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.

A Day in the Life

     No two days are quite the same for us.  Part of that has to do with the fact that we educate at home. But sometimes, that's just how life goes. I thought it would be fun to pick a day to document throughout and just see what happens.  *As a side note, I'm always taking pictures.  Before smart phones, I almost always had my 'nice' camera around my neck.  These days, I don't feel like I take as many 'good' quality images as I used to.  But I do capture things that I never used to, and there is a fun sense of whimsy that comes with using my phone to take pictures. :)

     My day usually starts early, with prayer and study time.  And then it's time to let Rox dog, our Labrador, out.  She usually stays close to me while it's still dark, but once it gets light out, she makes sure to remind me to take care of her. :)

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

The Week In Pictures - March 20th

     This week was spring break for us.  I was SO ready for it and had big plans for all of the things that I was going to accomplish.  And almost none of my 'list' got done. Looking back, I now realize that I had completely unrealistic expectations of how the week was going to go.  Ha. Funny how things work that way sometimes.  All in all, it was a good week, though. We stuck close to home and enjoyed time with friends and explored new places. 

     Spring has definitely sprung here in Oklahoma.  We enjoyed beautiful weather the first part of the week.  The cold has come back for a few days, though--seems like it happens this way EVERY year--and scarf weather is not quite past us!

The Week in Pictures

     This past week was a full week of school, exploring, and being challenged to live a life of LOVE! The boys and I started the week off visiting the park that we used to live behind.  Though I do love where we are now, I miss the big park with it's walking trail and open spaces.  The boys had a blast hunting for crayfish after a spring rain, while I walked the trail and tried to capture spring with some pictures!