It's Really Almost Over

Wow, another year has come and gone and we get to now embark upon a new journey into a time that some of us could have never imagined. Some friends and I were talking about technology and how much it has changed over the last decade. We talked about how far cell phones had come and how even the media we take in is so much different than what it used to be! It’s amazing to think about all of the changes that have taken place over the last ten years and who knows what’s coming in the next ten!
This conversation also caused me to take a deeper look at 2009! There were a lot of victories for me personally as well as in our community as a whole. There was also some heart ache, disappointment and many things that we never saw coming. However, despite the challenges or the victories the truth still remains that we made it! We are journeying into a year that so many people will never get to see and we have the unique opportunity to create the life that we always envisioned for ourselves at the dawn of this new day!
I encourage you to take a look at your life right now and to think about where you want to be by the end of 2010. Vow daily to take steps towards these goals so that they go from imagination to reality. No matter what it is, I promise you that with determination and faith all things are possible for those that believe! The question that you have to ask yourself is, “Do I believe?” If the answer is yes, you will be able to overcome challenges and you will make progress that you never believed possible. Take the risk and do your best to live the life that you know that you deserve! I know that I will!
If 2009 was great for you, make 2010 even better! If 2009 presented unparalleled challenges, take the lessons that you’ve learned and use them as building blocks to make 2010 better! It’s up to you folks!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Just Stop It!

I am so bothered right now, and I really just want people to stop it. “Stop what?” you might ask. Well let me tell you. I want people to stop claiming that they are “Christians” while displaying anything but the love of Jesus Christ. Christian by definition means that you are a follower or disciple of Jesus Christ. A student of Jesus Christ. To be a student of Jesus Christ means that you study his life and how he handled people and situations. Well when we look at the behavior of Christ in comparison to the behavior of people that are claiming to be followers of him we find a major disconnect.

You see one of the main things that Jesus was known for during his time on earth was his love and compassion. You see many times in the gospels Jesus is called compassionate. Compassion doesn’t involve being judgmental. Compassion doesn’t involve damning people to hell. Compassion doesn’t involve turning your back on those in need. Compassion doesn’t involve putting other people down to feel better about yourselves. There are so many things that compassion doesn’t involve, but we as “Christians” are known for doing them.

Now that we’ve established what compassion is not let’s talk about some great examples of what compassion is. Compassion is giving sacrificially so that those who are in need around you won’t be without. Compassion involves looking out for the needs of others and not solely focusing on your own. You might not get all of the sleep that you need, you might not buy all of the stuff that you want, you may not get to lay around chilling as much as you like. But that’s the life of a person that shows compassion. It’s not all about you or what you want!

When truly living the life of a Christian you recognize that Jesus lived a life of sacrifice and you are supposed to emulate. As his disciple you study what he did and then you make it a point to do it. He didn’t judge those that were in need when he met them, he took those opportunities to meet their needs. He didn’t condemn those in sin, he spoke a word to them to help them get out of it. In every situation Jesus did all that he could with what he had to change the lives of the people that God brought into contact with him! As his disciple you should purpose to do the same! And if you feel like you can’t or you just won’t maybe you should reconsider what it means to truly be a Christian and whether or not you’re up to the challenge!

Do You Remember The Time

So yes, this was the title to one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs, but it is also an overused theme in the enemy’s camp. Over the years I have found that when I am even slightly on task, the devil will take extra special care to remind me of all of the things that were negative in my past. No matter what place I’m in currently he seeks with all of his power, which really isn’t much when you think about it, to take me back to the place the I used to be in, feeling the feelings that I used to feel there, thinking the thoughts that I once thought, with the people that I used to be around. There is generally a reason that all of that stuff; the places, thoughts, feelings, and people, are in my past and didn’t make it to my present, and he tries to negate all of that and get them there anyway.

The unfortunate thing is that his suggestions are somewhat powerful. They will get you to start journeying back into time to relive some of those moments. Usually he’ll start with some of the more positive ones, but without fail he’s going to hit you with the negative sooner or later, and it’s the negative thoughts that cause us to miss the mark currently. It’s the negative thoughts that will make us self sabotage in our current walk. It’s the negative thoughts that will have us doubting people in our present relationships. It’s the negative thoughts that will have us believing that we’re not worthy of great friendships or relationships. It’s the negative thoughts that will drive us over the edge of sanity and reason, and have us doubting everything that we honestly know in our hearts to be true. And at the end of the day that’s all that the enemy really wants and needs.

He doesn’t really care whether or not we’re doing things that are evil. He just needs to make sure that we are not doing what we’re supposed to be doing at the time. You see when we’re purposeful he’s in danger. That’s when we reach people for the Kingdom of God. That’s when people get to experience the love of Jesus Christ through us. That’s when people know that they’re life is not over. That’s when people learn that God is a God of many chances because of his mercy and grace. That’s when they realize that there really is a way out of the hell that they’re experiencing. That’s when people make a decision to walk away from the foolishness and into their own purpose. That’s when people find their freedom to fully be who God created them to be. There is liberation for others in us being on task. That’s why we have to make it a number one priority in our lives.

All of this to say that the next time the devil whispers in your ear, “Do you remember the time?” respond in kind. Ask him if he remembers the time that God saved your life when he shouldn’t have. When God should have punished you but he didn’t. When God provided for you when you didn’t have any money. When God loved you when you were your most unloveable. I find that those types of memories usually shut up his foolishness really quickly. They also serve as a catalyst to keep you on track and focused on the things that really matter in your life which are living 100% for God and focusing on his purpose for you in this day.

Keeping It 100

So I was reading this book and in it the author made a very simple, yet life changing statement. He said, “You bring glory to God by being you.” See I told you that it was simple. I also told you that it was impactful. I mean think about it, you bring maximum glory to God when you are 100% genuine, not a shell of who he created you to be. We spend some much of our time hiding different aspects of who we really are so that we can fit in no matter where we’re at. In the process we lose a lot of what would bring God glory. You weren’t made to fit in you were born to stand out. So why is that even with knowing this it is still a daily struggle for me to keep it 100? I still live a life full of compromise when it comes to being 100% me Why do I feel the need to change in order to be accepted when I am already accepted by the one that matters most?

I guess that it’s just the way that I’ve been conditioned by society. Nobody really wants to know the real you. They would prefer the watered down version of who you really are. The one that fits into their perfect little box of who you should be. Well today I have decided to break out of the box. I am not perfect now, nor will I ever be on this side of creation, but I can focus on being the perfect Kristin. The one that is super silly, and likes to laugh really loud. The one that sleeps with a teddy bear sometimes, and still loves to color in coloring books. The one that eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner and that likes to swing really high on the swings. The Kristin Denise that is sometimes shy even while being very opinionated. That’s who God made me to be. I am most perfect when I am perfectly comfortable in my skin. That is when I bring Him true glory. At the point where I stop hiding and making it seem as if I believe that God made a mistake when he created me this way I am in the perfect position to point people in the direction of the freedom that can only be found in him. My freedom may help them to realize that freedom is really an option for them as well. It’s at this point where they might realize that they no longer have to surrender how they choose to live their life to popular opinion, but they can now become completely surrendered to God’s love. I mean if you have to surrender to something, you might as well surrender to the one thing that will set you free!

Chasing After You

We spend so much of our lives chasing after something. As children we chase after our parents approval. As teens we chase after our peers acceptance. As students we chase after knowledge. Many young adults are chasing after careers or relationships. Some of us get so caught up in chasing after stuff that we fail to realize who’s chasing after us.
I’ve been extremely reflective over the last couple of day and I have been able to see that there have been so many times over my life where God was chasing after me trying to get my attention. However, me being the special person that I am, I have kept chasing after other things instead of turning around and jumping to His warm embrace. I’ve spent countless years chasing after acceptance, love, purpose, and validation and I’ve cried countless tears over my lack of success. It just seems so amazing to see that everything that I have ever wanted was chasing right behind me.
I truly thank God that HE was patient enough to wait on me to get it together. You see I always knew that there was something behind me, but for the longest time I thought that it was all of the stuff that I was trying to get away from. The past mistakes, the broken relationships, the low self-esteem, the thoughts of suicide, and all of the other things that I was trying to run far away from. The reality was that it was God chasing after me in an effort to save me from the very things that I was running from and trying to give me the things that I was chasing after. I just wouldn’t slow down long enough to figure it out.
Once I finally grew tired of running God captured my attention and soon enough my heart. Funny thing is that after he finally had me right where he wanted me he let me go. And that’s when I began my pursuit of him.
It kind of reminds me of a scene I saw in a park once. There was a father who playfully chased behind his daughter. He let her run, but he never allowed her to get to far out of his reach. As soon as she began to get tired he would scoop her up into his arms and hug and kiss and tickle her and then he would put her down and immediately she began to chase after him. It was like the loves that she felt in the moment that she was captured gave her the energy that she needed to go after Him to relive that feeling again. For them it was a continuous game of cat and mouse.
For God and I it’s the same thing, and that is why I will forever be chasing after him!

Crutches

So one night as I adult sat for my friend that had surgery a little over a week ago he introduced me to this HBO series called “Brave New Voices.” This show was so freaking awesome, as it had camera crews follow a few of the teams that would compete in the national youth poetry slam competition in DC. You saw their creativity, their inner struggle, and their heart as they wrote some of the most moving pieces that I have ever heard in my life.

One girl’s story touched me in particular. She was a young lady from New York that had Cerebral Palsy and a lot of what she wrote stemmed from what she dealt with as she went through life with this apparent limitation. The last piece that she performed in the slam competition was entitled crutches and in it she really shared how she felt about the way people treated her like she wasn’t there or like she was not intelligent and it was one of the most moving things I have ever, ever seen. What made it so phenomenal was the fact that you saw her journey to this moment. You saw her overcome the limitations that she had placed on herself as a result of her physical limitations. You saw her conquer low self-esteem, you saw her find her voice and move a step beyond finding her own to help others find theirs. She went from shy and timid to loud and outspoken! She really changed lives that day! She let go of the things that she thought she needed in order to be successful and found that she was so much more successful without them. Putting aside one crutch and her glasses, two things that she didn’t think she could make it without, she changed the lives of tons of people; those that were privileged enough to be at the competition, and those who have the privilege of witnessing it months later.

I’m crying right now as I relive that part of the show where she shared this phenomenal piece of inspiration. Where she encouraged people to really think about how they treated others and how they allowed others to treat them. She let them know that she didn’t have time to stand in the middle of road like a wounded animal waiting on them to get it together! It was amazing!!!!!! She touched a special place in everyone. There was not a dry eye around, because in that moment people could so identify with where she was coming from. Although most of them would never know the pain of a physical limitation, they understood what the mental ones could do and had been doing to them. She inspired them to let go of their crutches, whatever they may be through simply letting go of her own. She went from insecure to empowering and she changed so many lives because of it.

It really made me think. I had to ask myself, what crutches am I holding on to in my life, and whose life might be changed if I suddenly became brave enough to let them go as God helps me to realize that I really don’t need them. I challenge you to ask yourself that same question.

Welcome Into My World

Welcome into my heart, my life, my world. I hope you enjoy what you see, and even if you don't I can't apologize because I am only being me. I can't promise that it will all be perfect, or even that you will agree. I can only promise you that I will be 100% K. Denise. God has shown me a lot, he has really taken me far. God has taken me on an amazing journey that started when I let him into my heart. I am now sharing what I have learned, what the Lord has allowed me to see. I am doing my part to make the world a better place, by being purely me! Enjoy!