Well, it is official. My sister Samantha is in Albania. This is a crazy thought to me and has really brought me to my knees at the foot of the cross. Here is just a little background so you can sense where I am coming from.
Samantha and I are 13 months apart and were pretty much each others best friend growing up. She was my caretaker when my mom would be doing things around the house. She still to this day takes care of me so well, I am in awe of how much I have taken her for granite. I have done so many things in my life that I am not proud of but she continually genuinely forgives me. I am so undeserving of such a phenomenal sister. And to top it off. She loves Jesus more then life itself. She has an incredible amount of wisdom and discernment that humbles me. She makes me want to dig into the word and find out what she has been shown by the Holy Spirit. She is a beautiful picture of a Proverbs 31 wife, and I am proud to call her my older sister. The man that God has in store for her does not know how blessed he will be.
With all of that being said. And that does not even begin to describe the woman of God she truly is....She and her roomies are heading to Albania. Well...actually they are there now. They will be there for 2 full weeks serving at an orphanage and sharing Jesus with people. It is hard enough to let her go because I barely get to see her as it is...(that and I have seen the movie "Taken"...if you have not, watch it and you will understand) But with this trial comes the task of TRUSTING GOD. I serve a BIG God. I know that He is able and will protect her and that He will be glorified. But hey...she is still my big sis and it's hard to just say, "ok God here ya go" My own selfishness still wants to take control. But then God kindly reminds me by saying.."Kait, you are half way across the world from her, and SHE IS MINE. So why don't you let me be God this time and trust that I will take care of my daughter". Man...God is good.
"I lift my hands to believe again. You are my refuge, You are my strength. As I pour out my heart, these things I remember. You are faithful, God, forever"
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
HE IS ABLE
Friends,
I bet you already know the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego. The three men who were thrown into a furnace to burn alive because they would not bow to a god of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had built. But have you ever truly dug into the story. Pieced it apart until there was nothing left of it?
Our church (Matthias' Lot) is studying in Daniel. Yesterday evening we went through Daniel 3:8-30. Pastor Marc spoke of Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego and of their strong faith. I was truly humbled and found myself at the foot of the cross unashamed to show my brokenness to God. I asked myself, do I have a strong faith? Faith to love God through anything? Through cancer scares, deaths, stress, happiness ANYTHING?! This story gets me so amped dude.
In Daniel 3:17-18 it says, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up".
Can you imagine being 20 years old and speaking to a King in such a way? Would you have the audacity to stand firm in your faith of Jesus Christ and tell them that you will not bow even if death comes of it? Our God is able friends. Meaning that He is able to save you from your struggle, whatever it may be. But He also is able to not save you. And we need to be ok with this. Our faith cannot be hindered by scary/tough circumstances. These men obey God and refuse to bow because they understand God's ability and that He is able. The fire that threatened their lives could not touch the ability of God.
Friends, Is your God able? YES! He is! When an indulgence is waved in front of our face you must stay strong. In this case it was when King Nebuchadnezzar gave them another opportunity to bow before the god of gold, but they still refused. Pastor Marc brought up a great point about temptation. He said, "The moment you become "curious" is the moment you start to fail". This meaning, have you ever been tempted to cheat on a test when someone offers you the answers? The first time you may say "O no, I don't do that" But then the second time they offer, you say, "Really? You have all the answers?" And you begin to fall to that temptation. The amazing thing is that these men did not even falter to this. This truly blows my mind and humbles me. Put yourself in their shoes, if you were being threatened to be burned alive if you did not renounce the name of God....Would you still have faith, that He is able? That if He saves you..To Him be the glory!...And if not..To Him STILL be the glory?
How many times do we fail everyday to stand for God? I know that I fail, but I want to STAND firm KNOWING that my God is able!! Will you join me?
I bet you already know the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego. The three men who were thrown into a furnace to burn alive because they would not bow to a god of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had built. But have you ever truly dug into the story. Pieced it apart until there was nothing left of it?
Our church (Matthias' Lot) is studying in Daniel. Yesterday evening we went through Daniel 3:8-30. Pastor Marc spoke of Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego and of their strong faith. I was truly humbled and found myself at the foot of the cross unashamed to show my brokenness to God. I asked myself, do I have a strong faith? Faith to love God through anything? Through cancer scares, deaths, stress, happiness ANYTHING?! This story gets me so amped dude.
In Daniel 3:17-18 it says, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up".
Can you imagine being 20 years old and speaking to a King in such a way? Would you have the audacity to stand firm in your faith of Jesus Christ and tell them that you will not bow even if death comes of it? Our God is able friends. Meaning that He is able to save you from your struggle, whatever it may be. But He also is able to not save you. And we need to be ok with this. Our faith cannot be hindered by scary/tough circumstances. These men obey God and refuse to bow because they understand God's ability and that He is able. The fire that threatened their lives could not touch the ability of God.
Friends, Is your God able? YES! He is! When an indulgence is waved in front of our face you must stay strong. In this case it was when King Nebuchadnezzar gave them another opportunity to bow before the god of gold, but they still refused. Pastor Marc brought up a great point about temptation. He said, "The moment you become "curious" is the moment you start to fail". This meaning, have you ever been tempted to cheat on a test when someone offers you the answers? The first time you may say "O no, I don't do that" But then the second time they offer, you say, "Really? You have all the answers?" And you begin to fall to that temptation. The amazing thing is that these men did not even falter to this. This truly blows my mind and humbles me. Put yourself in their shoes, if you were being threatened to be burned alive if you did not renounce the name of God....Would you still have faith, that He is able? That if He saves you..To Him be the glory!...And if not..To Him STILL be the glory?
How many times do we fail everyday to stand for God? I know that I fail, but I want to STAND firm KNOWING that my God is able!! Will you join me?
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Allow Him to carry you
Dear Friends,
What are your struggles?
I ask this because we all have them, what are you choosing to hand over to God? I will admit, I have greatly struggled with loneliness recently. With all types of relationships. I found myself becoming bitter wondering why I felt so alone. Then I got a huge smack in the face...even if I had not a single person in the world to talk to, I would still not be alone. For the Lord is with me always. And although at times I may not feel His presence I know He is there. Waiting for the very moment that I call for His help. When you feel lonely or overwhelmed just remember friends. Jesus is there to not only walk beside you and hold your hand, but to CARRY you in His arms. We are so prideful at times and consume ourselves with the idea that God owes us so much. He owes us friendships, more income, healing etc....But in reality the truth is that all we deserve is death. And God sent His son Jesus so that we would not have to die.
In 1 Peter 5:5-11 it says5Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. I know that I need this reminder so badly at times, why is it that we struggle so greatly to rest in the arms of our maker but we can so easily rest in the arms of someone else? A song that has really softened my heart and opened my eyes to how selfish I have been is "Trust you" by Brandon Heath.
So I plead this for you friends, allow Jesus to take up your cross, whatever it may be. He is waiting...All you have to do is ask.
What are your struggles?
I ask this because we all have them, what are you choosing to hand over to God? I will admit, I have greatly struggled with loneliness recently. With all types of relationships. I found myself becoming bitter wondering why I felt so alone. Then I got a huge smack in the face...even if I had not a single person in the world to talk to, I would still not be alone. For the Lord is with me always. And although at times I may not feel His presence I know He is there. Waiting for the very moment that I call for His help. When you feel lonely or overwhelmed just remember friends. Jesus is there to not only walk beside you and hold your hand, but to CARRY you in His arms. We are so prideful at times and consume ourselves with the idea that God owes us so much. He owes us friendships, more income, healing etc....But in reality the truth is that all we deserve is death. And God sent His son Jesus so that we would not have to die.
In 1 Peter 5:5-11 it says5Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. I know that I need this reminder so badly at times, why is it that we struggle so greatly to rest in the arms of our maker but we can so easily rest in the arms of someone else? A song that has really softened my heart and opened my eyes to how selfish I have been is "Trust you" by Brandon Heath.
So I plead this for you friends, allow Jesus to take up your cross, whatever it may be. He is waiting...All you have to do is ask.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
You must obey then trust.
Dear friends,
This week God literally BROKE me and called me to do something that I have never felt so convicted to do in my life. The Holy Spirit called me into obedience. Can I just stress to you how hard this call is. It is the most challenging trial the Lord has ever put me through. But I know that I will be forever grateful. A verse that the Lord Literally put in front of my face was
Lamentations 2:22-26
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him".
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord".
How amazing is our God? Dude, sit back and reflect on this..."How BIG is your God?!" I was hurting so badly this past week and praise God that He was able to put a Godly woman in my life to shove that in my face. HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD? Do you rejoice in your sufferings? Do you have a strong faith to know that God is in control. Your fate and happiness has already been decided in His eyes. He is the perfect and just author of our life story. Who better to run after with a full and heavy heart. Friends, I encourage and plead for you to SPRINT and fall face first at the foot of the cross. It will be the most incredible journey I promise. I also promise, that it will be hard, you will be confused, but God will reveal Himself to you in His time. Wait patiently on your Creator. He is merciful and gracious and loves you!! He loves me enough to take me in my arms and say "Be still and know that I am God"
Seek after God's own heart. Be completely CONSUMED in Him and you will find rest.
Psalm 16:1-2
"Keep me safe O God, for in you I take refuge. I said to the Lord "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing"
We were made to Love Him. Do you Love Him...I am not talking about the "O yea, God is awesome, I love Him for what He has given me" I am talking about loving Him through your sufferings! Who do you run to in your times of suffering? Do you love God or do you compromise? So again I will leave you with this.
How BIG is your God?
This week God literally BROKE me and called me to do something that I have never felt so convicted to do in my life. The Holy Spirit called me into obedience. Can I just stress to you how hard this call is. It is the most challenging trial the Lord has ever put me through. But I know that I will be forever grateful. A verse that the Lord Literally put in front of my face was
Lamentations 2:22-26
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him".
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord".
How amazing is our God? Dude, sit back and reflect on this..."How BIG is your God?!" I was hurting so badly this past week and praise God that He was able to put a Godly woman in my life to shove that in my face. HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD? Do you rejoice in your sufferings? Do you have a strong faith to know that God is in control. Your fate and happiness has already been decided in His eyes. He is the perfect and just author of our life story. Who better to run after with a full and heavy heart. Friends, I encourage and plead for you to SPRINT and fall face first at the foot of the cross. It will be the most incredible journey I promise. I also promise, that it will be hard, you will be confused, but God will reveal Himself to you in His time. Wait patiently on your Creator. He is merciful and gracious and loves you!! He loves me enough to take me in my arms and say "Be still and know that I am God"
Seek after God's own heart. Be completely CONSUMED in Him and you will find rest.
Psalm 16:1-2
"Keep me safe O God, for in you I take refuge. I said to the Lord "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing"
We were made to Love Him. Do you Love Him...I am not talking about the "O yea, God is awesome, I love Him for what He has given me" I am talking about loving Him through your sufferings! Who do you run to in your times of suffering? Do you love God or do you compromise? So again I will leave you with this.
How BIG is your God?
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Don't let carelessness weaken your life.
“She prodded him day after day until he was tired to death. So he told her everything …” Judges 16:16-17 NIV)
The biblical strongman Samson was very careless with his commitments. He made a vow, saying “God, I'm going to live for You.” And to remind him of his vow to God, Samson promised to never cut his hair.
But problem is that Samson refused to take himself seriously or to take God seriously. He thought everything was a big game and so he toyed with temptation: “How close can I get to the fire and not get burned?”
We see this clearly in his relationship with Delilah (Judges16). She continually tempts Samson while asking him to tell her the secret of his great strength, And rather than fleeing temptation, Samson carelessly plays a game with Delilah, not once, but four times, and each time he compromises just a little bit more.
“How close can I get to the fire and not get burned?”
Because Samson was playing a game, he hardly noticed the step that took him from being close to the fire to actually being in the fire.
“Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair … and so his strength left him. Then she called, `Samson, the Philistines are upon you.' He awoke from his sleep and thought `I'll go out as before and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” (Judges 16:19-20 NIV)
“He did not know the Lord had left him.” That is one of the most tragic statements in the Bible. He was unaware of what was happening; how his lifestyle was perpetually weakening him little by little. It was a gradual process. He had assumed he would always be strong.
Nobody ever plans to be a failure. It just comes on gradually. Nobody says, “I’m going to be a drug addict” or “I want to break up my marriage” or “I think I’ll destroy my health.” But it starts with one little thing and builds and builds until the point that one day we wake up and say, “What happened? This isn’t living for God.”
What's the lesson we can learn from Samson's life? Strong people keep their commitments. They guard their commitments. They don't play games with their commitments.
Consider this: Your life is only as strong as your weakest commitment.
What are you committed to? Are you committed to the Lord? Are you committed to a church? Are you committed to your family? That's where your strength comes from
The biblical strongman Samson was very careless with his commitments. He made a vow, saying “God, I'm going to live for You.” And to remind him of his vow to God, Samson promised to never cut his hair.
But problem is that Samson refused to take himself seriously or to take God seriously. He thought everything was a big game and so he toyed with temptation: “How close can I get to the fire and not get burned?”
We see this clearly in his relationship with Delilah (Judges16). She continually tempts Samson while asking him to tell her the secret of his great strength, And rather than fleeing temptation, Samson carelessly plays a game with Delilah, not once, but four times, and each time he compromises just a little bit more.
“How close can I get to the fire and not get burned?”
Because Samson was playing a game, he hardly noticed the step that took him from being close to the fire to actually being in the fire.
“Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair … and so his strength left him. Then she called, `Samson, the Philistines are upon you.' He awoke from his sleep and thought `I'll go out as before and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” (Judges 16:19-20 NIV)
“He did not know the Lord had left him.” That is one of the most tragic statements in the Bible. He was unaware of what was happening; how his lifestyle was perpetually weakening him little by little. It was a gradual process. He had assumed he would always be strong.
Nobody ever plans to be a failure. It just comes on gradually. Nobody says, “I’m going to be a drug addict” or “I want to break up my marriage” or “I think I’ll destroy my health.” But it starts with one little thing and builds and builds until the point that one day we wake up and say, “What happened? This isn’t living for God.”
What's the lesson we can learn from Samson's life? Strong people keep their commitments. They guard their commitments. They don't play games with their commitments.
Consider this: Your life is only as strong as your weakest commitment.
What are you committed to? Are you committed to the Lord? Are you committed to a church? Are you committed to your family? That's where your strength comes from
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Ruth chapter 1:1-22
Do you trust solely in the character of God?
Today I studied the book of Ruth, which in my opinion is one of the most phenomenal books of the Bible to me. It illustrates to me that God is intentional about our life and we must have a strong faith and great patience to receive His best.
The true hero of the book of Ruth is God. He works through His invisible hand of province in Ruth and Boaz's life which can only be seen through faith. When you begin to acknowledge this you will see God at work! Ruth left everything, her family, her home town, her friends, etc and had strong faith in a God she did not know. When I read this I was blown away. I am a Christian, have been for 13 years now, and to think that at even the most simple things in life I still question God's authority. When I read this first chapter I realized so much about how important it is to wait on God's timing, for He knows best. My biggest struggle in life is patience, I love to be in control. Through reading and studying this chapter God brought to my attention how important it is to rely on Him in times of struggle. When you are in times of struggle you shouldn't ask God..."Why me?"....rather you should ask, "God, how is this being used to sanctify you" When you love the Lord more whole-hearted and readily through sorrow and conflict you will see His grace and mercy more profoundly and begin to see His plan. Giving up control in your life is the hardest leap of faith you will ever take. But I promise you, it is worth every second. Through doing this, I have found an indescribable inner peace over my heart. The Lord has found me and is working through my life everyday and I have the privilege of falling in love more everyday with his sovereign hand over my life.
Today I studied the book of Ruth, which in my opinion is one of the most phenomenal books of the Bible to me. It illustrates to me that God is intentional about our life and we must have a strong faith and great patience to receive His best.
The true hero of the book of Ruth is God. He works through His invisible hand of province in Ruth and Boaz's life which can only be seen through faith. When you begin to acknowledge this you will see God at work! Ruth left everything, her family, her home town, her friends, etc and had strong faith in a God she did not know. When I read this I was blown away. I am a Christian, have been for 13 years now, and to think that at even the most simple things in life I still question God's authority. When I read this first chapter I realized so much about how important it is to wait on God's timing, for He knows best. My biggest struggle in life is patience, I love to be in control. Through reading and studying this chapter God brought to my attention how important it is to rely on Him in times of struggle. When you are in times of struggle you shouldn't ask God..."Why me?"....rather you should ask, "God, how is this being used to sanctify you" When you love the Lord more whole-hearted and readily through sorrow and conflict you will see His grace and mercy more profoundly and begin to see His plan. Giving up control in your life is the hardest leap of faith you will ever take. But I promise you, it is worth every second. Through doing this, I have found an indescribable inner peace over my heart. The Lord has found me and is working through my life everyday and I have the privilege of falling in love more everyday with his sovereign hand over my life.
Hello everyone
Hello everyone. This is a new thing that I have decided to try this year. God has had such an impact on my life in the past year, especially in the past few months that I would love to share His grace with you. What I plan to do with this blog is just poor my heart out about what God is showing me through scripture and do my best to encourage anyone to the best of my God given ability. All I ask is that you show a little mercy due to the fact that I am not as gifted as writing as my older sister Sam. SHOUT OUT--(Check her our at simplysam88.blogspot.com). Hope you all enjoy!!
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