Fab Five Friday...

It's Friday yo & Fab Five Friday is here!


1) This week I am grateful for:

Sooo much to be thankful for this week. God has been so everpresent & tangible! He has answered prayers & provided provision in more ways than one! The truck I've been praying for, for my oldest son who will turn 16 in August was pretty much laid in my lap & bought for an extremely affordable amount in our budget!

2) This week I enjoyed:    Writting heartfelt notes that I mailed to some pretty special people in my life! It feels amazing to utilize my love language of encouragement! Also I enjoyed spending time disecting the Word. I absolutely love my NASB with Greek/Hebrew dictionary. Reading the word in light of its orginal meaning is out of this world amazing! The Word is so powerful!   3) This week I learned: More about grace & it's importance in raising my sons. I must set firm boundaries but love relentlessly like Jesus in my directing & correcting them! Grieves me to think I would give them any less. Love my boys to pieces & have so much desire to help them love JESUS!     4) This week I accomplished: Resting in God's goodness & moving forward to becoming FEARLESS     5) I am looking forward to: Coffee & Jesus tomorrow morning!  I am so excited to share precious moments & to grow in Christ with these women. I have so much vision for us all! Excited to have newbies join us tomorrow too! I also get to see my Gia(My daddy's mom) & Aunts tomorrow. Looking forward to just spending some time with them!        

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

The dreaded R word...RESPECT! It's a must but boy does it seem impossible to give sometimes particularly to our husbands that need it the most. Not sure why God made men that way but the scriptures are pretty clear when we read in Ephesians 5:33 “Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." My life was changed drastically when I begin to take honoring & respecting my husband to heart. I met resistance & even faced times where I felt I like giving up. I'm so glad I didn't. There are still days that I fail but it's become so much easier seeing my man as the precious soul he is to God. May I love & respect him and may I do it well in the eyes of my Father to whom it matters. I would encourage you all to take this to heart as well. Who knows it just well may save your marriage & change your life! I know it did mine...

Go read my sweet Falen's journey about respect. She is not just witty, smart, and adorable but passionate, real, and serious about her love for her Savior. I affectionately call her my Penelope because the first time I met her was at a Coffee & Jesus meeting. She was particulary quiet which I later learned was completely out of character for her. She sat down & I noticed her Starbucks cup had Penelope written on it. I then assumed that was her name & proceeded to tell her how cool that name was. What followed was the immediate desire to be her friend! Needless to say she's become a confidant & a valued friend in my life... Go here & check out her journey to respecting her husband! I look forward to seeing how God honors her obedience. I know without a doubt that it's gonna be good!!

Humility...

I chose fearless for my word for 2013 a week ago. In that time the Lord has shown me how important being humble is in conquering fear. I believe there will be more to come about being fearless & I'll share them in the future. Today I wanted to share what's been weighing on my heart about humility. It is defined by Merriam-Webster as the act of being humble. What humility is: down to earth, lowliness, meekness. What humility is not: arrogance, conceit, pridefulness, etc. What I have found is there is much to learn about humility. I'm learning that humility as a Christian looks just like Jesus. Humility doesn't need attention or the lime-light. It thrives most in the background. Humility comes before the Lord & bows before His presence. It doesn't demand it's own way but thrives in God's way. You see possessing humility in my opinion opens the gates to forgiveness, to being fearless, and walking victoriously. Humility is not being offended. It's choosing to love in the face of hate. Not because we are perfect & our feelings are invincible but because we CHOOSE Jesus. The Bible is so clear in Micah 6:8 to walk humbly. What I've come to understand is unless I choose to walk humbly I will not be able to walk in obedience, love, and forgiveness. Therefore I will be defeated, never getting anywhere but where I started. 

Jesus made Himself of no reputation & ultimately was obedient unto death. Not because He wanted to but because He loved the Father and desired to fulfill His will & for us! Let us be this way too. Let us choose God's way laid out in the scriptures. He gave it to us so we would live lives that glorified Him despite of the bumps in the road. That He could use us to reflect Him in our actions, to reach out to others once we understood the importance of walking in humility which is fueled by developing wisdom & grace.

I love Ephesians 3:18-20 "And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." I believe God will move in the life of His children with humble hearts & quickly. He will lift us up in due time if we keep a humble servants heart because we most accurately reflect His Son when we do.

His love makes it possible to walk with humility. To be humble, to forgive, to have joy. It wasn't until I completely surrendered to Him & began to turn to Him in prayer. Often times crying out in despair that He showed me a better way & revealed it to me in the scriptures and in my spirit. Some may say wow, you really take this following scripture serious. I'm here to tell you it works. Listening to what God wanted in my life transformed my life forever. I am not perfect but I see victory. I don't waller around in self-pity anymore. Nor do I toss around the idea of depression or insecurity. Not because of anything I did but because of HIM! This is available to anyone who will turn to Christ for their every need! How exciting!

Let me throw a disclaimer in please. This is all possible in Christ. It will not happen over night but day after day as you choose to walk humbly with God things that you battle will become easier as you choose to do it His way instead of your own. We are all a work in progress & being molded by God. I am here to encourage you to keep pursuing Him even when it's hard. Because pearls only form through a process of irritation. Don't settle for anything less than God's best and never forsake the process it takes to get you there!

Deuteronomy 8:2-3 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.


Psalms 25:9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.


Philippians 2:5-8 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 emptied himself, by 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. 

Psalms 149: 4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. 

Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

James 4:10 Humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up.

Fab Five Friday

Hey there! Thought I would try out this Fab Five Friday being that Falen of Upward Not Inward is one of my most fabulous friends, so here it goes!


This week I'm thankful for:  Divine appointments which have been coming daily--so amazing what the Holy Spirit will reveal to you when you are listening. Never be ashamed or hesitate to reach out to those around you...especially when you have been directed to do so by the man above!

This week I enjoyed: Finishing up my 10 day vacation & time with my boys!


This week I learned: The beginnings of what it really takes to be FEARLESS (My word for 2013)...step one~humility. Coming soon to my blog!

This week I accomplished: Putting up the Christmas decorations & restoring my house to pre-holiday status! What a job lol!

I am looking forward to: Tomorrow...Lincoln's 4th birthday party at Chick-fil-a. He is so excited. Also my 14 year old son-Drew is having a boys night to better aquaint his cousin(who lives out of town) with his friends. Bonus I get to see my little brother!

Fearless 2013...

                                                                              

Well let me start out by saying I thought "TRUTH" was my word for 2013. I even had a great understanding of how I would implement "TRUTH" into every day of 2013. But it didn't feel like it fit completely. I woke up this morning before anyone else to have time with God to pray & seek God about my word. What followed hasn't happened since shortly after my father died. With pen in hand, an expectant heart and the cry of my heart to hear from God, He began to speak, here is what He said

                                              Hemmed In

I go before you wherever you go. You need not ever worry about my care for you. I hem you in from every side. I am behind as well as beside you at all time. Call to me in those moments of fear, I'm right there & I'll answer you faithfully every single time. My love for you reaches to the Heavens. It is everlasting and unending. You are my child, whom I dearly love. Fear has & never will be apart of who I AM. My path for you is one of consistent victory. Always beside you every step of the way. Rest in me my child. I will never lead you astray. Never let yourself forget how immense the love I have for my children is. Precious. Precious child…you are MINE now & for an eternity.

That was the first of my confirmations. The second was a daily email I receive from Adrain Rogers ministry. The title was believe it or not "A New Year Without Fear" I smiled. Then logged onto Instagram & Lecrae a musician I follow had a picture that said "Please do not feed the Fears in 2013" What the heck?! All within a 30 minute period! I rarely wait for confirmation but at this point it was so obvious I couldn't deny what I knew to be true about what my 2013 word would be…FEARLESS.

I am pretty much a bold, strong, fearless person. I rarely back down from something I am passionate about. But since my father's passing fear has slowly but surely crept in. It isn't always obvious to me until I hear of someone dying, getting sick, or tragedy. I'm not real sure why fear has attempted to make it's home in me other than the fact my father's life ended abruptly & it threw me for a loop. I also believe I would be lying if I didn't confess that because I fasted, prayed like crazy, and other things I expected God to move on my behalf. What I think I learned was that God is sovereign. He is good in the face of tragedy. His ways are not my ways. His thoughts not my thoughts. He loves in a way so much deeper than I can understand & although my father did not receive his earthly healing, he did receive complete healing the moment he entered heaven. I tend to want to control whats next. What I quickly learned through that experience is I can't. In 2013 I want to become fearless in the face of adversity, tragedy, loss. I want to know that despite what I see with my eyes that God is for me. That no matter what may come His grace is enough. I will conquer this in 2013. I will become more acquainted with the Word in this area & my Savior too. The opposite of fear is love. So really what I need is a deeper revelation of His love. We all do.

                                               

I think Paul said it best in Ephesians 3:16-20

" I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."

"Perfect love cast out all fear"~1 John 4:18

I am confident that with God I can accomplish all things. I also believe that being fearless is having fears but not being afraid to face them. To stand in the face of fear & know that if God be for me who can be against me! So I'm reporting ahead of time that I am indeed FEARLESS in Christ Jesus.

In HIM,

Katie

Overall...

Overall...

I am finally walking in fullness of who God created me to be.

I wake up knowing that my identity is soley found in Christ. Therefore I will be the best wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend that I can be.

I cherish the journey it took to get me to this place in Christ. I have encountered Him through the darkest of days & know for certain that it takes darkness to appreciate the light.

I plan on getting more discipline when it comes to exercise...big challenge for me to stay consistent.

I foresee lots of ridiculous God sized moments spent telling others about true freedom! My heart could burst thinking about all the opportunities I believe I'm going to get in the future to tell women about HIM!

I like who He made me to be...bold, authentic, loyal and passionate.

Short but sweet today...blessings friends!

xoxo, Katie

keep us loyal to You...

I've been stuck in 1 Chronicles 28-29 for over a week now trying to soak it in so that I could accurately portray it the way I should after reading about King David in the later part of his years & his mission to give Solomon, his son the kingdom. What I love most about this story is the wisdom he imparted to Solomon who would write over 3,000 proverbs & be known as the wisest man to ever live. What has stuck with me is what David told Solomon who repeatedly in chapter 28 was referred to as "chosen". Here's just a sneak peek of all the wise words including what God was speaking to David about Solomon.


 ⁶ He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon will build my Temple and its courtyards, for I have chosen him as my son, and I will be his father. ⁷ And if he continues to obey my commands and regulations as he does now, I will make his kingdom last forever.’
⁸ “So now, with God as our witness, and in the sight of all Israel—the Lord’s assembly—I give you this charge. Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it to your children as a permanent inheritance.
⁹ “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. ¹⁰ So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”~1 Chronicles 28:6-10

Here's what I want to emphasize. David knew what it took to follow God & to live a life that was pleasing to Him even though he had some bumps in the road along the way. After all He is the only man to be referred in the Bible as a man after God's own heart. His first piece of wisdom in the above scriptures was for Solomon to intimately know God. When I looked up know in the Hebrew for "know" in this passage of scripture it defined it as: relationally to learn, to discover, to experience. Secondly, he instructed him to serve God delightfully with a whole heart and a willing mind (the inner being with thoughts & emotions), Thirdly, he told him to seek Him because in seeking he would find Him. Fourthly, He warned him to not forsake(or abandon) God or he would be rejected forever. Lastly, he instructed to take it seriously to be strong & to the work God had purposed for him to do.

What great advice to plant into not only our children but those around us. I get the privilege to speak into the lives of countless women. When I read this I couldn't think of any better words of advice to tell someone who needs encouragement. Because the truth is... we do have to seek God to find Him. We do need to put our game faces on because there is much to inherit & Satan would like to rob us(John10:10) all of our inheritance by wearing down of the Saints(Daniel 7:25) We must be aware of our purpose. We must endure right now like never before. 

My hearts concern is the level in which Christians are being defeated & ultimately giving up. We must take the advice of King David to Solomon because if we do not take serving & seeking God seriously we stand the chance of being rejected forever. Now is the time to dig in. Now is the time to walk in His glory. We are so close, too close to give up or retreat back from our pursuit of the One who loves us with an everlasting love. We can not let circumstances or life cause us to stop conversing with our Savior & best friend Jesus. He is for us, He is interceding at the throne for us (Romans 8:34) I would encourage any who are reading to endure(Matt 24:13).We're almost HOME!  Let us echo the prayers of David in 1 Chronicles 29:10-13.

^"Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! ¹¹ Yours, OLord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. ¹² Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.¹³ “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! ¹⁴ But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! ¹⁵ We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace." 1 Chronicles 29:10-13

My prayer is what David prayed in verses 17 &18 "I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and honest intent. And know I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. O Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to You."

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.~John 10:10

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.~Matthew 24:13

Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.~Romans 8:34

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.~1 Kings 4:29