Tag Archives: devo

Cinderella Says the F Word

Forgive

Cinderella said the F Word

I heard her and I was SHOCKED!

I had seen the advertisements for the new “Cinderella” movie, but resisted seeing the full trailer because I knew I’d anticipate its debut too much!

Today, once I knew it was released, I watched the trailer.

I teared up watching the preview while in a public place. I made Stephen watch the preview with me and he looked at me and said, “Are you crying already?”. To which I remarked, “Of course! It is just so magical”.

My husband then graciously took me to see the movie later that evening with some of our friends.

The story line of course is the same as it has always been :) Yet it appears to come to life more with actual live characters.

On a side note: I may or may not have a song from the Roger and Hammerstein Cinderella version on my phone… “do I love you because you’re beautiful…”…moving right along…

I was intrigued by the beauty of Cinderella’s relationship with her mother and father and saddened by her loss of both of them (that’s NOT a spoiler ;) c’mon you know that already).

The actress who plays Cinderella, Lily James (or Rose as some know her ;) ) does an incredible job portraying her role.

I was captivated.

She wasn’t just a servant who rolled her eyes and replied with a sigh to her evil step-mother like the cartoon Disney version often portrays.

She served with kindness in every moment as her real mother had told her to live out her days with courage and kindness.

Through all of the wickedness, cruelty, and dashed dreams, Cinderella meets all circumstances with kindness in this movie.

She even offers the fairy god-mother disguised as a beggar some milk even though she herself is in some serious heartache of her own.

Tears of sadness are shed as we walk with our beloved princess as she walks through losing her parents, suffering cruelty, being rejected, and seemingly losing all hope.

If you’re like me, you cry when her dress is brilliantly transformed by the “bippity boppity boo” magic!

Her dress and the carriage are nothing short of stunning!

Nothing could have prepared my heart for the joy of the royal ball scene!
It was quite grand.

Then I had to endure the scheming of the step-mother and Cinderella’s invalidation of being worthy of the love of a Prince/King.

In the end when of course Cinderella is the absolute last woman in the kingdom to try on the shoe and it fits, she is whisked away instantly with the now, King.

Before leaving the farmhouse that she grew up in that holds the precious memories of her parents, we see the step-mother on the staircase.

And that is when Cinderella says IT.

The BIG F word…

The one we don’t hear often.

Cinderella looks at her step-mother, the one who has hurt her so deeply knowing that she now has full power to repay and bring vindication and she says,…

 image

“I FORGIVE YOU”.

image

I don’t even remember the rest of what was said in the movie. I was already sitting on the edge of my seat and when that line was released, I bawled.

I didn’t bawl at the true love of a common girl and a Prince, although what Jesus has done in my life CERTAINLY reminds me of that and is part of why this movie unlocks my heart.

I didn’t bawl at how pretty her dress was, although I did cry at that.

I didn’t even bawl at the loss of her family and all she loved.

I wept so hard at the end, because I wasn’t expecting her to forgive and release the one who hurt her so much.

I’m accustomed to our culture where we strive to defend ourselves, seek vindication , and wish the worst on our enemies.

Where the world says a different F-word altogether when given the opportunity to slay our enemies.

How easy it would’ve been for Cinderella to have made a cheeky remark.

Instead “I FORGIVE YOU” comes out of her mouth….3 of the most powerful words that one can experience.

The way she reacted in kindness reminded me of  the blog I wrote about the avocado tree and what happens to it when it’s beaten.

The movie didn’t end with the step-family characters dressed in rags serving Cinderella all the days of their life.

There was no focus given to evil in the end, because it was defeated by love.

And not even the love between the King and Cinderella,…

but the love in Cinderella’s heart towards the ones who hurt her.

Who do you need to forgive today?

Like Cinderella, the kingdom of Heaven belongs to those whose hearts aren’t bound in offense.

It is released in and through the lives of those who choose kindness. Who choose love.

Those who walk in the words of their King and extend the forgiveness that He has so freely given to them.

Who needs to hear “I FORGIVE YOU” from your lips today?

For more popular posts from this blog click here

Author: Bailey Kuert

Next Article  5 Reasons Why Jesus Isn’t Like All Christians

You’re Not Stuck

Yesterday SK and I braved the 3 hour trek “home” (not sure what that means anymore) to Missouri from Tulsa, OK. We had a couple of speaking engagements over the weekend  in Tulsa and we were glad to be “home” a bit.

Unfortunately, a lot of winter weather rolled its way through T-Town and Missouri causing a hectic weekend spent mainly indoors.

The news forecast on Saturday night revealed there was a lot of ice, hazardous roadways, and whole roads were closed off, like to where my in-laws are staying!

When we went to bed that night, we were unsure if we would be able to drive home the next day.

The forecast was calling for more “winter weather” (which in Tulsa could mean anything and everything) and it looked like we could get stuck.

Sunday morning rolled around and the temperature rose so the ice melted! Wooohooo!

We attended a church service, hugged some of my family super quick, went to an appointment I had scheduled, and hit the road!

3 hours later we found ourselves back at “home” unloading our infamous suitcase and grabbing some groceries.

Recently, I’ve felt “stuck” in many ways.

Stuck in the USA, which no offense, I LOVE my country and the people here, but I want to be overseas.

Stuck with medical issues.

Stuck with being isolated in yet again another new city.

S T U C K, stuck, STUCK! 

God has been so sweet to meet me in this “feeling” and bring truth.

When we misplace something, we might initially feel loss and sick to our stomachs.

However, when the item that was perceived as lost is then found, we rejoice and forget the stress of misplacing it.

We don’t get stuck in the anxiousness of searching for something because we’ve already found it. Our emotions have MOVED ON.

This is proof that we don’t have to be stuck in something.

YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH! 

You are not stuck in sickness, in debt, and sin.

Jesus wasn’t STUCK in the grave, and because He ROSE again, you can find new life and move forward into what God has for you!!

Some of you feel like there are impossible circumstances surrounding you and you’ll never make it out if it.

I realize the weather story isn’t as challenging as a long-term illness, broken marriage, or other tumultuous circumstances, BUT things aren’t always what they seem.

What others and yourself may have believed is the end of the story and you’re facing the “facts”, Jesus is the author of your story and He says it’s not over!

There is victory for you and breakthrough out of the “winter storm” you might feel stuck in! 

There. is. hope. for. you. in. Jesus.

You’re NOT stuck! There’s hope for tomorrow!

graphic

Question(s) of the day;

Do you feel stuck? If so, what is holding you back?

How do you think Jesus sees your current situation?

Scripture(s) of the day;

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.–Romans 8:28

I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth–Psalm 121:1-2

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.–Psalm 40:2 

Worship song of the day;

“Come away with me, come away.
It’s never too late, it’s never too late,
it’s not too late for you.
I have a plan for you, I have a plan.
It’s going to be wild,
it’s going to be great,
it’s going to be full of me

Open up your heart and let me in”

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to comment below or share with friends :) Praying you’re encouraged to move forward into what God has for you! It’s going to be great!

The Best Unused Gift

When my husband Stephen proposed to me on safari, on the Equator, in Kenya, you’d think I would’ve caught every.single.word. that he said.

HOWEVER, because of the location where he proposed, I was preoccupied with why the ring was placed in the wild African plane for any roaming animal to stomp or tourist to steal.

Sweet Steve is on his knees pouring his heart out with a cut-out of Africa behind him and I’m only thinking, “HOW DID THAT RING GET THERE?!“.

Image

 

I managed to finally get out of the administrative part of my brain and tell him, “yes!”

I quickly found out that his buddy, Sach, who was with us placed the ring behind there right before we started taking pictures. I was shocked!

Now I had a ring with two rubies, a diamond, and yellow gold on my hand and it was a little loose. What a special gift though. I’ll have to tell the whole story of what happened with this ring later and how God spoke to me, BUT the point for now was that it was a special gift.

A symbol of our lives about to start together–forever.

No more thousands of miles separating us.

I cherished that ring and never took it off once it was sized. I clung to it the entirety of my Africa trip as to not lose it.

Yesterday as I was sitting in a church service, I heard something in my spirit unrelated to the message. I began to think about what a gift the Holy Spirit is.

To have fellowship with the SAME spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. 

To have the ability to communicate with the Father and Son and reveal all things to our spirits here on earth! WOW!

Jesus said when He left the earth that He wouldn’t leave us as orphans, or those without guidance, but that He would “come to us” (John 14:18).

TO be perfectly honest, in that moment, I was thinking about how much I’d let the BEST gift ever given to me get pushed aside recently. I clung to my wedding ring more than the gift of Holy Spirit!

How could I treat the Holy Spirit as a sideline gift while taking care of more material things like my wedding ring, my car, and other possessions? 

Friends, He is our best gift. And it is the best unused gift in this generation.

Our generation doesn’t need more material possessions or titles and positions. It needs a move of the Holy Spirit.

We have access to the greatest gift on Earth! Not to hide Him away or forget about Him, but to display Him in and through our lives. To strengthen us and reveal more of the love of the Father and Jesus to us.

Take some inventory today and ask yourself if the best gift you could ever or have ever received being used less than intended :)

 Question(s) of the day;

What measures have you taken to keep a precious gift from being lost, ruined or stolen?

How can you guard and maximize your gift of the Holy Spirit? If you haven’t received the gift of salvation start here ;

Say: “Jesus, I make You the Lord of my life. I’ve sinned against you and I receive Your cleansing blood, Your work on the cross, and Your resurrection from the dead. I turn from my sin and I give my life fully over to You. Come and live on the inside of my heart, mind, emotions and take over my will.  Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I love You–thank You for a new life in You! I receive Your love, Your mercy, Your forgiveness, and Your best gift ever–Holy Spirit. Amen” :) Congratulations!!! You now have the best gift EVER AND the gift of Him being with you always and forever!

Scripture(s) of the day;

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.–John 14:26

But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.–John 15:26

Worship song of the day;

A Tangled Mess

Today I had a huge knot in my hair.

Not the kind you can easily comb out.
It was like an all out strand fight between my whole head of long hair.

The freezing temps this week made sure that I secured a hat and static electricity came along for the ride. My hair doesn’t agree to this type of harassment so this trend climaxed on my head last night while slept and resulted in a massive knot today. Even though I’ve clearly brushed my hair every other day, my hair decided to call it quits today and give up.

After working on the knots for quite some time and being pressed to leave the house, I decided to just cut the knot out.

It was causing such a mess and ruining my time. After all it’s just hair and who needs it to be cut evenly right?!

No, I didn’t do that.

That would’ve been really dumb. Yes a few hairs were sacrificed in the process of the knot becoming untangled, but it eventually worked out and I left the house with combed hair all intact.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I’m such a mess that God can’t do anything with me.

Surely He’s got more important things to move onto than to deal with me getting entangled in life’s messes again.

I feel like it would be easy to see me in my “bad hair day” state and for God to say,”Woah woah woah! Let’s cut her out! It’s too much! I can’t handle this!”.

Yet, I find Him drawing closer in my messy moments. The moments when my heart is breaking and I feel like there’s no way out but to cut the knot. He’s there untangling the pieces and unraveling my hurt heart.

It’s so beautiful. This work of grace. He doesn’t deal with order and straight lines and perfect strands of hair like I do.

He deals in love. And He deals in mercy. And brings restoration.

He doesn’t leave me in my tangled mess. He restores my soul and gives me hope.

Question(s) of the day;

Do you see your mess or His ability to save you from your mess?

He hasn’t given up or cut you off…ask for forgiveness and allow Him to transform your heart.

Scripture(s) of the day;

There is hope for your future–Jeremiah 31:17

I will be your God throughout your lifetime–until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.–Isaiah 46:4

Worship song of the day;

Worship Circle originally wrote this song I believe, but I LOVE “You Have Redeemed My Soul”. Here’s a listen to a longer worship set singing about thankfulness of what God has done with this song included :)

 

#giveup40 Day #4

Love this…

jesus stood with me

#giveup40–Your Pain & His love

Easier said than done to write this post, but here I go…

While God doesn’t make bad things happen to us, we live in a fallen world and bad things will happen in life.

The challenges that come are opportunities to invite Jesus into our struggles and our trials and meet with Him in a way that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

When we walk through challenges and overcome them with the help of Jesus, we are then able to reach out to people in a way we never could have on our own.

There are a few thing that you need to know in the midst of a challenging situation in life; 

1. God is good…always and loves you with an everlasting love. If you have this assurance of knowing Him and making Jesus the Lord of your life, His love is always available even when things are hard.

2. Someone around you is hurting and doesn’t have the assurance of Jesus’ love and peace.

I’ve found that when I’ve walked through a particular hardship, that on the other side are people that need hope in that same struggle. While I might not LIKE what I’m walking through in a given season, I know there are always other people who will benefit from my testimony in the end.

We need hope in our difficulties. The world around us needs HOPE not just for the present circumstances, but for their eternity.

Question(s) of the day;

In what ways are you walking through challenges right now?

Have you invited Jesus into your present pain?

How do you think Jesus sees your physical, emotional, & spiritual pain?

Who around you needs hope and encouragement to hold on to His promises?

Scripture(s) of the day;

 2 Corinthians 9:8 – And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

Colossians 1:13 – He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.

Worship song of the day;

This song was written by John Mark McMillian and in the original format (below) he shares the testimony of how God met him when his friend Stephen died. “You met me in my breaking…I know that I still love You God despite the agony”…”He loves us, woah how He loves us…” This song has to this day marked me in difficult times. His love is still available in my pain.

 

What songs and scriptures have ministered to you or do minister to you in hardships?

#giveup40–You Know Me

I looked at my husband at a point today and said, “Can you read my mind?”, to which he replied, “Can you read mine?”. We both ended up chuckling because we in fact knew what the other was thinking.

Some days I make it hard on my sweet husband though.

I don’t even know what I’m thinking or what I want and/or need, so I can’t expect him to know.

There are things that I do know about myself. My favorite season is Autumn, my middle name is Kristen, I love passion fruit and chocolate. Random things like that…

But some days I learn new things about myself that I didn’t know before. Often this comes from times spent in my husband’s company or in a conversation with a friend.

Mostly I learn more about myself by spending time with my Father.

He after all is the One Who created me and knows me for who I really am.

He isn’t guessing, assuming, or basing His assessment on perceived information.

He knows the facts about me. He knows me.

AND…He knows you.

Better than you know yourself.

He knows the good, the bad, the GREAT, aaaaaaand the ugly.

He knows the plans that He created you to walk in and the unique traits, personality quirks, and giftings inside of you.

When you spend time seeking Him and desiring His will for your life, He’ll reveal the best for your life and in the process you’ll learn His heart.

 

Question(s) of the day:

Do we really believe that He knows us better than anyone else?

What ways do we believe other voices including ourselves over His truth?

What can we do to listen to His voice and truth in our lives?

Scripture(s) of the day:

Ps 139: 1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.

Song of the day:

You Know Me–by–Steffany Frizzell Gretzinger

“And nothing is hidden from Your sight
Wherever I go, You find me
And You know every detail of my life
And You are God and You don’t miss a thing”

 

Comment below on how God has been speaking to you the past couple of days.

Missed a blog? Check out the category on the right margin for “Give Up 40” and use the hashtag #giveup40 for reposting and comments.

#giveup40–Nailed It!

Welcome to day #1 of #giveup40 If you don’t know what Give Up 40 is, check out this post before continuing ;)

I nailed it! The perfect cup of coffee this morning! I was THRILLED!

This may not seem like a big deal to you, but to me, the perfect cup of coffee can make my day.

With all of the traveling that I do, my nerdy barista coffee snobby skills, and my desire for only Organic Decaf, Swiss Water Process Coffee, it’s HARD to get a quality cup of coffee.

Some days I nail it! The coffee is perfect and I’m satisfied. Other days, bleh….not so great and I long for a good cup of coffee ;)

And the same is true with my walk with God. Sometimes, like yesterday and today, there are rich times in His presence.

I see a cardinal on a nearby tree against the fresh snow and I feel Him drawing me to stop and listen to Him speak to my heart. And I actually STOP and take that moment with Him.

Other times God is doing the equivalent of fireworks and screaming in a megaphone at me, and I’m distracted by the cares of this life. Even though I might read my Bible or sing worship songs, it’s lip service and my heart isn’t connected.

There are days where I think, “I nailed it!!!”, and other days where I’m like, “Why didn’t I make more time for Jesus?!? He is so much more important than _____”.

He loves my heart that seeks His heart and He is always speaking. I just need to position myself to listen, to let His love fill me, and let His word ground me.

This is what these short 40 day devos are about–stopping and taking time to spend with Him. He is the giver of life, the lover of our souls, our HOPE.

Question(s) of the Day:

What keeps you from spending time in His Presence?

What  ways do you connect most with Jesus? Prayer? Worship? Word?

What can you do to eliminate distractions and let your heart stop and hear Him more these 40 days?

Scripture(s) of the day:

Mark 6:31–Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Worship song of the day:

A favorite of mine, Beautiful the Blood (Bryn Waddell version)–available on iTunes and can be viewed at this link ;

How’s your first day of lent going? What did God speak to you today? Use the “hashtag” #giveup40

Give Up For Lent

Wanting to give up something for Lent this year or desire a more strict focus on Jesus as you head towards Easter season?

Why not give up your time to spend in His  Word?

I used to give up Oreos in Middle School for lent…no joke ;) It was a sacrifice for me back then and likely prepped me for more food fasting later on.

While I absolutely believe in and do fast food, if you just fast without adding time with the Word of God and intentionally seeking His heart during a fast, it’s more like a diet;)

This past year I shared a message that I believe God dropped in my heart titled, “Give in or Give Up”. I spoke at a couple of young adults service in Kenya. It’s a lot like 3D for those of you connected to my home church in Tulsa :-)

The concept came from this scripture;

Those who try to hold on to their lives will give up true life. Those who give up their lives for me will hold on to true life. (Matthew 10:39 NCV)

We can either give in to the enemy’s plans for our lives, OR surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ and give up our lives for Him.

So what does this have to do with lent?

Whether or not you participate in this 40 day fasting ritual, there’s something to be said about going deeper with Jesus and learning to give up our lives for Him.

In the hour that we’re living, there’s certainly a constant need to surrender ourselves to the way of the cross and allowing Jesus to truly be Lord of our lives.

I think of the 21 Egyptian men who were just martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ in Libya and I recognize their life was not their own. Their lives weren’t taken from them, they willingly gave them up to Jesus long before the moment of their physical death.

We too are invited to submit ourselves to His way and to learn His heart.

I invite you to join me on this journey of “Giving Up” our lives to be more like Jesus during the 40 days of Lent.

I’ll be posting short devotionals of scripture and questions to guide us into a more intimate fellowship with His heart and His way for our lives. Let’s give up our time for something intentional–more of Him! :)

Feel free to comment or hashtag your comments with #giveup40

 

Concealer

concealer

I am not one to use face make-up like foundation or concealer.

If anything I dust some light homemade bronzer on my face for a subtle glow. HOWEVER, I recently bought concealer a couple of weeks ago.

The reason for this is that for the past two years as I’ve had some complications mainly resulting from a car accident and international travel, I’ve had such poor sleep. It’s not that I CAN’T SLEEP, it’s that I have a bleeding kidney and other crazy things so I’m in the bathroom most of the night.

Truthfully I’ve not been very open about what I’ve been walking through because for the most part I look “fine” to the outside eye. It’s been a looooong long road and a few close friends know, but it’s hard to talk about and even writing this much is vulnerable.

I feel cold sweats writing this. Just kidding! :-P

I share this to say that most nights I sleep under 5 hours and sadly, I don’t have an adorable baby/toddler or a PHD for getting this amount of sleep.

I’ve had puffy eyes from the urinary issues and the concealer was a must-grab for the dark circles particularly on days when make-up is more necessary than other days.

That being said, here’s a recap of my morning yesterday…. We were in a town in Oklahoma at one of our supporting churches for a missions convention to help them raise funds for missions in 2015.

I was up all but 3 hours of the night.

Stephen had to speak at 2 morning services and he ingested food he was allergic to and sparing details, it was a fun night for both of us.

I dozed off finally for another 30 minutes before I had to leave for the 2nd, NOT the 1st service because I’m already that cool ;)

I was pushed for time and I had to pack up our hotel room.

It had poured all night and the freshly curled before bedtime hair was now a mess.

On went the concealer and eye make-up.

I went to curl my hair, dropped my curling iron and grabbed it…WITH MY HAND! If I didn’t have my lavender essential oil, I would’ve been in major pain, but I applied it quickly and then I tried to do something with my hair and ran out the door.

((Yes I brushed my teeth too—don’t worry! I lost my toothbrush in all of our traveling on Saturday, but grabbed one at the front desk the night before…actually Stephen did—my hero! ))

I was a hot mess walking out of this hotel and the wind was SO intense that all the attempts at making my hair look in any way decent are now gone…

…and honestly I was not in the best mood. I was trying to think of a worship song and nothing was coming to me. I had just had worship on in the hotel room, but my tired brain was now drawing a blank.

I ended up at a GOLF COURSE, NOT the church and had to drive a little further to get to church late. Awesome.

“Hi! I’m the Guest Speaker’s wife, late and distracting everyone as I make my way to the front row. Keep your eye on me because with my kidney issues, I WILL be distracting you more and going to the bathroom during service.” Sighs.

I took my place on the front row and thankfully worship was absolutely powerful. I immediately was grateful for the words to a song in front of me and my tired brain and I belted out singing SO loudly (and likely off key).

I didn’t want the enemy stealing my praise even after a hard night.

The Senior Pastor got up to pray for healing in the service and instructed people to press in with worship and focus on Jesus.

His wife, who was on the platform directing the choir leaned over and whispered into his ear.

He then called out for a gentleman by the name of “Mike” to come forward.

As Mike walked forward, his wife and a friend assisted him. He is fighting cancer and has been given a short amount of time to live.

A few gathered around him to pray and I darted across the sanctuary.

Compassion flooded my being and I began to weep over this man.

I saw his frail state.
I saw the pain in his eyes.
I felt a glimpse of the hurt he had been walking in.
More than that, I felt the love of God.

I stood adding my faith in agreement for his healing. My heart broke.

I knew my husband’s message would be good and I was expectant.
But I was distracted.

Distracted by the love and compassion that I felt over this stranger I’d never even had the privilege of meeting.

I am far from perfect and have some really rough days especially with crazy sleep, but I can’t hold back compassion. I’m thankful for God revealing His love and heart for others through difficult times.

You see while I might not share the details of my health journey with everyone, I’ve allowed God in to the details.

I’ve allowed His hope, His great love, and His compassion into my heart.

I’ve stood with close friends in desperate need of healing with a greater awareness of their suffering.

I’ve had some ugly things said and done to me during this journey from people who don’t understand what I’ve been walking through. And that has taught me even more so to be aware of what others might be walking through.

In the midst of all of this, I’ve felt God’s love through my suffering in a way I’ve never experienced.

It would be easy to shut down and not feel. It would be excusable to wallow in self-pity all day and not reach out to others.

With minimal sleep, there are so many excuses I could have for not partnering with God in this season.

The easy way would be to conceal what I’m going through and not allow God in.

I think of the song, “Let It Go” and how when the character Elsa is singing it, she looks down at her gloves and recites what her parents told her, “Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know….”

While the story line in the movie Frozen is a bit different from what I’m sharing here ;) , I think it’s very telling of where some of us find ourselves.

We conceal our feelings. We conceal our bad times. We shut down. We cut God out of the equation questioning Him and believing lies. We get angry and act from a place of hurt, rather than a place of love and compassion.

This is what the enemy would LOVE for our lives. He would LOVE for us to feel alone.

He fears us feeling the heart of God. He fears what would happen if we will allowed God to turn bad things around for good in our lives.

He wants us to suppress what we feel so that we will never move out of our comfort zones and minister to others with compassion.

And ultimately the enemy wants us to deny God and conceal the hope and confidence we’ve established in Him.

While concealer might be helpful for dark circles under our eyes on some days, it’s not fixing the dark circles. It’s only covering them up.

While we need healthy boundaries in our lives, we need to be an open book to the Lord and allow His purposes and love in our hearts even in difficult times.

There are “Mikes” out there waiting for your obedience to not conceal your love and zealousness for the Lord.

Take off the concealer and/or your Frozen hand gloves and step out and share the love of Christ with someone.

Please agree with me for Mike and his healing as well as peace and grace for his loved ones in this time :)

let-it-go

Seeking Jesus in the New Year Pt 2

Yesterday I shared a quote that is constantly in my head thanks to my husband. “One life twill soon be passed, only what’s done for Christ will last.” -C.T. Studd

This quote helps me put things into perspective for 2015. While I hope to find better health, deepen relationships, spend our finances wisely, I want to be found more in love with Jesus more than all else.

Yesterday I talked about the importance of Prayer in the New Year. Speaking to Him and cultivating His heart to be used in and through our lives.

Today I want to talk about Reaching Others :)

2. Reaching Others

Sometimes the distractions of life keep us from focusing on God and on those around us. I can attest that walking through physical challenges and life adjustments can certainly cloud your responsiveness and interactions with others.

HOWEVER, as believers and Christ followers, we are here to serve others, not ourselves. Yes we need to take care of ourselves, set healthy boundaries so that we don’t burn out, but we need to be looking to serve and love others.

Let’s look at a few ideas of how to reach others with the love of Jesus in the New Year.

1. People who already know Jesus

Just because someone knows Jesus doesn’t mean that life is peachy ;)
Matter of fact these people need encouragement to keep the faith, seek Jesus and love Him rightly. It is in times of discouragement that they need their faith renewed.

Listen to what they aren’t saying. Just because they can keep it together in front of you or smile even in midst of trials doesn’t mean that they aren’t hurting and don’t need prayer.

Remind them of the word of God, include them in social gatherings, give small gifts or gestures of encouragements through the year to remind them that you’re there for them.


Sometimes the easiest thing we can do is to send a text saying, “I’m thinking of you–how are you?” We can’t change people’s lives for them, but we can be there for them in the good and bad days.

Make it a point to pray for your brothers and sisters in the Lord and love on them. We’re in this together! :)

2. People who don’t know Jesus

People who don’t know Jesus certainly need our love and patience. We can reach out to those who are without Him by doing more than smiling and being “polite”.

We can be sensitive during the day to listen to God’s voice over someone. Sometimes people are on the brink of very difficult days and one word from God or one act of His love would change their lives for eternity, not just change their day.

Be BOLD!

Don’t shrink back in intimidation or let the time constraints of your day keep you from reaching out. If you feel you should encourage someone and be there for them, do it! Jesus wants His heart made known.

If you have daily interactions with people who don’t know Jesus, begin to get to know them! Find out their struggles, hardships and victories. Celebrate and comfort them. Invite them to your local church or your home for holidays.

Some people just feel lonely and want to feel loved and accepted. We are Jesus’ hands and feet–invite them into your world!

Pray…implement yesterday’s post and pray for those you know to receive His love. Don’t take for granted your own salvation

3. The Nations

Of course being a missionary I couldn’t skip reaching out to the nations!!! :-)

You may not be able to GO to Madagascar or any other country for that matter in 2015, BUT you can be a part of what God is doing in the nations.

If your local church is not involved in global missions, I’d recommend connecting or partnering with missionaries you might know or someone your church might be connected to.

If your church is involved in missions, one of the easiest ways is to give finances! Your church is involved in going to certain countries, partnering with certain missionaries, or doing specific projects because they believe in them! Ask your pastor/missions pastor how you can get involved beyond finances.

From working in different missions offices I can tell you, there is always something to help with! Maybe you are creative and can think about how to better promote missions in your church? Maybe you can help assemble packets for a trip or help plan a missions banquet.

However God leads you to partner with His heart for the nations, I promise it will be one of the best investments in your life in 2015!!! There is a LOT of work to be done and people are His heart.

Reach out beyond yourself and encourage others with the love of Christ this year! You’ll be thankful at the end of 2015 that you purposed to start the year off focusing on His heart and growing in love with Him.