Jesus is the gift

Yes, Jesus Is The Gift!

Jesus is the gift that perfectly fits every heart

and it is with His love that all celebration starts.

We rejoice in Him as we remember His birth

and thank God for sending His only Son to earth.

His life led from a manger to a cross on a hill

where He faithfully followed His Father’s perfect will.

He freely laid down everything so that we could live,

and there is no greater treasure anyone could give.

Like a scarlet ribbon His love wrapped around the cross

and He offered it to us all at the greatest cost.

So each time that we give we remember what He’s done

and honor the perfect Gift—God’s one and only Son.

— Holley Gerth

Taken from Dayspring.com

The Lord Speaks, and Points!

When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God. - Exodus 31:18

It has been too long since I have blogged. It has been a whirlwind of a month for me. God has been shaking me up a bit, and "pointing with His finger" at me. He as been doing some amazing things in my life. The Scripture above is "speaking into me" as our Lord has been doing as well.

I was in an accident with an 18 wheeler and it literally shook me up. I was in the right lane, he was in the left lane. The lanes were very narrow, too narrow from what the police officer told me later, explaining that when two 18 wheelers are driving down this little stretch of the road side by side, that many times they hit each other’s side mirrors! I was ahead of him, not quite a car length ahead of him. We were both headed in the same direction, when all of the sudden I was pushed forward and sent spinning and rocking back and forth and found myself heading straight into oncoming traffic!

I was left “shaken up” and “praising God” that I wasn’t in hurt any more than I was! I was quite sore, in fact where my seatbelt was I had a pretty good injury from it.

Then shortly after that I had a severe injury to my left foot! Needless to say I have been and still am hobbling around. I have had some time to pray and ponder many things over this last month. It has been a time of Thanksgiving, and a time of prayer, contemplation, and surrender. God has been “shaking me up a bit” during this time. I think God needs to shake me up from time to time, as I am sure he needs to with each of us.

At the beginning of this Scripture, is says that "the Lord finished speaking to Moses.” Don’t you love it that the Lord was speaking to Him! Oh how I love the way the Lord speaks to us! I love it that He cares enough to visit with us, that He trusts us with the particular mission that He gives to each of us (even if He needs to "shake us up" a bit). The more He gives you the more He trusts you! Oh Lord, how I want you to trust me with what you have given me!

During this last month, I have been in such a beautiful time of communion with our Lord, and yet I have also been in a place where He has had to shake me up a bit, spin me around, get me facing some of my fears (the oncoming traffic if you will) and showing me the miracles of Himself. “The finger of the Lord” has been pointing out many things to me. Pointing me in certain directions, directions that I am ready to follow.

I am stepping into a new "chapter" of my life as I leave my beloved job of the last seven years. I have been the Vice President of this wonderful organization, and the last year the Lord has had me in preparation to leave. I gave my formal notice back in May that I would be leaving by December 31st in order to step into the calling of being a Writer, Author, Speaker and Life Coach. I have been coaching for many years now and continue doing so. There is new and exciting news about that and I will be sending out regular communication about that in the coming days and weeks ahead! Look for the news!

Well, that time is upon me and I remain grateful for all of my years there, as I have been give SO much. The Lord has done great things! My five book series entitled “Confessions of a Pastor’s Wife” will be released the 18th of this month! This first book in the series is entitled “He Speaks Can You Hear Him?” And boy does He speak! This book, takes you through my faith journey, I reveal what He says and also how He speaks to us.

Lord I pray that each of us who hear from you recognize the joy and privilege it is to be in communication with you, and the honor it is that you have us do things for you and unto your glory. Lord let us always be faithful in our service to you. Let us always be listening for you, surrendering unto you, and obedient unto you. Thank you for the ride of a lifetime, Thank you for the beautiful people in our lives, Thank you for your grace, your love, your mercy, your trust, and the work you give us to do. Thank you for this advent season to remind us that you are coming, always coming into our hearts! Amen.

Kathryn

Kathryn Bonner
Awakenings Life Coaching (Isaiah 50:4)
www.KathrynBonner.com

More wonderful friends!

Tim & Melanie Barosh are on the left and Bruce (my wonderful husband) and I are on the right. Tim & Mel live in the Houston area. We've been friends since 1999. They came in town this weekend, and we are having lunch outside at the Cheesecake Factory. Mel & I love the Cheesecake Factory! It was wonderful hanging out with them. When we lived in Houston I hung out with Mel all the time. We used to work together, she's a stay home mom now with two little girls and is pregnant now with their son! They are working on three different names for the baby, Noah, Emerson and Cash. Tim has always been a Johnny Cash fan, and he thinks that would be a nice strong name for him. Bruce and I like it too! Mel's still not quite sure about it. Tim is the worship pastor at Crossbridge in Sugar Land. Check out Mel's blog and vote yes or no for the name. They are taking a poll... her blog is http://popsiclesontheporch.blogspot.com/
Bruce, my husband thinks that "Bruce" would sound nice... Bruce Barosh... hmmm... what do you think :)

This is my sweet girlfriend Jennifer! She is such a precious friend to me. I just love the way she loves God! She radiates her love for Him, and He just shines out of her. This is Jen and I eating outside at Kirby Lane. We love going to Kirby Lane, it's SO Austin! We are out on the patio, the weather was perfect! Jen is pregnant is this picture with her 3rd child. He's now born and precious! His name is Jude Echo Stone Frost! I love that name! Jude means "praise", and with Echo, it is "Repeated Praise!" They are praising the Lord for this sweet addition! Check out Jennifer's blog at: http://www.frostbrother.blogspot.com/ for the updates on her boys... God is good! I love it that he gave us girlfriends!

Be blessed,

Kathryn

Friends are such a lovely Gift from God!

My dear friend Bev! I have known her since my sophomore year in high school, where we were best friends! We went to MacArthur in San Antonio. She is such an incredible gal, a great mom and an amazing artist, married to a wonderful man. I love the way she has such a joy about her. She has always been an inspiration to me, always makes me laugh, and I can talk to her about anything. She knows me well, and loves me in spite of myself... that's a true gift from God, the gift of Bev!

Jeanette is on the left, I'm in the center, and Bev is on the right... I've always been really short, and they are obviously really tall... so it makes it rather comical (at least Bev and I have always thought so :)) Anyway both Jeanette and Bev are incredibly talented. Bev has been making glass beads and jewelry for some time now. Jeanette (whom I've now known for a little over 2 years) received a gift from her husband for Christmas last year. It was a kit with all the supplies necessary for making glass beads! Jeannette wanted to learn how to do it, and I thought... "Wow! I actually know someone who does this!" So... we took a trip to San Antonio a few months back and Bev taught Jeannette how to make glass beads. It was fascinating to watch how quickly she learned and how beautiful to connect friends! They are both so creative! God is the ultimate in creativity!

This is my Wednesday morning reunion, prayer, accountability group! We come together early each Wednesday morning at the What-a-burger! We share with each other our prayer needs, the things that our Lord has called us to do, our moments closest to Christ that week. I'm in the front in the pink baseball cap (with absolutely NO makeup!) and Jan is behind me. Fran is in the bright tye-dye shirt, and Nancy is behind her. I love these girls! What a blessing they are to me!

These are some of my favorite people on the planet! I have the honor and the privilege to have been working with this group of gals for the last several years! They are such wonderful friends! Each of them brings something of such beauty and value to my life! We are here celebrating Kati's birthday. Kati is in the black shirt, she's such a sweetie, and that's her little boy Kolton (who is truly a miracle baby!). Then in the red shirt is Suzi Q, she's such a great gal with a real depth! Then there is Tammie who is such a joy and absolutely cracks me up! Of course that's me on the far right. Life is wonderful with with all the beautiful friends in our lives!

I tried to post more pictures of other friends but it wouldn't let me :( that just means that this is to be continued... I give thanks to God for wonderful friends recognizing the gift from God that they are.

Kathryn

Trick or Treat!!?? I look pretty scary!!

Halloween has always been fun for me! Here I am looking pretty scary! I'm all hunched over like the hunch back, and wearing my beautiful smile with my big ol' rotten BillyBob Teeth!! Very Very Scary!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last few years though it just hasn't been the same since Bruce and I have become empty nester's. It seems like over the last four years or so there haven't been very many trick or treater's coming around either. I know that a lot of that is because of the fact that you "can't trust" people like you used to be able to. However, last night we had tons of kiddos coming out! It was so much fun!

Each year we loved getting our two daughters all dressed up for Halloween! They loved it too! It really is some of the best memories we hold onto! I would always get dressed up with them. Many times there would be several events to go to during that week. At the girls school, at the church and then trick or treating in the neighborhood. So the girls would switch into each other's costumes on the different days for the different events! Even though they were 2 years and 8 months apart, they were close to the same size, which made it easy for them to share clothing.

They would dress up as a witch, a princess, a rabbit coming out of a hat, Sheera Princess of power, a ghost, and angel, a moo cow with utters, oh, the list goes on and on! I would dress up as Marge Simpson with the big blue hair, a unicorn, mini-mouse, a flapper girl...

Last night was funny! My picture above tells it all! I was a "House Wife Gone Bad, VERY bad!" I took it on in full character too, I slumped my body over like the hunch back, and had my hair in rollers, and Bruce (my wonderful husband) got me some of those hideous BillyBob teeth to wear and WA LA! I was transformed in the this beauty you see here!

Anyway, the kiddos that came loved it, some of the little bitty ones didn't love it, and their parents just Hee Hawed with laughter! It was fun, but still not the same without our daughters. Oh how I love you Tabby and Kellie!

Once a mom, ALWAYS a mom! Missin' my girlies.
This post is in honor of you two! :)
Love you,
Mom

At the Publishing House Recording My Book on CD! Having such fun!!

I flew into Oklahoma on Tuesday to go to the Publishing House to record my new book on CD! It was such a great time for me. I praise God for all that He is and is doing in my life. He is allowing me to proclaim His goodness and majesty, and I stand in awe of Him and give thanks unto Him for allowing me this wonderful privilege. I pray that I honor Him in all of it.

The first photo is the cover of my book. It's a five book series entitled "Confessions of a Pastor's Wife" and the first book in this series is "He Speaks, Can You Hear Him?" It now has an official release date of December 18th, 2007! However you can order it now from me by going to my website www.KathrynBonner.com and click on the picture of the book to get your copy early, before it's released publicly! I would be blessed should you choose to do that, and I do believe that you will be blessed as well.

The second photo is a picture in the lobby of the publishing house. The had a welcome sign out for me at the front desk! They also had a reserved parking space for me in the very first parking space! I took a picture of it also for my scrap book! Pretty cool!

The third picture is me (on the left) Janey Hays (in the center) and Stacy Baker (on the right). They took me out to lunch at a really sweet tea room. They are both in Acquisitions at the publishing house. Janey is my acquisitions person. She is so cute, at the restaurant she was telling the wait staff that I was one of their authors and that she is the one who "discovered" me. It was fun! I was laughing and saying yep, you discovered me, but no one really knows me! We laughed and she said, "Not YET, but they will!" I just giggled, we all did

God is good!

Blessings to you,
Kathryn

MY FIRST BOOK SIGNING!!

Here I am the 2nd day of the SHINE Conference in front of the bookstore where they had a wonderful display of my book set up for me. I have to be honest, signing books and standing there was honestly a bit awkward for me. The entire staff was incredibly kind and helpful. I had a lovely time though! God is SO good!

Here I am the last night of the SHINE Conference in in front of the HUGE SHINE sign on the stage of Shoreline Christian Center in Austin, Texas!

I have really been excited about the last few days! That's me, with my books and poster inside the bookstore at Shoreline Christian Center! The above photo is the stage, and the name of the women's conference is SHINE. This was my very first place to do a book signing! My heart felt thanks to my friend Pastor Laura Koke who gave me the wonderful opportunity, and a special thanks to her entire staff who loved on me completely. Laura and her husband Rob pastor the church together. It's a large church with about 5000 in attendance. They had there SHINE conference for 3 days Wednesday - Friday.

I was blessed with the opportunity to meet and have lunch with Michelle McKinney-Hammond. (check out her website: http://www.michellehammond.com/) She was one of the speakers there, she was able to pour so much into me during the two hours at lunch! What a great gift from God to me. She has authored THIRTY books and is under contract for two more. She shared with me that before she ever became a published author that she sent out HUNDREDS of proposals to HUNDREDS of publishing houses and receive HUNDREDS of rejection letters before she became published. She asked me how many publishing houses did I send my proposals out to before I got picked up. I shared with her that I sent SIX proposals and and got a contract in the mail before I got ONE rejection letter. She looked at me and said "Girl! That never happens!" She told me to be sure and recognize the blessing in this, not to take it for granted. I know that this is most unusual to happen, and I honestly am ever thankful to our Lord. I am still in a bit of shock that I am now a published author... I SO enjoyed my visit with her, her wisdom, hilarious since of humor, grace and realness. She truly moved me in our talking. I pray the Lord continues to bless her ministry, as she has so much to offer! She truly loves the Lord, and wants everyone on the planet to "get it" so that they might live as we are intended to!

I also had the privilege of dining with Wendy Treat (check out her website: http://www.wendytreat.com/) who was another speaker there. She like me is also a pastor's wife. She was wonderful to visit with, very passionate and full of wisdom and confidence in her God-given abilities.

I am praising our Lord Jesus for every bit of this book, and all of the fun that comes along with it. I also met and visited with several pastor's wives who I know will be able to relate to it. Several pastor's wives purchased copies. We exchanged phone numbers and information, I believe that the Lord has connected us! I have newly found Sister's in Christ.

I also had a younger gal come up to me explaining that she had her baby in last November, she was still in high school. I believe that the Lord will speak to her through the reading of it as well. She felt like because I had a teenage pregnancy (19 and delivered at 20) that she would find hope and healing and a place of relating. I pray that she will seek after the Lord always as she raises her child. I give thanks that her own mother was there with her and was very supportive of her. I pray that the Lord would use this for a ministry for her later on... oh the wonderful hope and security we have in Him!

This is a FIVE book series entitled "Confessions of a Pastor's Wife" and the first book that is "HE Speaks, Can You Hear Him" Go to my website at http://www.kathrynbonner.com/ to purchase it NOW before it goes out on the market in December 18th.

Forever Praising Him,
Kathryn

Our Daughter Kellie Ann Is Married!

It has been a while since I have posted on my blog! Not because I haven't wanted to, but because I have been so busy with work, church, my book, and ALL of the MANY details of our daughter Kellie Ann's wedding. Above is a picture of where she was married. You may find this rather comical, but the people in the photo are not my daughter and son-in-law! However, the photo is where she was married. At this point I do not have any photo's of them yet. The photographer won't have photo's to us for several weeks. I am ready for them NOW :) There fore I simply went to the website where they were married and borrowed a photo :) When I have actual photos I will upload them and share them.

It was a beautiful wedding, and we truly do love our son-in-law. What a blessing that is for us. We know that Chase will take such great care of Kellie Ann, that gives parents such peace. Chase and Kellie Ann have committed their marriage to Christ and that is HUGE! It's the best way to begin the biggest commitment of your life. We are proud of both of them, in so many ways. I give thanks unto our Lord God for uniting them in Holy Matrimony!

My husband (Kellie Ann's dad) married them and said so many profound things during the ceremony as he spoke to them and to the congregation. One of the things that struck me that he said was that "He watched Chase from the window as he opened up the car door for her, and picked up the tree branches from the front yard (we'd had a heavy storm that broke some of the branches from the trees). He said that when I saw him do those two things, not knowing that Bruce was watching him from the upstairs window, that he knew Chase would be a good provider, and that he was a hard worker, and that he took pride in things.

All of that is very true of Chase. He also talked about the patience that he exhibited with Kellie Ann, and how he taught her more about finances, and how he had bought her a puppy for Christmas several years back. We are blessed!

We have turned a corner of sorts, now that both of our daughters are married to wonderful guys. We are now through "raising" them, and will be in prayer for them until the day of our death, and until then, we can now be "friends" together. There is something truly glorious about this! Something to celebrate! They made it, they are full fledged adults! Wow, it's truly amazing, truly wonderful!

I pray that the Lord blesses both of you with abundance, joy, laughter, love, grace, forgiveness!

Kathryn

Look for Me with your whole heart...

You will look for Me Kathryn, and will find Me, when you look for Me with your whole heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

I love to insert my name into the assurances, or promises of His Word, and I would ask you to place your name where my name is, and have this promise belong to you. In placing my name there, it allows me to experience His promise fully. I am able to soak it in, to realize it in MY life for today.

I was reading this passage this morning, somehow with new eyes. I have been reading it since Monday, and today is Wednesday. Today, it opened up a vein in me that seemed to pour out such depth, such depth that it brings tears to my eyes as I am writing. The tears come because I grieve. I grieve the truth, the not so pretty truth, that I am not always seeking Him with my whole heart.

As I began to ponder this further, I looked up the definition of the work WHOLE, and here is the definition in black, with my thoughts in blue…

1. Comprising the full quantity, amount, extent, number, etc., without diminution or exception; entire, full, or total without shrinking, with the entirety of me and my love for my Lord.
2. Containing all the elements properly belonging; complete: We have a whole set of antique china. Not leaving one bit of myself out of my time with Him, all of me.
3. Undivided; in one piece: Without thinking of a million other things
4. Mathematics. Integral, or not fractional. I look for Him in all the multifaceted parts of my life, not in just a few of the components of my life. AND in each of those facets, it is 100% there, not marginalized, or trivialized.
5. Not broken, damaged, or impaired; intact: I come to Him fully present, not cut off from Him, completely bowing unto Him, with my thoughts intact of His sovereignty, power and control and righteousness.
6. Uninjured or unharmed; sound: I come knowing of His safety and security, knowing He would never harm me, that His truth is sound, and healthy.
7. Pertaining to all aspects of human nature, esp. one's physical, intellectual, and spiritual development: What a great definition of whole… Lord I want wholeness from you in ever aspect of my life!

I am writing in the recognition of the fact that I fall short of looking for Him with my WHOLE heart each and every day. When I think about all the things we do, all the rushing, all the projects, all the daily goings on.

I think about how many times I have said, or the many times I have heard others say “Yes, they got the job done, but it really was a HALF hearted effort, it is very apparent that they didn’t put their WHOLE heart into it.” Wow! It’s always obvious to people and to ourselves when we are not giving 100% or more into whatever it is that we are doing.

I know that our lives with Christ must be in relationship with Him with our whole hearts. We is it that we seem to think that we are supposed to receive 100% from Him, when we might give Him a spare thought in our day? How much are we giving to Him? I myself stand here much convicted.

Oh Lord, my Lord, my God, my Everything, forgive me for my half hearted, and if we really want to be truthful quarter-hearted approach unto You. Lord let me seek You with my WHOLE heart, with fervor, with passion, with expectancy to experience Your full love for me. Let me always seek Your love and presence first thing in the morning and every single second thereafter in every single day. Let me love You the way You deserve to be loved. Let me glorify you in all that I do. Let me hear from You all that You want me to!

Let us say yes whole-heartedly to look for Him each day! We don’t want to have lament at the end of every day, we want to rejoice in and through each day knowing that we have sought Him, and found Him in every moment, in every human being that we encounter!

Looking for Him with my whole heart beating for Him….

In His love,
Kathryn

Rise and Shine!

This is an article that I wrote for the Christian niche of CTI (The Coaches Training Institute). I am on the Christian leadership team, and will continue to write articles from time to time when it is my turn in the rotation. I wrote this for last Monday's post and I thought it would be fun to share with you, giving you a glimpse into the life of coaches. The article that we write comes out each Monday and is appropriately titled "Monday Musings"...

"'Men and women who have lived wisely and well will shine brilliantly, like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies. And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever.” Daniel 12:3 The Message

It’s Monday! Time to rise and shine! I love this verse from Daniel. Seems perfect for a “coaching motto.” Take a moment and meditate on this passage. We as Christians and as Coaches could pray this passage over our coaching practices (ministries), and live into its principals. Let us shine light into many areas of those we coach. We have a privileged position to be brought into the depths of the lives of our clients where most are not invited. We are able to listen with level three ears, (what I like to call “our Holy Spirit ears”) to what our clients are aspiring to.

Many times as we are coaching a client we find ourselves in awe of some of the things that that they are up to. We discover areas that they have strengths in which they are not fully aware of and then begin to shine the light on this new discovery for them. They may have a song they want to write and record, a new business to open, a team to lead, a book that is dying to be birthed, a dance just wiggling to come out, a painting with such beauty you hear and see the colors radiating through their vocal cords, jewelry designs being strung while watching TV, mission trips to aid the needy. Many times these dreams are just as frightening as they are exhilarating and in many instances they are afraid to share their dreams with anybody for a number of reasons, one because they are extremely personal, secondly, it causes them to step out of their comfort zone, and thirdly, because they are absolutely terrified to attempt it! Yet they hire you because ultimately they are more terrified of not attempting their God-given dreams!

Oh what a holy thing to be a part of their individual and unique journeys! We have such wonderful opportunities this week with our remarkable clients!

Each of us as coaches we too have dreams within us, shine the light on what it is that the Lord God is calling you to this week. Close your eyes, look deep within, agree to live within the stars in your eyes this week. Write down your own dreams, give yourself the opportunity to do an “intake session on yourself”, much like the one you do with your clients. Are you called to forgive, to rejoice, to lead, to support, to write, to dance, to paint, to sing, to coach a new and different niche? Whatever-- Shine It, Write it, Sing it, Dance it, Shape it, Draw it, Record it, String it, Weave it, Dream it… just do it! Do it all for the glory of God!

It’s Monday people! Praise Him for the day; praise Him for your opportunity to be used in the life of your clients.

Make a date with the stars this week, lie under the night sky, experience the brilliance of the stars and of our Lord. When was the last time you actually went outside and laid down and looked heavenward? Probably too long…

Shine brighter, rise higher, radiate with the love of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Rise and Shine!

Kathryn

Struck by Lightning!

Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who is perfect in knowledge?
Job 37: 15-16

I am "struck" by this scripture passage above! Oh how God is so powerful, so amazing. He is truly in charge, I am not one who can question His power and authority, I simply need to know that He is the one in control of all things. There are things in this world that none of us can completely fathom. His wonders that are always above us, physically, mentally, spiritually, directionally.

The last several weeks have been a bit crazy for me. My computer got struck by lightning! Therefore, as you can see I have not written any posts. I have had to purchase a new computer, try to gather all of my previous items needed to function. This has been a very frustrating time for me. The new computer I have is a "Vista" and I hear mixed thoughts from people about Vista. Some really love it others really hate it. I am learning to adjust to it, and still have much to learn.

I am just now moving beyond the frustration of it all, and am now finally to a point where I am able to stand in awe of His abilities. Our God is always able to get our attention, one way or another. I believe that He was trying to get my attention. It was as if He was asking me the very questions in this Scripture. Posing it to me saying "Kathryn, Do you know how I, your God, control the clouds and make My lightning flash?" Pulling me in, asking me to recognize His amazing power, His creation. Causing me to have to break the routine of my days.

My husband Bruce and I have been watching the sky more lately. This summer we have had an unusual amount of rain and the sunsets have been grande! We have a wonderful bench on our front porch, and we sit out there in the mornings and evenings enjoying the peace. We have several dove families living all around us and enjoy another part of God's creation in listening to them every day, through out the day. Check out this link to hear the sound of the "Mourning Dove" http://www.learnbirdsongs.com/birdsong.php?id=7 . Many days they stand on the top of our chimney, and pipe their music into my house! Their beautiful sound will literally fill my home with their song!

We also have seen lots of wonderful "Lightning shows" in the night sky as we have sat out on our wonderful bench. His creation is so vast! His wonders, His creative intelligence, and knowledge put me in my respective place. I am so awed by His gloriousness. Oh my Lord, I am taken aback at how the clouds hang in the sky! How You pour out Your rain, cleansing us, cleansing the earth, providing us and Your earth with Your living water!

Yes, You are full of majestic wonders, and perfect in knowledge! Thank you for constantly revealing Yourself to me in the clouds, the lightning strikes, the thunder!

Let me always experience Your creative splendor even in the midst of my frustration.

Faces In Your Family Tree

THE FACES IN YOUR FAMILY TREE

There was a piece of paper lying around at the church, just in a pile of other papers. I picked it up because of the quote that caught my eye, it reads:

By the age of forty everyone has the face they deserve.
~ Oscar Wilde, author (1854-1900)

It is saying that our faces take on the outward expression of what we have lived and our attitude toward life. It shows up on our face in many ways.

The name of the lesson was Renovating The Heart - 'Facing' the Facts...

It went on to say that over time, our faces take on the outward expression of what is inside our hearts. Saying that if we continually wear a scowl, which is an indicator of how we feel inside, or if we have smile lines around our eyes, that is also the indicator of how we feel inside. Saying if we had lines of stress stamped on our foreheads, it might indicate that we have chosen to allow ourselves to be angry and stressed about life. What shape our mouths take on, if curve upward, it may mean we have chosen to face life with a positive attitude. All of which reflect our trust in the Lord or our lack of trust in the Lord.

It was good about citing things about genetics also, saying that genetic structure of our faces should be partially considered.

Next time you are at a family reunion, at July 4th celebration, at the mall, or any gather of folks, without being judgemental or mean spirited look at the faces of those over 40 and consider what thier facial structures tell you.

In the quote above Oscar Wilde is saying that our faces reflect the choices we have made over the years. That the choices come from our hearts.

Let's ask the Lord to be the "owner" of our hearts and minds allowing Him to be the reflection on our faces. Let us look in the mirror at our own faces. This is the face that the Lord God has given us. Let us allow Him to guide us in our choices, our views, our judgements, our thoughts, our perspectives, and how we function in the world around us.

Investigate my life, O god,

find out everything about me;

Cross-examine and test me,

get a clear picture of what I'm about.

Psalm 139:23

Listen....

"Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it.

Blessed is the man who listens to me,

watching daily at my doors,

waiting at my doorway."

Proverbs 8:33-34 NIV

My first book "Confessions of a pastors wife: He speaks can you hear Him?" (which I am thrilled to say is due out in October!) was given to me by the Lord. I had no intention of writing a book before the day that the Lord "spoke it into me." Many times we are hearing the Lord speak something directly into our Spirit. We really need to learn that we have a Spirit that is divinely connected to Christ Jesus, who is divinely connected to our God. When Jesus left His humanness behind He promised to leave us with the Holy Spirit. He did this in order for each of us to be able to "connect" with Him.

When I began the writing of this book the above Scripture was given to me by the Lord immediately so that I would be sure to listen to Him and not ignore Him. He knows our tendency to ignore Him when He has given us a huge task to do. He knows that we don't feel capable on our own to do what He has asked of us. He's telling us it would be wise of us to listen, and that we will be blessed for doing so. I think that a large part of society wonders why they have an emptiness in their lives, wondering what their purpose is and why they don't experience the blessing of fulfillment. I would venture to say that it's because they are not listening to the voice of the Lord. Therefore, missing out on working in tandem with Him, missing out on the blessings that would be given if they would.

The last part of the passage says "watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway." Oooh, I love this! He has doors of opportunity just waiting to swing wide open for you if only you were there daily watching with expectancy and faith in what our awesome God is going to do with you!

Listen to Him, He still speaks today, to you, and to me! Be wise and don't ignore it! Experience the full blessing of what He wants you to have!

I will leave you with this final Scripture passage and I ask you to meditate on both of them, hear what He has to say to you...

"This is My Son, My Chosen;

Listen to Him!

Luke 9:35

Thank God for Fathers

Today is Fathers Day and our oldest daughter Tabby (that's her on the right, she is a shining light!) and her husband Gerald came to visit. The wonderful thing about today was that she surprised her Dad! She didn't tell him she was coming. My husband is a pastor, and I am on the praise team at church. He comes and stands beside me and joins me in song each Sunday when he's able to through out the service.

Tabby had called me previous to her coming and let me know that she and Gerald would be coming to surprise Dad, and of course she swore me to secrecy! I kept looking for their arrival with anticipated glee for Bruce, and the joy that glee would bring her. They were running late because they missed an exit on there way in. However they did make it just before the service started. :) I see them and Bruce does not, I greet them both with joy and hugs and rush back up to my place on the stage.

Anyway, I am standing on the stage with the praise team, and Bruce comes and stands next to me. We are singing and praising God. Tabby and I are waiting for her Dad to notice that she is there. Then Bruce, as he is standing there with me scanning the congregation, he spots his daughter, and I see the smile come across his face, and the small tears well up in his eyes. How wonderful it is to see your child standing there looking at you with love so big it can be felt. Bruce whispers in my ear "Tabitha is here to surprise me on Father's Day!" We look at one another and smile. This moment was particularly sweet for him, and of course for me.

After church, we go to lunch, and she reminisced on many of the sweet things he did for her growing up. He is all smiles, thrilled that the little things really were the big things that she remembers to this day. Oh, how special the love between father and daughter.

I give such thanks to you God for the way you have joined our family together!

Blessings to all dads out there, you really do make a HUGE difference in the lives of your daughters. Thanks for all that you do to bring them up to be lovers of the Lord.

Kathryn

Beautiful Love!

Everyone wants to feel loved and special on their birthday. At the very least remembered. Your birthday holds something beautiful, holds something that each of us can understand. It's a day that we feel loved, and honored because we are "here" and we each hope that our friends and family are "glad" that we are here. When we are remembered by those that we love it brings joy to the soul. It causes us to know that for one day it is OK to make it "all about me." We know that all of the other 364 days can not be. So the 1 day that it can be, that it's OK to say, "this is my day, this is the day that you let me know you are SO glad that I am here!

Take a look at the photo above, (that's their dog Dayton too :)

I did not download this from some place on the web, this is an actual photo of the breakfast my sweet wonderful son-in-law Gerald cooked for my daughter, his wife, for breakfast on her birthday! Aren't they the cutest couple?!!! Am I a proud mom or what? :)

This was not something that cost a fortune, but was worth a fortune to her and to her heart! I am so thankful to have a son-in-law that loves my daughter this way! I praise God for this!

So for those of you celebrating your birthday... Happy Happy Birthday! It is YOUR day! Enjoy it fully!

Thanking God for you today,

Kathryn

Are you living a "Death"-style or a "Life"-Style?

What voices are you listening to in your head? Those voices can be life-giving, or death-giving. This makes a HUGE difference in how you function in your life. What do you want, who do you want to be? Who do you want to listen to? God speaks into your life if you will listen to Him. He wants to give you life, fully and abundantly.

What came immediately to your mind when you read the title of this blog? This question is prudent to ask. I believe that in order for us to experience our lives in the most positive way we need to examine this question. This question needs to be posed and pointed to the many facets of our lives. Lets take a few of the facets and review this question in regard to them. But before we do let us read the following Scripture passage...

"Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!" 1 Samuel 25:6

Many times when we are in the work place environment we behave as professionals, careful with the way we respond to those around us. Careful not to offend, careful to be respectful of others, careful to work diligently on our projects at hand. The opposite could also be true. Many folks can be offensive, trying to Lord over those that they supervise, demanding respect that has not yet been earned. Are you living a "life"-style or a "death"-style in your endeavors?

Grace or No Grace? Do you allow for grace among your employees, and not with your family or vice versa? Do you you provide yourself and others with good "mental" "spiritual" "physical" health?

Do you feel like you have been living this way so long that it is too late to change? Do you believe that the people you "lead" would not welcome a change in your "style" of leadership? Wouldn't it be a huge relief to let go of the heavy handedness?

Ask yourself the following questions and pray about the changes you want in your life.

• What do you want LESS of in your life? (make a list)


• What do you want MORE of in your life? (make a list)


• To live more fully into your LIFE-style what is the first change you are going to make and when will you commit to making the change?

I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now, CHOOSE LIFE, so that you and your children may live. Deuteronomy 30:19

Value yourself and all of those that the Lord has placed in your life. Take the time to journal the above questions. Commit to no longer live a "death"-style, but to live a "life"-style...

Praying for you in your "life-full" journey!

Kathryn

http://www.awakeningslifecoaching.com/

Awaken to your life!

So, what does having an “Awakened Life” or “Holy Spirit-connected life” mean? It means to live wholly holy. Don’t think that Jesus expects this way of living as “having to be perfect”… For me, it means to be completely in step with the Holy Spirit, to make a choice for Christ. Within that choice is an amazing freedom. He carries our burdens, instills us with His Holy Spirit! This is amazing love! This is the ultimate in creative intelligence.

Keeping in step with the Spirit takes active concentration, commitment, and discipline. Unfortunately, many people (including myself) can pay attention to so many other things that keep us from living and walking with the Holy Spirit. One of those obstacles is pride, which CS Lewis says, “is spiritual cancer that eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.”

It’s been said, and I believe this with my whole heart; that we speak to God with every word and breath that we release. And with each and every breath we breathe in He makes Himself known to us. After all He is the breath of life. We are never apart or separated from God, although we can miss “hearing him speak to us” if we are not tuned in to His message. Too often we tune Him out, like so many other things in our lives.

From my heart to your heart…I want for you to be in connection with the Lord, the giver of life, who stretched out his arms on the cross, and offered himself, a perfect sacrifice for you and the whole world, so that you would have life everlasting.

He has joy for you, plans for you to prosper, and to love, even in the midst of struggle. I want to give of you hope and joy in your journey. The choice to live in every moment with love, faith, and glorious expectation is mine and yours! Don’t let anything or anyone stop you from living in the glory that the Holy Spirit provides.

For those of you who have God given dreams, keep dreaming. Make sure that you dream big enough dreams that you must include God!! Push beyond the limits of your comfort zone! You do realize where those dreams come from don't you? Do you trust where they originate? Step out in faith, don’t just sit there sitting on your dream, embrace it! Love it, and live it!

What are you doing with your mind? How are you choosing to live your life? What thoughts, what character do you want or do you long for? What kind of leader do you want to be? What changes do you need to make to be that kind of leader? Be transformed by the renewing of your mind!

As a Life Coach, I partner with you (check out my website www.AwakeningsLifeCoaching.com) in discovering the dreams God has given you and I encourage those I coach to begin praying, about the plan that the Lord has. Always pray about the choices you make and why you make them. My prayer for you is to Awaken your Spirit, transform your life into a breathtaking and joyous, Holy Spirit life! Live for God, because He lives for you!

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit"~
Gal 5:25

"He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple."~
Isaiah 50:4b

My prayer for you is to Awaken your Spirit, transform your life into a breathtaking and joyous, Holy Spirit life! Live for God, because He lives for you, I know this to be true! Listen with ears to hear, a heart prepared, eyes gazing up into the clouds, and experience the enormity of His love! Dream, pray, bask in His glory; discover the beauty He has just for you! Discovery is one of the best parts of the journey!

Here's to your Spirit being Awakened each morning by His voice!
Kathryn

My Visual DNA!! (Well sort of...)

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The Lion Aslan in the Sky!!

Oh Divine Majesty! I see your brilliance Lord!

On my drive home this evening I experienced the radiance of God in the heavenly clouds! I had my camera with me and had to pull over and take this picture! The picture I saw in the clouds was so enormous, it was so amazing! I could see in the clouds the face of the Lion Aslan, from the movie by C.S. Lewis, "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe!"

What I love even more about this is that I was on the phone with my friend Ginny and was telling her about this beautiful vision in the sky and that I had to pull over to take this picture. She was "witnessing" this event over the phone with me as I took several pictures of this. I am getting to more here... Ginny (and two other Chritian Coaches) and I have just produced a CD on Biblical Meditations. Guess what Ginny's is... Her topic centers around Aslan!!! God in His amazingness gave me this radiant picture of Himself in the clouds while I was on the phone with her! She giggled with me as I was taking this photo on the phone! So, Ginny, what are your thoughts about our Lord, our Aslan in the sky showing Himself to us?! Amazing!

I had to wonder if all those driving beside me saw it too? How could they miss His majesty? I imagine that they must have been taking gasps of breath as they viewed the glory in the sky. As each person drove along in our individual cars, with our heads in the clouds! I am sure that everyone around me HAD to be experiencing this phenomenal occurrence with me. My breath was taken away, my eyes beholden to His glory!

I see His majesty here, a picture of the Lion of Judah! The profile of the Lion is clear, even with the hair on His mane blowing in the wind as He glides effortlessly through the majestic skies above. Mmm, oh what a vision!

Prayers of the People we prayed in church today

I pray that you truly experience the prayers below in their fullest. We prayed them in church today and I was moved with the depth of who each of us is, what we are to be, and how our Lord moves through us for His glory...

PRAYER
God of all that is good, in this season of Pentecost You fill us with Your Holy Spirit. In scripture You give us Your vision for the world. In love You give us Your grace. In wisdom You give us each other. We are Your presence, Your power and Your body in the world. For this we give You thanks and, as one body, offer ourselves and each other we pray.

Holy Spirit of community...
RESPONSE
Bless Your holy people

PRAYER
We praise You for the possibilities that come from Your imagination, and for the gifts that we offer to fulfill the vision of ministry and mission You set before us. We pray for all who minister in the church.

Holy Spirit of servanthood...
RESPONSE
Bless our mission

PRAYER
We pray that we may see the sacred in our everyday lives, believing with our brothers and sisters in faith that we can make a difference through You.

Holy Spirit of life...
RESPONSE
We remember the promises made at our baptism.

PRAYER
We prayer for the world around us. For other nations and people far away. For their hopes and fears, and for those who weep and those who dance in every part of the world.

Holy Spirit of diversity...
RESPONSE
Open our hearts to both strangers and friends.

PRAYER
We also pray for our own nation, that we may learn Your vision of freedom, and that our privilege be blessed in how we use it to benefit those around us.

Holy Spirit who works in everything...
RESPONSE
Open our eyes to Your compassion.

PRAYER
We pray for the courage to learn the names of those around us, to honor the beauty of their gifts, as well as the urgency of their needs, and that we may boldly speak the truth in love to our neighbors.

Holy Spirit who makes power of powerlessness...
RESPONSE
Make us channels of justice and peace.

PRAYER
We pray for those who suffer and for the gift of being companions with them. Bless those in our midst who are tired or hurting, and those who trust us to pray for them.

Holy Spirit who comforts us...
RESPONSE
Open our hearts to know the healing power of Your love.

PRAYER
We pray for those who have died, that we may know the presence of the cloud of witnesses around us. Bless those who mourn and those who, in their grief, know the sure and certain promise of eternal life in You.

Holy Spirit of forever and from before time...
RESPONSE
We praise You for the wonder of eternal life!

Things That Make Me Smile

Our sweet daughter Kellie Ann is in town visiting. Take a look at this gorgeous girl here! We are planning her wedding and it's such fun. What a blessing to know that she has such a wonderful future husband who loves her so much. Our oldest daughter also has a wonderful husband. As a parent of girls, their dad and I have always prayed each day for the girls and their future husbands. We feel so blessed with both of our daughters choices in their husbands. Kellie Ann and Chase have been dating for five years and have been engaged for two years. The big day is September 22nd!

Her dad and I are enjoying her SO much over this weekend. We went to the movie Shrek III last night and it was absolutely halarious and really cute! We all found ourselves laughing all the way through it. I love the way Kellie Ann laughs. She is such a beauty!

Kellie Ann and I are about to head out the door to get her registered (at least register for the things that don't require her fiance to be there :) We are going to shop for bridesmaid gifts, table top decorations, and other wonderful things that make her wedding day special.

Thank you God for our little girls! They are especially wonderful as little ladies. What a true blessing they are in my life. Thank you God that they love You so. It just doesn't get much better than this....

Which Path Will You Choose?

Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
Galatians 5:25 The Message

As a Professional Life Coach I am one who is called to walk alongside my clients, with the intention of causing them to view their lives with powerful and heartfelt choice. Folks who hire a life coach are truly intentional about living passionately. The way you view life is vital, it is the key to the method, the way you understand, experience and do life. There are those who find life to be brilliantly wonderful, and amazingly breathtaking. They have joyful dispositions recognizing thier ability to choose to experience the miraculous and the adventure in every day living.

And there are those who don’t.

I know a woman who grew up with polio and had eighteen surgeries growing up. She was in a brace or a cast all the way up to her hips, limiting her movement for much of her life. She could not do the things other children and young adults could do! I never knew her as a child with this disease. I’ve only know her as an adult and knowing her now, and I know of her magnificence! She says and believes that her polio was a gift from God! When people failed her because of it, He never did. She was enabled to come to know Him through this. There are many who may have these very circumstances and taken on the opposite view. She could have ended up a very bitter woman, and we as a society would have thought she had the right to be because of her polio.

We have been given by God the freedom of thought, freedom of choice, freedom to believe, the capacity to be thinking, feeling human beings! What freedoms we have! What a beautiful thing this freedom of choice is! How powerful it is!

What are you doing with your mind? How are you choosing to live your life? What thoughts, what disposition do you long for?

In my journey I have always tried choosing to see everyone in a positive light, and be a positive light to those I encounter. It’s my choice to see and experience beauty fully. It is my choice to enjoy each and every human being I encounter, no matter how different they might be. I am able to discover and uncover the beauty within them. This is my choice to do so and I find it to serve me well. I find it to bring much beauty and joy to my life that I would never want to miss out on.

There have been times when people have surfaced in my life for one reason or another that I did not want there. There is a particular woman who seemed to be always there, I didn’t like her hardness. Her viewpoint on life was very different from mine. We were complete opposites in our thinking. Yet, both of us were deep thinkers, both of us held deep convictions within our very souls. Both of us love the Lord deeply and yet very differently! She was brought into my life to strengthen my faith at a time when my faith was faltering. She was the only one who saw that my faith was faltering because she knew exactly what it was to have faltering faith! When my dearest friends didn’t see it, she did! She knew life on a different level than I. She brought life to me on a different level. She expanded my mind, and I became one of compassion for her! It is amazing this life! When I finally made the choice to allow her into my life, I believe God used her to strengthen my faith at a time when I needed it most!

Choices are amazing, our Lord wired us to have full freedom in choice. We have to make so many every day! With every choice there is a consequence. With good choices we experience good or great consequences. With bad choices we experience bad or horrible consequences. We become attuned to these outcomes, or we don’t.

I would encourage you to begin really praying, meditating, thinking, and examining the choices you make and why you make them. They form these amazing patterns in your life!

I have always taught my daughters this and have used dating scenarios with them. I believe it was tremendously important for them to view the young men they were allowing into their young lives in total truth. (Think about viewing one in total truth, for that matter think about viewing yourself in total truth). I would remind the girls that certain behaviors, if they allowed them, or merely accepted them, that they were in the process of allowing certain types of behaviors to become acceptable. Letting them know that patterns were being formed in their young lives. Making them aware if they were living unconsciously (sleep walking through life), or consciously (awakening) in their relationships was HUGE! I never wanted them to be living their lives unconsciously!

So many of us can sleep walk through life allowing unbecoming behaviors to become a part of our lives! This therefore sets the patterns up and sets the stage of your life! So... be aware (or should I say beware) of the patterns you have in your life, what are you compromising on? What are you settling for? Why?

Raise your echelon of accepted wisdom! What kind of role model are you being for your children, for your co-workers, your employees? What leadership role are you in? Where to you want to change? What is working for you? What isn’t? How to you want to experience this life!?

The thing I love about life it that we can always choose! We can choose to break free of thoughts and behaviors that no longer serve the right purpose for us! We can allow ourselves to be transformed and awakened! We can recognize this life is a journey with many paths and can choose to stay on the road we are on or we can take the fork in the road that will lead us to places known and unknown making good and right choices along the way!

Here’s to living a fully awakened life!
Kathryn

Commandment...

What rolls through your mind when you think of the word "Commandment?" Most of us, including myself conjure up negative thoughts in regard to this word.

I would never say to my husband, or an employee, or even my children "I command you to ________ _________ (you fill in the blank(s)). Out of respect for one another we do not "Lord" over people in this way.

As I read the following Scripture passage:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 13:34

When I read this this evening I began to contemplate this passage in a way that I really never have before. We are given so many lessons through out the Bible that teach us about righteousness, fairness, wisdom, and love. Obviously, back then, as well as today, each of us want to be respected, to be loved purely and to be loved deeply.

We don't really see Christ command that many things through out the Bible. But here in this passage we are given a command. We are not being told to think about behaving this way, or to consider another way to live. We are being commanded! This commandment is THE ANSWER to all man kind! Mystery solved.

So why is it that we do not talk about this COMMANDMENT? Is it because of the fact that it has the word "commandment" in it? Do we allow the word to be taken out of context, thereby becoming an offensive word? Thereby not teaching the value of this commandment? Oh gosh, if we could just live into this commandment can you imagine what a beautiful planet of love we would have! But because we find the word offensive we pretend, or think that we have other options on how to treat another? I am guilty myself, and that is the struggle. That is why we have such misunderstanding running amok in our society. If we as a human race were to accept this commandment without question, can you imagine how our world would be? How our lives would be?

Let each of us meditate on the fact that this is honestly not an option, but a commandment. Let us allow the transformative Holy Spirit cause each of us to live into this commandment and change our little corner of the world bit by bit.

I Can Not Help Speaking...

What is it that you talk about most? What are the things that get you really excited?

When I talk about things they always seem to be pointing to God.

This morning I was standing on the front porch surveying the flowers in my garden that Bruce and I had planted. I love to sit out there in the morning and drink my tea, have my breakfast and chat with Bruce. We go out there almost every morning. It feels good to be able to listen to the doves call to one another. I love the way they sound, they have a spiritual effect on me. They sound calm, peaceful, and somewhat ethereal.

This morning I was out there early while Bruce was showering, and there was a large gorgeous moth on the rock pillar. I stood staring at the beauty of this creature, Gods creation. I was able to get really close and see the delicate wings, they were black, and it was like looking a filigreed lace. He was black and yellow with a huge body! Oh He was glorious.

I ran back into the house and grabbed my camera and took a couple of really good shots of him, one of which I am sharing with you for your viewing pleasure. Just look at those delicate wings, and the gorgeous fuzzy body he sports! I was so pleased and amazed with Gods handiwork. I become so awed by His creation, His creative intelligence. I think about the eye of a cat, the many colors and shapes of the sea creatures. How can we ever deny our God. His creativity is all around us. How can we not speak of Him, for the things He has done, the things we have seen and heard? He continues to do these great things each day. Take time to enjoy His creation and fill your soul with beauty!

"For we can not help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

Acts 4:20