by Kimberly | Aug 2, 2012 | Uncategorized
Gospel. Jazz. Two great pairings. And the lyrics of Stuart Townend make this a go-to song.
This is actually one of my husband’s favorite songs and I heard it on Sunday and it had me in tears by the end of it. Wherever you are broken – look to the Healer to be mended.
My God
My God, full of mercy,
Heard our weeping,
Came to bring us home again.
My God takes the broken and makes them whole.
My God touched the leper,
Raised the lame man,
And He caused the blind to see.
My God takes the broken and makes them whole.
My God stood for justice,
Shamed the prideful,
But He called the sinner friend.
My God takes the broken and makes them whole.
My God felt the anguish of the soldier,
Made his child to live again.
My God takes the broken and makes them whole.
My God, mocked and beaten,
Crushed and bleeding,
Yet crying, “Father God, forgive.”
My God became broken to make me whole.
My God on the third day, in the morning,
Broke the shackles of the grave.
My God took the broken and made them whole.
My God knows my failures,
He speaks forgiveness,
He gives me strength to try again.
My God takes the broken and makes them whole.
Words and Music by Stuart Townend
© 2006 Thankyou Music
by Kimberly | Jul 31, 2012 | Uncategorized
Registration lines. Lanyards. Nametags. Breakout Session choices. Long bathroom lines. Does any of this sound familiar? If you have attended any conference these should be in your vocabulary. I’ve been to one this Spring, worked one this summer, and spoken at many over the last 15 years. Just recently I had a conversation with a friend about how she went to a conference and was ready for God to work (and He did!). Since then I’ve been thinking about how I can encourage women to prepare for attending conferences.
This list actually is somewhat in order and I hope it encourages you to think through your life, priorities, and needs before you attend a conference (even if its just a night at your church).
1. Prepare. If you are anything like me your mind goes a million miles an hour. When you are trying to get away or do something your mind is constantly on things at the house. It is hard to still your mind to be able to listen. Even at the recent conference I volunteered at (TGCW12), my mind was racing in a million different directions because of the friends around me, what was going on in my personal life, traveling in a car while pregnant, and of course hormones. This is what I mean by preparing to attend a conference: 1. If you have children, set up reliable childcare for them. Maybe its your husband, or a neighbor, but be confident of their ability to handle situations on their own (so they won’t call you every 5 minutes during the conference). If you are the main provider of meals (cooking) in your home, prepare some meals that your family can eat while you are gone. Finish the laundry and do other household chores so your mind won’t be thinking of all you have to do when you return. This last one is going to sound a bit odd, and maybe its just me, but I like this one. Prepare your wardrobe. I often feel that (especially now that I don’t work) I only get a to see people out a few days a week. yes, you should dress well for your husband, that is not what I’m saying, but have fun with your wardrobe at conferences. You want to be comfortable so you won’t stop breathing during a main session because your jeans are too tight, but look cute. Women tend to function better with other women when they are dressed cutely. I’m not telling you to dress to impress – just dress femininely and in step with the conference. Think through what jewelry you will wear with each outfit, shoes, accessories. If you can (and packing is an issue) maybe try to find outfits that go with the same pair of shoes so you don’t have to pack 14 pair! This preparation will help with packing and you’ll feel cute.
2. Study. Most conferences will give you the main session topics (even specific Biblical passages that are being shared) or at least the conference theme. As soon as you sign up for the conference study that topic. Look at the subject headings and ask God to prepare your heart to fully hear what He wants you to hear. As you choose your breakout sessions, don’t just pick them based on the personality leading it, but on what might be most important to your spiritual growth for that conference. Open your Bible, get a journal specifically for that conference, and study, expecting God to show up in your study times and show you what He wants you to take into the conference.
3. Pray. You might say I have this one in the wrong order, but praying specifically for the conference will come in handy (and yes, we should always pray without ceasing). Here are some things you can be praying for: 1. The speaker. If you personally know the speaker, ask her/him what you can be specifically praying for for them while they speak or prepare. 2. The logistics. As someone who knows what it takes to plan and impliment a conference, so many things can go wrong when you want them to go right. Those mishaps can be a distraction that Satan can use to “stop” God’s work. Pray that everything goes smooth (and if you are part of the preparation team – work hard so things go as smooth as possible as long as it depends on you). 3. Other attendees. Maybe you are attending the conference with a group of friends or know of specific sitations in others’ lives that God needs to work in during this conference. Pray for those friends. Finally, pray for yourself. Pray that God will give you ears to hear exactly what you need to hear, that you will block out the distractions of the world, and that you will be open to the work of the Spirit in your life.
by Kimberly | Jul 15, 2012 | Uncategorized
This is a post written really to my single brothers in Christ (because I found the following status update on a friend’s FB page). But, girls – ladies, I pray that you would pray for your brothers in Christ that they would treat their sisters in Christ as just that – sisters in Christ.
Here was a recent FB post on a believer’s FB page:
(so on Saturday I called up my ex-girlfriend)
her: what do you want?
me: it’s hot, and I miss your icy stares, your cold shoulder, and your generally frosty demeanor.
I know, it is st a joke Kim, but seriously – this isn’a type of joking that should come from Christian brothers – the Bible says to not let any coarse joking come out of your mouths (Eph 5:4)
Brothers, friends:
1. I don’t know of too many women who desire to be joked about like this, to their faces or behind their backs.
2. This kind of joking does nothing to build up the body of Christ (Eph 4:29)
3. This would definitely not be the kind of joking that would be gracious to tell your wife in marriage, so why have the practice now as a single guy.
4. Men who are married, please lead your single brothers to treat and think of women better than this.
I am married to a gracious man who never once joked with me like this – that is one of many reasons I knew he was marriage material. He was respectful of me from day one.
Ok – rant over! Back to your regularly scheduled blogging already in progress!
by Kimberly | Jul 9, 2012 | Uncategorized
Do we really live our lives in such a way that we would be considered Trinitarians – not Bi-nitarians. Definition: living life in such a way that we are in community with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, not just Father Son.
In the biblical communities (ie churches) that I have been a part of for my whole life, the majority of the talk is either on God the Father or God the Son, Jesus. Not many of the traditions I’ve been in focus in (if at all) on the Spirit. I’m not necessarily talking about the “charismatic gifts” such as prophecy and speaking in tongues or lifting your hands and dancing in the aisles during a church service.
But, for many believers there is an error on either side:
1. We don’t recognize the role of the Holy Spirit enough: whether in our prayers or our experiences
2. We over emphasize the role of the Spirit in unbiblical ways.
“Spiritual experience that does not arise from God’s Word is not Christian experience. But when we study God’s word we should pray that the Spirit of God will not only inform our heads but also inspire our hearts.” – Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, pg 31
I’ve heard many folks say: God led me to do this, God is calling me into this profession, etc. The only thing wrong with statements like these is that in the instances I am thinkig about – the object of what God said for them to do does not line up with the perfect authoritative Word of God. The Holy Spirit of God will NEVER contradict what is said (what God breathed) in His Word.
God has said that we have all we need for life and godliness. The Spirit brings to mind what is written in the Word that can enable us to ive a God-glorifying life in every way. That is His role (John 15-17). He is our Helper and our Comforter.
So, while not living in one error – how do we not live in the other error:
1. Pray for the Spirit to bring to remembrance Scriptures that can light your path (John 15-17, Psalm 119). When you are in a situation that you need counsel on, first go to the Word. He will guide you.
2. Put every action or decision up against the authority of God’s Word. It is perfect and will never lead you astray. It is sufficient for leading us and for directing your life in perfect wisdom. It has no errors.
3. Read the Word and what it says about the Holy Spirit. Find a concordance or look in a study Bible or even pick up books like Wayne Grudem’s Bible Doctrines, the Holy Trinity by Robert Letham, or Francis Chan’s Forgotten God (I’m sure there are plenty of others). Study who the Holy Spirit is. Strive to know Him just as well as you know the Father and the Son.
by Kimberly | Jul 4, 2012 | Uncategorized
Happy July 4.
I love being an American. Really.
But, as I heard this weekend, from “sea to shining sea” isn’t all that God has planned for this world. His glory extends beyond this melting pot of humanity to the far reaches of the globe. May we see the world with His eyes.
Picture taken in 2011 in Charleston, WV.
by Kimberly | Jul 3, 2012 | Uncategorized
The title is to be said in your best whiny voice possible, maybe even shed a few tears or throw a temper tantrum.
Yesterday, while finishing up Amy Spiegel’s book Letting Go of Perfect, I came across a familiar passage of Scripture that speaks of Moses hitting a rock to get the water to pour out of it. That seems a little strange yes, a rock giving life-supporting water? But, that is what he did. And it gave water, it just wasn’t how God had commanded him to do it.
Moses was a good man, he was faithful, he led God’s people out of Egypt, most of the time he was bold and courageous, he believed God. Yet one “small” mistake kept him from the greatest opportunity of his life, the greatest reward – the Promised Land. All God let him do was see it – to dangle it in front of him.
As I was reading this and explained it to my sweet hubs, I started crying. Why would God do that? I mean, it was just one small mistake. I wonder if Moses stayed awake at night contemplating the goodness of God when He didn’t allow him to enter the land that had been promised to His people. I wonder if he pleaded with God to release him from this punishment or if he took it like a man?
But, in light of God’s holiness – this punishment was actually an act of mercy. When Moses disobeyed God’s command and struck the rock, God could have easily and righteously struck him dead right then. God didn’t need Moses to finish the work that God wanted to do. No, God commanded His people to be holy, and no matter how much good Moses did, he still sinned against a holy God.
Do we grumble and complain against the Lord’s chastisement on us or do we look upon any correction that He brings our way as an act of mercy?
And you know, as look further into the line of history, we see that Moses may not have been able to see the Promised Land, but, as we read in Mark 9, Moses got to see the glory of the Son of God, Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses will still get his great reward: (see Hebrews 11:39-40).
Here is the takeaway from this little devotional:
1. Do we think we are good enough to not deserve punishment from a holy God?
2. Do we accept the consequences of our actions?
3. When we do get chastised/disciplined do we look at it as a loving gesture from a good heavenly Father and one of mercy?
4. Do we see our reward not here on earth but are we awaiting something Better?
