Me Organised? Yes Indeed!

Well, two weeks down on my teaching prac 4 and I feel fantastic! During the weeks approaching my prac and internship I became quite stressed just thinking about the HUGE task that lay ahead of me…10 weeks in the classroom being judged and reported on by another person!!! How was I ever going to survive or cope? I new that this was going to have to be a task for my Heavenly Father, because I certainly lacked the strength or courage to do it. And, sure enough…He has prevailed!

My teacher has been absolutely wonderful and understands the fact that I am only learning, which is such a blessing. After each lesson we discuss how it went and she gives me verbal feedback. I was honestly not expecting the feedback to be as encouraging and supportive as it has been. Each and everyday I have been gaining confidence and I absolutely cannot wait to teach in my own classroom. Often by the end of the day my head is brewing with different things that I would like to do when I have my own classroom. I never anticipated having so much enthusiastic energy for teaching. When I first started my uni course, I only did it as a step of obedience. But now I am grateful for having been so obedient towards my Father in Heaven. I could never have anticipated enjoying it as I am right now.

But, not only am I enjoying this experience and desperately holding on until I get my own classroom to teach in, but I am learning so much and being stretched in every which direction! I have always desired to be organised and a forward planner, but never been very successful at it. No matter how much tried in the past, I have always been a last minute girl - and a very stressed one at that! No matter how hard I tried to get my uni assignments organised and in on time, they were always left until the last minute, no matter how hard I tried to plan Sunday school lessons before Sunday - they were always a Sunday morning thing. However, God knew what He was doing when He placed me with my mentor teacher. She honestly is the most organised person and teacher the world has ever seen! Each and every day I am amazed at how she operates - and how she has been able to maintain it for so long.

This has been wonderful for me, as it has caused me to pick up my act and work really hard to get myself one week ahead - AT LEAST! We have pretty much got the term organised already, we only have a few minor details still to go. And, even though I am absolutely exhausted from being up late (or should I say early) every night of the week - at least I am organised and not stressed to the max, trying to get things done at the last minute. My personal life is even becoming more organised - which I thank God for VERY much (and am sure that my friends do as well!!!). I am learning how to prioritise my tasks and to be self disciplined with my time. Each afternoon I right myself a task list, and then prioritise my tasks. The tasks that need to heaviest thinking (e.g lesson plans for tomorrow or creating task sheets) are on the top of the list and are preceded by tasks such as reflections, organising my uni folder or responding to personal mail. At least by the end of the night I know that I have the main things complete and then can go to bed and possibly get up early enough to get the other things completed. It has also meant that I have left recreational activities, such as blogging, to the weekends and AFTER I have completed everything else that I need to. Man, it feels so good!!

Well, on that note. I best be getting off here and on with those other small things need doing before the Monday Madness!

The Power of Worship

Last week I returned from the Hillsong Conference in Sydney. And, just as I was expecting, it was absolutely fantastic. I have come back from the conference feeling re-fueled, re-fired and reinvigorated.

To put it in picture format, I feel like I have had a steam bath in the spirit! If anyone has ever had a cold with a stuffy nose and then experienced a steam bath (where you put boiling water in a tub and place a tea towel over your head) then you will know what I mean. My head feels completely cleared and fresh -ready for what lies ahead of me.

Before heading out the door to Hillsong I silently wondered if I was doing the right thing. I knew within my spirit that God had provided the way for me to go and that he wanted me to be there - but, like most of us, I actually wondered if God knew what He was doing. Didn't He know that I had my internship beginning straight after I returned? Didn't He know that I was struggling to get everything done that I needed to? Well it appears as if he does, because I don’t know if I would have been able to cope with the pressure of everything on my shoulders if it had not have been for that week away. Obviously it was only God that knew I needed that break. Before heading down to the Hillsong conference I was crumbling under the pressure of the work load and trying to carry the burden of too many other things. But now, I can hardly put to words how good I feel. And now, I am determined to keep the fire burning.

While I was at the conference, a well known preacher by the name of Joseph Prince said that "Preaching deals with Concepts, while praise and worship deals with the power of God". In essence, it means that without the presence of God in our lives, all we have is our own strength. We need to spend time in God's presence - praising God's name, worshiping Him, getting down on our knees and fully surrendering our lives to Him - in order to receive His strength. We can listen to all the preaching we want to, but it's not until we actually spend time in His presence that we are going to receive the strength to be able to accomplish the tasks God has for us. I used to get so downcast when I failed to meet the standards preachers often used to talk about. I so much wanted to be "ALL that God called me to be", but each and every day I would find myself falling short of the glory of God. I would disrespect my parents, take offense toward someone, over indulge in food, say the wrong things - and the list goes on. But now I know the secret to developing a heart devoted to God - spending time in His presence. I have found that listening to pure praise and worship music draws me into His presence quicker - however, there are times when silence is necessary. It's really about finding what works best for you. It has taken me so long to work this out, so don’t get discouraged if the presence of God doesn’t come right away. Keep pressing in, praise His name, declaring His word - and He WILL turn up! Do you know how I know this? Because His word says "But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Protect them, so all who love your name may be filled with joy" Psalm 5:11

The lyrics to the following song really helped to inspire this writing. As I read the words to the song, it takes me back to some of the moments at the conference where God really moved upon my life. As I have talked about in previous blogs, song lyrics really speak to me. I often get revelation after revelations just listening tot the words of songs.

Desert Song: From "This Is Our God" by Hillsong

This is my prayer in the desert
when all that's within me feels dry
this is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

I will bring praise, I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice, I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on it's way
I am a conquerer and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

I will bring praise I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice i will declare
God is my victory and He is here

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

Be the Person you Want To Become

For so long I have battled with self condemnation and negative thoughts. They have been so great that they have completely plagued my mind and almost taken over my life. I would continuously set myself little goals “Ok, over the next three weeks I am only going to think positive thoughts, I’m only going to eat healthy foods and exercise at least 3-4 times a week”. But, sure enough, like many people I would fall short of this goal within the first few hours. However, I finally feel like I have broken free from this painstaking bondage that had captured my life and stolen my youth. And now, I look back on each time that I failed, not as a failure or complete waste of time, but as an opportunity to find out what not to do!
Paul writes in Philippians 1:20 -

“I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes
me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honour Christ”

In this passage, Paul discusses the type of person that he wants to be or sees himself as. I have a certain feeling that when Paul wrote this, he would still have had in mind many times when he wasn’t all of this. And that is why he also writes “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (NAS) because he wasn’t all there yet. However, I learned something from this. Paul was declaring positive things over his life. He wasn’t focusing on the past failures, but on the person that he wanted to become. Change has occurred in my life since I have begun focusing on the type of person that I want to be – instead of thinking about the person I wasn’t! My Aunty actually coined a particular phrase which has helped me through this bondage it is:

“Be the person your want to Become”.

I want to become a person who is constantly moving forward, motivated, passionate and VERY fruitful. I want to see the success of my efforts, I want to be a humble and forgiving person, who is not easily angered. I want to achieve the goals that I have set out for my life.
So, if you happen to be struggling with self condemnation or comparing yourself with other people, I urge you, keep pressing on in this battle. You WILL get there, there is hope. His name is Jesus Christ. And even though your answer isn’t instant, the end result is worth it! Believe it from someone who has come through to the end!

Love Letters From My King

For sometime now I have been reviewing my walk with God. I realised that I had been trying to live a life for Christ…without Christ. How have I done this? By doing what I believed was what he wanted me to do, but doing it in my own strength, in my own way and not spending time with God in order to really know what he wanted me to do. For example, I new that he wanted me to be a witness to the world, so whenever any of my friends would ring up, and want to catch up I would automatically say yes. However, I know within my heart that I had not been using the time wisely. Even though a lot of the time I would be a silent witness, I would not honestly and whole heartedly stand up what I believed. When I didn’t agree with something I would not call upon the strength of the Lord to tell them why I did not agree with what they were saying. But, the biggest thing I didn’t do, was pray for them and tell them that Jesus really and truly loved them. I had let my Father down.

I have an absolutely beautifully crafted book called "His Princess: Love letters from your King" by Sheri Rose Shepherd. This book has blessed me so much and helped to repair my once strong relationship with Christ. There was a time in my life - as with most Christians, where I loved to spend time with my Lord and Saviour, where I craved His presence. I would sacrifice so much for His cause, and enjoy it (E.g. Fasting, saying no to doing certain things with my friends, not watching particular movies or listening to certain music). But, as time went by and I became 'used to the Christian world' my light began to fade and I became lax with spending time in His word and obeying His commands. This led me down some very hard paths and caused me a lot of pain. However, as I began to read the 'Love Letters from my King in Heaven' (By Sheri Rose Sheperd) I began to remember the passion and zeal I once had for my Father in Heaven. The feeling of belonging to such a great cause came flooding back and I began to feel a sense of justice once again. I began to recognise that God still loves me and still has a very special purpose for my life.

An so, Id would like to share with you, over time, just some of the "Love letter from Your King" that have so touched my life. Hopefully they will do the same for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Dearest Princess,

I chose you before the foundation of the earth to be My princess. You are royalty even when you don't feel like a princess. I will wait for you until you are ready to start living the amazing plans I have for you. I know you don’t know where to begin or how to become what I've called you to be, so let Me teach you day by day. Start by recognising who I am: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The lover of your soul. When the two of us meet alone together everyday, I will show you how to let go of the things in your life that are holding you back from the blessings I want to give you.

Remember, My child, just as I have chosen you, I have given you a choice to represent Me to the world. If you are willing, I am here to give you all you need to complete your calling.

Love,

Your King and Lord who Chose You.

"You didnt choose me, I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce
fruite that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for,
using My name."
John 15:16

Getting Serious About God

Over the last couple of days God has been speaking to me about some very real topics that I would love to share with you. It’s about “Getting Serious About God”. For a long time now I have desired to change. I have wanted to be a strong woman of God and I ultimately new that one day I would be. Ever since I first committed my life to Christ, I envisaged myself being a powerful woman of God – set and ready to accomplish any task He had for me. The trouble was, I could see the finish line, but really didn’t know how to get there – a common trait among many Christians, I fear! So, for the past three years I have battled my way through many trials and challenges, experiencing some refreshing times of freedom, but then back into fight my way through the battle. And that brings me to right about now.

At this point in my life, I feel as though I am not where I should be in Christ. Even though I have ultimately desired to become like Christ, I have made some pretty poor decisions and committed copious amounts of sins, that I believe I could have easily fought off. But I didn’t – and, just the other day I asked God why. A VERY VERY bad question – but I did!

As I sat in the Church last Sunday morning our Pastor spoke about Christian conduct and how, being a Christian allows us to do something’s, but not all things. It calls us to different way of life. Elementary stuff I know – but as he spoke it, the words sunk deep unto my being. I knew that my way of life hadn’t set me apart from those that are in the world. Even though I was a Christian, I still had stayed in the room when swearing was blasting on the TV screen, I had sat in conversations when people had been speaking about topics and issues that I did not believe in – too afraid to speak up. I had not spoken up when I saw something that hurt my spirit or Jesus’ spirit and had not defended His name when others blasphemed Him. Even though many of these are only small, seemingly insignificant things, I know that they hurt the very heart of God, my Father.

When I was a little girl my Mum would say to me “Every time you sin, the thorns on Jesus’s head are dug in even header and blood rushes down his cheek”. When ever I did something wrong I often ran into my bedroom, knelt before my bed and cried out to Jesus “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Jesus, I didn’t want to hurt you” and felt remorse for my sins. As I am older I see the significance in that depiction. It really does hurt Jesus when he sees us committing sin, because it not only compromises the Gospel message and make Him look weak to the world, but it also hurts us. Because, when we sin, we fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)and ALL that He had planned for our lives.

When I got home from Church I decided to go straight to my room and set apart that time to seek Him and pray. I started writing a list of all the areas where I have previously sinned and fallen short and what I am going to do to fix it. I am not going to sit around with sinners and mockers, I am going to keep myself pure, I am going to stand up for what is right and what I believe in and pray more often. I am going to “GET SERIOUS about God”. For, we only live once and only have one opportunity to become ALL that we can be.

Much love, and blessings,
Karine

SET APART

Ok, over the past couple of weeks I have been a bit slack with blog posting, but my good friend Natalie has encouraged me to keep it up. Her encouragement came at exactly the right time, because over the past couple of days I have been fiercely overcoming some issues that have kept me bound for quite a few years. I finally found the source of my depressive thoughts and actions. On and off over the past 6 -7 years I have dealt with fought with my self image. At some points I have had great self confidence, whilst at other points I have been as low as wanting to end it all for myself. However, whilst listening to a Joyce Myer preaching I finally realised what my problem was. I honestly didn't know who I was in Christ. I mean, I thought I did, but her preaching – and the prompting of the Holy Spirit made me realise that I really didn't. So, what now that I knew what the problem was, what was I going to do about it?

Immediately the answer came to me – I needed to quote scripture to myself daily, hourly, moment by moment. I needed to build myself up in the word of God. So, I ran into my room and rummaged through my cupboard to find a set of "I am Statements that I had been given quite some time back and began saying to myself "I AM a child of God" " I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of my testimony" "I am made whole in Christ Jesus" "I am strong in the lord and in His MIGHTY power". As soon as I did this I felt a surge of energy go through my body. I knew that I had finally found the key. I was existing – but now I was moving forward. I am determined to continue with this breakthrough. I am NOT going to be overcome once again. Jesus is my Lord and Saviour and I am going to be a witness to His power and loving grace!

I have always had this great desire to dance for my Lord Jesus Christ, and I know that He created me with this purpose in mind. I see myself dancing in pure white, bring glory to His name. So, when I say the word of God over my life I see myself dancing for him - and speak life into the dream. I have recognised that Dreams dont just come true, we have to make the come true!

The words of this song continuously encourage me and let me know that I am SET APART for GREATNESS. My Lord created me for a special purpose. He created you for a special purpose to, do you know what it is?

"The Letter"

~Newsboys~

I wrote you a letter
Things could be better
Full of promises, every hope and dream
Did you get it
Have you read it
Talks about you and me
And the future, you see
Something no one can do
Is take the place of you
Can't you see you're....one of a kind

CHILD, YOU'RE LIKE A STAR
SET APART
SET APART FROM THE START OF THE WORLD
THIS IS YOUR TIME
RISE AND SHINE
CHILD, YOU'RE ONE OF A KIND

Sometimes every thing's too much
Like the deepest cut
You hurt to be touched
When you hear it
If you feel it
Don't let it have its way
I'm writing to say
Something no one can do
Is take the place of you
Oh can't you see you're...one of a kind

[Repeat Chorus]

I know it's hard to hear promises
When the blue has turned to grey
Nobody said it was easy
But I know you'll find your way

[Repeat Chorus]

Cry Out To Jesus

Right now I just had to share these lyrics with you. I was sitting down at the computer doing some study when my playlist clicked over to this song. Suddenly the words sucked me in to the presence of the Lord and I was crying on the floor. It is my cry that everyone finds their hope in Jesus like I have done. He is the only one in this world that can make life worth living. He is the one who has repaired my life and brought healing to my broken life. I urge anyone who is having a rough time to cry out to Jesus.

Please, listen and read the words of this song. Let it penetrate through your being…“Just remember that you are not alone in your pain and your suffering”

Cry Out To Jesus

~Third Day~

To everyone who's lost someone they love
long before it was their time.
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye.

And to all of the people with burdens and pains
keepin' you back from your life.
You believe that there's nothing
and there is no one who can make it right.

There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are.

Cry out to Jesus. Cry out to Jesus.

For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on
They lost all of their faith in love.
and they've done all they can to make it right again
still it's not enough.

For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains
you try to give up but you come back again.
Just remember that you're not alone
in your shame and your suffering.

There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are.

Cry out to Jesus.

When you're lonely and it feels like the whole world is falling on you
you just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus

Cry to Jesus.

To the widow who suffers from being alone,
wipin' the tears from her eyes.
For the children around the world without a home,
say a prayer tonight.

There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
that meets you wherever you are.
There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
that meets you wherever you are.

Cry out to Jesus. Cry out to Jesus.

Cry out to Jesus. Cry out to Jesus.

Your Love oh Lord is Perfect

"Your love, oh Lord
Reaches to the heavens,
Your faithfulness stretches to the sky.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains.
Your justice flows like the ocean's tide
I will lift my voice
To worship You, my King
I will find my strength
In the shadow of your wings"

Third Day "Your Love Oh Lord"

Sometimes i find song lryics so refreshing! I love how in the hardest times, there always seems to be a song that causes you to lift your eyes on Jesus and receive His strength.

At the moment I am on one of my last pracs before completing my primary school teaching degree. I tell you what, I am being torn andn stretched from every which angle. But i know that this is only for a time and a season and when I come through it, i will "be an overcomer by the word of my testimony"...and boy i cannot wait for that day!

The Greatest Beauty Treatment

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philipians 3:14 (NLT)

Well, I have just finished my first week of my second last prac before I finish my education degree. I cannot tell you how much work is involved because I am sure words would not give it justice! I have been up late every night and right now I am fully exhausted. Each night I have wanted to post a blog containing little trials and challenges I have gone through (and overcome!) BUT there have simply been too many other things to do. I have been collecting a whole list of things I would like to blog about and overtime I hopefully will. God is doing such an amazing work in my life right now that I am so excited about and cannot wait to share with anyone. Anyway, before I add any more length to this blog I will end it here. The following is a blog that I began writing during the middle of the week but have only just got about it finishing and editing it tonight. Hopefully it inspires you to push on towards the prize!

Preserving our Skin

The other night as I was working away meticulously at the computer, trying desperately to keep up with all my prac work such as reflections, lesson plans, observations etc. I became very tired. It was roughly around 12/1ish in the morning and my eyes were so sore that I could hardly keep them open. Every now and then I would fade off, my eyes would shut and I would fall asleep. However, for some strange reason, I still had this urge in my spirit to press on. To keep on going until I got everything finished.

Often times in the past if I have become too tired to work, I have gone to bed without having everything completed for the next day. The problem with this is however, as a teacher in training – this just doesn’t work! As soon as I would wake up, my mind would be immediately running on overload. I would not even have one moment to stop and ease myself into the day. As soon as I would wake up, my mind would dart back to all the tasks that I still had to complete from the night before and my mind would be running on overload first thing in the morning. I’d have to think about tasks that I have to get finished right away, still have to catch up on tasks from yesterday as well as what I ad planned for that day and for the whole day I would be playing catch up.

Last night was different however. Even though I was so tired, I knew that this time was different to every other time. I really didn’t have that much more to complete, I needed to push myself and make sure that I got everything finished. So, I put all my thoughts of bed aside and said to God – ok, if I must stay up, you give me the strength and energy I need”. As soon as I said this, for some reason (I’ll let you work out the connection) I felt like going and doing 20 sit ups and 30 tummy crunches and 10 star jumps. Now, that’s an odd thing to feel like doing at 1 in the morning – but the directive was so strong that I would not ignore it. So, off I go and do the exercises, feeling quite silly doing these activities at this time of the morning. While I was doing the exercise I felt a sudden surge of energy gravitate up my spine and immediately I realised that God had just answered my prayer. He had given me the strength that I needed to complete the tasks that needed to be completed.

Needless to say, I was able to complete the tasks that needed to be completed for the morning as well as clean up my desk, do my nightly cleansing and face washing routine, have time with God as well as have my devotion. And, even though it was quite late (or should I say early – like 3 in the morning!) as soon as my head finally hit the pillow I slept like a baby…in fact, better than a baby! I had the most wonderful night sleep and woke up fully refreshed in the morning. The difference was, I didn’t have to go to bed still worrying about the things I had to do in the morning, wondering if I would wake up and be able to complete everything in time for (seeing I have to be at school before 8:00am). The other factor that contributed to my good nights sleep was my time with God before I went to sleep. Because I had surrendered all control over to God and spent time just sitting in his presence my spirit was at peace and I was able to truly rest. I find that when I do this, all the stress from the world (such as deadlines, overdue tasks, worries), is released from my mind and body and i don’t have the physical weight of it hanging over my head when I sleep. Now I am sure this must be one of the biggest beauty tips in the book! How much better our bodies would cope – and how much less wrinkled our skin would be if we did this all the time!

An important note thought: When God gives you His strength it doesn’t mean he makes the task easier for you to handle. It will still hurt our flesh and we will still have to push beyond our restrictions and determine in out hearts to do it and the temptation to give up with still be there. But, His strength gives us the ability to overcome the task, if we so chose! It was still hard to stay up and compete the tasks. I remember wanting to give up and go to bed so many times even after God gave me the strength for the task. In fact, I’m not sure just how many times I was almost tempted to go to bed. But I persevered, I pressed on toward that prize, and boy am I glad that I did it!

Now, no one can tell me that God doesn’t exist! His strength is so real!

The Most Important Decison

Tonight I was sitting at my computer completing my preparations for my first day of prac tomorrow when I was asked by a friend of mine to look up a particular song on the internet. As I quickly perused various songs I stumbled across Casting Crowns song “Slow Fade”. Now, I have heard this song many times before, but tonight as I sat here, I listened carefully to the lyrics. I could not believe what I was hearing. I have not long come home from Church where a visiting pastor spoke about “The Most Important Decision”. He said that the most important decision is, the very next decision that we make – not, as most Christians think, our decision to accept Christ. Because, we can accept Christ, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we are living a victorious Christian life does it?

As I listened to the words of the song (which are posted below), I was amazed at how much the sermon linked with the song – and just how relevant both of these messages are to my life at the moment.

I wont speak too much about it tonight as I still have lots of planning to do, but I just couldn’t keep this revelation to myself. I just had to share it with the world in hope that someone else might be just as encouraged as I have been. In particular, the phrases
“choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade” stood out to me.

I am very much aware that the decisions I make right now will determine the person I become in one year, two years and so forth. I want to make sure that I am a victorious Christian. I certainly do not want to be going around the same mountain again and again – like I have been up until this point. I want to break loose from this cycle. And how do I do this? By becoming conscious of all the small decisions that I make!

CASTING CROWNS LYRICS

"Slow Fade"

Be careful little eyes what you see

It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings

Be careful little feet where you go

For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away

It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray

Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid

When you give yourself away

People never crumble in a day

It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear

When flattery leads to compromise,

the end is always near

Be careful little lips what you say

For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away

It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray

Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid

When you give yourself away

People never crumble in a day

The journey from your mind to your hands

Is shorter than you're thinking

Be careful if you think you stand

You just might be sinking

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away

It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray

Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid

When you give yourself awayPeople never crumble in a day

Daddies never crumble in a day

Families never crumble in a day

Oh be careful little eyes what see

Oh be careful little eyes what you see

For the Father up above is looking down in love

Oh be careful little eyes what you see

Tea For Two

After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab son of Recab, who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, "Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?"

"I am," Jehonadab answered.

"If so," said Jehu, "give me your hand." So he did, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot.

~2 Kings 10:15~

Today has been a wonderful day! I had my beautiful friend Natalie come up from Gladstone (or should I say, Happy Rock!) to visit. We began the day with morning tea at our local Shopping Centre, shopped until we dropped and then came back to my place for a cuppa. Here Nat shared with me all her wonderful ideas for her Teacher Portfolio. For so long I had fretted about this massive portfolio that I would have to create, but once I saw Natalie’s and how she had done hers, all my fears were put to rest. Even though it is still a lot of work, I don’t believe it will be too big of a task for me to handle.

Isn’t it just absolutely amazing how God works! I had been asking God to show me how I should construct my portfolio in a way that would best reflect my creative talents, display my knowledge and exhibit my personal philosophy of teaching appropriately. I wanted it to be just right, but not require too much effort – as I also have lots of other prac planning and assignments to do. And, sure enough, God gave me clear direction! When I had a look at what Natalie had done for her portfolio, connections started going off like fireworks in my mind. I suddenly got all of these amazing ideas – that won’t take too much effort, but I believe will display exactly what I need to display!

Not only did I have an amazing day with a wonderful friend, but God used it to profit my studies. You see, God really does want us to enjoy EVERY moment in our lives (and not always be working!!)

Thank-you God, for such an amazing friend!!

Lesson for the Day: God cares for the small things – especially when they are going to Honour Him!

Taming our Deliciously Tempting, Tangling, Tumultuous Thoughts!!!

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

Romans 7:15

I want to turn EVERYTHING around for good. To please and Honour my Father in Heaven.

At the moment I feel that I am living in a period of spiritual freedom. My life is great and I absolutely love it. I know that I have many challenges ahead of me, being my last year of uni, but with the strength of the Lord inside me, I know I can accomplish it and come out on top.

However, I still have to deal with my sinful nature – as this is something we can never be free from. Even the greatest Christians who ever lived have not been able to completely conquer their sinful nature (although they may have come very close). And so, day by day, it is my goal to become more and more in control of my thoughts and actions so that they inevitably Glorify and honour God.

Today is a good example of the little things that continuously cause us to get down on ourselves and ultimately feel bad about who we are. I have written down exactly what has happened and the thoughts associated with it. Hopefully they might bring comfort to you, knowing that we all encounter similar thoughts – but that we can overcome these if we take the offer of God’s strength. Just to fill you in, for a large portion of my life I have dealt with issues surrounding my body image and weight. I have fought off bulimia and the depressive thoughts that go along with it. And even though I am living free for all of that, I still have to work at living free and making right choices. At any time I could let myself fumble back down into it all again by making a series of negative choices, but I Choose not to. I have tasted freedom and I am loving it!

My Day

6:00am the alarm went off. As usual, I put it on snooze and kept on pressing snooze another 10 times before actually getting up. The day was beautiful and bright and I could feel the breeze dwindle through my windows as I dutifully went about my morning stretches. All this week I have been a good girl. Because I tore the ligament in my ankle a month ago I haven’t been able to go to the gym and so am trying to remain fit by doing a range of exercise each morning.
I then went on to read my daily devotional – word for the day and had my prayer time.

By 7:00am I was ready to venture out of the doors of my bedroom to big wide world of my family home! Mum was, as usual, sitting at the breaky table having her traditional bowl of cereal. I was tempted to give in and join her, but I had made a commitment to God this week to fast each mornings breaky – expecting breakthrough in my family and I was determined to honour Him. I remember thinking “Oh, I was good yesterday, just one day won’t matter”. But, luckily I had just had my morning devotion and had been reminded of the fact that I had to “LIVE LIFE WITHOUT COMPROMISE” because as soon as this ran through my mind, I decided to maintain my position on the attacking side of the field and be faithful to my Father in Heaven.

At 8:00am I finally started my study session – which I had planned out the night before when I was scheduling my week. If I am not vigorous about my study sessions I am not able to complete all my uni tasks on time.

By 9:00am I felt the stomach leading the way again and considered having a coffee – but, not just any kind of coffee, a Nestle Skinny Latte! They smell almost like caramel and make my tummy rumble…mummmmm!
Once upon a time I had relied on a cup of coffee to get me through my study sessions – but through the mind of Christ and sheer will power, I was able to overcome my addiction and realise that my strength was in Him! So, once again I reminded my self “No Karine, you do not need anything to help you study! Just call upon the name of the Lord and He will help you” which I did. And, as I had predicted by faith, it worked! In no time at all, I was back on a roll and moving through my readings with no hassle at all.

10:15am – the alarm on Microsoft outlook reminded me to get ready for my Doctors appointment at 10:30 and so I trotted off from the computer to get ready.

11:30am – my doctors appointment had finished and mum and I were walking back to the car. It wasn’t long before my stomach had picked up the sweet smelling aroma waffling from the Subway store that our car was conveniently parked directly outside of. My stomach began to say, “ It is near lunchtime, what about an early lunch???” – but, once again, luckily for the mind of Christ living in me, I told it “Excuse me, you do not need to be fed at every interval in the day – so BE QUIET!!!”, and, guess what, it listened!

12:45pm I looked up from the computer and my stomach immediately responds – “Time 4 LUNCH!!!” and so, I finally give in and feed it with some beautiful fresh home made scones with banana (instead of cream!) – but, making sure I don’t have too many! After all, I do have on the mind of Christ and want to make sure that I honour him in ALL the decisions that I make.

3:45am my stomach once again reminds me that it’s there – by notioning to me it’s time for a coffee break…so what do I give it? A WHOPPING BIG GLASS OF WATER and barley max – and just to be a really good girl – a glass of carrot juice! After all, it doesn’t know this, but that’s exactly what it was asking for!

DUN DA DA DUUUUUN…THE FALL!

4:00pm Greg arrives home and after being so good all day, my surrender comes. He asked me to get him something to eat – and so, I told him there were chocolate brownies that mum had cooked on the counter. Typical brother though, he answers, “I cant find them! Where are they again?”
And so, trapped by the duties of the sister, I walk over to show him where they are. And guess what? I’m absolutely 100% sure that those brownies jumped right out of the container and into my mouth! Yes, that is absolutely 100% correct….
…ok, I may be exaggerating just a little bit…
…actually, ok, I give in, quite a lot! While I was opening the container for Greg, hunger pains, suddenly hit me. Sadly though, I cannot deny that God gave me the strength I need to stand up to those brownies right there and then. But do you think I took it? Of course not! My sinful nature took over and I had 2 brownies. On its own, that would have been bad enough! But, it gets worse!...
...because I compromised once, it led the way for another compromise. After two bowls of apple crumble with custard later and looking for what other nice things I could find, I finally came to the conclusion that I had to stop this. After all, I want to live for Him. I want to make consistent right decisions that honour Him and bring Glory to Him and this was certainly not doing that.

Lesson for the Day: We have an array of different thoughts, but we must choose the right one, regardless of how we might feel. Consistently make right decisions for the Lord. Have a simply love for Him. Honour Him in the decisions that you make.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog space!

For a long while I have kept a journal of my thoughts and feelings, hidden from the world to see. But, overtime as I have walked planet earth I have seen many people undergo very similiar trials and challenges to the ones that have already paced and have realised one thing - even though we are all unique, we are also similiar in many ways. In fact, that is the way God made us - so that we can help each other out. And that is what I have decided to do in creating this blog account. I hope that by sharring my thoughts, feelings and experiences with the world, others will be helped. My bestfriend Natalie taught me this after she started her own blogg so she could share her poetry with the world - and already they have impacted me in so many ways!

My greatest passion in life is to see people live fulfilled, passionate, overcoming, victorious lives in Christ. I pray that these entries will help those going through similiar trials and challenges and lighten up those dry moments with a fresh word from heaven!

Yours in Christ,

Karine