Today I got to hold a newborn baby of a close friend of mine. She was so tiny and adorably perfect. My friend’s mom was present and handed her to me as she was crying. Once the baby was in my arms, she quit crying for a moment (a moment where I gleaned in the fact that I quieted her). She opened her eyes and looked around and listened for my voice. Then she cried again. Ok, so maybe I didn’t have the magic touch. I handed her back to the grandmother and she kept crying(I felt a little less rejected then:-) ). Once my friend took hold of her baby, the crying seized and permanently this time. I watched as this new mom comforted her baby, held her close and affirmed her. She began to speak the sweetest things over her daughter. The little one basked in the love she was being given. This was a place of safety for her and she loved being there.
My heart melted and I loved seeing my friend transformed into this beautiful mom. As I thought about this, I reflected upon how good our Father is and how He lavishes love upon us. So many times we run to other things thinking we can find love and nourishment from them, but only our Creator will bring full peace and love. Many times we perceive the Father based on our earthly fathers or authority figures. Even the best of dads are still human and make mistakes and this can warp our understanding of God the Father. However, He is good and loves to pour His love and Spirit upon us. In the way my friend held her baby so tenderly, so the Father wants to hold you close.
Today’s principle is simply: the Father loves you and has the best for you. I’ll use this prayer in other blogs too, but say this simple prayer tonight; Father, I desire to see You rightly so that I can love You rightly. Come perfect love in me like only You can. Show me where my image of a Father is hindering who You are as my Father. Help me see myself as Your child.
This morning I was in the kitchen when my husband left the room to shower and get ready for the day. Shortly after he left, he returned, grabbed a knife and walked back down the hall. Stunned I asked, “Did you just grab a knife?” Laughing, he proceeded back down the hallway.
Now I’m a new wife and I’m also the oldest in my family. So the art of asking questions and also voicing my opinions are pretty perfected. I restrained my questions and let him wander away with a nice brand new knife knowing he must have a good reason for it. Come to find out, he used it to pry open a cover to the hot water valve . This made me laugh only because there was a screw driver sitting out on the counter by the knives. Nevertheless he used the “tool” aka knife for a great purpose and accomplished a goal.
I’m sharing this story to illustrate the point the Apostle Paul was trying to make in Ephesians 6 as it pertains to weapons of our warfare.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:11-13 NKJV)
He goes on to describe every piece of the Roman armor in detail of how God wants to protect us. He wasn’t using this as just a nice visual presentation. It was a command to put on the armor everyday! The reality is we are in a spiritual battle! The problems that you are facing are a result of a real battle taking place in the heavenlies. The sickness placed on you is not just a natural occurrence, it’s a spiritual battle. The person who is being mean to you is not just a mean human. There are as the scripture states powers and darkness manifesting themselves through situations and messing with us in our mind and emotions. It’s so easy to take everything personally and rationally instead of rolling it onto The Lord, taking up our armor and fighting the battle where we belong, on our knees.
To illustrate: the knife that Stephen grabbed could parallel the sword of the Spirit part of the armor. Ephesians 6:17 says that the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The word of God is what reveals not only what is going on around us in the unseen realm, but it also exposes and reveals our own hearts and motives. My principle to share today is really simple, but often rarely implemented and that is to take up the whole armor of God everyday. We must spend time each day to take up our “knives” and read His word.
Stephen would like to add that he had grabbed a screwdriver too ;-)
This morning I was in the kitchen when my husband left the room to shower and get ready for the day. Shortly after he left, he returned, grabbed a knife and walked back down the hall. Stunned I asked, “Did you just grab a knife?” Laughing, he proceeded back down the hallway.
Now I’m a new wife and I’m also the oldest in my family. So the art of asking questions and also voicing my opinions are pretty perfected. I restrained my questions and let him wander away with a nice brand new knife knowing he must have a good reason for it. Come to find out, he used it to pry open a cover to the hot water valve . This made me laugh only because there was a screw driver sitting out on the counter by the knives. Nevertheless he used the “tool” aka knife for a great purpose and accomplished a goal.
I’m sharing this story to illustrate the point the Apostle Paul was trying to make in Ephesians 6 as it pertains to weapons of our warfare.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:11-13 NKJV)
He goes on to describe every piece of the Roman armor in detail of how God wants to protect us. He wasn’t using this as just a nice visual presentation. It was a command to put on the armor everyday! The reality is we are in a spiritual battle! The problems that you are facing are a result of a real battle taking place in the heavenlies. The sickness placed on you is not just a natural occurrence, it’s a spiritual battle. The person who is being mean to you is not just a mean human. There are as the scripture states powers and darkness manifesting themselves through situations and messing with us in our mind and emotions. It’s so easy to take everything personally and rationally instead of rolling it onto The Lord, taking up our armor and fighting the battle where we belong, on our knees.
To illustrate: the knife that Stephen grabbed could parallel the sword of the Spirit part of the armor. Ephesians 6:17 says that the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The word of God is what reveals not only what is going on around us in the unseen realm, but it also exposes and reveals our own hearts and motives. My principle to share today is really simple, but often rarely implemented and that is to take up the whole armor of God everyday. We must spend time each day to take up our “knives” and read His word. Stephen would like to add he used a screwdriver too ;-)
Today when I woke up, I checked my email which is under Bailey Seng. Then I checked my Facebook which is Bailey Seng Kuert. I called my doctor’s office and I am Bailey Seng because my medical insurance hasn’t switched over. Then I get into my car which is under Bailey Kuert. I will drive to Physical Therapy later today and check in under Bailey Kuert because the car accident is under my new last name. All that to explain that it is important that I know who I am in these scenarios to not create confusion. When being asked what my name is, my answer depends on who is asking me. I would get in a car accident 5weeks after getting married just so I can have name craziness ensue! :-) I love my name though. My first, my middle, my maiden and my new last name.
When I attended Bible School, I was in a class called, “Ministry Gifts and Callings”. Sounds like it would be full of great things and identity right? Well, it was, but I didn’t always see it that way. Mainly because one day we had an entire class on the meaning of your name and how God named you. I sat there completely frustrated thinking this was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard ( no offense to my incredible teacher). I thought, “My name is not Sarah, Mary, or Ruth. My name isn’t even in the Bible and it means something stupid. I wasn’t even a Christian when I was named so how on Earth does this relate to me. My parents, not God named me. And why am I paying money to hear this?” It was the only time in Bible School I was defensive. This was because God in fact DID name me and called me for a purpose. My name linked my God given identity for my life AND further rooted me as a daughter of the Most High. This frightened me as I was ok with there being distance between God and I and me just being a lowly servant of His. However as the weeks unfolded, I found myself learning about my name. In the course of the next year, I was asked to speak to the youth on preassigned topics. Not once, but twice in a row I was assigned, “Motivational Gifts and the Meaning of Your Name”! Great!! Yes out of everything I could be assigned to, have me teach on the one thing I didn’t believe in! God is funny like that and what He deposited in me has proved to be invaluable. I surrendered my hesitations and frustrations and started studying material to present to the youth. I’d looked up Bailey before, but it wasn’t until I looked up m middle name, Kristen, that my identity clicked for me. Kristen is a derivative of Christian and literally means “anointed followed of Christ”. When I read that, I cried. I have a testimony of coming to The Lord, that I knew well and upon reading this I realized that every time my name was called out, Jesus was calling me into my destiny. When my mom used the middle name as most moms do when you’re in trouble, God was sweetly speaking,”Hey anointed follower of my Son, come to me. You’re mine.” Upon further study of “Bailey”, I came to find out it means bailiff, or overseer, steward, one entrusted with another’s wealth and wisdom, able, and in a Bailey-Motte castle, a Bailey is the defensive wall protecting the inner court. If you know me at all, that is about as accurate as you could get ;-) My maiden name even means, “one who’s marked by fire” hello Holy Spirit& my red hair ;-)
I share this because learning just one tiny aspect of my God given DNA forever changed me. To learn that God, the beginning and the end. The everlasting to everlasting called me Bailey Kristen Seng/Kuert and called me His own in incredible. Now He obviously used my parents and obviously they’re human and so am I, but the beauty is His love and affirmation over us transcends our weakness. I often get prophetic words for people or affirm them based on the meaning of their names. This happens with me I believe because I didn’t believe in it at all and God deeply rooted it in me. No matter what Your name is, I encourage you to look it up and find out what God is saying in and through that. May you too find yourself as a son and daughter of His love.
This month, I will be writing different spiritual principles that I’ve learned in my life and want to share with others. I will attempt to do this in the context of daily events.
Today down to the day is the sixth time that I’ve moved in a year. Yes, 6 times. Of course, I married a missionary in November, so this could become a lifestyle from now on rather than just a random season. Each time I’ve moved, I’ve had to leave things behind and acquire new things. Certain places have been fully furnished, while other places have had nothing. I’ve had a move where all I had was a fridge and now on my latest move, we had to buy a fridge. In every transition, I find myself wanting to rest, to abide, to settle in a place. The move today will prove to be the longest in this series of moves to stay in one place, but may be the most challenging as a result. I’ve almost gotten used to the back and forth of moving my things and the constant “unsettled” feeling. Once Stephen and I got married, we moved into a lovely parsonage of sorts that a local church offered to us. This was an answer to prayer in many ways, but we would only be there for a few months. This helped us settle in a way as we did not have to fill any empty spaces with things like towels and silverware right away. However, now as we move for my 6th time in a year and Stephen’s 11th time in a year (now you understand my missions reference), we had to buy and obtain everything with the exception of a dining room table. Stephen’s experiences have a far greater variety than my Tulsa-Alabama-Dallas-Tulsa adventures as he was located on the island of Madagascar for most of 2012.
Our little adventure and I’m sure the many more to come, make me think of various scriptures like in Matthew 21:13 where Jesus says, “And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”
In three out of the past five moves, other people have furnished my home. Things were often already chosen such as paint colors, towels, silverware etc. While it may not have been my taste or style every time, I enjoyed having things prepared in advance for me. As Stephen and I prepared to move into our new place, we got to make the decisions. We get to choose what couch goes in what room and what color towels go best with the 1960s baby blue tile in the bathroom :-) This passage of scripture where Jesus states the desire of His Father’s heart for His own home seems so near and dear to my heart right now. His Father didn’t want the house to be a place of business and confusion, but of prayer for all nations.
We have some good friends who just moved into a home a couple of months ago. I’d visited them back in the Fall and they were occupying a pleasant two bedroom apartment with their two year old son. Upon entering their new home which is 4 bedrooms, 3 and a half baths, I noticed the gorgeous decor and furniture that was not present in their previous home. It also appeared that much work had been done in such a short amount of time living there. As I listened to their story, I was amazed at the favor God had given them in purchasing this home. This home had previously been used as a getaway for those in ministry to rest and was fully furnished. When our friends were negotiating the price, they asked how much it would be to throw some furniture in. The woman who had designed everything said she’d sell it to them all or nothing for a low price. They were thrilled to have a fully-furnished home upon moving in! They said every color and every towel or linen was exactly what they would have wanted and beyond what they could have afforded on their own. Designing like this would have taken several years with much planning and finances, yet here it was already complete.
It made me think of how God had prepared a place for them that was so perfect. They enjoyed every part of their home and there were so many interesting small details that would only have suited them so perfectly. As we discussed both of our home transitions that evening, we began to dream of what Jesus and the Father desire in their home. How pleasing it must be to them to hear worship arising from Asia, from Africa, from the Americas. How thrilling it must be to have the colors of the nations in their House of Prayer. How beautiful is the color red of the martyrs who’ve laid down their lives for the sake of the Kingdom of God. How much they desire to have their House full of the nations.
Right now, I desire my new house to become our home with touches of color, pictures, and important items that reflect us. More than that though, I desire our home to house His glory and to be a place where He can dwell.
Holy Spirit come search my heart today. Reveal the Father and the Son and their deep desire for their home to become a “House of prayer for all nations”. May everything I do that is of my flesh and own ideas be overthrown and may I be established in a place of adoration for the great King! May incense arise from my heart that is pleasing for you to dwell. And may Your house of prayer come forth from my life.
I just finished watching a great movie called, “We Bought a Zoo”. It is an incredibly moving movie, but I cried ALL the way through it. Literally sobbing at one point. I won’t ruin anything for anyone, but whew! Clearly living in the south with my “farm life” has made me attached to animals and we all know I love people ;-) Ok I’m kidding about the animals, but truly the acting was so great that it really made me feel what the family went through. It wasn’t the exciting brainless PG movie I was going for, but I recommend it! I’m tired of laaaaame acting so it was refreshing! Thank you Matt Damon for taking on a role in a family film-who knew??
Well Summer is almost here. I spent 20 minutes outside this evening in the 90 degree heat catching some sun rays to get some Vitamin D (thank you Steve Kuert). I can’t spend much more than that in the sun because…well I am a red head and I FRY! Summer is honestly my second least favorite month. I really dislike Spring because the allergies get SOOO bad that I can hardly breathe. It’s been like that my whole life (thank you Tulsa) and it’s always crazy weather which almost always=tornadoes (thank you Tulsa). Then after last summer’s nightmare heat and working in a front office with a broken air conditioner…Autumn and Winter are looking better and better all the time! The fall is hands down my FAVORITE season and I am hoping we have a Fall wedding *wedding bells chiming* (ding, ding) ;-) Back to summer…I hate looking for swimsuits. Let’s be honest…I don’t care if you have the smallest, tan, and toned body, it’s just a weird process. I literally have not bought a bathing suit in 5 years and before that, it had been 9 years lol. This is coming from someone who has had a pool outside my back door all 9 of the years of my 2nd most recent suit purchase ;) I often end up throwing a tank top on and shorts anyway (because clearly I’m not laying out and burning my skin) so it hasn’t mattered to me. However, it is time to buy a new swim suit so I was looking at shoes on Target last night and found some fun mix and match pieces. I found a cute tankini in colors I love and a fun pattern. I clicked the box or size and it said, ” 1, 2, or 3”. I couldn’t find a button for a sizing chart and since it’s been forever since I purchased a swim suit I assumed it was a new method of sizing. If not I knew I wasn’t going to fit into a 1-3 in regular sizes so I took a chance and clicked what I thought would work. I go to “checkout” and all of a sudden I see that it says, “Plus size” swim suit. It all made sense now as to the different sizing. I’m glad I saw that or I would have spent the summer continuing to wear my 9 and 5 year old swim suit. Since I don’t care what it looks like but I want something to beat the 100 degree summer temp, I have a new pink bathing suit coming my way (thank you Target).
Since it’s swim suit season, it only seems fitting that I would buy and devour half a bag of Mint M&Ms in 24 hours right?? Let me clarify that by bag I mean I had about half of the 6 servings of these candies. If you have not tried these new M&Ms I encourage you to try them with the mindset of NEVER buying them again. It’s like M&Ms have enticed us for years with the “green” M&M on commercials and then unleashed her fury of good taste upon us with her Dark Chocolate Mint insides. I was typing away at emails today and would take 3-5 at a time and*smack*smack* (okay, I don’t REALLY “smack” but I wanted you there with me in the story). Finally I realized what I was doing and I sealed the bag and chunked it across the room. Don’t worry it didn’t hitting anything but a crate of pillows because our furniture is gone for our move. Upon impact it was clear that I did NOT seal the bag (silly cheap closure) and they sprayed all over. Deeply focused on what I was doing, I sighed and returned to my work. Sad to say, I did not pick them up until dinner for fear I’d devour them in my focused state of mind.
If only I’d bought a zoo, then I could have just fed the animals the remaining M&Ms. I did however eat 2 more just now…what’s two before bedtime right?? ;)
Off to bed on my mattress on the floor (which I am grateful for) but long to sleep in my own bed in Tulsa next week!! That’s right I’ll be in good ole T-Town for my baby brother’s graduation!! WoOp WOoP!
Greetings!! Well it has been a while and SO much has changed, but the one thing that hasn’t is that I am still in “HamaBama” (for those just tuning in, that stands for Hamilton, Alabama, a.k.a. small town Alabama). Since I blogged last I’ve traveled about 30,000 miles, nearly 60 hours of that traveling in a car, 50 hours traveling by plane. I’ve fallen asleep in 15 different beds, but my trusted gray and blue suitcase has remained intact and by my side. If there was one word for this season, it would certainly be TRANSITION. There are many exciting things going on, but I am excited to get to Dallas and get settled in my new job there!
If you don’t already know, I am ENGAGED!!!! To the wonderful Stephen Kuert :-D He proposed on safari in Kenya on the Equator last month! It was truly an unforgettable moment and you can read more about it here; http://dreamscometrueinafrica.tumblr.com/ He is the most incredible man that I’ve ever met and his love for the Lord and me astound me! I am more than honored to be his fiancee and one day sooner than later, his wife!
My time in Africa was truly remarkable. I wrote in a post while I was overseas that Kenya was like a home, but not one I’ve ever known before. I am simply amazed by how God marks us with His fingerprints and as we walk out lives in obedience to Him, we see His divine DNA all over us! I mean how weird is it that this SUPER white, red-haired girl from south Tulsa would have a passion for Kenya having never been there before?! Then to be marrying a man who was born and raised there as a missionary and get engaged there…! Only God! May His fingerprints continue to be displayed on Stephen and I’s lives as we move forward in His purposes.
I am excited about the Dallas Zoo being within 5 minutes of where I am moving! However nothing can compare to seeing animals in the wild like I saw in Kenya and in Madagascar! It made me fall in love with God’s creation in greater depths. Kenya was everything I thought it would be and more. I cried the two morning that I woke up there and had to leave the country. I will be back though. Madagascar was unlike anywhere I’ve ever been or dreamed of. I have a huge heart for it and currently think I can convince any missionary to go there ;-) Really though, it has been overlooked and often forgotten about. Just in the past week as I have been seen 4 different artistic globes or maps without Madagascar on there. Granted many “islands” are left off of maps when they are so tiny, but Madagascar is huge and home to 22million people.The parts of the island that I saw were blends of Africa and Asia and rice fields were everywhere. The people are probably the most kind people I have ever met! It was incredible to meet the people and minister alongside of Stephen. The missionaries that Stephen introduced me to in both nations were incredible and rejoiced with us in our engagement!
For now, I’d be satisfied to just have a wedding date! Hopefully that will be finalized in the upcoming weeks as I move to Dallas. If not, I will start paying rent by collecting a dollar from everyone who asks, “Do you have a date yet?” “When is the big day-do you know?” ;-) It is an extremely exciting time even though I am separated by a few oceans from my fiancé. God has graced both of us for the seasons we are in and I am expectant.
I am looking forward to life in the big city of Dallas, but it will be quite the culture shock from here in Hamilton so pray for me ;-) There won’t be cows outside my door (I’ve gotten used to their soft moos lulling me to sleep). Instead of grass and open forest, there will be about6 highways surrounding me. Lastly, I will have to remember to lock my doors on everything again! While in Dallas last week I noticed that almost every single place had signs saying, “Lock your doors, Take your keys, Hide your valuables.” No more southern open door policy there folks! I’ll be sure to update a couple of more entries to tie up this small town life of 6,000 people to my big city life of 6,000,000 people! Goodness! Nothing drastic going on in my life or anything;-) As long as I can stow my beloved suitcase away and find a resting place for my close and head at night, I’ll be fine. Until then, I’ll soak up the smells of onion grass, gaze at the stars at night, and listen for cows for my weather forecast!
The first thing that you should know about this proposal is that God is FAITHFUL! There is no way that any of this could have taken place without His divine love and orchestration, to which Stephen and I are both SO thankful!!!!!! I’ve dreamed of Kenya and safari since I was a little girl and Stephen was born and raised in Kenya absolutely loving game parks. Here’s our African Proposal story…
We went to Sweet Waters Tented Camp (highly recommend it) in Kenya to go on safari. The property is 400,000 acres that Jane Goodall Foundation purchased and it’s home to many wild life. I was in love with Africa and definitely in love with Stephen while being there. We got to go on safari with one of Stephen’s best friends, Sach and his wife Pauline, and one of their kids. The Equator runs through the conservatory and has a really great sign to stop and take pictures. When we initially pulled up to the sign, it was pouring down rain. I ended up climbing out of the car window to take a picture of a giraffe by the sign. I was drenched in rain but laughing hysterically. I was overwhelmed with the goodness of the Lord and His presence. Upon hoping back inside the car, I cried because I was so overwhelmed with this deep desire in my heart that was being fulfilled. Little did I know more would unfold in that same spot. We went to the Equator sign later that afternoon when the rain lifted some. Sach was being goofy and sitting on the line and jumping back and forth between the hemispheres. We tried to take a few quick pictures, but I didn’t get a great picture of Stephen and I at the sign. There were some black rhino at a VERY short distance from us, so we left that area for the day. The next morning we got up, went on safari, ate lunch and were about to leave. Sach, Pauline and Stephen had just exchanged a conversation in Swahilli, so I wasn’t too taken off guard when we went back towards the sign instead of the gate to leave the park. I assumed we were taking a family picture or something. Upon pulling up, Sach immediately jumps out and goes and sits on the Equator line again. I laughed out loud and called attention to him. Pauline took her 6 month old son out of the car remarking to Stephen, “If an animal comes, I want you to grab my baby and run back to the car.” I laughed and did not think it was odd. I got out of the car with my camera in hand hoping to grab a good shot of Stephen and I since there were no rhino, elephant, or lion in sight. I offered to take a few pictures of Sach and his family. Then I passed the camera to Sach hoping he’d return the favor. At this point, I had NO idea that Stephen was going to propose. He walked a little slowly but held my hand. I wanted to stand on either side of the sign, but Stephen told me to kneel down next to him. I thought that was kind of odd, but smiled really big and went with it! I was on safari!!!! :-) So Sach took the first picture *snap* and the second one *snap* (ok my camera doesn’t make that sound, but go with it…) Then I hopped up being bubbly Bailey and wanted to see if the picture turned out. Yet there was Stephen…still on his knees. I said, “What are you doing?” HAHA… Then Stephen reached behind the Equator sign and pulled out the ring box (that Sach so smoothly placed there while sitting on the line). I remember him saying, “What do we have here?” and “Bailey Seng will you marry me?” Then silence ensued.For the first time in my life I was speechless!! However, Stephen was not and began to ramble on asking me if the ring fit and so forth. All I could think of in my heightened adrenaline state (mind you there are wild animals around and strangers looking too) was “How did that ring box get there?!” I thought about how the animals were there and it was not wise to have the box there. Then I thought about how I’d been with Stephen, Sach and Pauline all morning and there is no way they placed it there. Did he trust a hotel staff to put it there…? Yes I know, absolutely ridiculous, but it’s good because I was surprised. I am SO difficult to surprise with ANYTHING so he did a great job. At this point of not having a response from me, Pauline rescues Stephen by yelling, “What did she say?! What did she say?!” My brain quickly came back and I realized I was hiding behind huge sunglasses and hadn’t given any answer. All of a sudden my built of responses flooded out in about ten screaming “Yes”s!!! I collapsed next to Steve on the ground. He began to explain how I was from the northern hemisphere and he was from the southern hemisphere but that he believed God would use us to go back and forth and bring His truth to the nations together!! We prayed together and eventually several minutes later I finally cried and could put together sentences again. Stephen said he was tired of doing ministry apart and it was time that we started doing it together. I said that I cried almost every time I hung up the phone with him. Even though the proposal story is unique to us and so exciting, it’s a small glimpse of God’s faithfulness in our relationship. So much has happened by His perfect grace and we wouldn’t be where we are today without His guidance, holiness, and loving mercy. His love is unfailing and we are so thrilled to walk out His plans together. Thank you for your love prayers and support of us! More to come!! :)
