These last few weeks have been pretty rough...major emotional turbulance I guess you could say. I could easily be overwhelmed with it all but God in His mercy, gives me the grace and peace which surpasses all understanding, and I am so thankful for it. Without the Holy Spirit, I would be overcome.

So back to my reason for writing:

God is so good to me. There I was yesterday, sitting in the van waiting on James while he went in the store and I just felt so overwhelmed with everything that is happening, like I could implode in seconds...

Have you ever felt that way?

I turned on the radio. A distraction maybe???

Nancy Leigh Demoss was speaking....I obviously caught her program at the very end but in those last few minutes, God spoke to my heart through the scriptures she was referencing:

"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the Word of God deceitfully but by manifestation of the Truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those that are perishing, whose minds the god of this world has blinded, who do not belive, lest the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine on them...."

"For it is God Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, Who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us."

"We are hardpressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed--Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life of Jesus also maybe manifested in our body...."

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment , is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

"For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens."

Most of us have a "temporal" mindset instead of an "eternal" mindset. We judge things and situations by what we see, the "facts" and looking at our circumstances that way makes it easy to lose hope....

When we have an "eternal" mindset, we see things in the light of the Christ's Sacrifice, for you and for me and everyone who will call on the Name of the Lord in repentance and surrender, and anything that might happen here in this world is a light affliction.

I have to keep reminding myself of that in the middle of a crisis....it's one of my weaknesses. I take the turmoil and I internalize it and ruminate on it until I'm just sick inside. The sad thing is that don't have to do that. All I need to do, and what I should do from the start is to run to my Father....my refuge and strength, a very present help in the time of trouble.

If we have surrendered our lives to Christ and are striving to serve Him with our whole heart, there will be trouble. Satan will see to that. If you're not getting hit with those fiery darts, then you must not be a threat to him. The Bible says he goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour and redeemed saints that are striving to serve Christ are his main targets.

The Lord suffered persecution, the devil stirred the hearts of men until they hated Him and cried out for Him to be crucified. He had done nothing wrong... He was innocent of any wrong doing.

He said:

"The servant is not greater than the Lord, if they have perseceuted Me, they will persecute you".

Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven...

We must be like Habakkuk who said in Chapter 3:17-19

"Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herd in the stalls--

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in te God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength;

He will make my feet like deer's feet,

And He will make me whalk on my high hills."

The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4: 4

"Rejoice in the Lord always,

again I say Rejoice!

Let your gentleness be known to all men.

The Lord is at hand.

Be anxious for nothing,

but in everything, by prayer and supplication,

with thanksgiving,

let your request be made known to God;

And the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren,

whatever things are true,

whatever things are noble,

whatever things are just,

whatever things are pure,

whatever things are lovely,

whatever things are of good report,

if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise worthy--

meditate on these things.

Father in Heaven--

You know my weaknesses, You know my frame and remember that I am dust... Help me to trust You for the outcome. Help Thou my unbelief, O Lord. I commit those I love to Your care and keeping, knowing You love them even more than I do. Draw nigh unto them, Lord and let Your light so shine upon them and let them love the Light rather than darkness. Break down the walls that the enemy of their souls has put up around their hearts and minds, in the Name of Jesus and by His Blood!

Tell it to Jesus....

As a parent, I get to labor with the Lord on the formation of a child, trying, by God's grace, to instill a love for Him within that child's heart, to whet their appetites for the things of God , to help mold and shape their wills to conform to His image an it is so amazing and wonderful that He gives us, blesses us, imperfect vessels that we are, with that task! It is such a joyous experience to feel a child quicken within your womb, to know that new life grows miraculously within. And it's just as joyous to watch that baby grow up into a young man or young woman.
It's also a huge responsibility....and we do mess up....alot. Or at least I have, though I have tried very hard to be a good mom, a godly mom. I earnestly tried to model Christian love in word and in deed. Of course, I fell short...a great number of times and if you ask any one of my children, I'm sure they would say I fell short a HUGE amount of time but God knows that I did try.

I came to Christ at the age of 27, divorced with 2 young children.
Let me just say that it's ALOT better to do things HIS way, the right way, the first time around. Enough said.
God was sooooo merciful to me, to us. He brought me a husband, a brother in Christ and fellow pilgrim, in what can only be described as a supernatural matchmaking. I won't go into all the details, but let me just say that James and I had our first conversation and were married 20 days later. That was over 11 years ago now, all glory to God.

Today, at lunch, as I wept with my husband, he said to me after I expressed my sorrow and grief over things happening in our lives with our grown and mostly grown children, "Now we know what God must feel when His children reject Him."

That thought has burned within me this afternoon. Does God feel like this when His children reject, or walk away from Him? When we want our own way so we try and hide ourselves from Him by moving away from His Presence? God, our Father is THE PERFECT FATHER, THE PERFECT PARENT. He has never messed up or had to say "I'm sorry". He has shown us The Way in which we should walk and yet we don't always do it and sometimes downright refuse to do it!

Jesus said, " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent to thee, how often I would have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gatherest her chicks under her wings, and ye would not!"

He too, beloved, mourns over His children. I guess I had never thought of it in that way. It also says in Hebrews 4:14-16

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, Who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we do not have high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points, tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy adn find grace to help in the time of need.

NKJV

Jesus know and understands... The scriptures say He isn't one that is untouched by our sorrows and weaknesses. He's been there, dear sister! Even here, where I am...

And so I leave you with this thought....
No matter where you are or what you're going through and feeling, Jesus is right there with you and He understands! Run to Him, child! Run as fast as you can into the Arms of your Saviour!


Love in Christ,
Sister Kimberly

Tell it to Jesus
Edmund S Lorenz

Are you weary, are you heavy hearted?
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus.
Are you grieving over joys departed?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Refrain
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus,
He is a friend that's well known.
You've no other such a friend or brother,
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Do the tears flow down your cheeks unbidden?
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus.
Have you sins that to men's eyes are hidden?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Refrain

Do you fear the gathering cloouds of sorrow?
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus.
Are you anxious what shall be tomorrow?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Refrain

Are you trubled at the thought of dying?
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus.
For Christ's coming kingdom are you sighing?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/e/tellitto.htm

Second try....

Wow... I started this blog back in May and then my life got kinda crazy. We are in the process of making our new home habitable so James and I can officially move in. It's a beautiful old farmhouse, built in 1870. I've always wanted an "old" house for some reason. I guess maybe it has to do with my love of history but old houses have such character! Sure, they have things that need updated and maybe the joist are sagging a little but new houses just don't have the same feel.

We planted grapes, blueberries and transplanted my blackberries. I just hope the deer don't eat them all up before we get moved in and they have a chance to grow! And the deer are very plentiful over there as the property is not far from conservation land. It's secluded and quiet with a gazebo that's just perfect for relaxing on a breezy afternoon with a good book.

In the last month, we've prematurely become "empty nesters". It's a new season of my life and I'm not really comfortable in it yet.

To be sure, focusing more on my relationship with my husband has been gratifying and he's so very appreciative that I smile just thinking about it. I started to think about our relationship and how easy it is to get in a rut and I don't want to do that. I want my marriage to continue to be fruitful no matter what season....and no, I'm passed having babies...but there are other ways to be fruitful and one is the physical side of our relationship. Just because we're in "mid life" doesn't mean it can't be sizzling! We just have to make it a priority, even when our hormones aren't in gear. lol I came across this link the other day about christian wives who initiate, value and enjoy SEX! www.cwives.com
It's a really great site so check it out! (and prepare to be challenged!)

As wives, sometimes we forget this aspect of our marriages in the day to day hustle and bustle of life but it can make such a difference in our relationship with our husbands.

Well, I'll leave you with those thoughts for now.... my hubby just called and is coming home in a bit.... I'm gonna go and "get prettied up".

Remember... the marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled....

In Christian love,
Kimberly