So.... Just how far is the East from the West???

Pretty neat question! I wanted to post about this,because I hear people say all of the time, oh, I deal with this struggle, it's just God's way of punishing me for my past. Ok, stop, wait just a minute~ God doesn't work like that~when we ask for forgiveness God throws our sins as far as the east is from the west~ in case you missed it, that is infinite, neverending, he leaves them there, and then we are able to live in the ocean of His forgiveness~ I love that in Psalm 103:12 the Bible uses the east and west as reference~ NEVERENDING, we cannot even imagine or try to understand that analogy, but God can! Those sins that have been forgiven and forgotten, they don't stay with us once we ask for forgiveness. We don't stand at the place where Jesus found us~ we are forgiven~Jesus Christ conquered and erased all of our forgiven sin. Jesus picks us up where we are when we ask Him into our life and hearts~ then we ask for forgiveness~ we don't come before Him again at the same place where He found us. God doesn't want our relationship with Him to be about our sin! He wants sin far away from His children; thus Jesus died on that cross. Now, are Christians going to struggle with different issues, is life going to be difficult and challenging at times, ABSOLUTELY, it is in these times we are able to draw even closer to God, HOWEVER, these difficult times are NOT punishment in any way for the person you might have once been. He paid the price, so we would not constantly remain the person that we once were before we met Him. God felt that His forgiveness of your past was important to an extreme, this is the reason He sent the sacrifice of His only son, Jesus.

See the distance from the east and west is one scarred hand to another.

God's overflowing Mercy~
Kimberly
Psalm 103:12

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so our comfort overflows through Christ. If we are afflected, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is experienced in the endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, so you wil share in the comfort." 2 Cor. 1: 3-7

Today I did somthing a little unusual, at least for me....I had a yard sale. I know you are wondering why in the world I would be writing about such a subject. Well, it was a sort of God moment. I like to try to seek God in even the smallest things. A friend of mine needed some help making a little room in her basement and needed a little extra cash for an upcoming trip, so I suggested a yard sale. We loaded up three vehicles worth of stuff and went to my parents home and set up shop. I have never seen so many things....beautiful things. There were so many people who stopped by. I saw all kinds of people, young and old, short and tall, skinny and fluffy, pregnant and not pregnant. As I looked at all the baby things that needed to be sold and all of the people buying things for their children I thought about several things. One...there are so many people who desire to have children who can not who pass venues like this and are saddened. There are people who have children who pass away and they are burdened with the task of selling or giving away things and this brings them great saddness. I've had so many patients in my career who have to take down a nursery that they very much wanted to use and this brings great saddness. I want you to know that if you are, or have been, in any of the above situations 2Cor. 1: 3-7 is for you. Please remember that He is the God of ALL comfort. He comforts us in our afflictions. If others come to your rescue, let them...they are acting as an extension of the Father's hand in providing comfort to you.

I find hope, peace, and understanding in knowing that God knows all my hurts, hangups, and pains. My prayer for you is that our heavenly father will comfort you where ever you are at this very moment.

In Christ's love,
Belinda

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