How are You Speaking Louder Than Before?

[jeremycampweb]

We want to hear your stories of how you are Speaking Louder than Before in spreading the Word of Jesus to others. This is a place of encouragement and ideas of how everyone can be Speaking Louder than Before to this generation.

[LauraA]

This is a great idea! I have to admit, Jeremy has me thinking about being afraid to "step on toes", as he has spoken of at the past couple concerts I've been to.

Although I believe we have to use wisdom and discretion when we witness to people, I have pushed myself in areas that I see I've been dragging my feet. As a result, I have spoken to my parents about the Lord again. They are not believers yet, and after I "blew them away" following being saved 23 years ago, I pretty much quit talking to them about Jesus. I figured that they know who I serve and if they ever became interested they could come to me and ask their questions. I had this attitude because they showed anger when I spoke of Him, so I quit.

My mom and my grandma are both now discussing current events in the light of "End Times", asking questions and listening when I share God's Word with them. My dad has softened up some, but hasn't openly discussed anything yet.

The time is short and the fields are ripe.

[LauraA]

See above post and then see what my mom sent me today. Thank You, Jesus!!


YOU SAY GOD SAYS BIBLE VERSES
You say: 'It's impossible' God says: All things are possible (Luke 18:27)
You say: 'I'm too tired' God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)
You say: 'Nobody really loves me' God says: I love you (John 3:1 6 & John 3:34 )
You say: 'I can't go on' God says: My grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)
You say: 'I can't figure things out' God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5- 6)
You say: 'I can't do it' God says: You can do all things (Philippians 4:13)
You say: 'I'm not able' God says: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8)
You say: 'It's not worth it' God says: It will be worth it (Roman 8:28 )
You say: 'I can't forgive myself' God says: I Forgive you (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)
You say: 'I can't manage' God says: I will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19)
You say: 'I'm afraid' God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7)
You say: 'I'm always worried and frustrated' God says: Cast all your cares on ME (I Peter 5:7)
You say: 'I'm not smart enough' God says: I give you wisdom (I Corinthians 1:30)
You say: 'I feel all alone' God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

[Kaylee13]

So I haven't been to a J concert since march so I haven't been able to hear anything he's really been sayin about it. Just the Title "Speaking Louder Than Before" really makes me want to get out there, step up and be a leader. Really, I can't wait for this album to come out. I think it's going to be just a great message to people. On top of that our youth pastor is starting a series of messages he's going to preach on about being a leader in our schools this year, about going out there and winning people to Christ and I just think this record is going to really just stand out there.

[Bubelaiken]

Okay... you know how jeremy said about speaking louder than before.
well i did speak louder than before.

i always share the gospel to little kids. IM good with kids and im really good with sharing the gospel with them but im never good shareing the gospel to Adults because i get nervous and i never really get along.


i remember about the bible ....

it said Anybody who welcome a child will welcome me. anybody will welcome the highest heave of the lord will welcome me.

it was sooo funny what they said about how i ask them about god.

A 6 year old girl she said I have a 3 poster of jesus christ on my wall... and it was soo funny and it crack me up and made me smile!

[Kelly]

In the past, I've always been kinda embarrassed to get into religious discussions because I always felt like everyone else knew so much more than me and that I would look like a fool if I were to speak up. But through Jeremy and this ministry, I've learned not to be ashamed of who I am and what I do know. I've stepped out of my comfort zone many times to discuss certain topics that I would've otherwise shied away from. And I often feel the need to share Bible verses that I've read, or devotionals, or just everyday occurences. I've been challenged by many people on many things since, but I don't let it get to me anymore! I know that part of being a Christian is to be under scrutiny, but like J always says, I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! He has done an AMAZING work in me the past year and I'd be crazy not to share my story and my hope with others!

Speak up! Speak now! Speak loud!

[drake71449]

here is my way of speaking louder than before

www.myspace.com/drake71449 and listen to the first song

[LauraA]

Very nice, Josh! Good job speaking louder than before. Keep it up.

[Bubelaiken]

this year i has have little project and mine is telling people that is it okay to be different. it is okay to have disabilitiy. i tell everybody about my disability. i told everyone that it is not okay to make fun of people who are different... it like you are discrimate of god's work. i have lots of people asking me about my disability. that is my year work of project and i call it Speaking louder than before! lol.

[drake71449]

bubelaiken good for you for educating ppl about your disability .... that speaks for itself

[LauraA]

Awesome, Leyanet!


I think that in the forth coming years we will be seeing a great revival in our land...one that may require us to step out in a way we never have before. Pray up so we can speak up, guys! Keep focused on Jesus.

[Wheels4Jesus]

I know I for one am done being quiet about my faith, no matter who is offended by it. People's salvation is more important to me than being scared that I might offend them by what I say.

[LauraA]

Yes, I'm trying to say more than I did before, too. I still want to be sensitive and speak at the right time so I speak with wisdom and as the Lord leads, but I have committed to speak when He says speak.

I think that it's important to share the Word in writing, too. Remember that there may be a day that we no longer have Bibles in our hands, or we may be gone and those left behind may not have them. Use your imaginations. :)

[drake71449]

this is a way of speaking louder than before without using words....check it out...its so amazingly awesome

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.showvids&friendID=104729384&n=104729384&MyToken=501ffe08-a9ad-470d-9cf9-8a8706d5ae12

it really touches the heart without saying a word...kinda like the keith whitley song....its amazing how you can speak right to my heart, without saying a word you drown out the dark...or something like that

:p

[DAROBERTS0524]

I can relate to you. After listening to the CD and hearing about the contest "how are you speaking louder". My family deicded we need to be more open about our faith. We are trying to decide as a family what we can dedicate ourselves to on a weekly/monthly basis. It will be so great.

[drake71449]

amen thats what we need to be doing...i got to actually help someone get together a devotion while at work today...so thats a helper right there

:p

[DAROBERTS0524]

Has anyone thought of designing a T shirt to wear to concerts, etc when you go by yurself, with a group, etc.. I know certain Third Day fans have one. Why can't we get one together for all of us how BLOG together. Just a thought:D
Let me know what you all think!!!!!

[DAROBERTS0524]

amen thats what we need to be doing...i got to actually help someone get together a devotion while at work today...so thats a helper right there

:p

It is hard for us to get something going. Our kida range in age from 3 to 8. We have had some places tell us our 3 yr old was too young. Hard to believe huh?

[drake71449]

i know roberts its tough with younger kids but the great thing about kids is that they get to playing with other kids and then the parents can talk to the other parents and find out if they have a relationship with Christ and if not then we can witness to em...aint it wonderful how God works...and as far as age goes.....only God knows ....and if you will look on youtube...i think J's dtr bella is like 4 and she accepted Christ...so i dont believe 3 is too young...that sounds like someone is more on the age of accountability thing and maybe be a lil confused... and are you saying they said 3 is too young to be saved???


:p

[DAROBERTS0524]

I do not think 3 is too young to be saved. We discuss God all the time and have nightly family devotions. Other people are telling us 3 is too young to do some of the things we have considered to SLTB>

[drake71449]

roberts i think J's daughter is young and she accepted christ as her savior
if i remember correctly

:p

[TRTforeva]

Me and my friends started a bible study at our school. We did this because we feel this is what God wants us to do. We also decided we needed to stand up for what we believe in. God has blessed us because we have ten members and became an official school club. The first week we started our bible study group we went through persecution. It was bad. But God helped us through. Our main goal in our group is to build people up,love everyone like Christ loves us, and stand up for whats right. Our bible study groups theme song is Speaking Louder than Before. It helped us get through the persecution and the song reminds us to keep standing and speaking up for God. We will keep on doing what God wants us to do!

[Kelly]

That sounds awesome! Good for you taking a step like that! :) Welcome to the boards btw!

[DAROBERTS0524]

Me and my friends started a bible study at our school. We did this because we feel this is what God wants us to do. We also decided we needed to stand up for what we believe in. God has blessed us because we have ten members and became an official school club. The first week we started our bible study group we went through persecution. It was bad. But God helped us through. Our main goal in our group is to build people up,love everyone like Christ loves us, and stand up for whats right. Our bible study groups theme song is Speaking Louder than Before. It helped us get through the persecution and the song reminds us to keep standing and speaking up for God. We will keep on doing what God wants us to do!

That is awesome. God Bless you guys and your study. May God work thorugh your group to speak to others in your school and may His glory shine through you. I will pray for you guys.

[TRTforeva]

Thank you so much DAROBERTS0524 and Kelly. just keep praying for our bible study. God is so great and He is still blessing us.

[drake71449]

welcome to the boards trt!!

:p

[TRTforeva]

Ok TRT is still going strong. The girl that persecuted us is back again doing it again, but not as bad as last time. To us it don't matter and she isn't bothering us because God is on our side.Also after the last time she persecuted us I wrote a song about it. So God worked everything out for good like it says in the Bible. It is one of the best songs I've written I give God all the glory for it. TRT has gone down in size, but that doesnt matter. We have 8 now instead of 10. Also we now have a website. It is really cool. One last thing is we are raising money for our History and Bible teacher, who is also teacher advisor. We are doing this because he is going to this camp in Iowa this summer ,and it cost a lot of money. By us helping him go is good because if he goes he can tell people about Jesus. So God is continuing to bless TRT. Now you have an update on what TRT is doing!

[LauraA]

It's a blessing to read reports like this! God bless you and continue to open your eyes to all He has for you. And welcome to the boards!:)

[TRTforeva]

Thanks and I hope He does to.

[drake71449]

trt i would love to see the website if you could post it!!!

:p

[TRTforeva]

Ok TRT's website is teensreachingtruth.webs.com.If you type it in on Google it will not let you get to it. You can get it on Yahoo. We would love for you to viit the website

[drake71449]

u have a site for your music?
would love to see/hear that too!

:p

[TRTforeva]

No i don't have a site for my music. i'd love to have one though.:p

[drake71449]

you could try purevolume or shoutlife music or myspace music
:p

[TRTforeva]

Thanks i c about those!!

[drake71449]

as far as speaking louder than before ....a friend has thrown out and idea we are acting on... making signs with scripture on them and standing by the road for ppl to see...and see how they react....and boy...do they ignore ya quick-like!!!

:p

[4himccm]

How about Bella's and Ari's SLTB...mission trip to Mexico w/ J and Adie and the girls came up w/ the idea....woo hoo!!!!! so excited to see their hearts like that at such a young age.

[cori]

whew, i don't even know where to start! God began this in me before SLTB was released, but has very slowly (and do i mean sssllllooooooowwwwwwwllllyyyyyyy!!!) piecing it together & bringing it to fruition. the VERY abbreviated background is that, at age 3, my son was diagnosed with autism. at age 4, he was HEALED of autism (confirmed by psychologist that diagnosed him). at age 7, autism began to emerge again. with the return of autism, i went into a huge vortex of emotion, ranging from confusion & frustration to all-out ANGER & RAGE. to say that i could NOT understand what was happening or why would be a COLOSSAL understatement. and, while THAT storm was raging, i was also being pulled deeper into...i don't even know the word i would use to describe it. God was pulling me in closer to Him, deeper WITH Him - it was a VERY active time in my life spiritually. a lot of prophetic words were given to me (people that knew me, but had no clue about the relevance of what they were sharing), i was having a LOT of dreams, visions, etc... and a sense of being prepared. i could really tell that He was preparing me for SOMETHING, but had NO CLUE what - all i knew was that it was some type of ministry. (uh, gee, thanks for clearing THAT one up, Lord! haha)

ok, so, ffw to 2009 - beginning of the school year. i had come to terms with the return of noah's autism, come to terms with a lot of other aspects of that particular storm (specifically, my relationship with the Lord, as i had struggled a lot with whether or not autism was back because of some failure on my part)....stepped back a bit from trying to figure out what all the preparation was for (i actually got REALLY hung up on that for a bit), and decided to just start LIVING again. not that i had stopped, but....i was going through the motions of LIFE because i was so focused on trying to figure out how things were fitting together, to what end, and why. it was very draining. now both of my boys were in school (noah in 3rd grade, and matthew starting kindergarten), so i was free to do some volunteer time in their classrooms - something i had been unable to do very often before, as siblings are not allowed on campus during school hours).

(new post, so i don't go over character allotment...)

[cori]

so, the school that my kids go to has 2 sides: the regular ed, and then the annex - special ed. both of my kids were in the annex: noah, because he is IN special ed; matthew in a full-inclusion class - a regular ed class AND a special ed class, combined and operating as ONE. i specifically requested that matthew be placed in that class, to give him exposure to special needs (outside of his brother), and to learn (from someone other than his parents) how to embrace, accept, and show compassion to people with special needs. (i know this is long & a LOT of background, but....it really is getting to the "how are you sltb" point...i promise...)

ok, i'll spare you all the lengthy mini-education on autism, but....for you to understand the significance of this, you have to know that autistic children are RARELY open to new people. it takes them a long time, if ever, to become comfortable with people. the FIRST DAY i volunteered in noah's class, the 2 most severely autistic children in his class warmed up to me. one said hi & gave me a hug (at that point of the school year, this particular student was almost COMPLETELY non-verbal, and showed NO signs of affection to anyone except mom) - the other kept walking up to me & touching me, hugging me or holding my hand. i really connected with the kids in noah's class in a way that few people will ever get a chance to do. and, i had a similar experience in matthew's class - mostly with the autistic children, but there is a wider range of disabilities in the class that matthew was in. anyway...from the very first volunteer day that i did, i really felt that God had PLACED me there, and that He had done so very deliberately, for a reason.

at atf (only a few weeks after my first volunteer day), well - atf as a whole was a wash-out for me, as a "leader," but...personally, it was a very intense, deeply intimate time with God. i always struggle at atf, because i feel like i need to be supervising & managing, and making sure that the kids have an encounter with the Lord - and then i beat myself up for not trusting HIM to take care of them while i have my own encounter with Him. and then, when i allow myself to have an encounter with Him, i feel like a jerk for not staying in the leadership role i am there to do. so that, plus other issues that were going on all through atf - it just was not a pleasant time, over all, and that made it a little easier for me to allow myself to listen to what God was speaking TO ME at the event. the best way i can describe that encounter is like the Lord was holding a puzzle - my LIFE puzzle - and He was tossing the pieces that He had previously revealed to me (through those prophetic words, dreams, visions, etc...), and showing me how they went together. of course, there were still holes - things yet to be revealed, but....the things that He had been preparing me for over the 2 yrs prior were finally coming together - and making sense!!!

wait! i left something out...the DAY BEFORE leaving for atf, i was offered a job at the school. as noon duty. i hemmed & hawed at the lady, because i really did NOT want the job (prior to this, noah's teacher had been pushing me to apply to be a sub-paraprofessional (special ed teacher's aide), but i had been reluctant, because i did not want a job to encroach on my volunteer time, because i KNEW that God had placed me in both classrooms for a reason). i told her i would think about it over the wknd and let her know on monday. i wasn't even completely turned around after talking to her when the Lord said to me, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? this is the PERFECT job!!! it's only 1.5 hrs a day, which will give you some extra income AND leave plenty of time for you to volunteer in both classes! what do you MEAN you'll THINK about it?" (ok, He wasn't as harsh as it seems to see it on the screen, but....that is pretty much verbatim! :eek:)

next post again...

[cori]

so, i had already decided, before even going to atf, that i was going to take the job. so all the "puzzle pieces" that God was tossing me all through the atf event were confirming that decision and His placing me in both classrooms. AND, because i can be pretty thick at times, He topped the wknd off with a message that was basically my entire wknd confirmation of everything all summed up in one handy sermon (minus the specifics of the volunteering in special ed classes and taking a "lesser than" job at the school). and halfway through the end-of-the-wknd sermon (dude, i missed sanctus real listening to this sermon, too! spent all of atf looking fwd to hearing them live! lol), God reminded me of one of the dreams He had given me 3-4 yrs ago - me, helping out a teacher (behind the scenes) in a classroom setting. really?? how could i have NOT gotten that then? anyway!

so - that's why i have not been on the boards much the last 9 months. noon duty was smack in the middle of the day - had 1.5 hrs between taking the boys to school & starting noon duty, and 1.5 hrs between ending noon duty & picking the boys up from school. so, it turned out that i would just stay ALL DAY at school, volunteering in one of their classes before & after noon duty. (oh yeah - right after atf, i shared what God had revealed to me at atf - one of the MOST significant things being that, if noah's autism had NOT returned, i would not be where God had placed me in the volunteer hours - i'd be in a mainstream class instead!...and that was followed up by people praying for me, and i was given a word that "noah's healing was God's gift to ME - so that i would believe that He WOULD do that for me, but AUTISM is God's gift to NOAH...which confirmed something i had known from the very beginning of our journey down autism lane - something that made it very difficult for me to pray for him to be healed in the first place, but that's an entirely different post! lol)

and, doors have just continued being open to me - i took the required tests to BE a paraprofessional at the school (after subbing as a para in addition to noon duty hours). not only did i pass the test, i was offered & GUARANTEED a job as a paraprofessional for next school year - guaranteed that job OVER people with tenure and AHEAD of more than 60 applicants! i mean, i have seriously put NO effort into getting this job as a paraprofessional, outside of driving to the testing place & taking the test, and then driving to the interview. i knew before the interview that the job was mine, so i didn't even have to stress about THAT! this job was literally HANDED to me - definitely by the Lord!

anyway....so, how on earth does this all relate to how i'm sltb? well....other than completely SHEDDING my former shell of crippling shyness & talking to people i would NEVER, in a million years, be confident enough to talk to....i am able to touch the lives of families with special needs kids in a unique way. i can bond with the child - something that a LOT of them need, because - i can tell you, most times, the parent (including myself, with my own son!) is sitting there at a complete loss as to what to do - compounded by the constant scrutiny & ridicule of people around them who think they understand but haven't got a clue. i am able to use my experience with noah to interact with that child, pray for that child's needs (at least the ones that are evident in a classroom setting)...pray for the family, and....in several cases, i have befriended the parents of the kids in both classes - which opens the door for me to share my story (noah), and my testimony, and just build a bond that is slowly opening the door to witnessing to them.

sorry that was so long! but....that's how i'm sltb. :) i guess it could have made sense without all of my jibber jabber background stuff, huh? *blush*

[4himccm]

sorry that was so long! but....that's how i'm sltb. :) i guess it could have made sense without all of my jibber jabber background stuff, huh? *blush*


Who cares how long it is...It's part of your SLTB testimony....And it rocks!!! :D

[cori]

eh, after typing it all out (after being crazy excited about it all & spending months trying to figure out how to give you all the short version!), it doesn't seem so great. i really could be doing a lot MORE to sltb. :/

[4himccm]

eh, after typing it all out (after being crazy excited about it all & spending months trying to figure out how to give you all the short version!), it doesn't seem so great. i really could be doing a lot MORE to sltb. :/


It's a start...be Happy for the start...take it 1 step at a time :p