March 13, 2014 - Throw Back Thursday (TBT)

Wow, what a chilly moving and for my folks in the NE, hopefully you are all tucked away warmly and with power. Spring is coming soon! Today, I want to share from one of my morning devotionals a few excerpts on integrity. I know each of us have certain qualities that we really admire in people and for me at the top of the list is integrity. I am a huge "trust people" freak and knowing that people are who they are in front of me is critical. I can deal with people's bad issues if they are consistently that way. This allows me to deal with my heart and respond appropriately. It is challenging, however, if I am not certain if someone's character displays the real them. You know that question mark you get in your stomach? And then there are those things in us we wish no one would ever see. Maybe? I thought this was a good analogy this morning: "People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall." Proverbs 10:9, NLT Integrity is a high standard of living based on a personal code of morality that doesn't succumb to the whim of the moment or the dictates of the majority. Integrity is to personal character what health is to the body or 20/20 vision is to the eyes. People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Their lives are open books. They say to a watching world, "Go ahead and look. My behavior will match my beliefs. My walk will match my talk. My character will match my confession. Integrity is not reputation--what others think of us. It is not success--what we have accomplished. Integrity embodies the sum total of our being and our actions. It originates in who we are as believers in Jesus Christ--accepted, valued, capable, and forgiven--but it expresses itself in the way we live and behave, no matter whether we are in church on Sunday or at work on Monday or in a lonely hotel room on Tuesday or suffering in a hospital bed on Thursday. I love this! We absolutely know how critical health is to the duration of our body and I feel this same intensity about integrity. I realize I have issues, as you may, and sometimes we may get caught up in the crowd or overreact and some may judge our character in that moment. And for that we repent. For that we are quick to confess and ask forgiveness. But who we are in the dark should be the same 24/7. This morning, let's purpose to check the various opportunities during the day for our character to be observed and be honest with ourselves before the Lord. Do our families see us the same as our co-workers? Do the people at the gym see how we are at home? Are our lives really an open book? Hiding and pretending takes work and never leads to fruitfulness and Godly character. If there are weak areas in our lives, let's use the "Throw Back Thursday" approach. Let's throw them at the feet of the cross, ask God to cleanse us from any attachment to them, and be the real us everywhere we go. First day of spring is next Friday, bring it on! Have a great one, PK

March 12, 2014 - "The Gift Giver"

Perhaps you have read the book, The Five Love Languages. If you have not, I suggest you do. Reading this book was a major turning point in my life as it allowed me to understand how I give and receive love. Until then, I got so frustrated with people who seemed to need some "type of attention" that I evidently didn't comprehend. After digesting this material and reading it several times, I had an "ah-ha" moment. Now, it is one of the first books I suggest to people struggling in their relationships. Today, let's consider one of the languages - gifts. (which happens to be one of mine) James 1:17 says, "Every good present and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father who made the sun, moon, and stars. The Father doesn't change like the shifting shadows produced by the sun and the moon." Now for those of us who are "gifts" people (you need to take the test to determine your love language), this is really GREAT news. However, if you're not a gift person - this is great news for you as well! God's heart is constantly for us even though at times we struggle or find ourselves with questions. God is the perfect Father and He gives perfect gifts. I wonder what a "perfect" gift would be to you? Isn't it cool to even pause and consider what that would be? And yet, we are told in this passage that good and perfect gifts come from God who doesn't change in the manner in which He loves each of us. Psalm 139 reminds me that God knows every thought in my mind and every word before it proceeds from my mouth and yet, God still loves me and gives good and perfect gifts to this imperfect vessel. WOW! One of the gifts I so appreciate about my heavenly Father is that He allows me to bring my issues and problems to Him for help and guidance. Look at this: Proverbs 16:3 in the Amplified Bible says this... Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will,] and so shall your plans be established and succeed. (AMP) The NIV Bible says that God will establish your plans when you commit all that you do to the Lord. I don't know about you, but "He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will" is such a gift to me. I want my plans to succeed, as do we all, but if my plans are not agreeable with God's plans, then I could be wasting a lot of time. That's not good. Today, let's spend quiet time with God (which was a gift given the moment Jesus died as the separation between mankind and God was opened again) and take our agenda and roll them - comment them - surrender them to God and allow the GIFT of God's help to be received and embraced with a smile. I love perfect gifts - and that is perfect. Have a great one - PK

March 11, 2014 - "Change It!"

As I walked my yard and picked up a few sticks late yesterday afternoon before an event, I was torn between the ugliness of winter coupled with the "never have to water standard" and the beauty of my summer yard and the extra hours of work to prepare and maintain such beauty. The more sticks I gathered, the more the memory of a painful back and hips following the "Yard Project 2013" emerged. In fact, every yard project has a back issue that haunts me. Then I smiled and remembered how I love to sit in the swing beside the waterfall and drink coffee. I remembered how I love walking the yard and examining the brilliance of the flowers and the fragrance of the roses. Somehow the pain seemed to lessen its hold on my memories. Isn't that the way of life? We often remember the pain before we celebrate the beauty. Is being healthy or successful worth the long hours and the sacrifice? Is learning a new trade or moving to a new city worth the cost? Absolutely. For example, being healthy takes consistent focus for me but the alternative places me back within the darkest winter season of my life. The saying goes, "we make time to do the things we want to." This statement is not always correct. For years I wanted to be healthy, get a new job, explore a new life. I wanted to. I believe "want to" has to be coupled with action for change to occur. I am certain there are life-changing things that we consider and ponder, but painful, past experiences can effect our hope of something new or something better. Sometimes, we find ourselves trapped by the "age" card. "I'm really too old to............" Let's remember change can be good regardless of the difficulty or our age, especially if God is directing the shift! If God is asking us to change, He will be consistently present. And guess what...if making a change is on us, He will still be there! That's a win-win situation. Let's not be afraid to try. I feel strongly to encourage you this morning - do something new! Try something different and make those changes you've been "wanting to." Embracing something new often brings a lift to our spirit and overcoming a challenge adds wind to our sail. Change doesn't have to be scary, expensive or difficult. Tip for the day - a gallon of paint is cheap and your entire living room could be different by this evening. Have an amazing Tuesday! PK

March 10, 2014 - "Wake Up, Kathy"

I LOVE that the sunshine is wide awake this morning, but I am a little dragging as the time change got me. I preached yesterday at church and was so afraid I would oversleep, I actually was awake most of Saturday night into Sunday. UGH. I love the sun in the late evening, but losing an hour of sleep is craziness. Anyway... I have been singing a song from the Hillsong United Young and Free album called "Awake." It is especially meaningful as we approach spring and the flowers are also awakening. (but, the yellow stuff is also close to wake up time) I awoke this morning with the phrase "wake-up" on my heart and my prayer this day is actually an encouragement for my soul to simply wake up. How many know that during the winter seasons of our lives (those really tough times) we often have to give ourselves a word of encouragement. We have to remember the goodness of God and praise him in spite of the winter. Today, I am including Psalm 57 (which was written by David as he was hiding from Saul to protect his life). It has my phrase "wake up" wrapped within my declaration that God is ALWAYS worthy of praise. I must be honest though, the spring brings a certain "wake up" like none other. Yesterday I had shorts and flip flops on, a glass of tea and the song from the Young and Free album playing full blast. Smiles abounded. If you need a smile today, sit in the sun for a moment, read the following Psalm and play that tune. I double-dog dare you. (wink) Much love, PK 57 1-3 Be good to me, God—and now! I’ve run to you for dear life. I’m hiding out under your wings until the hurricane blows over. I call out to High God, the God who holds me together. He sends orders from heaven and saves me, he humiliates those who kick me around. God delivers generous love, he makes good on his word. 4 I find myself in a pride of lions who are wild for a taste of human flesh; Their teeth are lances and arrows, their tongues are sharp daggers. 5 Soar high in the skies, O God! Cover the whole earth with your glory! 6 They booby-trapped my path; I thought I was dead and done for. They dug a mantrap to catch me, and fell in headlong themselves. 7-8 I’m ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe, Ready to sing, ready to raise a tune: “Wake up, soul! Wake up, harp! wake up, lute! Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!” 9-10 I’m thanking you, God, out loud in the streets, singing your praises in town and country. The deeper your love, the higher it goes; every cloud is a flag to your faithfulness. 11 Soar high in the skies, O God! Cover the whole earth with your glory!

March 7, 2014 - "Dancing In The Rain"

Yea - we made it through the week and hopefully you have smiled a lot and found reason to celebrate. I believe there are opportunities for joy daily if we will find them and step over our circumstances. Even yesterday I walked between the buildings at church and as the rain was falling I could have made a face about a cold rain and no umbrella. Instead, I could smell the "earth" within the shower and smiled as I was reminded this was a spring rain regardless of the temp. Sometimes we need to allow the seeds of joy that are planted deep within to find the smallest things to celebrate and choose to make them big. One of my favorite sayings is "Those who only think happiness occurs in the sunshine have never danced in the RAIN." Preach that! Can you use that today? I offer this as another seed of joy to bring a smile into your weekend plans: Isaiah 61:10-11 (NIV) 1 "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations." If we find few things to smile about, can we rejoice that God has clothed us with salvation and is preparing an eternal home for each of us? Can you read that statement and not smile? I can't. I love building houses and decorating, but I would imagine the mansion God is preparing for His kids is incomparable. That thought waters those seeds of joy to produce praise in our lives. We are here on earth but for a season. I chose this day to refocus my thoughts and laser them on my eternal future. My issues today will be made to take a number and line up behind the joy that looking forward to eternity brings. How about you? I did find a fun fact (listed below as your party favor) about apple seeds that I never realized. I am not an apple seed eater, chewer, or swallower, but I do love learning something new daily and I never knew that apples, cherries, peaches, and almonds are members of the rose family. Praying your weekend is filled with "dancing in the rain" moments. PK Question: Do Apple Seeds Contain Poison? Apples, along with cherries, peaches and almonds, are members of the rose family. The seeds of apples and these other fruits contain natural chemicals that are toxic to some animals. Are they poisonous to humans? Here's a look at the toxicity of apple seeds. Answer: Apple seeds do contain a small amount of cyanide, which is a lethal poison, but you are protected from the toxin by the hard seed coating. If you eat whole apple seeds, they pass through your digestive system relatively untouched. If you chew the seeds thoroughly, you will be exposed to the chemicals inside the seeds, but the dose of toxins in an apple is small enough that your body can easily detoxify it. Reference: Juniper BE, Mabberley DJ (2006). The Story of the Apple. Timber Press. p. 20. ISBN 0881927848.

March 6, 2014 - "The Doughnut Door"

Hello and good morning, Don't forget we go to Daylight Savings Time THIS weekend. Spring those clocks forward and forget that extra hour of sleep. That means head to bed early on Saturday night. :) I know as spring is fast approaching and the clothes we wear are getting less and less, sometimes we have a reality confrontation with our self-image that perhaps isn't kind. Throwing something at the mirror or replacing your scale doesn't work - I tried that. Some of us may even want to quit caring all together about what we eat, as I did so many times. Remember this: positive thoughts are empowering and a negative attitude can set processes in motion that make living a healthy life-style difficult, if not impossible. Slamming yourself every time you eat the wrong foods, constantly focusing on what you cannot eat and approaching your exercise plan with dread are all ways that negative thought patterns can sabotage your best efforts to gain and maintain health. When you hold a negative image of yourself, you rob yourself of much-needed energy. (I LIVED right there!) When feeling powerless, depressed or unmotivated, it's easy to cheat on your daily routine by eating a bag of potato chips to feel better. (I always chose pizza or brownies) However, tuning into how you feel, acknowledging those feelings and transforming those thoughts into something more positive can actually help you to achieve your weight loss goals faster. Instead of eating the candy bar or the chips (depending on if you are a sweet or salty person) take the time to REALLY determine the "why" of negativity. What is hurting you so deeply that 1 - you cover your pain with food and 2 - you think so poorly of yourself? I found that often failure, comparison, and fear were my biggest springtime issues. No sweater could hide that. Then the issue of shame would appear and try to cloak even the smallest forward progress. We are ALL going to have a bad day here or there, but accepting failure and allowing food to win only cheats our families of our quality time with them. I am not necessarily taking about in death. When I was heavy, depressed and shaming myself, while in the same breath comforting myself with candy, I was not kind to my family. I never wanted to attend outside activities because I had nothing to wear, which was a lie. There were clothes that fit me, but they exposed my weakness and made me feel like an overweight, undisciplined person. It was horrible! PLEASE don't be trapped by that...see yourself as beautiful no matter what you weigh. But continue to fight for your health and goal weight. The spring season represents new life and an overcoming of dormancy. I say let's choose health and close all doors to the winter seasons of our unhealthiness. Feeling regret over eating the doughnut is not a bad thing if you can turn that around to make it positive. Talk to your accountability partner, go for a walk, or drink more water the following day. Feeling shame when you eat the doughnut and turning to embrace failure - NOT good. That path leads to negative self images and a continued pattern of failure that's hard to break. Perhaps you close and bolt the doughnut door forever and never look back. That's my vote! Plan your healthy day and tell yourself you are fabulous, loved, highly favored, and blessed to the ends of the earth! Eat your apple and smile, "hum, this tastes just like a doughnut." (wink) Your internal organs will thank you. We got this! PK

March 5 - "Which Seed?"

I have been thinking a lot about seeds this morning. In fact I woke up with that word on my heart and lips. Perhaps it's because it is time to start our Yard Project 2014 (if you have followed my blogs, you know what this is) and I have been evaluating what needs to be uprooted and what needs to be planted. Seeds are critical to the cycle of life aren't they? My husband will carefully gather seeds and seed packets and then allow them to germinate in a secure and controlled environment to assure that life is given the best opportunity for survival. He nurtures and watches over the seedlings and then once placed in the ground, he is confident in the seeds planted. Now imagine what would happen if the squash seeds produced apples? We would all be disappointed and totally confused. Squash seeds carry the LIFE of the squash within and they should produce squash - not apples. Yes? Isn't that the expectation? The seed itself is closed and nothing visual is offered to assure us that squash will emerge (except on the package), but experience tells us that the seed from the package with a squash on the cover, will produce squash. And I think that is a reasonable expectation. This same principle applies to our lives by the Spirit of God. Sometimes people reason that because someone attends church or calls themselves a believer, a particular life and response to life will be evident. This is not always the case. Is it? But, it should be. Those who are born of the Spirit of God (through salvation) should bear fruit that indicates what was contained in the seed of the Spirit. 1 Peter 1:23 (AMP) says, "You have been regenerated (born again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from one that is immortal by the ever living and lasting Word of God." Our first birth (natural) came through the perishable seed of a mortal, but our salvation birth (Spirit) came through accepting the seed of Jesus into our heart (immortal) and those should produce the evidence (fruit) of life in the Spirit. They should. This Spirit birth is available to all who will call upon Jesus as their Lord and Savior - easy. (Romans 10:9) But once the seed of that truth is implanted, we then must live our lives in such a manner as to demonstrate that the "squash seed planted will produce squash." If we confess that we are believers and our lives display something totally different than God declares in His Word, then others may question if we are bearing the fruit of Jesus. Does my life declare Jesus? I pray that it does, but I am quite confident that there are moments where it doesn't. Here's a simple test: 1 John 3:9-10 (MSG) "People conceived and brought into life by God don’t make a practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It’s not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. Here’s how you tell the difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children: The one who won’t practice righteous ways isn’t from God, nor is the one who won’t love brother or sister. A simple test." Hoping your Wednesday is a great day filled with multiple opportunities to display the SEED within you. Me too. Talk tomorrow - PK