Chris Burkmenn's Blog

The Bible mentions several times about being the least, humbling yourself and becoming a servant for the sake of Christ. Jesus set an example in the Bible because He was God in the flesh and yet, he humbled himself continually and served those around him. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ... -Philippians 2:5-11 This is contratary to what the world tells us that we need. The today being obcessed with youtube and finding over night success by becoming the next viral sensation. Giving us the self-gratification the by people knowing our name we are becoming somet

Allan Fonseca an employee in a mall at Clackamas Town Center malll in Oregon saved lives on Decemeber 12, 2012.  Fonseca was familiar with his place of employment and used it for good. After the mall was taken over by a gun man, he was waiting on his mother Jocelyn Lay. Fonseca employed at Lancome in Macy's, hide his mother behind the counter. "We both just looked at each other and knew that this was a serious situation and it was a gunman and we both just dove down below the Lancome counter there for a little protection," Lay told "Good Morning America." "And the gunfire just kept going off." Lay began praying for that the Lord protect her and the others that were in danger in the mall. She gave credit to her son for being an employee and knowing exactly how to navigate the situation. She says he is her hero. "He said that we needed to evacuate, and he took me by the hand and took me down the escalator and out to safety," she said.

The vision of this website. Thank you all for your support! Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law. -Proverbs 29:18

Tonight I spent the evening listening to music with a good friend of mine. We went through CD after CD trying to find some new music. Some were quality, and some were not my type of music. While looking through new and old we came across a vast variety of music. After several attempts we finally came across GOLD! I took one listen and knew that I had a new favorite song. My song of the week for Music Monday is Beauty in the Broken by Hyland. This song comes together to bring an uplifting encouraging song for all age groups. Sharing the Gospel telling the amazing redemption offered in the Lord Jesus Christ. We can find Beauty in the Broken no matter what you have been through no matter where you have come from. No matter how hopeless life may seem. Because God has a promise for your life, and Gods promises can never be miscarried. The band Hyland, is made up of four young men. Jon Lewis, Mitch Hansen, Ben Early, and Steve Weigel for this incredible band driven on impacting th

Often, I look at my circumstances and feel that all odds are against me. Thinking I am not equipped enough, I am not prepared, or even I am not the right person for the job. I remember I was home in St. Louis for Christmas vacation with my family, retreating to be reloaded. When I thought back on 2012, I remembered the struggles and how difficult the year had been. Wondering, "Why God would let me go through these things?" Even in the blessings I remembered thinking to myself, I am not ready.  Most of the time I tend to sell myself short. Trying to get by with the bare minimum in order to sustain where I am. I am not the biggest fan of change. Currently I am reading Forgotten God by Francis Chan, and in the book he says that we begin to ask God to repeat what he has done in the past, whether it be in worship or in a season in our lives. Francis says, that we shouldn't ask God to repeat old thing, but to experience something new from him. That blew my mind! I never thoug

In life, we have the choice to conform to the world or help change it. Nothing can be done in our own strength, we must first realize this. From there, everything else is by faith.   How many of you would say the world is kind of in a mess right now? I think we can all agree. But here are some simple steps on how to be the change you wish to see. Have you ever asked yourself, "What kind of impact do I want to make on this world?" I know most of us have, most of us in vain. "How can I get people to know me" or "How can I live forever?" Even I have been in those situations. I remember when I first started seat filling in 2009 for the CMA’s. I really thought “this is my time to be a star this is it!!” Well, my heart was wrong and so was my attitude. The honest answer is: life isn’t about you and you can't live forever. However, you can be a part of something that is bigger than you and that will outlast you.  How?  By helping to

Today the song of the day is Restless Heart by Matt Hires, one of the best songs coming into 2013. It's refreshing catchy positive message is unescapable. With an amazing instrumental featured on the CD.  Matt has been on the music scene for quite sometime, but is gaining some attention from mainstream.  Today I bring attention to this amazing young man who is bound to be music's next big thing. So please join me in supporting Matt Hires. His song Restless Heart is on Itunes.com as well as Spotify. Back story on Matt: As a cabinet store worker by day and a musician by night, Hires always had a heroic passion for music. Matt’s father, also a musician, introduced him to music at a young age, giving him the handmade guitar that Matt continues to play. Initially drawn to the punk, Post-hardcore, and Emo scenes, Matt later developed an interest in artists like Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, which explains the uniqueness of his vocal and instrumental harmonies that dabble in bot

Kaitlin Roig pictured On December 13, 2012 one of the scariest moments of any parent and even American citizen lives occurred. The unthinkable happened  A young man intruded into Sandy Hook Elementary school armed and dangerous. This site is not taking a position on gun control, but we are confronting the issue. Kaitlin Roig a first grade teacher at the elementary school in Newton, Connecticut  Pushed fear behind her in the sake of her students.  Adam Lanza arrived to the school at 9:30 a.m. Adam killed his mother at the families home before going to the school.  Kaitlin the 29 year old teacher, at the time was teaching her first graders. Hearing a gun shot, she rushed her students to a near bathroom. Telling ABC News: “I put one of my students on top of the toilet. I was telling them, it’s going to be OK, you’re going to be all right. I told them to be absolutely quiet because I was just so afraid if he did come in he would hear us and start shooting t