Put Down the Donut!

Yesterday I walked in a 5k for my friend Lisa who has breast cancer. I am not going to lie..I woke up a little sore, a bit stiff. I had not walked around the block for 10 years much less over 3 miles. I used muscles that I had forgotten about, put to rest a while ago. My kids doubted me, Lakin was afraid I was going to have call someone to come pick me up because I wouldn't finish. My husband just shook his head and said, "It's just like you not to walk ever and then to just start off with a 5k. You could have worked your way up to this you know?"

Yeah, Yeah but I have a reason to walk. I have a reason to put one foot in front of another. I have this amazing Godly woman who is fighting for her life. Her faith in God is unshakable. Her attitude is inspiring. Her smile is infectious. She is going for a run even during chemo treatments. Have you seen a picture of her beautiful children? This is enough for me to put down that donut, get off the couch, and walk a few blocks. If I can show her I love her, support her, pray for her, and am rooting all the way for her to win by doing something uncomfortable I will. My little jaunt around the neighborhood is nothing compared to the people around Lisa who are taking her to treatments, caring for her children, cleaning her house, helping her financially with the huge bill, and in the daily grind of life with her.

But this really isn't about me or what others are doing for Lisa this about the God we love and serve. He says to bear one another's burdens, to love at all times, to be a team, the Body of Christ. When one of us gets knocked down, the rest us of should rally around and not only pick them up but carry them to the finish line. Yesterday I ran for team Lisa but every day I run for the one who created me. Today, I THANK God I am sore. It reminds me to pray for my friend.

"God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen." 

1 Peter 4:10-12

Bought For A Price

"Kimberley, why do you do all this stuff? Why do you choose to live this way? It doesn't seem easy?"

When my friend asked me this I took pause, Why? You are right easy isn't a word I would call my life. But I am not looking for easy. I choose to live my life THIS way because I was bought...with a price. My life is not my own to live.

If you went to the store and bought a gift, let's say a really expensive gift, and took it home, you would believe it was yours to keep. You would probably not expect it to do its own thing and walk out the door after you paid for it. You bought it. It's yours right?

Well, when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I realized my life was not my own to live because my heavenly father sacrificed His one and only son for ME. He paid the ultimate price with the blood of His son. The cost of having a relationship with God was high and even if I turn my back on Him or never choose to believe in Him, this priced was paid anyway. He gives all of us the free will to choose Him. Even though He bought us with the precious, perfect gift of Jesus, we can still walk away and say no.

When I looked up at the cross and saw Jesus there with His arms stretched wide and realized that God loves me beyond my human capacity to understand, I knew that my life would never be the same. That day I told God, I would trust and follow Him the rest of my life. I had no idea what He had in store for me. Again, it has not always been easy. I have failed often. I have stumbled. I have actually tripped and fell flat on my face a few times. But, I don't pull myself up by my bootstraps, dust off, and say well I'll try harder. Instead, I look into the face of my creator, full of mercy and grace, as He says, "Kimberley you will always be mine. I paid the price for you and nothing can shake you from my grasp. Every time you stumble or fall, I will be there to pick you up."

"God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world." 

1 Corinthians 7:23

Sweet Surprises!

The other day two of my friends came by my work to have lunch with me. They brought me yummy food but most importantly they came bearing donuts! They didn't stay long, since I only have 31 minutes to eat, but it was just enough to boost my spirit and put a smile on my face. Later that night a friend brought me home made chocolate chip cookies. Again, such a sweet surprise literally!

These gifts did not cost much. They were nothing extraordinary but they were..thoughtful. I felt loved, appreciated, and special because someone had taken time out of their day to do something nice for me. In return, it made me WANT to do something kind for somebody else. God started bringing people to my mind of who I needed to bless. Again, all it takes is a simple smile, a note, a coffee, a cupcake, a phone call, an encouraging text, a post-it with a verse, letting a person cut in line, giving up that great parking space, holding back your tongue, saying thank you. It can be anything done with a spirit of joy expecting nothing in return.

Can a few small acts of kindness change the world? Well it won't solve world hunger or stop all the wars or save the o-zone, but it can put a smile on a face! Taking time outside of our busy, hectic schedules to bless someone else reflects the God we love. Serving others in the small ways can be just as awesome as the big ways. Encouraging one another can give us a glimpse of heaven on Earth.

I challenge you to start looking for opportunities to encourage and serve someone around you. Not to feel good about yourself. Not to check off a box that you did your good deed for the day. But just because you serve a loving, loving God. Be intentional. Be specific. Be Joyful. Be grateful that you have the ultimate example of sacrifice hanging on the cross! 

"Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." 2 Corinthians 13:11

I Am in Awe!

"The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. You care for the land and water it, you enrich it abundantly." Psalms 65:8-9a

My family and I are spending our fall break hanging out and relaxing on Mt. Lemon. We are blessed to have friends who generously share their gorgeous cabin with us. Right now I am sitting on the front porch listening to the wind rustle the leaves in the tree. I hear birds singing songs to each other. My kids are running around playing tag instead of plugged into electronics. I gaze out and see the mountain filled with all different colors of trees and flowers; red, green yellow, and even a splash of purple my favorite :) The sky is so blue and clear it almost seems unreal. I take a deep breath, fill my lungs with the fresh biting air only found in the mountains and I pause.....I truly am in AWE. I am awe that God had created something so beautiful for me to enjoy. I can't believe anybody can look around at nature and not acknowledge that something magnificent played a powerful hand in creating this. Not something but someone who has such pure love to paint the world with such fragile beauty. That same Person also made us in His image, another exquisite creation formed to bring Him glory.

God, what do you want me to know about you as I sit here trying to take this all in?

"Kimberley, I want you to try to grasp just a little bit how massive my love is for you and all my people. This amazing beauty surrounding you doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of how deep my love is for mankind. Those mountains are anthills compared to how high my love is for you. The vastness of the ocean cannot compare to how wide my love is for you. It is good to be in awe of the splendidness of your surroundings but more importantly look at the cross and see the ultimate sacrifice I made for all of you because of how much I love you."

Today, let's look around and search for the beauty of His love maybe in the face of a sleeping child, in the song of a bird, in the memory of an amazing picture, or in the actions of another...ask Him to reveal to you His wonderful creation, evidence of His abiding love. And if you still are blinded to these earthly miracles...just glance at the cross.

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ," Ephesians 3:17-18