Kelli. in real life

Time Out

Today I'm taking a "time out" from the every day ups and downs and ins and outs. For the next hour I've decided my greatest struggle doesn't exist. I'm not anxious, worrying, doubtful, fearful, or beating myself up. For the next hour I am FREE!!!!!

 This all started this morning when I woke up and was greeted by my issues and worries, shortcomings and bills, strengths and weaknesses, all at once. Just as I began to cry the Holy Spirit nudged me and I felt him whisper this to me. "Just try me...........take a break from trying to fix everything.....just try me. "  Capitol idea, I thought. But seeing that worry and anxiety have become a part of my actual being over the last few years, I knew it would be kind of hard to just "snap out of it." So I set a reasonable goal. For the next hour....I AM FREE. 

To some this may be silly. Worry and anxiety may not be your worst enemies. Maybe it's easy for you to accept God grace and mercy daily. But condemnation is a constant foe of mine. When I feel I've let God down, or even if bills overwhelm me, or things don't work out like I expected, it effects every part of my life. I lose inspiration. I become afraid and defensive. I stop praying. I began to feel helpless. 

But I love how God's word is alive and can speak loudly to our situations. 

"He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;" Psalm 103 :10-11

I once heard someone say faith is like a muscle...its got to be exercised. Life has thrown a many curve balls my direction the last 2 years and my faith has taken a beating. But today I'm putting on my workout clothes and Im exercising my faith. Who knows this hour of relief may lead to a new way of life....TRUE FREEDOM!!!!

 

CHURCH!!!!!RISE UP!!!!!

Yesterday was a very historical day. Barack Obama; a man of African descent, was elected president of these United States. 

I thought of all my ancestors; black and white, who fought against this day and for it. I thought of all the senseless beatings and murders that took place based on the color of a persons skin. I thought of all the long, sweltering days that slaves spent working for a "massa', trusting in a God they'd never seen to bring them deliverance and freedom. 

I did not vote for Barack Obama. 

As a woman who has had a miscarriage and seen the tiny, bloody form of a fetus and held it in her hands, I will never believe that it is right to murder a child no matter how small. I could not vote for a man who would allow women to use abortions as a form of birth control. 

I did not vote for John McCain.

Although his views were much more like the beliefs i have as a Christian; when in prayer I could not find the peace I asked for in order to vote for him. 

So I exercised my right to write in a candidate. 

However, as an African American woman, I cried tears of joy last night. I cannot imagine the dreams that were fulfilled last night. Innocent blood that cried out from the ground because in a sense, freedom was attained. A black man was now recognized for his character, wisdom, and hopefulness rather than the color of his skin. 

Yet as a Christian I felt the joy in knowing that my Jesus is soon to return for His church. 

The bible speaks of times like this. "The last days"...when people would be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. ( 2 Timothy 2-7a)

"Now concerning the times and seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you  yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as a pregnant woman and they will not escape." 1 (Thessalonians 5:1-3)

Somewhere inside us a FIRE should be burning brighter and hotter than ever. THESE ARE THE LAST DAYS. We must work while its day for night is coming! Whatever God has put on our hearts to do, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO IT!!!! I am APPALLED at this defeated attitude I'm seeing and hearing from Christians who are obviously not happy with last nights results. Our trust is never in a political candidate, but in our GOD who is all powerful and all knowing. Why are people acting so surprised by these turn of events? And if NOTHING else, why can't we celebrate the monumental occasion of a minority being voted in a presidential office? Is there still an underlying river of hypocrisy called RACISM that we cannot put our differences aside and respect the victory of a people?

And as African Americans (who are Christians), are we so caught up in the "victory" that we forget our first responsibility is to our Savior? That while this is a joyous occasion for the overcoming of a people, there is now a president going into office that will be targeted on a daily basis? Are we naive to the fact that these attacks may fall down on us as well? 

Why are we so caught off guard? Have we not discerned the day in which we live?

"But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief." I Thess 5:4

"So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober."

Church!!! Stop pouting, complaining, and murmuring. Stand up and take your rightful place. 

RISE UP!!!!!!!!!

Feel The Prayer Wheel Turnin'

My grandmother and grandfather used to get up early in the morning and pray.
Sometimes they would kneel beside their bed and pray, but other times they would go to the church and pray.
Sometimes my parents would go, but if they had to be at work occasionally, I went with my grandparents.
There would usually be about 6-10 people that would show up for early morning prayer. But even as a child, I was fascinated by what went on in those prayer meetings.
Sometimes there was weeping.
Sometimes there was rejoicing.
Sometimes there was silence.
Sometimes they sang songs.
But all the time....it was powerful.

I used to hear seasoned women in the church say, "I feel the prayer wheel turnin".

It meant that they felt the Spirit of the Lord stirring within them, calling them to prayer and intimacy with him.

As a child, and even now this is what I see when I think of a "prayer wheel turnin'".

Its a water wheel.
A device created long ago using flowing water to create POWER.

Even as I write that I feel a rush of excitement.

When God calls us into a time of prayer; true prayer that includes intercession ( standing in the gap fervently for someone else), warfare (praying against spiritual wickedness and things that are not of God) , and supplication (asking and requesting God for specific things)...its like a well of water inside of us is being turned through a wheel (prayer) to create POWER.

The bible speaks of this in different ways.....

"But you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" Acts 1:8a

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto God. " Phillipians 4:6

"Like wise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings to deep for words. " Romans 8:26

Sounds like a prayer wheel to me.

Today, open your heart to the Holy Spirit. Allow that well of living water living inside you to flow freely. Open your mouth in faith and allow God to fill it with words of prayer, intercession, and supplication with thanksgiving.

Today I prayed for you. My heart was overwhelmed with love for you...anyone and everyone who reads this today.

I pray that you will be called into the love of Christ today and experience what He has for you.

I feel the prayer wheel turnin'

The Generation That Will Seek His Face

I have a heart for the young people of today.
High schoolers; late teens, early 2O's...thats my heart.
As difficult as some of them may be to reach, I find much pleasure and literal joy in seeing them come to know Christ as their Savior, father, and ultimate confidant.

Friday night, I heard a speaker preach about the enemy of our souls. I watched as hundreds of young people listened to the knowledge she shared. And although it was quite in depth, it was enthralling and kept their attention. Tears streamed down my eyes as she shared a truth that anyone who knows me well will tell you I have said for years.

"We have not learned how to live victorious in Christ, because we don't know enough about our enemy".

Somewhere around 2000, I felt led to start searching the scriptures about "warfare". The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds...for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.....(2 Cor 10:4, Ephesians 6:12)....passages of scripture I would read over and over and over again. At the time I was a worship leader/minister of music for a church of about 300 regular members; primarily young singles and families around the age of 25-30. I took hold to these scritpures and when preparing for worship, I realized I was in battle as well as a time of worship. But even more than that, a burning to see young people "saved" was birthed in me. I began to realize that this is a generation who has the ability to usher in a revival we have not yet experienced. They are bold. relentless. inquisitive, unbelievably gifted. and sadly alot of them are CONFUSED.

I'm only 30 years old myself, and I consider that to be young. But I've been some places. Seen some things.
Made some silly decisions in high school and college. Didn't take full advantage of privileges given to me that would've advanced my life farther than it is now.

I see this generation, and I want to help. I want to be that voice crying out in the "wilderness" of peer pressure, false religion, suicide, perversion, rebellion, etc. That voice that doesn't "preach" Jesus, but lives him.
I long to usher in a wind of God's presence that brings more peace and love than some young people have ever felt and in turn give their lives to Christ. I want to be used by God.

Friday, I saw young people run to the altar for deliverance and salvation. The Word "pricked" their hearts, and made it soft and ready for change. I've seen it before, and I doubt I'll ever get tired of seeing it.

This is the generation that will seek HIS face........

This is me in real life.....KELLI

I love my Bible

THIS is my bible.

Its a Trimline bible written in the English Standard Version translation.

I'm a King James girl. I like to read NLV (new living translation) and the message from time to time to really get a broken down idea of the scriptures. But when it comes to studying and memorizing, I stick with King James. That is until I found the ESV translation. Here's a bit about it from esv.org

"The ESV is an “essentially literal” translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. As such, its emphasis is on “word-for-word” correspondence, at the same time taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. Thus it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and meaning of the original.

As an essentially literal translation, then, the ESV seeks to carry over every possible nuance of meaning in the original words of Scripture into our own language. As such, it is ideally suited for in-depth study of the Bible. Indeed, with its emphasis on literary excellence, the ESV is equally suited for public reading and preaching, for private reading and reflection, for both academic and devotional study, and for Scripture memorization."

I have fallen in love with this translation, and it's helped to take my studying to a deeper level.

What version of the bible do you read?

A Word of Encouragement

On Thursday evening I had dinner with two precious people from my church.

A mother and her daughter.

The mother is like a sister/aunt to me. She "gets" me. I can talk to her about anything, and she's always there with a listening ear. She has a huge heart, and when I think of her I immediately smile.

The daughter is this amazing teenager with "DESTINY" written all over her. She's got this uncanny ability to look at a person and know if they're superficial or authentic. She's opinionated, outspoken, and genuine. I love her to pieces and can't wait to see how God uses her to impact this generation.

Over dinner, we began to discuss the burden God laid on my heart for the young people of today. I laid my heart on the table as if it were a valuable piece of china. Fragile and treasured.

They were all ears, and I left encouraged.

The next day, the mother sent me this in text form.

"Command and teach these things, Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct , in love, in faith , in purity. Until I come, devote yourself in the public readings of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. "
(I Timothy 4:11-16) ESV

I was so encouraged by this portion of scripture. So encouraged that I sent it to a handful of others that I knew in my spirit were pressing forward to fulfill the purpose of God in their lives.

Have you recently been encouraged by a blog, scripture, or story? Don't keep it to yourself. Pass it along. It may be just what someone else needs.

This is me in real Life. KELLI