Go outside and look up!

It's a full moon tonight! Am I the only one that gets really excited about such beauty? I hope not. Tonight there is an absolutely, unbelievably, beautiful, giant, amazing full moon! Bundle up, go outside and see for yourself. WOW- WOW - WOW. What an awesome God we have. Yea God!

It's a New Year

This morning I awoke very, very early. This was the view from my window. A beautiful sunrise, a symphony of soft pink and golden yellow! Another day of hopeful possibilities. It is a new year, time to set our heart, mind and spirit on the horizons ahead. Praise to God, for His mercies to us are new every morning.

My moon

Tomorrow will be the "official" full moon, but to me, tonight's moon is just as enchanting and magnificent, don't you think? The night before a full moon, is my moon...

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands”

This beautiful statement is from the Bible-Psalm 19:1.

"The universe reveals the majesty of its Creator. Of course, God’s glory can be seen in many different aspects of creation—not just the heavens. Consider the magnificent intricacy of a living cell, the complexity and the amazing diversity of life on earth, and the mathematical precision of the laws of physics and chemistry. These are all indicative of the incomprehensible creativity, intelligence, and power of the Creator." Quote by Dr. Jason Lisle

The offence of Legalism

Legalism is the distortion of Grace

Legalism : A religious system which emphasises rules, codes and laws we must succeed at, or a standard we must attain in order to earn acceptance, favor, merit ot love!

Grace: The unmerited, unearned, special favor of God's love and mercy lavished upon us through Christ!

God is so rich in mercy and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when Christ raised from the dead. Salvation is not a reward for good things you have done, but a gift of grace (undeserved, special favor without merit) Ephesians 2:4-10

"Here is a simple test to check whether you are prone to a legalistic thinking: ask yourself, "How does God feel about me today?" If the answer is anything other than, He is passionately in love with me, then you are falling into the trap of thinking that God's attitude towards us is determined by our performance rather than by his essential loving character. In other words, you're thinking as though God's favour is earned rather than freely given. " Quote from Mike Taylor , From Legalism to Grace, 2001.

A quick word of thanks to all my prayer warriors!

“I thank my God every time I remember you.” Phil. 1:3

My return back to the States was an adventure in itself! I made it back to Northern California on Friday night. As some of you know I picked up a nasty bug (bacterial?) about 30 hours prior to my departure from Bangkok. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure I could make it down the hallway of the apartment, let alone endure a taxi ride, airport terminals, layovers, 23+ hours of air travel immigration and then a three hour drive home... but I did, and GOD IS GOOD.

I am home now and feeling better every hour. So how in the world did I survive the trip? Your prayers! On the morning of my departure I was still debating, “should I just cancel or reschedule this flight?” These were my thoughts as I laid sprawled out on the tile floors of my little room, exhausted from typing a simple four sentence email for prayer support! I was already dressed and my luggage was packed. All I had to do was find the energy to get up!

Rejoice in all things came to mind as I got up for one last trip down the hall to the bathroom. “Okay Lord, I rejoice that my body has been working VERY efficiently in a NON-STOP manor to EXPEL the little trouble maker in my system!” But I still have a day and a half of NON- STOP travel ahead. How can I do this?

Standing at the threshold of my host family’s apartment, my mind became flooded with all sorts of stressful and embarrassing (possible) traveling scenarios! (I am sure you can imagine). Then a clear thought came to me from my Heavenly Father, “Step out the door, trust Me. Your friends and family are praying.”

Okay.

Faith requires us to trust the invisible and the impossible to an all knowing and loving God. It requires action on our part. If I had decided not to step out the door, would I have robbed my friends and family from experiencing the joy of being a part of God’s supernatural provision for me? I think, maybe so…

To all of you, I send my love. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for the important role you play in my life and for the role you play in reaching the nations ….for every time I remember each of you, my heart is full of appreciation!

Much love and

many blessings, Kathy

The Power of Encouragement!

Tokens of love and concern from my friends.

To those of you who understand the power of an encouraging word, thank you so much!

Functional vs Dysfunctional

Who is the Father Carving You To Be?

Understanding who I am in Christ, out trumps who I was and how it is that I became numbered among the vast sea of dysfunctionals. No family or person is perfect, but that did not seem to slow me down from trying. That’s what dysfunctional people do, we try and try to make sense of a world that has none. The harder we try to sort through what seems to be an unending cycle of chaos or insecurities the deeper we fall into despair and denial. In an escape to flee the inevitable branding of being “damaged goods”, many of us ran smack into the undeniable, unconditional, inescapable love of a Heavenly Father.

How great is the Father’s love that we should be called children of God! Today I am a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away. My value does not come from who I am, but who’s I am. I belong to Jesus. He calls me; Beloved, Chosen and Redeemed. These new titles may have been stamped on me at the time of my conversion, but they become engraved in me through the struggles and trials of life.

God is not the one who subjects us to terrors; dysfunction begets dysfunction, sin brings forth more sin. During my younger years I observed unhealthy patterns for marriage, conflict resolution and life in general. I filed these pieces of information away in my mind as “normal”. As an adult, these same dysfunctional patterns manifest themselves through 15 years of marriage. I played a part in repeating the cycle.

The scars of domestic violence never really fade away. They are like deep gouges that disfigure a fine piece of wood. So how do people move forward? Where and how does healing take place? I can only share with you how it has been happening in my life.

Among other things, my earthly father was a craftsman, a carver who painstakingly transformed ordinary blocks of wood into beautiful master pieces. In a similar way I see my Heavenly Father, as a master craftsman, lovingly transforming my damaged life through the years. Seeing the deep gouges of fear and distrust in my life, He carefully, painstakingly chiseled over the top of them with His grace and love. What others might have discarded as damaged or scrap lumber, unfit for any good thing, God has firmly set hold of for His Kingdom purposes. He engraved deep into my soul that which was initially only stamped on to the surface. I am a daughter of the King, I am His workmanship created for His glory!