Celebrate life!

Great is Thy faithfulness,
O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness,
Lord, unto me!

Good Morning Dear Friends!

I hope today finds you happy and grateful. With death dominating our headlines over the past week, I pray that you all make a conscious decision to celebrate life by thanking God for His faithfulness towards us.

Thank Him for you health, your job, your job prospects, your healing from sickness, new life and the lives of our recently departed. If your kids are home, thank God that they have completed another school year. If you're blessed enough to take vacation, thank God for that too.
Don't let the news (or you own circumstances) dictate how you feel. You have SO much to be thankful for. Show God how much you love Him by celebrating life. Make the decision to be happy by creating opportunities for enjoyment.

Call a friend, go out for ice cream, or simply relax.

Whatever you do, enjoy it.

Have a blessed, grateful, and enjoyable week!
K.

Ecclesiastes 11
The Uncertainties of Life

1 Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.[a] 2 But divide your investments among many places,[b] for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.
3 When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.
4 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.
5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb,[c] so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.
6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.
Advice for Young and Old

7 Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.
8 When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.
9 Young people,[d] it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. 10 So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless.

Tis time...

“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
Matthew 24:36

You know what you're supposed to be doing... now do it...

On faith requires reasoning...

Dear Friends-

I hope you had a blessed weekend and wonderful Fathers' Day. Today's Word is an adapted message from Rev. A.R. Bernard of Christian Cultural Center.

As we move into new seasons of our lives, we're faced with decisions that require our faith. From the world's perspective, faith is a gamble because it appears to be blind (or uninformed). This is not correct.

TRUE faith requires reasoning based on the character and power of God. We engage in a process of reasoning before we come to a place of trust. If the Lord can feed 5000 people at a wedding with two fish and five loaves of bread, surely He can send the right job your way. That's the power of God. If you trust in His character as a loving God, then you know He will give you the strength to correct your mistakes (no matter how difficult).

True faith involves a change in your thought life (or a renewing of the mind). If your thought life is shaky, Satan can easily shake your faith by questioning your reasoning. In other words, if you don't understand God's power or His character, your faith can not fully develop.

Faith has an intellectual dimension, it involves your emotions, and engages the human will. Think about your sense of faith. Are you missing any of these three elements? Are you unsure? Read the scripture below and think about a situation where your faith was tested. What decision did you make? How did you come to that decision? What would you have done differently?

Feel free to share your responses with me. In the meantime, take care, stay blessed, and stay faithful!

K.

Matthew 14

²² Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. ²³ After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

²⁴ Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. ²⁵ About three o’clock in the morning^[b] Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

²⁷ But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!^[c]”

²⁸ Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

²⁹ “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the strong^[d] wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

³¹ Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said.“Why did you doubt me?”

³² When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³ Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

³⁴ After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. ³⁵ When the people recognized Jesus, the news of his arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed. ³⁶ They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

For Fathers' Day...

Dear Friends-

A dad's responsibility is to provide security and stability for his family. If the bills are paid, that's great. But being a dad means so much more.

Growing up, my dad was a highly intuitive, "on point" father; a man of modest means and extraordinary sensitivity to the needs of his girls; a man who was engaged and affectionate with his children. As a result, I married someone just like him. Because I was so blessed, I feel I can give a little advice about what made our relationship so special.

• When your children speak to you, stop and look them in the eyes. Make them feel as if that conversation is the most important thing you've ever heard.
• Allow your boys to cry when they're in pain.
• Push your daughters as hard as you would push your sons to accomplish their goals (don't worry, we can take it).
• Tell your children the truth and be their friends when they need it.
• Show your children a little tenderness, no matter how silly their problems seem to be.
• Establish your own relationships with them, apart from their mothers.
• Make dates and connect with your children individually.

And if you don't live with your children, the advice is the same. My father and I have always lived thousands of miles apart and although I missed him physically, my access to him was instant. His attention was fully on me.

For those of us who are already grown up, or our fathers are in heaven, connect with the "fathers" in your lives today. Think of one thing you can do today to show them your appreciation. Show love to our elderly parents (who sometimes drive us crazy); our fathers who have difficulty expressing their feelings; our ex-husbands and babies' dads; and our single moms who play both parents and get very little appreciation.

Love them, pray for them, and show them mercy, just as our Heavenly Father has done for us.

Have a blessed weekend and a wonderful Fathers' Day.

Love,

K.

You're being tested for a reason!

Dear Friends-

Over the last two weeks, I have been reminded of some important lessons.

I've been praying for change for a long time and now I understand why certain things remain the same. No matter how much you pray, God doesn't change your situation for your benefit, He blesses you based on His purpose for your life. As a matter of fact, the Lord will use specific people and situations to build your areas of weakness until He's ready to bless you.

If you've been arguing with your spouse about the same issue since you got married or your relationships are filled with drama, there's a reason. The other person (or situation) was sent to test your areas of weakness and you've been asking God to change things and make life easier. God doesn't work that way.

If you pray for more patience, He will send people and situations who will tax your patience heavily! If you've been praying for your spouse to change so that you can grow closer, guess what? He or she is waiting for you to change too (and things keep getting worse in the meantime).

Dear Friends, we can't ask the Lord to make our situations easier. It's up to us to see things from God's perspective and act with obedience to His word. Ask Him to give you the grace to be better and then do your part to be better!

Your blessing will come from your obedience.

Be well,

Karen

Galatians 5

⁷You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? ⁸That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." ¹⁰I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. ¹¹Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹²As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

¹³You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature^[a]; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."^{[b] 15}If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Life by the Spirit

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Unplug and engage...

Dear Friends-

Have you ever been so overwhelmed that you just stop moving? I have! My phone has been ringing off the hook and the emails are flooding my inbox to the point that I've just stop answering. As a result, four days went by and you didn't receive any messages. I apologize.

More important than the missed messages is the larger lesson about "unplugging". Extreme busyness is a major problem for some of us but others have a bigger problem because we keep going even when there's nothing on our schedules.

Here's what I mean... Can you have a conversation with someone and still type a message on your Blackberry? Do you answer your cell at dinner, no matter who's calling? Do you find yourself pressing "check mail" over and over to refresh your email instead of waiting to automatically receive a list of new messages every few minutes? Do you notice that everyone, including you, turns on their ringers and checks voicemail within minutes of church ending?

Dear friends, if you've answered yes to any of these questions, you need to unplug!

Today's message is simple and the implications are both spiritual and practical. The Lord is not going to compete for our attention and neither will our families. If we continue to spend more time interacting with technology than with each other, we'll lose the relationships right in front of us. We don't have time to do His work if we rush to answer every email that hits our Blackberries. Our children won't stop growing just because we have more emails to send. Our spouses will become tired of trying to catch our attention and find something else to focus on.

Let's spend time with the Lord and with each other. Speak, listen, and give your undivided attention. Focus on work during work time, carve out specific time for email, and allow your calls to go to voicemail when spending time with others. This goes beyond etiquette. Our inability to focus on each other is out of control and will impact our most intimate relationships.

Unplug and engage with the Lord (and each other).

Stay Blessed,

K.

At the Home of Martha and Mary

³⁸As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

⁴¹"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴²but only one thing is needed.^[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Daily Bread is to be consumed daily!

Dear Friends-

What would happen if you started a diet that only allowed you to eat once a week?

You'd feel wonderful on the day of your meal and within 24 hours, you'd be suffering and begging for your next meal.

When God allowed manna to fall from the sky, He did this daily so that the Israelites could eat while they were in the desert. In this same way, God provides us spiritual food to be eaten daily.

When the cares of life occur, it is hard to concentrate on God sometimes. Don't allow your weekly church visit to serve as your daily bread. You can't be sustained that long.

You wouldn't go into war without armour and you wouldn't skip meals for a week.

Eat your daily bread and order your steps according His Word.

Have a blessed Sunday,

K.

Deutoronomy 8

²Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. ³ Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Stay faithful and endure!

Dear Friends-

Today, I needed to hear a Word about patience and endurance and I received this meassage. I hope you don't mind a forwarded message from Joel Osteen but I wanted to be sure that this message was received by the people who need to hear it.

God doesn't reward need- no matter how serious the need. God rewards faith. Pray for patience, endurance and perserverence. Exercise faith!

I am so grateful for this powerful message today. I pray that each of you are blessed with overwhelming patience and endurance today. In the meantime, keep the faith!

Romans 5 (NLT)

Faith Brings Joy

¹ Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. ² Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

³ We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

⁶ When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. ⁷ Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. ⁸ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ⁹And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. ¹⁰ For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. ¹¹ So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Be Determined

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

"“[We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy,"
(Colossians 1:11, AMP).

TODAY'S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Do you know what causes God to act on your behalf? Do you know what gets His attention? God is not moved by our needs. He’s not moved by whining or complaining. He’s not moved by a “poor me” mentality. No, God is moved by our faith in Him. We have to be determined to stand on God’s Word no matter what is going on around us.

Remember, God promises in His Word that He will fight our battles, but understand that it’s not going to happen automatically. We have to do our part. We have to dig our heels in with an attitude of faith and exercise endurance, patience, and perseverance. We have to be determined to stand strong in faith and face those challenges that come against us.

Just like the scripture says, I pray that today you are strengthened with His power to exercise endurance, perseverance, and patience so that you can stand strong and be determined to take hold of every promise He has in store for you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father in heaven, thank You for giving me a measure of faith that grows as I receive Your Word. Today I declare that I am determined to put You first and stand on Your promises so that I can live the life of victory You have prepared for me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

Do your part!

Dear Friends-

If there was ever a question about our role as Christians, today's scriptures clearly spell things out. Even during these difficult financial times, things may be tight but each of us is so blessed.

Make certain to send your tithes so that the church can do its work in the community. Volunteer your time and money to ensure that the poorest members of our community have food, shelter, and access to employment.

God is not going to bless us if we act like we don't see our neighbors' struggles. Let's all try to live with a little less and share our blessings with people who need them.

Stay blessed and stay generous!

K.

Deuteronomy 14

^{22 -24} Make an offering of ten percent, a tithe, of all the produce which grows in your fields year after year. Bring this into the Presence of God, your God, at the place he designates for worship and there eat the tithe from your grain, wine, and oil and the firstborn from your herds and flocks. In this way you will learn to live in deep reverence before God, your God, as long as you live.

²⁷ Meanwhile, don't forget to take good care of the Levites who live in your towns; they won't get any property or inheritance of their own as you will.

^{28 -29} At the end of every third year, gather the tithe from all your produce of that year and put it aside in storage. Keep it in reserve for the Levite who won't get any property or inheritance as you will, and for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow who live in your neighborhood. That way they'll have plenty to eat and God, your God, will bless you in all your work.

Deuteronomy 15

^{1 -3} At the end of every seventh year, cancel all debts. This is the procedure: Everyone who has lent money to a neighbor writes it off. You must not press your neighbor or his brother for payment: All-Debts-Are-Canceled—God says so. You may collect payment from foreigners, but whatever you have lent to your fellow Israelite you must write off.

^{4 -6} There must be no poor people among you because God is going to bless you lavishly in this land that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance, your very own land. But only if you listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God, diligently observing every commandment that I command you today. Oh yes—God, your God, will bless you just as he promised. You will lend to many nations but won't borrow from any; you'll rule over many nations but none will rule over you.

^{7 -9} When you happen on someone who's in trouble or needs help among your people with whom you live in this land that God, your God, is giving you, don't look the other way pretending you don't see him. Don't keep a tight grip on your purse. No. Look at him, open your purse, lend whatever and as much as he needs. Don't count the cost. Don't listen to that selfish voice saying, "It's almost the seventh year, the year of All-Debts-Are-Canceled," and turn aside and leave your needy neighbor in the lurch, refusing to help him. He'll call God's attention to you and your blatant sin.

^{10 -11} Give freely and spontaneously. Don't have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God's, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors.

Before you enter your "Promised Land"...

Good Morning Dear Friends-

Today I was blessed with a Word in season for so many on this list.

As we leave our wilderness experiences and enter the Promised Land of new jobs, marriages, and new businesses, pause and remember the good that God has done for us while we were in the desert.

As we prepare to enter the "land of milk and honey" (as described in the following scripture), we stand at the crossroads of our blessings and curses. Don't lose sight of God when your prayers are answered. Remember the rules of holiness and worship required God's favor in our lives. Holiness means that we must remain separate from those things that are evil, deviant and unclean and that our thoughts, actions, and speech represent God.

Will we be perfect? No, we can never be. However, this scripture is a reminder that we should willfully avoid activities that spearate us from God. For some people, when the "hard times" are over, and things are good, we forget all about God's faithfulness to us. We forget the nights we cried out to Him for help. We don't always want to remember relying on Him because we had nothing else (or no one else).

As we stand at the door of answered prayer, make a pledge to keep God first by worshipping him in the Promised Land. Maintain the rules with the same vigilance that you had when you were trying to escape your desert experience.

Stay on the road of blessings and favor!

K.

Duetoronomy 11

^{22 -25} That's right. If you diligently keep all this commandment that I command you to obey—love God, your God, do what he tells you, stick close to him—God on his part will drive out all these nations that stand in your way. Yes, he'll drive out nations much bigger and stronger than you. Every square inch on which you place your foot will be yours. Your borders will stretch from the wilderness to the mountains of Lebanon, from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand in your way. Everywhere you go, God-sent fear and trembling will precede you, just as he promised.

²⁶ I've brought you today to the crossroads of Blessing and Curse.

²⁷ The Blessing: if you listen obediently to the commandments of God, your God, which I command you today.

²⁸ The Curse: if you don't pay attention to the commandments of God, your God, but leave the road that I command you today, following other gods of which you know nothing.

^{29 -30} Here's what comes next: When God, your God, brings you into the land you are going into to make your own, you are to give out the Blessing from Mount Gerizim and the Curse from Mount Ebal. After you cross the Jordan River, follow the road to the west through Canaanite settlements in the valley near Gilgal and the Oaks of Moreh.

^{31 -32} You are crossing the Jordan River to invade and take the land that God, your God, is giving you. Be vigilant. Observe all the regulations and rules I am setting before you today.