In this crazy world~ why should we really make time for one another?!??

Well, this post poses an interesting question. For years, I have heard Christian women say things like~ in order to keep my family safe, I just put up a hedge and really just spend our time with each other, or we really don't have time or room for any more, or we're so busy that in our free time we spend quality time with each other, I want Satin to stay away; therefore we just stay heavily guarded in prayer with one another; I'm really private and just can't share or pray with others. NOW, for the bigger picture, none of these things that people use as excuses are necessarily sinful so to speak, but they are simply missing a much larger picture!! We as Christians are placed here to Glorify God and to tell others about Him so that they can spend eternity with Him. Now, if everyone in your small family unit knows Christ, wouldn't now be the time to tell another family unit about Him. That's what we're supposed to be all about. Secondly, it is important to fellowship with other Christians~ God loves it when 2 or more are gathered in His name, below I will list scripture to confirm what I am saying. We are to build one another up as Christians, when one falls there is another to lift him up, so that they will not fall alone. God provides peace that only comes from the Prince, a peace and comfort like no other to us His children, He provides this peace so that we in turn can reveal this peace and comfort to another brother or sister in Christ. If you read my previous post about prepared provisions, I want you to stop and pause and think have you been that prepared provision for someone, and not even realized it? God uses us His children to reveal Himself to others, but if you are staying in your little hedged off safe place ~ you are missing the many ways that God wants to use you~ God can use you to change lives~ God has a plan, but when we are too busy or too consumed with ourselves and our family to step out and share and spend time with other Christians and non-christians, we are missing a huge huge larger than life picture. Now ,there are two sides to this, God can also use another brother or sister in Christ to reveal Himself to you in ways that you might miss on your own. There is a reason in God's plan for placing more than just you on this planet. As Christians, it is His expectation that we join together and comfort one another, bring Glory to Him , love and support one another, and accept the place where another is. Accept what they are able to bring to the table at that moment~ see isn't this how our Father accepts us~ where we are ? Then as we grow He is able to use us in even more ways, but first the acceptance occurs flaws and all! Many many times God' provisions are through other brothers and sisters in Christ~ don't Miss this!! Every individual on the planet has a cross to bear~ yours may not be infertility or pregnancy loss, it might be career failure or business issues, failed marriage, or sickness, maybe the loss of a loved one, but God has provided another Christian who bears the same cross, and they need you just as much as you need them and together God will reveal Himself. In 1 John 4:11-12 this verse talks about us not tangiably seeing God with our physical eyes, but that we see God through His other children as we show God to others His love is perfected in us. Once again, isn't God's plan miraculous!! It always amazes me how He has a plan and purpose in every single detail, even the little lady that I met at Starbuck's a few weeks ago~ now it has beome a weekly ritual that I sit and talk about Jesus with her on Saturday nights, her stories about His love for her bless my soul, and she tells my girls how much Jesus loves them~ who would have thought that I would "have tons of time" for this wonderful completely unexpected gift of a friendship with a 74 year old sister in Christ~ we walk away having learned more andhaving been blessed by being together even if for only an hour!! God is the God of ALL mercies and all comfort~ He gifts us with these mercies and comforts so that we can in turn share God's mercies and comforts with others. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 is also another favorite of mine, and it is actually in our lesson tonight that I' m teaching!! Check out these 2 verses~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says that 2 are better than one ~ a bond between 2 cannot be broken!! How is God using you~ I challenge you to sacrifice a bit of your time, and allow God to reveal Himself!! He definitely will!! I know how busy you might think you are,but God is way busier and He still desires to take the time to guide you and reveal Himself to you~ I am thankful for each one of you and I pray for you daily~ to many of you that read this God has used you in my life to reveal Himself to me and for that I am forever grateful!! God bless each of you and always remember to post in comments or e-mail me privately at kimstarkville@yahoo.com to share specific prayer requests~ feel free to continue sharing in the comments at the bottom of the posts~ your comment could touch someone else's life!
Moment by moment~
Kimberly

I am good and I love the Lord, don't you owe me?!?@!?

We talked a great deal about feeling owed. As Christians, we seem to think that if we are "good" if we tithe and give over and beyond, we pray, we volunteer, and we even serve that we are owed the desires of our heart. Let's stop and think about what we as good Christians are owed? Maybe in the past your thoughts have been, I gave generously, I am owed success in my business, I served, I am owed a sweet healthy baby, I prayed, you heard, now I am owed whatever it is that I asked you for, God. Here's the kicker~ DON"T MISS THIS~ you are owed only one thing. DEATH in an eternal HELL. Oh, but wait, normally when I am owed something I want it, I want that tax rebate that I am owed, I want that loan that someone borrowed, I am owed~ I normally like being owed, but not this time~ I don't want what I am owed. Hell and death???? Now for the part that you are not owed, but that God chose to give you free of charge. GRACE. If we were to define grace the definition would be: mercy, clemency, divine love and protection bestowed freely upon people. a favor rendered by one who need not do so, a reprieve or immunity.The state of being protected or scantified by the favor of God. Now remember this is from Webster's not the Bible, yet the definition used words like divine love ~ freely bestowed~ FREE~~ nothing on this earth is free, yet the one and ONLY thing that we need is a gift , a sacrifice ,a saviour and this gift is FREE!! See we can't do enough, work enough, give enough, serve enough to "earn" God's grace of eternal life. God's plan was for everyone to have the opportunity to take this free gift from Him ~ His sacrifice of Jesus Christ crucified on a cross, so that we can have forgiveness for our sins forever and leave this earth to spend eternity(that's forever) with Him in Heaven. Now what always shocks me is that people will stand in line for free food samples at Sam's, but yet there aren't people standing in line to accept the free gift of Jesus Christ~ what is wrong with that picture~ I will close with the following verses. 2 Peter 1:3-4
Phillipians 4:11-13, Ephesians 2:8 and Romans's 6:23. God gave us so much more than we could ever dream of being owed~ He gave His all~ and Jesus Christ took the wrath of God for us~ we could never be owed, nor could we earn that, but God loved you and me enough that He gave it freely to us! FREE OF CHARGE~~

Praying God's grace upon you~
Kimberly

Preparedness in His Provisions.....

Ok, well I have always known that in the midst of storms and difficult situations that God gives us provisions. Let me back up, I looked up the actual definition of provision, so that I could put the definition in adequate words. Keep in mind this definition is not from a Christian source, simply fromWebsters.

Provision:the act of supplying, the act of providing~ here is my personal favorite~ a measure taken beforehand to deal with a need or contingency.

I always understood in the midst of difficult times, God meets our needs sometimes in the smallest of details. Maybe you lost your baby, but God provided the friend that said just what God wanted you to hear. Maybe you have cancer and God gave you a sweet nurse that prayed with you, maybe you have a broken marriage, but God gave you scripture to hold on to. Maybe God has given you financial provisions. I don't know what your provisions are, as they are different from the provisions that God has given me. EXCEPT FOR ONE ~ THE GREATEST PROVISION THAT GOD HAS GIVEN ALL OF US HIS JESUS CHRIST. What a provision HE is!! The really neat thing that hit me the other day is the fact that God doesn't just zap us with these provisions right when we need them, see those provisions were prepared and orchestrated to the extreme long before you were even a thought into the world. In order to prepare our individualized provisions, HE had to know and understand the the tough situation and the exact way that we would feel pain, in order to know the exact provision to give us. Sometimes, there are temporary provisions that take us through one certain trial, then there are the provisions that last a lifetime that continue to bless over and over and over again. For example, the bluebird in my previous was a reoccuring provision, but for a temporary situation. Now, I have other provisions that are in my life for an entire lifetime~ this could be wonderful parents and family, wonderful Christian husband, children, etc... one long term provision that is also reoccuring is a friendship that I have had since I was 7 years old. This precious friendship has survived the unimaginable, we have shared loss, sorrow, cancer with both of our mothers, failed relationships, on and on .... through each of these trials the provision of this particular friendship is steadfast, it is steadfast, because even though we do not spend time together daily, we spend time daily talking about each other with Jesus! I do not see this friend every day, every month, and sometimes not even once a year. However, God allows this lifelong provision to remain. He knew 23 years ago, and long before that ~ this would be what I needed. Now, through provisions, come blessings that are totally related to God's grace and mercy which we will talk about tomorrow!! I hope that you can stop and think not only about God's provisions, but how HE actually worked to prepare them for you way before you would need them. I heard something the other day:

When you go to that holy place where you talk to Jesus, there are angels at His feet awaiting His every command, they ask Him what can we do to better serve your children and to bring them even more joy?
See, God always has you on His mind, with His plan for you, His prepared provisions for you, His purpose for you, YOU!! YOU!!! YOU!! HIS PRECIOUS ADORED CHILD!!
I am going to list some scripture about God and His provisions, take a moment to read them!

Psalm 68:10
2Peter 1:11
Genesis 22:13
Ephesians 2:10

As you go through the weekend~ think often and constantly about the one true steadfast forever provision from God~ Jesus Christ and remember His sacrifice was also prepared beforehand to save you from your sins even years and years later!!

Worthy only in Christ~
Kimberly

Back to the Basics......

So, it occurred to me that this blog is getting read by many people from many different places, you might notice I am writing this in larger lettering and in RED. That's because I find this post particularly important~ actually URGENT....Since I do not know every person that comes to this blog and reads about God' glory and God's speaking to us, and God's plan, His purpose... I realized that it is all in Fast forward motion~ First and foremost, we need to all know Jesus.. I want this post to simply explain how we come to know Jesus as our personal Savior. If you are already a Christian, I am sure that you know someone who does not know your Jesus, so maybe you can send them here to this post. I am going to list many scriptures~ if you do not have a Bible and you need further explanation~ please e-mail me at kimstarkville@yahoo.com~ I will send you a Bible and I will pray with you~ DON"T MISS THIS!! Jesus Christ is the son of God ~ he came and walked on earth and died on a cross at Calvary for all of your sins~ your sins from yesterday, today and the sins you will commit tomorrow. We cannot do enough good works or good things to get to Heaven. God is the only one good enough to give us His grace and mercy to allow us to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Salvation is based on Faith. It is not enough to have head knowledge~ you must believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is the only way to go to Heaven. Accepting Jesus Christ can occur right where you are at this moment. You can just stop what you are doing and if you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and that He is your Savior. Just pray a prayer something like this~ Dear God, I know that I am a sinner, I know that I am only worthy because of you~ please forgive me for my sins, I believe in you, I believe that you sent your only son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins so that upon my earthly death that I might spend eternity in Heaven with you. I desire to spend the rest me with you in my heart. I desire to honor ,serve,trust and obey you in all things.Please feel my heart with the Holy Spirit and change me from the inside out.
Amen~

Does saying this prayer and becoming a Christian mean that you are going to be perfect from here on out? NO WAY~ if you were perfect there would have been no need for Jesus to die on the cross~ you are a sinner and will always be, Jesus paid the price and took your place and made you worthy. I am listing the following verses, please look them up and contact me with any questions. If you are accepting Jesus Christ as your savior I would love to hear from you and have an opportunity to pray with you. Jesus Christ will change your life. HE is the only way ~ HE will never leave you alone. He is your creator and He absolutely longs for you His precious child.

John 3:16
Romans 6:14
Romans 8:2
1 Corinthians 15:42-44
2 Timothy 1:9
Luke 7:50
1 Corinthains 1:18
2 Corinthians 2:15

In God' abundant love~
Kimberly

Does God really speak to us?@!?!?

Well, the answer to that is Yes, absolutely 10000% God speaks to each of us~ the real question is do we stop and Listen to what He is saying to us. See just like our customized plan that we discussed in the previous post God speaks to each of His children in a different way. There are many many many ways that God speaks~ sometimes, His majestic mountains might speak to our hearts, or a beautiful spring rain that leads to a rainbow, maybe it is the homeless man asking for a dollar that gives you that little pull in your heart. Many times it is through His word~ He gives us scripture and many times He gives us each other. I have always been skeptical so to speak when I hear someone say " God told me....." I always want to say really, how can you be sure, did He yell that out to you~ did you hear Him audibly~ the answer~ probably not~ I think many times we put God away in a little box and pretend that the same God that raised Lazerus from the dead and walked on water and turned water into wine doesn't exist anymore which is such a lie from Satin. He exists now more than ever~ we pretend as if the day that Jesus stopped walking as a human on earth, that the miracles just stopped~ another big lie~ God doesn't need us, He wants us, He wants two way communication with us His children. He knows all, so why don't we take the time to ask Him ~ He is in every detail, so no discussion is trivial with God. Tonight, I was at a prayer group and there was a man there that I had never met before, He shared a very stressful prayer request~ I opened my Bible and had decided that when the group was leaving that I would give him Psalm 91. I opened my Bible to Psalm 91 so that I would have it ready and He immediately without knowing my thoughts or that my Bible was open to the specific scripture, shared that on Thursday his wife gave him a very special scripture Psalm 91 ~ I was amazed and I couldn't help it I just told him right then and there that I had marked my Bible to give him Psalm 91~ see many would chalk that up and consider it coincidence~ my dear sisters and brothers in Christ~ THAT IS OUR FATHER MAKING SURE THAT THIS SWEET MAN COULD CLING TO GOD'S WORD~ SO THAT HE COULD CLAIM THAT PARTICULAR VERSE~ GOD WANTS TO USE THAT IN HIS LIFE. I didn' know this man at all, but God does and God knew that He needed that verse. This is just one way that God speaks. When I pray to God I ask him to please speak very clearly to me, so that there is no misunderstanding, and He is faithful in revealing Himself in extremely clear ways, I will give one more example before closing for the night. When I became pregnant with my 4 year old, the fertility clinic called and said you're pregnant, but your progesterone level is a 2 and this is bad it should be like 22 at this stage in the pregnancy to sustain the baby~ this was a Friday afternoon, so they sent me home with little hope and explained without a doubt that I was on my way to my 3rd miscarriage. It was more than I thought I could bear and the fear overwhelmed me. I prayed for God's peace in that desperate moment, I prayed that He would show me His control and that everything was going to be ok one way or another. I was sitting in my home office which was later to become the nursery in Nashville, TN. It was a cold fall day,and the brightest bluebird that I had ever seen tapped on the office window. I didn't think too much about it, I since have learned that bluebirds are not out very often in cold weather and I had never seen a bluebird around our Nashville home, but the next morning again this bluebird kept tapping on the window. I would go in and acknowledge that I heard it and it would fly away. I told my Christian mother about my returning bluebird and she thought that perhaps my emotions were running a bit high ,probably a coincidence. Well, she came for a visit and the bluebird did not fail to miss a morning, that bluebird came rain, sleet and snow. 9 months passed, the office was now a nursery, and the bluebird had not missed a morning. I went to the hospital to have Bella and I brought her home, and I never saw the bluebird in Nashville again,I found peace in that bluebird in the midst of some fearful times, well the story gets better, we moved to Atlanta, and to my knowledge never saw a bluebird again, 4 years passed, no bluebirds, we moved to Birmingham, and I became unexpectadly blessed with another pregnancy ,but again fear set in, and I was overwhelmed ~ I again fell on my face before Jesus and prayed for peace and rest from fear. It was a February day a year ago, and David and I were standing in what would be the dining room of the house that we were having built. It was so cold, and as we looked out of what would become the dining room window a bluebird flew right towards us .As I wept over a bluebird, I found God's promise for me , His peace for me. See it might not be a bluebird, God speaks differently to each of us. I promise you though, that if you are willing to listen to Him He will tell you some amazing things and provide you with love and peace like no other can. See for me it is not coincidence in the bluebird ,even though skeptics could call it that . That little bluebird sent from God Himself helped me hear His voice of peace at the moment that I needed to hear it. I just get so excited at the anticipation of what He wants to tell me next. We do not serve some far away God that sits so far way on a throne where He cannot be reached and cannot hear us. We serve a God that adores us, that made us for His glory, that loves to talk to us and hear us and He loves miracles and He knows all things and understands every fiber of your being. He is alive, in your heart and all around you at every second of every moment of every single day!! It is my prayer for each of you that God is so tangiable in your life that the little bluebirds never become coincidences!!! I am praying for each of you daily, if you have specific prayer requests feel free to either post them in comments, or you can e-mail them to me privately at kimstarkville@yahoo.com

Until His name is Heard everywhere~
Kimberly
Matthew 7:7-8

But Wait.... this wasn't part of my plan!!!!

If you were to look back in a 1995 class yearbook from Starkville Academy ~ you would find in my senior class prophecy something to the effect that Kimberly comes back to the 2020 class reunion with 7 beautiful screaming kids!! Yes, that's right 7!! I have always been maternal~ I was queen of babysitting even at the young age of 12 ~I had a plan "the perfect plan" at least in my mind.I finished high school, graduated college, married and had this perfect vision of the white picket fence and tons of babies everywhere with a wonderful Christian husband that was home every night. Well, I did the whole graduate from college thing and married the wonderful Christian husband, he's a pilot so the home every night was not part of the plan~ the 7 beautiful kids was not part of the plan. I never in a million dreams ever even considered or entertained the thought that I would have trouble having babies much less lose babies. THAT WAS NOT PART OF MY PLAN. See at this point in my life although I was a Christain, I had yet to realize that God's plan for me was bigger and better than my own. I had always been a pretty good girl, never caused my parents very much trouble~ I deserved my desires ~ I deserved to have a child right when I wanted one~ what had I done wrong. It was 2002~ I had been married a few years and I had just suffered my second miscarriage in the midst of chaotic fertility drugs and treatment. David and I had come into contact with a little girl who once had a loving very successful mother that had now turned into a prostitute to get her crack fix. David and I spent months and months helping them and we finally got this sweet mother into rehab. We were driving in my car one Sunday afternoon after months and months of driving around at 3 am to find her and get her to a safe hotel room. I looked over at her on this cold Sunday night and I said you know we have talked about Jesus and I have prayed for you~ you shoot up to get high and I shoot myself with needles to get pregnant~ you threw away your daughter and I would give anything to have a daughter~ this stone cold woman began to weep before my eyes~ I was amazed~ that night we took her to rehab, she could not have visitors for 7 days~ so the following Sunday, David and I made the hour and a half drive to visit her and take her clothes,etc...while making my first step into the door~ the lady that we came to visit introduced us to a new friend that she made that had lost both of her sons to the state.This new friend began to tell me how she just couldn't stop smoking crack even though she was carrying the most beautiful 8 month pregnant belly I had ever seen in all my life~ David and I returned to the car and it was silent~ he said you know it's really not about you~ I didn't care~ I was furious and bitter and that night, my dialogue with Jesus was not pretty it went something like" oh yeah God when you threw the pregnant crack addict at me I was witnessing about you~ I gave to the VBS budget last week ,I am at church constantly and you trusted a crack addict with a baby more than me. Anyway, making a long story short the next day was a Monday and I was eaten up ~ I didn't take phone calls and I didn't leave the house~ David had left for a trip, so I had plenty of time with just me and the Lord~ "my plan" had been thrown out of the window~ I did not respond well to being a failure~ I deserved a baby~ I couldn't deal with losing yet another baby~ didn't God know that I had all I could handle ,I could not take this anymore~ all day I screamed and cried out ~see even in the midst of my anger, my Father loved me enough to hold on and not let go~ Tuesday morning came and it was clear that I needed to go to the church alter~ there was only one problem, I didn't go to the church alter on Sundays when the preacher opened it up for people to go forward, much less was I going to go to the alter on a Tuesday morning~ BUT ~ I went ~ I went in PJ pants and an old T-shirt no make-up~ I didn't want to see a soul, so I snuck in the side door and went to that alter~ I stretched my arms as far as they could reach and I cried on my face before my Father~ after a good 45 minutes or so a dear sweet children's minister at our church came and knelt beside me ~ she put her arm around me and took me into her office ~ I told her that I was completely broken~ she said and I will never forget~ " great, now we can see what the Lord really wants to do"~ I was shocked~ we got on our knees and she prayed~ she said Father you know this woman's heart and we pray boldly before your throne for a baby fully expecting your will to be done. See I had been a Christain for 16 years at this point ,I had been a foreign missionary in Honduras, I had done tons of mission trips, I read my Bible~ but even though this Tuesday morning that Winter was not part of "my Plan" it was part of God's ~ I was broken that day and I told God that if I never had children, I never wanted another 24 hours between us like the previous had been. I learned that day at the alter that I needed to stop seeking God's hands~ I needed to seek His face ~ I needed to practice true faith ~ being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see. Because of that Tuesday morning at the alter broken before Jesus, a few months later when my mother called and had breast cancer that had spread into her lymphnodes, it was going to be Ok, because I knew my Father in a different way, a year later, when a grandmother that I adored and if 2 people could share the same soul, it would be me and her~ as she drew her last breath, I held on to that cold Tuesday morning with Jesus at that alter~ See that Tuesday morning at the alter didn't exist in any part of "my plan" and as difficult as it was~ I wouldn't take anything for that life changing moment that day~ God's plan is always bigger and better than ours~ when we can't stand on our own, He stands for us, when we cry, His tears are bigger ~ when our heart breaks, He holds the pieces and His breaks for us too~ We serve a Father that adores us all of the time, and wants us to step away from our preconceived plans so that we can receive the perfect plan that only comes from Him. I know I posted Jeremiah 29:11 in a previous post, but I want to post it again~ it is such an inspiring verse. No matter where you find yourself today ~ God's plan for you is in the works~ He does not sleep, He does not rest when it comes to you and His plan for you is on His mind constantly and at the top of His "to do" list~ although there are things that we may or may not ever understand while we are here~with God, there is always specific purpose and a specific plan designed and individualized just for you~no two beings have the same plan, God loves you enough and thinks that you are important enough to have a customized plan. Sometimes His plan requires us to wait and that is difficult, but so worth it~ God is spectacular all of the time!!

As we all seek His plan,
Kimberly
Isaiah 40:27-31

Is there really purpose in my pain?!?!?

On Wed. nights we have been talking about purpose and plans that are ordained by God. When you are at a difficult place~ it can be so difficult to praise and glorify God~ one thing on Wed. nights that we talk about is getting real before the Father~ we do not seek "church" answers from one another~ we share raw honesty~ we acknowledge that we serve a Father that wove and spun us ~ that He knows more about us than we know about ourselves~ the next sentence might shock and offend some of you that are on the journey of infertility~ YOUR PURPOSE IS NOT TO BE A MOTHER~ we talk a great deal about this in our Bible study~ YOUR PURPOSE IS TO GLORIFY JESUS CHRIST~ there is purpose in your pain~ this pain can eat you up and destroy you~ Satin would love that by the way, OR~ this pain can provide purpose to fall at your Father's feet and find peace that covers and envelopes your very being~ HE wants this peace for YOU~ I can sooo take myself back to the desperate longing that I had for a baby~ it is a desperate place and at points it absolutely consumed me~ what was supposed to be a natural indescribable gift from God began to destroy my Father/Daughter relationship~ I constantly sought His hands~ when instead I should have been seeking His face~ His voice that wanted to speak to me~ His ears that wanted to Hear me and His eyes that wept for me ~ when I cried He cried harder~ today at church something caught my attention~ there is not a pain that we will ever endure that Christ has not endured~ I never really thought about the human part of God~ that thirst that He felt on the cross was a similar thirst that a dying person endures~ He was broken, He was misunderstood, He was wronged, He was cheated, He had Heartache, He was tempted. He endured that to even be closer to us~ to save every wrong that we could commit~ He took God's wrath for us!!In Jeremiah 29:11 God talks about His plan for us a plan for us to prosper us , not a plan of harm, a plan for the FUTURE~ He doesn't say I had a plan for you or I'm thinking up a plan for you~ HE HOLDS THE FUTURE FOR YOU~ Since He is all knowing why don't we ask Him, why don't we talk to Him and then stop to listen to what He wants to say~ yes and no answers are easier than wait~ with yes or no there is finality~ with wait ~ the longing is still there~ I want to share one of my favorite verses that Paul wrote~ you might here me share about him frequently~ he is one of my favorite writers. This is also a prayer that I pray for each of you~ Ephesians 3:14-19~

(paraphrased)I pray that you being established in love can have the strength to comprehend how wide, how high , how deep, and long is the love of Christ~ His love is Higher than the Heavens, wider than the oceans, deeper than the seas and longer than forever~ I hope that you all have a great night~ I am praying for you moment by moment each and every single day!!

Praying God's richest blessings rain upon you~
Kimberly