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Kathy

Don’t miss it!

Foliage masses (Photo credit: satosphere)

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

  Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor. – Ps 8:3–5

“Oh, the trees are so beautiful! I haven’t noticed the change in color.” My friend I was having lunch with was riding instead of driving and took notice of the splendor displayed in the rich colors of fall. She, like many of us, is so busy.

Lists of tasks when we are busy seem to take over our attention and we miss the fabulous gifts displayed right in front of us. God intentionally gives us special presentations of his glory to enrich our lives and let us know how much he loves us.

There is a world full of beauty for us to enjoy. If we look around, we may discover something we overlooked before … a sunset, a shoreline, or perhaps a couple of eyes that communicate great love for you.

Look around.

Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for the many gifts you have given me throughout my life. Forgive me when I have missed them because I allowed my yoke to get too heavy. Today I will be intentional to look for your hand in all things. Amen

Faith Tip: Be aware of the gifts God has for you today.

What God really wants

0501 (Photo credit: kindagetmego)

… and find out what pleases the Lord. – Ephesians 5:10

A friend was planning her son’s birthday, and she wanted it to be fun for her son. She planned going to the mall, visiting the arcade, getting ice cream and anything else she thought her son would enjoy. At the end of the day, she asked her son if he enjoyed his birthday.

“It was fun. But we could have done anything and I would have liked it, because I just wanted to spend time with you. It seems we’re so busy that we don’t do that anymore.”

My friend could have asked her son what he would like to do for his birthday instead of assuming what he would like. We also could ask the Lord what would please him instead of assuming. We think that God would like us to do good works for him, which he does, but which ones? We can’t do them all, and he hasn’t called us to do them all.

It takes spending time with the person we love to know their heart and discover what it is that pleases them. We can’t assume it, or think if we enjoy it, then they certainly would, too. God desires that time with us … that pleases him.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you do desire time with me. That’s hard to believe when you have the whole universe to consider … you want to spend time with me? Wow! Amen

Faith Tip: Find out what pleases the Lord by spending time with him.

Reckless Faith

Delanie praying (Photo credit: fishin widow)

The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them. – Isaiah 11:6

There really is something special about the spirituality of children. Their hearts and minds have the ability to believe “recklessly” and while that can be a concern in regards to safety, in the realm of God and his kingdom it is a beautiful thing. They have the capacity to believe that God loves them and will take care of them, just because he’s God. It comes out in their words as they pray as I heard yesterday. Before every drama presentation, we gather as a team and pray. There was an unoccupied spot in the nursery, or so I thought, when a few children came in. I explained to them that we were going to pray and they could join us if they wanted. They enthusiastically wanted to join us, and their heartfelt prayers refresh my soul. It reminds me of how to come to God in prayer.

We do not live in a perfect world where the wolf will live with the lamb, but we will. God has promised that all the tears will be wiped away, there will be no more pain, and it will be eternal. Believing that promise should be the filter our prayers go through … not our doubts or experiences. If we can pray “recklessly” like the children, believing what we pray makes a difference, and then we live out the promise that is to come.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for your promises to me. I know that you will fulfill them all. I pray that I can believe and surrender like a small child when it comes to you. Amen

Faith Tip: Practice praying “recklessly” with heart and mind wide open.

 

Investing wisely

A Kids Hope mentor and student

A man reaps what he sows.Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. – Galatians 6:7-10

Today, I have the pleasure of meeting with my new student as a mentor through Kids Hope USA. I have been mentoring for 17 years now and love it. God has done amazing things through these mentoring relationships. I have had opportunity to reconnect with the first student I mentored, which was wonderful. And just last night as I was leaving the Wednesday night activities at church, I heard, “Hi!” I looked and it was the student I mentored this past year who just graduated from the program. He was riding his bike when he saw me. He got off his bike and gave me a big hug and told me all about his summer. As you can see, I am truly blessed by the experience and anything I offer to the students is paid back multiple times. God has blessed my offering in doing good.

There are choices we have to make every day as God’s people in how we are going to spend our time and energy. It may be tempting to sit in front of the TV and snack, but all that happens there is an unhealthy lifestyle. We reap what we sow and every moment counts. Don’t waste the opportunities that come to you from a God who wants to give you a harvest of blessings.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the opportunities to sow your love that you have given me.  I pray that I not neglect the call and miss the harvest. Amen

Faith Tip: Focus today on how you can sow seeds for the kingdom of God. It is an investment well made.

Leaks

Drip (Photo credit: wasabicube)

I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s. – 1 John 2:1 The Message

Our roof has a leak which can be really maddening whenever it rains. My husband and friend have tried to fix it a couple of times, but it still finds a way to drip. So we will have to pay the big price for replacing the roof on that side of the house. That will take care of the ongoing problem.

The sin in our life is also continual as we try to fix wrong choices made. The patch jobs we apply just don’t work to fix the problem. It still is leaking from us. It took a big price to fix the sin problem in our lives. Jesus was the only way it could be done. The cost of his suffering and death brought a return of redemption that is priceless.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for paying the price for my sin. It’s a price I can never repay, so I will give of myself to you and carry the cross in this life with you. Amen

Faith Tip: God has set you free from your imprisonment … walk in freedom today and share the hope you have with others.

Grace, love and fellowship

“Writing”, 22 November 2008 (Photo credit: ed_needs_a_bicycle)

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. – 2 Corinthians 13:14

Where does the time go? The weeks seem to go faster and faster and I wonder what I got accomplished. Each day comes with a list of “to do’s” that I check off as I finish them. Most of the things I need to get done on the list are connected to some kind of interaction with somebody. Many think that being a writer means being alone in work, but not true. I have connections daily with many people through email, phone calls, meetings, coffee and more. I truly enjoy this although I also like the quiet times when I can write. It’s all good.

As we journey through life, none of us is really alone. There are people everywhere that we can have a relationship with at different levels. What makes some relationships more precious to us is the bond we have in Christ. There is an understanding, or there should be, of whose we are and how we are related to others in Christ. This includes a knowledge about grace, love and fellowship that we share. It is a powerful circle to be a part of and I am thankful.

Prayer: Lord, you are at the center of my circle and I thank you for that truth. I pray that I display your grace and love in the fellowship of those who call you Lord. May the same be true with those who do not know you. May they sense something different in me that draws them to you. Amen

Faith Tip: Be intentional in showing grace and love as you fellowship.

Give what you can … he does the rest

A powerful light shines in the dark. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10.

As I sit here trying to think of a good illustration of when I am weak, I realize that I am weak all the time. That’s right … morning, noon and night I fall short. I am always amazed when God decides to use even me in his work.

Last night, we presented the first drama of the Wednesday night season. The five to seven minute sketch was enough to touch hearts. Newer actors on the team were surprised by that fact that something short that they did that we practiced over and over would have such reaction. Before we presented the drama, we presented the drama back to God in prayer for his use. God takes our offering and brings it to a new level. His power is shown in our weakness … and it is beautiful.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the fact that I am weak and you are strong. Your glory shines brightly through anything I can offer … I love that. Amen

Faith Tip: In all you do today, present it to God in prayer and watch with wonder his magnificence.

Wisdom may bring sorrow

English: Cute coffee. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief. – Ecclesiastes 1:18

Ahhhh … the comforts of life. We all know what gives us peace and makes us happy. For me, and this will come as a big surprise to many of you, is a fresh-brewed cup of coffee. I love the smell, the warmth in my hands, the taste and the bit of alertness it gives me. It paints a wonderful picture of relaxing and enjoying life to me.

If I look closer, I see there is a lot more behind the coffee that brings me pleasure. There is someone who is picking it. Are they hired or a slave? I have no idea. To tell you the truth, if I find out that the pleasure I am enjoying came as the cost of someone being enslaved and perhaps abused, that brings me grief. In learning the possibility, I have a choice to make. Do I ignore the learning given or do I bring it to light and make a change to my comforts?

God grants wisdom if we ask for it. He wants us to be enlightened … to see what he sees … for our hearts to break when his does.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the pleasures you give us in life. I pray that what brings me pleasure does not come at a cost for someone else. May the grief of wisdom bring me closer to following you in doing the right thing. Amen

Faith Tip: Ignorance is not bliss. Seek wisdom from God who is so faithful.

Let us say “Enough!”

There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind. The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. Three things are never satisfied; four never say, “Enough” – Proverbs 30:14-15

I recently made a discovery in researching an article on the horror of human trafficking in West Michigan. It is a huge problem that I really knew nothing about. Now that I know it’s there, now what do I do? That’s always the hard part isn’t it … our response.

The term “leech” in the Scripture means a horse leech which was the belief of a vampire-type creature in biblical times. We all know what vampires do … suck the blood out of a person until they die. That’s exactly was human trafficking does … it sucks the life out of a person until they are no more. It is never satisfied and wants more and more.

The victims are men, women and children … what can we do to rescue, care for and prevent this evil from devouring people? It’s time to take the blinders off and put on the armor … if God is for us, who can be against us?

To read more on this, please go to my article at West Michigan Christian News.

Prayer: Lord God, I cannot fathom the depth of hurt victims of human trafficking experience. I pray that I can be a safe place for them to go … your sanctuary. Amen

Faith Tip: Do you know of someone suffering from abuse. How should you care for them? How would you care for a family member? Applying the same principles is a great start.