Changing Perspective

I have often wondered why the Lord hasn't brought my husband into my life yet. Actually this is probably a daily question that goes through my mind. Today as I was spending time with the Lord, I heard him say, "Change your perspective".

What are the good things about me being single and now in my later 30's? A question I need to be asking myself instead of the one I wrote earlier. What can I thank the Lord for in my life? There really are so many things....and beginning to focus on those instead of what I don't have is such a better idea. So often the enemy wants to get us to focus on the bad....the things we are missing out on. My focus needs to remain on the Lord and on His goodness! He knows the desires of my heart, but He also knows the path He has me on....and He is good in all of it!

Things to be thankful for....I don't have as many responsibilities as those that are married and have children. I only have to take care of myself (which can be a chore sometimes!). I can pick up and go whenever I want....no one to ask. I can always go out for "Girls Night"!! I am blessed with an amazing group of friends that have surrounded me and loved me. I am right where the Lord has me....doing exactly what the Lord wants me to be doing! No better place to be!

Just wanted to share a little of what has been on my heart lately! It has been awhile since I have written....but I am working on being more active on here. Thanks for listening to my heart!

~ KIM ~

Adventures in HAITI.....

This past Thursday at about 2:3o in the morning we pulled into the church parking lot after ending a week long adventure to Haiti. I say adventure because it was exactly that! When I look back over all we did I feel like it was a lot longer than just a week. The days were very long and very full of so many things.

We arrived in Haiti the Thursday before last and noticed that there have been a lot of changes made in the country starting with the airport. Things seemed to be a lot more organized as they guided us through customs to baggage claim. We had no problems getting our luggage and making it out without having to pay someone.....which is definitely different than last time! Once we walked out of the building to find our ride, we noticed that there were fences up holding back the Haitians from grabbing our luggage and trying to help us to our vehicles in hopes of getting money. We quickly found our ride and made our way to the Foursquare base camp. It was nice to see all the changes made around the church as we passed by on the way to the house. The wall we had helped move rock for last time was completely up around the church with a huge gate in front. Ground had been leveled out and all the grass and weeds behind the church had been cleared out. It was so amazing to see all the hard work that had been done in just 3 months!

Once getting to base camp we received instructions for what we would be doing for the next few days. We were invited to hike up to a village out of Port Au Prince called Lascahobas. There is a Foursquare church located at the top of the mountain and they asked us to put on a Vacation Bible School program for the children up there for a few days. We planned projects for the kids along with lessons, and lots of games and other activities. Early the next morning we packed up our stuff and began our 2 hour journey in a Tap-tap (the vehicles that transport people in Haiti). Once we were at our destination we were greeted by about 30 Haitians that were going to be walking up the mountain with us to their village, Lascahobas. We unloaded all of our supplies and personal luggage along with ten new wooden benches that another team had made for the church. As things were being unloaded, the Pastor of the Foursquare church began calling kids over to pick up the benches and then he placed them on their heads. They carried these benches along with other items we brought up the mountain on top of their heads. I still don't understand how they did it, but I saw it happen and I am amazed!

I took a look up at the mountain in front of me and was not sure I would even be able to make this hike. The trail was almost straight up and it just kept going. This was by far the hardest thing I think I have ever done. We hiked up the mountain for an hour and a half and all the trails were straight up. I of course was in the very last group and we took our time....stopping along the path at any shaded area we could find because it was so hot. The Pastor stayed with us the whole time, making sure we were going the correct way. I kept telling him that he could go on ahead of us, but he insisted on walking slowly with us and making sure we made it!

Once at the top I was blown away by the view. It was one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. It was absolutely beautiful. We set up our tents and placed tarps around the toilet that sat on a slab of cement behind the church. It looked like it was going to rain a little so we put the rain flies over our tents and then joined the Haitians in the church. While sitting in the church, which is a building made of a tin roof and tarps for walls, the wind started to blow and the rain started to fall. The storm was beginning to hit and we all scattered throughout the area where we had placed our tents, making sure everything was secure. The wind picked up and the rain was coming down even harder. The tarps we had placed around the toilet were blowing away and it took everything we could do to stand there making sure we didn't lose the tarp. Because the rain was coming down so hard we decided to put the tarp from the bathroom over our tent to keep things dry. By this time we were all completely soaked from head to toe. Once everything was finally secure, or as well as we could make it, we went back into the church to wait the storm out. I can honestly say that I have never been in a storm like that before.

This is a few of us at our camp in the midst of the storm, completely wet!

All three nights that we were in the village, the Pastor invited us to a prayer meeting. The Haitians would all sing worship to the Lord, which was by far one of my favorite parts! They would sing with everything they had in them and it was beautiful. After a few songs, the worship leader would then read a Psalm. Then they would all sing a few more praises to the Lord. Each night one person from our team would share what the Lord had put on their heart. Our interpreter, Robenson, was there to help us out!

During the day we would play games with all the kids of all ages. We had relay's which was so fun to watch them participate in. Even the older women in the village joined in the games! Our team played in a few soccer games, one of which was in the mud and everyone was slipping and falling all over the place! Everyone in the village would come out and watch the games being played and would cheer and laugh with all of us. Basically we were up in their village to love on the people, but really what happened was they loved on us just as much. It was an incredible week of learning what community really is all about. These families live together, eat together, play together and love each other. It really was amazing to see!

While on the mountain the Lord spoke to me a lot about His presence. I was sitting up on this mountain looking out at the Lord's beauty and resting in His presence. He instructed me on what we needed to be doing the whole time we were up in Lascahobas. Without Him I would have been so lost and not really knowing what we could be doing for these people.....but He showed me that we were up there for a specific reason and He guided our steps along the way. I don't want to ever leave His presence. In His presence things happen! When we are in His presence, He gives us instruction and we, in obedience, get to move see things happen that wouldn't out of His presence. As I learned a lot about the presence of the Lord on that mountaintop, I realized that I need to bring that down into my every day life.....the valley. I don't want to go anywhere without being in His presence. I want the Lord to invade my life completely....and I want to see the unbelievable happen.

There were so many more things that happened in Haiti, but really this was the part that impacted me the most. Thank you for your prayers and support as our team went to Haiti. This trip will always have a special place in my heart.....it really did change me and for that I am so grateful!

~Kim~

HAITI

To be honest with all of you, I just want to admit that I am having a little bit of anxiety about our upcoming mission trip to Haiti. I leave on a trip with our 2nd year Anthem students in a little over one week and I am not sure if I am really prepared for what we are going to be doing. It is possible that we are going to be going to a part of Haiti that has not really been reached yet since the earthquake in January. I am from Eastern Oregon so I know what it is like to be "camping" with no showers and no bathrooms.....but the heat on top of this is going to be hard. Also, leading a group of young people is a lot of work and I have been going through a lot this summer....so the question is, am I really ready for this?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Phil 4:6-7

I am super excited to see what the Lord is going to do with our team....how we will be able to work in this village He is sending us to and what an impact He will have on lives by using us there. I felt like I was to write this blog post and ask that you will join me in prayer....because the scripture says "present your requests to God" and his peace will guard our hearts and minds!! I need the peace of the Lord!!!

Thank you!!

~ Kim ~

What An Adventure.....

This summer has truly been an adventure. Not so much in going places physically but mostly going places spiritually. The Lord had me start a journey this summer that has taken me back to places in my life where I have made agreements that shape my life. These agreements have not always been good agreements and have caused me to live in fear instead of living in freedom like the Lord has wanted for me.

A few months ago I started meeting with a Christian counselor and she began to help me process through all that the Lord was revealing to me. I felt like I had some pretty major breakthrough in my life and I was on my way to living in freedom!! About a month passed and I realized that the process I began at the beginning of the summer was really just the beginning. I am still on an incredible adventure with the Lord and on my way out of this dark pit that the Lord has revealed to me. There are good days and there are very hard days....but through it all the Lord has been so faithful! He wants complete healing in all of us....it is just our choice if we will surrender to his will and walk through it or just keep living our lives the way we always have. Personally I am sick of living my life the way I always have!!!

Today I was reading in My Upmost For His Highest, and it was talking about pouring out our blessings on the Lord. What the Lord was speaking to me was that instead of me holding on to the blessings and gifts that he gives me, I am supposed to be pouring them back on him. I am so afraid of losing these blessings so I hold on too tight....just hoping they will always be there. These blessings become my filling each day.....and that is not God's intention! He desires to be our complete filling....not his gifts and blessings. It has definitely been something for me to think about!

Now on with the rest of this adventure.......

Seeking His Presence

It has been way too long since I have updated my blog....so I thought it was about time to do just that.

My life has completely changed over the past few months and it is all because of God's presence in my life. For years I have walked around filling a deep pit with anything and anyone that could come and make me feel good and make me feel loved. The sad thing is that those things never lasted and so I would keep reaching to others and other things. Never completely satisfied. I started seeking the Lord and His Presence and the Lord met me! He came to this deep pit and began to fill it with his presence and his love!

He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings..... Psalm 40:2 (Amp)

It is amazing what can happen when we truly seek the Lord with our whole heart. When we finally let go of control and give God our EVERYTHING! I am living proof that God wants to come and completely fill our lives with his love so that we stop trying to reach out and get it from other people and other things. He wants to fulfill our every need!

~ Kim ~

A Revelation

Revelation - something made known to us by God

For the last couple of mornings I have been reading through the book of Galations during my quiet time with the Lord. The word revelation kept standing out to me as I was reading, so I began to dig a little deeper into what the Lord was wanting to speak to me.

Paul said in Galations 1:12....."I did not receive it from any man, not was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ." Paul was talking about how he came to know the Lord.....that nothing any man said changed his life, but it was what the Lord showed him that brought him into relationship with Jesus. Then, in Galations 2:2 he writes....."I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles." Paul had a revelation from the Lord to go and preach to the Gentiles, so his response was obedience.

For my own life I have realized in that the Lord speaks to me often....He gives me revelations! He makes known to me what direction he wants me to go in life. He makes known to me the things he wants to bring healing to in my life. He makes known to me what he thinks about me and how much He loves me. These are all things the Lord is doing on a regular basis. Now, just like Paul, I get to respond. Will my response be obedience or will it be to go my own way? I would hope that it would be obedience, but sometimes I have to admit that I am a little stubborn and it takes me awhile to completely obey.

I pray today that you and I will be receiving revelations from the Lord. That as we draw closer to the Lord he will draw closer to us! I pray that as the Lord reveals things to us that we would respond in obedience. I also pray that when God reveals things to us, that we would be a people like Abraham....."he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." Galations 3:6

I pray that when God speaks to us we would believe his truth and declare it in our lives.

Thank you Lord for speaking to our hearts!

~ Kim ~

Step Out

The moment I saw this camper the Lord showed me a picture. I was at the registration table at camp, checking in all the boys while Kate checked in all the girls. The picture was so real and it broke my heart. I began to pray and listen to the Lord for this young man.

Two days later I am standing in the back of the chapel and I see this young man and the Lord told me to go tell him what I saw. I went back and forth with God for about 5 minutes because one, I didn't know the kid and two, I didn't any clue what God was going to tell him and I was afraid. I had this heaviness on my chest and I knew I had to be obedient. God is so good....as I tapped this kid on the shoulder he glanced back at me, not really sure what I was doing. I leaned over and told him, "I have a word for you!" and immediately he turned around. There was an anticipation in his face and I knew he wanted to hear from the Lord. As I began sharing with him the picture the Lord gave me, God kept speaking more to him. That moment I knew that God met him right where he was and his life would be changed. It was amazing!

No matter if we know all that we are going to say or just a little piece of it, if God asks us to step out and speak....be obedient!

Since camp I have received a few texts from this kid and he told me that he is completely different. God did some pretty incredible things in his life up at camp and I am honored that the Lord would use me through it. I am learning that I don't have to have a feeling or have my heart start racing before I know it is God speaking to me.....I spend time with the Lord everyday and I have learned through my time with him what his voice sounds like. Now I listen and move when he asks, even if there isn't a feeling that takes over. I have seen God show up so much more lately because of my obedience and I don't ever want to go back to the way I was. I want to be used by the Lord everyday to see lives changed. I also want to hear from the Lord everyday for my own life.

I can't imagine living life without God speaking to me. I am so glad I don't have to!

~ Kim ~