What are you getting drunk on?

 Ephesians 5:18 "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.  Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak l to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

I used this verse a lot in my early sobriety.    I now think of the things I let intoxicate me that are not wine, but still spirits that I don’t want to rule my heart.     Alcohol used to distort my judgment.    I can still pursue things like adrenaline rushes, approval seeking and gluttony that will also distort my thinking.  Today, I am hoping to pay attention to what Im intoxicating myself with.   Is it from and for our Lord? Or will it ultimately lead to my destruction?

Humility verses pride

 Ephesians 4:2 “Be completely humble and gentle;be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

Be completely humble!!! This is difficult for me.   Being humble is accepting God’s will.   Trusting God in all things.   Without trying to manipulate circumstances to get my own way.      

This past Sunday was a great example of my pride.   I was showing off instead of being cautious with a ski I was unfamiliar with.   I was trying to be impressive.   I definitely made an impression….  Not the one I was hoping for.    Pride comes before the fall.  Today, I am hoping to keep my pride in check, I really don’t want to fall any lower.    Lol.

Remebering who I amnin Jesus will help me fight depression

 Ephesians 3:17 "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God."  Thanks you all for your prayers!!!  My surgery was a success and the  beautiful staff at Stanford was wonderful.     It will be very difficult for me over the next 6-8 weeks to not put any weight on my right leg.  I spend most of my time out doors moving and also have the luxury of picking up my grandchildren and actively playing with them.  That is largely my life.   That has come to a quick HAULT!   I thanks God first and foremost I am a child of God and this is my main identity.   Because I trust in Gods tremendous love for me. I know He will use this time for His glory.  Knowing God knows and loves me,God is in control, and He works all things out for the His good is helping me today.  And of course your  prayers are helping too.    Thanks so much!!!

Up ward call

 Philippians 3:14 "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  I pressed towards the goal of the upward call of God yesterday I was water skiing and I use a new friends ski and didn't come out of the binding and broke my leg this morning. I'm just about ready to go into surgery so any prayers would help please. I like this first today I press forward to the upward call God

Shrinking back?

 Hebrews 10:39 " But we are not those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."

Have you, shrunk back lately?  I have.    I think of myself as confident in Christ.  Yet, I am often a coward.   Many times at a restaurant with my friends or family that do not believe, I say a silent prayer instead of asking everyone to pray with me.  I can even coward like this in my own home around people whom usually don't pray.      

I read this verse today and thought of many things I do that are not rooted in boldness.....I may go along with gossip, complaining and laugh at rude and in appropriate conversations.    I can easily follow in the sins that are promoted in the world we live in, such as materialism, lust, pride and greed.

Jeremiah chapter 17 reminds us to be God pleasing not man pleasing.   I start out most mornings planning to be. God pleaser, yet compromise sneaks in and then I coward to sin.  Today, let's rise up and not shrink back!!! Let's be bold in who we are in Jesus.   Let's not compromise in fear.  Let's champion in faith!!

he didn’t bring you this far to drop you now

 Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  

One of my dearest friends says, “God didn’t bring me this far to drop me now!”   I love this!!! God began a good work in us and He will be with us and carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus!!   I can “feel”, like because of my propensity to go back to my favorite sins that God will never be able to use me.    Then, I remember, I am not defined by my sin I am defined by the righteousness of Jesus Christ!!   Many times God uses our struggles to help others.   AA and other 12 step groups are based  on this.   Today, what ever you are going through remember; “God didn’t bring you  this far to drop you now!!” “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus!!!   Keep on keeping on!!!

Takr off the grave clothes!

 2Corinthians 5:17 “ Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”   John  11:44 “The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.  Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”   We are new creations in Jesus Christ. The old is gone the new is here!!   I know I have been made new in JESUS, yet sometimes I put on my old attitudes and coping skills.  Those are my, “grave clothes”.   Take off the old and embrace the new!!  Today consciously take off fear and embrace faith!!! Take off worry and embrace TRUST.     I have used things like over eating, over exercising, over spending, drinking, complaining, and gossip to comfort myself.   None of the above have given me true comfort.   I plan to take off the grave clothes that, ensnare me today and press forward to the newness of Life Jesus died to give me!  We are each new creations in Jesus Christ!!   Are you walking in the new, or are you holding on to the comfort of some old familiar, yet destructive attitudes and actions?  Be inspired to take off your grave  clothes!!!

Are you a good team mate?

 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us the spirit of timidity, but the spirit of power, of love and of self discipline……16 avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly…22Flee the evil desires of youth, pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.”   

Be careful what we think and say and who we think and say with!!   Bad company corrupts good character!    One thing I love about my Bible study ladies, is our pure of heart conversations about the Lord and our own inability to be all we want to be.    I find this same ,”let’s help each other be better people with my AA friends too.   Actually, most of my friends are like this.     We intentionally build each other up and encourage each other each other.  We help each other think well, speak well and love well.   I call my friends , “team mates”.    We are all on the same team trying our best to live our best life for Jesus in our here  and now.   Today, be inspired to be a good team mate!!  Our common goal….Be the love of Jesus, think well, speak well, love well.  😇❤️🙏

Friends dying? Try your beat to share the Gospel

 I am reading in Romans Chapter 10 today.  Verse 9-11 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  10 For it is with your heart you  believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth you confess and are saved.  11 As scripture says, anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.  12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile -the same Lord is the Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, 13 for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord”will be saved”. “.  John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “ I am the resurrection and the life, He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;”.   Death is not definite.   We can live even though we die.    I remember my grandma saying, “Kimberly, it’s not easy having your friends die around you.”    I hope to have the courage to to share the Gospel with my friends before it’s too late.   I hope these verses help you share the Gospel.  One of the most beautiful things in my life is not only knowing I will go to Heaven when I die but having the blessed assurance that I am forgiven, loved and cared for in my here and now, by Jesus Christ.

Be a good friend, and be careful who you choose

 Proverbs 26:5 “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.”

Yesterday I played Pickle ball with a kindergarten teacher.  I remembered the book,”Everything I needed to learn, I learned on Kindergarten.   When my boys were in kindergarten the teacher had a sign up, it read “How to pick friends”.  It went on to explain what a good friend is verses a bad friend.   A good friend has qualities such as honesty, kindness, generosity, sharing, and good citizenship bad friend has qualities and selfish, gossipy, lying ….  This made me think of people I let into my life.  I tend to mimic the people I hold close to me    Therefore it’s extremely important that I chose those people wisely or I will go down into the pit with them.    Sometimes I befriend people that I want to help raise up, but more often than not if I let an ungodly person close to my heart I deteriorate verses Me bringing them up.   Proverbs 26:4 “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.”      I do think we are to befriend and love many types of people, but we need to be careful whom we let influence us.    I hope this helps you today, Be a good friend and be careful in the choosing of your closest friends.   😇🙏❤️

Cursed is the man that trusts in man

 Jeremiah 17:5 "This is what the Lord says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord."

This passage pierced like a knife for me this morning.  Do I trust man more than God?   I tend to seek people approval.  Ten people can be kind to me, then if one person that is not, I let my soul focus on the one that doesn’t approve of me. In the Bible it says if you enter into a city and they do not accept you, shake it off and move on.   Why is that so hard for me to do with people?  Why do I feel the need to be a people pleaser the overwhelming need to get approval ?   Not everyone will like us.  I am thinking of a popular president and even if a president gets a landslide victory in the electoral collage and popular vote still just less than 50% of the people did not vote for him.  Many times we rub people the wrong way simply because of things in their past, not because of anything we did or said.   If we try to be people pleasers we will never be 100% successful.   We can be 100% successful if we  seek to be God pleasers.   We sin and the sin is not God pleasing.   But when we TRUST Jesus as our Savior, He takes our sins away and removes them as far as the East is from the West and remembers them NO MORE!!  He washes us and we become white as snow!  We become 💯 pleasing to God because He see us as washed clean by the blood of Jesus.  Jeremiah 17:8 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord; whose confidence is in Him."  Today of you are struggling with any type of rejection, not being able to be a man pleaser, remember; we  are not called to trust in man.  We are called to TRUST IN GOD!!😇🙏❤️

Yesterday’s gone

 Philippians 3:13 “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining for what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Do you ever get stuck in the past?   I do.  I can rethink the past hoping to change it by investing my time in the present trying to change the past.   I intellectually know I cant change the past, but when I look at my behavior, it's as I am trying to.   Kenny Rogers had a song, you got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, know when to run...   Every thing has a season.  In Ecclesiastes , it states, there is a time for everything.  I have to accept what is now,  without wishing things were different.  When my energy is spent thinking of missed opportunities things I have squandered wishing for what "could have been" I miss what can still be!! For me to be healthy and well today, I have to live in today!! I have to let go of what did or didn't happen yesterday and press forward.  Today, let's not look back let's move forward being good stewards of what is!!! 😇❤️🙏

For His glory and our good

 Ephesians 1:11 “In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according the plan of Him who works everything in conformity with the purpose of His will,”

He works everything out in conformity to His will!!  Not my will Lord, your will!  Sometimes,  I want what I want so badly, I cant see what God is doing.     We are not told we will understand God and His ways, we are told to TRUST God and His ways.  It is impossible for us to understand God and His ways.  We are like ants trying to build a space ship as a compassion.  My prayer is; “God, please help me want, what you want for me.”  I hope this helps you today to TRUST His ways and embrace them for His glory and your good!!!😇🙏❤️

His Spirit in You!!

 Ephesians 2:22 “And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” 

This Morning, Im staying in Ephesians 2.  Its such a fulfilling chapter.   As I am pondering it, I am thinking of God’s goodness living inside of me through His Holy Spirit.    I do see the depravity of my own heart and my thinking.  But through it all, His goodness is what I long to be.   There are moments where His goodness is shining through me.   I pray those moments increase and the darker moments decrease.  In order for me to have a pure heart and mind I have to feed myself His Word.  By reading the Bible.  I don’t read a lot in one sitting.  I can usually only digest a chapter or two at a time.  Most often, just a verse or two.   If Im having a hard tie understanding the scriptures, I pray, “Lord fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may understand what I am reading and what you are saying” .    I also pray, “Lord let the meditation of my heart and the words of my mouth be pleasing to You O Lord, my Rock and Redeemer.”  I hope this helps you today too to remember  the goodness of God lives inside of you!😇❤️🙏. Let it radiate through you!!!

Put ypur hand in His hand

 Psalm 89:9 “You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.”

Psalm 89:21 “My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.”  

    Psalm 89:13 "Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong your right hand exalted. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you."   This Summer our worship team will lead a sing along for "Put your hand in the hand".   When I want to protect my grandson as we walk across the street, I take his hand.   When he is a little nervous about something he grabs my hand.   We can do that with Our Loving Heavenly Father. Reach up!! Take His hand let Him lead you through the waters He will still for you!!

Just go do!!

 Ephesians 2:30 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Have you ever felt lonesome?   Sometimes I do even though I know Jesus is with me always.  My mother used to say, “Busy people are happy people”.  Sometimes when I am lonesome, I am tempted to fill the emptiness with a television show, movie, pod cast or music.   I just try to fill my mind in order to fill my heart.   At the end of it, I may have filled the space but I didn’t solve the emptiness.    I have found that when I intentionally invest in others, even when I feel empty, it fills me up.  When I invest in someone they too invest me.   This can be as simple as calling an old friend to catch up.   The trick is to be a light in others lives not an energy suck.   I am a light, when I let the love of Jesus flow through me.   When I intentionally see the goodness of God and spread that.  Anyone can commiserate and effectively bring others down.   We are God’s workmanship. Let’s bring each other up today!  Speak life, even if we feel empty.  It’s amazing how God can take our empty and fill it to the full as we do the good works He has prepared for us to do!!

Single minded!

 James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double minded man, unstable in all he does.”

Believe and not doubt!!! I have a plaque that reads, “I remember when I prayed for the things I have now.”   I love this!!  It reminds me of the many times God has answered my prayers.   A dear friend of mine said to me, “ God only wants good for each of us.”  This is also a great reminder,  to remember the goodness of God!!  This past weekend I have been in immense joy!!  I was able to hold my newest grandson.  He is an answer to prayer.   Just looking upon him, brings me a joy that is indescribable.   Praise the Lord!!! Sometimes, staying in faith when life is difficult is hard.  TRUSTING God 💯, without doubting takes single mindedness. When we doubt His intimate goodness we are unstable in all our ways.    Today, let's remember the many prayers He has answered when we are tempted to be double minded. Let's be single minded TRUSTING God 💯!!😇🇺🇸🙏❤️

Independent because of dependence

 Jeremiah 8:6 “I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right.  No one repents of his wickedness saying, “what have I done?” Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle.”  

Today is Independence Day!!! The only way I can be independent is to be dependent on God!!  I will pursue my own wickedness and not even realize I’m doing it when I am not reading and reflecting upon God’s word in the Bible.  Today as I read this verse I was convicted of some of my recent pursuits.  I love the way God opens my eyes and frees me from my wickedness when I am dependent upon Him, accepting the continual forgiveness Jesus suffered and died to give each of us.    Today live free!!  Be independent by being dependent upon Our Lord!!!🇺🇸😇🙏❤️

Also: “Thank you military!! Our country’s freedom is by the grace of God and by your commitment and bravery.    Thank you!!!

God’s got THE PLAN!!!

 Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

This is one of the first verses I memorized.   I use it often.    If I find myself getting anxious about something; this verse reminds me to TRUST God!  He has a plan for me!!  He has a plan for each of us.  A plan to prosper us and not harm us, a plan to give us hope and a future!!  I hope  you can find hope in Jesus today too!!  He has a plan!! His ways are greater than ours!!!😇🙏❤️

Strength from Him

 1 Corinthians 3:16 “ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s  temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”   Sometimes I feel like I’m not enough well I’m not but God is and his spirit lives within me as his spirit lives within you. If you’re at all feeling like you can’t,  remember He can!!  Lift your eyes up to the Lord. Your chin will follow.  Chin up shoulders back trust God.   Try, try again!!!! He is with. You always!!   Matthew 28:20 “Lo, I am with you always even yo the end of the age.”  ( The words if Jesus!)

Let God be our confidence

 Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all ypur heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.   …….25 “Have no fear pf sudden disaster or of ruin that overtakes the wicked, 26 for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your  foot from being snared.”

Today, let’s let the Lord be our confidence!!! Let’s trust him with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding, but acknowledge him in all our ways so He can make our path straight.    I am guilty of looking at the jigsaw piece that is missing, trying to take charge and change things that I cannot change again today.  These verses are really helping me. I hope they help you too.😇🙏❤️