Live Well, Love Well

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Sometimes we place so much focus on the need to know what our entire life is going to look like for the rest of our lives at this very moment. We have been encouraged to 'reach for the stars', 'dream big', to 'believe we can', and so many other catch phrases that motivate us towards greatness. But sometimes, regardless of how hard we try, we find ourselves in a place where we just don't know what to do, or where we should be heading in life. We might even know where we would like to be, but our greatest efforts have not allowed us to reach that place.

As I consider some of the greatest stories in the Bible, I have come to realize that, sometimes, God isn't exactly looking for someone that is out and about ready to take on the greatest challenges in the world. Many times, God called to those who were simply living their lives as best as they could. People who were simply being faithful in what they had been given until that moment without necessarily seeking or asking for anything greater. Consider the stories of Noah, Moses, Naomi, David, Josiah, Esther, Job, and even Mary the mother of Jesus. I am sure there are plenty of other and maybe even better examples, but these, just to name a few... Noah wasn't asking God,"Please Lord, let me build an ark". Moses wasn't asking God, or planning to return to Egypt, to free the Israelites. Naomi wasn't trying to find Boaz. David wasn't seeking to be anointed as King, nor to face and kill a giant. Josiah was only 8 years old when he was named King; he certainly wasn't seeking to clean the land of all the false gods, idols, shrines, altars, and the like; and he wasn't seeking to be known as the only King who turned to the Lord with all his heart, soul, and mind according to the law of Moses. Esther wasn't seeking to be called to 'such a time as this', where she was chosen to marry the king, and risked her own life to save her people. Job most certainly didn't boast of his faithfulness to the Lord, provoking himself to be challenged in every way possible, to prove his firm commitment to the Lord. and Mary wasn't trying to become the mother of the promised Messiah. All of these people were just being faithful in what they had been given. All of them were living lives pleasing to the Lord, right where they were at, whether in positions of greatness or just living average everyday lives to the best of their abilities. And God found favor in them. God knew that he could entrust them with the callings they received from Him and that they would continue to seek Him, serve Him, and honor Him despite the good and bad they experienced along the way. None of them were perfect, but all of them remained tender to the Word of the Lord and His call on their lives.

Wherever you find yourself today, whether already in a position of authority and leadership, or just living your simple, everyday life. Live well and love well, the best you can, according to the Word of God. Be faithful in what you have been given. Find joy and peace in the people and places God has surrounded you with. Live pleasing to God, sincerely, with purity of heart, and the day will come that God will lead you to the place where you will fulfill the purpose which He has for your life. 

As you see in the examples above, and in the various stories in the Bible, God rarely works in the same way more than once. Don't get sidetracked seeking to copy another persons calling, or trying to reach or exceed another persons achievements. But seek first the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33.

Psalm 91

Psalm 91

 ¹ Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
      will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
 ² This I declare about the Lord:
   He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
      he is my God, and I trust him.
 ³ For he will rescue you from every trap
      and protect you from deadly disease.
 ⁴ He will cover you with his feathers.
      He will shelter you with his wings.
      His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
 ⁵ Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
      nor the arrow that flies in the day.
 ⁶ Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
      nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
 ⁷ Though a thousand fall at your side,
      though ten thousand are dying around you,
      these evils will not touch you.
 ⁸ Just open your eyes,
      and see how the wicked are punished.

 ⁹ If you make the Lord your refuge,
      if you make the Most High your shelter,
 ¹⁰ no evil will conquer you;
      no plague will come near your home.
 ¹¹ For he will order his angels
      to protect you wherever you go.
 ¹² They will hold you up with their hands
      so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
 ¹³ You will trample upon lions and cobras;
      you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

 ¹⁴ The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
      I will protect those who trust in my name.
 ¹⁵ When they call on me, I will answer;
      I will be with them in trouble.
      I will rescue and honor them.
 ¹⁶ I will reward them with a long life
      and give them my salvation.”

Christ in the Center

I am not really into tattoos, but I kind of like this one. Two hearts joined together by a cross - symbolizing Christ being the center of the relationship and also a visual representation of Christ completing each of us individually as well as bringing and keeping us together.

Marriage

From a single woman who would like to believe that there is hope for a lasting and fulfilling marriage: I feel sad when I see so many marriages struggling and people unable or unwilling to fully commit to their spouses. Marriage is supposed to be about loving each other so much that each person would give of themselves completely in every way, committing to go through all aspects of life both good and bad, while each person puts in their effort to confront and overcome every obstacle that might come their way. Sadly, instead of being a part of a team, many marriages are now looking like two people who care more about their own individual interests that they end up becoming rivals within their marriage, and that was never how God intended marriage to be :( 

Seeking His original plan! 

PS. This post is my general observation of marriages in the US overall. I recognize that there are many marriages where one partner is willing and committed and the other is not, thus making a team effort impossible... my heart really goes out to those people, as I cannot even begin to imagine how that must feel. I also recognize that there are still many good, healthy and functional marriages in existence today. But in light of the reality of so many broken and wounded marriages, I just wish and pray that people could really open up their hearts and love completely, the way it was originally planned for us and that they would find value in their spouses and in their marriages.

Never Alone

Eager, anxious, tired and frustrated... needing the winds of change to blow through life... just barely getting by day to day, hoping for the best, yet living through the worse... wishing for so much, yet seeing so little... I know so many people have gone through these kinds of moments and its such an unsettling place to be. In these moments we cry out in prayer to our Heavenly Father and many times experience the strain and loneliness of His silence... We want to trust Him completely, but feel so insecure in our disappointments in life and His silence provides us no comfort... Where do we go? Who can we seek for help? Where do we get answers from? We run to friends and/or family members... some who can understand and relate to us, others who with good intentions try to help us see things from another light, and yet others who do not understand and may even belittle us with their responses to us. Usually no matter where they come from or how much or little they can connect to us in these times, a void still remains... an emptiness that needs to be filled... and there is only ONE person who can fill that in our lives... Our need for Him is always present, expanding from every height, depth and width... nothing else can comfort, satisfy, or fulfill us but Him... He is our one and only Savior, our King and our Father... GOD... So how can we receive good from Him, when we feel He is distant and silent with us... when in our biggest needs, He does not always run to us quickly to save or rescue us? The answers are individual for each of us... based on our love for God and trust in Him... How much are we willing to hold tight to His Word and His promises for our lives? How much are we willing to have faith that He has a good plan for our lives and that He is working on our behalf? Each of us in our journey in life will come to the place where no one else's words can comfort and we have to decide for ourselves how much or how little we truly live for God and where we want to go with Him. Usually we will cross this path several times in our lives... we overcome one struggle to later be confronted with another one... I pray for each person who is facing these moments in their lives, that you will be filled with love and hunger for more of God in your life... that you would find the strength to hold tightly to Him and find all you have ever needed and wanted in Him.

Barlowgirl - Never Alone Video (click here to view video)

I waited for You today

But You didn't show

No.No.No.

I needed You today

So where did You go?

You told me to call

You said You'd be there

And though I haven't seen You

Are You still there?

I cried out with no reply and

I can't feel You by my side

So I'll hold tight to what I know

You're here and I'm never alone.

And though I cannot see You

and I can't explain why.

Such a deep, deep reassurance

You've placed in my life oh

We cannot separate

'Cause You're part of me

and though You're invisible

I'll trust the unseen

I cried out with no reply

And I can't feel You by my side

So I'll hold tight to what I know

You're here and I'm never alone

We cannot separate

You're part of me

and though You're invisible

I'll trust the unseen

I cried out with no reply

and I can't feel You by my side

So I'll hold tight to what I know

You're here and I'm never alone

Masked Christians?

Have you ever found yourself wondering why things happen the way they do, or questioning the situations or circumstances you live through? I find myself there sometimes… although, for the most part I am happy with my life… I have lots of things I appreciate and love… but that doesn’t take away that sometimes there are moments in life that I do not necessarily like and/or that make me wonder or question…

Over the past few years I have put a lot of thought into life. How and why we do things… what motivates us or holds us back… One thing I have noticed is that people (in general) seek acceptance and approval. Whether it is from family, friends, employers, or anyone else, we all have a need to find acceptance within the people we find most important in our lives.

Because of this need for acceptance, we learn what is acceptable for us to say and to do within our circles and we easily fall into doing and saying things so that we can stay within those lines. This can be a good thing when we cut out bad habits and make real changes in our hearts and lives to improve ourselves because we feel convicted to do so and especially if we are drawing closer to God and building a stronger relationship with Him through it.

My concern is more for when staying within those lines might become harmful to us. When we are acting only because we know what is expected of us or when we speak only what we know will be approved. Sometimes we have thoughts, feelings, desires or struggles that we know will not fall within what is acceptable or approved by others in our circles, so instead of being real about those things, we remain silent about them. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that they are still there.

So, we learn how to put a mask on… say all the right words, do what is expected, make sure that on the outside we look like we have it all together, when in reality there can be things in our minds and hearts that we really need to deal with. It becomes a real problem when we are not free to talk about these things because they don't just go away… even though many times we pray and ask God to help us get rid of them.

Why exactly is it that we are not free to speak of such things? Is it because we fear that speaking of them will make us appear weak? Is it because we may loose our status or level of approval? Maybe we fear that others will question our integrity? I read something recently that impacted me so much. The author of this book stated that we reward people by showing love, and punish them by withholding it. That simple statement blew my mind, because I have seen it done time and time again.

When people know that they are loved and accepted because of what they do and say, if they want to remain in that love, they will continue to do and say all the right things. Even when they might have real issues with the thoughts, feelings and/or desires they have inside their hearts and minds. If they know that love will be withheld from them for stepping outside the lines of what is acceptable, they will hide things, often times for many years, until one day it explodes.

This is why we have so many pastors, leaders and church members who fall into sinful situations or have “sudden” addiction problems or very critical family issues. They did not have the freedom to speak about what was real in their hearts and in their minds, because they knew that doing so was might have withheld the love they received and their acceptance among those who were important to them.

So in our venture to help people draw near to God and build long, lasting and fruitful relationships with Him, we also create a trap for them. Then when one falls, we blame them for not having a strong enough prayer life or for not reading the Word enough. We speak of how they should have been more committed or how they needed to do things differently so they wouldn’t have fallen into anything. But we never stop and think about how WE could have and should have helped them.

How could we help? By allowing people to be real, without the fear of losing their status or love and respect within their circles, letting them know that they will not be judged, condemned, seen or treated any less because of whatever battles they might be fighting. By allowing them to speak freely of their weaknesses, of their thoughts, feelings, frustrations, desires… any of it, all of it… the good and the bad… Allow them to be real in whatever way that is to them without withholding love or anything else that person might hold important because of it.

As people are free release these things in confidence, God then has the power to heal and restore those areas because they were able to bring the truth to light. The enemy no longer has a hold on them because his nasty tricks have been exposed. This is what God really wants from His people. This is what Christ came and died for. To remove the masks off God’s people, allowing them to reveal what was really within their hearts and be transformed by His mercy and grace.

I have decided in my heart and life, that it is far more important to me to be real about anything and everything I face in life. I speak transparently about what is in my heart, even when I know that it may not be within the lines of what is acceptable within my circles. I rather run the risk of never moving up in status or rank, than to put on a mask and appear to be something on the outside while knowing that something else is happening inside my mind or heart. 

I am a great person and I have a great heart, but I am real all the same. This may work against me at times, but even then, I prefer to be real about everything in my life.
I pray that wherever you are in your journey with Christ, that you find the freedom to be real. First and most importantly with yourself, second with God, and then with those who are important to you within your circles in life. If you find yourself hiding behind a mask, I pray that you find the courage and the strength to seek God’s direction and find someone you can talk to that will not punish you by withholding love or acceptance of you. I pray that as you remove the mask, that you find healing, restoration and a greater relationships with God our Father than you could have ever imaged possible!

May you be blessed, free and fruitful in Him always!

Insights from Job’s Trials…

For the last few weeks now I have been thinking about the story of Job in the Bible… I have pretty much known that story all my life, but with all I have been going through this past year, it really called my attention in a different way, so I decided to study the story a little more in depth. I may dig deeper into it to gain even greater insight, as I know there are many valuable lessons to learn from it. 

However, I wanted to share a few of the things I have learned from this story…
All my life, I have heard how Satan had asked God for permission to try Job… But in all reality, one of the first things I noticed when I started reading was that Satan did NOT ask for permission to try Job! When Satan presented himself before the Lord (chap. 1 v.6-7) and was asked where he came from, he simply stated that he had come from roaming the earth and going back and forth in it. The next verse (v.8) blew my mind! Now, I know I have read this before… but it really didn’t have the same meaning for me back then as it has in these last few weeks. The verse states that God asked Satan "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." Wow!!! I was shocked when I read it… It never occurred to me that God basically put Job out there like bait to the sharks! The following verses go on to explain that Satan states that Jobs righteousness was only because God had protected him and if that was taken away that Job would curse God, and that was when the Lord permitted Satan to try Job. But the beginning of Job’s test was when the Lord drew Satan’s attention to him.
I really had to concentrate on and question why God would put Job out there like that! Had it been that Satan himself came to God and brought Job up to God’s attention, it would have been different cause Satan seeks to destroy… But God is love, he seeks to build up and bless His people… I know God knew that Satan would want to try Job if God thought so highly of him and noticed that he was an upright man who lived right and avoided evil. And that right there is the answer! God only put Job out there, because He KNEW Job’s heart and had noticed that there was something different in him. God felt confident in letting Satan know that He knew that this man would not turn away from Him, thus opening the doors for Job to be tested and proven. What an amazing insight!
Of course, at the time Job was living through this, he had no idea what was going on… His life went from all going well, living in prosperity and happiness to complete and instant devastation. He didn’t know what conversations took place between God and Satan prior to anything happening to him. He didn’t know what would come next, once he had come out of the trials that he had just experienced. All he knew was that he was hit with some very real and difficult situations in his life and he experienced a lot of heartache and pain. He suffered his losses, just like any other human being. In his own understanding he thought he was being punished for something, and struggled to understand what he was being punished for. In Chapter 2 the Bible states that he was in mourning and in chapter 3 he begins 35 chapters worth of whining and complaining about his circumstances… When I had heard as a child growing up in church, that Job had never cursed God, I thought that meant he never complained or suffered his losses. But he did, just that in all of his cries and suffering, Job never failed God.

In chapters 38-42, When God finally speaks to Job in regards to all of his cries, God humbles Job, making him recognize that his wisdom, understanding and power are nothing compared to Gods. Job recognized that God has control over everything and that he was foolish to question the circumstances he did not understand and he repented. Job never failed God by denying Him or turning away from Him. But nonetheless, Job had a lesson to learn, and having passed the test that was brought upon him, God returned to him the prosperity he knew before and blessed him twice as much as he was blessed before.

We know this story beginning to end, and we might be tempted to judge how foolish Job was to cry so much or to question God, when we know how it ends. The thing is that Job never knew that he would be blessed once again, nor that it would be twice as good as what it was before. All he knew was what he was living and feeling at the moment. He acted like any other human might have reacted to such circumstances. Job was real in his thoughts and feelings and did not hide that from God.
As I go through and have gone through so many things in my own life… I have taken my moments to cry and suffer, because I don’t know what God is doing or why He is allowing things to happen. Because I don’t know what he has planned for my future. All I know is what is in front of me today, the circumstances I have been through and how I feel about. But I have to stop and consider, why is God allowing this to happen? Perhaps God sees in me something that is different, and He knows that I will not turn away from Him? Perhaps He has allowed this time of trials in my life to help me recognize my weaknesses and for me to build greater confidence in Him and His provision for my life? Perhaps He has something greater than I can ever even begin to imagine in store for me? The question I now have for myself is… Do I want to cry for 35 chapters of my life? Or can I recognize that Gods ways are greater than my ways and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts? Can I be confident that He who began a good work in me will carry it to completion? Can I learn to be still in the midst of the raging storms and know that He is God and that He will not allow for the storm to drown me?

Its not easy when we live through difficult moments in life. We want to believe that God only brings good things. prosperity and happiness to our lives. We reject the idea that God may sometimes put us in situations that are less than perfect, where we will suffer and experience moments of fear, loss, pain and suffering. But God does allow these moments in our lives, and He may even possibly put us in positions where we will be tried, as He did with Job. It is in those moments that we recognize our own weaknesses and are able to see how small we really are in comparison to God Himself and His perfection in planning and ordaining every day and moment in our lives, in the world around us and in every detail of His great creation. Its in these moments that we recognize our need to repent for thinking higher of ourselves than we ought to and for thinking that we have any right to question God for our circumstances or dislikes in life. Its in these moments that we recognize our need to reaffirm our faith in Gods faithfulness to us and His provision for us and thus open, once again, the pathway for Gods blessings to pour upon us in greater measure than ever before.

If you are living faithful to God and yet find yourself facing difficulties and hardships, consider that God may be boasting about you in the heavens, proclaiming that He knows your heart, and trusts that you will not fail Him. Trust not on your own understandings, but continue to seek Him and live faithful to Him. He will bring your suffering to an end. He will comfort you once again and He will bless you for enduring the trial! God is faithful and His children will never be in need!

Be encouraged and God bless!

Walking on Water

As I was sitting in church tonight, I came across a note I made to myself several months ago about when Peter walked on water. This is a lesson that has been very real to me personally this past year, so I decided to share it. You can read the story in the Bible, in Matthew 14:25-32. In this story Jesus was approaching the boat where the disciples were and they became afraid. When He assured them that it was Him and they were safe, Peter called out to Jesus saying, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water."At that moment, without hesitating or thinking about it, Jesus called him and Peter climbed out of the boat and began to walk on the water towards Jesus. It must have been such an amazing moment to be there, walking on water, doing what we all know is impossible by all human strengths and abilities. Yet, Peter was very much human and very aware of his own limitations and abilities. As he was walking towards Jesus, he noticed the wind blowing and became afraid. The moment he allowed that fear into his heart, he began to sink and cried out to Jesus to be saved. Jesus didn't stand there and watch him sink. He immediately reached out His hand and rescued Peter, but in this He had a lesson. Saying to Peter, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they climbed in the boat, the winds died down.

Peter was given the ability to do something completely impossible, and he had the courage to step out of the safety of the boat. But even though he had Jesus right in front of him, he still took a moment to look at the circumstances around him and allow the wind to instill fear in his heart. How could Peter doubt when Jesus was right there in front of him? I wonder what I would have felt if I was in Peters position. We know the story and we know how it ends, but at that moment, Peter didn't know what was going to happen next. All he knew was what is known to all of us, it is impossible to walk on water, and the wind could easily blow him down. He simply reacted in a very natural way to what he knew about his limitations.

How many times do we do the same thing in our Christian walk? We want to be used by God and we seek opportunity. God opens doors, gives us strength and ability to face new challenges. We rise to the occasion, build up the courage and climb out of our boats, out of our safety zones, and venture into the unknown. Then we remember who we are and what our limitations are. The winds begin to blow and we allow, if even for just a moment, the fear of our limitations to enter our hearts. Thus stopping the flow of what God had planned for us. Why do we become fearful? Why do we doubt? Because we are human, its difficult to separate from what we know about our own strengths and abilities and fully put all of our trust, wholly and completely in God. Our flesh does not incline to that naturally. It is something we have to put into practice and develop; something we must intentionally make the effort to do in every circumstance in our lives. Even Peter having Jesus right there, struggled with this. Yet it is not impossible!

All of us pass through times in our lives where we are experience doubt and fear. God understands this about us. That is why Jesus did not hesitate to save Peter and take the opportunity to teach Peter that he could accomplish anything he was empowered to do, as long as he did not allow doubt to enter his heart. Jesus allowed the winds to blow, not to frighten Peter, but to provide a lesson for everyone. When God calls us to do something, the enemy will try to put things in the way so that we feel incapable of fulfilling the call. Notice that once they got back on the boat the wind died down. Our circumstances will not last forever. It is up to us to keep our eyes focused on God and not allow anything we face to stop us from continuing to move forward. We must do so knowing and having complete faith that if God called us, He will empower us to accomplish and protect us from anything that may come against us.

I encourage you today, to follow hard after Gods calling in your life not allowing anything around you to discourage you or hold you back from fulfilling what He has given you the ability to do! Be courageous, full of faith, and completely confident in God, and You will see great and mighty things you could have never dreamed of or imagined!

Go the Extra Mile!!!

Go the Extra Mile!!!

We all face moments in life when we are not happy or satisfied with the way things are going or the way people are treating us. In many of these situations in our lives, we can easily see how God needs to work in those around us, in those who may be causing these problems in our lives. However, regardless of how true it may be that God needs to work in the lives of others around us, the fact that God is allowing us to go through it means that He also wants us to learn something through it as well. We can easily make the mistake of brushing it all off our shoulders and simply stating that God needs to work in someone else, while missing the lesson God has for us.

If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles (Matthew 5:41 NIV). Notice the verse said if someone forces you to go one mile. Meaning that perhaps someone is creating a situation or a problem and taking you down a road you do not want to travel, even then, we should not only walk the mile, but also go an extra mile as well. I do not believe that God is asking us to walk down a road of sinfulness, if that is what is presented before us in our daily walks; but I believe that when it comes to difficulties and problems in our friendships and relationships, God wants us to do everything we can to maintain healthy relationships and live at peace with those around us. This verse and the verses surrounding it encourage us not only to sacrifice by giving what is asked of us, but to take it to the next level and give even more.

We can easily become discouraged, lose our focus, and/or get so caught up in our problems that our emotions can block out everything we know and value. It's up to us to keep ourselves in line with the Word of God and to remember that we are to reflect the Love of Christ to everyone around us, regardless of what others are doing whether right or wrong, we need to make sure that we are acting and reacting correctly and that the choices we make not only benefit ourselves, but those around us as well. We cannot change the way people are and the way they do things. But when we live according to the Word of God and allow God to be in control of the situations we face, God defends us and will honor and bless our efforts to live according to His Word. Walking the extra mile will take you to a higher level in life and to a higher level in Christ... Don't let the small, insignificant things hold you back from reaching greatness!

This is a blog I wrote back in May of 2008. I wanted to post it here too. I hope that it can be of help and benefit to someone :)

Who is Kelly?

Hello and Welcome to my blog!

A little background information about me: I was born and raised in a Christian family. My parents have been Pastors all my life, so my siblings and I were not only raised in church, but also very much involved in full time ministry. That has had its affect on us each in our own way, but for me, I really learned to love the ministry. I gave my life to God when I was 15, and the only thing I regret is that I did not do it sooner! I have had many great times in the Lord and being involved in ministry, but it hasn't always been easy or fun. I have also had many dark and difficult moments throughout my walk in Christ. But, it doesn't matter how bad or hard things may have gotten, I have always known that I am always in a better place when I have God by my side. There is no trial or circumstance too big or hard for Him. And when I am weak, His power is made perfect in me (2 Corinthians 12:9)!

I started this blog back in 2009. Over the years I have made several contributions to the blog, some are still posted, others I have since removed, to be edited and reposted in the future. My life has been a continuous journey of learning and growth through various challenges, and years of consistently seeking God and His Perfect Will for my life. Now in 2017, I am a wife to my wonderful husband Otto; Mother to my amazing little miracle baby Annalise; Co-Pastor along with my husband at a church in the Orlando area. After almost 20 years working in the professional work force, I am now a stay at home mom, living my lifelong dream of growing, loving and nurturing my family and working together with my husband in Ministry. Our journey continues to evolve and we continue to move in the direction God leads and guides us.

So, as I write I will pour out more of who I am and what I have to share. I hope that you are blessed by my blogs, and that through my writings, I can share how wonderful it is to love and serve God wholeheartedly. I am not perfect, I have my flaws and shortcomings, but I have made a decision, which I know is the best decision I could have ever made in my life, and that is to live my life daily Committed To Christ! And that has made my entire experience in life worth every high and every low.

God bless you! I look forward to sharing more with you through my blog!