Don't Muddy the Water!

Have you ever heard the expression, “Don’t muddy the water”? When situations arise, oft times we scurry about throwing out expressions of woe, despair, anger, fear, you name it. The blame game comes to the front; it’s a turbulent time!



Muddy is defined as “cloudy, perplexed, muddled, opaque, stirred up sediment”, just to name a few. While we have muddied the water, God has the ability to see things clearly. This is a time to step back and refer to the Living Word. Jesus said the following:

“This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’” ~ Matthew 13:13 TNIV

It’s important that we don’t let words get in the way of our understanding. Not all messages are heard by listening. Some times the loudest message is through action. See what I mean?


Put your faith in God to work through your actions. It’s been said, “Talk is cheap.”

• In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. ~ James 2:17 TNIV

Now, go reap God’s blessings through your actions! ~ Kim

DESENSITIZED?

We have rolled into the fourth week of the New Year 2011 and I encourage you to be selective about the things you listen to.

• Do you blush at nudity?
• Do cuss words put you off?
• Are you brought to tears when violence is reported in the news?
• Pornography, sex crimes, gang violence, road rage…does any of this bother you at all?

Has our sensitivity been taken away? It has been said, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” It’s important that we hold on to the value of life and realize the worth and reverence of its gift. Don’t listen to that small voice of negativity. Acknowledge each person as child of God.

Turn the station when trashy songs come on the radio; change the channel when inappropriate things are aired on television; be selective about who you spend your time with and what you spend your time doing.

As Christians we rid our souls of our sinful nature. These things have no place in our lives and it is up to each one of us to refuse to let these things enter into our lives.

Scriptures reminds us:                                                                                              

You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these:  anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ~ Colossians 3:7-10 TNIV

Be that voice that brings awareness back to what’s going on in our society. People are listening even when you think they aren’t. Can you hear me now? ~ Kim

Decide today...

ARGUMENT

• A reason given in proof or rebuttal
• Discourse intended to persuade
• A coherent series of statements leading from a premise to a conclusion

QUARREL

• To find fault
• To contend or dispute actively

BICKERING

• To engage in a petulant or petty quarrel
• To move with a rapidly repeating noise

In looking at these three definitions we can determine that each is a form of disagreement. The question I pose to you, which is the most constructive? There is a time and a place for an argument.  To simply find fault with another is to quarrel and if no instruction for correction is offered, what is the point? To some, the one who speaks the loudest or most repeatedly wins but isn’t this all just pettiness?

Arguments both in ancient times and now were based on proof which is a truth or fact. This requires knowing the facts and presenting them in a coherent manner that leads to the end of the argument. At the end of the day, most times we cannot even recall the “cause” of the argument simply because emotions get in the way. If you must argue, know your facts and present yourself in a way that reflects Christ in you. In the letter to the Romans the following was advised:

• Accept anyone who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of arguing over differences of opinion. ~ Romans 14:1 ISV
• Therefore, let's no longer criticize each other. Instead, make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ~ Romans 14:13 ISV

Decide today whether you will be a part of the problem or a part of the solution. ~ Kim

What's All the Fuss About?

I'm beginning this blog for the third time, but who's counting.

It's the third week of the year and I want to share a few thoughts on arguments and quarrels. For the most part we know most of them just aren't worth it.

There are people who argue and disagree just for the sake of disagreeing. Doesn't matter the subject matter or who's involved. No rhyme or reason to this behavior....or is there?

Some people like to push buttons; some people love to evoke reactions out of others; and some people are just plain unhappy and will argue about anything. Luckily, we have the ability to decide how we will react.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when you find you are poised and ready to engage in an argument or quarrel:

• "Is this the best use of my time?"
• "Will this matter in one year; one month; one week; tomorrow?"
• "What do I stand to gain or lose in the end?"

The Apostle Paul dished out some pretty powerful advise when he said, "But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless." ~ Titus 3:9 TNIV

Time is valuable. It's a precious commodity and most of us feel we do not have enough of it. Time is a gift and that's why it is called the present.

Wishing you all peace today and always! ~ Kim

Not To Be Taken Lightly

We are each blessed in different ways. Our God is compassionate. He's all knowing and in all ways fulfilling our every need. He gives us things we don't even stop to think of. Sadly, we take too many things for granted. That's right, we value some things just a tad too lightly. We get to a point of passive expectation that leaves little room for praise and thanksgiving.

The weather has changed dramatically throughout much of the Southern states in just a few days! I was so pleased when I opened my drawer and came across several pairs of tights, made for such an occasion as weather like this. I needed to layer! I threw open the closet and put on a camisole undershirt, a t-shirt, topped with a sweater. A few days ago, I valued these items lightly, okay...too lightly. Today, I'm praising God and thanking Him for these blessings!

The very fact, we woke up today, is a gift. We are often reminded to count our blessings but my point today is to thank God for something that you've taken for granted. It's the little things that add up causing us to realize how truly blessed we are!

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! ~ 2 Corinthians 9:15 TNIV

I'm off to bask in God's goodness. Be blessed! ~ Kim

Waiting For Answers

• Have you ever asked a question to someone and answered for them?
• When was the last time you asked a question and did not wait for an answer?
• Have you not asked a question because you think you already know the answer?

Have you done any one of these when it comes to prayer? I know that I have. I don't think that I'm alone in feeling like I want answers right away and so I try to stumble through my own version of what I think the answer is. Truth is, all things come in God's timing not mine. There are numerous references to time in the Bible. "The time had come", "because his time had not yet come", "And when the time had come"...the list goes on. Not once have I found mention of "Kim's time." So, I wait patiently, and sometimes impatiently, for God's answers. The following quote hits the nail on the head:

Prayer is not a sililoquy, where everything comes from one side; but it is a dialogue, where God's child listens to what the Father says, and replies to it, and then asks for the things he needs. Listening to God's voice is the secret of the assurance that He will listen to mine. -- Andrew Murray

Are you listening for God's answers? Listen with your ears and your soul. And when you feel you cannot find the words to ask for the things you need be confident in the faith that the Holy Spirit will intercede on your behalf. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ~ Romans 8:26 NIV

                     After this manner therefore pray ye:
                           Our Father which art in heaven,

                           Hallowed be thy name.

                           Thy kingdom come.

                           Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

                           Give us this day our daily bread.

                           And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

                           And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

                           For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever.
                           Amen.

                    ~ Matthew 6:9-13 KJV

My ears and my soul are peaked and ready. Are yours?

~ Kim

If You Don't Ask, You Don't Get!

If only I had known....

• I would have helped you.
• I would have picked you up.
• I would have taken you there.
• I would have invited you over....

The list goes on. Many times we do not receive what we want simply for lack of asking. If you don't ask, often times you don't get. This simple reality also applies to those things you fail to ask God for. Take Jabez, he called on God...So God granted him what he requested. (See 1 Chronicles 4:10).

The are numerous scriptures that remind us to "ask". We don't always get the exact version of what we have in mind but rest assured, God provides for all of our needs. Need being the key here,not every whim or fanciful wish.

All joking aside, it's also important that you ask with a believing, expectant heart. If you don't believe you should get whatever it is that you are requesting, what's the point of asking? Don't place your human limitations on God, Our Heavenly Father!

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ~ Mark 11:24 TNIV

Expecting only good things. ~ Kim

Where is the Praise and Thanksgiving?

Whine, moan, piss and complain! Stop it. Stop it right now!

Expressing our dissatisfaction has become way to commonplace. We hear so much of it, we've become desensitized. We see pain and suffering with no real reaction. What a travesty.

• Instead of complaining about the rain, how about giving praise for all the good that it will do. You may not see the effects right away but Spring will be here before you know it in all of its blooming glory.

• Instead of whining because the preacher went five minutes over his norm, how about making a mental note of what he said and how you can apply that to your life in the coming week.

• Instead of moaning because you don't have the money to go out for a nice steak dinner, how about being grateful for the crock of beans and rice with cornbread you were able to serve your family because there are many who went without a meal today.

If you search the scriptures, you will often find the words "praise and thanksgiving" paired. It's safe to say, they go hand in hand.

I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. ~ Psalm 69:30 TNIV

You won't appreciate the sunshine until you have weathered a storm.

~ Kim

Happy New Year ~ Let's Begin With A Prayer

Good Morning!

I took a break from blogging to work on my book 52-Weeks of Resolve. I self published on December 18, 2010 and now the fun stuff begins. I look forward to this new year as I do to each one I have been graced with. I love cracking the wrapping on a fresh new calendar and the turn of the page of each new month. A clean slate awaits each one of us. What will you leave behind on the slate you have been given?

 

The Bible offers many things to us and through the discernment that dwells within us, the Spirit moves us to a place of comprehension. Paul offered this prayer for spiritual wisdom and it still speaks to us today: 

15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spiritf of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. ~ Ephesians 1:15-23 NIV 

 God created the Spirit and Christ left it to us as a gift of guidance. Use the tools you have been given. I ask these things in Jesus Name, Amen.

Now, go, shine like the stars!

Kim