Listen

     

     I don't know about you, but I need a wisdom that doesn't come from me.  I need insight and discernment that can only come from God.  The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2 that "...the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."  I need understanding that can only come from the Spirit! 

     Sometimes this understanding and insight comes specifically through the scriptures, God's inspired word. Other times it comes through prayer and time spent alone in quiet with God.  And it even comes through the gentle admonishment from a friend or trusted loved one.  Over the years, I've noticed that for me personally, when God really wants to get my attention about something, a certain theme or word will come up continually, in all different areas of my life.  Over the past week or two, this has been happening.  A very specific word keeps coming up in my life.

For Freedom

     If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, then you might have seen my post yesterday about how these past couple of days of the IF:Equip I Believe study over on the IF:Gathering App and at www.ifequip.com are pivotal to my faith.  All that I believe when it comes to my faith rests on whether or not I believe that Jesus, who became God in the Flesh, came to earth, lived a sinless life among us, was crucified for my sins, died, was raised to life again on the third day, lives today, and is coming back one day! If I don't believe this core truth, then my faith is dead.  Pointless. Paul says it best in 1 Corinthians 15:17, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." But thankfully, THANKFULLY!!!, Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.  I am eternally grateful! Literally!!

Thoughts on the Trinity

     I've been thinking about the Trinity -- God in the three Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- and how my belief in this 3 in 1 God informs my faith and life.  In the Bible, God is always referred to as ONE God.  And I BELIEVE that He is the ONE, TRUE God.  Yet, He also shows himself to be three different, unique persons, each with certain characteristics and qualities. How do I begin to grasp this concept, to wrap my head around something -- Someone -- that I clearly do not fully understand?

The Tuesday Review: Moving Mountains

     Life has a funny way of bringing unexpected gifts.  Moving Mountains was one of those completely unexpected gifts--one that met me right where I was and came at the perfect moment.  I had intended to highlight another book this week, which I'm sure that I will come back to another week. But for the moment I'm going to lean into the unexpected and share this life changing book with you.  (To say that it 'fell' into my Amazon cart and was accidentally ordered and shipped to my door wouldn't be far from the truth!)

     What do you do when you want to get better at something? You practice, right? Well, what if you need to learn a whole new way of practicing? Then what?  I would propose that you find a teacher or mentor who can show you a different way. When it comes to prayer, and becoming more effective at prayer, I have finally came to a point where I recognize the need to be shown a completely different way of interceding on behalf of others.  I want to pray with more CONFIDENCE, with more POWER, and with more AWARENESS.

     Moving Mountains by John Eldredge has been the perfect book to open my eyes to the possibilities available when it comes to prayer.  If YOU are ready to be a more effective prayer warrior, than READ THIS BOOK.  And, after you read it, come back over here and share your takeaways! I would love to know what you learned!

Blessings ~ Kendra

Philippians 4:8

     This verse has been on my heart so much this week.  I don't know about you, but I often struggle to keep my thoughts focused on these kinds of thoughts...good thoughts...encouraging thoughts.  I struggle with worry, frustration, impatience, anger. I've also noticed that my boys struggle with the same things as well.  One of the joys, and difficulties if I'm being honest, of homeschooling, is that you get to spend a WHOLE lot more time with your kids.  Sometimes this is awesome.  Sometimes this is NOT.  Walking through character building opportunities, seemingly ALL THE TIME, can wear on a person.  And, when you realize that some of those habits that your kids have MIGHT have come from you in some form or fashion, it makes it all the more fun disheartening.

     This is where the Word of God comes in.  Starting this spring, we renewed our commitment to reading the Bible together.  It only takes a few minutes.  We try to talk about what we have read.  And we ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand what we read and apply it to our lives.  Beginning our day with God always helps the day to go better! 

     And in an effort to 'write' more of God's word on our hearts, we have also started memorizing one scripture a week.  Simple, I know. Why we haven't been doing it lately? I guess we just weren't being intentional. Philippians 4:8 is this weeks scripture.  What a beautiful, challenging, centering scripture! I hope it is a blessing to you today! 

~Kendra