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Sam and I took the kids to see the movie The Star, which was a wonderful movie. There is nothing that touches my heart more than my kids getting to hear the true message of Christmas. However, it wasn’t just the kids who received a message… I definitely did too! At one point in the movie, Mary and Joseph are traveling to Bethlehem for the census, and on the trip, they have a broken wheel on their cart. Out of frustration, Joseph cries out, and asks God, "Why?". Why all these problems if I’m on a journey for you? Why roadblocks, speedbumps, and busted wheels?
You know, we’ve experienced the same things with this project. While we know this is the journey God put before us, it has not come without detours. When the road gets windy, or I have a broken wheel kind of day, I have to check my focus. Is it on the problem, or is it on Jesus. When I see Jesus before the problem, I find peace, optimism, and hope. When I see the problem before Jesus, I feel defeated and discouraged. The same is true for all of us. It’s easy to focus our attention in Josephs case, off the star, and on the broken wheel; off of Christ, and on broken relationships, hurt feelings, financial woes, busy schedules, and so much more. It’s this time of year we need to adjust our view finders, and put that Christmas star back in our direct line of sight. Psalms 112:7 “They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the LORD to care for them”.
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 Over the Thanksgiving break we were able to make a getaway to the Texas Coast. I would consider myself a fishing addict. No matter what the weather, or wind, or forecast of no fish, I want to get out there and just get a line in the water. Even if I was led to a body of water and told there was only one fish, I would still feel like I was going to catch it. It’s the thought that a gambling addict must have in Vegas….just one more pull…well for me, it’s “just one more cast...” I started thinking about that anticipation. What if I went into every day with so much excitement to see what God was going to put on the end of my line? It could be a new soul that would be led to him through my witness, a new opportunity to serve Him, or a new adventure he was going to take me on. When was the last time you woke up and thought, I’m going to cast my line, and see what God has for me? I’m going to wait on the edge of the boat and not even sit down because I don’t want to miss the opportunity to set the hook when God taps the line. And remember, anything on God’s line is a keeper. There are no throwbacks, none too little, and no pointless catches.
Matthew 4:19 "And he saith unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of me."  It's been on my heart to write a blog regarding thanksgiving, and I just never quite felt led in one direction or another, until Sunday at church.
At our church, we take communion every other week. Sadie, my 3-year-old, got her cracker and her juice and we all filed back down our aisle. As the preacher was talking about the act of taking communion, Sadie looked at me, and excitedly whispered, “I like this part”. Without thinking, I said, “Me too babe”. And yes, it’s true I do like that part, but not because of what we are remembering. I don’t like that Jesus was beaten, tortured, and mocked for me. I don’t like that he cried out to God in agony on my behalf. But I like this part...I like that it didn’t end there. I like the part when we Jesus rose, and promised me redemption through His blood. That’s the part I like. So, I know that Sadie likes communion because she gets the mini sized cracker and she thinks the small plastic cups of juice are cute, but one day my hope is that she likes it because she eats and drinks in the grace Jesus offered on the cross. I hate what happened on the cross that day to one man, all at the same time, knowing that it saved my soul...and for that, I am the most thankful of sinners this Thanksgiving week….I like that part. Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”  I try to exercise at least a few times a week, but that can be difficult with a 3 year old wrapped around your legs. Sadie was busy playing outside, and so I decided I would just walk some laps up and down our driveway. It’s probably 100 yards of crushed gravel, and I just walked up and down to the mailbox and back. As I heard the crunching of the gravel under my feet, I started noticing how such a long path was created by thousands of little bitty rocks. I reflected on how this is similar to the body of believers. If we are all working for Christ in our own circles of influence, then God will use each pebble to create a path for the world that leads straight to him. The rocks on the path had a purpose, while the one’s that were off the path were just lost and purposeless. Thank you Lord that you use me as part of your bigger plan. May I lay rocks on your path, working together with other believers, to make a way for people to get to You.
 James 1: Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. ~NLT
Game 5 of the World Series was just crazy. We were traveling and started the game streaming it on our phone. Of course only I, being the passenger, watched it, while Sam kept his eyes glued to the road. When the Astros went down by several runs at the beginning of the game, even the announcers gave bleak odds for winning against the Dodgers pitcher. However, in true Houston Astros fashion, they came back….well, came back, and then gave it up, and came back, and gave it up and so on and so forth until the bottom of the 10th, in which they won on a walk off hit. I was absolutely exhausted after watching such back and forth, but it was then I realized something. As they were jumping on each other, high fiving, and rubbing their heads in disbelief, I realized this is similar to what James 1 talks about. It’s the trouble times, that make the end so much sweeter. It’s looking back to taste victory after such trying circumstances. That is what God calls us to do. The Astros would have taken a win in whatever fashion, but having to push through trials and upsets to get there, made the victory taste that much sweeter. May we as believers remember the same is true for us. Trial and tribulations will come, but when we have persevered, our victory awaits in heaven.  One of the joys of living in the hill country is that your closest neighbors become the deer in your yard. This morning I was doing the "morning get ready rush", and flying down the driveway to take Branson to school. I look up to notice four deer standing between our driveway and the county road we live on. There were three on our side of the fence and one on the county road side of the fence and I saw traffic coming from both directions. I knew if I went any further I would more than likely force the deer to the county road, endangering their lives and potentially causing a wreck. So I slowed and I watched. I waited and waited until both directions were clear and then I went. Three deer ran into our pasture and the one ran across the road safely. Then God just spoke and said, "Kasey, that's what I am to you. I see the big picture and can plan accordingly. I watch the traffic, and the obstacles, and I know when to push you to cross." May we always remember that God has a much larger perspective than our own. Thank you Lord.
 Usually when I speak publicly on topics, I give a long introduction about why you should trust me. This may include sharing about my degrees in counseling, or my license as an LPC. It could be an exclusive training I’ve been through, or a new strategy for behavioral management.
The 30 Day Gift is different. It has nothing to do with a degree I earned, a training I attended, or a classroom I managed. I wish I could say that I had 30 years experience and have researched the topic all of my life…but I haven’t. What I’m going to share with you today is a personal journey. A journey God has taken me on in the last two years, which has shifted the course of my spiritual life. It was a typical morning and I was getting two kids ready and walking out the door, rushing to get to work on time. That morning was no different. Getting to my office was a relief because it meant everyone was accounted for, and that I could have my first literal quiet time of the day. With this quiet time, I usually read a verse of the day, drank my coffee, and reviewed the emails that had already started piling up. This day, I opened my Bible to Daniel 6…. The satraps and governors, acting out in jealousy of Daniel's favor, had convinced King Darius to set a decree that banned the people from praying to anyone or anything other than the King. Starting in verse 10 “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to God, just as he had done before.” We know how this story ends…because Daniel broke the decree set forth by the King, he accepted the punishment of being thrown in the lions' den. However he did not die, and neither did his prayers. God heard him, and the King witnessed the saving power of Daniel's God when he shut the mouths of the lions and spared Daniel's life. Listen to the King’s new decree starting in verse 26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” You know, some quiet times become a more like check-off-the-list homework, than times that really stick in my heart and my mind like they should. However, this one stuck. In fact the next few days, I kept going back to it. What struck me was that Daniel did not hesitate to pray to God, even when facing death by lions. It doesn’t say after the decree was set he pondered his options. No, it says he went to his window and prayed as he always had. Prayer was something he didn’t want to live without, so if it took dying to keep doing it, he was willing to die. I thought about my generation, and the world today. If the president or other leader set in motion a similar order, I was discouraged to think about how few people it would genuinely impact. Add the threat of being killed by lions and I think even more would give up the gift of prayer. I began to discover that this generation, myself included, had become so self reliant that we didn’t see prayer as a necessity. Somewhere, prayer turned into an option, and need based. That’s when God went to work in my mind and placed the burden of prayer revival in my heart. Over the next week, the idea of giving the gift of prayer turned into this giant idea. Take the God-given gift of prayer, do it more, and give the present of prayer to others. That is the beginning of this hopefully long and living journey. I eagerly await new directions it takes me, and new people to take the journey with. |
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August 2020
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