Anywhere But Here

Paul says in Philippians 4:11 to be content in every sitiuation, but I have to admit that I have not always been content in life's circumstances. I often find myself questioning my path. Could God really have lead me here? If this is where God wants me why am I so unhappy? The place I was in was not bad, just uneventful, and I did not like it.

I believe contentment is directly related to happiness. I have realized that I need to be statisfied with where God leads me instead of dreaming of somewhere else, even if it appears more eventful.

My advice: make the most of where God leads you.

Anywhere but here is where I want to be

I waste my restless nights crying myself to sleep

God, if You're out there, and You really love me

Why have You lead me here?

A quiet whisper in my ear I can hear You say:

This is where I want you

This is where I am

This is where I called you

It is all in My plan

Even if you don't like it here

This is where I am

Never Forget

Memorial Day has become just like Easter, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It is just another holiday from work and school. A time when everyone has fun with friends and family.

I have nothing wrong with people having fun, or with people spending time with those they love. What I do have a problem with is that we are so distracted by our fun that we do not remember the reasons for these holidays.

I never want to forget why we celebrate Memorial Day, or any of the other holidays. I never want to forget those who died for my freedom, those who sacrificed so much for our country. I never want to stop crying when I heard taps played or see a family reunite, rejoicing when their soldier comes home. I never want to stop treasuring the things that made our country great, and I never want to stop fighting to keep the memories of our American heroes alive in the hearts every citizen of the United States.

May we always stand united, one nation, under God! As you celibrate, do not forget our soldiers or their families, because freedom is never without a price.

Greetings!

Hello, I am so excited and thrilled about this new opportunity to blog. Thanks Kaomi!

I have been thinking about how to start this blog for the past week or so, and one of my favorite Bible verses caught my attention. It is Luke 6:45 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."
I have loved this verse for a while, I essentially made it a theme verse for my life. I must keep my heart right with God so that others can see His compassion in me. Whatever is in my heart will overflow right into my life, and become my words and actions. This is my goal for blogging: to keep my heart right with God so that I may be an encouragement to others.


In Christ,
Alyssa

Come What May

Friday evening I was so excited when I pulled a pink postal slip from the mailbox. Our order from CBD (Christian Book Distributors) was in! I could hardly wait for the next morning to come so I could drive to the post office and pick up our package. I could not wait because I knew that the movie I had heard so much about, Come What May, would be in the box. I had been waiting ever since the movie came out for a chance to see it, and now it was waiting just a few miles away for me to pick up up and bring it home!

Late last night after we had put my younger siblings to bed, we sat down and watched the movie, finally. It was every bit as good as I had hoped it would be. Since Come What May is Advent Film's first movie, there are some quality issues, but they are minor and the message is awesome. I look forward to seeing their next movie because I know that with each one the quality will get better and better. If you have not yet seen the movie Come What May, I encourage you to get a copy and watch it just as soon as you are able. It will be well worth your time and money.

For previews and so much more, visit the Come What May website at http://comewhatmaymovie.com/ .

I find it so inspiring that Christian groups are rising up all over the world to make films for the glory of God. They are taking something that Satan meant for bad and turning into good for the sake of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

To God be all the glory.

A New "Face"

Hello readers, I wanted to call your attention to the fact that there are now two bloggers contributing to this blog. Me and my dear friend Alyssa. Alyssa and I have been friends for several years now and her excitement about sharing Christ's love with others has truly been an inspiration to me. I am so happy and excited to announce that she is now joining me in writing for our Savior's glory. I look forward to the days ahead. What a joy to share this new step in the journey with someone like Alyssa! I hope that each of you are inspired and encourage by Alyssa's writings as I know I will be.

To God be all Glory,
Kaomi

Mother's Day

I do not know about everyone else, but I love Mother's Day. No, I am not a mom, but I have a mom. I love to think of special ways to make her feel loved. Most of all I like to sit down and write out the reasons I am so thankful she is my mother.

My mom has always been my silent cheerleader. I did not always know this. There were years when I thought she did not care. Then God showed me that what I had been telling myself was the truth was, in fact, nothing but lies. Since then God has revealed to me the treasure I have in my mom. She loves me, cheers me on, and is there to wipe away my tears. Even if the whole world should turn against me, it is a comfort to know that my mom will still believe in me. She will still love me.

I used to believe parents were a burden. They only held a person back, I thought. How wrong I was! Our parents can be out best friends if we let them. They have so much wisdom to share. They know us better then almost anyone else. Since they know us so well, they are the perfect ones to advise us. They are the perfect ones to point out our weaknesses, because since they love us so much they will never use our weaknesses against us, but instead will help us to overcome those weaknesses.

I am writing today to encourage you to thank you mother for being who she is in your life, and to remind you to praise her for her faithfulness in loving you (even when you were not so lovable). If your mom is a Christian and has impacted your life for Christ, that is all the more reason for you to thank her and praise her.

We are not promised a tomorrow. Please do not waste this opportunity God has given you to tell your mother how much you love her and how much she means to you. God's Word says, "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you" (Exodus 20:12).

I want to thank my mom again for all she has been to me through my growing up years. Without her love I would not be writing this post today. Thanks Mom!
To all you moms out there, have a Happy Mother's Day. I thank the Lord for faithful Christian mothers who raise their children up in the ways of the Lord.

To God be the glory,

Kaomi

Prayer of My Heart

"LORD, bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name. Here my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications. The enemy has persecuted my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me dwell in darkness. My soul is overwhelmed within me; my heart is distressed. I remember Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands. I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Answer me speedily, O LORD, my spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down into the pit. Cause me to hear Your loving kindness in the morning, for in You do I trust. Cause me to know the way I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God."
Psalm 142&143

Spring Time

If there is one thing about me that most of my best friends know, it is how much I enjoy springtime in Texas! I love the smell, the feel, and the beauty that springtime brings. After all the browns and grays of winter, the vibrant greens of spring never fail to take my breath away. But, of all the things I like about spring, I think my favorite part would have to be all the beautiful flowers that burst into bloom. I love to paint them, take pictures of them, and, of course, smell them.

Every year when spring comes, I am reminded of how there will be dark times in our lives, but how those dark times will not last forever. One day spring will come into our lives again and we will blossom under the watchful eye of our Master. What a day of rejoicing that will be! Our darkness will be turned to light, our night will be turned to day, our sorrow will be turned to joy, and our pain will be washed away. If you are going through a dark time and you cannot see any daylight ahead, remember that God is in control and spring is just ahead. Call upon the Lord, trust in Him, for He will answer you in your time of need.

" I called on the LORD in distress: The LORD answered me."

Psalm 188:6

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be

no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain,

for the former things have passed away."

Revelation 21:4

"Weeping my endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning."

Psalm 30:5

Hard Things

A year ago I "stumbled" across a website that has promised to change my life. This website was the website of Alex and Brett Harris, http://www.therebelution.com/ . I say, "stumbled," because I do not believe anything in life just happens by some freak chance. I believe that God is ultimately in control of every aspect of my life, and that He lead me to The Rebelution website.

Since I have begun to follow The Rebelution in my spare time, I have begun to learn about hard things. For me, one of those hard things was starting this blog. I like writing, that was not the problem. The problem was being disicplined enough to stick with it. Writing an edifying blog is hard work. In other words, I was to chicken to begin this blog sooner because I was afraid I would fail to faithfully commit a percentage of my time and energy to keeping it up. On top of that I felt so unworthy. I am a sinner. I have my problems. I did not feel like I could write to encourage others while I had these problems that needed to be worked out with God. I was not ready yet.

That was before I realized that if I waited until I was a "better" person, until I was ready, I would never write, or do, anything to help or encourage others because I would never be my picture of a "better" (aka perfect) person while I live upon this planet called earth. This is a fallen world and I am a fallen person. Only God is perfect.

So, here I am. I still have a long way to go, and so much to learn, but I will not wait to began reaching out to others. Instead, I will begin to do hard things for the glory of God. God can take my poor, stumbling attemps and make them into something beautiful that will bring Him glory. We cannot wait forever to become perfect people who make no mistakes before we began to serve God. If we did, we would never do anything, and He would never be glorified.

" For My strength is made perfect in [your]weakness."

--Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 12:9

Do hard things. In Christ,

Kaomi