loyalty.

Psalm 93:1-2

"The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting."

Ah, the day after the election. Emotions are running high today, and to be honest I'm not quite sure how I feel about the whole thing. But I read this today and thought, does it really matter how I feel? There is no nihilistic tendency in this thought. It's just that I know that the God I serve is sovreign, and while man has free will, God still has ultimate control of the world and our lives. He knew what was going to happen, and for this time right now, Obama is to be President.

But that's a side issue, the main issue for me is to remember who my chief authority is. My loyalty is first to a King and a kingdom [as Derek Webb would say]. The Lord reigns, and He has from old, even more so from everlasting. My loyalty to Him demands my respect for the leaders of our nation, but more so, asks for my prayers for them. God is strong, and God is sovreign. My mind cannot comprehend the expanse of His plan for me, the country or the world, but whatever the plan is, I know it's for the best. He is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. He is here despite our human failings, and He is in these results one way or another.

My God reigns supreme above all the kings, presidents, prime ministers, and emperors. I serve Him with my heart and my life.

-lovingly-
k

here my heart is satisfied.

so, after that whole i'm gonna do Bible verses and post more, i disappeared for a few days. but i did keep up my reading. which you probably don't care about, but that's big for me. but here are the verses for today.

Psalm 84:1-2, 10-12

How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God, Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!

my boss shared them in our meeting this morning, and i always find them beautiful every time i read them. it reminds me why i love being in the presence of my Lord, because better is one day with Him than a thousand without Him. the more i read of Him, the more i love Him and the more i want to know of Him and be with Him. i think that's kind of how all relationships work, or should anyway. the more you know, the more you want to know. it's a deep respect and love and overall passion that builds a life together and makes you stronger.

how much more so should our relationship with God be like that? He is to be our first, our last, and our everything.

-lovingly-
k

nostalgia.

Remember those days when I used to blog every day? I miss it. Ithink i just miss writing and quoting and sharing, but I also used to share Bible verses everyday. This was my way of being accountable for my Bible reading and sharing the wonderful words of God with my friends.

I think I may start doing that again, the verses, that is. And I'll try to blog more often. It's not really for you. I don't suppose people really care that much about anything I write in here. It's mostly for me, therapy and what-not. It's cheaper than the real thing [haha]. So here are today's verses.

Somehow, I've ended up back in the Psalms, which is where I started when I last posted verses every day. It is still one of my favorite books, simply for the honesty and emotion in them. You can't help but be moved by them. And these verses really struck me today.

Psalm 119: 174-176

I long for your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight. Let my soul live that it may praise You, and let Your ordinances help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments.

Okay. So here's what I love about these verses. They show David's innate longing for the Lord, especially with regard to His word/law. The more David knows of God's word, the more he lives for and seeks God, and the more his heart desires to be with him. God's word is his "delight," and it helps him love and praise the Lord. It increases David's desire for the Lord so much so that he wants his soul to "live that it may praise" God. I think that may be my prayer today and perhaps always, that my soul may live to praise God.

Is there really any other life to be had?

-lovingly-
k

extraordinary love.

"We must grow in love and in order to do this we must go on loving and loving and giving and giving until it hurts-- the way Jesus did. Do ordinary things with extraordinary love."

--Mother Theresa

wow. when you think about the love that God has for us, and the amazing ways in which He's shown it to us, through Jesus, through people, through life. i can't help but be just speechless and in awe of my Creator and Master. it makes me love Him even more. and i am so thankful that He chose me to be an instrument of His love as one of His children and that He has given me so many people to love. i only pray that i learn to do so more deeply and more extraordinarily as He does for me each moment.

i am so blessed to be so loved.

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." [amen.]

-The Apostle Paul, Ephesians 3:14-19, NIV

-lovingly-

k

so much food. so little time.

everyone knows of my enthusiasm for the great state fair of texas. in fact, i believe that around this time last year i wrote an entire blog solely dedicated to it. and after being asked this year by a canadian fellow what i would eat at the fair, i decided to dedicate another blog to just that after his suggestion for making a list.

so here is my list of the top ten new foods that i am hoping to try at the fair this year [in no particular order].

1) chicken fried bacon- how can you make bacon better? batter it and fry it again, of course.
2) deep fried s'mores- the campfire classic has been taken a step further, and who doesn't like fried things, really?
3) fried chocolate truffles- i don't think this needs an explanation
4) chocolate covered strawberry waffle balls- fried chocolate covered strawberries. yum-o, as rachael ray would say.
5) texas barbeque egg rolls- i decided that i didn't need to try just sweets this year, so i'm balancing it with texas barbeque.
6) fried apple iPie and deep fried apple bites- i love fruit-filled fried pies (thank you, ham's), so this seemed like a no-brainer to me.
7) beefy fried queso bites- it's like cheese dip, fried. c'mon.
8) fried cake on a stick- this one could go either way, but i'm going to be optimistic.
9) mini chicken fried steak slider- what balances sweets out better than gravy?
10) dessert shooters- miniature desserts. just enough at the end of the day to top it all off. besides i needed at least one non-fried item.

of course, there are some other foods that are just tradition for me to eat at the fair. i always start with a turkey leg (i recommend sharing, pace yourself). corny dogs are good around lunch time. fletcher's is the only way to go. fried cheesecake is a newer tradition, but is on it's way to being one of my favorites. it's amazing. and at the end of the day, nothing beats a funnel cake. i recommend sharing this too. you'll likely be too full from all of the food you've eatent the rest of the day.

it may seem like a lot of food, but i figure if you're walking around the fair all day long it's bound to balance out somehow, right? well, i hope this may have helped some of you. if not, at least it gave me a chance to make a plan of attack for my day at the great state fair of texas.

just words.

So I had a blog all written out, and the internet wouldn't let me post it. I lost it all. Sad day, I know. So now that I've gotten over it, I decided that instead of using my words, perhaps I'd have better luck with someone else's. So here are Baz Luhrmann's words. Some funny, most wise, and here for your enjoyment. So enjoy! -lovingly-k

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’97

Wear Sunscreen

If I could offer you only one tip for the future,sunscreen would be it.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists,

whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience

I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh nevermind, you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now, how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked, you are not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind,

the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss
Don’t waste your time on jealousy, sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind,

the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults,

if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life,

the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t,

Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, Maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary

What ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either

Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can, don’t be afraid of it,

or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Brother and sister together we'll make it through

Someday a spirit will take you and guide you there I know you've been hurtin,

but I've been waitin' to be there for you

And I'll be there just helping you out whenever I can
Get to know your parents,

you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings,

they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,

but for the precious few you should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle

because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard,

Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander,

you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you.

Maybe you have a trust fund, Maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.

Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal,

wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen

Brother and sister together we'll make it through

Someday a spirit will take you and guide you there

I know you've been hurtin, but I've been waitin' to be there for you

And I'll be there just helping you out whenever I can

Everybody's free oh yeah

summer update.

hello, my dears.

i suppose it's been quite a long time, but since graduation i have been quite a busy bee working one place after the other.

i am crazy excited about all that God has done this summer so far. i can just see Him working in my life and the lives of so many people around me, and i can't wait to see where He's going to take us and how He's going to use us this summer in CCA and just other people i know.

i've been in NC for 2 weeks now, and i have learned so much. mostly, God has shown me that He hears my prayers and He answers them. i can't begin to list all the answered prayers i've seen in that short time, but to Him be the glory for all of those things.

it's been kind of hard since i've kind of had to relearn all of those cheerleading things that i haven't done in years, but the best thing is that i feel like there are some areas where i am almost better than i was at my best. it's exciting to get to be a part of things that i didn't get to before. cca has been such a blessing in my life, and even though it takes me away from my loved ones (who i miss so much) i know it's all for a great purpose.

i feel ready and scared this time around. i'm also more homesick too. i guess it's just because last time i had so much that i was running away from, but that's not the case now. our them is "completely," the importance of loving God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. and i am finally learning to give up those things that i hold on to so much. this morning i had a nice little quiet, cry time with God and just gave it to Him. and i can't tell you how much peace i have felt since then.

so that's really the basic summary of everything so far. please keep me and all of the staff here in your prayers. we leave for florida tomorrow (sunday morning) and start our first camp on tuesday. then i come back to NC for about a day and leave for costa rica for our first cheerleading mission trip with cca.

thanks for all of your prayers so far! have a great day/week/summer!

-lovingly-
k