I may be weak, BUT GOD...

I just love it when God is so alive and active and PERSONAL in how He speaks to me.  Have you experienced this lately?  If not, I encourage you to get before the Lord and ask Him to reveal Himself to you in a very, real and personal way.  He longs to show himself to you.

I was talking to a friend this morning about our flesh, soul and spirit.   We were trying to get clarification on the differences.  We were able to summarize these differences and prayed for our flesh & soul (mind, body & will) to align with our Spirit!

THEN, I looked up the memory verse for this week in an Online Bible Study I participate in through Proverbs 31 Ministries.  http://proverbs31.org/online-bible-studies/current-study/

Psalms 73:26 NIV

My flesh and my heart may fail,

BUT GOD is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

Once again, the Lord revealed just how personal and intimate His pursuit is after each one of us!
That BUT GOD part is significant!! HE CAN DO ALL THINGS!  As I align my flesh with HIS Spirit and truth THEN, and only THEN will I tap into HIS strength.

This verse says, as I seek HIM, He will be my strength! Though my flesh & soul are weak (my mind, body & will), My spirit is strong.  Why?  Because HE IS GOD! 

The verse also reminds me of a song called Give Me Faith by Elevation Worship.
Click on the you tube link below to listen.  I pray it will bless you. 
I am singing out to God today-

I may be weak,

you're spirit's strong in me,

My flesh may fail,

My God you never will!!

NOW Go!!! Sing a new song!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8PLBQrzWQ8
 

This too shall PASS!

"This too shall pass," is what I hear all too often when encountering tough times.  It's meant to be an encouragement but sometimes I want to respond with a sarcastic comment I know I should keep to myself.  Something like, "I wish I would PASS a little faster through this!" or I'd be alright if I passed over this completely!"  After I consciously make a choice to see the encourager with good intentions as such, I am able to put my sarcasm aside and remember there is truth to what they say.

Circumstances come and go.  The perspective and attitude I choose to have about those circumstances can make or break me.

Isaiah 43:2-5 says
WHEN you pass through the waters, I WILL be with you;
WHEN you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
WHEN you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God, the Holy one of Israel, your Savior
Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you
nations in exchange for your life.
DO NOT BE AFRAID, for I AM with you;

When I go through circumstances and wish I could just pass over rather than go through I must remember that the word says WHEN...I will go through tough times.
I am able to endure these tough times because He says:

I AM PRECIOUS

I AM HONORED

I AM LOVED

HE IS WITH ME!

These promises comfort me because I have walked through stages of my life without him. Not because He wasn't there, because I ask Him to leave me alone.  Nothing is scarier to me than His absence because I have experienced life without Him.

So WHEN I walk through this life and into trying times that I'd much rather "PASS" over rather than through, I will find comfort in knowing HE IS RIGHT THERE WITH ME and I will trust in HIM, keeping my eyes fixed on HIM rather than the circumstance.
 

Cat or Dog? Who are you trying to be like?

I looked out the window while doing dishes and saw the dog playing with one of our five cats and thought to myself, “I think our dog wants to be a cat.”

Then as God does with me, he spoke to me in that very moment and said,

What do you want to be?  Who do you want to be like?  How do you want to behave?

What kind of personality and characteristics do you want to have?  Are you a dog trying to be like a cat?

CARA- Embrace who I made you to be and celebrate who YOU ARE!  Stop trying to be like something or someone else!  I made you to be a “Cara”! 

Our dog knows nothing else but cats.  He is only around another dog when my dad’s dog comes to visit occasionally. Then I thought about what he is like when the dog comes around.  HOLY MOLY! He is SOOOO EXCITED!!! So excited he doesn’t know how to act, and it seems we no longer even know who he is because he is acting so differently, yet he is overflowing with JOY, as if this is WHO he is actually MEANT to be after all!

WOW!  If you always hang with the cats, yet you are a dog, and never look at anything different, it might seem like that is who you should be, it might even cause you to feel like something is wrong with you because the cats you are hanging out with are so different from how you are inside and out.  You may even find yourself trying to do things like a cat even though you are totally in a dog’s body!

 HOW AWKWARD! And wouldn’t that look funny! Dare I say we do this as woman??

We hang around with people who are NOT like us, who may not even have the LORD as their Savior.  Then we take those other women and compare our lives to them and wonder what’s wrong with us!  We ask ourselves, “Why can’t I keep up?  Why can’t I have what she has?   Why does it seem like she can do it all and I’m struggling to stay afloat?

1.)    The cat has a different PURPOSE than the dog!  Trying to be someone you are NOT produces an environment of LOW JOY, NO HOPE, and a constant striving to be someone/something you were NOT designed to be!!

2.)    You were never meant to be COMPARED to another woman! God made you exactly like YOU! FOR THIS TIME! FOR THIS PURPOSE!

3.)    If you want to embrace who you are in Christ, HANG WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS WHO ARE SEEKING TO BECOME MORE LIKE HIM!

We are held to one standard and one standard only, to GLORIFY GOD!  TO WORSHIP HIM!

 Comparing is never good!  Since we are human beings it tends to happen from time to time, so I challenge you to change your perspective on this.  Rather than us cats looking to a dog and getting frustrated and sad because we can’t ever be like that dog, how about us cats look to other cats and ask GOD, How can I be more like that cat?  I like what I see. I like how she makes me feel.  I like how she loves you Jesus. Help me to be more like YOU Lord, cause I see that in her!!!  This is allowing others to draw us closer to be like JESUS rather than trying to be like another human being, which is NEVER the same as us. God made us each completely unique for our very own purpose.  Just like cats and dogs are both animals, they are very different creatures with very different personalities and character traits!

We CAN become like other woman we see who have what we want SPIRITUALLY!! DO WHAT THEY DO!

READ THE WORD! PRAY! RESPOND IN OBEDIANCE to the very thing THE LORD IS CALLING YOU TO DO!!!

IF YOU ARE A CAT! FIND SOME CAT FRIENDS WHO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD FOR BEING A CAT!

IF YOU ARE A DOG, FIND SOME DOG FRIENDS WHO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD FOR BEING A DOG!

 

MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL! BE LIKE CHRIST!  STRIVE TO MEET HIS DESIRES FOR OUR LIVES AND HE WILL BLESS US INDEED!

 

 

His strength is made PERFECT in our weakness...

If you have read my introduction or my first blog post you know why it's called Kisses from the King. I found another blog with this information in it and I thought it was so beautifully said and I wanted to share.

A kiss from the King, according to rabbinical tradition, is a living word from scripture. (Some of us know that as a “Rhema” Word) When a verse leaps out at you and you have the sense that God has spoken personally to you… you have been kissed by the King.

With that said. I have encountered a Kiss From the King just moments ago. It's not what I would consider my typical kiss though. Usually when I have been kissed, they are words from scripture that have so connected with my soul that I rejoice internally and sometimes even externally. This kiss today has me a bit baffled. I have heard it a million times and I have even experienced God's strength when I have been weak, but I have not processed the words, "his strength is made perfect in my weakness". I understands it means He is strong when I am weak. He will intercede for me when I cannot. But the fact that His strength is made perfect when I am weak doesn't even sound nice. It sounds like in order for God's strength to be perfect I must be weak. So what about the times I'm having a strong day, emotionally or physically? Is God's strength not perfect then? Is His strength ONLY made perfect when I am weak. Wait, aren't I weak, in my flesh, ALL the time? Therefore, God's strength would be perfect at ALL times?! Is it really just that simple? Am I making this more complicated than it has to be? Well, it wouldn't be the first time!

I also understand that God can take our flaws, our HUGE messes our mistakes that are obviously made when we are weak and turn them into the biggest blessings ever! I would never say that those moments or battles we encounter are a blessing, but God can take what satan intends for harm and use it for good and for our benefit. It's not the "problem" that you can rejoice about, it is what God can do from what was learned from it. I have heard people say, "this (whatever this is) will MAKE you a stronger person", or "this, will MAKE your marriage" WHAT?? REALLY? So this experience which rocked my world, hurt, stung, cut me to the core, will be what MAKES me? NO!!! I believe it isn't the "problem" that does this. It's what is learned from it, how it's processed, how you choose to move forward and exist beyond it! To me that is a major difference! I say all this because it has everything to do with His strength being made perfect in weakness. When we are going through those "problems" or "issues" it's generally when we feel WEAK! Right? So in those moments it is encouraging to think about how God's strength is perfect. When I am weak, He will step in and cover me, take over, give me strength when I am weak. Getting through the tough things in life are very difficult. Sometimes we even look back and don't remember how we ever got through it. Those are the moments in which HIS strength was made perfect!

Thank You JESUS!

Lessons from our dog, Dakota.

Most of the time we call our dog, "fat boy," or "dumby" to be frank. It takes a special kind of dog to be so stupid! We also say, "Oh yeah, he's SPECIAL alright!" I must give some background for you to possibly understand. This dog has eaten not one, but TWO, small notebooks containing my computer sign in names with passwords! He has eaten 2 medium pizzas from Dominoes and one of the boxes! He has eaten almost $75 bucks of which I was able to retrieve and tape back together almost $60 of it, don't ask, you don't want to know! This leads me to the profound lesson I learned from this stupid, dumb, special dog!

We do not have a fenced in backyard so we put him on a tether. This tether only reaches so far around the yard and nearby is a trampoline and a bluebird house on a tall metal pole. Daily he has been entangled around one or the other upon which he stands there and barks. No, he doesn't try to find his way back around, he just freezes and barks. Did I mention he is a male and barks the most pathetic high pitched bark possible when in these situations? It's quite hilarious and I wish I had a recording for you. You might not want to play it though. As he once again tied himself around the trampoline posts I took hold of the tether and tried to walk him around in the correct direction to set him free. I had to yank quite hard for him to follow me he wanted to head towards the backdoor. In order for him to do this though, he had to walk around the posts of the trampoline. Finally, I was able to guide him so he would actually obey and to his surprise, he was free! He ran off, with tail wagging toward the back door.

Does this sound familiar at all to how we can react to the circumstances of our lives? I can relate very much. Much more than I care to admit. Even as I was tugging on him and saying to him, "This way first, THEN you can go to your destination," immediately it hit me, OH yeah, this is what I so often do with God. I am in an uncomfortable situation and striving to reach my goal and for some reason I am stuck, at a stand still and can't go any further! I have to hang out for some reason, go around the same "bush" for another season in my life. All I want is to move forward to reach my goal, but something is holding me back! It could be numerous "things" and I'm glad I don't need to know what they are, most of the time. If I would just trust God to lead me and follow HIM, even though it might not make any sense to me, through obedience, I will THEN be set FREE! Sometimes us "people folk" can be dumb, can't we? Like sheep! Profound! And all from our stupid dog who got caught around the posts of the trampoline!

I LOVE how God so gently speaks to me through such tiny scenarios in life! He is such and amazing and kind God.

Thank you Lord for your blessings and lessons in life, especially the small things that seem so insignificant!

This was my Kiss from the King today,

Cara