Brandon Gilliland

Words without actions are meaningless. If you follow me on Twitter, you have probably seen a tweet about that phrase. I’ve posted it a few times. True influencers are able to back up their words with actions.

If you think about it, would you rather listen to someone who just tells you what to do but is unable to execute it personally? Or would you rather listen and follow someone who actually lives out what they say?

I would choose the second option.

I have received numerous emails from teens across the country in the past few months that have really inspired me to write this post and a few others. Most have started connecting with me through Twitter, but a few have actually kept me updated on things through email and text messages. It is awesome to connect with people around the nation whom I have never met before.

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I made a graphic to share the other day about the difference between reputation and character.

What’s the Difference Between Reputation and Character?

According to the dictionary, we get the following definitions:

Reputation: overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general

Character:  the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual

If you take a look at the definitions above, you will notice that reputation is simply what others think of you. It is a formulated opinion. It is important for others to think highly of you, but your life should not be based on it. Character, in contrast to reputation, is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. Character is who someone is! 

As Christ followers, we should desire to possess character that models Christ. We all will mess up at times, but our life should be characterized by following God. I found this quote that directly correlates with this post:

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Today, I have the honor of having Adalenne as a guest on the blog. I got connected with her through Twitter, and we have had some awesome conversations recently.

If you want to connect with an awesome individual,  follow her on Twitter and subscribe to her YouTube channel!

Adalenne has created a video blog specifically for you all on having a pure mind and how that translates to a better relationship with Christ. Enjoy!

If you can’t see the video, click here.

What are your thoughts about the video?

Please share links to this video and remember to leave a comment!

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When you wake up and your feet hit the floor, a new day begins. It is important to have a purpose. God gives us another day to live for a reason. When I wake up, I make an attempt to realize that I’m alive and breathing for one reason: God has a plan and purpose for me.

To be successful in our lives, we have to realize that we have a purpose.

If you go about your day with no purpose, it can be a waste of time. Instead, God calls us to do the complete opposite.

As Christians, we are called to live intentionally.

It’s hard to live an intentional lifestyle if you’re always focused on the latest reality show or other insignificant things. Life is precious, and we should do everything we can to make an impact on others by showing God’s love.

What Is Your Purpose?

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I attended a powerful leadership conference a few years ago featuring speakers such as Terry Bradshaw, Laura Bush, and General Colin Powell.

Although all of the speakers were amazing,  Rudy Giuliani’s comments were the ones that really stuck with me. Not only was he a great speaker, he was a great leader during a tough time in America. Here are some of the highlights of his speech:

1. Know what you believe in.

Manage your beliefs. If you do not know what to believe in, it is very easy to fail.  It is important to establish your beliefs early on because they will lead you to the final result. Your beliefs will be your driving force.

2. Be an optimist.

Being optimistic is a mind set. Our natural instinct is to think about and focus on the negatives in life. Remaining optimistic is important in leadership. To keep an optimistic mindset, continually visualize your dreams. You have to dream in order to achieve something great! After the visions and the dreams have started to become clear, it’s important to set goals.

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There is a common question that encompasses many Christian’s lives: “How do I follow God’s will for my life”?  As Christians, we should desire to stay in God’s will for our lives. If we are truly following Christ, we should have the desire to please and serve Him.

If you are always questioning if what you are doing is within God’s will, then how can you serve Him to your best ability? The answer is rather simple, but it is hard to live it out: we need to keep our focus on God. This is easy to say, but it is not easy to live out on a daily basis. There are a few things that I have to remind myself of all the time to be able to be assured that I am living out God’s will for my life.

Pray

First off, prayer is important. If prayer is not an important part of your life, you can be certain that God’s direction will not be clear. If you are not on the same wavelength as God, you are not going to make the decisions that He wants you to make.

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In my previous post, I discussed how our words and actions can make a difference in others. It is important for our actions to line up with what we say. If you missed reading this post, you can read it here!

As Christians, we should desire to make a positive impact on others around us. One of the reasons God has us on this earth is to show His love. By doing this, we can make an impact on others. In the post Making A Difference With Your Words and Actions, I stated that if you want to make an impact on others, you have to be authentic in your words and actions. In other words, what you say must line up with your life.

At the end of the post, I asked the question: “Do you find it hard to make a difference?” I received some great responses from several readers.

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The other day, I posted a tweet that said, “Words without actions are meaningless”. True influencers are able to back up their words with actions.

If you think about it, would you rather listen to someone who just tells you what to do but is unable to execute it personally? Or would you rather listen and follow someone who actually lives out what they say?

I would choose the second option.

I have received numerous emails from teens across the country in the past week that have really inspired me to write this post. Many have started connecting with me through twitter, but a few have actually kept me updated on things through email. It is awesome to connect with people my age around the nation that I have never met before.

Continue Reading

A question that encompasses many Christian’s lives: “How do I follow God’s will for my life?”.  As Christians, we should desire to stay in God’s will for our lives. If we are truly following Christ, we should have the desire to please and serve Him.

If you are always questioning if what you are doing is God’s will, then how can you serve Him to our absolute best ability? The answer is rather simple: focus on God. This is easy to say, but it is not easy to live out on a daily basis. There are a few things that I have to remind myself of all the time to be able to be assured that I am living out God’s will for my life.

Pray

First off, prayer is important. If prayer is not an important part of your life, you can be certain that you are not in God’s will. If you are not on the same wavelength as God, you are not going to make the decisions that He wants you to make.

Continue Reading

Our whole purpose on this earth is to “Amplify God’s Kingdom”. The only way people are going to see God’s love is by us living it out. I recently came across an awesome song from the Christian rock band known as Luminate called “Banner of Love”

I have been a big fan of Luminate since their band started a few years ago. I had the opportunity to meet the lead singer, Sam, one day after one of his concerts. It was a small concert near my hometown, and we were able to talk for about 30 minutes after the show. It was awesome!

The song “Banner of Love” talks about raising a banner of love. This banner is representative of Jesus and His love.

Jesus says in His Word:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

-John 13:34-35

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