Month: March 2017

Spring means…

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Today is the first day of Spring…

Spring is here! The Spring season is one of my favorite seasons. After a long, cold Winter, the sun begins to warm us again and new life springs forth where it once appeared dead. I can’t help but to draw the parallel to the seasons of life. I have experienced many “long Winters,” and many beautiful “Spring seasons” as I’ve walked with God through many storms and I have learned the same lesson each time: Spring always comes after Winter!

Always.

Do you need a “Spring Season” in your life right now? Has it been a long, cold Winter in your health, finances or relationships? Maybe you are in a spiritual Winter and it seems like your Spring will never arrive. Then I have a word to strengthen you today.

season of spring

This is our promise! Winter will pass and our season of singing will come!

Just like Spring means growth, hope and new life, we are entering a season where God wants to bring all of those things to you. As Spring brings the warmth of the sun, you are poised to experience the warmth of The Son! As the beauty of creation comes to life once again, so your soul will come alive again because of God’s great love for you. When you look to the beauty of plants, flowers and trees in bloom, I want you to picture your heart, mind and life in bloom!

I know it still looks like winter and last week it really felt like winter! But you don’t doubt that Spring is here, do you? Of course not. You don’t need someone to convince you that Spring is upon us because it is written on the calendar.

It is written.

Well, just like the calendar tells us that we can expect Spring to follow Winter, it is written in God’s Word that we can expect our spiritual Spring to follow our long, cold Winters, too. We can expect God’s Love to shine through on us.

Do you expect it?


Today, I feel compelled to pray with you. Wherever you are in your life, whichever season, will you declare this with me today?

Lord, I thank you that Spring is here! Just as nothing or no one can stop the warmth and life-giving rays of the sun, nothing and no one can stop your LOVE from bringing life, growth and renewal to me! I receive the gift of your LOVE and renewal today, and I lift my expectation HIGH. Higher than it has ever been. I will wait on you with joy and patience for my “Spring” to appear. I trust in your goodness, God, and I thank you in advance for what you are about to do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Now, when it seems like your winter won’t end, stand on this promise with me!

Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle [turtledove] is heard in our land.  -Song of Solomon 2:11,12

With Great Expectations,

Kim
xoxo

peace, joy and love are great until…

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Peace, joy and love are great until…

 

Your heart is troubled.
You are filled with fear.
You are agitated and annoyed.
You are facing a crummy situation.
You are hurt or offended by someone’s selfish choices.THESE are the moments, the moments when you feel the least peaceful, joyful or loving, when you need the power of peace, joy and love the most.I told you at the beginning of 2017 that these were my words for this year, and I meant it. I have been keeping their meanings close to my heart, leaning on each of them in trying times and generally, I have been doing pretty darn good! But proven character is character that is tested and I am not immune from that.

So, when I am being tested, (and it feels like I’m being tried by fire), eventually I realize that I need to re-focus on these three weapons and access the power that they give me to overcome my trials. I have come up with some questions to ask myself when I know I need to re-center and re-focus. My answers to these questions reveal just how full of peace, joy and love I really am. (Or… am not!) Do you want to know what the questions are? I thought you might! Here you go–

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First I ask and answer these questions, then, I allow the truth to set me free…

Is my heart troubled/distressed by anything?

 

Am I entertaining any fear?

Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. –John 14:27

I don’t need to give myself over to a troubled and anxious heart. I can choose peace as I trust in God’s power to do for me what I cannot do for myself.

Am I allowing myself to be agitated by anyone?

Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him;
do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
by the man who carries out evil plans.

Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated-it can only bring harm.
For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who put their hope in the Lord
will inherit the land. –Psalm 37:7-9Well, this could not be more clear! I can practice self-control and decide not to give in to agitation, irritation or anger. This is a lot easier when I put my hope in God’s plan for my life.

Am I enthusiastically expecting GOOD things to come?

The definition of joy is…The passion or emotion excited by the aquisition or expectation of GOOD.

I have joy when I expect good things to happen in my life. I can look forward to those good things even if today wasn’t so good.

I have Your decrees as a heritage forever;
indeed, they are the joy of my heart. –Psalm 119:111


Am I perpetually forgiving? Or is someone on my hook?

Proverbs 10:12 says that “love covers a multitude of sins.” That doesn’t mean love covers up for or lies about others’ mistakes, it means that love chooses to forgive. It is easy to hold other people’s offenses against them but that puts me in a really bad place. Not only does it eat me up inside, it puts me in a bad spot because God won’t let me off of His hook if I won’t let others off of mine. When I choose love and choose forgiveness I am showing the compassion to someone else that I really need from God for myself. (And that is just plain wise.)

Here’s the thing… peace, joy and love are a weapon because they keep me safe from the havoc that an anxious, troubled, agitated and angry heart cause me. I choose them because I want to live my best life.

How about you? Will you choose peace, joy and love today?

xoxo,
Kim

12 traits of the truly humble

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I’m going to get right to it… here are the 12 traits of the truly humble. They:

1. Ask for help when needed

2. Are hard to offend and are quick to forgive

3. Are patient and compassionate with the weaknesses of others

4. Are peacemakers and peace lovers

5. Know when to be quiet and when to speak

6. Have a tender conscience

7. See their weaknesses and readily admit and work on them (self-aware)

8. Are quick to apologize when wrong

9. Make others look good and celebrate others’ successes

10. Happily serve others without expectation of applause

11. Have an attitude of gratitude toward God and people

12.  Treat all people with respect and are good to everyone, even if they do not ‘deserve it’

I think C.S. Lewis, summed it up in his book, Mere Christianity, when he said⎯

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.”

I’m sure it is plain to see from the list above that cultivating humility in our lives will only serve to improve our relationships AND increase our own happiness. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy. My challenge for us this week (and always) is to choose humility when our natural tendency is not to.

Oh, and don’t forget to invite God into this endeavor. Ask Him to help you see where you need to humble yourself and to give you the strength to do it. We are hard-pressed as humans to walk in humility on our own. We need the ability that God gives, through His Spirit, to live like Jesus did, laying His life down for those He loved.

Remember to tell me how you choose to cultivate humility this week. I want to hear about it! Reply to this email, post on my Facebook fan page

or message me. xoxo!

Cultivating Humility,
Kim