Tag: faith journey

Bible, children, dental work, faith, faithful, Family, God, God's will, Jesus, parenting, religious, scripture, spiritual, teeth, Uncategorized

Seriously Straight

katietkennedy

My kids joke that I missed my calling as a dentist or dental hygienist. I find all teeth-related things fascinating. Especially when an adult tooth is trying to emerge into their young mouth. How does it know where to go and how fast to travel down the path? God is amazing in how he designed us.

In the last year, my daughters have had a fair amount of dental work done. Lots of lost teeth, spacers being put in, molds being made, braces, etc. This is probably why teeth are on my mind.

How could teeth possibly remind me of our faith journey? Well, they arrive slowly. They move in such small increments we can’t visibly see them. We see progress in days, weeks, and months.

Isn’t that like our faith journey? Progress is hard to notice as God slowly sanctifies us. One act of repentance at a time. We grow slowly as He molds and changes our hearts, interests, and goals. He doesn’t work quickly, but rather over the long run.

You can’t always judge the changes in your heart daily, you need to look in the rearview mirror. Only then will you see how God has been working in your life, and you can recognize His transforming work.

Keep pursuing Him, and He will set your course straight. “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6)

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!

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, blessings, books, challenges, children, courage, dolls, dream, enthusiasm, faith, faithful, Family, freedom, God, Jesus, moms, parenting, religious, spiritual, Uncategorized

Deliberate Dolls

katietkennedy

What a children’s book and our faith have in common

One evening I was reading to my six-year-old before bedtime. We were reading The Doll People by Ann M Martin & Laura Godwin. This children’s book tells a story of a doll Annabel and her family. They live in a dollhouse but can walk and talk. They only move about when their human owners are asleep or not home.

In the first book of the series, Martin & Godwin informs us how the dolls are created and made “real.” The dolls decide if they want to be a regular doll (giving up human abilities) or a doll person (can walk and talk). If they choose a doll person, they must take an oath.

Annabel is informed right before taking her oath that being a doll person is harder, it comes with great responsibility. It also comes with fun and adventure.

This reminds me of our faith journey. The Christian life is not easy. Although we don’t take an actual oath, we do commit our lives to Christ. We promise to live for Him instead of ourselves. This is no easy task.

In the book, if humans catch the dolls moving, they are thrust into doll state where they can’t move or talk for 24 hours. There are also rumors of a permanent doll state for serious offenses.

As Christians, when we mess up, thankfully we aren’t thrust into a paralyzed state like Annabel. Instead, we repent of our sins to our loving Father in Heaven. He doesn’t reprehend us, but rather washes our sins away. He doesn’t chastise us and shake His finger in our face. He accepts our burdens and mess. He cleans us off, and helps us get back up again. What an incredible Father we have!

Just as Annabel forgets, or chooses to ignore her oath on occasion, we sometimes forget who we are living for. Or we choose to go our own way knowing it’s not God’s plan.

Being a Christian comes with responsibility and risk. It also comes with a great reward.

Bible, blessings, bravery, challenges, courage, dream, faith, faithful, Family, forgiveness, fortitude, freedom, God, God's grace, God's will, Jesus, obedience, parenting, perseverance, pool, positivity, religious, scripture, spiritual, sprummer, swimming, water, women

Diving In

katietkennedy

I recently took my kids for swim lessons. With summer approaching and swim team on the cusp, I figured it was the perfect time to refine their skills. It had been a while since they had been in the pool.

I looked up to see one of my kids diving in. The first dive of the season is always a little awkward. By the end of the season, she is a diving fool. The first dive is full of reluctance. It’s more like a jump with her head tucked and arms arched forward. She lands vertical, feet hitting the water first.

You can see by her form she’s intending to dive and after a few more practices, she enters the pool headfirst and exudes more confidence. The jumping dive is quickly replaced by a real dive.

This reminds me of our faith journey. When we ask Jesus into our lives and start reading our Bible, we nod our head at what it says. We agree with the words. We understand what to do, but when it comes to diving in, we are kinda like my daughter diving for the first time that season. We are awkward and not sure how.

We have our heads tucked and arms out, but we can’t plunge in headfirst. We do the same thing my daughter does, some kind of dive/jump. Or we don’t get in at all and just stand there reluctantly on the sideline wanting to get in, knowing we need to, but not able to take the plunge.

One dive at a time we get more comfortable. As we continue to seek God through prayer and Scripture, He continues to fill us with His plan, His courage, His will. Our first jumps are uncomfortable, but we do them anyway.

As we act in obedience, we see His presence with us. The dives become easier. We don’t stand on the sideline anymore; we dive in knowing He will take care of the rest.

The first time I sent out my first blog (in obedience to Him). I closed my eyes and cringed as I hit the publish button. It seemed so official. I hope I wouldn’t get rejected.

Now I hit submit, knowing if I mess up, I can go back and edit. If people don’t like what I wrote, they can delete it.

It’s not about me, it’s about Him. The more I practice obedience, the easier it becomes and the more I can be a vessel used by Him in this world.

Oh, our loving Father is so amazing.

Don’t stand on the sideline anymore. Take the dive! God won’t push you in, but He will show you the way once you take the plunge.

Bible, blessings, communication, coronavirus, dream, extroverts, faith, Family, fishing, flowers, God, God's will, ideas, introverts, Jesus, moms, nature, parenting, Parks, positivity, religious, scripture, Uncategorized

Fishing for Fulfillment

katietkennedy

Sometimes it’s about the journey rather the finish line.

On a refreshingly cool summer day, a friend and I adventured to a nearby lake with our girls. The kids played in the water, rode boats, and ran through the sand. About halfway through the day, my friend pulled out kid fishing rods. I cringed. I have watched my husband spend hours untangling these rods. This was not how I envisioned my afternoon.

She took the rods out of the package and handed them to the kids. Typically, the next step would be to remove the plastic fish and replace it with a hook and bate. None of this happened.

The kids ran off. I observed them on the dock for about thirty minutes, I couldn’t contain my curiosity anymore. What were they doing? They had no hook, no bait, and no tackle box. How could they be fishing?

I strolled to the dock and observed the production as the kids stuffed leftover lunch in the tip top (top ring on the rod). They rubbed food on the plastic fish. The rod wasn’t getting tangled because there was no hook. Turtles even swam up and ate the food! They didn’t catch any fish but they were using their imagination and having a blast.

My performance-oriented mind was astounded. I returned to my friend and reported back. She didn’t seem phased at all.

As I shared this story with my husband, he immediately understood my incredulity. His response matched what was going on in my head. “How can you win, how can you catch fish and master this activity if you don’t have a hook?” He was joking of course but understood my bemusement. The thought of fishing without a hook is beyond us.

I learned a good lesson that day. Sometimes the goal isn’t what you think. In my head, the goal of fishing is to catch fish. My wise friend knew better. In this case, the “winning” was in the journey, not the outcome.

This reminds me of our journey with God. We set goals and feel frustrated and defeated when they don’t happen. What if the goal was wrong? Maybe our end goal isn’t God’s end goal.

Maybe it’s not about catching the fish, but rather what you do with the rod.