The gospel of Christ in my every day life

Tuesday...another day where the Lord was so gracious and faithful to me, another day of provision seen in each moment...strength when I was feeling weak, wisdom in the uncertain moments, kindness and care for those around me. All of these things were not of myself because I am anything but strong and wise and kind and caring...

As I was driving home from work that day, I became acutely aware that whether I succeed or fail at work (or anywhere in my life) it is not those successes or failures that identify who I am..because I am clothed in the rightousness of my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my identity! Wow! What a relief to be reminded that the gospel of Christ did not just provide my salvation but is also my source of sanctification. 

A Spirit of Fear?

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." I Timothy 1:7.  

These words have been on my mind the last few weeks...we sang a song with these words every day while I was at Camp Enosh and the words have stuck in my head...they will not escape...

Then today, I was reading a little devotional on my YouVersion app... "Soul Detox", day 16...and this is what it said:

 

"There are four types of fears: fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of rejection, and fear of the unknown. It is very likely that you are struggling with one or more of these fears. These fears can paralyze you and keep you from God's best. Remember what 2 Timothy 1 says in that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.

Which fears do you currently struggle with the most?"

I know I struggle at various times with each one of those fears mentioned above but the Word of God reminds me that it is not the spirit of fear that should reign in my life but His Spirit...His Spirit that gives me power and love and sound mind. Is that the Spirit by which we are living today? Or are we being paralyzed by a spirit of fear instead? 

Prague Day 1

Having some problems posting so if a bunch of the same all post I'm sorry! Just read one!! :)

After fitful sleep on our long flight and a short layover in Paris we arrived in Prague. We quickly maneuvered the trains, bus and tram systems to arrive safely at our hostel. We are staying at plus one Prague...it's a lovely hostel that is simple, clean and quite comfortable with a shower fit for a queen! :) we threw our stuff down, freshened up a bit and then hit the town. Our first task...get money. We didn't immediately find a bank so we caught the 5 bus into town...or so we thought! We were turned around and though we caught the right bus we took it in the wrong direction. Whoops! No harm...we just hopped off, and grabbed bus 14 into the city. Once there we wandered around namesti republiky and found a mall for shopping....our mission: a jacket for kel and shoes for Mel. Kel found a jacket that should work nicely for the trip (though she long for her sweet north face friend who was inadvertently delayed in Kansas...banks to Hannah it is now safely home again). Mel didn't find a pair of shoes but we still have 2 more days here and then so many more treasures to be found in poland and Germany! So all hope is not lost! :) By this time we were starving hungry so we found a restaurant and sat down to rest and fill our tummies. Mel had Czech goulash and I had Czech beef tenderloin with cranberry and lemon. They came with sides of potato cakes and dumplings. Ohhh my!! Soooo good! Then we wandered around and came upon the old city. We took pictures and enjoyed the beauty of the powder gate and the municipal house. The powder gate is from the 11th century. It had very little defensive power and was intended to bring prestige to the adjacent palace of the royal court building. Construction was stopped 8 years later when the kind had to flee and when he returned the royal court never again occupied that building. It gained its current name in 17th century when it was used to store gun powder. It was mostly damaged and removed soon after 1757 and was replaced in 1876.

The municipal house has karel spillars mosaic "homage to Prague" displayed on the outside. It is a lovely sight to behold.

As we were being touristy and taking many pictures we had the pleasure of meeting 8 young people from north carolina, new zealand, Australia, Canada, and Wisconsin. We had a fun time chatting and were advised by both groups to do the free walking tour. The girls had just come from a play of Cinderella and we are hoping to catch that sometime too. After walking around for a bit, the hour was getting later and we headed back. It took much wandering to figure out how to buy a new bus ticket. Now we know...head underground to the metro and you can always get a ticket there. So we hopped on number 5 and had a lovely ride back to our hostel. Once back, it was so nice to get cleaned up and out of our travel clothes. We did some laundry and kel blew up her hair dryer! Yep....that's right! It turned red hot when it was plugged in because it was already on and the damage was done by the time we figured out what was happening! Good thing we still have Mel's straightener to tame the locks!! :)

Now, after having a great nights sleep we are off to see more of Prague..a city we are quickly growing to love!!

And we are off...

Mel and I are off from Atlanta due to arrive in Paris around 9 am Paris time! So far the trip has been so relaxing...except I pulled a Kelly! This means I left my coat...the one intended to keep me warm and toasty For the whole trip..in the Wichita airport! Yep, that's right...it never even made it out of kansas! Good news: it's been found and Hannah k. will pick it up for me. More good news: now I have to shop for a new coat!! Stay tuned...more posts will hopefully come as we continue this adventure!!

A Look in a Book

It's been a while since I've posted, especially about a book. I'll admit, I sort of took a hiatus from reading...don't get me wrong...I still read books but I wasn't reading 14 books at one time! Crazy, I know! But I'm getting back on the reading bandwagon and that always makes me very excited! 

Last week I finished one of several books on my 2012 reading list. "Kisses from Katie". Have you heard of it? Have you read it? If you haven't read it, I definitely recommend it. As I read about this young girl who lives in Uganda, caring for 14 children in her home and seeing to the needs of so many more in her community, my heart was challenged. This girl has gone to the other side of the world and is caring for orphans and widows, the poor and the needy. She has sacrificed so much in order to accomplish this one thing...to share the love of Christ with others. 

It's easy for me to quickly be stirred in my heart to run to Africa to help the needy, the poor, the orphans, the sick. It seems to valiant and courageous and adventuresome to want to go clear across the world to help a needy people. But then I stop in my tracks and I realize that I can do the same thing right where I am. There are widows I know that need a hug, a meal prepared, a smile....widows that need to know they are loved. There are orphans I know...the ones whose parents have passed away and they feel alone...these orphans need a hug, a meal, a smile...they need to know they are loved. There are ones around me that are needy and poor and sick...all ones who need a hug, a meal, a smile...they need to know they are loved. 

I am surrounded by ones who need love..practical love shown to them. I am an extension of my Heavenly Father...I am extension of the One who is Love. Am I looking for ways to show the love of my Father to all those I see? AM I even taking the time to see the people around me and their needs? Or am I too busy looking for the more adventuresome thing to do? Am I too busy doing my own thing that I miss the needy people right under my nose? 

 

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself usntained from the world." James 1:27

 

Maybe one day, the Lord will take me to Africa to share His love but right now He has placed me in the good ole US of A and so I choose to be a light of my Father's love right where He has placed me for today.

 

**PS...if you are interested, you can visit Katie's Blog Here.

A sewing project

I have this great skirt that I love...it's perfect to wear with leggings and boots and is so comfy! One problem...whenever I walk it just rides up in front and looks completely unattractive not to mention its really annoying. So I bought a slip, cut it up and sewed it into the front of the skirt as a lining! Its not the prettiest sewing job but it works like magic and that makes me super happy! One small step for this relatively uncrafty person! :)

Rapunzel, I presume. By Kate

A snow globe...

This is a drawing that includes the New York snow globe I gave Kate. When she got it she asked her daddy if he ever got a snow globe with a taxi when he was little. He said he hadn't. Kate replied, "That's because you don't have an Aunt Kelly who loves you very much." Sweet girl! :)

Kate's princess art

A cuppa tea and some sunshine enjoyed with my dear friend Debby.

Posterous by phone??

Who knew there were so many options? Here's a pic from the KU game Saturday. Tons of fun!

Posterous by mail...

You may be wondering what in the world I was talking about...posting to a "new site" when you can see it right here on blogger. How silly can one person be? But, here's the kicker...I actually posted it from my posterous sight and it automatically posted it to blogger. So not only is it easier and faster for me to post but its convenient for you (my readers, if there are any still out there) because you don't have to sign up for a new subscription or change my site...I'll still post it to blogger, I'm just hoping I can post easier..like, right now, I'm posting this via email...cool, huh?

**PS...if you feel so inclined, you can check out my other site at  http://abundantlysatisfied.posterous.com/ 

**PPS...in case you are wondering why you are looking at a picture of my t-shirt drawer...well, you see, I wanted to see if I could post a picture via email...and I wanted you to see all the hard work I put into this one drawer...it may never look like this again but one can hope, right?!

It's a first...

I'm trying out a new blog sight...seeing if it is easier to post here than on blogger. In light of this first, I thought I would share another first...my first pic I took with my DSLR. I love it! Yet, sadly, I've not been able to recreate this sort of beauty from my camera since. Maybe I should spend a little more time practicing, huh? At any rate...enjoy!

Wear your hard hat...

Updated: Here's the new look...for now...the one I wanted off of TCBOTB won't work..so alas...here is where I have arrived! Sooo...what do you think? Is it a keeper or should I keep hunting?

...cuz we are under construction! :) Be gracious as I try to implement a new template when I have absolutely no clue what on earth I am doing!  Wish me luck and look forward to a new look!

Beloved

I am single. I have no Valentine. (tear). And yet I am part of the greatest love story ever told...I've experienced the greatest love one could ever hope to experience...

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." John 15:13

His life was given up for mine...

"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32

And nothing will ever separate me from Him or His love for me...

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ...Yet in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35, 37-39

He is the Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord, who loved me with such great love that He gave His life that I might be washed clean of my sin and be made a king and priest to His glory for ever...

"...Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. " Revelation 1:5-6

Yes, it is true. I am His, He is mine....

"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. " Song of Solomon 6:3.

[Beloved: to be dear to the heart or to be greatly loved (according to dictionary.com).]

And though it is true that I have failed Him often, I have been distracted by the things of this world, and yet He loves me without measure and without bounds and He is ever faithful to me....

"...I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you..." Jeremiah 31:3

Do you know Him too? Do you have this same Love of mine? Oh, friend, did you know? You, too, are dear to His heart. You, too, are greatly loved by my Jesus. You are beloved.

"For God so loved the world (that's me and you) that He (the Father) gave His only begotten Son (The Lord Jesus Christ), that whoever (this means YOU!) believes (or trusts) in Him (The Lord Jesus Christ) should not perish (death in hell) but have everlasting life (live in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever)." John 3:16

Wouldn't you agree that my love story is the best love story ever told? :)

A Prayer...

Dear Father in Heaven,

I come before you today with a heavy and sorrowing heart. I thank You for being sovereign and having a plan that is greater than we could ever imagine. But, Lord, sometimes I just don't understand when these plans include the dying of young children. Your Word says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."(Isaiah 55:8-9) So, Lord, I choose to trust You and Your plans, today, even in the midst of sorrow and in my own inability to understand the ways You choose.

Father, we've prayed for Eli Horn for so many weeks and months and even years. And today You chose to take him Home to You. I never met Eli but he was such a strong little boy, enduring such pain and trial and physical suffering during his short life...and so many smiles in the midst. Thank You that he is no longer suffering, that he is now pain free. Thank You for loving him so much and for delighting to bring him Home to You to rest. Thank You for sending your Beloved Son to die on the cross for Eli Horn.

But, Father, those who love him are left behind with aching hearts and aching arms. Care for his parents and brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and loved ones, Father. Give them Your Spirit of comfort in this loss of their son, grandson, nephew, cousin, friend. I trust You, Father, to care for them and guide them through this immense sorrow.

Words can not express but I thank You that there is One who intercedes for us when words are just not adequate. And, Father, this is one of those times.

I commit the Horn family into Your Loving, sovereign and comforting arms today and for all the days before us.

In Your Son's Name I pray these things,

Amen.

Believe and give thanks.

A friend and I were talking many months ago about prayer...about having the faith to not only ask the Almighty God for something but to thank Him for it before it has even been visibly answered. Wow! That is the sort of faith I want to have...faith in knowing that He will answer and it will be the best answer...and faith to thank Him and praise Him for it before I can see it for myself. That takes faith.

"...whatever you ask for in prayer...believe..." Mark 11:24

I pray that we will be a generation that prays...and a generation that has such great faith and trust in the One we pray to that we would thank Him for His answers. I'm praying for many things that I don't know the answer to...but I know I can thank Him for listening, thank Him for the answers yet to be revealed to me while I "...sit still until you know how the matter will turn out..." (Ruth 3:18).

And I've been thanking Him for His faithfulness to me this year...the year 2012. It hasn't happened yet. But I know my God and I know He will be faithful so I can thank Him before He has shown me all the ways He will be faithful to me this year.

"...pray until you believe God--until with whole hearted sincerity you can thank Him for the answer...there is nothing that solidifies faith as being so sure of the answer that you can thank God for it..." Streams in the Desert, January 4

A New Year, A New You

Last year, unknowingly, I chose one word to characterize my year. I did a study on TRUTH and that is what my year was shaped by. One small study and my whole year was revolutionized! The Lord kept impressing on me this need for TRUTH in my life and so it became my central theme. I must tell you that this was much more effective in changing me than any New Years Resolutions I've ever made in the past.

And so this year, I've decided to do the same idea again, only with a little more purpose. I began to assess how I wanted to be different in 2012 and could have quickly come up with a long resolution to-do list. But, instead, I looked at the common factor in all that I wanted to accomplish and came up with one word--DISCIPLINE.

I want to be a more disciplined person. I'm so undisciplined that several years ago I began a blog series on discipline and never actually completed it! *gasp* So, instead of writing that list of resolutions, I choose to focus on this one thing for the Lord to nurture in my life...a life characterized by discipline. If my mind, my attitude, my heart is characterized by discipline then all the things that I could have put on my resolution list will slowly but surely come to fruition. Not only that, but I will be a changed person and it will be a change not just for 2012 but will hopefully effect me for many years to come. I like this idea of choosing one central focus...it keeps me from getting lost in the details and keeps me focused for the year with a realistic hope of success!

What about you? What are you seeking after in this new year?

A letter of Christ

Did you know that as a child of God you are a letter of Christ? A letter meant to be read and enjoyed by others. You have a message...a message for others from the Lord. A message of love and redemption and hope for the whole world to read and ponder. We are God's love letter to the world. Isn't that an awesome thought? Awesome in the sense that it is such an incredible privilege and responsibility. Where ever you walk, where ever you go, whatever you say, whatever you do, you are a letter to others from Christ.

"You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart." II Corinthians 3:2-3

*Derived from a passage from Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, by Joanna Weaver p.83*