Where am I even at? And where am I going next?

"Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
~Matthew 28:19

Our Master commands us to "go". The Gospel is the account of Jesus' leaving His Father's right hand to go to Calvary. Jesus instructed those who wanted to be His disciples to leave their homes and their COMFORTS and follow Him! Some insisted that they would not go yet because they wanted to make sure everything was in order first, or, they expressed willingness to follow but wanted to know the details of what they would be doing. Jesus never excused those who struggled to follow Him. He made it clear that to follow Him meant He set the direction and they were to follow.
I often convince myself that Jesus does not want me to adjust my live. But Jesus often told His disciples to go elsewhere in spite of the success they were experiencing! Peter had just pulled in the greatest catch of fish of his entire career when Jesus invited him to leave everything.

"One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him."
~Luke 5:1-11

Success where where I am can be my biggest hindrance to going where Jesus wants me to be. Because success in anything can be quite comfortable.

If I become too comfortable where I am, I may resist Christ's invitation to go elsewhere. I cannot assume that God does not want me to go in service with him. He may lead me across the street to share the gospel with my neighbor or to the other side of the world. Wherever he leads, I need to be prepared to go!

With that being said, there had been a huge burden on my heart to follow Jesus wherever he points me to go.

I am so comfortable with the success of the status I have in my life. No, not everything is perfect in my life, but I know Christ is telling me to GO! And to leave behind the things that are keeping my heart so comfortable.

Love,
KimmyAnn <3

Daily Spark

Daily Spark is a 3-5 minute podcast that is designed to help get us into God's word at least once a day. sometimes its super hard to read the bible every day and understand whats going on. the purpose of Daily Spark is to go through a few verses of the bible and the speaker will share some commentary to help you apply the verse or verses to your life. it has been an awesome tool in my life the last few days ive listened to it. i definitely encourage anyone and everyone to click on the link and listen :) http://soundcloud.com/dailyspark
Love,
KimmyAnn

I Can Love With God's Love

Journal entry @ New Life Northwest, August/11/2011

"Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbors as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

~Matthew 22:37-40

When we love God with everything we have, we declare that we have NO other gods or idols in our life. God alone is worthy of our worship, admiration and affection. EVERYTHING and everyone else pales in comparison to this great and loving God. This total Heart, soul and mind devotion to God encapsulates our desire to obey all of his commands. And because this loving God loves me, i overflow with love and generosity toward others. No longer do i need control through lies or lust to provide for myself. i do not spend my days wishing for that which others have. i am satisfied. i can love with God's love.

When God is in the center of my life i can rest. and loving others as we have been loved includes declaring praises for all that God has done, through Christ, on our behalf.

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It was incredible seeing God move at camp. I'm in complete awe of how amazing He truly is. I'm lost for words. I loved how I was there at camp, and I could feel my heart changing. And even now, I know God is moving in my life. Sometimes I begin to doubt he's really here, then he shows up and blows me away and leaves me speechless, like tonight. I don't know if this is making any since, I just know I Love God SO stinking much.

Love,

KimmyAnn <3

God Knows My Name

"...The sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own skeep by name and leads them out."

~John 10:3

When we see a crowd, we see exactly that. a crowd. a lard group of people. we dont see persons, just people. a herd of humans, a flock of faces.

But not God. He looks at the whole world. and sees every person individually. he points us out by our names. "The girl with the sad brown eyes is Laura", or, "the boy with the joyful face, thats Max". He knows us like a shepherd knows his sheep. the shepherd knows each and every sheep, he knows their name and behavior. God knows us. he knows out names. out hearts. our behaviors.

"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me."

~Isaiah 49:16

Quite a thought right? that your name is on Gods hands? Maybe you've seen your name on some special places. maybe a billboard or on an award. or maybe youve heard your name from someone important, like a coach or teacher. But to think that your name could be on Gods hands and on Gods lips? its an honor right?

Or maybe youve never seen your name honored, or you cant remember when youve heard it spoken with kindness....

Some of us go through life, feeling unloved, unimportant, and once we've accepted Christ, we just think everything will be easy. That life will be easy. Unfortunately, things are not easy. LIFE IS NOT EASY. life is tough. and we often feel alone. like no one is there to help us through our hardships.

Believe me, ive been there. ive felt alone. ive thought, "If God was with me, if he really knew my name, and my heart, then why doesnt he help me? why is he making me go through this? Why do i feel so alone?"

"So do not fear, for i am with you; do not be dismayed, for i am your God; i will strengthen you and help you; i will uphold you with my righteous right hand"

~Isaiah 41:10

"But now, this is what the Lord says - he who created you , O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not for i have redeemed you; i have summoned you by name; you are mine. when you pass through the waters, i will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, i will be with you. when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."

~Isaiah 43:1-2

God makes these promises to us. its also up to us to trust him! we have to trust and remember that he knows our name, its written on his hand, spoken by his mouth. whispered by his lips. your name. and he will never forget it.

Love,

KimmyAnn

BUSY BUSY BUSY

life has been CRAZY!

but SO AWESOME!

i got to draw on the sidewalk for easter.

that was loverly.

im blessed beyond measure.

i will be back soon sir

i promise ;)

Love,

-KimmyAnn