Unfortunately, still sick and tired.
Back for reals tomorrow.
Kayla
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
BEDA- Day Eight
No real post today.
Sick and tired.
Don't worry, you'll get the real thing tomorrow.
Sick and tired.
Don't worry, you'll get the real thing tomorrow.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
BEDA- Day Seven
Another short one, today, dears.
Just saying how much I appreciate my friends. :) Maddie, Ev, Connor, Salem, Valerie, Andria. Matt, Dayln, etc. All of these people have such a huge impact on my life, and it's just incredible how I can be so thankful for people I didn't know a year ago.
As always, God is good, no matter what I'm going through.
<3
That's it, kiddos.
K
Just saying how much I appreciate my friends. :) Maddie, Ev, Connor, Salem, Valerie, Andria. Matt, Dayln, etc. All of these people have such a huge impact on my life, and it's just incredible how I can be so thankful for people I didn't know a year ago.
As always, God is good, no matter what I'm going through.
<3
That's it, kiddos.
K
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
BEDA- Day Six: How He loves us...
Hey, ya'll.
So, I just finished watching The Passion of The Christ for the first time. I'm in awe of Him all over again. We become desensitized to the crucifixion so often, or I do, at least. I hear it so often that it becomes a routine thing we listen to. Just another message.
NO.
Watching this movie has made me realize all over again the amazing nature of my Savior. He's ... indescribable. He has a love for me that's deeper than the nails that were driven into His hands because of my sin. He has a love deeper than the pain He felt at His father forsaking Him. And the best part? Not that it's eternal, not that I benefit from it, but that I am allowed to share it. That I get to be a part of His plan to share His glory, when it was me that drove Him to the cross. It was me that drove the nails into His hands, my sin. And He is allowing me to be one of the ones to speak His name, to call him Father, Savior, Friend. It's amazing that so often we forget that even to speak to Him is such an awesome privilege. I know that so often I forget who it is I'm speaking to, and I fill the silence with empty words that, in the end, mean nothing.
While watching this movie, all I could think of was the chorus: "Yes, He loves us/ Oh, how He loves us, oh...". In fact, the most popular scripture that we know says just that. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The fact that God gave us, sinners, the most precious gift we could ever receive is beyond belief. I find myself amazed by God over and over, especially after watching this movie.
This blog, for April has been so filled with God, and that's how I hope to keep it. I've been apologizing for "preaching" to you, but no more. I don't apologize for loving the Savior who created me, and saved me. In the end, I want to praise Him, because He's worthy, and I'm not.
See you tomorrow.
Hebrews 2:10-11
So, I just finished watching The Passion of The Christ for the first time. I'm in awe of Him all over again. We become desensitized to the crucifixion so often, or I do, at least. I hear it so often that it becomes a routine thing we listen to. Just another message.
NO.
Watching this movie has made me realize all over again the amazing nature of my Savior. He's ... indescribable. He has a love for me that's deeper than the nails that were driven into His hands because of my sin. He has a love deeper than the pain He felt at His father forsaking Him. And the best part? Not that it's eternal, not that I benefit from it, but that I am allowed to share it. That I get to be a part of His plan to share His glory, when it was me that drove Him to the cross. It was me that drove the nails into His hands, my sin. And He is allowing me to be one of the ones to speak His name, to call him Father, Savior, Friend. It's amazing that so often we forget that even to speak to Him is such an awesome privilege. I know that so often I forget who it is I'm speaking to, and I fill the silence with empty words that, in the end, mean nothing.
While watching this movie, all I could think of was the chorus: "Yes, He loves us/ Oh, how He loves us, oh...". In fact, the most popular scripture that we know says just that. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The fact that God gave us, sinners, the most precious gift we could ever receive is beyond belief. I find myself amazed by God over and over, especially after watching this movie.
This blog, for April has been so filled with God, and that's how I hope to keep it. I've been apologizing for "preaching" to you, but no more. I don't apologize for loving the Savior who created me, and saved me. In the end, I want to praise Him, because He's worthy, and I'm not.
See you tomorrow.
Hebrews 2:10-11
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
BEDA- Day Five
Another short post today guys.
This one is dedicated to just a couple awesome people that I'm extremely thankful for today.
First, Andria Harkey. She is one of the most caring, genuine people I've ever met. She meets me to pray about some tough things that are going on in my life, and I know that when I tell her things, she doesn't think less of me. She truly is the mentor/big sister I never had, and I love her dearly. I can't put into words the impact she's had on my life: from teaching me about God, to getting funny/dorky texts such as: "T- 13.17 hours until our lunch date.", to just being a godly woman, and showing me how to love yourself and others. Just showing her the love she very much deserves. She truly is one of the best friends I've ever had, and I thank God continually for her and the love she gives.
The other is Matt Kennedy. I don't really know him all that well, but I can say two things about him: one, he's hysterical, and the second is that Matt is a man after God's heart. I've had the privilege to hear him speak two (maybe three) times now, and each time, God uses him to speak to my heart, and convict/encourage me. I've heard him say he's nothing special, and he's right: Matt's nothing without God. Nor am I. But I'm convinced that God is going to be using him to reach many people in the future - just as he helped me look into my own life tonight at BCM.
Anyway, just wanted to tell those two how much I appreciate their ministries.
See you tomorrow.
This one is dedicated to just a couple awesome people that I'm extremely thankful for today.
First, Andria Harkey. She is one of the most caring, genuine people I've ever met. She meets me to pray about some tough things that are going on in my life, and I know that when I tell her things, she doesn't think less of me. She truly is the mentor/big sister I never had, and I love her dearly. I can't put into words the impact she's had on my life: from teaching me about God, to getting funny/dorky texts such as: "T- 13.17 hours until our lunch date.", to just being a godly woman, and showing me how to love yourself and others. Just showing her the love she very much deserves. She truly is one of the best friends I've ever had, and I thank God continually for her and the love she gives.
The other is Matt Kennedy. I don't really know him all that well, but I can say two things about him: one, he's hysterical, and the second is that Matt is a man after God's heart. I've had the privilege to hear him speak two (maybe three) times now, and each time, God uses him to speak to my heart, and convict/encourage me. I've heard him say he's nothing special, and he's right: Matt's nothing without God. Nor am I. But I'm convinced that God is going to be using him to reach many people in the future - just as he helped me look into my own life tonight at BCM.
Anyway, just wanted to tell those two how much I appreciate their ministries.
See you tomorrow.
Monday, April 4, 2011
BEDA- Day Four
So, it's Monday, April 4, 2011.
There will never be another, and today was great.
It was beautiful outside: sunny, with a breeze, clouds in the sky, and flash mobs on College Ave. I had quality time with Jesus in between classes this morning, classes went by quickly, I got to hang out with friends I don't normally see, and we had a great time in life group tonight. However, even if none of those were true, today would still have been amazing. Why? Because, God made today. And whether I feel amazing or not, He's still God. I'm continuing to read through Hebrews today, and I come across this verse: "But encourage each other while it is still today." (Hebrews 3:13) This just made me stop and think about the concept of time our world has. We regret our pasts, plan for our futures, but rarely do we stop and savor the joys of the day we're in. Later in Hebrews 5:5, it says that "...Christ did not choose himself to have the honor of being a high priest, but God chose him." This passage just made me think of the eternal nature of God. As beings with finite minds, we often forget or neglect the fact that we are less than a blip on the radar of God's timeline.
This made me think of something I heard my campus minister say last week: "We need to move past the idea that God is a feeling." When he clarified, this idea made a lot of sense. (I mean, it is biblical.) He's saying that so often we get caught up in our circumstances or our feelings toward God that we forget He doesn't change. We think that our circumstances and feelings make God "more" or "less" than He is, which is a load of crap. God is God, no matter if I'm happy or sad, angry or joyful. That's why we praise Him! It's so amazing to know that He isn't affected by our circumstances anymore than His love for us is affected by our attitudes towards Him.
I'm not entirely sure if this post makes any sense at all, but I'm just trying to get thought processes out in the open.
That's all I've got today, ladies and gents.
See you tomorrow.
(Actually, I won't see you, and you won't see me, but you will read my thoughts tomorrow. :])
There will never be another, and today was great.
It was beautiful outside: sunny, with a breeze, clouds in the sky, and flash mobs on College Ave. I had quality time with Jesus in between classes this morning, classes went by quickly, I got to hang out with friends I don't normally see, and we had a great time in life group tonight. However, even if none of those were true, today would still have been amazing. Why? Because, God made today. And whether I feel amazing or not, He's still God. I'm continuing to read through Hebrews today, and I come across this verse: "But encourage each other while it is still today." (Hebrews 3:13) This just made me stop and think about the concept of time our world has. We regret our pasts, plan for our futures, but rarely do we stop and savor the joys of the day we're in. Later in Hebrews 5:5, it says that "...Christ did not choose himself to have the honor of being a high priest, but God chose him." This passage just made me think of the eternal nature of God. As beings with finite minds, we often forget or neglect the fact that we are less than a blip on the radar of God's timeline.
This made me think of something I heard my campus minister say last week: "We need to move past the idea that God is a feeling." When he clarified, this idea made a lot of sense. (I mean, it is biblical.) He's saying that so often we get caught up in our circumstances or our feelings toward God that we forget He doesn't change. We think that our circumstances and feelings make God "more" or "less" than He is, which is a load of crap. God is God, no matter if I'm happy or sad, angry or joyful. That's why we praise Him! It's so amazing to know that He isn't affected by our circumstances anymore than His love for us is affected by our attitudes towards Him.
I'm not entirely sure if this post makes any sense at all, but I'm just trying to get thought processes out in the open.
That's all I've got today, ladies and gents.
See you tomorrow.
(Actually, I won't see you, and you won't see me, but you will read my thoughts tomorrow. :])
Sunday, April 3, 2011
BEDA- Day Three
Short post today, guys.
This morning was great. I got to meet my state team for Fall Convention '12, and we're planning something that "kicks tail and honors God at the same time". The worship this morning discussed how to go beyond what the "normal" call of Christianity is, and to do more for God than what He seems to be asking on the surface.
It's been a quiet day, filled with homework. Looking forward to winning the day tomorrow.
This morning was great. I got to meet my state team for Fall Convention '12, and we're planning something that "kicks tail and honors God at the same time". The worship this morning discussed how to go beyond what the "normal" call of Christianity is, and to do more for God than what He seems to be asking on the surface.
It's been a quiet day, filled with homework. Looking forward to winning the day tomorrow.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
BEDA- Day Two
So, day two. (Yes, I know that technically it's April 3, but I haven't gone to sleep yet, so it counts.)
Again, I'm at Spring Conference, and today was such a day to learn and grow in God.
We had two different "breakout sessions" where we went to learn about what interested us.
I went to two: one called "Beautiful Mess" and the other called "Missional Living".
In the first, we talked about what to do when life gets messy, and how to walk with people through their messes to help them see Christ's love. In The Message, the translation says that Jesus "moved into the neighborhood" (John 1:14). This passage shows that Christ didn't come to have a condescending approach to helping us out of our messes, but that He came down inside our messy world to help us. If He is the picture by which we compare ourselves, then we should do the same for others: to get down on their level and push them out of their "wells of life". We discussed about how Christ came to bring our messes, the darkness inside us, into His light.
In John 4:16-20, we see that this process of Jesus bringing to light our issues can be a painful process, though necessary. John 15:18-25 helps us see that we don't have to have our lives together to come to Jesus. I mean, here was a woman who had been caught in the middle of adultery, and Jesus both forgave and offered her grace, so why do we think that He won't offer us that same grace and love? As "church people", we sometimes forget that people's lives are messy. We get the picture in our head that churches are supposed to be "sterile": clean from the junk and dirt that so easily invades people's lives; that we have to ask those who come into the church to be clean, and then trust God. Jesus couldn't offer a bigger contrast to this school of thought. He tells us to come to Him with our sins and lives, and asks us to trust Him to clean us up for His glory.
Finally, in John 8:1-11, we see that when we start to live like Jesus, it's the church people that are going to start hating. We can see this identification when Jesus talks about "their laws": He's talking about the Pharisees. We, as Christians (myself included!), tend to think we have the concept and practice of loving others, and what it means to look like Jesus down, so when someone (like, you know, the Bible) comes along and tells us that "yr doin it wrng", we don't really like that.
Most of all, what we learned was that God can and will bring beauty out of the messes in our daily lives, even if we don't understand how or to what end He does it. It takes patience and faith, which can be hard, but worth it in the end.
In the second break-out session, we discussed how we tend to see non-Christians. We tend to see non-Christians as "broken and hopeless". While that may be true, we need to change our mindsets. Christians (again, myself included!) see non-Christians as "them". What we need to realize about "them" is that we're all alike, except in our faith. We inhabit the same planet, have a lot of the same hopes, dreams, fears, and wishes. When we start thinking of non-Christians as people to relate to instead of people to save, then statements like this tend to crop up: "You can't be a Christian; you're just like me! Christians can't be as messy as I am!" Then conversations about Christ can take place.
Basically, what I've learned today is that reaching people in Christ's name isn't about beating someone over the head with a Bible, or disassociating yourself from them when they do something (or lots of things) you and God don't approve of, but it's about finding that common ground that all human inherently have. (I mean, we share a dang planet!) It's about helping them see that if God pulled you out of your situation, He can pull them out of theirs too.
I don't mean to preach at you guys, but this is what my mind was filled with today. The teachings of Jesus are absolutely incredible, but they are so hard to unpack. That's why I thank God for the community of believers I'm in contact with here. They teach me every time I'm with them how to be more like Christ. I truly see God's love and how to be crazy for Him. They are such a rock in my life, and God has blessed me beyond anything I could have imagined with the privilege of knowing these individuals.
Thanks for staying with me through the rant, guys! See you tomorrow!
Kayla
Romans 6:14
Again, I'm at Spring Conference, and today was such a day to learn and grow in God.
We had two different "breakout sessions" where we went to learn about what interested us.
I went to two: one called "Beautiful Mess" and the other called "Missional Living".
In the first, we talked about what to do when life gets messy, and how to walk with people through their messes to help them see Christ's love. In The Message, the translation says that Jesus "moved into the neighborhood" (John 1:14). This passage shows that Christ didn't come to have a condescending approach to helping us out of our messes, but that He came down inside our messy world to help us. If He is the picture by which we compare ourselves, then we should do the same for others: to get down on their level and push them out of their "wells of life". We discussed about how Christ came to bring our messes, the darkness inside us, into His light.
In John 4:16-20, we see that this process of Jesus bringing to light our issues can be a painful process, though necessary. John 15:18-25 helps us see that we don't have to have our lives together to come to Jesus. I mean, here was a woman who had been caught in the middle of adultery, and Jesus both forgave and offered her grace, so why do we think that He won't offer us that same grace and love? As "church people", we sometimes forget that people's lives are messy. We get the picture in our head that churches are supposed to be "sterile": clean from the junk and dirt that so easily invades people's lives; that we have to ask those who come into the church to be clean, and then trust God. Jesus couldn't offer a bigger contrast to this school of thought. He tells us to come to Him with our sins and lives, and asks us to trust Him to clean us up for His glory.
Finally, in John 8:1-11, we see that when we start to live like Jesus, it's the church people that are going to start hating. We can see this identification when Jesus talks about "their laws": He's talking about the Pharisees. We, as Christians (myself included!), tend to think we have the concept and practice of loving others, and what it means to look like Jesus down, so when someone (like, you know, the Bible) comes along and tells us that "yr doin it wrng", we don't really like that.
Most of all, what we learned was that God can and will bring beauty out of the messes in our daily lives, even if we don't understand how or to what end He does it. It takes patience and faith, which can be hard, but worth it in the end.
In the second break-out session, we discussed how we tend to see non-Christians. We tend to see non-Christians as "broken and hopeless". While that may be true, we need to change our mindsets. Christians (again, myself included!) see non-Christians as "them". What we need to realize about "them" is that we're all alike, except in our faith. We inhabit the same planet, have a lot of the same hopes, dreams, fears, and wishes. When we start thinking of non-Christians as people to relate to instead of people to save, then statements like this tend to crop up: "You can't be a Christian; you're just like me! Christians can't be as messy as I am!" Then conversations about Christ can take place.
Basically, what I've learned today is that reaching people in Christ's name isn't about beating someone over the head with a Bible, or disassociating yourself from them when they do something (or lots of things) you and God don't approve of, but it's about finding that common ground that all human inherently have. (I mean, we share a dang planet!) It's about helping them see that if God pulled you out of your situation, He can pull them out of theirs too.
I don't mean to preach at you guys, but this is what my mind was filled with today. The teachings of Jesus are absolutely incredible, but they are so hard to unpack. That's why I thank God for the community of believers I'm in contact with here. They teach me every time I'm with them how to be more like Christ. I truly see God's love and how to be crazy for Him. They are such a rock in my life, and God has blessed me beyond anything I could have imagined with the privilege of knowing these individuals.
Thanks for staying with me through the rant, guys! See you tomorrow!
Kayla
Romans 6:14
Friday, April 1, 2011
BEDA- Day One
So, here we are, April 1, 2011.
At the moment, I'm at Camp Caraway in Sophia, NC. I'm here for the BCM Spring Conference that's going on this weekend, and I honestly can't think of a better way to start my BEDA experience. I always wonder what I'll blog about when I get around to blogging, and tonight, I'm just here to proclaim my Savior.
The past few weeks have been hard. I've gone through struggles with chains and bonds, and trying to break those addictions. It's a hard place, because every time I fall back, I feel farther away from God, and it's something I've been praying about for a few days almost constantly. But sometimes, it's hard to remember how much God loves us, and that His love never fails.
But tonight, I was reminded of the simple fact that God loves us. Did you hear that? He loves us. Sometimes we get so caught up in the "church doctrine" that we feel disconnected from God when we sin, or at least I do. But tonight, when we sang "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" by Chris Tomlin, I was reminded that no matter what we do, or what happens, God's love never fails, nor does it leave us.
That's it for today, ya'll. Something short, but what I've learned for the day.
The verse I'll be leaving you with for the next couple of days is Philemon 1:6: "And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ."
Yours,
Kayla
At the moment, I'm at Camp Caraway in Sophia, NC. I'm here for the BCM Spring Conference that's going on this weekend, and I honestly can't think of a better way to start my BEDA experience. I always wonder what I'll blog about when I get around to blogging, and tonight, I'm just here to proclaim my Savior.
The past few weeks have been hard. I've gone through struggles with chains and bonds, and trying to break those addictions. It's a hard place, because every time I fall back, I feel farther away from God, and it's something I've been praying about for a few days almost constantly. But sometimes, it's hard to remember how much God loves us, and that His love never fails.
But tonight, I was reminded of the simple fact that God loves us. Did you hear that? He loves us. Sometimes we get so caught up in the "church doctrine" that we feel disconnected from God when we sin, or at least I do. But tonight, when we sang "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" by Chris Tomlin, I was reminded that no matter what we do, or what happens, God's love never fails, nor does it leave us.
That's it for today, ya'll. Something short, but what I've learned for the day.
The verse I'll be leaving you with for the next couple of days is Philemon 1:6: "And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ."
Yours,
Kayla
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)