The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison

A great 7 minutes. Take time to watch.

Thankful

I am beyond thankful this season. Here are some of my reasons:
Hope in Jesus which is what sustains me.
A husband who loves me unconditionally, is an amazing provider, spiritual leader and pretty good in other areas too! *wink wink*
3 happy healthy boys who, despite all my efforts to stop them are growing up way too fast.
An extended group of family and friends who know me intimately and still love me.
Freedom to speak the name of Jesus without fear.
To live in America.
The house I live in, the car I drive (that is paid for), and the church I attend.
The freedom to Homeschool my children.
Sushi, bunco and Starbucks. :0D
Don't take life for granted. Be thankful every day!!



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Right where I am

I live in NC. I have purpose here. Sometimes I wonder though. I am homesick, to the point of breathlessness right now. How is it, when life is already so short my family is somehow called to be on the other side of the country?

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

I think that says it all.

When I realize that as I go about my life with my heart being fully committed to God and focused on Him then even when I feel purposeless His plans are prevailing.

I have these times when I question and doubt and wonder how this little seemingly insignificant life I lead has any purpose but thats just it, my heart is truly devoted to God and if this is where He wants me, doing just what I am doing right now then OK!

I think too often we compare ourselves with what others are doing. We sit and think well Christine Caine has been ministering in 4 countries in the last 2 weeks, or Francis Chan is starting yet another church in California and Nicky Cruz just had his 2,000th crusade. But I/you haven't been called to be Christine, Francis or Nicky. I've been called to be ME! I have to remind myself that just because I am not jet setting around the globe that somehow my life isn't as significant. God loves me and can use me right where I am as long as my heart is devoted to Him for His purposes and not my own.

Rest

I have been learning to rest. Not the whole mom of three kids, plus a husband and homeschool etc and I need a break kind of rest. But the resting in God kind of rest.
It started about a month ago after we began looking for a house. I wasn't really sure I even wanted to pursue house buying again. After all we went through in Florida I guess you could say I was gun shy. Now admittedly we didn't exactly do things the right way but even still we have been working really hard to be debt free so I didn't want to add any more. Not that house debt is bad debt but anyway, I digress.
There were just lots of things happening all at once I felt totally overwhelmed.
During my time with the Lord one morning I was reading in Matthew.
Matthew 6:25-27 says Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Then in Matthew 10:28-31 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
The first scripture is telling me not to worry about my life or what I will eat or drink or what I will wear. That life is so much more than all those things. I like how in both scriptures there is a reference to birds.
Several times a week I'll sit on my back porch in the mornings to talk to God and my view is an empty field. As I watch the morning fully roll in the birds are flying all over, some solo and some together. I watch how they are so free and its so clear to me how they just live their lives knowing its all good. They are just birds but not one will fall to the ground outside your father's care. He knows when a bird falls to the ground and I'm worried that He might be missing something in my life?
So, back to rest. What does that look like? Different things for different people I guess. For some its disconnecting from the world, shutting off the phone, computer or TV, being quiet, taking a time out and getting away from it all. Maybe its all of these things. I think more than that its recognizing that God holds it all in the palm of His hand. He loves me and has it all under control. My life, my marriage, my kids, my future, everything and anything. Not only that but when I lack wisdom for any situation that He has control over I simply need to ask and He gives it to me. James 1:5. Key is to choose it. To open my hand and my heart and let Him reign. He has nothing but goodness for His children but we have to make the choice to give it up to Him and trust He knows best.
So, this house situation has been amazing all the way through because where ever we have needed wisdom God has provided it. We have prayed without ceasing, sought godly counsel and ultimately left it in His hands and entered His rest and its been the best thing I have ever done.
So, my encouragement to you? Choose to enter His rest. You will never regret it.

Halloween and stickin' it out!

Halloween this year was spent at our churchs' trunk or treat since I got suckered into decorating a car. If you know me, then you know that is not my area of expertise. Nevertheless I sucked it up and not only decorated but also made up a game for the kids to play for candy. Brian and I bought the best candy so I had to spend the whole night smelling this amazing chocolate and sugar mix. It was intoxicating but I held out and didn't give in and have even one piece. In just 28 short days Paleo has held true to it's word that when you cheat you feel horrible so it's not worth giving in. That doesn't mean though that it's getting easier because it isn't. In fact I'm quite sure I had migraine last night simply from inhaling. Well not quite but it sounds good doesn't it?
The boys had a blast being Napoleon and Pedro and Jayden even won the middle school costume contest. (Jackson won for Napoleon at a party last week) See below how funny they looked.
After beating the candy monster that is Halloween I am convinced Thanksgiving and Christmas will be a breeze.


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Thankfulness: It's an attitude

Lately I find my youngest constantly complaining about everything. It doesn't matter what it is, he finds a reason to complain. My standard response lately has been "Wow,it's never enough is it?" I wonder as I utter those words and even now as I write this does God feel this way? Do the lives we live out before Him and before others in our so-called Christian life scream out I want more, this isn't enough!! I have to ask myself what example have I set for my son and others that shows there is reason to complain. Because the truth is, there is nothing I or anyone anywhere in America has anything to complain about. But our pathetic culture has told us we do. We are bombarded daily with the subtle reminders of all we are missing in our lives. That if we buy into the lie it will make things complete and we will finally have peace.
But I have found the truth, thankfully! The truth is Gods rest is all I need. The peace that comes with knowing all I am and all I'll ever be is wrapped up in Him. That He holds me in the palm of His hand and true rest is found in knowing I have no control because He has all of it and He will never leave me.
Now, if I can only convey this to my son.
Try an attitude of thankfulness, you have nothing to lose and there is so much to be thankful for!

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It's the great pumpkin Charlie Brown

Monday evening our fam decided to do something we had never done before, carve pumpkins for Halloween. Now, before any of you get all Christinese on me we didn't do anything creepy or scary.
The boys (Jackson and Jayden, Jared is too cool) were pretty excited after dad cut off the top and they started cleaning out the insides. Of course it wasn't long before their excitement turned to groans coupled with "gross" and "ewwww". Even I was shocked at just how much junk was really in there and how long it took to scrape it all out. And as Brian pointed out, you better get all the "hair" out or once the candle is lit will catch on fire pretty quick once it's all dried out.
We let Jack and JD pick the faces and Dad and Jared went about carving them out. Its a lot harder than it looks but in the end we were pretty proud of how normal our pumpkins look.

For whatever reason all the pics loaded the wrong way. Here is the finished product.

Digging out its guts, yuck!

THINKING OUT LOUD: Change Your Name, Christian, Or Change Your Conduc...

THINKING OUT LOUD: Change Your Name, Christian, Or Change Your Conduc...: "'No matter where you find yourself, God has better things for you. That doesn't mean the absence of stress, pain and conflict. What it d..."

Things I've learned after 13 days on Paleo.

13 days ago Brian and I decided it was time to be proactive with our eating and health. We both wanted to feel better and sometimes you have to be extreme if you want extreme results. No more excuses!
Here are some things I've learned:
•Being this disciplined is extremely difficult.
•There are less things I can eat than I can't.
•Spaghetti with spaghetti squash is actually really good.
•I hate salad when I can't have good ole fashioned ranch.
•Paleo pancakes are pretty good but real maple syrup is not.
•Dark chocolate chips help when you are craving something sweet.
•I haven't been as tired during the day as normal.
•Potatoes make me sick, so do mushrooms.
•Almond milk and almond butter rocks and Paleo or not I'll never go back.
•Coconut milk is disgusting!!!
•Being this disciplined is worth it bc I feel great!!

This applies in all areas of our life. Discipline is never easy but always worth it!!!





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Remembering with Love

This is a picture of my beautiful mother.
She was 19 when it was taken.
This picture makes me smile.
There aren't enough words to describe how much I love her!!
Today she would have been 60.
I would have loved to tease her about it.
I can't do that.
She is with Jesus.
I ache to hear her voice.
I miss her contagious laugh.
I long for her presence in my life.
I am comforted in knowing she is whole, healed and abiding daily in God's presence.
I cling to the Hope I will see her again.
Happy Birthday Momma!!




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Who YOU are in HIM!!

For too many years I believed I was only as good as the car I drove, the house I lived, the clothes I wore and the company I kept. And because I bought into this lie life sucked! I was defined by things and people. I failed to understand who I was in Jesus. I was in debt, stressed out, unfulfilled, and basically miserable. As a result I judged others the way I felt the world judged me. If I had more then I felt I was better. If I had less then I felt inferior. It was a vicious cycle that tore me apart on the inside. It wasn't until we moved here 2 years ago on the verge of bankruptcy that God began opening my eyes to what was really important. All this material worldly stuff was so temporal. At the end of the day all this would fade to black. But what mattered? My heart! Your heart! The heart of the Father. Our relationships with each other. And of course first and foremost our relationship with Him. As I let Jesus in and do some heart surgery I entered His rest in this area. I'm not there yet and will never be but I am working towards my transformation in Him. Knowing what Jesus says about me and the truth in that is what will set me free. I want my Father to define me. I want the character and nature of Jesus flowing out of my life everyday so people will see my good deeds and praise my Father in heaven. Matt 5:16
Here are the truths of who we are in Him:
I am loved 1John 3:3
I am accepted Ephesians 1:6
I am a child of God John 1:12
I am Jesus' friend John 15:14
I am a joint heir with Jesus, sharing His inheritance with Him Romans 8:17
I am united with God and one spirit with Him 1Corinthians 6:17
I am a temple of God. His spirit and his life live in me 1 Corinthians 6:19
I am a member of Christ's body. 1 Corinthians 12:27
I am a Saint Ephesians 1:1
I am redeemed and forgiven Colossians 1:14
I am complete in Jesus Christ Colossians 2:10
I am free from condemnation Romans 8:1
I am a new creation because I am in Christ 2Corinthians 5:17
I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved Colossians 3:12
I am established, anointed, and sealed by God 2Corinthians 1:21
I do not have a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind 2Timothy 1:7
I am God's co-worker 2Corinthians 6:1
I am seated in heavenly places with Christ Eph 2:6
I have direct access to God Ephesians 2:18
I am chosen to bear fruit John 15:16
I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house 1 Peter 2:5
I have been given exceedingly great and precious promises by God by which I share His nature 2 Peter 1:4
I can always know the presence of God because He never leaves me Hebrews 13:5
God works in me to help me do the things He wants me to do Philippians 2:13
I can ask God for wisdom and He will give me what I need James 1:5
Read these daily and be encouraged with these truths!!!

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Paleo Day 5. I want some bread!

Today I'm struggling. Especially as I eat my afternoon snack. Dont get me wrong, I love apples and almond butter but I long for bread. I crave bread, I NEED bread. Ok enough complaining. I am feeling better and that's all that matters although the boys will eat pizza tonight so talk about challenging. Wait, I said enough complaining. Ok I'm done.
25 days to go.
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Paleo Journal Day Three

For several years I have dealt with serious intestinal pain. It wasn't until 2 years ago I even learned of the word gluten and what it was. When I started to read about how it messes up your insides and the side effects I knew I was onto something and started really changing things in the hopes I would feel better. When I was still having issues someone mentioned maybe I was intolerant to lactose so I cut that out too and for about a month off and on I felt better. It wasn't consistent though and I felt frustrated. I began learning that there are gluten/lactose in more things than you realize because they are disguised with all these other technical names so you miss it.
About 3 weeks ago Brian happened on this article about how bad gluten/lactose etc. is so bad for you. DUH! He forwarded me the email stating "I am ready to get gluten out of my diet NOW!!" I was blown away since this is a man who loves anything fast, fried or full of sugar. So go here and read the article. Its full of the why's and all the science you'd ever want. I personally can't read or understand most of that so I just took Brian's word for it. He likes all the educational stuff and loves science and he said it all makes sense to him so together we decided to take the 30 day challenge. Here's the skinny, you can't have anything processed, no refined carbs at all, no sugar unless its stevia or honey, no lactose and no peanuts or legumes of any kind. So, this is a typical day: Breakfast can either be eggs with some deli (the all natural nitrate free kind of course) ham or turkey and avocado. I have a smoothie made with almond butter, strawberries, blackberries, flax seed and a banana. YUM!
For lunch Monday I made chicken fajitas seasoning made from scratch all natural with bell peppers and onions and over a bed of lettuce. No dressing aloud. I tried olive oil and almost threw up. Dinner for me that night was eggs with tomatos and ham.
Last nights dinner was actually not too bad. It was pork loin in the crock pot with cauliflower, and zucchini. I also added steamed green beans and broc. Everyone liked it.
Snacks include plain all natural applesauce, dried fruit, nuts (no peanuts), almond butter with celery or carrot sticks, fruit, and boiled eggs.
So, how have we been feeling? Well, its been rough. Brian and I both had headaches the first 2 days and then this morning I had a hard time leaving the bathroom if you get my drift. But I think things will settle down and once we really get into a routine it will become easier. We aren't tormenting our kids with this same life style except at dinner time.
Anyway, I'll be back in a few days to let you all (all 5 of you) know how we are doing.
Here's to feeling better.

Unshakable

This weekend our church hosted a womens conference called Unshakable and one of the speakers was Bethany Murdock from Wave Church in VA Beach. Our pastors wife, Debbie also spoke and they were all life changing messages.
Some of the ideas were making the declaration "I have faith for this!!"
Letting our faith bring power into our life.
Declaring that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Don't worry about what you aren't, but who HE is!!
Jesus has promised us a joy-filled life (notice I did not say happy) because that joy that we choose will become our strength.
Anyway, there was so much more and it was all so encouraging. I feel renewed. If you want to hear for yourself go to reimagechurch.com and go to media and they will be right there or if you have an iPhone then podcast it.
And just to brag, our oldest kid helped lead worship for all the sessions. It's exciting to watch him use the talent God gave him for His glory.

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Choose this day

My friend Shirley, over at Thinking Out Loud inspired me to write this:
Joshua 24
The people were being challenged by Joshua to choose, if serving THE God wasn't something they desired then they should choose a god. Maybe one their forefathers worshiped or the gods of the land they were currently living and then Joshua declared "But me and my family, we will serve THE GOD!!" How often do children ride on their parents' faith? I've done it and seen it. The parents responsibility is to live their relationship with Jesus out loud all the while encouraging their children to seek Him for themselves. The younger you can encourage this the better. My children cannot have a relationship with God through me just like I can't have a relationship with God through my pastor or b/c I go to church every week. Authentic relationship with the Father requires digging into His word and seeking His truth for your life. James 1:5 says If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.
He will give it, but will you take it?
It requires submitting when He convicts your spirit. You can't say you want God's truth in your life yet refuse to submit. Or think that can't be for me. I've had countless conversations with Him when He has convicted me. Why do I have to give up this or that? Why? Because it hinders you being closer to me. It hinders you being all that you can be spiritually. It leads to more temptation which, when given in to leads to more guilt and shame. You risk becoming de-sensitized to all the things the world says are OK. I want to be all I can for Christ. I want to be what John 15 talks about with the Vine and the branches. I want Jesus to remain in me. I am convinced I can do nothing apart from Him so if that means cutting things off that distract or take away from all I can be then let the pruning begin even if that means I'm a little uncomfortable and a little different according to what the world (even the Christian world) says. As Craig Groeschel often says "I'd rather be considered weird b/c normal is what everyone else is doing and I don't want to look like everyone else."

Ummmmm, OK?!

Wow, I don't get why a truck this size is necessary but OK. Each to their own.


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21 Things for A21

The A21 Campaign is a website I've followed for about a year. They are committed to abolishing injustice in the 21st century. www.thea21campaign.org
We all need to be aware of the staggering statistics of human trafficking going on in our world.
Here are just a few:
Trafficking in women is the second largest global organized crime today, generating approximately US$12 billion a year.
There are 1.39 million victims of commercial sexual servitude worldwide.
Over 25 percent of sex trafficked victims are trafficked from Southern and Eastern Europe.
90% of victims trafficked into EU member states end up in the sex industry.
There is an estimated 20,000 women and girls trafficked into the Greek sex industry, earning Greece the title: "the center of trafficking in Europe."
One study reveals that one in every 10 Ukrainian persons knows someone in their community who has been trafficked.
Tragically, only 1-2 percent of victims are rescued, and only 1 in 100,000 Europeans involved in trafficking are convicted.
(stats taken from a21 website)

Please go to this site and click on 21 Ways to help and do something.
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Clip from Jesus wants the Rose by Matt Chandler.

INCREDIBLE!!!!

Husband of the year award goes to...

Brian is not only the man of my dreams but as selfless as they come. Yesterday we packed up and he took me to Raleigh for the night.
After checking in to the hotel he took me to my fave restaurant PF Changs and after to the Apple store so he could get his drool on.
This morning after check out we went from car lot to car lot looking at mustangs (one of Brian's fave cars.
We soon found ourselves downtown bc Brian had found a tea/gift shop he wanted to take me to. The gift shop wasn't impressive at all but Brian selflessly agreed to share afternoon tea with me even though he was the only guy. It was English to a tee, no pun intended and after finishing his tea and scone with Devonshire cream he commented how much he liked it. I am incredibly blessed to be married to this man and pray I don't ever take him for granted.



Pure deliciousness!!


His comment here was, "I feel gay".


Tea for 2.


Scone with jam and cream.


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Bleeding Purple and Gold

Saturday Brian took me to my first ECU football game and all I have to say is ARRRRGGGGHHH!!
We were blessed with great seats on the 50 yard line and thankfully surrounded by fellow fans with clean mouths, if you get my drift.
ECU played Memphis and in the first half of the first quarter ECU scored 2 touchdowns. I thought it was funny too because in my opinion they were off to an awesome start and fans were loving them, however fast forward 2 minutes and those same fans quickly turned against them because someone fumbled the ball. It's so funny to me that this win or loss will make or break their day. I guess the truth of it is, we all have things that ultimately can control how we are or aren't. It's so funny to me that this win or loss will make or break their day. I guess the truth of it is, we all have things that ultimately can control how we are or aren't.
Well, ECU won BIG Saturday so I'm sure the partying went on into the night in celebration.

I've never been into sports much but I have to say I love watching people at events like these. People dress up with painted faces, wigs, wearing all the colors in support. A guy in front of us had a purple shirt, purple and gold shorts, a purple visor and then one purple and one gold converse. You could say he was into it. I don't own anything purple so I borrowed something from Jared's girlfriend. I didn't wanna feel out of place.

It was a lot of fun and I hope we get an opportunity to go again or at least for my boys to experience that too!

We saw these Pirate chicks so I forced Brian to get his pic with them.

Yes, thats me with Pirate Pete.