Hi everyone! I hope you're having a nice day! This weekend I'm sharing a new faith talk with you, to celebrate the end of the school year, at least for me. A few weeks ago, my local youth group that I help lead had an event that was themed around "community impact" and how to make positive change in whatever circles God has placed you in. It was a really cool event, and I had the pleasure of giving a talk about what impacting my community means to me, so I hope this inspires you. I broke down the best way that I've found to make positive change for those around you into 4 steps:
1) Find YOUR community, the people that make you feel like home. The people who can lift you up and support you in your faith even when the world turns you away. Make sure that you are grounded in this community, whether that's friends, family, or a school group.
2) Identify how you can change the world through your personal passion and placement in the world. We may wish that our lives were different at times, but it's important to remember that God placed you in the place that you are right now so that you could glorify Him in that space, so use it! Also figure out how you can use the gifts and talents that God has given you to impact those around you. This could be a musical talent, personality trait, or just whatever tools you have around you.
3) Prepare yourself to not be agreed with. This is probably the part that I have to work on the most - recognizing that you're still doing a good deed even if it isn't received well. I believe that as far as works of faith and servanthood go, intention determines outcome. If you go out into school and share your faith with a friend and they don't receive it well, that doesn't mean that you failed! It just means that God hadn't prepared their heart to receive that message yet. I think that as long as you go into a work of faith with a faithful spirit that says that whatever you do will glorify the Lord, you will have "peace which transcends all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) no matter others' reactions. Even if they don't react at that moment, you never know how your words or actions could affect others down the road! Also, remember John 15:18 - "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first".
4) Go out and do it!!! Don't be afraid of rejection when using words or actions that God has given you to glorify Him. Remember that "a generous person will prosper, those who refresh others will be refreshed" (Proverbs 11:25).
Also, these photos are from a fun photoshoot that my mom and I (and brother as a photographer's assistant, haha) did around a local golf course with some beautiful roses. They turned out really fun, and it was cool to be the model in a shoot instead of photographer for a little change, so I hope you enjoy that and the faith talk!!
Episode 146: https://youtu.be/IlPqunDU1L8
My Channel: (Edith Noble) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnXXLYRl1ImCPHpCqeFdilg