Posts Tagged With: trust

My Kind of GPS (Recalculating…)

I’m taking a New-Mama day today…so that being said, I wanted to share with you a post that was written a while back- but is still very pertinent to our everyday walks with Christ.

We might not always know where we are headed– but He does. And His plan can sure be trusted. (I promise.) Let me know what kind of surprise turns your life has taken and how God helped you through it by leaving a comment below. 

Blessings to you my darling readers!
SGK 

****

The tires are humming on the highway. The radio on just loud enough to provide some background noise but soft enough to avoid drowning out the conversation going on between the driver and passenger.

“When do I turn?”

“Um, let me look. I feel like it is coming up.”

“Come ON, babe, its rush hour… I need to know if I need to exit anytime soon. Can I get over?”

“NO, don’t merge you are blocked in… This paper map is terrible. Our GPS says it is coming up soon.  What exit number is this?”

“122B.”

“TURN NOW!!!”

The next thing you hear in the car is the driver shouting words not appropriate for a Christian blog, which barely masks the dreaded sound of the GPS uttering the words “Recalculating… recalculating… please make a legal U-turn at the next available intersection.”

Aren’t you glad we aren’t supposed to create (and drive) our own path in life alone? I know that if I were driving the “bus” that is my life, I would be shouting at the GPS constantly, lost in a shady part of town, bumping into other vehicles and maybe even broken down on the side of the road. So glad that God isMY GPS.

GPS

The kind of GPS I’m talking about is a “Godly Path-directing Service.” God has it figured out. Thankfully. And while his GPS methods don’t always seem the most “direct” route or even the smoothest, He always, always, ALWAYS gets us to where we need to be… usually in better condition than when we left.

I was having a conversation with the Agricultural Education teacher/FFA Advisor at my old High School the other day. As we were chatting about our backgrounds, we couldn’t help but stand there in that ag class and essentially revel at the craziness that has been our path to where we are now. But now, where we are… it ALL… MAKES… SENSE. Good work, Lord.

My “GPS” experience has been what I like to call “squiggly.” I had all of these grand plans of driving my own “bus” in life…Graduate high school, get bachelor’s degree at K-state,  go to vet school, work with people, work for a corporation, retire there and make lots of money, work for a non-profit organization, stay single for as long as possible while enjoying dating around, meet future husband upon college graduation, dominate the world by doing my own thing, become an army wife, remain satisfied with bachelor’s degree, go back to school to get master’s degree, live in a foreign country, move to Georgia, work on post at Fort Benning full time, be called into ministry… Arrived. Current Destination.

Confused? Probably. Now do you understand what I mean by a “squiggly” path. I personally think it is almost FUNNY how ridiculous I was thinking I had a plan figured out. Apparently, I didn’t check my map or refer to the correct GPS. And it is AWESOME that God scratched through my plans, threw in a few U-turns, breakdowns, and speed bumps all the while directing a new path and creating the perfect map for my life. I have learned that I don’t have to fear the word “recalculating” because God IS my map. He never let’s me miss my exit or turn. Rejoice that we have our own “Godly Path-Directing Service.”  He is MY kind of GPS!

Stopping for Directions isn’t a bad thing,
SGK

“Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths…” –Psalm 25:4

Categories: direction, God, guidance, path | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Afraid, Aschmaid… BRING IT.

Five Minute Friday

Friday is upon us once again, my beloved followers.

And that can mean only one thing.

Yes, it’s the weekend. (Well, almost.) But even more so, it means that it’s time for Five Minute Friday.

In short: Fridays we link up with our favorite Gypsy Mama Lisa-Jo. She gives us a prompt. We write. For five minutes.

No excessive strategerizing. No planning. Just rolling with it and seeing what Jesus has to say.

So… Let’s see what He has to say to us here at 7 Days Time today.

Prompt: AFRAID

Annnnddd GO!

*****

I used to be quite the cocky little heifer. Sure of my self, fearless in all situations. I had it all under control.

Of course… I was frontin’ like nobody’s business. Aka, faking it. I was clinging to my own power and plan… which after about 37 seconds in real-world adult life, I realized didn’t get me super far.

Various events made me vulnerable. The fear that I masked and kept bottled up started squirting throughout my life like a sprinkler in the backyard in July.

What if something happens to my family?

What if I can’t pay my bills?

What if I get sick?

What if… Blah, blah, blah. You get the picture.

Then…I re-found Jesus. For real.

This time last year I was still in the midst of “what if” mania. My beloved husband was away at ranger school, and I just found out I was pregnant with our first child.

I would love to say I had it all together… But I was a friggin’ basketcase. Barely eating, not able to sleep, crying, panicking… What if, what if, what if.

I was so afraid. My fear paralyzed me.

And then the worst what if I was imagining happened.

I had a miscarriage.

And interestingly enough– my One Word for 2012 was “Dependence.”

God brought me through my worst fear… In one peace <misspelling intended)… and I realized that His plans, power and purpose are always much more profound than I anything could ever come up with.

Now, it’s a full year later. We are 25 days away (ish) from welcoming our first baby into the world. Honestly, new “what ifs” still try to crop up… And Satan does his best to root them in my brain/heart. (Stupid jerk!)

But I remember. I truly trust the Lord. With my mind. With my body. With my soul. With my actions.

I can’t do a blessed thing to change ANYTHING that may or may not happen in the next few weeks (or months– or years.) Heck, I have no clue what God’s plan for us even IS.

I do know, however, that He is worthy to be trusted.

Now, when those feelings of fear crop back up, I pray them away. I say  ”Pshaw– AFRAID, ASCHMAID. Bring it.  God is bigger than any “scary” thing even my crazy preggo brain can dream up.”

God’s got this… so what more can I ask? Let’s do it.

*****

What are you biggest fears? How do you trust God in the midst of the worries of life? How can you ward of the enemy in the process? I always welcome your feedback– comment below!

Nothing to fear when God is near,
SGK

“When I get really afraid… I come to you in trust.” ~Psalm 56:3 MSG

Categories: Five Minute Friday | Tags: , , , , , , | 12 Comments

A Cherished Perspective (Five Minute Friday)

Hey folks.

It’s Friday.
Five Minute Friday
Which means we link up with Lisa Jo and write. For five minutes flat.

Today’s prompt: CHERISHED

GO!

******

I know it sounds cliché, but sometimes you don’t know how blessed you are til something is almost changed forever.

Now hold up… Before you think I’m gonna get all Debbie Downer on you, I’m not. Hang with me.

I have always counted myself as a blessed person– and in the past few seasons of life, God has really highlighted this in my life. On Wednesday night, it became even clearer.

I was in my first-ever car accident. (Yes, me and in-utereo 34 wk Little Patriot are fine. Our car? Not so much. Sigh. We had a good run, Sweet LadyBug…)

Lemme tell you what– that sudden experience rocked me to the core. (I have a sneaky suspicion that there are going to be a lot of Jesus-y blog posts that come out of this shake-up life event…)

But when you walk away from something like that, your true heart will show itself.

I prayed. I breathed. I relaxed (ok, that last one is a stretch– I tried.)

Most of all, I felt God’s love. He was protecting us in that moment. I felt… cherished.

The last 36 hrs have been what I like to call a “lil cray-cray.” Spending hours on the phone with insurance people, folks at church calling… Counting baby kicks just to make sure the hospital monitors didn’t lie to us. Preparing ourselves to completely revamp our budget and possibly purchase a different vehicle.

But today, the sun is peeking through the blinds– and my nerves are starting to reset themselves to “normal.”

I cherish my husband’s powerful hugs. I cherish our little baby’s belly kicks. I cherish the fact that I am able to key these words.

Most of all… I cherish the perspective that God had given me even before this experience– He has a plan, He can ALWAYS be trusted, and He loves and cherishes us more than we can ever realize.

STOP

*****

What does a cherished perspective look like for you? What signs of God’s love are present in YOUR life today? Do share below in the comment section.

Praising Him for His Protection & Provision,
SGK

“God, your God, chose you out of all the people on Earth for himself as a cherished, personal treasure.” ~Deuteronomy 7:6 MSG

Categories: Five Minute Friday | Tags: , , , , , | 6 Comments

Fast. Cheap. Quality. Pick Two.

Let’s be honest… we are all kind of spoiled.

Now before you get all persnickety, let me explain. If you are reading this from a computer or an iPhone or some kind of technical device (yes, even if it is at work) you are sitting pretty good. If you are reading this from a place that has heat (or air conditioning, depending upon which hemisphere you reside in), you are pretty well off. And hey– I’m no exception– I’m writing this in my “comfy clothes” in my recliner, cuddling with our pup, heater running in a warm, dry house on my computer.

I think I’m doing alright.

However, we can (generally) be a pretty demanding people. Our nature, aka the fallen-ness of mankind, makes us naturally inclined to be sort of selfish. The culture that we live in via first world country can make us pretty demanding.

I don’t say all this to make us feel poopy or ungrateful. On the contrary, we should rejoice in all of these super cool blessings, experiences and gadgets in our lives.

But we also need to be very aware that sometimes when we don’t “have it all right when we want it…” We shall survive. In fact, it might be the best thing for us!

A couple of weeks ago, our pastor was addressing some leadership experiences in our church during staff meeting. Within the discussion, he mentioned that he saw a repair truck driving around town with the slogan on the side that said:

“Fast. Cheap. Quality. Pick Two.”

We all got a great laugh out of the thought, but it got me to thinking. (Dangerous, I know.)  So many of us (myself included) think that everything should be fast, cheap and quality… But in all reality, thinking we are  entitled to always having our cake and eating it too can make us ungrateful, impatient, and downright selfish.

Especially when it comes to our relationship with God.

Let’s think about it. If we want something fast and cheap, it probably won’t be quality. If we want something fast and quality, you can be it won’t be cheap. If we desire for something to be cheap and quality, well then– yep, you guessed it– it won’t be fast.

You May Pick Two

PICK TWO
Via James @ Flickr

The same thing applies when we are in a relationship with Christ. Now, don’t get me wrong– God CAN and COULD accomplish all three of these things at the same time for us per our requests– IF it is the best thing for us. But He also knows what we NEED. We can tell Him what we WANT with hope and confidence, but should rest assured that He will ultimately give us what is best for us.

Perhaps we want to fix a relationship with another person. We take it to the Lord, praying about it. Chances are that the process of healing and redemption isn’t going to be fast, cheap and quality… It could might cost us our pride, giving it up and apologizing to the other person. It could take a while and be a bit painful, but the end result is a stronger, high-quality relationship. Just an example…

Do we trust God’s plan to transform us from who we are right now to what He desires we become? In what areas of your life do you struggle with this concept the most? Which two traits you would you “pick” when it comes to being transformed? Why? Feel free to leave a comment below.

God reserves the right to transform us with any of these (and a variety of other) techniques. Let’s accept the challenge to not solely choose fast, cheap or quality… but rather, option D… Let’s choose (and accept and trust!) whatever God has for us. No matter how long it takes or how much it costs us. Because ultimately, whatever He creates in us, will eventually be the BEST QUALITY– a product of His love, grace and wisdom.

Trusting Him to Transform,
SGK

“God will create a new thing in this land: A transformed woman will embrace the transforming GOD!” ~Jeremiah 31:22 (MSG) 

Categories: transform | Tags: , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

VLOG: From Head to Heart~ Dependence

What a year! 2012 has been a year of challenge, growth and triumph… All thanks to God and my “Word” for 2012~ Dependence.

 

Do you TRULY depend on God for everything? If yes, what does that look like? If no, what can you change? Did you have a word for 2012? If so, how did it turn out? What’s next in store for you in 2013? You feedback always blesses me… Comment below!

Praying for a prosperous New Year for you all!

From Head to Heart,

SGK

“When I get really afraid, I come to you in trust…” ~Psalm 56:3 (MSG) 

Categories: dependence | Tags: , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Be “PrePRAYERed”

Life happens. (Profound statement, right? Or not.)

You know what I’m talking about. The life “stuff” that is good,  meh and “Are-you-kidding-me?!!”

It all happens. But really… our daily circumstances are neutral. Our reaction to them actually determines which category they fall into.

So today’s question: On a scale of one to ten– how much are you prepared to handle?

Believe it or not, we can all be closer to ten if we are truly prePRAYERed.

The Bible says worry about nothing and pray about everything. It doesn’t say “Pray about the “hard” stuff and just deal with the smaller stuff on your own.” Pray about everything. We’ve talked about it on here before– if it matters to you, it matters to God. So pray about it.

Let me give you a real-life example…

Our darling LadyBug. Reliable. Efficient. And in need of a check up.

Our darling LadyBug. Reliable. Efficient. And in need of a check up.

Car trouble has a tendency to stress me out. Taking my car in for anything but routine maintenance can create anxiety in my heart and worry on my brain. Getting the car fixed ranks right up with going to the dentist, adjusting our budget and unexpected trips to the doctor. (Side note: Why is being responsible so challenging? Lame. SIGH.)

Anywho, our sweet little car, Ladybug, had been making “noises” for about a month. In my automotive knowledge, I was pretty sure it wasn’t a motor thing, but more of a wheel/brake issue. Finally, it got bad enough that we were embarrassed to drive her around a corner due to the loud roaring and squealing that ensued. (Plus, we are prepping to do some cross-country road tripping for the holidays… so we really don’t want to break down in Boondock, Tennessee.)

It was time to suck it up and be responsible. I made an appointment at a local auto shop for 8am on a Saturday morning. (I was motivated when I made the appointment. Saturday morning proved differently.) Before I drove her in, I prayed.

I wasn’t overly nervous. I knew it wasn’t a transmission thing… and really, this year of living out my God-word dependence has really FORCED me to trust Him with EVERYTHING.

Even car maintenance.

But still,  I prayed… “Lord, please let this go smoothly and quickly. Let the mechanics be courteous, and I pray for good news for our car. You know the desire of my heart is for this not to be really expensive… but I trust you with whatever happens today. Amen.”

I know it sounds a little hokey, but right when I said AMEN, the anxiety left. It was go time.

Well… Three hours later, Ladybug was fixed… And our savings account was a little less full. Ouch.

As I was paying our rather large (and un-budgeted-for) bill, I remembered that just a few short seasons ago, a bill of that magnitude would have sent me into a tailspin. I would have been in tears. Sick to my stomach. My weekend ruined. Depressed that for Christmas this year that yes, our family will get to see us, but that any presents they were expecting are now in the form of new brake pads, rotors, tires, etc. (Merry Christmas, everyone!)

Instead, my heart was grateful. Can you believe it? I couldn’t. But God has prePRAYERed us for this. God reminded me that I had a reliable car to drive– and had the money in our savings account to cover it.

Praise. Jesus. I was blown away by how praying about EVERYTHING can change our perspective so quickly and drastically.

What are you facing today? A challenge at work? A test, final or presentation in school? Perhaps a stressful family situation? Or maybe just needing the energy to do the dishes? Again I ask… On a scale of one to ten– how much are you prePRAYERed to handle?  Comment below with your answer and what you might be facing today. (I would love to pray for you!)

Friends, whatever you are going through, big, small or in between, pray about it. If it matters to you, it matters to God. He is sovereign over all. Take it to the Lord… And Be prePRAYERed.

Prepared with Prayer,
SGK

 ”Be prepared… Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long.” ~Ephesians 6:13;18 MSG

Categories: prayer | Tags: , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Looking Good… Or Looking to God

Confession: (Gulp.) I used to think it was all about me.

Ouch. That hurts my heart just to write it.

For all of you sweet readers out there that perhaps did not watch me grow up (or grow up with me for that matter) let me explain just a bit. I wasn’t the fashionable girl. (And I’m still not- although I received some coaching in this department in college—thanks Kally.) I wasn’t the super-duper popular girl. (And I am still not. Which I am ok with—being popular looks like a lot of work.) However, I was the overachieving girl who always wanted to be “the funny one.”

Being funny was my way of getting attention. (Plus it was a way for people to see my personality instead of my overweight teenage body.) Overachieving was my way of getting attention for “good things.” Me, me, me—it was all about me. My plans. My schedule. My life.

And then Jesus thumped me (lovingly, of course) between the eyes.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned over the last few years is that there is a pretty big difference between focusing our attention on looking good as opposed to looking to God.

It’s a challenging line to walk. And a line that probably many of us struggle with.

I’m not saying that we all need to toss out our favorite pair of cute shoes, boycott make-up,  and start wearing yoga pants/sweatshirts for the rest of our lives as we sit all day and read the word.  (Although some days I think that WOULD be pretty awesome.) I am still an advocate of “Look good, feel good, do good” days, especially when anticipating a big event like taking a test, speaking to a group of people or doing a presentation. God is our creator, and He made us uniquely and wonderfully and beautifully—we can definitely rejoice in that.

The challenge comes when we start RELYING on ourselves, as in our name brand jeans, bajillion dollar hairstyle or numbers on the scale to be our everything.  God is our everything—and in everything, we can look TO Him, knowing that if we trust Him, we won’t just look good, but might in fact inspire others to look towards God.

In two days, I have my first-ever opportunity to preach—yeah,  like from the pulpit, bringing the message for two different services. As I have grown as a minister, speaker and Christian, I have come to the realization that GOD is the one who is going to do the work. My goal is not for ME to look good—but rather I deeply desire for those listening to the message to be inspired to look to God.

When we share our faith or live our lives with Christ as the center of it all—people don’t just see us looking good… they see God being glorified.

Is God the center of your everything? In what ways do you struggle with balancing looking good vs. encouraging others to look to God? How does God’s glory shine through you on a daily basis? Leave a comment below.

When we share the love of Christ with others, we don’t need to spend hours dabbing our face with layers of make-up and sobbing over our inability to choose an outfit… instead we can let God do our grooming, knowing that if people see the light of Christ shining through us, then no amount of make-up, weight loss or high heeled-shoes could make us more beautiful than Christ does at that very moment.

 When we look to God—it is then that we look our best.

Beauty in Christ,
SGK

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” ~Psalm 105:4

Categories: trust | Tags: , , , , , | 10 Comments

Embracing Change: Take it to the Bank (Guest Post)

My feet gently hit the pavement, in rhythm with the tiny “click, clack” of puppy paws. Although my mind wonders, my eyes are focused. They scan the horizon and then dart back to the ground. Just as we round the last block, a bright glint catches in my eye… there it is…

***

Today I am incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to guest post for one of my dear online (AND in real life!) friends, Tracy Steel. Here’s a few things to know about Tracy:

  1. She loves Jesus
  2. She is awesome
  3. Her ministry, One Degree Ministries, is incredible
  4. She is hilarious
  5. She is also a military wife
  6. She is a Kansas native
  7. AND… She is a K-State alumni.

As you can see per the list above, we were automatically kindred spirits when we first “met” online… and things just exploded (in a good way) when we got to meet IRL (in real life) this past summer. I love this gal and am so thankful to guest post over at her place today. Check out the rest of the post all about embracing change by clicking here.

Oh, and you know the drill. Don’t be shy about leaving comments here and there. We love feedback!

Here’s to embracing change (and awesome friends. And you can take THAT to the bank!

Changing in the name of Jesus,

SGK

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” ~James 1:17

Categories: change, guest post | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

All Tied Up

Sometimes in life, we find ourselves tied up in mess.

Perhaps it’s a big mess.

And when we end up in aforementioned life mess, rarely is it “on purpose.”

Actually it reminds me of one of my favorite childhood responses when questioned about why I ate dog food/made my sister stick her tongue to a frozen iron pole/blended up a spatula in a batch of zucchini brownies…

“Um, it was an accident.”

The actually truth was my curiosity is the true culprit (that coupled with my lack of judgement and stubbornness to just “see what would happen.”)

My little brother followed closely in the footsteps of his eldest sisters. Although him and I are 12 years apart, we are very similar in personality and manners of thinking. (Please feel free to take a moment and pray for my sweet mother for raising three mischievous country children.)

A few years ago, when he was probably 9 years old or so, my little bro came into the house one afternoon and casually grabbed his rope/lasso. My intuitive Mama was immediately suspicious since he was supposed to be doing chores and feeding the animals– not doing anything involving a rope and lasso. She inquired of his plans… His response? He wanted to practice roping, using our yearling Brahma bull Rowdie as a target.

Mom vetoed that one in a hurry.

However, my brother being my little brother… had other plans.

Within minutes, Mom heard the screen door slam to the back porch. Dal bolts in the house, screaming like a banshee.  (Panicking was an understatement.) My dear, strong-nerved mother got up and began to check him over for missing appendages to deduce what brought on this dramatic scene.

Finally, between the gasping, panicked stutters and tears, Dal admitted that he um, kind of disobeyed (on accident, of course) and was practicing his roping skills… aimed at our little bull. Unfortunately for him, his skills were sharper than he anticipated.

He accidentally roped the bull and it took off across the pasture, lasso around its neck and all. Dal’s response? “I didn’t mean to. It was an accident. I mean, I didn’t think I could actually DO it!”

This is the kind of stuff we would “accidentally” get ourselves involved in as children of the Lacey family… (Sidenote: This isn’t Rowdie. He was already WAY bigger at the point of our history when the roping incident occurred. This is Cinnamon, a next generation Brahma calf.)

We all laugh about it now. (Well, all of us probably minus Dal– sorry buddy– I owe you some bottled root beer and Pringles next time I come home for telling this story on you.)

But as much as we chuckle about little bro getting all tied up in that mess… I can’t help but think how we as adults and followers of Christ still do the same thing.

Think about it. We have this wild idea and decide we want to “help” God out for one reason or another. (Perhaps we don’t like the path He has given us, or He isn’t moving “fast” enough.) So we inquire, “Hey Lord, would you mind if I…”

He says no. And what do we do? We pursue our own plans, just to see what happens.

More often than not, we find ourselves accidentally tied up in a mess… One that the Lord has to bail us out of.

“Sorry God… um, it was an accident. I didn’t think I could actually do it!” 

Fortunately, Our God is a forgiving God. Every time I come to Him after I my curiosity/impatience/stubbornness has gotten me into a mess, I can just see Our Father rolling His eyes (lovingly) and letting out an exasperated sigh (lovingly) followed by, “Ok, come on, child– let’s fix this.”

In our ability to “help” or “experiment,” we ultimately make a bigger mess of things. Then we find ourselves all tied up– whether it involves a lasso and rope or just our stubborn hearts.

It boils down to trust. Do we trust God enough with our lives to walk with Him, even if it sometimes seems a little slower than our desired pace or a little rockier than what we would choose?

We all have a choice. We can be tied up with ourselves, our thoughts, our plans…

Or we can be tied closely to Christ.

Staying tied to Him,
SGK

“We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.” ~Colossians 1:4-5 (MSG) 

Categories: God, trust | Tags: , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

A Patriotic Reveal

Today’s blog post is brought to you by little green army men, our pup Sweet Justus and a fun sense-of-humor-laden family project…

Praise Jesus!  I am so thankful that I can now share with all of you wonderful readers our “secret.” (I felt like I was leading a double life there for a little while.) It’s been a challenging first three months, especially learning how to be preggo plus pneumonia AND another nasty bug on top of it all (three rounds of antibiotics are now complete!)

We praise God for His faithfulness… When I told my friend Brandi a couple weeks ago about our Little Patriot, she used the phrase “bittersweet.” And that is a pretty good descriptor of the last 14 weeks or so– although, now that I think about it, it’s not been so much bitter, but perhaps “apprehensively-sweet.” We will never forget our sweet Baby Klove, but are very excited for this hopeful  journey into parenthood with Little Patriot.

In this tiny, new life, God has revealed His Love. His Hope. His Grace. His Faithfulness.

So, we rejoice. Won’t you join us?

Glory to God,
SGK

“This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears.” ~Titus 2:12 (MSG) 

Categories: blessings, Family, God | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

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