Category: blessings

blessings, communication, faith, faithful, Family, family trips, God, God's love, Jesus, religious, Uncategorized, voices

Verifying Voices

katietkennedy

It was a rainy Tuesday morning and I was headed to the bank to rummage through our safety deposit box. My mission was to find my husband’s passport. We were preparing to travel and I was gathering the necessary documents to get TSA approved.

Inside the bank, I requested access to our box. The employee informed me I was not on the account. I asked if we could call my husband and have him add me to the account. I learned they could only do this if an employee at the bank had encountered enough interactions with him that they could verify his voice. I thought this was slightly odd but awaited their response. Had my husband frequented the bank enough that his voice could be verified over the phone?

A teller spoke up and said she could recognize his voice. We made the call and I got added to the account. This gave testimony to my husband’s personality. His friendly demeanor and tall stature make him easy to recognize and remember. While I wasn’t successful in finding the passport, the adventure got me thinking about our unique voices.

It reminds me of God. He knows our distinctive voices. He knows the tone and cadence of our voice better than anybody, He created us after all. In addition to our voice, He knows our hearts and thoughts. God knows when we are praising Him or speaking slander about someone. He also knows when we are hurting so greatly we can’t even put words together.

God can recognize our voice, but can we recognize His? Are we getting to know Him through the words in the Bible? He won’t yell at us through the frenzy, we must carve out stillness to hear Him. “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

animals, blessings, challenges, faith, faithful, Family, fortitude, God, God's will, Jesus, Uncategorized

Hovering Cows

katietkennedy

One Friday afternoon a business associate invited my husband and I to the country for a social gathering. It was over an hour away and as we neared the location we wondered where we were going. The event was being held on someone’s private property, up on a hilltop.

As we drove up the road, it got steep and bumpy. We winded our way up the gravel drive and met some cows on our path. Momma and baby cows were all around us. We had to coax a few calves off the road so we could pass by. 

This reminds me of our faith journey. We are heading up in our sanctification process (hopefully). As we follow Jesus He will keep us on the right path, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6). There will be challenges and unexpected visitors on the way (cows in this case) but we must keep going, slowly yet still progressing. 

We take one step forward at a time and trust in our Heavenly Father to lead us. This is the challenging part. We don’t know all His plans for us, nor all the why’s, yet we need to keep trusting even when we can’t
see around the bend. We recall in the past at other turns, He has always been there. Yet, you still wonder what if this time He forgets me. Of course, He doesn’t, He meets us yet again for another trial, another challenge.

When we finally made our way up to the top, there were majestic views of the valley below. I was glad we had arrived safely. While it wasn’t an easy trip, it was worth it. The fresh air and the stars were magnificent.

We don’t always understand the paths the Lord takes us on. We keep praying for our will to be His will. We remind ourselves He keeps His promises and will always be with us. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) 

Bible, blessings, children, clothes, faith, faithful, Family, God, Uncategorized

Shedding the Clothes

katietkennedy

Over Thanksgiving, we got the stomach bug. The timing was unfortunate. It started with one of the kids on Wednesday night. By the time she recovered on Saturday, the rest of us weren’t feeling well. Everyone had various symptoms but we were all suffering.

After a few days of laying around feeling miserable, I felt a tinge better. I went into my closet and removed the cozy sweatshirt I had been wearing for the past few days. I was tired of feeling crummy and done with wearing my sick clothes. Even if I didn’t feel dramatically better, putting on fresh clothes might improve my overall wellness. I was thankful I had the energy and desire to put on something fresh.

This reminds me of our faith journey. We are called to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

When we follow Christ, we shed our old ways. This is a process of course and takes the work of the Holy Spirit. Regardless, we are new creatures in Christ. We are to follow His ways and align our will with His.

We have the opportunity to be washed clean every day. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, our sins are forgiven. When we come and repent to the father, He frees us of our past burdens and allows us to march forward in Him.

The sweatshirt I wore while I was sick kept me warm. Once I started feeling better it felt like a hindrance, something I no longer needed. In Christ, we shed our old ways and put on our new self. We free ourselves of past sins, poor decisions, and start fresh. What a gift!

animals, beauty, Bible, blessings, dog, faith, faithful, Family, freedom, God, Jesus, nature, puppies, religious, scripture, spiritual, Uncategorized, wonder

Inquisitive wonder

katietkennedy

At five-month-old, our puppy Blue looks at the world with such wonder. When he sees a bug moving on the ground he stares intently, watching its every move until he decides to touch or maybe taste the fascinating object.

When we take Blue for a walk, he is amazed at the falling leaves. He tries to pounce on them until there are too many for him to get, or until something else begs for his attention. He has such wonder for the world. Such curiosity. It’s similar to a little kid seeing fireworks for the first time or noticing an airplane in the sky.

This reminds me of our faith journey. When we are young, we are easily impressed with the world around us. As we age, the marvels of the world can become mundane. I appreciate watching my puppy explore the world. It reminds me how amazing this place is that God created. Do we still look at this world with wonder and interest? Do we marvel at the little things? Most importantly, do we gaze at the Bible with focus and intentionality?

While Blue’s attention span might be limited, his ability to notice the interesting in the everyday does not escape me. You don’t have to go out and buy a puppy in order to pay attention to the details of life. It just takes some intentionality and the ability to slow down long enough to observe the beauty around you.

I pray we all take time to marvel at the world around us, at God’s creation, and appreciate His works.

“How great are your works, O Lord!” (Psalm 92:5)

animals, Bible, blessings, children, dog, faith, Family, forgiveness, freedom, God, God's grace, God's will, Jesus, mistakes, parenting, religious, spiritual, Uncategorized

Puppy Passion

katietkennedy

We recently got a new puppy and named him Blue. Our three daughters adore him. My husband and I have also grown quite fond of him. Blue doesn’t deserve this love. In fact, he’s destructive and bites everyone non-stop. His actions don’t merit our unconditional love for him. Yet, we give it to him anyway.

Blue rips holes in our shirts, unties our shoes, and steals our sneakers. A few minutes after he is naughty we come to tell him how adorable he is. He can hardly do wrong in our eyes.

This reminds me of our faith journey. We can be like this puppy at times. We know what we are supposed to do but still choose to make poor decisions. We mess up all the time. We forget to praise the Lord. We don’t show gratitude and we lack trust and obedience. For all of our mess-ups, God is still waiting for us to come back to Him.

It’s amazing if you think about it. We sin over and over again. We only need to come humbly to our Father and ask for forgiveness. My family’s love for Blue doesn’t change based on his behavior. Neither does God’s love for us.

We hide from God embarrassed of our mistakes. God wants us to come to Him. Sin separates us from God when we let it. Don’t let pride or anything come in between you and our amazing Father. Repent and turn toward Him.

blessings, children, dental work, faith, faithful, Family, forgiveness, fortitude, God, God's grace, God's will, Jesus, moms, parenting, perseverance, religious, spiritual, teeth, Uncategorized, women

Savoring the Smile

katietkennedy

We’ve had a lot of dental work done lately. Lots of lost teeth, spacers being put in, molds being made, braces, etc. This is probably why teeth are on my mind.

My kid’s joke I should have been a dentist, or a dental hygenist. I find all teeth-related things fascinating, especially when my kids have an adult tooth trying to emerge into its new home. My kids get annoyed when I keep asking them to open their mouths so I can see how the new teeth are coming in. It’s amazing to me how one day you can see a tiny little white spec, then weeks or months later, an adult tooth or moler is in its resting place. How is that possible? How do they know where to go and how fast to travel down the path? Watching this process happen is enthralling. God is amazing in how he designed us.

How could teeth possibly remind me of our faith journey? Well, they arrive slowly yet surely. They move in such small increments we can’t visibility see them. We only see movement in days, weeks, and sometimes months. Isn’t that like our faith journey? God slowly works to sanctify us, one act of repentance and forgiveness at a time. He slowly molds and changes our hearts. He doesn’t work quickly, but rather over the long run. You can’t judge the changes in your heart daily, you need to look at the long view. Only then can you identify how He has been working in your life.

When you look at an x-ray, you can see the teeth that are not visible from a human eye, the ones coming down the track. You can’t rush them, they come in at their own pace. Even with modern medicine, a dentist or orthodontist doesn’t have a way to fast-track the process.

God does not rush our sanctification process. His timing is perfect and divine. We may wish He would hit the fast forward button but it’s to our benefit He doesn’t. He will teach us what we need to learn in His timing, not ours.

When He calls us home, hopefully we have a beautiful set of adult teeth all perfectly in their spot. Ok enough with the dental analogies. Our goal is to become more Christ-like on earth. To grow and develop in the areas He wants us to. We won’t ever achieve perfection like Jesus, but we can still grow and be strengthened in Him.

blessings, children, courage, dream, faith, Family, God, God's will, hunting, nature, parenting, religious, Uncategorized

Cheerfully Chosen

katietkennedy

My husband and my daughters submitted a video to be considered in a photoshoot for a hunting organization. My husband Jonathan loves to hunt so this was a natural fit.

I helped them take a few videos and pictures while dressed in head-to-toe camo, and Jonathan sent them off. A week later, he was told he had been selected and they also wanted one of our daughters.

My husband was out of town when he got the news. We called him and I put my daughter on the phone. She hung up the phone after speaking with him and had the most precious look on her face. Her smile got huge, she looked into my eyes and tenderly said, “They picked me.” She spoke with surprise, humility, and delight. She seemed shocked they had chosen her.

This reminds me of our faith journey. We all desperately want to be known, seen, and heard. My daughter’s humility spoke of her character. I was excited for her. It feels good to be chosen, and it was important for this pre-teen girl to be seen and selected.

The great news is God sees you and me every day! He loves you and never takes His eyes off you. Wow! That is hard to comprehend. If only we walked around with that confidence every day, letting the negative comments bounce off us.

God knows you and loves you. Getting that information into our hearts takes some work, and an enemy is trying to block that truth from penetrating. Psalm 139:1 states, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me!”

If I could share her joy that afternoon, I would. That same joy felt by my daughter can be felt by you. You are known, loved, and cared for by the One that matters most.

Bible, birds, blessings, bravery, courage, dream, faith, faithful, freedom, God, God's grace, God's will, Jesus, perseverance, religious, scripture, sin, spiritual

Flying with Freedom

katietkennedy

How Christ’s sacrifice was meant to set us free from sin.

In the back of our house, we have a screened-in porch. The screen is starting to show signs of aging but there are no huge obvious holes. There are a few small slits, but it should keep out larger animals, or so we thought.

One day my eye caught motion inside the porch. When I went out to examine, I found a bird flying around fluttering from one corner to the next, obviously very distressed. I opened the door to the outside and walked at an angle towards the bird to entice it to fly away from me, towards freedom.

The first time this happened it took us by complete surprise. After the third one, my husband and I now take turns freeing the birds. I still don’t know how they make their way in, but I’m thankful we have been able to help them find freedom.

This reminds me of our faith journey. A lot of people find themselves like those birds, stuck inside four walls, not being able to find the exit. They fly around stuck in their sin not seeing a way out. Satan is good at helping us find this spot. He likes us here, convincing us we don’t deserve otherwise. God says something very different.

Jesus has ALREADY made a way out for you and me through His sacrifice! You don’t have to wait for someone to come open the door and let you out, He took care of that when He died on the cross. He made a way out for all of us! It’s pretty incredible if you think about it.

Are you ready to accept the freedom waiting for you outside those four walls? Are you ready to experience the path God has for you? Are you ready to turn over your sin to Jesus and follow him?

“For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1)

Bible, blessings, challenges, children, faith, faithful, sin, Uncategorized

Smothering the Scent

katietkennedy

One evening I headed upstairs to put my kids to bed. As I walked into my youngest daughter’s room (who is seven), I was blasted with a pungent smell. She immediately started saying sorry and explained the reason for the odor.

She had opened a container of nail polish. She didn’t actually put any on, but the act of opening the jar had smelled up her room. In our house nail polish needs to be done in the bathroom, and usually with mom’s permission.

When she realized the intense odor, she came up with plan B. Plan B involved taking hand sanitizer, rubbing it all over her hands, and waving them around the room. When this only increased the aroma in her room, she went to plan C, call in re-enforcements (big sister).

When I entered the room, older sister is by an open window (in the middle of winter) and I had a hard time distinguishing what scent I smelled. The two of them were scurrying around the room trying to make the odor disappear. I was especially light-hearted about this incident after I realized no harm was done, no property was destroyed, and no one was injured.

This reminds me of our faith journey. We sometimes try so hard to cover up our sin to God. We act as if we can hide things from Him. Instead of humbly coming to God and confessing our sins, we cover over them, or at least try to, just like my daughter did (usually making the situation worse).

Jesus died so we don’t have to carry around sin and burden we were not meant to carry. Don’t hide your sin from God, take it to Him, and let Him wash you clean. Remember the sacrifice He made for us and live in the freedom He desires for you. “For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1)

blessings, children, courage, faith, faithful, fortitude, God, God's will, Jesus, parenting, perseverance, positivity, refresh, religious, running, scripture, spiritual, women

Rapidly Running

katietkennedy

One brisk fall morning, my girls and I were on an early morning walk as my husband was leaving for work. As he began to pass us, my middle daughter who is ten started picking up speed and took off running adjacent to his truck. In our leisurely walk, I wasn’t expecting her to take off so suddenly.

Without looking back, she ran with all her might to keep up. When he stopped at the stop sign, she also stopped and leaned over to catch her breath. I was impressed with her stamina and determination to keep up with him. I admired her drive and joy.

This reminds me of our faith journey. Oh, if we could run our race like my daughter did that morning. “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1) 

What if we could run after God with the same intensity as she ran beside my husband’s vehicle? What if we did not grow weary of doing good for Him? What if we pumped our arms with enthusiasm and a huge smile on our face?

Imagine if all Christians chased after God with such veracity and drive? Maybe we all need to strap on our running shoes and be ready. Maybe we need to get out there and start walking so we will be prepared and ready as He leads the way.

We will need to occasionally stop and catch our breath, just like my daughter did. We need to constantly replenish ourselves in Christ and the truth the Bible shares. Then we can get back out there and continue the race.

“Let us not grow weary of doing good.” (Galatians 6:9)