Blessed to be a Blessing.....Dear Dad Day 43

Dear Dad,

You have blessed me so richly in so many areas. I am so glad that I am blessed to be a blessing to others. Today I acknowledge my senseless ignorance that limits Your blessings to an increase of material things: i.e ~money, houses, cars, clothes etc that I often boast about and seek from You. Forgive me, as I learn to embrace the many blessings that I have as well as appreciatively receive the blessings You afford me that come in so many forms. For example: the opportunity to speak life into someone is a blessing, the act of using my automobile to transport a neighbor or coworker is a blessing, the effortless act of a smile or hug is a blessing, using my gifts and talents & seeking nothing in return is a blessing as well as the combination of many other acts of kindness that can encourage, educate, support, or strength another individual, organization, ministry, or family. Thank You for allowing me to be a blessing to others. I realize that You give and You take away, so while I have breathe in my body, working bones and limbs, a healthy brain, money in my account, and resources to offer assistance I will use them all for Your glory. Thank You for trusting me to distribute Your blessings to benefit others. Father keep me humble, and open to Your voice, Your prompting, and Your direction as I utilize the resources afforded me to strengthen the lives of others.

Thank You,

Kristen

Word On The Go: 2 Corinthians 8: 1-2; 7-15 NLT

Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. ² They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

 ⁷ Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us —I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving. ⁸ I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches. ⁹ You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. ¹⁰ Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. ¹¹ Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. ¹² Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. ¹³ Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. ¹⁴ Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. ¹⁵ As the Scriptures say,

“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over,
    and those who gathered only a little had enough.”

To the wire.....Dear Dad Day 42

Dear Dad,

To the wire I choose to trust You. There is no reason in getting uptight or frustrated about things going on around me. I love You with all my heart and You have never left my side. Instead of worrying I choose to worship You and watch You work things out on my behalf. Life is real simple and I realize that I’m the one who makes it difficult. All You ask me to do is walk  and trust You and You will cover the rest. Why is that so difficult to understand? I guess that option is not popular so I panic due to peer pressure. Release my mind, thoughts, and heart from bondage (things and people) that so easily  set me back. Help me to understand during adversity that my life is already planned out, situations are already worked out, and my bright future is ahead of me as long as I look to and obey YOU. You are my rock, sword, and shield; You protect me in times of trouble and You go before me and handle everything in advance. So for that I say…Thank You.

Kristen

Word On The Go: Jeremiah 17:5-8

⁵This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. ⁶ They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. ⁷ “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. ⁸ They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

You Can't Afford 2 Give Up.......Dear Dad Day 41

Dear Dad,

Ok it’s been a minute, but even in these past few days You have remained faithful. Words cannot express the importance of following Your prompting. It is easy to get dependant on others for provision, security, guidance, financial relief, and the list goes on but You are the source. Sometimes I think You turn up certain situations in our lives so we will get that You are the only resource. You allow things to happen, good, bad, and ugly to build us up, and to make Your name larger in our lives. I love how You provide us our daily portions even before the day begins. I love when things get down to the wire and You show up and out. Things really get wild when I get into this crazy panic about things I can’t control, and You calm me down and tell me not to worry. You are my Hero and I love you immensely. One thing I can say without a doubt: I have no idea what’s going on; however with that said I’m n love with someone who does..... so that means I’m too good! Love you father.

Kristen

Word on the Go: Romans 4:20-25

²⁰ Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. ²¹ He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. ²² And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. ²³ And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded ²⁴ for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.

Let's Have a Toast......Dear Dad Day 40

Dear Dad,

I’ve been waiting to get this off my chest all night. I am so thankful for everything that You do in my life. This may sound crazy to some people but I’m thankful when You harden the hearts of others towards me. Ha, that felt ridiculous saying but its soooooo true. By doing so You have saved me from a possible lifetime of hell, dealing with people that are beneath what You have for me, connections that yield nothing positive, heartache, disease, unnecessary frustration, total confusion, people who think of themselves more highly than they are, and a boatload of THEE UNNECESSARY. I take this act of kindness on Your behalf as a huge display of unconditional love, and with that said I’m screaming “Thank You” . So after pondering over my (ENTIRE) life, not limiting this letter to relationships; but jobs, people, circumstances, what-have-you…… let’s have a toast for anyone who is no longer in my life (AMEN), for anyone who told me no (AMEN), for those who’ve ignore me (AMEN), the job I don’t have (AMEN), the opportunity that hasn’t surfaced (AMEN), and lastly for the anyone or anything who could care less (AMEN). Talk about (CHURCH), that’s it right there. ~Selah

Walking in FREEDOM,

Kristen

Word On The Go: Exodus 7: 1-10

¹Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. ² Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. ³ But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment.⁵ When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh. ⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent’” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent! ¹¹ Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic. ¹² They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the Lord had predicted.

My plans ain't got nothing on Your's....Dear Dad Day 39

Dear Dad,

Show me Your way. Today I refuse to live under the restraints of others, better yet the restraints of myself. Give me the maturity to understand Your voice, Your commands, Your direction, and most importantly Your correction. I want my life to be a splitting image of what You have already ordained for it to be. So what I got rejected; You have the final say so. So everything looks dark and confusing; there is no darkness in You. So people think I’m crazy; they are just people whose opinion can’t even compare to one word spoken from Your lips. And who cares about those negative thoughts that creep in my head, telling me everything opposite of what You said; yea it’s time for me to GROW UP and tell those thoughts to SHUT UP! I’m so radical to believe everything You said and watch Your best manifest in my life. Just so I can tell the haters and naysayers about a man, greater than anyone could ever imagine, who doesn’t want anything from me but to trust HIM, blow my little hopes and dream out the water with His ultimate, might I add PERFECT, plan for my life.  That’s truly what’s UP!!! It’s all about You.

Ready for the day,

Kristen  

Word on the Go: 1 Corinthians 2: 9-13 (NLT)

 ⁹That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” ¹⁰ But  it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. ¹¹ No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. ¹² And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. ¹³ When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. ¹⁴ But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

For the Smart & Successful.....Dear Dad Day 38

Dear Dad,

YOU SHOW OUT!!!! I just want You to know how badd You are and I am so in awe of You. It is true the more time I spend with You the more I know You, the more You speak to me, and the more I grow as a person. Every morning I wake up its Your time. I can’t start my day without spending time with You. I see the benefit of doing so everyday; it’s not for money, or cars, for a man (or woman for my males), or to be “blessed” but it is to grow as a person. I am so inspired by growth. It brings me so much joy and I long for it. This world will make you think the more you have the greater you are, I strongly disagree. The larger one grows spiritually and morally defines their success. It’s not necessary to “wanna be successful”, I seek Your face everyday therefore I am successful. I just enjoy watching You work inside and outside of me. I give You the “OK” to have Your way with me. No longer will I stop You with my doubts or reservations. You won’t withhold any good thing from me and I know this to be true. Love You.

Eager to watch You work today,

Kristen  

Word On The Go: Matthew 13: 18-23 (NLT)

¹⁸Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: ¹⁹ The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. ²⁰ The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. ²¹ But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. ²² The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. ²³ The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Trying 2 Be Like You & Only You....Dear Dad Day 37

Dear Dad,

I am soooo glad You made everyone different. When You created us You gave each of us a different  talent, gift, swag and uniqueness. Your ability to do this is so mind blowing. Today I come against anyone or any spirit that tries to conform others to their own image. That spirit or energy that influences people to manipulate others to think how they think, act like they act, make their same decisions, try to look like them, etc. I invite Your spirit to saturate our minds, especially those who have it all confused. We are to imitate You and You alone. Understanding that those are huge shoes to fill, and everyone has different areas they struggle in, it is our job to encourage others to be like You through love and compassion.  Our worth is in You and You alone. Today I choose to care less about the opinions of others. Their validation, their views, how they feel or what they think about me and what I am doing. I realize that decision is not popular…… but so what. I want You to also know that I recognize that You have a standard of living, and there ain’t no way around that. So as we all live out our lives I ask that You redirect our focus from anything, any person, whoever, whatever, etc; totally to You. You will deal with us however You choose and we seek Your will and Your best for us, by putting forth the best effort to live like You called us to live in the uniqueness You’ve given us.

Choosing Your way above all others,

Kristen

Word On The Go: Romans 12: 1-8 (NLT)

 ¹And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.³ Because of the privilege and authority^[c] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.⁴ Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, ⁵ so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. ⁶ In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. ⁷ If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. ⁸ If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.