New Journey Day 1 eve…

Tomorrow @ 10 am I begin a new journey.  I’ve prayed that God would open a door for me or show me in some way which direction my life is going.  This morning that prayer was answered with a phone call and a job offer on the other end of the phone.  I am so Excited!  The past year has been a season of closed doors and open doors and lots of prayers to show me where I need to be.  I believe He answered that prayer this morning.  Don’t get me wrong I still need direction, but who doesn’t.

This will probably be my shortest blog ever, but I need to figure out what I’m wearing tomorrow! 

Thank you Jesus for showing me the way and closing the doors that you know needed closed! 

 

If Parrots Could Talk….

Would you display your Parrot for the town? Do you live on Shaky Ground when it comes to being obedient?  I’ve read a devotion this week that talked about “Obedience puts us on Solid Ground.”  That God does not want us to just be obedient in certain seasons of our lives.  He wants us to make a lifestyle change of Obedience.  Proverbs 3: 6-7 says “Remember the Lord in all you do and He will give you Success.  (I have this on my computer), Don’t depend on your own wisdom, Respect the Lord and refuse to do Wrong.”  Be obedient by choosing to put Him first.  Choose God in everything we do.  This devotion says we should “live like citizens of a future world, guarding each step to make sure it matches the step of God”  Live a life filled with love, not out of fear.    Peter 1:14 says “obey God because you are his children.  Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then.”.    Now you know.  You know He watches us, He knows what we are thinking, and what we will do.

You can’t be wishy washy and come to Christ, go to the World, Come to Christ, go to the World.  Make a decision!  Be Obedient!  Paul says, we become “a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!  2 Corinthians 5:17.  Mary Southerland says…”God has already been where He wants us to go.  All we have to do is look for Him, watch His steps and follow them…right across the finish line.”   Just like a football team, I don’t know all the correct terms for the players, but when the quarterback throws the ball to the receiver, the receiver has guys that make a path for him all the way to the goal line.  We need to do the same.  Watch for His steps and follow them, right across the goal line.  Be disciplined, match your steps with His.  He’s there waiting for you/me, waiting to do that funky touchdown dance and high fives because we chose Him…we chose to play the game and give the game to Him.

Psalm 86: 11  “teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”

Found a great quote today.  Will Rogers said, “Live your life in such a way, that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.”  Kind of makes you sit back and wonder…Would I do that.  That’s like airing your dirty laundry.

It is done…

Ok, I’ve had to manually import all my old posts from my last blog.  What is sad, is that the same problems I’m dealing with now, I’m still dealing with.  My weight!

I’ve read all these old posts and it just makes me sad that I couldn’t commit to it last year, when I was so excited and so confident that this time would be different. It wasn’t different than any other time in my life when I’ve said…”this is it”.  I feel so hypocritical!  So, lost and like such a liar:  to God, to myself, to my family…for breaking that commitment!  I know I’m human, but that shouldn’t be my excuse.  I shouldn’t have an excuse, I should just do it.

I know what I need to do, but apparently my choice hasn’t been the right one, the healthy one, or the smart one.

So, the journey continues…..Again!

Commit, Learn, and Achieve

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed!!!!  Proverbs 16:3

Today Lord I have got to commit to you that I need to take care of ME so I can do more for YOU and take care of my FAMILY.  Last week I got on the scale and the number was 200…WOW!  Yep, I’m putting it out there—just like that!  Pictures will be posted later…Yep, I’ve got to put it ALL out there!   I’ve signed up to do a SHAPE UP PROGRAM!  I need accountability…So, if I don’t lose a pound I pay a dollar.  For every pound you gain when you weigh weekly—you pay a dollar for every pound.  The choices I have made have been all about MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME….And ME sure hasn’t done the job.  And ME hasn’t lost any weight, ME just keeps gaining.  Apparently the concept of the ME factor and just relying on ME isn’t the answer.  DUH!

I Surrender!  I’m throwing up my white flag!  I’ve always thought that asking for God’s help with my weight was just silly.  After all the diets and failures!  Yes, I have failed at this miserably.  I know it doesn’t just involve my way of eating…it’s gotta be my whole life that I surrender.  My worries, my fears, my joys…everything!  For me to take that next step in my journey in helping others, I’ve got to surrender everything!  I can’t be wishy washy, I have to JUST DO IT!  But I need help, so I”m asking for those who read this to please pray for me!  That’s another thing that I have always felt silly about…Asking for someone to pray for me and my weight loss journey?  But I understand the accountability issue now.  Thanks Doug!

Below are some verses that I will need to focus on the next week.  If you are having problems getting motivated, message me and we can work on this together.  JENNIFER!  I hope your first few days were positive!

I Thessalonians 5:17   Pray without ceasing.

Psalms 119:105   God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path

Romans 14:17   For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. I Corinthians 5:7   (for we walk by faith, not by sight)

I Corinthians 10:31   Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

James 2:17-18   Even so faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone.  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works:  show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. (exercise)

Hebrews 6:12   that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

RE POST from Beliefnet.com

I found the article below on Beliefnet.com.  This is only a portion of the article.  Losing Weight With God All we need to achieve our health and fitness goals is a steady diet of God’s love. Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Health/2003/08/Losing-Weight-With-God.aspx?p=3#ixzz1Fvd9h65D BY Norris Chumley Freedom and Assurance I saved the best for last. Because I am with God I am free. I am liberated from self-defeating and dangerous habits. I want to take good care of myself, because God takes care of me. I no longer worry about problems that come my way, and I certainly don’t overeat for emotional relief anymore. I love dancing, working-out, singing and playing because God gave me a wonderful body. I can live with my limitations, and I love myself, because I am God’s guy. Weight loss and maintenance is joyous, not depressing. I am assured that all is OK with me, no matter what may come, or how tangled I may get in my own limited thinking. I surrender to God, and I am always shown the way. I make the decision over and over again, all day, day-after-day, to only do God’s will, not mine alone, and I am always OK. God’s hand is strong, and His presence is Divine. It may be hard to believe, but there’s absolutely no reason to keep trying to solve your weight problems by yourself. If you could do it on your own, I am sure you would have resolved your problems long ago. It’s simple – let go of the weight burden – let down your resistance to a new way – allow liberation and ease to come into your life and watch overweight and obesity become ancient history. The answer is spiritual weight loss. Ask God for help.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed????  Proverbs 16:3 This is my favorite verse now!  I read it and meditate on it every day.  I truly believe that the reason I am not having major cravings and binges is that I ask God for his help every morning before I get out of bed.  I ask for strength to make it through my workout and I ask for calmness, strength from temptation and peace when it comes to me thinking about the food I will be eating throughout the day.  This also goes along with what we talked about in Sunday School yesterday.  Don’t worry about what may come our way…He will handle it.  Just give it to Him!  Even if you think it is petty to give him your “weight issues”.  He wants us to be healthy to do his work!  Or, even if you think it is petty to give Him anything that YOU consider small and not worthy of prayer…It is worthy of prayer, it matters.  YOU MATTER!   “Have faith in God.”  — Mark 11:22    Short, sweet, and to the point.  Have faith- he is there wanting you to be there with him.  He has never left your side.  

Luke 12:22-31 NIV Do Not Worry 22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your lifea]’>[a]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?    

27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

This weight loss journey is so different than the ones in the past.  I can feel Him with me more and more.  I know I wouldn’t be able to do this alone.  I can’t do anything alone… I need Him and want Him with me on this Journey.  He knows what I think, what I’m doing and what I want to do.  He knows every single hair on my head and every fat cell in my body.

Conquering my past “issues” isn’t easy, but, I can truly say I don’t worry anymore about my future because I know deep inside that He is with me and I love him MORE and MORE everyday.

I hope you have a wonderful day and week!  Good luck if you are with me on this journey!

Puzzle Pieces

“The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath He recompensed me.” Psalm 18:20 (NASB) 20-24

God made my life complete

when I placed all the pieces before him.

When I got my act together,

he gave me a fresh start.

Now I’m alert to God’s ways;

I don’t take God for granted.

Every day I review the ways he works;

try not to miss a trick.

I feel put back together,

and I’m watching my step.

God rewrote the text of my life

when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.  Psalm 18-20(The Message)

When I got closer to the town I work in the snow was coming down and the ground was covered.  With it being the middle of March you would think we would be getting a fresh start with Spring, but here lately about every other week we get a fresh start from snow to sunshine, now back to snow.  Below is the devotion I had this morning and verse above goes with it.  I always look it up in other versions and reading The Message gives such a descriptive view of what the Psalmist is trying to say.

The Message’s version is so “right on” of how I feel today and everyday.  My life was such a puzzle that had so many missing pieces, I was never complete.  Even as I was a teenager and in my early 20’s I never felt complete.  I kept trying to do something to  make me feel complete, whether it was getting married, making new friends, eventually getting divorced, making the WRONG friends, and it was such a vicious cycle for many years.  The puzzle that was “ME” always had those missing pieces that you find in the bottom of your toy box or on that very top shelf in the closet.  But now, since I’ve gotten my act together and placed all those pieces at his feet, the “ME” puzzle is put back together.  And all the puzzle pieces of my life that I have struggled with are surrounded by his love and mercy.  I will never go back to that broken, misused, and lost puzzle of person I was before.  Thank you Jesus for completing that puzzle of ME and thank you for showing me what I can do to show YOU in ME!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!  Enjoy the SNOW! Love you all, Kim

How Faithful Are We?

And God is faithful…So, how faithful am I?  “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. . . . Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:13, 19).

  We’ve talked recently about putting on God Glasses and seeing others and life through them.  Some days it can be easy to jump out of bed and start your day with HIM and your day just sails by like you’re on a cloud and everything from what you eat for Breakfast to your conversation with your spouse when they come home from work is just “dreamy”.  And then there are those days where you dread getting out of bed and sitting down to read the Word or even praying seems like climbing Mount Rushmore in the rain.

Why are we like this?  What gets us down?  I know lately temptation has been my problem.  The temptation of staying in bed and not working out, or I can eat that and I’ll be good the rest of the week, and the big one…I’ll read my bible tomorrow and do my prayerwalk later.  Am I being faithful, NOPE!  Is Satan tempting me, YESSERIE BOB!  I’m harder on myself than anyone could be.  I tear myself down to where sometimes the excuses for not doing this or that come easier and easier.

But, GOD IS FAITHFUL to us!  God is steadfast, loyal, dedicated, and unchanging in his commitments and in relationships with us.  Some of us can be that to our jobs, our spouses, and our children, but when it comes to God are we really THAT faithful.  I know I’m not, but I certainly need to be.

John wrote, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Believing that God is faithful, we are encouraged to live faithfully for HIM.

So, what can we do to show our faithfulness?  The same thing we say in Sunday School and Wednesday nights.  Be in the Word, be with others that encourage us(I need this everyday), be in Prayer, be involved in Church or small groups.  Even though we do this, we are still tempted.  Satan will still knock on that door and be standing there with his tray of goodies and show us what we have enjoyed in the past(addictions), our procrastinations aren’t a bad thing, being a grumbler and complainer isn’t all that bad, and I’m not REALLY judging them…And yes, these are things I argue with Satan about, often.

Have I committed my life to Him….YES!  Do I still struggle to stay steadfast, loyal, dedicated, and unchanging in MY commitment and in My relationship with HIM… YES.  But, I do try to be in the word more and pray more, which uplifts me more than anything.  And knowing and FEELING the prayers of others is AWESOME!     Something to ponder today… since we usually expect God to be faithful in keeping his word and commitment to us, shouldn’t we be faithful in our commitment to him, believe in him, and obey him? 1 Corinthians 10:1-15 (New Living Translation) 1 Corinthians 10

Lessons from Israel’s Idolatry  1 I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters,[a] about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground.

2 In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses.

3 All of them ate the same spiritual food,

4 and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.

5 Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

6 These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did,

7 or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.”[b]

8 And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.

9 Nor should we put Christ[c] to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites.

10 And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death.

11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.

13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

14 So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols.

15 You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true.

Forgiveness…

Reposted from 2011

If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.

Charles H. Spurgeon http://www.heartlight.org/

Mr. Spurgeon probably didn’t mean for this to be interpreted the way I did, but I immediately thought of all those that I have forgiven, took entirely too long to forgive, or maybe I haven’t forgiven them yet. I’m not saying they were sinners, but the wrongs I feel they did against me. Or even the people that I associate with on a daily basis that may not act like they have God in their life. What about the people I’ve encountered at the store, on the street, on the phone, or even those that I see on television that have done wrong against others. Do I pray for them? Some of them, yes. But when I break it all down, I really don’t and that really tugged at my heart today. If I were in a bad situation from a choice I had made, or hadn’t been subjected to the Love of others, I would think I’d want someone to pray for me. To warn me. To let me know of the consequences of my actions and where that could lead me. That I do have a path, a choice. And I do have someone who Loves me UNCONDITIONALLY.

1 John 1:9 (New Living Translation) 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

It tells us right there in 1 John 1:9…That God is so Faithful that he will forgive us, just confess our sins…Sometimes that’s harder than it seems..for us to be honest with ourselves is sometimes harder than being honest with others. So, for us to say, “Yep, I screwed up” that is hard for some. That is hard for me. We want to have control. We can fix things ourselves…NO WE CAN”T!

I love this next verse…

Matthew 21:21 (New Living Translation) 21 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen

Isn’t this just awesome…what he is saying. We can do ANYTHING if we just have faith! Even forgive those we didn’t think we could. And there are days it is hard to wrap your head around that phrase, but it is so true. I’ve gotten through so many things, whether they’ve been small or—to me—HUGE…because I had no choice but to give it all to Him! That is just so awesome!

And HE IS SOOOOOOO AWESOME!!! And just this past week we were reminded just how awesome he is! He Died for us! He washed away our sins with the cross! My 9 year old son sat and watched some music videos with me last night that had scenes from The Passion. He told me when he saw the scene where the soldier pierced Jesus’ side and the water fell on that man…”mom, that man just had his sins washed away.” AMEN! If a 9 year old boy knew that is what happened—then us adults should figure that one out too.

John 3:16 (New American Standard Bible) 16″For God so (A)loved the world, that He (B)gave His (C)only begotten Son, that whoever (D)believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Our Loving Father!

A Blog from 2011….

OUR LOVING FATHER!

Reading a devotion from Phil Ware this morning sparked a lot of emotion in me.  As some of you may know my testimony– the struggle I’ve had for years looking to God as my father since my relationship with my own father was stagnant for so many years.  This devotion mentions Matthew 6:9 “Our Father in, Heaven, hallowed be your name….”  For many years going to the catholic church/school we said that prayer, all the time and to be honest, I never knew it was in the bible.  I never knew it was in the Gospel.  I always thought it was just a prayer/song that was sung before we took communion during mass.  Today as I see it in black and white and hear myself say that, I feel  very ignorant for not knowing that.  WOW!

Phil Ware mentions in his blog all the different relationships with “fathers” that can occur in someone’s life and I think I an relate to each and every one.  But today, right now, I know a Father that loves me unconditionally, NO MATTER WHAT I’VE DONE!  As hi blog states, he’s not ashamed of me, he cares about me and wants to know what’s on my heart—even though he already knows—Matthew 10: 29-32 and Luke 12:7 “Why,A)’>(A) even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not;B)’>(B) you are of more value than many sparrows.–he wants me to tell him.  Being adopted I never knew my “biological father” and my adoptive father did love me, but due to a choice I made, I brought about shame and I don’t think he knew how to handle that.  But today I choose to know the Almighty Father and I choose to surrender my life to him.

There are so many out there who feel abandoned and unloved due to the circumstances they are in and they need a Father.  They need to know they are loved and need to know what he gave for us.  He gave his one and only son to Die for US for ME!  John 3:16 16“ForA)’>(A) God so lovedB)’>(B) the world,a]’>[a](C) that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should notD)’>(D) perish but have eternal life.  That is truly AWESOME!

I shared my testimony last night to a group of young boys and girls.  I felt a sense of longing to belong to something from them.  These kids, whether they’re in Moberly, Cairo, Clark, Huntsville, Columbia, or wherever….The young kids today need our prayers.  They need us to share with them about Jesus.  They need to know they are LOVED!  I felt very challenged when I left there.  We need to step out of our comfort zone and talk to these kids.  Spend time with these kids.

I know we get challenges thrown at us all the time.  Challenges to read a devotion for 30 days.  Weight loss Challenges(and I’m behind in mine…and I know it…), Challenges to write in a journal, but today I’m giving you another one.  If you can’t physically do something for the youth, like talk to them, take them to McDonald’s for a soda, get a few together for a prayer group— JUST PRAY FOR THEM and tell them you are praying for them.  I wish now I would’ve had someone do that for me when I was a teenager.