Tattered and Stonger than Ever

Pages; crisp and new. Unread and unseen. A new bible lay freshly unwrapped. The beholder, the girl, holds her new bible for the first time, knows not the power, the might, the glory, in which she holds loosely in the palm of her hands. 

She opens it to read. She reads the stories, but does she know it's real? 

Her heart wonders if what her eyes are seeing are simply a fairytale, or the greatest truths her eyes will ever see.

She reads. And she reads. 

She begins to see Gods hands in the many workings of the Lord. Noah and his ark, Moses and the Israelites, Esther faithfully coming before the throne uninvited; Job, oh yes, Job. A man of character. A man whom the Lord allowed Satan to seek to devour, yet in midst of the greatest heartache that could ever be held, Job stayed faithful. He persevered. 

And then there were the Psalms, full of hymns and prayers used to praise the King. 

The girl sees sin at its darkest. But she sees the Lord use the most evil of men to bring forth the greatest glory of all; Jesus. 

As she reads, the pages start to get wrinkled. She's realizing she is falling in love with Jesus. 

She feels sick the first time she spills her morning coffee on those crisp white pages. After the third and forth time, she realizes that unfortunately, spilling coffee is just gonna be one of those mistakes she will always make ;) 

As her bible wrinkles, her heart grows stronger. As the binding pulls away, her life pulls even tighter. As she reads of Jesus' life, her excitement and desire to fall into a deep love with Jesus magnifies into something she can hardly stand to contain inside of her being. 

So she goes, and she tells. She tells of His healing hand; she tells about how the power of the Lord has and continues to answer her prayers; she tells of His love for the sinner. She cannot and will not keep this to herself. 

See, in her hand she holds a book; a book packed full of glories; packed full of truth. 

She wants you to know what Jesus has done in her life. She wants you to to experience the wonder of a tattered bible, and a heart solid as the Rock. 

Her love for Jesus spills over; it spills over into the hearts of her parents, her little brothers & sisters, her friends. She builds relationships built on the foundation of Christ. Little eyes watching her, she brings little children to know Jesus, which blossoms into adults who bring more children to know Jesus. She touches generations and generations. She is a woman of strength and self discipline. She is a mighty warrior for Christ because she digs deep into the word and prayer, every day.  

Years gone by and she sits in her rocking chair; she's now 83 years old. She holds her precious bible, close to her heart. Her eyes can no longer see well enough to read the words on those pages. Sometimes her great-grandkids will come and read to her. 

But as she rocks in that chair, she doesn't need to read the words. She already knows them. She knows them because through the many years, she read them over, and over, and over again. She cannot read her stained white papers any longer, but because of the years of pouring her heart out to Christ, tears dripping on the pages, coffee spills, laughter, glory, joy, peace, sharing His truth with loved ones...she has those pages etched into her very being. 

She knows Jesus, and she wants to tell the world; one tattered page at a time. 

It's Who He Is

I've been studying the characteristics of Jesus lately and I highly recommend you do the same. Have you ever taken the time to dig deep into the heart of Christ to truly understand where His heart is, and why He is the way He is? It is truly amazing and humbling. Think about it this way. Our flesh, it is weak. It is so easy to give way and let our flesh win over our hearts; even if it's something small, sometimes we take the "easy way out." Jesus, His character, His life and the way He did things was as natural as your desire to cave to the flesh. Do you understand me? In our natural state, we lie, we cheat, lust, covet, whatever. Those are the things that make us fleshly human beings.
In Jesus' natural state, He loves endlessly, forgives no matter the circumstance, He is the ultimate servant, He is full of gentleness, patience and self-control. Those are the things that make Him perfect; set apart, different. Jesus cannot be anything but perfect. He cannot sin, it's who He is. He is what good is.
He calls us to be like Him. Anything and everything good in our lives is because of Jesus. It's the Holy Spirit living in us.
Jesus never did and never will look away from people; He always has and always will look upon people with compassion and grace. He understands your real needs. He understands your physical, mental needs and He knows your spiritual hunger and thirst.
This perfect man, Jesus, He actually takes the time to care fully about you. Breathe that in for a second.
The one and only perfect One, cares about y-o-u. And He wants you to be like Him.

E N D L E S S • P U R S U I T

Here's a secret: I like getting results without the process. 

I want to be able to run 5 miles without having to struggle through the first 4. I want easy. 

I want to be able to have the voice of an angel, but I don't want to have to go through the process of learning how to use my voice. 

I want easy. I want amazing. And I want it now. 

Lately, I've been spinning. My heart has been wondering why I'm not "there" yet in my spiritual walk. 

I read and read and pray and read and pray and worship and pray and then I read some more yet the more I do this, the more I realize how much I really have to learn and how far I really have to go. 

I believe this is a reality a lot of us face. We want what we want, when we want it, how we want it, and while we're at it, we want it served on a silver platter of beauty and ease. 

Life just isn't like that. 

It's messy sometimes. 

A lot of times its 3 pumpkin pies burnt in the oven, 2 with too little spice and 1 that's just to runny before we finally make the perfect pie. 

It's learning. It's growing. 

But you know what? It's also not giving yourself the option of getting discouraged. 

With all situations in life, if it takes a long time, our natural response is to just throw our hands up and walk away. 

Friends, Jesus doesn't do that to you. He doesn't throw up His hands. To do that, He would become unfaithful to His promise to remain faithful, therefore, He would cease being God. (2 Thessalonians 3:3-5; 2 Timothy 1:11-13; Deuteronomy 31:6)

Why give up on Him? Why throw your hands up to the One who loves you more than anyone could even comprehend?

Even when you're understanding isn't where you want it to be, don't give up. Please, please don't give up. 

What you're going through now is what is going to make that moment of perfection so much more glorious. 

The moment the gates of understanding open into a flood and you're just like "OH!"; that's worth it. 

Jesus is worth it. 

It's an endless pursuit. But a glorious pursuit. Press on. 

2 Thessalonians 3:3-5

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into Gods love and Christs perseverance. 

2 Timothy 1:11-13

Here is a trustworthy saying: 

If we died with Him, we will also love with Him. 

If we endure, we will also reign with Him. 

If we disown Him, He will disown us; 

If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself. 

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. 

C H A O S

I woke up this morning to some very loud noises outside my window. I looked 
out to see about 6 or 7 trucks literally destroying our road at 6:30 in the morning.
Not my kinda wake up call, that's for sure.
I tried to go back to sleep on my sleep-in morning, but without much success.
I climbed out of bed and headed to the kitchen for some coffee.

As I got ready for work this morning I started feeling very overwhelmed.

Not because of the road, if that's what you're thinking.
But because of the road in my heart. 

There is so much change and messiness in my life at the moment.
We haven't had a kitchen for a long time now, we've been working on the
basement for a year now, meaning our home is, honestly, {un}organized chaos.
A ton of really close friends moved away, I'm working full time, and I don't see the
dear people in my life nearly like I used to. I'm learning {slowly, ha!} how to adult. ;)
It's a big season of change for a lot of people these days. All the people in my life are
experiencing change; some good, some hard, but all for the chance to learn and
grow in our walk with Jesus. 

As I was thinking about this messiness, it hit me... That road outside isn't
going to fix itself. In fact, someone has been in long thought process to decide
it needed redone. They didn't just wake up one morning and decide to tare up
an entire street. It's been a work in the making. 

On the contrary, it's not going to fix itself. Someone is going to have to put a lot
of work into it. And most of its not easy work. It's going to cost a lot of people
sweat, time and energy. But the product at the end, will be so worth it. 

My life, your life, can sometimes be a mess. Just like this morning when it hit me
how much change is going on in life, that didn't mean all that change happened
right then. It's been a work in progress. God has been working His plan.
He saw I needed some re-doing, some personal maintenance. He knows what and
why He is bringing me through so much change. 

I have the power through Christ to decide today to embrace change and move full force
into it. I have the power through Christ to work through the baggage I have carried.
I have the power through Christ to completely own-it beautifully in this season of
life through worship and praise rather than sulking and pouting. I don't have to
worry. I have the power through Christ to overcome what hurts, no matter how
bad it hurts, or how hard it stings.
I can step out and look forward to the beautiful masterpiece that He is creating in me. 

W H A T • A R E • Y A • G O N N A • DO?

Let's get real for a second. 

I wish I could go back. 

I wish I could go do the past year and a half over again. 

It's not that I didn't learn or grow from it, because I truly truly have. 

If I could go back, I could do so many things differently. 

I would listen harder. I would hug tighter. I would be a little more crazy.  I would talk to Jesus way more and dig even deeper in His words. I would love more, and cherish my loved ones more than ever. Instead of staying inside, I'd go dance in the rain. I'd sing a little louder and definitely SMILE much much brighter. 

I expressed this to a friend yesterday and she asked me 9 simple words.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

The truth is I cannot go back. It's impossible for us to relive our life experiences and walk them out differently. 

The good news is, we get to heed our past experience and use it to grow us. That experience can change our outlook on life and help us to do it a little better next time... And the next... And the next. 

The truth is I wish I could change a lot of things. 

But I can't, and that's ok. 

So what are YOU gonna do about your regrets? The things that you wish you could have done better? 

We can sulk. We can have a little party of pity... Or we can choose to move forward and learn from our past! We can choose Jesus in the morning when we wake, all through our days and before we go to rest. 

I don't know about you, but I want to choose the latter. In fact, that's what I'm gonna do. 🙌🏼

 

W A V E S • O F • L I F E • & • A M A Z I N G • G R A C E

Isaiah 44:8 'Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.'"

Psalm 144:1 “Praise be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.”

My dear friend, 

As your friend and sister, I desire to breath as much wisdom into you as possible. I want to help in your walk with the Lord and I want to encourage you to seek out His truth on your own. 
I want nothing more than to see you walk with Jesus all the days of your life. I desire so much to see you continue to grow and blossom into the woman of strength that God has made you to be. I want to see you serve Him faithfully, walk in His steps in the good and hard times and to never let go of the hope you have in Him.

But I must warn you, it's not always going to be sunshine and roses. Sometimes, life is going to get you down. And I mean really really down. In those moments it is so easy to wonder and ask “why?”. Your faith can and will be shaken up on days that the winds of life blow hard. Waves will come, can you stand?

I recently returned from visiting my aunt, uncle an cousin in Okinawa, Japan. While I was there, I got to experience lots of cool stuff but I also got to experience the power of water in the form of a wave. Let me tell you, its powerful, and its almost impossible to stand up in a wave on your own.

The water was beautiful, but as it surprised me by turning itself into a powerful wave, it hit my body, pushed me under and slammed me into the coral reef, leaving me pretty scraped up. 
The thing is, if I would have chosen to stand just 10 feet to the left, I could have leaned up against a rock, so that the waves wouldn't have been able to push me under.

Let's say the water represents life. It is quiet and peaceful until a wave grows and pushes you under.

Let's say that the coral that the wave pushed me into is the result of my selfish pride, believing I can stand on my own.

And let's say that that rock to my left, is Jesus.

Our choices in life and how we handle our circumstances can have a huge impact on the results.

I thought I was strong enough to stand in the wave, but I wasn't. I could have chosen to stand on the rock, which would have provided so much protection.

Instead, I was knocked under, hitting the consequence of my choice, which hurt a lot worse than if I had trusted the protection of a rock.

My point isn't only to go to the Rock when your scared, hurting or sad.

Listen carefully, when we begin trusting the Rock of Ages BEFORE the wave hits, then is when He will sustain us in our walk the most. If you continually are crying out to Jesus in the good times, your relationship with Him will be strong and prepared for battle in the hard times. 
If we wait until the wave hits us to cry out to Jesus, then we have to walk that extra 10 feet to get to Him. Though not impossible, our battle will be harder, and our human flesh will be more weak and will be more likely to fall and get washed away. 
Friend, if our love for Jesus has already sprung root, if we already are standing on the Rock of Ages, EVEN WHEN the wave surprises us, we will be prepared!!! Even if you don't see it coming, you will already be sustained and know His glorious power to get you through!!!

The truth is, life is going to knock you around sometimes. But I stand here to tell you this:

Choose the rock.

Choose the One Who is faithful, Who always has been faithful, and Who will always be faithful.

I can tell you this because I know this by experience. Jesus won't leave you. He will be your guide. He will be faithful always.

His power can move mountains and stand up against the most gigantic waves.

He will absolutely never fail you. Even when life hits you, you will get to enjoy an enormous amount of comfort in Jesus, knowing that you are trusting His will, therefore, you know all things will work out for the glory of God.

There are going to be times when you're hurting, but choose to cry out to Him. Choose Jesus every morning when you wake, and every night before you sleep.

Trust in knowing that even when you feel He is silent, He is still there.

After all, our relationship with Him, and His faithfulness does not rely on our feelings.

We don't get pleasure of only going to Jesus when we “feel” like it.

We have to choose Him daily, feelings or no feelings, because our feelings change so much. We, especially girls, are prone to follow our emotions... but that is not the way your relationship with Jesus gets to work.

When you choose Jesus, your trust and faith in Him is what is going to bring you through each and every day, leaving you with indescribable JOY!

My prayer for you is that you will continue to seek out His Kingdom in your heart every day that you have breath. Love Him, serve Him, and always trust Him. He deserves all of your praises!

Now GO, warrior of God, and serve Him until you see His face and walk on streets of gold and can be with Him for eternity!

H I S • C H I L D

I'm Kallie. 

I've had dreams come. 

I've had dreams fail.

I've had excitement. 

I've had the reality of life slam down on me. 

I've had joy. 

I've had hurt. 

But I will always have Jesus. 

Jesus - He is reality. 

He is real. 

He is with me always. 

I know He will stand beside me. 

I know He is always going to be there. 

He will never leave. 

He will never, ever leave. 

My identity is in Christ. 

No mountain, or ocean of life can take that away. 

I will always be His. 

I will always be His child, His one of a kind master piece. 

I will serve Him with all my heart. 

I will give all I have to Him. 

He has given me everything I have in this life. 

He has given me Life. 

He will never fail me. 

He will always walk beside me. 

I will forever be His child.

F U L L Y • I N • L O V E • W I T H • J E S U S

God wants so much for you. He wants to meet all of your needs and answer 
your deepest questions. 
But those answers don't come naturally. It's a process.
It's learning. It's hard. It sometimes means doubting the things you believed 
most as a child and rediscovering why you believe what you believe.
It's a beautiful, scary process. It's going out of your comfort zone to ask 
questions, being ready to think deeply, and to get up and do something hard. 
It means praying in secret. It means being in His Word daily.
I want so much to be so fully in love with Jesus that nothing else
 on this world can peel my eyes off of Him.
I want to know Him more, but that doesn't come by chance.
It comes by digging deep, being ready and willing to do something hard, 
and letting the Holy Spirit open up the Words of the Lord to unfold a deep, 
unfailing understanding of the Gospel in my heart. 

L I S T E N

Let's take a moment and breath. 

Let's take a moment and dance a little crazy. 

Let's take a moment and look up and gaze at the beauty of the stars.

Let's take a moment, and listen.

Just listen. 

Hear the silence roar.

Listen. 

Listen for His voice. 

Wait for Him to speak. 

Listen. Just listen. 

I am guilty of filling my 24/7 with noise. 

I even turn soft music on during my bible time. 

What if we, I, took some time in the silence to reflect, to think. 

I mean really, really think about His glory.

What if we took little moments to let our minds wonder like a child would.

What if you and I trusted Him so much that we didn't need, or even want to know the "Why?".

Let's take a moment... and listen.

Listen amongst the chaos and have a real moment with Jesus where absolutely nothing else matters in the world.

Listen. Be still. Be quiet. 

What I Am and What I Am Not

Today I almost gave in and listened to myself. I found myself thinking 

"I am not _______"; you fill in your blank.

The enemy will always remind us what we are not. He will use what we think 

about ourselves, our thoughts, to remind us of our fears, 

our limitations, our worries, our past. He gives us a measuring 

stick of comparison that we use to compare ourselves to others; he uses it to 

discourage our hearts from breaking free of all the things that he uses our

 thoughts to remind us of. 

We have to break the enemies measuring stick and begin speaking Truth to ourselves

 by fervently getting in Gods Word. Instead of listening to our thoughts, our 

feelings, we must know that Truth beats feelings. The Truth is we are nothing. 

Christ is everything you and I cannot be on our own. He is joy. He is peace. 

He is forgiveness. He is love. He is life. He is every grain of good in us. 

He has never changed, He will never change and he never fails.

He doesn't have favorites and He never makes mistakes. 

The Truth is, at the Cross, He broke the measuring stick of our old master and 

replaced it with grace upon amazing grace.

How about we grab hold of His grace, friend, and speak Truth into 

ourselves not by listening to our feelings, but by listening to His Word.

E N D U R A N C E through J E S U S

Yesterday was a day of accomplishment for me. I achieved something 

I have worked hard for since January of this year. For me, it was huge. 

But as I drove home from this accomplishment, I got discouraged because

 it took me so much longer than the average person to get to this place. 

I ran 3 miles straight. Woah, crazy right. *wink* 

Your, mine, everyone's accomplishments are different.

 For one person it could be "not grabbing for a cookie off the tray", for others 

could be "rising early", while others it could be "climbing a mountain",

 & yet others "learning how to hit a high note". 

Or it could be "running 3 miles"

As I thought about this on my drive home, I was convicted.  

I compare myself to the knowledge of Jesus that others have. I just want

 to be "there" (wherever "there" is) right now, without the learning process. 

I want to skip to the end & not go through the process. 

I know people who can sit & understand the Bible like there's 

nothing to it, & I know people that it takes a bit longer for them to understand.

For me, I have to sit quietly, & read a small portion over,

 & over, & over again. Sometimes I get something from it. & sometimes,

 I'll be going about my day hours later & it will suddenly "click" what the 

Lord was teaching me. 

Let me say this, friend. You're not alone. Your battles are BIG.

 Don't get discouraged because one thing comes easier to others than for you.

 Realize that each of us have our own special gifts & talents. 

You might have to work a little bit harder, run a little bit faster, 

& take a little bit longer to learn and to grow. 

Allow the Lord to be your endurance. Dig deep & watch Him move. 

Take A Knee

I'd wanna twirl on the oceans beach.
I'd wanna soar on the snow capped mountain tops 

& watch the sun rise to its first peak of the day.
I want to go places. 

Experience things. 

Walk where so many souls have walked before. 

I want to know what it's like to eat something weird, touch something odd, or maybe even feed some weird exotic animal.
I want to be an adventurer.
But life isn't about that. If that's what my life is about, then what a waste. 

If all I want to do with my life is experience new things for my pleasure & enjoyment, then what have I accomplished? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Life ends. Sooner than we like it. Life here vanishes into thin air before we can blink.
What if we lived for eternity?
Yes, that's it! We must live for that.
I want to be made alive not by what I see, taste, do, or even by what friends I have.

 I don't want to rely on those temporal things that, will as I, soon vanish. 

I want to be alive in Jesus. 

I want my soul to want nothing more than to bow a knee, & humbly say

 "Here I am Lord. Take me. Do as you please"
He is taking me places. He is showing me things in His will & timing. 

As I humbly ask, He shows.
Are you taking a knee?