Psalm 33:20-22---Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let Your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in You!

Wow, how encouraging is this when I read it! Just when I need encouragement and comfort, His Word brings it! I sssooo love being in the hands of my Savior, knowing that everything is under His control and not mine!!

Keep on keepin on!

Jeremiah 9:23-24---Thus says the Lord:"Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord."

Galatians 6:8-9--For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows from the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not become weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up!

things i love

With Valentine's Day coming up this weekend I thought it might be appropriate for me to take an inventory of sorts on the things that I love and why, so here goes. First and foremost, I love my Savior, Jesus. Why? Well the hole "dying for my sins" things starts it off (who else would do that for me?!), then there is the fact that He says He loves me in His Word (John 3:16-For God so loved the world (I'm pretty sure I'm a part of the world) J), and nothing can ever separate me from His love (Romans 8:35-39). He is everything to me therefore I can NOT deny Him my love!! Psalm 18:1-2—I WILL love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! Secondly, my parents J my mom truly is my best friend. She is one of the only people with whom I trust everything to. She gives the best advice, even when I might not want to hear it. I can always count on my mom to listen to me even when I sound like a complete idiot, and she gives great tough love that brings me back to reality. I love my mom. Then there's my dad…ha…my dad. I can always count on my dad for a great laugh when I need it the most, and I can always count on my dad for sensibility when I need it. He is very practical and loving and will never steer me wrong. I've come to realize that everything he does for me is out of love, and I will never be able to thank him enough for being the man he is. He has his flaws, but I love him still. He has taught me more about life than I ever could have imagined, and most of those lessons came from the river, the woods, or the field…and they were the best lessons ever. I love my dad. Little sis, what would I be without little sis J In the past 12 years there have been times when I've literally wanted to slap the poo out of her, but I'm glad I didn't, because it wouldn't have been a very loving thing to do and it probably would have been hard to clean up…haha, kidding, but seriously. My little sister might be one of the funniest people I know, even though she has a very odd way of showing it sometimes. She is athletic beyond comprehension, and has a huge passion…the only problem is, she can't figure out what to do with that passion. Once she does, she will change the world! I love her more than she will ever know. Grandma W-what can I say about this woman?! She is seriously the strongest person I know. She has been through SSOO stinkin much yet still finds her strength in the Lord…she amazes me and I learn so much from her just by being in her presence. If I could choose one person to be like when I'm older, it would be my Grandma. I love her J Grandma G-this woman is also amazing! I've been so blessed to have awesome women in my life that continually pour out love unconditionally! Grandma is no exception! Even when I've just been the worst possible person on the planet, she still shows love, and I'm so thankful for that! I love her J I love my guitar—because it is an instrument of worship for me, and some of the most meaningful times I've ever had have been with my guitar. My dogs—they are the most loyal things on the face of the planet. I can always count on my beagle to jump onto my legs and just love on me J My cousins—they're like my older sister; they give great advice and love me for no reason! My Aunt—she is another great woman in my life and loves me like her own. I honestly don't know what I would do without her. My other Aunt—the one thing I can always count on from her is kindness and love, and sometimes that's all I need. So this is one crazy long post, but writing it has made me realize how many great people I have in my life, and this is just the beginning of the list!! Even though I might not be celebrating Valentine's Day with a boyfriend, I have more love in my life than I know what to do with!!! If you find yourself feeling alone or discouraged during this time, make a list of the things that you love, and I think you'll realize that you are not alone and that love is being poured back into you!! Have a blessed day!!!

we must speak out

over the past few months i have seen an overwhelming "theme" in Christian artists of speaking out and speaking up about our faith. BarlowGirl has a song called "Keep Quiet" that talks about the world never seeing we're different if we just keep out mouths shut about our Savior; the tag before the first chorus is "i'll keep quiet, let's hope they see i'm different", and the tag before the second chorus is "if i keep quiet, they'll never see i'm different". Brooke Barrettsmith has a song called "Quiet Streets". My favorite line from the song is "if you're waiting for the perfect moment, if there ever was a time it's now....go on now take it to the quiet streets, the truth is screaming to be free". Jeremy Camp's new album called "Speaking Louder than Before" hits stores tomorrow. Why is it that all these artists feel the need to 'promote' speaking up about our faith, if speaking about our faith is what we're called to do? Last night in our youth group, our pastor came down and spoke to us about this very thing: it is about more than just living the "good life", it's about going and telling people who Jesus is and what He can do for them. like Lauren Barlow said on their dvd for How Can We Be Silent (their 3rd album), "One of the things that has become a popular trend is the thing of 'what if we don't talk about God, but what if we just live a good life and kind of live out....just kind of being a good person, then people will see that we're very positive and hopefully they will come and ask us a question and we can talk to them about Jesus'", then Alyssa chimes in and says, "yeah the main thing is 'don't say Jesus' name cause it might offend someone'". "You know, at first, it sounds right and it sounds good, and at first you're kinda like 'yeah, i get it' but then you're like 'wait a minute, this man, God, gave His life for me!'"-Lauren. "And we've realized there is power in His name. So what is the first thing the enemy tries to get us to do, it's stop speaking His name"-Alyssa.
The bottom line is, we must go out and literaly touch and reach people for our Christ. like the songs says, if we keep quiet, they'll never see we're different. one thing that hit me really hard last night in our discussion was when our pastor was talking about the Great White Throne Judgement. he gave an illustration about how all those people that i come in to contact with and don't seize the opportunity to share Christ with them, will be looking at me when God brings His judgement saying "Kayla, you knew the Truth and you never told me about it!". That was so convicting on my heart, because i am responsible for their souls. if i have the one thing that can save someone's life, why would i not want to lead them to it?

what more could have been done?

This semester I have been blessed to be in a class that is studying the Old Testament book of Isaiah. This class is not just a read-it-and-take-it-at-its-word class; we get in to some deep discussion and I am so super thankful for that! Anyways, today in class, we read Isaiah 5:4 and the scripture says-"What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it?" (Note: over and over in scripture we see God refer to His people as His "vineyard") This scripture comes after a time when Isaiah is describing the fall of Jerusalem and Judah in the Southern Kingdom. However, God's Word is still applicable to us today!! When we read this particular scripture, it felt so convicting in my heart. How often do I try to seek out and do things on my own, trying to make my life better? Right here, in His Word, God is telling us, "Hey, what more do you want that I have not already done for you?!" Was the cross not enough? Was the blood of the Son of Man not enough to satisfy our every longing that we have in a relationship with Him?? I'm reminded of the song "Enough"—"all of You is more than enough for all of me…" Why is it that we seek out things outside of God when He has done everything, and provides everything that we need? So I leave you with this…."What more could have been done for you that I have not done already?" (verse reworded)

keep on keepin on!!

-K

Hosea 2:7

Hosea 2:7—"She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say. 'I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.'"

So I was looking back in a notebook of mine and I read this verse and what I had written down at the time about it. Wow, God can say so much to me sometimes and I don't even know it! On a random morning, I decided to read from Hosea, a book in the Bible that I had never read from before or even heard a teaching on! During this time of originally reading and writing about this verse, I was going through a lot when it came to conformity and chasing after things of this world. I had always been able to hold up the image of a "great Christian" but inside I was such a broken and desolate person. I had been playing softball for my college team-mind you my main goal in life was to be an Olympic softball player-but even a sport which had brought me so much joy in life seemed to mean nothing to me anymore. I was stressed out and depressed, lying to my coach, my parents, and even myself. I could not find happiness in my life. Then came this verse. It is so symbolic of how I was living, and how I believe a lot of "Christians" live at times. We run from God, thinking that something of this world will please us and be able to fulfill us, only to find our brokenness still there or even worsened. I had chased after things that had the possibility of making me happy, but never being able to "catch" true happiness. Then I just fell to a point where it was like, "Okay I'm coming back to You, because You're ways are so much better and I am way better off with You." I was chasing after all the wrong things, and never being able to catch them; I was looking, but not finding; and then I came back to God as I was at first for then I was better off. Chapter 2 of Hosea talks all about brokenness, how we run from God, chasing things of the flesh, but then realize that we're better off with God. He takes everything "away" from us to make us realize we need Him, the He takes us aside and "speaks tenderly" to us! How amazing!!! I encourage everyone to go grab your bible and read Hosea for yourself, and I pray that God will speak to you in ways unimaginable! All glory to Him!!