Transformed!

I am a woman who is a living breathing example of the transforming power of the blood of Jesus Christ! I was reading some of my PPM training material and re-read this quote,"God uses men who are week and feeble enough to lean on him." (Hudson Taylor, missionary to China)
When I read this, amungst many other profound quotes from missionaries and other leaders in the religious community, it wasn't one that jumped off the page and grabbed my attention! When I first read it, we were to pick out which quote (of many) had a profound affect on us. There were others that I thought I was touched by much more!! But, tonight, as I read this again, God spoke to me. He reminded me of a time when I was trying to make it on my own...and failing miserably! Interestingly enough, I have been reminded of that time in my life quite a bit lately. I have reconnected with several old friends who knew me when I was a total disaster! Some of these friends knew that I was a wreck, and some really believed the lie that I was living. It was truly exhausting! I knew that God was there...I was constantly crying out for Him to save me from myself, while still refusing to surrender my sinful nature! What a terrible way to live! I knew no peace, whatsoever! From the time I was 15 until I was 20, I walked in total darkness...walking into the light only long enough to see what a mess I was...and running back into the dark, to hide, again! My selfworth was completely dependent on how the "man of the hour" viewed me! More often than not, I saw myself as worthless. I was so broken. It was really as bad as it sounds, but it isn't a sad story...not at all! I finally got to the point where I was "feeble enough" to lean on Him! I finally let Him begin to cleanse me from the inside out! I was able to see my life for the mess it was...accept it, because He had accepted me, and surrender every single ugly part of my old self! I was finally "weak and feeble" enough to quit running, hiding, and playing games! God rescued me from me! He didn't just take me as I was and send me forward! He took me as I was and began changing my heart, my desires, and conforming my will to His! It wasn't pretty, as we wrestled our way through this transformation! Not that I am in any way compltely transformed...it is a continuous, daily, process, FOR SURE! But, when I finally realized that I was dying without Him...that I couldn't live one more day without Him in the driver's seat...my life was forever changed!!
It really just amazes me that when I was that lost little girl, He knew that I would be where I am right now! I am so humbled to know that He had my precious husband, sweet boys, and my future in missions all lined up for me...He was just waiting for me to surrender! He was waiting to make me pure and righteous through His Son's blood! He knew that I would be here, this day, MADLY IN LOVE WITH HIM!
Transformed by the grace of a patient,kind, gentle, persistent, loving, faithful, Father!

A Come Back,The Cowboys, The Fiddler, and John McCain

Today has been a great day. The Colts made an incredible come back and won. I LOVED that! The Cowboys won...It certainly wasn't pretty, but it still goes in the win column! Our resident "FIDDLER"...(Violinist), Melissa, was AWESOME, today! Seriously, I was just waiting for her to break out into some"Devil went Down to Georgia!" Okay, that may have been a little inappropriate for Sunday morning, but she was "getting down"! The song was "Dancing Generation" so it was only appropriate that it was rather upbeat! I was so glad I was on the other side of the stage, today! It was cool to watch my fellow worship minisrty peeps go crazy! Anyhow...I was very inspired! I wish I could play the fiddle! =)
And to top off an already great day, Jake settled on his 2008 Halloween Costume! He is going to make generations of Republicans super proud...He is going to be a 4"8' (or 4"6'...I can't remember!) John McCain! He got the mask today. He has really never been more excited about a costume before! We have raised him well!
Thus begins a new week, and I am ready for a good one!
May God bless each of you this week! Let me know what I can be praying about...I mean it!
Have a SUPER DUPER Week!
Kristi

My Old Buddy Isaiah Introduced Us...

I was reading tonight, and was really moved by what I read. Like so many times before, I was reading something that I had read SO many other times...yet affected in a whole new way!! Isaiah knew exactly how precious my Jesus would be to me. He was a prophet, as you all know, and he was telling the world how amazing our Savior would be, in Isaiah 9. At the end of verse 6, he says this...
"And he will be called Wonderful,* Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(In some translations they combine wonderful counselor, but it appears to be two seperate names...Wonderful and Counselor)
We have all read and heard this a million times...it is often printed on Christmas cards. But, as I read it this time, it meant more than ever before. This prophet told the world that Christ would be all these things to us... more specifically, to me. When He said this stuff, Christ was still dwelling in Heaven with God, the Father, at that time. It would be quite sometime before he would be born as a human baby, live as a man, heal the sick, raise men from the dead, show compassion to the woman at the well, dine with tax collectors and prostitutes, love the unloveable, die a cruel..criminal's death, be raised from the dead, and ascend back into the presence of our Father! (Oh, He did SO much more...I didn't even get started!)But...Isaiah knew who was to come, and he was telling us what Christ was going to be in our own lives!! How COOL!! Even COOLER, I can Look at my life and see when Christ has been each one of these things for me...when I have called Him by these names that Isaiah called Him, so long ago...That gives me chills! So, I thought I would share one of the many examples that I came up with for each...I am sure that I could go on forever(but, don't worry, I won't)...He has made Himself available to me, has persued me relentlessly, and has been much more than I could ever ask or imagine!

WONDERFUL- Most recently, a walk through the jungle/rainforest in Belize. He showed me just how WONDERFUL He was and always will be, by the beauty and majesty in nature. The beauty that I experienced shouted praises and adoration for its WONDERFUL creator!

COUNSELOR- I was such a wounded soul when I married Jason. (I was the girl that the song"Beautiful Disaster" was written about, I am sure of it...) Christ healed so many wounds. He taught me how to love and be loved. He was my Counselor. I was healed by His word and the ministry of His spirit, directly to mine! He taught me, throughout many years, to surrender all of my burdens to Him, and how to rely on Him as new cares arose.

MIGHTY GOD-I have seen Him work in so many MIGHTY ways...to pick one example is hard! In August, I saw Him work in such Mighty ways through two very different ministry teams, in two very different parts of Belize. I saw Him break down walls that Satan had well fortified! I saw him change the heart of a man who HATED white people...truly, right before my eyes...during a conversation between him and myself...I hear that he is still doing well, too! That kind of change only happens through the power of a MIGHTY GOD!

EVERLASTING FATHER-He is the Father to the Fatherless. I claimed that for years, when I felt very far from my own daddy...actually I feared my dad. I needed a father and God was always there. Now, I am blessed to know MANY kids who live in a Children's Home/Orphanage...I have gotten to sit and hear the testimonies of many of those precious kids. Their ages range from teeny-tiny to 18 and "aging out"...These kiddos know the need for an EVERLASTING FATHER...You know what else, most of them know that they have one, and cling to Him for dear life! I have been reminded of just how precious my relationship with that Father is. I thank God for putting such great examples, of faith, in my life!

PRINCE OF PEACE- Every Single Day!! That is when He shows Himself to be my Prince of Peace. I couldn't possibly travel to Belize, to serve Him and to do what I love to do...leaving my husband and babies behind...without clinging to my Prince of Peace. In this crazy time when my health, and the health of so many that I love, has been under attack, He has been whispering words of PEACE in my ear. He is constantly calming my Spirit and giving me peace in the midst of total chaos!

How cool is that, My bud, Isaiah, knew just how precious my Jesus would be to me! I love that...That is some serious prophecy!
Blessings!
Kris

It's Hard to Be Humble!

(This is what I was originally going to post today...I am really switching gears here, but I feel like God really wants me to share this...)
I love when God shows His strength through our weakness...His glory is seen so clearly when we allow him to use our struggles to show how wonderful He is. If we will let Him, He matures us and teaches us so much through those times where we stumble, or totally fall flat on our faces. So often, non-christians get such a horrible taste of what "Christianity" is all about, when we refuse to humble ourselves and let Him work out our mistakes for His glory. Nobody likes to be wrong ,or to have to humble themselves...really, if you are totally honest! I don't know anyone who just LOVES apologies! As humans, we really enjoy being right...but, we learn and grow SO much when we just admit that we are wrong. Not only can we learn a lot from it, but as a Christian...the world is watching! Even in the small things...people notice, good or bad...they do. And if you are in any kind of leadership role...EVERYONE is watching. A precious, dear, sweet, friend of mine had a chance to let God work in this way, in his life, this week. He screwed up...I can't think of a better way to say it than that! He lost his temper and others were around to witness this. It wasn't anything earth shattering, but he was wrong. He knew it and he was sorry. He could have just been sorry, or just said, "I'm sorry!" Most of us would have been concerned with how it made US look and what others thought of US! He wasn't. Yeah, he was embarressed, but his concern had little ,if anything to with himself. He is such an incredible example of true repentance and humility. He was so humble in Spirit and the way that he handled it prompted me to examine how I handle situations that I may face. I encourage each of you to do the same. You don't have to know my sweet brother or the situation, to follow his incredible example.He made sure to "make it right" with any and everyone that his actions may have affected! His concerns were so pure hearted. He wasn't concern with how his actions made him look, really. He was VERY upset that he had reflected so poorly on His Father, Savior, and the Body of Christ. If we all considered this, and nothing else, when we examined our actions, what an amazing world this would be! It is hard to be HUMBLE. I will be HUMBLE enough to admit that, but I am going to really do my best to follow the example of this very dear friend! And my friend, you know who you are...I have never had more respect for you ..as a brother, friend, leader, man of God, etc. I am so proud of you! You are a great example to all of us! None of us is perfect, but His Grace is Enough!! I Love you, My Brother!! I really will do my best to follow your example!

Update on Carri.

Well, Carri is on her way home. Mom just called and is going to go home with her and hang out with her for the day. Her blood is SUPER thin, but the doctor didn't want to put her in the hospital...she was given a vitamin K shot and told to be super careful, like not to even shave. Crazy. She needs lots of prayers and even more encouragment!

I Know That God is Still on the Throne!

I am just claiming that fact today. I am holding tight to that to that truth. Satan is attacking my family from all sides, but God is and always will be bigger than he is! I was about to blog about something entirely different...I will get to that later today...and then I called to check in on my mom and sister during Carri's dr.'s appt. She was getting her blood checked, and due to the fact that she knows the signs now, she had a feeling that it wouldn't be normal. Well, she does know he body well. Mom just answered the phone, while juggling Layton who was getting tired of waiting for Mommy...Carri's blood is WAY too thin...it should be between a 1 and a 2(as most of you know, b/c you follow the ups and downs on her blog...and will likely hear this on hers later :)) IT IS AT AN 8! That is VERY dangerous. Many of you probably don't realize how little she actually makes out of all of her health issues combined, but she is a pretty sick girl. She is at risk of some pretty major things and talks about her blood levels like we would talk about what we would have for dinner! God has given her a lot of peace and has taught her to trust in Him, despite all human logic! She has come a LONG way in a very short time and I am SO PROUD of my baby sister! Anyhow, they remain at the doctor's office waiting to hear what the next move should be. Mom said that they are considering putting her in the hospital over night. There is a huge risk of bleeding internally with blood that thin. They checked her urine and there is some blood in it...which isn't good!!! Then there is the matter of getting it thicker, without causing it to get too thick and causing a stroke...it is very tricky. I am not saying anything that Carri isn't aware of...She doesn't talk about it, but there are some serious risks, with all of this. It is scary and I think it is important that her friends, and sisters in Christ, know the gravity of the situation. God has been so faithful to manage all of this, so far...So please pray that He will continue to keep her healthy-ish despite all that could happen to one with her many conditions! She actually doesn't share nearly all that must weigh on her mind...neither of us do...Thank you God for giving us eachother!
That only covers one of the MANY attacks that we have been under...BUT, one is enough! God is STILL in control and still on the throne...And in the famous words of the VeggieTales..."God is Bigger the the Boogie Man" :) That gives me comfort, too! Well, it makes me smile! And, He still continues to throw in those unexpected blessings, just to let me know that He is still there...That really makes me smile and strengthens me, daily!!

A Quick Update...before I actually blog!

I had my sonogram yesterday, and wanted to tell you guys what I do know...which isn't much! You know, the technician isn't supposed to tell you anything...you just have to wait until your doctoer gets around to reading it. But...I am pretty good at reading them, so she confirmed what I saw. As soon as she pointed to my rt. ovary, I could see a pretty large dark area...which I knew, from past sono's and ovary trouble, was a cyst. I asked her if that was what it was and she said, "Yes, are you having a lot of pain?" I was thinking," Well.. DUH, I am certainly not here to enjoy your company, or to see the cute pictures of my reproductive system!" (which I am no longer blogging about! :)) So, that is all I know...aside from gross stuff that even I wouldn't write about!! I will let you know when I know something! Certainly this will all come to a conclusion soon! Until then, please be praying for my mom..she is having a heart cath tomorrow @ 9:30.