As you might have noticed, I haven't posted a new blog entry in quite a few months, not since August! Life has just been rather hectic and crazy lately. I'm back at good ole NC State ...studying hard, making new friends, leading a Bible study of freshman girls, and above all, trying to live a life for Christ. These past couple of months, while challenging, have been such a blessing from God nonetheless. Less than a year ago I was debating whether or not being Bible study leader was what God was calling me to do. Now I praise God every day for introducing the 35 girls we have in our group to me and not only allowing me to teach them but learn from them as well. We've already had so many awesome memories and I truly can't wait for the many more great times to come as we all grow closer to God together!
One of the things that has been on my heart lately is the amount of time I am devoting to God on a daily basis. This thought came up in Bible study the other day after this quote was shared..."If you're too busy to spend time with God, then you're simply too busy." While studying, working on homework, and getting to know my girls is important, it's far more important to spend time in the Word and meditate on scripture daily. I find myself to always be going going going when really I need to slow down and reevaluate why I'm always going and is this 'going' stopping me from spending time with God.
As a Bible study leader, I believe it is rather crucial to get on a deeper level with those you lead, love on them, and show them how much you care about their lives. I heard this analogy the other day, which really opened my eyes to how we should be living our lives as Christians when it comes to pouring into others.
The analogy went something like this: We are like teacups. When we pour into other people, we think we use the tea that is already in our cup. But that causes the tea to run out or get really low. How do we try to get more tea in our cup? The truth is, Jesus is our tea and there is no way we can fill our own cup. As he pours his love, wisdom, grace, and overall presence into our lives, our cup begins to fill to the point where it even overflows. The overflowing tea is what is used to fill the cups of others while pouring the truth of Jesus Christ into their lives.
These thoughts have been a good reminder that while pouring into others is good, it's also good to be poured into as well. That occurs through things like spending time in the Word daily and being discipled or mentored by an older, strong Christian male or female. It's not a bad thing to be busy, but when you get to the point were your busy-ness is too overwhelming and is interrupting time with God, it's time to take a step back and evaluate your priorities.
A great example of this in Scripture is found at the home of Martha and Mary when Jesus came to visit in Luke 10 verses 38-42.
(38) As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. (39) She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. (40) But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" (41) "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, (42) but few things are needed -- or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her."
I can definitely relate to Martha in this instance in that, just like her, I busy myself with what is good but don't focus on the bigger, more crucial picture sometimes. My challenge these next couple of months, through the rest of the school year, and throughout my life, is to live a life like Mary. No matter what is going on around me, devote time to Jesus Christ and give him all the attention he deserves. Through this, in the end, I want to be able to look back and see my tea cup overflowing with the love of Jesus Christ. The only way to do this, keep Jesus Christ as my focus, my drive, my all in all.
~Kel
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Running the Race...
I don't know about you, but for the past couple of weeks, my family has been glued to the TV, sitting on the edge of our seats, cheering for the United States in the Olympics. While I love watching Misty May and Kerri Walsh beast it up on the beach volleyball court, I enjoy watching all the events that a U.S. athlete is competing in!
One night I got to thinking, who are these athletes 'running' their race for? For their country, their family, the fame, pride? Whatever the reason may be, they are giving each event their all, only focusing on one thing...winning at the finish line!
So we may not be Olympians with a gold medal around our necks, but have you ever wondered who you are running the race of life for? Who you are living each day trying to praise and please?
Ponder the verse below:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
- Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV
God calls us to run for him. To run with perseverance and fix our eyes on Jesus, his son, who died on the cross for our sins. Reading this verse makes me want to ever so passionately live and run for Christ, and Christ alone.
At all measures of the race, it is crucial we keep our eyes set on him. Things may cause us to slow down, stumble, or even fall, but just look toward the finish line, for the reward is great and worth the many hardships. No one ever said the race would be easy, for it takes a great level of endurance, patience, and focus. But with the power of the Holy Spirit, anything and everything can be accomplished, including finishing the race.
Sometimes we may want to give up, throw in the towel, or dropout. Just remember, God designed our races knowing what we can handle and according to his perfect will. Now the question turns to you...who are you gonna run the race for? Yourself or Christ? Only one of these choices can give you true happiness, and I will tell you this, it isn't yourself.
~Kel
One night I got to thinking, who are these athletes 'running' their race for? For their country, their family, the fame, pride? Whatever the reason may be, they are giving each event their all, only focusing on one thing...winning at the finish line!
So we may not be Olympians with a gold medal around our necks, but have you ever wondered who you are running the race of life for? Who you are living each day trying to praise and please?
Ponder the verse below:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
- Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV
God calls us to run for him. To run with perseverance and fix our eyes on Jesus, his son, who died on the cross for our sins. Reading this verse makes me want to ever so passionately live and run for Christ, and Christ alone.
At all measures of the race, it is crucial we keep our eyes set on him. Things may cause us to slow down, stumble, or even fall, but just look toward the finish line, for the reward is great and worth the many hardships. No one ever said the race would be easy, for it takes a great level of endurance, patience, and focus. But with the power of the Holy Spirit, anything and everything can be accomplished, including finishing the race.
Sometimes we may want to give up, throw in the towel, or dropout. Just remember, God designed our races knowing what we can handle and according to his perfect will. Now the question turns to you...who are you gonna run the race for? Yourself or Christ? Only one of these choices can give you true happiness, and I will tell you this, it isn't yourself.
~Kel
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Dealing With The Unexpected...
Oh the mystery of the unexpected and the unknown. I recently encountered something 'unexpected' that, by many, was seen as unfortunate and unpleasant, but I chose to have different view on the matter.
My family had been planning a beach gettaway for a week, using a relatives timeshare in North Myrtle Beach. All packed up and ready to go, we began driving, excited for the week of relaxation and tanning ahead! My first piece of advice, do NOT EVER rely on a GPS to take you the fastest way to your destination...that was our first mistake. We found ourselves riding in the back country, surrounded by corn fields and limited to a 35 mph speed limit. Anyway, we finally made it to our resort and came to find that the timeshare week we had available to us was not the week we got there...but for the week after. So what did we do, we packed up the car and headed right back home, this time not listening to the GPS and taking a better route.
If you've ever been in a situation like this, you were probably angry, upset, on the verge of tears...who knows, but feelings like that are only natural after you take off a week from work to relax in the sand and find your plans to be ruined. I could have very well become overwhelmed with anger and frustration, but instead, for some strange reason, which can only be explained by God working in my heart, I was rather at peace and grateful for what had happened. Yeah, it was rather tragic that we drove 3 hours to then turn around and drive back another three hours, but I am so grateful for the fact that we didn't miss our vacation, we only just arrived a week too early!
All I could think about, while driving back home, was the fact that God is in control of all things, has a plan for all that happens in my life, and knows what I can and cannot handle! We can't live life expecting things, events, plans to go our way and end up perfect. If we did, how would our faith grow? How would our dependence on God get stronger? Our faith wouldn't grow and our dependence on God would only weaken. We wouldn't need to turn to God in our times of need and wouldn't rely on him to get us through rough situations.
I know a simple ruined beach vacation isn't necessarily as important as say choosing which college to attend or deciding who you're going to spend the rest of your life with, but for each and every one of those decisions and events, God knows the final outcome and planned it according to his perfect will. So the next time you find yourself in one of these aggravating times, decide how you are going to react before you let your emotions get the best of you.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
~Kel
My family had been planning a beach gettaway for a week, using a relatives timeshare in North Myrtle Beach. All packed up and ready to go, we began driving, excited for the week of relaxation and tanning ahead! My first piece of advice, do NOT EVER rely on a GPS to take you the fastest way to your destination...that was our first mistake. We found ourselves riding in the back country, surrounded by corn fields and limited to a 35 mph speed limit. Anyway, we finally made it to our resort and came to find that the timeshare week we had available to us was not the week we got there...but for the week after. So what did we do, we packed up the car and headed right back home, this time not listening to the GPS and taking a better route.
If you've ever been in a situation like this, you were probably angry, upset, on the verge of tears...who knows, but feelings like that are only natural after you take off a week from work to relax in the sand and find your plans to be ruined. I could have very well become overwhelmed with anger and frustration, but instead, for some strange reason, which can only be explained by God working in my heart, I was rather at peace and grateful for what had happened. Yeah, it was rather tragic that we drove 3 hours to then turn around and drive back another three hours, but I am so grateful for the fact that we didn't miss our vacation, we only just arrived a week too early!
All I could think about, while driving back home, was the fact that God is in control of all things, has a plan for all that happens in my life, and knows what I can and cannot handle! We can't live life expecting things, events, plans to go our way and end up perfect. If we did, how would our faith grow? How would our dependence on God get stronger? Our faith wouldn't grow and our dependence on God would only weaken. We wouldn't need to turn to God in our times of need and wouldn't rely on him to get us through rough situations.
I know a simple ruined beach vacation isn't necessarily as important as say choosing which college to attend or deciding who you're going to spend the rest of your life with, but for each and every one of those decisions and events, God knows the final outcome and planned it according to his perfect will. So the next time you find yourself in one of these aggravating times, decide how you are going to react before you let your emotions get the best of you.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
~Kel
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Trust in the Lord...
Trust: (n) reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; a person on whom or thing on which one relies on.
Trust is a part of life that one cannot be without. Everyday, we trust that the chair we are about to sit in holds us up and doesn't fall, that our car will start up and drive us safely to work, that the locks on our houses will keep us safe from any intruders and burglaries...but let me ask you this, are we trusting God with our lives everyday? Do we trust that He will provide us with all our needs, wants, and desires? Do we trust that He will protect us from harm and evil?
I don't know about you, but I sure have a harder time trusting God than say, the chair at my desk. Why is that? I'm not at all saying that my chair is all powerful and deserves more worship than God. But I find that the reason it's easier for me to trust my chair is that I can see it. With my two eyes, I am able to watch myself sit into that comfy rolling chair whereas with God, I don't physically see him next to me but have to rely and trust that He is with me. Now don't get me wrong, I know God is there! I look at his beautiful creation every morning when I wake up and see him working in my life constantly throughout the day. It can be difficult handing God my life pen but the fact that I know he has a perfect plan for me that is better than anything I could ever dream of makes me want to trust him with all my heart!
From experience, when you put all your faith and trust in the Lord, it will feel as if the weight of the world has been lifted off your shoulders! God will make something beautiful out of our lives, but he needs us to trust the fact that he can do it! Yeah, there may be bumps and roadblocks along the way, but God knows what we can handle and will be with us every step of the way.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your path straights." -Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
I like the way this person put it, "Learning to really trust God in the way that He wants you to fully trust Him is an all-or-nothing principle. You are either going to fully trust Him with every area of your life or not. The minute you start waffling and trying to straddle the fence post with Him on this issue, you will then become what the Bible says is a wavering and double-minded man who will become unstable in all his ways." (James 1:8)
Bottom Line - fully surrender and just "Let Go and Let God". To have peace, joy, fulfillment, and happiness in this life, we need to trust the Lord completely! Don't hold back...after all, He's got our back, could anything go wrong?!
Until next time...
~Kel
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The Way God Works...
God works in mysterious ways. I've heard this all my life, in church, at Bible Study Fellowship, from my parents, during AWANA...but never really knew to the full extent how God works. For starters, I will never know why God makes certain events and circumstances happen, but I do know this, He has a perfect plan, without error nor mistake, and it is way better than any plan we could ever dream up.
As a kid, I always dreamt of becoming a ballerina, a gym teacher, a restaurant owner, a writer, etc, etc...the list goes on and on. Looking back, yeah some of those dreams were childish and a far stretch, but now I know that God can do anything he wants in my life and through him anything is possible. Who knows, maybe one day I might write the next best seller or a series more popular than Harry Potter and The Hunger Games (once again, far stretch but hey, it could happen). I don't doubt it will because God is in control of my life and nothing is impossible with God on your side.
There comes a point in your life where you have to make a decision. What is this decision? It is simple...who is going to write your life story? I don't mean literally (unless you decide to write your own autobiography or a biography written, then hey go for it) but are you going to take control of every aspect of your life or turn it completely over to God. The thought of not being in control is scary...at least for me it is! When it comes to planning a party or event, I'm your gal! (Seriously, call me up, I got your back!) Even though a simple party planning isn't harmful, when taken into another extreme, such as your life, that's when there needs to be an intervention.
A youth pastor of mine used this analogy a lot during Wednesday night youth group. It went something like this. You and Jesus are sitting in a bar...no no no, just kidding, but on a serious note...You and Jesus are sitting in a car. At first Jesus is driving, you are in the passenger seat and life is great and worry free. Eventually you take reigns of the wheel, put Jesus in the passenger seat, and start relying on your own memory to take you to your final destination. As the road trip continues, Jesus keeps moving further and further away from the wheel and you now are relying on a GPS for directions. The pattern continues with Him sitting in the back seat, then the trunk, and all of a sudden, Jesus, the man that died on a cross to save you from your own sin, is left in the dust on the side of the road as you drive away. Woah now, hold up, wait a minute...I think you know where this analogy is going and are probably saying to yourself, 'I never put Jesus in the backseat, he's always driving.' I hope that Jesus is always driving your car, but doubt he always is in control. I constantly have to remind myself that Jesus, my Lord and Savior, has to be the only driver in my life car for He is the only way to reach the final destination, which is Heaven.
We can continue living our lives going to church, maybe a small group or bible study, and reading our bibles daily, but if we don't fully give our everything over to God, then what is the point of doing all these things? To learn about God? Because there's nothing else to do? Because I'm forced to by my parents? In the end, we will be judged by God, do you really want him saying 'So while you were living on earth, why didn't you trust me with your life? Am I not capable? Am I not worthy? Did you think you could have a better life without me?' I don't know about you, but I sure don't know what I would say to God at that point!
I hope that what I've written has made you think a little about who's taken control of your life! Please don't think I'm judging you or calling you out! I've been really convicted on this subject lately and realized I just needed to share my thoughts!
"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." - Proverbs 16:3 NIV
Until next time...
~Kel
As a kid, I always dreamt of becoming a ballerina, a gym teacher, a restaurant owner, a writer, etc, etc...the list goes on and on. Looking back, yeah some of those dreams were childish and a far stretch, but now I know that God can do anything he wants in my life and through him anything is possible. Who knows, maybe one day I might write the next best seller or a series more popular than Harry Potter and The Hunger Games (once again, far stretch but hey, it could happen). I don't doubt it will because God is in control of my life and nothing is impossible with God on your side.
There comes a point in your life where you have to make a decision. What is this decision? It is simple...who is going to write your life story? I don't mean literally (unless you decide to write your own autobiography or a biography written, then hey go for it) but are you going to take control of every aspect of your life or turn it completely over to God. The thought of not being in control is scary...at least for me it is! When it comes to planning a party or event, I'm your gal! (Seriously, call me up, I got your back!) Even though a simple party planning isn't harmful, when taken into another extreme, such as your life, that's when there needs to be an intervention.
A youth pastor of mine used this analogy a lot during Wednesday night youth group. It went something like this. You and Jesus are sitting in a bar...no no no, just kidding, but on a serious note...You and Jesus are sitting in a car. At first Jesus is driving, you are in the passenger seat and life is great and worry free. Eventually you take reigns of the wheel, put Jesus in the passenger seat, and start relying on your own memory to take you to your final destination. As the road trip continues, Jesus keeps moving further and further away from the wheel and you now are relying on a GPS for directions. The pattern continues with Him sitting in the back seat, then the trunk, and all of a sudden, Jesus, the man that died on a cross to save you from your own sin, is left in the dust on the side of the road as you drive away. Woah now, hold up, wait a minute...I think you know where this analogy is going and are probably saying to yourself, 'I never put Jesus in the backseat, he's always driving.' I hope that Jesus is always driving your car, but doubt he always is in control. I constantly have to remind myself that Jesus, my Lord and Savior, has to be the only driver in my life car for He is the only way to reach the final destination, which is Heaven.
We can continue living our lives going to church, maybe a small group or bible study, and reading our bibles daily, but if we don't fully give our everything over to God, then what is the point of doing all these things? To learn about God? Because there's nothing else to do? Because I'm forced to by my parents? In the end, we will be judged by God, do you really want him saying 'So while you were living on earth, why didn't you trust me with your life? Am I not capable? Am I not worthy? Did you think you could have a better life without me?' I don't know about you, but I sure don't know what I would say to God at that point!
I hope that what I've written has made you think a little about who's taken control of your life! Please don't think I'm judging you or calling you out! I've been really convicted on this subject lately and realized I just needed to share my thoughts!
"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." - Proverbs 16:3 NIV
Until next time...
~Kel
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