Young Brooke

I am currently reading a book called 'Crazy love ' by Francis Chan.
"Chan writes with infectious exuberance challenging Christians to take the Bible seriously.He describes at length the sorry state of 'lukewarm" Christians who strive for a life characterized by control, safely , and an absence of suffering.In stark contrast ,the book offers real life accounts of believers who have given time ,money,health, even their lives- in obedience to Christ 's call.Chan also recounts his own attempts to live 'crazy ' by significantly downsizing his home and giving away his resources to the poor.Earnest Christians will find valuable take-home lessons from Chan 's excellent book "-Publisher 's Weekly.
I was specially challenged by the story of Brooke Bronkowski.

"Brooke Bronkowski was a beautiful fourteen-year-old girl who was in love with Jesus. When she was in junior high she started a Bible study on her campus. She spent her babysitting money on Bibles so she could give them to her unsaved friends. Youth pastors who heard about this bought her boxes of Bibles to give away. Brooke wrote the following essay when she was twelve years old it will give you an idea what kind of a girl she was.

SINCE I HAVE MY LIFE BEFORE ME

By Brooke Bronkowski

I’ll live my life to the fullest. I’ll be happy. I’ll brighten up. I will be more joyful than I have ever been. I will be kind to others. I will loosen up. I will tell others about Christ. I will go on adventures and change the world. I will be bold and not change who I really am. I will have no troubles but instead help others with their troubles.
You see, I’ll be one of those people who live to be history makers at a young age. Oh, I’ll have moments, good and bad, but I’ll wipe away the bad and only remember the good. In fact that’s all I remember, just good moments, nothing in between, just living my life to the fullest. I’ll be one of those people who go somewhere with a mission, an awesome plan, a world-changing plan, and nothing will hold me back. I’ll set an example for others, I will pray for direction.
I have my life before me. I will give others the joy I have and God will give me more joy. I will do everything God tells me to do. I will follow the footsteps of God. I will do my best!!!

During her freshman year in high school, Brooke was in a car accident while driving to the movies. Her life on earth ended when she was just fourteen, but her impact didn’t. Nearly fifteen hundred people attended Brooke’s memorial service. People from her public high school read poems she had written about her love for God. Everyone spoke of her example and joy. I shared the gospel and invited those who wanted to know Jesus to come up and give their lives to Him. There must have been at least two hundred students on their knees at the front of the church praying for salvation. Ushers gave a Bible to each one of them. They were Bibles that Brooke had kept in her garage, hoping to give out to all of her unsaved friends. In one day, Brooke led more people to the Lord than most ever will. In her brief fourteen years on earth, Brooke was faithful to Christ. Her life was not wasted. The words from her essay seem prophetic: “You see, I’ll be one of those people who live to be history makers at a young age.” Sadly, many people die while living selfishly…. The truth is, some people waste their lives…. I think it’s easy to hear a story like Brooke’s and just move on, without acknowledging that it could just as easily be you or me or my wife or your brother whose life ends suddenly. You could be the next person in your family to die. I could be the next person at my church to die. We have to realize it. We have to believe it enough that it changes how we live. A friend of mine has a particularly wise perspective on this subject. He was asked if he weren’t spending too much of his time serving and giving too much away. His gentle but honest response was, “I wonder if you’ll say that after we’re dead.” (taken from Crazy Love)

Brooke has joined the great cloud of witnesses in heaven but her life still challenges me and you to live the kind of life which will impact eternity.

I recommend this book to all my reader 's. You can also visit CrazyLoveBook.com. Watch some of Chan 's videos where he talks about his book.

Cheryl on The Perch has read this book and is celebrating her blog anniversary in a very innovative way. You can also contribute to a worthy cause by visiting her blog and dropping a comment.