Hey check out my Kitchen Adventures under interesting weblogs! or just click here: http://mykitchenadventures.blogspot.com////

I should be interesting!

I finally got up on time this morning! Okay I slept a little later than I wanted to but still it was better than most days lately. My goal each morning is to get up at 5:00 so that I can have some good in depth study time, a long commune with God, and a little computer time. I haven't been making it though, usually I just reset the alarm and then end up turning it off and getting up at like 6:30 or later. Kai gets up at 7:00 so that doesn't give me much time. I must say it is really hard to find any time to just relax and enjoy something when you have kids, a husband, and a house. I am the kind of person that feels like she needs that time to keep sane for the rest of the day, other wise I yearn for it all day and that is not good. So Rick and I set a rule today concerning free time. The computer is to be "Off Limits" after 7:00am until 9:00pm everyday! I am use to jumping on for 5 minutes just to check something and then jumping right back off again a few times through out the day, no more of that I guess. I do still get my time at Kai's nap though in the afternoon time.

It takes a lot of self-control for me to say "no" when I don't have anyone here to fire me if I don't. I have never been very good when it comes to self-control. That is a fruit of the Spirit that I am lacking in concerning my priorities. I read an article the other day on priorites and in it was the scripture Proverbs 3:6 which says "In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success." I have been trying to engrave this wisdom in my heart. Because if I were to really trully honestly follow this rule I would see a big difference in my family life and in myself. I love the "crown your efforts with success" because it gives me great motivation. That is what I want is for my efforts to be crowned. What a beautiful vision for me to see. The crown for me is that my home is a haven for my family, I am a gem to my husband, and that my children will arise to call me blessed. What a glorious crown that I so desperately desire. My priorites should go in this order: God, husband, children, and home and what is so funny is the fact that I must become selfless in order for these to happen. Selfishness is what I would describe as my biggest hindrance to letting God lead me, but if I shall obtain the crown I so desire which is one to put on my my home, my husband, and my children then in the end I think I will look up to find that I have one on me as well. In my priorities I thought where do I fit in there and my first thought was I guess no where I am at the end, very last. But I guess that just depends on how you look at them because after seeing what my crowns are I see me in each and everyone of those and that is the way God wants it, I think. I pray that I as well as you will put God first and obtain our desired crowns whatever they may be.

Joyfully

The Lord shows me my blessings by the absence of it. I was home alone for 2 days this week while my husband traveled to Austin for Seminary school. In those 48 or more hours my mind wondered many places but one place was how do single mothers do this 24 hours 365 days a year. I mean here I am feeling overwhelmed and beside myself and for only 2 days. I am amazed at those women out there who are home supporting their family and being a mother and a father to their precious little angels. My heart, prayers, encouragement, and deep respect go out to all Single Moms. The Lord is giving each one of you strength and I have to say sanity too. Whew! God bless You!

Your Blogging Type is Confident and Insightful

You've got a ton of brain power, and you leverage it into brilliant blog.Both creative and logical, you come up with amazing ideas and insights.A total perfectionist, you find yourself revising and rewriting posts a lot of the time.You blog for yourself - and you don't care how popular (or unpopular) your blog is!

What's" Your Blogging Personality?

Where did you see the presence of the Lord today? Whether you noticed him or not he was there, did you notice him or are you running through the days so fast that he is a blurr to you.

What prayers has He answered in your life? What about recently? I know he anwsered my prayer two nights ago. Rita was weakened and didn't do as much damage as predicted.

Just some things to think about.

Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not put out the Spirits fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.
~1 Thessalonians 516-22


Kelli

The rest of the seminar was fabulous! Rick and I both got to attend it together. Eli was not feeling well on Friday so I went alone. This morning he was feeling better so we decided to go. It was a long day though and I am so tired. I don't have much to blog other than hi and goodnight and a poem by Joseph Mary Plunkett:

Christ in Creation

I see his blood upon the rose

And in the stars the glory of his eyes,

His body gleams amid eternal snows,

His tears fall from the skies.

I see his face in every flower;

The thunder and the singing of the birds

Are but his voice-and carven by his power

Rocks are his written words.

All pathways by his feet are worn,

His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,

His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,

His cross is every tree.

I have a passion for poetry if you didn't know. I can't write it myself yet I try anyway with much dismay. I love to listen to the hearts of others pouring out in their words on a piece of paper or in this case a computer screen. They just reach out and grab me and pull me in to their place for a moment in time and it is no longer my thoughts I hear but theirs. I enjoy it very much and I know that if God wanted me to beable to express myself so beautifully as a poet then I would, but I know that I have my own talents and so I will continue to let the poets speak to my heart what I can't. My heart of course knows already what I feel but the poets simply organize them and put them together to form a masterpiece of artistic expression.

May the words of my mouth and the

meditation of my heart

be pleasing in your sight,

O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

David my favorite Poet in : Psalm 19:14

*You Be Blessed*

Kelli

Well, I just got in from the Marriage Seminar and I have to say that I thouroughly enjoyed Carl Brecheen and Paul Faulkner's words. They were very beautifully spoken and sent convictions straight to my heart. Faulkner's words really moved my heart to change the person that I am into more of the person that God wants me to be. And reminded me that in the change I can not do it myself but God will empower me with what I need to make the transition. In my life, in all circumstances good or bad in order to keep from being less of what God wants me to be I must learn to surrender myself to God. Faulkner has a powerful way of expressing his love and joy in Christ while at the same time rebuking me to change. Tomarrow should be just as exciting, liberating and piercing.........I am looking forward to it.

O how I love the Mighty Words of God. The way the power and glory of God pierce through my heart spliting it in half and challenging me to become more. Liberating...indeed. Joyful...indeed. If you could only feel my soul these words would just jump right off the screen at you. O, I love the way the Lord overwhelms my heart with the fullness of His presence.

Amazing............Powerful.......Glorious.........indeed!!

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. Ephesians 4:22

I pray that out of His glorious riches, He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in you inner being, so that Christ may dwell in you hearts through faith. And I pray that you , being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who it is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
~Ephesians 3:16-21


Paul in Ephesians and Paul at the seminar both ripped my heart open tonight and poured Christ and His love in me. Glory be to God!

Be blessed.

S.T.O.P.S
Saviouring the Observable Presence of the Savior

That was our lesson last night in my Ladies bible class. It was an amazing hour of much needed singing praises to God and reading from His word. It was uplifting and inspiring. There was a moment that I felt as if I was floating on a cloud and was surrounded by the sweet sounds of angels............. Okay I know I get a little over emotional and hyper romantic with my words at times but I can't help it.

We were asked to find the presence of God in our day. Though His presence is everywhere sometimes we miss Him. It is good to at the end of the day look back and find where He was and what He was trying to tell you. I know for me last night I realized that I saw Him 4 times and each time was right in the middle of some sort of struggle. I sat last night and thought I wonder if He was trying to show me my blessings in the mist of my hardships. Yes, I think so.

.................................................................................

We also talked about how we need to slow down and let God love us like never before. How true that is. Let Him love us.............how often do we not allow the full love of God to rain on us? Slow down, look up, recognize His presence, and let Him love you right now. Listening to Jack Johnson's new cd there is a song called breakdown that I love because it reminds me to not rush through life so fast with out stopping. It also reminds me to not rush through life with out letting God love me. With out recognizing His love and absorbing it and letting it affect me and move me to change. Here are some of the lyrics to that song:


Breakdown

I hope this old train breaks down then I could take a walk around See what there is to see, time is just a melody With all the people in the street walking fast as their feet Can take them, I just roll through town And though my window’s got a view, well the frame I’m looking through Seems to have no concern for now So for now I
I need this here old train to breakdown Oh please just let me please just breakdown

Isn't that what we need, for our train to breakdown. For us to slam on the breaks in our lives and come to a haulting stop, step out of it and just soak up the love of the Lord and to cherish it will all that we have. Let Him come into us and heal our wounded tired hearts and souls. I pray that you will do this................as well as myself.

..................................................................................

Aloha ke Akua
God is Love

I have been lately desiring to find a peice of me that I have never before ventured out to find. I am Hawaiian and yet have never been there nor have I ever been very interested in it. I have always thought that it doesn't matter but lately that has changed to a deep interest of but maybe it does. I am excited about this adventure. I am going to learn to speak Hawaiian and hopefully learn more about the people, history, and the land or island. My mother was born in Hawaii, and while my grandfather was in the Marines and he was at one point in time stationed in Hawaii. He and his wife adopted her from a convent orphanage there and they lived in California for her child hood. Then so did I until she passed then I was moved to Louisiana. So now, I would like to know all of who I am and where I come from. I think it will be interesting and eye opening.

..................................................................................

Love

Love bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lacked anything.

'A guest', I answered, 'worthy to be here.'
Love said, 'You shall be he.'
'I, the unking, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
I cannot look on thee.'
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
'Who made the eyes but I?'

'Truth, Lord, but I have marred them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.'
'And know you not', says Love, 'who bore the blame?'
'My dear, then I will serve.'
'You must sit down', says Love, 'and taste my meat.'
So I did sit and eat.


George Herbett

Today, is a joyful day! I am thankful for it and for the blessings that God has given to me. I hope that you also will have a joyful day and recognize the blessings He has given to you. Be blessed
**Pray for Rita...........that God will weakened her and that those in her path will find strong shelter.

My mind is cluttered with thoughts tonight. Where to begin, where to begin. This last week has been crazy hectic with traveling. Monday morning we got up and went to Austin and then came back on Wednesday and then got up and left Thursday morning to go to Logansport to visit family and returned home last night at 11:30 and now we are going to leave again tomarrow to go to Austin again. What can we say............we just love to sit in a car for at least 3 good hours. I have to say though that the trips are not all that bad. The little ones do well. We splurged and bought a dvd player for the car so that could possibly be the reason.
Life is good and God is Awesome. I loved the lessons from this morning to this evening. Andy did a great job on forgiveness. I enjoyed it and learned something from it................to forgive. I think it is easy for us sometimes to not even realize that we need to forgive someone. We just find ourselves one day angry and bitter and can't figure out why. I know that for me I have a few people that I could forgive. They are no longer in my life but I need to find it in me to figure out how to settle a peace towards them even though they are not here. The thought of Jesus on the cross forgiving his persecutors always leaves me in awe. Thes men certainly did not deserve to be forgiven, not in the least. Then I think well.......what about me? Do I deserve for Him to forgive me every day, no every minute of the day? No I do not either, but He so graceously does and I like His persecutors sin against him in the next minute. Unlike them I don't want to but I do and He lavishes me in His
grace. O, how thankful my soul is to Him. I have to think that when someone causes me much pain I have an obligation to forgive them, to look at my own sin and remember that I fall short also. Am I perfect? do I not also ,whether I mean to or not, cause others pain and suffering? How can I not forgive them when I know that I myself will need to be forgiven. O how easy it is to hold on to our bitterness and angry but O how weak we are if we do. Letting it go takes great strength but the reward is sweet.......glorious peace and sharing Jesus.

Just a little thought: Society has painted an illusion of this. Where we are weak if we let go and strong if we hold on. Be cautious and don't allow the evil one to poisen your mind with distortions of the truth.


The Fly

The Lord in his wisdom made the fly,
And then forgot to tell us why.

Ogden Nash

Thought I would throw that in there. Be blessed and leave me a comment please just to let me know you were here.

I have been uplifted, strengthened and restored. The feelings of complete satisfaction, overwhelming joy, unfading love, unending rest and serenity filled me tonight at the Ladies class in church. The ladies words were all liberating and sweet to my soul. But most of all the message the All I want is Jesus was the void my heart needed so desperately to hear. I was restored and refreshed by Him and all that He is. It is an overwhelming feeling when you come to the realization of who Christ is and what he did for you. To the depths of it not on a surface level when you really understand "who" and "what". Tonight I came to another realization, as I listened to a poem by Billy Grahams daughter speak so beautifully and liberatingly about Christ, Jesus and as the feelings rushed through me I was elated and there just are no words to express the joy that you have in Christ Jesus and I thought to my self........"What am i doing. I have been so selfish. Here I have undescribeable feelings of joy in Jesus and I am not sharing Him. How dare I keep Him to myself. How dare I not squash my pride and throw my self at peoples feet who are lost and miserable because they don't have Him. What am I good enough for His sacrafice, for His unfading love and grace. I think not.....not even close. I am wretched and completely undeserving. Who am I to think that someone is not acceptable for His grace and to have a life in Christ. Get over yourself, your pride, your feelings...........your self absorbed frame of mind and get your focus on Christ and His perfect sacrafice and righteousness and don't hold back an inch of Him from the next person you come in contact with.!" There are some things that I am facing in my life right now and one of them is being a women who is a passionate about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.............not at home with my husband or only with my close friends but with the WORLD! I want them to know when they hear me talk, when they see me smile, I want to represent Christ with a bold loving in your face approach...........where He can not be missed when they come in contact with me. It is a given that if you talk to me you will get Christ whether you want Him or not! I also thought that by keeping Him to myself I am sinning. I am commiting a grave sin against God, by not spreading the gospel to His lost sheep. That is my purpose besides being my husband's helpmeet and my childrens gardener.

1 Peter 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

2 Corinthians 9:12-15 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

1 Corinthians 9:18-19 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.


Well, that is enough of my ramblings for tonight! Tomarrow we must get up early to go to Logansport a little town in Louisiana to visit Grandma, Mama, and Nana! Oh and a Big...................HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BELOVED HUSBAND! who is 25!!

Be blessed

I can't believe it has been 4 years since the World Trade Center attacks. It just does not seem like that long ago. My heart goes out to all of those who lost loved ones in that terrible day. Rick and I traveled to New York almost exactly a year ago and while we were there we went to ground zero and the site was just overwhelmingly destitute and depressing. The air was thick with mourning and sorrow and it was sad to imagine the enormous buildings that once stood so tall and proud were now non existent. When we looked around at the other buildings they were all pretty much destroyed also. Most of them were being worked on. It was just extremely sad. I remember getting up that morning, I had Eli who was almost 1 on my hip and I turned on Regis and Kelly the talk show that I watched every morning and was surprisingly shocked and stunned to see every channel with breaking news about a plane crashing into the world trade center? My mind could not comprehend at all what they were saying, it was like a very blurry dream. Finaly realization hit me and I realized what was going on and I was floored with unbelief. It was all just to unamaginable. I remember Rick coming home from school right after he had left saying he had heard it on the radio. This is a date in time that I will never forget. 9/11.

On a lighter note I have to say this..........."I love Meadow View Church of Christ!". Okay, I am just filled with joy right now with this place. Well not really the "place" but the people and the love for Christ in them. I have been so encouraged lately in our morning Sunday classes and I thouroughly enjoy the preacher's lessons on Sunday mornings and evenings. I am excited about the realness that I have seen so far in these people. I am really excited about the small group meetings we will have every Thursday night. Exstatic! I can't wait to grow closer in our friendships in Christ. I pray that this group will be a circle that revolves around Christ as our foundation. The rock that will hold us together and continually challenge us to grow. May we yeild to Him in every area of our lives. I truly pray that when we leave here we will look back and see the power of God working in our lives and praise Him for reviving us and making us stronger.

What a lovely day it was today. God has really been blessing my family lately. Not with possessions really but with an abundance of joy and peace. I feel like He has filled us up and given us the strength to fight the things that have been thrown at us lately. We were failing every one of them and now miraculously we are just breezing right through them with a totally different attittude. I was struggling deeply with feelings of wretchedness and failure because I was not yeilding myself to God and I was not being the woman that He calls me to be. Constantly I prayed and made promises that I would change and constantly I fell. When finally one day I don't know what happened I know I stopped trying to fix it myself and started to rely on God, I just pretty much just stopped. I could feel peace, joy and the Spirit moving in me. Causing me to choose right to win against my flesh and yeild to the commandmants of God.

Anyway, I am rambling. I have so much I want to say though. Well, I hope you are having a blessed day or had a blessed day in the Lord. I don't know who reads my silly ramblings but I ask you to please leave a comment just to let me know something if anything just How your day was! We are going to Austin tomarrow so I best get up off this thing and go get ready!

Joyfully, kelli.

Well today was a nice day. A little chaotic but still nice. It started out slow but soon turned into a fast pace. We went to the mall today to get Rick's hair cut, or should I say re-cut. He got a butcher cut yesterday so we had to go back and find someone who could fix the mess. Luckily he found an awesome guy at a place in the mall called Regis. We also went so that I could find some modest femenin clothes. Hah! Modest Feminine clothes in this world....................yeah it was hard to say the least. We were there for 5 hours, bless Rick's heart I felt bad but I was in need of some. I went from store to store leaving them with disgust, disbelief, and dissapointment. I did finally find in some stores a few modest items. I have to say that it is hard to be on a tight budget and try shopping at all of these nice stores. You really have to be disciplined and focused. I successfully, I think did that.........today. I will restrain from going there to much for the temptation is hard to bare. Well, it is late and we have a wonderful Sunday to get ready for so I will leave you with some inspirational rejoicing words from David.

Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!!
Psalm 147:1

Be Blessed!

Rest in the Shade


Today was a nice day. I took refuge in the shade of the Lord today, and found an abundance of peace there. Shade is such a simple word with yet so much to offer us, that is if you know God. At first glance you might look right over the word shade and miss so much beauty in it that the Lord has to reveal to you about His simple creation. The other day I was sitting outside on our shaded balcony with my bible a notebook and my little Eli by myside and I wrote down some things about this simple yet captivating word. That is what it did to me, it captivated me for a moment in time. Shade for me was a door or rather a window that opened to a refreshing, sweet and peaceful refuge. God revealed to me what he has for me if I will come into His shade and what He does for me when He covers me with His wings. On a hot day we more often then not want to find shade to relinquish to, to escape the beating of the sun's hot rays. When we are in the sun for a long period of time we become faint and weak and we look for trees and buildings because they provide us a place to be refreshed from the heat; shade. We can only take so much before we need to find some shade to rest in and be refreshed. As the shade fro a tree protects us from the oppressive heat from the sun the Lord is our protective "shade" from this oppressive world.

~Psalm 121:5-6 The Lord watches over you the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night.

Some days are hotter than others for me by the end of each day and definetly by the end of each week I am desperately running to be in His Merciful shadow. Into His protection to find the rest and peace that I need to revive my mind and soul for another day out in the scorching heat of the sun or world. Today I dwelt in the shadow of His protective wing of love. I pray that everyday I will remember that He is there with His wings spread out to cover me and block the oppressive and painful rays this life hits me with.

Katrina Refuges:

May the refugees from the heat of Katrina find their shade in the Lord God Almighty. May their aching hearts find peace and may they also be refreshed for the days to come.

Isaiah 25:4
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.

O Lord may they find their physical shelter but Lord above that may they find you for their souls refuge.

Be blessed

I was just watching the news and was horrified to hear of a heartwrenching story. Katrina has caused a lot of damage not only to the city but to families. Last Wednesday night at Church in the Youth class we were shown some pictures of the wrath of Katrina and asked to express what our thoughts were on those. One of the pictures was this one and the thing that came to my mind were the houses that are immersed in water. In those houses were once families going

about their daily activities. Now these mothers, fathers, baby girls and boys, grandmas and grandpas and little sisters and brothers have now been for some torn apart. They are now dispersed all of the states trying to fathom what happened and where they go from here. This trajedy has taken place only about 7 -8 hours from here and only 4 hours from where I am from. This is not across the world that this has happened. My heart is gripped with much sadness for the despairing hearts who are still out there just waiting for help to come pull them out of this watery hell. The story that I heard this morning was about a man who commited suicide because he feared his family dead and couldn't bare the thought of going on with out them. The extremely sad thing is that his family was not dead but safe. He killed himself because he thought they were dead and now they are left with out him. I just can't imagine how his family feels knowing that he was safe, survived the hurricane but then took his own life. That is a tragedy in a tragedy. And there are so many stories of pain, grief, dispair, and there will be more as they continue to find the bodies that have passed. May God be with all of these people, families. May they turn their eyes up to God for their strength in the times to come. Trusting in Him to bring good out of all of this. May His light shine in this dark hour in their lives.

God bless those who have been affected by Katrina. My heart is in deep pain for you and it yearns to be there to help you. You will all be on my heart, in my thoughts and in my prayers.

Prayer is vital in this time for them. I read this the other day and thought it was worth sharing.

Hurricane Katrina:A Christian Response to Natural DisasterBy Byron Paulus
The catastrophe along the Gulf Coast has left us stunned. My eyes filled with tears last night as I joined millions of others who watched the interview of a man with two little boys describing how floodwaters tore his wife's hand away from his grasp. Her farewell expressions of love for her children and grandchildren wrenched my soul.
It is a colossal nightmare. Beyond imagination. And beyond our collective ability to immediately solve. That is not easy for a nation adrift in self-sufficiency.
How should we, as believers, respond to this tragedy?
In genuine love and deep compassion. Not only should our hearts go out, but so should our resources.
• Our most vital resource is PRAYER.
As the floodwaters were still rising, the governor of Louisiana declared a day of prayer. It seems her plea was carefully constructed when she said, “I know, by praying together . . . that we can pull together and draw strength we need; strength, that only God can give us.” Whether she realized it or not, she delineated four vitally important aspects of prayer:
• Prayer unites – It is true in marriages, in churches, and in cities.
• Prayer strengthens – Hope comes when we seek something bigger than ourselves.
• Prayer humbles – It is a confession and expression of our need
• Prayer exalts – It elevates God to His rightful place of power.
As we pray for those affected by this disaster, our hearts will unite with them and hope will surface. We will also realize “apart from God we can do nothing,” but “with God all things are possible.” The God who caused the floodwaters to rise can cause them to disappear.
• We must get involved.
God has given all of us some way of helping. It may be using our gifts and abilities. It may be physically volunteering. It may be donating money to relief efforts. It may be offering to help refugees to get started all over again. We cannot simply call ourselves Christians and ignore those in need.
• We must declare God's ways.
It is not always possible to discern why God allows or causes natural disasters to occur. We know from scripture that He does (Col.1:16-17; Dt.11:17; James 5:17; Num. 16:30-34; Rom.8:19-21). It is much easier to understand what it should accomplish in our own heart and in the soul of a community or nation. Nahum 1:3 says, “God has His way in the whirlwind and storm.” What are some of His ways.
• Natural disasters can be a reminder that we cannot expect on earth what is reserved for us in heaven. We live in a world that suffers from the consequences of sin, whether it be evil deeds of man or the effect of the fall upon creation.
• God is sovereign in all He ways. We cannot say God was completely passive and could not have prevented what took place. God is completely aware and active in the course of nature. “For from Him, and through Him and to Him are all things . . . ” (Rom. 11:36).
• God is good and redemptive in all His ways. The “goodness” of God is always a valid truth . . . in good times and bad. He has extraordinary ways of transforming adverse events into eternal benefit (Rom. 8:28-29; Isa. 61:1-3). We need to prioritize God's redemptive purposes in times of loss.
• Judgment is real. God sometimes uses physical means to judge sin. More souls were hurt, lives lost, marriages destroyed, and economic hardship incurred the past decades in the casinos and strip joints on the Gulf Coast than all those affected by Katrina. We cannot say God is just and holy and then question why He would allow communities characterized by sin to experience consequences. A better question might be, “Why is God's mercy so great that our entire nation has not suffered the same degree of consequence?”
• The just and unjust are both subject to God's ways — When God sends judgment, He does not limit it to only the wicked (Mt. 5:45). He blesses and curses both the just and the unjust, because we live in the context of community.
• Opportunities to serve. Another reason God allows crisis of this nature is to provide visible opportunities for Christ's love and compassion to be manifest through His church.
This brief commentary is not intended to provide a thorough theological treatment of these issues. BUT it is intended to motivate all of us to seek the Lord in how we should respond in a Christ-like way in light of Katrina.
Here at Life Action, we are partnering with a local church forty miles outside New Orleans, in a city that is serving as a staging area for relief efforts. Funds are going directly to the front lines to help people cope with this disaster. From conducting the funeral for a six-week old baby, to purchasing diapers, they are providing strategic help. Much time is being devoted to counseling refugees, pointing them to a holy God who loves them deeply.
The seeds of revival are never more fertile than during periods of persecution and difficulty. And our love is never more loudly expressed than when we embrace the cross as we sacrifice on behalf of others.Byron Paulus is the Executive Director of Life Action Ministries. For more information, go to www.LifeAction.org.

It is a beautiful Saturday morning here in Dallas! I am dying to go Garage Sale hunting. I usually get up by 6:00 to go but for some reason this morning I decided to wait. Here in Dallas the garage sales don't start as early as they do in Natchitoches. Me and Jessica my enthusiastic garage sale finatic would go together ( I miss her!) sometimes at 5:00 or so. It is a lot of fun and the things that you find are exciting. People are usually just trying to get rid of things and sometimes it is really good and expensive stuff that they are forced to sale for cheap.

BTW I wrote this this morning at about 7:30 but was interupted and didn't get to send it. Now it is almost 11:00 and we just walked in from............you guessed it..........Garage Saleing! No great and wonderful finds but Eli enjoyed himself. He brought his money which was 4 dollars and got a hat rack and a Tonka wooden race car to paint. It was a fun family adventure.

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." ~ Psalm 118:24

Joyfully Yours,

Kelli

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.~Psalm 9:10

My heart and soul take great comfort in this verse today. I just sat down for a moment to have a minute to myself after cleaning the house and fighting the battles in my mind. And I prayed that God would pour His peace and comfort on me. Although in all of His word there is always peace and comfort to be found, today David reached in me and grabbed my discontent and dispair and replaced it with His peace and comfort. The 3 weeks that we have been in Dallas have been high stressed, high moodiness, high loniless, uncertaintiy, distress, anxiety (much), feelings of being lost, sad, wretched and full of high hopes. I myself have been overtaken with a lot of distrust in many different areas of my life. I am ashamed to say it but it is the truth. It is a hard thing to try to change. When we so desperately desire to change and become a woman or man of stronger character in Christ it seems almost immpossible. And it is if we trust only in ourselves to make the change. We desire to do good and to strive for the things that are of God but we live in a fleshly carnal body that will not with out God our Perfecters help. And in that we must ask for him to come in and dwell in us. O, to dwell in me........."Yes" my spirit cries out......"Yes" that is what I so long for, for You O Lord God Almighty to allow Your Holy Spirit to come and make His home in my heart. Come in and cleanse me of any impurities that are lurking around in me. I dispise them and want to surrender today all of my worries to your Majesty.

Oh Lord how thankful I am for your ever radient unfading love that you have for me. You lavish me with Your grace and give me what I don't deserve. God I do not deserve Your peace, comfort and grace but yet You give it to me anyway because you are high holy and awesome beyond the measures of my small mind. You are faithful when I am miserably not and You will not forsake me............my heart is overjoyed with tears of Your faithfulness and love for me........me a sinner.

To all who are reading my ever boring thoughts today.....May God bless you abundantly with all of His goodness and may you be filled to the top of your soul with the Joy that is found only in His son Jesus Christ.

Joyfully Yours,
Kelli