Be Courageous!!

I got up this morning and decided it was a rest day.

Being the type of person I am that usually means I’m going to run Felicia, start some laundry, run out to the farm and do some work. Freak out about 11:00 because I have to get back home and shower, pick up Loni and head to Sherman for both of our Dr. appointments.

But this morning, I felt the pulling to just Be at home (until the Dr. appointments). Preacher man was not opposed to this idea, as I have spent too much of my free time being busy. You know what I mean… so I don’t have to think, or feel sad, or process. It’s like you go into auto drive, cruse control, if you will.

Today, I just want to Be.

Something I feel God is speaking into my life is to have courage. Courage is a spiritual virtue. The word courage comes from the Latin word cor, which means “heart”. A courageous act is an act coming from the heart. A courageous word is a word arising from the heart.

So in my just Being, I’m allowing the Spirit to fill me with courage.

Sylvia lived her life courageously, everyday. She lived her life full of courage, enough so that she could encourage those around her to be courageous! She wanted to be #1, but she also wanted you to be #1 too! That’s a trait that’s few and far to find.

My take away from today is simple and hard. It’s to Be full of Courage.  Or to just be from your heart.

Isaiah tells us “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.” It doesn’t say If you pass through, it says when. So, trails will come our way, but when we spend time Being, resting in God’s presence, sorta preparing; then we take heart, or gather our courage that we have received and we are able to stand!

God will not leave us or forsake us! We will go through some pretty deep waters, having the courage to do courageous acts and say courage words during this time of trail takes heart, and come’s from a heart that has been stilled and reinforced.

Take time to Be full of Heart! 

I’ve seen you move…

Click here!

God’s deals with me in a lot of different ways. One of the fastest way’s He has of dealing with me is through music.

This song has turned into my anthem.

I pray this song for Sheri Beeson, who is still in the hospital battling to keep her leg. This song has come on everyday for a week on my way to work. I pray a huge miracle for Sheri… He has moved mountain’s before, He can do it again.

It also speaks to me, deep down, in the corners of my heart. Do I believe God is big enough to move my mountain? Even if I don’t know what that mountain is?  Will He make a way for me? Even me?

My heart breaks all over again as I remember this night, 1 month ago, I got a text at 4:16 PM. “Are you busy? Can you talk?”

It would be the last time I would talk to Sylvia. I didn’t know it at the time, but now I do… As tears run down my face, I’m overcome with this grief!

Oh God! I’m overcome! How is anything ever going to be ok again!!

I morn for all the things she left undone,

we know who we are

Please take a few minutes, I think it’s about 10, and watch this video. Turn it up, and just remember…

Sylvia,

Sheri,

all the times God moved your mountains,

and how much He loves you!

Blessed and Broken

Don’t surrender your loneliness so quickly.

Let it cut more deep.

Let it ferment and season you

As few human or even divine ingredients can.

Something missing in my heart tonight

Has made my eyes so soft,

My voice so tender,

My need of God

Absolutely

Clear.

~Hafiz

My need is clear, what I need is so scrambled up right now.

I need peace, yet I stay constantly busy. I need food, but I’m not really hungry. Being by myself makes me sad, yet being around people brings out the throat puncher. So what in the world am I suppose to do??

Ferment!

Really? Sounds to me like when you get mad, and you keep it all inside and then Bam! One day, you blow up!

The deal is, this is changing me, it’s seasoning me. It’s making me softer and more approachable. It gives me empathy. Jesus tells us we are salt and light. We season the world with the fullness of our lives, the blessed and the broken moments.

I pray you are fermenting and seasoning the world with your blessed and broken moments.

Throat Punches!

Confession time… I have had my moments of wanting to throat punch people this week! That’s right, on the outside, I’m Cool Kim, but on the inside, I’m Crazy Kim! So I’ve been wrestling with God cuz I seem to remember there isn’t a whole lot in the Bible about love your neighbor but it’s ok to throat punch your co-workers and bosses!!

The struggle is real, the wrestling is real, but I’m finding if I look, He will show me an open window that I need to look out. He will give me a moment, or a thought, or something that gives me peace. Even if the peace is short-lived.

God did not take Sylvia from us! Evil had his hand in this. God received her, He did not take her! That right now is where the urge to punch comes from. “God must have needed her worse than we did!” I call BS on that one. God doesn’t NEED anything or anyone! He’s God for crying out loud! Yet we cry out, “Why God!? Why did you have to take her?”

I had the awesome experience of being one of Sylvia’s Go To’s. Now I know I’m not the only “Go To” that she had. What she would call me for was something I don’t even know that she was aware of. I like to call it, Godly encouragement! I felt like she needed more than Aunt Kim’s words, she needed God’s word spoken to her by me. Jesus with flesh on, so to speak.

My scripture to her for many many years was, Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The Message say it like this, “Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”

Think about that… I can do all things….I can make it through anything…

Well God, right now I need this scripture to be really real! I know that I know, that I know. I just need me some Jesus with flesh on!

So when someone comes to your mind or heart, make the effort to touch base. Hell, if I come to your mind or heart, reach out to me! There is strength there, in the remembering, even when it’s hard. You and I can do this! We can be encouragers to each other! We can be Jesus with flesh on! We will get through this, when we get through this!

And it will help me not throat punch people!

Peace Out!