Stand Your Ground

Love.

You are living it, breathing it and dishing it out. Not superficial charity. Not the kind of love that just elevates your status, that causes ‘warm-fuzzys’ to well up from inside. Not the kind of love that is convenient and as soon as you begin to feel a sacrifice coming on you can duck out and not give so much.

You are a word in action. Love. You have in dwelling Spirit power and Christ is instilling in you True Love. He is filling you to over flowing and now you are spreading it around. You are pouring out every drop. You are doing the back breaking work of shoveling out mountains of love; day in and day out; in the here and now. Where love is nitty-gritty, not all flowers and sunshine. The blessings are profound and you keep praising the Lord.

There are endless opportunities, and they are right on your door step. You are loving and living and lives are benefiting from the fruit Christ is growing in you.

This is what you are called to do. There is no reason that you could not continue in this path, and there is nothing that can remove you from this journey of the poured-out life of a true born-again follower of Christ.

Nothing.

…

You make a mistake. Relatively minor, but significant to one. You apologize but the damage is done.

You go back to try and pour out; but in the back of your mind you hear these words; ‘Careful. You might mess up again. Didn’t you see how disappointed they were last time? What if you did it again, or something worse?’ You turn inward, seeking out the flaws of self; examining.

…

You have a weekend of relaxation with fellow believers and bask in the glory of God’s creation. You praise Him for the opportunity to experience His greatness and the beauty He made and for friendships grown stronger. It was amazing, and you can’t wait to experience it again.

But wait. You hear a voice say; ‘This is not the right way to living a truly Christ built existence. Where were the orphans you are supposed to be taking care of when you were rubbing your full belly with your feet around a fire in the company of friends?? What about the widows, and the starving, and the lost? While you were out having fun, the world was dying!!’

Guilt. Fear of failure. You turn in again. ‘Where did I go wrong?’ you ask yourself and try to find out what is right, ‘what really is the next step? how do I know who, where, when and how to love?’

…

Distraction. The tempter is the king of confusion and noise. He sees you living out love and he sees lives being resurrected by your poured out existence. He has to stir the pot. He has to keep you from thinking about OTHERS. If he gets you to look inside, to question your motives, to second guess your standing in Christ; then he’s won.

He’d rather see you trying to make yourself a better Christian than to find you out loving the least of these. He’d rather see you marking off a ‘devotional-duties’ list than find you on your knees in devote praise to the true God.

Do Not Be Moved. You do not have to fight the tempter, for Christ will fight for you. All you must do is stand in the place He has put you in and praise the Lord.

There is no question in love.

Where? Here. {Where you are}

When? Now. {There is no other time}

Why? Because. {You have a calling}

Who? Them. {The person right in front of you}

How? Christ. {With Christ, in Christ, because Christ first loved you}

 

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Go here and download a message by Eric Ludy titled 'Hold The Position' on how to stand your ground, to not give in, and to live your life daily claiming the victory we have in Christ Jesus.

Blessings - Kerry

Don't Give Up - God Promised

Imagine. You are in a room full of people your age, and there are some guys among them. Okay, they’re really cool, and their really cute. You’re glad when you look down and realize you are wearing that really great outfit that shows off all your best features. You’re flirtations; but you just call it ‘being friendly’. You catch the eye of the cutest boy there. A shiver of excitement runs down your spine. “Could he be the One?” you think to yourself, and pray a silent prayer that you don’t trip over your words. He’s drawn to you. But he’s not interested in protecting your heart. He likes what you’re showing, but he doesn’t know who you are. In the moment it feels like it must be right, why couldn’t this be true love? Why would he not be ‘the one’? So you let him come closer. He really seems grateful, but he wants more. He begrudges you’re so called ‘standards’, and you run right up to the boundary of your rules. 

Then, the door opens. It is Jesus standing in the door way. But he is not alone. He is walking with a young man who is glowing with the light of the Lord. Jesus puts his arm around the young man’s shoulder and points to you across the room. You hear Him say to the young man;

“Look, here she is! This beautiful girl is the one who I have saved you for. This is the girl that you have been faithful to all these years. This is the girl who you have sacrificed your own sinful desires, your lustful thoughts and your Hollywood dreams for. She is the woman whose heart has been fashioned for yours.”

Your heart is caught in your throat. You look at the cute boy with his arm around your waist in disgust as you realize what you settled for. You allowed simple emotions to rule your life instead of diligently handing those emotions over to God. But you didn’t know. It’s what everyone else was doing. It’s what everyone else was settling for.

You push yourself away from the crowd with tears streaming down your face as you realize you believed a lie. Then you feel a hand on your shoulder. And you look up into the loving eyes of Jesus Christ. He takes both of your hands in his as you rise. As He wipes your tears you see tears in His eyes. You can see deep into His eyes and you see a pain much deeper than your own.

You mouth the words, ‘I’m Sorry’. A pitiful gesture but it is all you can manage. Then you open your mouth to explain. You try to come up with the right words to make him understand, but you stop yourself short. The reality sets in as you look deep in His loving face. ‘I didn’t trust you’ you hear yourself say. ‘I didn’t really believe that when you promised to provide the desires of my heart that you really knew what you were talking about. I decided to take control of my own love story and try it myself. But I’ve written a tragedy; take this pen from my hands. Rewrite what I’ve done wrong.’ He smiles, as soft knowing smile.

Jesus says, “I will retake the pen, I will script your story, as long as you continue to invite me into your life. These scars will remain, I have forgotten them, even if you have not. But they do NOT define who you are. You are a daughter of the King. A princess and beloved by your father.  It is not too late to live in faithful purity. It is not too late to rest in the fact that I, the Lord your God, will provide for every need and desire.”

He raises his hand and touches your head and in a flash of light your curve hugging outfit from the mall turns into a gleaming white gown. It is more beautiful than your dream wedding gown. The lines are cut just right; the lace and the pearls are perfectly placed. The vale now covers your face and your heart soars as you know it is not just a covering of cloth, but a covering of protection, love and forgiveness.

Then, you turn to look Jesus in the eyes again, through this vale of new life, and you know. He is the lover your soul has longed for all along. You have truly learned to delight yourself in the Lord and in His mighty plan for your life. Butterflies begin to flutter inside you and your heart skips a beat when you hear Him say your name.

“NOW, you are learning to truly love.” He says.

Then He kisses your hand and raises your vale at just the right moment. He looks to His right and motions for the young man you had forgotten about to come forward.

 

Opportunity

 

There are opportunities all around us. Every day. Every where. Every person we meet has a story, a dream, a passion, a persistence, and a unique way they are running the race. Are we slowing down enough to take notice of these opportunities? Or just letting the rush by in a blur on the sidelines?

 

We are so connected to people these days. Through all the ever expanding social media there are endless ways to share your story, and participate in an other's story. But at the same time, it is a distant connection. We can 'like' something another is doing, it doesn't take much out of us. We can even 'Share' it, and that takes all of three minuets [at the most]. But are we truly participating? Are we truly 'bearing one an others burdens'? Are we running 'with persistence the race set before us' for the Glory of God and the good of our brothers and sisters around us? Are we grabbing hold of the opportunities God has laid out before us?

 

Today, I'm sharing a story.

 

This is Brittany

She has a dream. A passion. A song to sing.

 

She mentions in the video about her project, how “this is only possible because there are people who were willing to invest in a dream that is not their own”.

 

What a beautiful thing. This is something I have experienced in my own life, to the point where someone saw a dream in me before I did, and invested in it, which encouraged and blessed and stretched me in more ways than I can describe.

 

Consider today investing in a dream not your own, and see how God will bless you because of that.


 

 

Click here to watch Brittany share her dream.

 

You can also find her online here:

brittanybarberamusic.tumblr.com

reverbnation.com (brittany barbera)
youtube.com (brittany barbera)

 

 

Don't let opportunities to bless someone pass you by today!

And have a wonderful Wednesday!

-Kerry-

Valentine

Yes, you read that right. Valentine. I set this as a draft one day when the pictures weren't cooperating and then completely forgot about it! Oh well, here it is now. My Valentines day project! A 'lovely' heart shaped pine cone wreath with a "Love" banner made from washi tape! Enjoy!

 

Happy Monday!

Kerry

 

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"And now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

I Corinthians 13:13

Joy in the Morning

Sitting on the couch surrounded by herbal school books and research books. The window is open letting in a cool stream of air and on it is the sound of sweet morning birds which are interrupted now and then by the stammering of the rooster in the hen house. This cool breeze is welcomed relief for the 107* day we had yesterday, and the over 100* they are predicting today. It is 5:51am. I'm up early to begin pick-axeing through my homework for this week and get some headway on my term paper [due in Nov].

I found this photo on weather underground and it says it is in South Carolina, but it sure could pass for SE Missouri. If only our summer was this green still. It has been so dry. We trust in Christ, who is the sorce of living water.

"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6