helps you. Hang in there friend, there is hope and freedom to be found.   ~In Christ, Brandi

What if people are not meant to find us from our “brand” and marketing strategies, our images and our catchy catchphrases, our tag lines and Google SEOs. But what if we are meant to go find the one that Jesus wants us to love on. Jesus left the 99 to find the one. The one lost sheep.   If we are to follow Him, then what does that look like in our culture? I don’t think it always looks like trying to get people’s attention and have the most followers or engagement on social media. I don’t think it looks like having the perfect brand and the perfect colors and the perfect web design so that people will click “like” or “follow” or engage with our content, but I think it’s about dying to self and considering others. I think it might be about mailing that book to someone God puts on your heart or putting that book in the hand of someone God tells you to give it to secretly. Without fanfare. Without marketing.  What if it’s not about people finding us and following us and liking us,...

  I was called to the ministry as a teenage girl. I was sitting in a van in my home churches parking lot, Briarwood Baptist Church in Watkinsville Georgia. I was reading the Bible in Jeremiah chapter 1 when the Lord called me to ministry. As I read the words on the pages of the Bible they jumped out at me and I felt God speaking it directly to me:   “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew [ a ] you,     before you were born I set you apart;     I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6  “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” 7  But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. 9  Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I h...

It was easier to involve our sons in helping with the ministry when we homeschooled them.  They also traveled with us when my husband was a full time evangelist.  When we moved back to our home state of Georgia our life rhythms changed a lot because we quit homeschooling the older 3 and I started working part time outside of the home. Talk about a change!  I still homeschooled the youngest for Pre-k. Now our oldest son owns his own business, our second son is a Senior in high school at a public school and our younger two are at a private school in 10th grade and 2nd grade. Each year my husband and I reassess what kind of school our children need to be in and if they need to be homeschooled again or not. Seasons change in life and that’s okay.  I recently took a course that reminded me of the importance of including your children in the work of the ministry. Younger children naturally like to help serve.  If you have teens or young adults all you have to do is as...

Seven days, two spent flying and driving, from South Georgia’s farmland to the huge city of London England. My first sign of culture shock though was eating lunch in Atlanta with my brother and sister in law who were helping us get to and from the airport. I walked into the loud crowded restaurant and felt a bit dazed and confused. I looked around at the people noticing a stark difference from city life to country life. The kale salad with tangy dressing was good. I knew I needed a break from ministry even though it was technically my husband’s sabbatical. I needed one too, after all, I am married to the Pastor. We love the Lord and are so grateful God called us both into the ministry before we even met but it’s a 24/7 job with a heavy burden if you truly care about people. We love our church family and are grateful they allowed us this time to get away and rest and get refreshed. I was unable to sleep on the plane so when we got there we took a 4 hour nap and then got out and explored...

My husband didn’t know I was taking this picture. We stopped in right before church to look at the building our church recently purchased to turn into a youth building. When we moved to this small town in South Georgia to pastor a local church we had no intention of building anything, starting anything, or shaking things up. We were content and happy when under 100 folks voted him in as pastor after serving in West Virginia and Kentucky. We were happy to be back in our home state of Georgia where the green grass grows and the corn pops up in rows. Rows not toes autocorrect. Get it right.  But then God started moving and the church was so packed with people that we had to move the morning service to the gym (and it still meets there). People were getting saved, born again, blood washed and baptized. People were joining the church and it grew and grew. The devil got to work too and stirred a great ruckus. We persevered in face of persecution, attacks, even harassment and betrayal. No...

 As I started reading the first 2 chapters of this book (Ministry to Women) that our women’s ministry leadership team is about to study together, I had a God moment.  I love when this happens! I tell people about them all the time. My book (Walk by Faith) is full of stories like this that really happened.  Oh the joys of walking with Jesus! I wish everyone could experience it.  In the first chapter, one of her first sentences was about a book called Start with Why. This was a book I recently read with another woman in ministry as she was going through an assessment with me.  We discussed the importance of how any leader must “start with why” when they are leading a team to accomplish a goal together.  In ministry the goal is not making money or building buildings. The goal is to see lost souls saved, new christians discipled, to help people discover their spiritual gift so they can serve the body of Christ & to obey what the Lord is calling you to do. W...

 What if a woman is called to ministry?   By Brandi Beck Smith   As promised, not really promised but as mentioned, here are my thoughts on the Southern Baptist Convention vote on women serving as Pastors.    As some of you may know, I am a woman called to the ministry. I was called to the ministry as a teenage girl, long before I met my husband who is a pastor and evangelist.   I was sitting in my car in the church parking lot of Briarwood Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist Church in Watkinsville, Georgia, and I was reading my Bible in Jeremiah chapter one when I heard the Lord‘s call to me personally to speak for him and to give my life in full-time ministry, whatever that may look like.    I read Jeremiah 1:4-9 which says,   “The word of the Lord came to me, saying,   “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,     before you were born I set you apart;     I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” “A...

 I did a couple things that grounded me last weekend. I didn’t know they would ground me. They just needed to be done. I cleaned my house with my own hands. I used to do this all the time but during basketball season I paid someone to clean the house because we were too busy. And we have 4 sons. We live on a non working farm in the country. It gets dirty. These days people talk about nervous system regulation but they don’t realize it can happen in the natural rhythms of life if we slow down. The second thing I did was ironing. I was dreading it. My closet is tiny in this 100 year old farmhouse so I stored my summer clothes in a suitcase and when I got them out they were all wrinkled. A steamer wouldn’t cut it so I got out the old fashioned iron. And it was so relaxing! I can imagine that cooking and gardening and organizing closets can have the same effect. The Bible talks about working with your hands. It really helps your mind. God has a way to regulate your nervous system with ...

John and I are in our early to mid forties & at this time we do not own a home or a camper or land or a condo somewhere. In the past we had bought & sold three different homes. Being in the ministry and surrendered to the Holy Spirit we said we would go where God led. Over the past twenty plus years that has meant moving a lot.   I have seen this bible verse come to life in our lives. “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the Gospel will fail to receive 100 times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions— and in the age to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30 NIV) We surrendered our homes and many possessions and God has given us back “homes and lands with persecutions” through God’s people allowing us to use their lake house or pond house etc for getaways.  God’s Word is true. And it’s an adventure!

  Dear Mamas, You wear so many hats (or bunny glasses).  You are an easter basket finder, party planner, grocery shopper, house cleaner, cheerleader or coach.  You are a chauffeur, a nurse if need be, a prayer warrior, a disciplinarian, a shoulder to cry on. You are a laundromat, a shopper, a planner, a scheduler of trips, budgeter of money and more.  But don’t forget who you really are.  If you are saved; if you have asked Jesus to forgive you and save you from your sin, you are His precious Princess.  Sometimes us Mamas need to be reminded we have One who cares for us. He cares for your heart, your soul, your mind and body.  He wants to carry your burdens. Life can get heavy. Jesus is waiting for you to come to Him.  “Come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 In your long list of to dos, write His name on it. Jesus.  Spend a minute of quiet time resting in His love for you.  Let Him hold you and calm you and...

This message has been rolling around in my heart and mind for awhile but I’m hesitant to share it. I have such a burden for young people, young adults and youth. This may even affect children these days.  I don’t have daughters but I’m around young people a lot. I’m seeing something in our culture that we used to only see celebrities do.  With social media everyone can be a “someone”, an influencer , a celebrity so to speak who posts selfies and sees pictures of others with or without filters.  At the same time we are being marketed to and companies have paid money to get us to buy their products.  Our culture has also become more sexualized. Things people wear as clothes are what used to be called under garments. Where has modesty gone?  Girls, young women and middle aged women are hearing messages from the world that they need to inject themselves with shots to get skinny, shots to prevent wrinkles, shots to enlarge lips, surgeries to change their bodies an...

 The prayer Nathan Lino prayed over all of us at Pastor Wellness the first session was powerful.  It was anointed.  I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit .  He prayed, “Someone in this room is committing adultery. Someone here has a disease.”  He prayed a long powerful prayer that ministered to those who had an ear to hear.  Pastor Nathan and his wife Nichole Lino shared about their life with 4 older children, church planting before it was cool (I can relate to both) & the hardships in ministry as a pastor and pastor’s wife.  The first verse he shared was out of Ephesians 5:22-24 “Wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, Himself the Savior of his body. As the church submits to Christ so let wives submit to their husbands in everything.” You could have heard a pin drop.  This verse even makes pastors wives uncomfortable.  I remember the first ...

From a drug dealer to a hope dealer.  Jesus saved John  (my husband) 24 years ago today, March 5th .  From a drug addict to a Jesus fanatic. From planning schemes to planting 2 churches .  Do you wonder why he preaches with such PASSION? He once really was lost and now he really is found.  From the darkness of a suicide attempt to now saving souls by sharing the gospel .  He’s an amazing father and husband.  Only Jesus can transform like that.  If you don’t believe in God just look at his testimony .  Thank you Jesus for the blood applied to cover our sin!!

 How to STOP anxiety . 🛑 STOP S is for sin, self talk or stress T is for trauma  O is for origin  P is for products  I heard this on the radio today on 101.1 and I made this graphic.  Problem: Sometimes our sin, our self talk or stress can cause anxiety.  Solution: Renew your mind with the Bible daily & positive affirmations based on Scripture. Get enough sleep, rest, exercise and take ashwaganda or something natural for stress management .  Problem: Trauma Solution: See a specialist in trauma counseling such as EMDR etc to heal Problem: Origin Solution: Heal from childhood wounds that cause anxiety. Choose a good therapist. (Cord of 3) Accept that God put you in the family or lack of family for a reason (like Joseph in Genesis) Problem: Products Solution: Come off caffeine and any other product that can cause anxiety  (This week I have stopped caffeine due to anxiety after infusion and it’s already helping!) Share your tips in the comment...

  It took my breath away when we drove away.  Some of my darkest days were spent in this little house. When we pulled into the driveway all I could think about was the postpartum depression that swallowed me up.  That’s why there is a big age gap between our third and fourth son. I was scared I would have PPD again. I didn’t have it after our fourth son was born but I did have depression after our fifth child miscarried at 4 months. I didn’t talk about it while I was walking through it. I didn’t really know that’s what it was for a long time.  But I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Anxiety . I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, but I was still breastfeeding my newborn baby.   I know where I went wrong. And now that I’ve been through and studied health and wellness there are things I would tell young mothers so they don’t have to suffer like I did.  Instead of having my third baby and going home to rest and let family help take care of me, the house, and the two ot...