Monday, December 26, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Siri. Beautiful and victorious.
Our niece Siri Grace is a gem. You can meet her...
The other night as I was laying down to go to bed I was feeling extra anxious. Stressing over all of the things that I need to get done, feeling insecure in different areas, and praying for peace because my mind was so overwhelmed.
As I was wrestling with my brain, asking the Holy Spirit to calm my anxious heart, He used Siri to teach me an important lesson...
I began to imagine Siri playing with a toy and getting frustrated because she couldn't figure it out. She kept trying and trying, but it was too complicated for her sweet little undeveloped mind. She then walked over to me in her desperation and handed me her toy, hoping that I would fix it. I was excited to take the toy from her, because I definitely knew how to fix it, and I felt happy to calm her frustration. I even felt honored that she chose me to come to when she felt sad. I fixed the toy for her and then handed it back to her. It was so satisfying for me to see her smile as she realized the toy was fixed again.
Through this, God showed me his desire to be the One to handle the matters of my life that cause me frustration. He loves me. He is excited when I come to Him with the issues that feel too big for me. In comparison to Him, I am little and undeveloped. Just as Siri's toy issue was too big for her, my life issues feel too big for me. But just as Siri's issue was nothing at all for me to fix, my issues are nothing at all for God to take care of. He is the Creator of everything. He is the Giver of life and the Savior of humankind-He can certainly handle my day-to-day tasks, my body, my marriage, and my home. He is huge, and I am teeny-tiny. He loves when I come to Him and give Him my life, asking for His help and direction. He loves to be my Savior and the source of my joy. Just like I love being the one Siri chooses to help her and rescue her when her life as a 10-month-old baby girl feels like too much for her to handle. God loves when I come to Him, in my desperation, looking to Him for answers. I was made for that.
We were all made for that. We were created by God, to do life with Him, and look to Him for all of our needs. To Him, we are like Siri, desperate little precious helpless babies. He loves us and He delights in taking care of us. We were created to trust Him, and only in giving ourselves to Him do we find true peace. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. It only makes sense to look to Him when things feel out of control.
Her name, Siri, means beautiful and victorious. Over the last few days I have been spending a lot of time with her and learning so much. She is amazing.
The other night as I was laying down to go to bed I was feeling extra anxious. Stressing over all of the things that I need to get done, feeling insecure in different areas, and praying for peace because my mind was so overwhelmed.
As I was wrestling with my brain, asking the Holy Spirit to calm my anxious heart, He used Siri to teach me an important lesson...
I began to imagine Siri playing with a toy and getting frustrated because she couldn't figure it out. She kept trying and trying, but it was too complicated for her sweet little undeveloped mind. She then walked over to me in her desperation and handed me her toy, hoping that I would fix it. I was excited to take the toy from her, because I definitely knew how to fix it, and I felt happy to calm her frustration. I even felt honored that she chose me to come to when she felt sad. I fixed the toy for her and then handed it back to her. It was so satisfying for me to see her smile as she realized the toy was fixed again.
Through this, God showed me his desire to be the One to handle the matters of my life that cause me frustration. He loves me. He is excited when I come to Him with the issues that feel too big for me. In comparison to Him, I am little and undeveloped. Just as Siri's toy issue was too big for her, my life issues feel too big for me. But just as Siri's issue was nothing at all for me to fix, my issues are nothing at all for God to take care of. He is the Creator of everything. He is the Giver of life and the Savior of humankind-He can certainly handle my day-to-day tasks, my body, my marriage, and my home. He is huge, and I am teeny-tiny. He loves when I come to Him and give Him my life, asking for His help and direction. He loves to be my Savior and the source of my joy. Just like I love being the one Siri chooses to help her and rescue her when her life as a 10-month-old baby girl feels like too much for her to handle. God loves when I come to Him, in my desperation, looking to Him for answers. I was made for that.
We were all made for that. We were created by God, to do life with Him, and look to Him for all of our needs. To Him, we are like Siri, desperate little precious helpless babies. He loves us and He delights in taking care of us. We were created to trust Him, and only in giving ourselves to Him do we find true peace. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. It only makes sense to look to Him when things feel out of control.
Isaiah 9:6(NIV)
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, & the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Jesus. Jessica. Santa. Snow. && a lovely little coffee shop.
Last Sunday my sister Meredith, our friend Melissa, and I ventured up to Big Bear, California. We were longing to see snow, and the girls had decided to have a day of snowboarding. This left me alone to spend all day in Big Bear village. I mostly sat in a coffee shop having an extra long date with Jesus, but I also walked around a bit and enjoyed being cold. Here are some pictures of my adventures...
My day in Big Bear was heaven-sent. I was able to go up there the weekend after I found out about Karl's death. Such a gift to be able to relax and get things done. God was so faithful to meet with me that day and remind me of truth. Such a gift.
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| Mrs. Clause :) |
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| Mrs. Clause came into the coffee shop |
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| The coffee-shop |
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| Jesus, journal-time, Bible-time, and a holiday latte |
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| I found Santa!! |
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| SO filled with Christmas spirit |
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| It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!! |
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| my Colorado heart was filled with joy when I found the snow |
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| Big Bear Lake |
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| Love this |
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| and this! |
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| My favorite mug! |
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| Christmas lights and icicles! |
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| Meredith, Melissa and me after they finished snowboarding! |
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| The Copper Q coffee shop |
Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Remembering Karl.
This video recalling Karl's life is so encouraging to me. Death is so sobering. Life is short and our days are valuable.
Last night as I was thinking about Karl's life and how painful discipleship can be, I asked Shaun, "What matters in life?" He laughed that I would ask such a deep question, but after thinking for a few minutes he said something wonderful. He said, "Loving God and loving others. It doesn't matter how wealthy, or successful you are. When you die people will recall the ways you loved others, they will remember the great things about your character. Like when Steve Jobs died, people weren't talking about all of his money, they were talking about how incredible it was that he tapped into his potential. The way he pursued excellence, and paid attention to details. What matters in life is relationships, like you spending 30 minutes with Maddie after dinner (Maddie is my 4th grade "little sister"), or me and Jesse going to Saul's house to check on him (Saul is a skater who recently began trusting Jesus.) Loving your spouse, and your family, and your friends matters. Loving God matters. Those are the things that people will remember about you."
Last night as I was thinking about Karl's life and how painful discipleship can be, I asked Shaun, "What matters in life?" He laughed that I would ask such a deep question, but after thinking for a few minutes he said something wonderful. He said, "Loving God and loving others. It doesn't matter how wealthy, or successful you are. When you die people will recall the ways you loved others, they will remember the great things about your character. Like when Steve Jobs died, people weren't talking about all of his money, they were talking about how incredible it was that he tapped into his potential. The way he pursued excellence, and paid attention to details. What matters in life is relationships, like you spending 30 minutes with Maddie after dinner (Maddie is my 4th grade "little sister"), or me and Jesse going to Saul's house to check on him (Saul is a skater who recently began trusting Jesus.) Loving your spouse, and your family, and your friends matters. Loving God matters. Those are the things that people will remember about you."
Ephesians 5:2
New Living Translation (NLT)
2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us[a] and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
wisdom from my father-in-law.
Shaun & Jess,
I'm so sorry to hear about the terrible loss of Karl. His life was a testimony to the power of Christ to transform and bring hope, and then to the power of the devil to destroy a life if given the chance.
In John 10:10, Jesus said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly." Karl proved the truth of Jesus words. When he gave himself to Christ, his life was transformed into a life with hope and a future. His bondage was turned to freedom; his dispair was turned to joy. Jesus delivered on his promise to Karl.
Then Karl had a slip, a failure, a moment of weakness, as any of us can, that put the devil back in control, and Satan stole from him his joy, his hope and his freedom, and ultimately sought to kill and destroy him. That is what he does.
Karl's life is a testimony to the power of Christ, and also to the evil and destructive intentions of the devil. We need to be very sober about our freedom in Christ. We need to be very careful not to turn back to the pleasures of this world. We need to resist the devil and cling to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Without Him, we have no hope and we have no power. We must never give the devil a foothold in our lives, because Jesus was very clear about Satan's intentions for all of us.
I will not presume to judge Karl; Jesus knows. But let us take a lesson from his life and death to know where true hope lies, and how desperate we are for God's continued mercy and grace toward us.
I'll be praying for you, and for all of Karl's friends and family.
xxxooo, -Dad
I'm so sorry to hear about the terrible loss of Karl. His life was a testimony to the power of Christ to transform and bring hope, and then to the power of the devil to destroy a life if given the chance.
In John 10:10, Jesus said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly." Karl proved the truth of Jesus words. When he gave himself to Christ, his life was transformed into a life with hope and a future. His bondage was turned to freedom; his dispair was turned to joy. Jesus delivered on his promise to Karl.
Then Karl had a slip, a failure, a moment of weakness, as any of us can, that put the devil back in control, and Satan stole from him his joy, his hope and his freedom, and ultimately sought to kill and destroy him. That is what he does.
Karl's life is a testimony to the power of Christ, and also to the evil and destructive intentions of the devil. We need to be very sober about our freedom in Christ. We need to be very careful not to turn back to the pleasures of this world. We need to resist the devil and cling to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Without Him, we have no hope and we have no power. We must never give the devil a foothold in our lives, because Jesus was very clear about Satan's intentions for all of us.
I will not presume to judge Karl; Jesus knows. But let us take a lesson from his life and death to know where true hope lies, and how desperate we are for God's continued mercy and grace toward us.
I'll be praying for you, and for all of Karl's friends and family.
xxxooo, -Dad
Karl.
This little man had an enormous heart. Karl's favorite thing to do was worship Jesus. It brings me peace knowing that he is doing his most favorite thing right this very moment. I miss you little brother. I love you always.
Baby boy. How much you are loved, and yet I know you barely believe its true. I know it takes every bit of you to believe in me, too. For every time you were told something different, I will be there whispering in your ear how much my love for you is truly what is real. How many tears I have wiped from your pain-stricken face, as your mind is filled with memories and lies you beg for me to erase. I created you with such a delicate heart, to portray my gentleness like no other could impart.
Baby boy. I have loved you through every good and hard day, loved you through every sleepless night, pulled your covers up tighter when you were afraid. And I had my people praying, you may not have even known, someone each night, I placed your name on their heart. Your name, little one, was etched on the palm of my hand when you said "yes" to me, and despite where you slipped, you will be with me for eternity.
Baby boy. I have brought you home. For in my great mercy, I cannot watch you hurt, I had to tell you in person just how much I love you. You don't yet have knowledge of the great impact you have left with your short life, the passion you praised my Name with, and the humble vulnerability of your fight. Your hunger, I now fully satisfy, as you forever abide in my presence. No more tears. My holy deliverance.
12.2.11
By Kate Hunt
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