Change the World | Laurie Coombs

Archive for the ‘Change the World’ Category

Committed to YES!

Posted on: December 9th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 6 Comments

My girlfriend and I have been looking at marketing strategies lately. With my book coming out next June, we want to ensure we’re doing all we can to disseminate the message I’ve been entrusted with to the greatest extent possible. I’ll be talking more about that as time goes on, but I wanted to tell you about a comment my friend said to me the other day. It was a text, actually, and it said, “So I am thinking the marketing plan should be… SAYING YES TO GOD…it’s amazing how even when you don’t want to do some of what He calls us to do…if you keep saying yes, He takes care of you…He has constantly given you favor Laurie! Kudos to you for saying Yes…” I had just been given another ridiculously amazing opportunity to share my story in a major publication, and let me tell you––this assignment was…

Sometimes It’s Just Hard

Posted on: November 13th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs

I was following Jesus into the unknown––into my scary places. Places I did not want to go. He was calling me to walk on the water with Him––to do things I did not want to do––but I knew those very things would bring me to the place He intended, a place of blessing. Still, I was scared. It was hard, laying myself down like that. Ridiculously hard. I knew my God. I knew who He is. I knew His heart toward me. And I knew where I’d end up if I followed, but what I did not know is what that narrow rocky road would look like along the way, and quite honestly that scared me. “I feel like I’m falling apart,” I wrote in my prayer journal, sometime during this season. “[The girls and I] have been sick, my emotions are all over the board, I feel weighed down by…

{Fight for Faith} Sanctified Stubbornness

Posted on: July 9th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments

If you’re anything like me, your faith is not static. You may have times of great faith––faith so strong you’re absolutely convinced your unwavering trust in Jesus will quite literally move mountains. But oftentimes, that very faith seems to diminish over time. It goes out from you, like the air of an untied balloon when let go. Seasons of great faith are simply amazing, and I always think I ought to stay there. I seem to measure my level of Christian-success by how audacious my faith is, but I’m starting to think I have it all wrong. Downswings of our faith can be frustrating, alarming even, but I’m not entirely convinced these challenging seasons are a bad thing. I think we’re all bound to experience moments of failed faith. Times when we seem to be holding on by a thread. When we feel weak and discouraged by our lack of faith. But ultimately, every challenge, every…

{Orphan Advocacy} Children in Families First Bill (CHIFF)

Posted on: June 26th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. – James 1:27 Everyone of us wants to be wanted. We all want to belong. But all around the world, there are children left to fend for themselves––orphans. Over 147 million of them, not to mention countless others who live on the street. My family and I have been in the process of adopting from Ethiopia for close to four years now. The process has been an incredible one, but it’s been long and difficult for numerous reasons that I won’t get into here (for the sake of brevity). What I will say, however, is that our difficulties have largely been due to bureaucracy that could be streamlined and resolved if our lawmakers were informed of the current issues….

Do We Need to Rid Ourselves of Our Weaknesses?

Posted on: June 18th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 5 Comments

God, Jesus, Faith, Christian, Christianity, strengths, weaknesses, weak, strong, strength, weakness, overcome weakness, overcome, achievement, start, finish, finish what you start, 2 corinthians 12:10, 2 corinthians 12:9, made strong in my weakness, when i am weak then I am strong, strengths finder 2.0

I’m a starter. When called to something, I jump on it and get the ball rolling. But I have to admit, I’m not very good at finishing. That’s not to say that I don’t finish, but for me, finishing what I start does not come without a fight. All I kept thinking during those last few weeks finishing my manuscript was, “I want to quit! I want to quit!! I want to quit!!!” I knew I wouldn’t let myself quit, but I wanted to. I wanted to give up the fight. I wanted to take the easy road. I wanted to sit myself down in front of the TV or read a book or do just about anything other than write––all things I hadn’t done for months. But I was determined to finish even though it took every bit of will I had and a strength that truly was not my own. A…

Kisses from Katie Book Review and Giveaway

Posted on: December 3rd, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

I just love books, and I’ve decided to share my favorites with you all. Once a month, I will review and giveaway one of my favorite books. I figure it’s a good way to pass along some great titles and give you some insight into what has been influencing me and my thoughts. I hope you enjoy these posts and find these resources to be as inspirational and influential as I did! I wanted to actually do what Jesus said to do. So I quit my life. – Katie Davis Following Jesus’ call to radical obedience, Katie Davis found herself in Uganda––first for a short-term mission trip while still in high school; then for a longer, one-year commitment after graduation to teach kindergartners. But after that year ended––after returning to the States, to her “normal” teenage life––Katie realized returning to “normal” wasn’t possible for her any longer. She had seen too much….

Modern Day Slavery and The Power of One

Posted on: November 19th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs

Modern, that somebody is you, change the world, Jesus, Jesus hands and feet, Christine Caine, A21 Campaign, God, Christ, following Jesus, Christ follower, join the fight, slavery, modern slavery, trafficking, sex trade, more slaves today, 27 million, make a difference, the power of one,

Did you know there are more slaves in the world today than any other time in world history? [Tweet that] It’s true. There are an estimated 27 million people in bondage across the world today. This industry is extremely lucrative, “representing an estimated $32 billion per year in international trade,” being the third largest criminal industry in the world (Wikipedia). “Men, women, and children are being exploited for manual and sexual labor against their will” around the globe. And what’s even more astounding is that many of the victims are children or young girls who are forced into the sex trade and made to service up to twenty men a day. Tragically, the average age of trafficked victims is 12 years old (source, The A21 Campaign). TWELVE YEARS OLD! This could your child! My child! But regardless of whose child this is, this is unacceptable. Something must be done! When I first…