To Be Content

Taking Chances...

2010-07-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

The thing about taking chances is that there is a "chance" that things may not turn out the way you think they will. In fact, anyone who has lived any life at all will tell you that things rarely, if ever, turn out to be what you anticipated. But many would also tell you, it's far better that way.

It basically comes down to this: it's not about having everything you want. It's about being able to look back and not feel like you have wasted your time. If you aren't where you want to be in life, you are the only one who can change that.

There are so many things we put off because we don't have the time, we don't have the money, we don't have the opportunity, it's too difficult, or "there is one last thing that needs to fall into place THEN I'll be able to_________." Sadly, that one last thing that needs to fall into place never will. We will always have just as much time as we do now. And money, well, it tends to disappear as quickly as it appears.

Contentment is not apathy. If there is something you have a passion for, God cares about that. When you open yourself up and become a little more flexible who knows what kind of opportunities He will bring along? Don't hold back because it doesn't "look" the way you thought it would. Our perceptions will become bondage if we aren't willing to let them go.

Sweet Sleep

2010-05-08T23:33:00.001-07:00

I am awake. My first attempt at sleep was three hours ago. My second was about one hour ago. It's strange, I have always feared the inability to sleep. Even when I was a little girl, life was only good if my sleep was sweet.

Well, here I am, and oddly enough, it's a good thing I am not asleep. God is ministering to me so much just through worship music, the words of my friends, and His still, small voice. He is reawakening passion for His Kingdom within me. This world sucks the life out of you, literally. It takes all your passion, your joy, your zeal and replaces it with apathy, cynicism and contempt. In order to keep our passion we need to protect it and cultivate it relentlessly.
Unfortunately, I have not done so and God is having to rebuild a lot of me from scratch. He knows what I need. My faith is fragile and He is bulking it up. I'm just pressing into Him and letting Him do all the work. I'm tired of trying to accomplish things my way. All I have is only what He has given me. All I will be is only what He will make me.

So, I'm just going to sit back and watch Him work. His faithful, loving, gentle hands will get the job done.

Come finish the work you began in me, Jesus.

Justice

2010-03-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

Taylor and I recently went to some friends' wedding down in Houston. Our friends, Derek and Tessa, started a ministry last year with some other passionate servants of God. The ministry is called Rescue the Girl and it started as an effort to raise enough money to save just one girl from the horrors of sex slavery. From that point it grew--you can see just how far they've come at www.rescuethegirl.com.

The weekend in Houston gave us the opportunity to have some good conversations with these amazing people about their vision for the ministry and the event that we are planning to have here in Wichita this summer. (If you are here in Wichita or nearby, keep you eyes and ears open. The event we are planning will be consistent with other RtG events in that we will use the creative arts to bring awareness to the problem of sex slavery as well as to raise money to further this cause that is so close to God's heart.)

Talking about this particular type of slavery got me to thinking about ALL types and what my responsibility is to prevent them. While I wish I was in Africa and India and even here in Wichita on the front lines kicking down the doors, God has yet to give me that opportunity. But I have begun to consider the steps that I can take to end slavery here at home.

With a little research I realized that a lot of what we buy is made by the hands of children who are being exploited for monetary gain...and not just children. Adults fall prey to this exploitation as well.

I think that part of the reason that this is still such a problem in our society is because the people in the world who have the money (that's you and me) feel entitled to buy whatever we want and don't feel the need to know where it came from. We are consumers. If we want something, we go get it without thinking twice.

The reality is that you and I have a responsibility as Jesus' hands and feet here on this earth to bring justice to those whose lives have been stolen by greedy hands. Psalm 37:28 says that the Lord LOVES justice and Psalm 82:3 states that we are to "give justice to the weak and the fatherless" and to "maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute." It doesn't get a whole lot clearer than that.

With this on my mind, I have done a little research. Here is a website with a PDF list of countries and the products they sell that involve child labor and forced labor: http://distributism.blogspot.com/2009/09/slave-made-goods-by-country-list-from.html. It gets a little confusing once you realize that the cute pair of shoes you want at Target are made in the USA with products from China and Pakistan. Unfortunately, it's impossible for us to know for sure that the things we are buying have never passed through the hands of a slave laborer, but it's good for us to keep the possibility in mind as we shop so that we are able to avoid the obvious slave-made products.
Also here is a link to Free the Slaves: http://www.freetheslaves.net/Page.aspx?pid=348. They have a lot of good information on modern day slavery and how to practically become involved in putting an end to it.

This has been something that has been weighing heavy on my heart. We ALL have the ability in some way or another to bring justice to those who have no voice to plead for their own cause (Proverbs 31:8).

Let's be proactive in shaping the world. God has made us more than conquerors in this evil place--why not change some things?

I love you all.

Kaela

P.S. Photo courtesy of Tessa Harvey!

My Winter

2009-12-30T05:48:00.000-08:00

In the past month and a half, Taylor and I have said goodbye to three sweet people who had an impact on our lives in some way or another. Death is a heart-breaking process. It changes the person completely. It steals their smile, captures the sparkle in their eye and diminishes them to little more than a beating heart which will eventually succumb as well. Before you know it, the person you loved and lived life with is barely a shadow of their former self.

We fear death. Fear is a natural human reaction to the things we don't understand and cannot predict. But for these three loved ones, there was no uncertainty. They knew where death would take them and Who would be waiting to greet them on the other side.

Death isn't scary. It is simply the last paragraph of the introduction to an amazing masterpiece that God is writing. It is the sneak peek of our true destiny: to be with and worship God forever. Our lives are important, but death is the first step into freedom--the true original freedom that God had in mind at the beginning.

This has been my winter--cold and hard. But the spring brings new life. Hopefully it will come early this year.

2009-10-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was not a fun day...I took our cat Annie to the vet to get fixed and declawed. At lunchtime the vet called me to tell me that Annie had died after surgery. Apparently the anesthesia didn't agree with something in her body and it stopped her heart. He said this has only happened twice in his ten years of practice. He thinks that maybe she had feline leukemia or something that would have caused her to react badly to the anesthesia. At least if she was sick, she died peacefully and painlessly.

Life is fleeting. My mom told me on Monday that a friend of ours in Idaho died of a heart attack while riding his mountain bike. He was the same age as my parents--young and healthy with a sweet family. He was in great shape and ate healthy...he did everything he could to live a long, enjoyable life. You just never know, though, when it is going to be your time.

So, I have cried a bit the past few days.

Judgment House

2009-10-27T07:01:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has been over a month since I've written. I have been waiting for inspiration--bad idea. :)

Last Friday, Taylor and I took the youth group and a few people from church to Judgment House. Judgment House is a walk through drama put on by Newspring Church here in Wichita. It's like a Christian "haunted house" if you will. The story followed a young man whose parents were in jail for drug abuse. His grandmother had taken him into her home. She prayed earnestly for her grandson to come to know Christ.
In short, he goes to a Christian camp where all the "Christian" kids treat him like an outsider and talk behind his back. While he is there his grandmother dies. Feeling like he has lost everything, he turns to suicide. From there we follow him to judgment where he watches his grandmother go into glory with her Savior and where he is taken into eternal judgment. We follow him into hell--the smell, the heat, the taunting voices of the demons. It was frightening. We know that hell is a real place, but having to face what it looks, smells and sounds like even on the smallest scale, is a terrifying experience.
Thankfully they didn't end with hell--from there we went into heaven with the grandmother. By this time I was weeping. Entering into that beautiful, peaceful room I felt just a glimpse of the relief I know I will feel on that glorious day when I see the face of my Savior. As we walked into the room the angels put robes of righteousness on us (more like scarves of righteousness). Jesus came and hugged everyone and welcomed them. It may sound a little corny, but was beautiful.
Three of the kids in our group made a decision for Christ. If I didn't already know Him, I would have, too! Coming face to face with the reality of eternity in either heaven or hell is a ground shaking experience for any person willing to let God shake them up.
Every decision, every moment here on this earth is only preparing us for REALITY. Eternity is a greater reality than we often care to believe simply because it is unseen, uncharted territory...for us anyway. Jesus Christ has already been there. He has given us the map. He has paid the way for us. We can either take the gift that He has given or say, "No thanks, I'll pay my own way." Those who decide to pay their own way will pay it for eternity in hell. The MOST important decision we can make here on this earth is what we will do with the gift of eternal life that Jesus Christ has given us. When we look into His face, will we have chosen to feel relief or terror? It's all up to us now. Jesus has given us all we need to spend eternity in heaven with Him.
His love is overwhelming. Our worthiness was NEVER the question. What we could offer Him was never a part of the equation. His mercy and His grace are that is necessary.
He says come to ALL.

I am overwhelmed by the love of my Savior.

Faith

2009-08-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

I have a plethera of words and thoughts floating around in my brain. Some of them connect, others are simply random.
Faith has been on my mind a lot lately. I struggle with fear--irrational fear that really makes no sense at all in the scheme of the life I am living. But I struggle with it nonetheless. It's like the enemy has found that that is my weak spot. It is easy for me to be afraid, and it is made easier because I don't see myself the way God does. Many of my fears are brought on by my low opinion of myself, quite sadly.
I am just being honest with you. If it makes you uncomfortable go read someone else's blog. ;)
But as my fears and the voice of the persistent enemy twist my thoughts into a mass of confusion, there is the still, small voice of my Savior. He gently reminds me that He is there and He is in control. And suddenly things are simple: Trust Him. There is nothing with which He is unfamiliar--no needs, no fears, no hopes, no disappointments.
We must acknowledge that we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual powers of darkness and then fall into the arms of our Hero. He is the one Who has already saved the day. And like Paul said, whatever it is that afflicts us is NOTHING compared to the glory that we will one day have in Christ. God knows that we are weak. Even the most faith we can manage is often smaller than Jesus' humble example of a mustard seed. But He is not limited by the size of our faith. He has given us victory over all things through His Son Jesus.
Lord, I believe. Forgive my unbelief.

Defense

2009-08-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

I can't imagine what life would be like without God as our defender. The enemy tells so many lies and steals, kills and destroys like crazy! What would it be like if God didn't have His hand of protection over us? I shudder to think.
There is nothing that we struggle with that God hasn't already filtered through His capable hands. It's so easy to doubt Him, but that's just another ploy of the enemy. God is bigger. He knows what we can handle and what we can't.
If you're struggling with something, don't turn away from God in shame or doubt. That is a huge mistake. Turn toward Him and let Him take it in His capable hands. He knows we are just human. Praise God for the day that we will no longer have the enemy to battle against!
Be comforted in the fact that He loves you unconditionally and boundlessly. Amen.

So about the title...

2009-08-16T16:32:00.001-07:00

I'm thinking maybe it's a little bit awkward. "To Be Content" isn't exactly the most catchy title I've ever heard. However, it does reflect where my heart is at this point in my life. Above all things, I just want to be content. I want to enjoy God's goodness and all of the blessings He has given without striving to have things that He hasn't seen fit to give me at this point.
There is so much I would love to do in my lifetime--travel, write, missions work, lead worship, communicate effectively, finish college(!), raise amazing kids, be a great wife to my amazing husband, record music--the list could go on and on. And while those are all good things, I am finding that the most important thing is to learn that wherever I am I need to be fully there. Everything in my life right now deserves my full, undivided attention. Eventually, some of those things will happen because I have been faithful in the small tasks. Meanwhile, I will be content. When I strive to bring them to fruition NOW, I only succeed in making myself, and the people around me, miserable. There is nothing that steals joy so well as wanting what you do not have.

So, that's what I'm thinking. We need to bold enough to shape the monotony around us with our lives. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit--His love, His joy, His peace--and relax so He can spill over to every part of our lives. We need Him, and if we were honest with ourselves He is ALL we need.

Love!
Kaela

My very first blog!

2009-08-15T05:41:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

At this moment, I am sitting in the middle of my little apartment's living room floor. There is clean laundry on the couches and lots that needs tidying up. But it will all have to wait until later because I volunteered for three hours of overtime at work today. I know--what was I thinking, right? :) No cartoons or sleeping-in for me this morning. It's off to work I go.

But before I go, I wanted to let you all know what I'm thinking. My hope for this blog is that it will be a testimony to God's goodness and His grace in our daily lives. The enemy is after us--our joy, hope, peace, etc--anything he can steal, kill or destroy. But greater is HE who lives in us than he who lives in the world, amen? There is nothing too hard for our God. And He has set this great adventure known as "life" before us with a purpose and a plan in mind. Everyday we live takes us one step closer to seeing Him face to face. Glory.

So, join me with your thoughts and the things God is showing you and we can do some of this great adventure together.

Ciao!
Kaela

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Jeremiah 29:11