The Wheat and the Tares.

It has been a few days since I've blogged so go ahead and charge me with neglect. I've been really busy lately and stressed beyond what's necessary. But today I'm taking a time-out and writing something that God brought to my attention this morning. I have read this passage a thousand times, but never actually read it.

"...God's kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too. The farmhands came to the farmer and said "Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn't it? Where did all of these thistles come from?" He answered, "Some enemy did this." - Matthew 13:24-28 (The Message)

So, did you get that? The thistles (tares) showed up, too. This passage excludes no one. As a matter of fact, I once was a tare. But let me explain what I mean. This passage is referring to the Christian body, as a whole. There are the good seeds (those who have confessed that they're sinners, walk daily with Christ, and are producing good "fruit") and then there are the tares (those that look identical to the good seeds until their insides are made known). I once believed that I was a Christian, just because I had grown up going to church with my grandma whenever I got the chance and I did that "little kid thing" where I walked down the aisle and got saved. But until I finally understood what I was doing, and actually knew that I was a sinner, and asked Jesus to come into my life and save me --in spite of how undeserving I was...I was a tare. From the outside, I looked like a Christian. I talked like a Christian. I acted the part, to a tee. But when I finally got saved I realized the following, I was basing my faith on an experience that other people told me about rather than a life-altering decision that I made within my heart. I was always that girl who would say the salvation prayer "just in case", but on that day I realized that there is no "just in case". If I'm 99% sure that I'm saved, I am 100% lost. That's all there is to it. And I also used to have the belief that Satan was making me doubt my salvation...which makes absolutely no sense. Is Satan really going to make you doubt your salvation? Who is being defeated when you get your salvation in line...Satan is. He doesn't want you to question your salvation, he wants to fool you into believing that you are saved when you aren't.

Today it hit me that anyone can be a tare or a thistle. The only way we can get to heaven is through Jesus Christ, that's it. And we're the only ones who know for a fact whether we're on the right path or not. I am so glad I came across this passage today...I just felt like it needed to be shared. As the body of Christ we need to remember though, if someone you know finally gets their salvation straight...rejoice with them! Don't be upset that they had you fooled because they may very well have had themselves fooled. Satan does that, you know.

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith: test yourselves." - 2 Corinthians 13:5

Anyway, now that I've sort of gone off on a rant...I will say this. I am so glad that years ago when I got my salvation in line I didn't let my stubbornness get the best of me. Giving my life to Christ is honestly the best decision I've ever made, and though I still stumble and make mistakes...it makes me want to lean on Christ that much more. I learn something from Him every single day and I am blessed to do so.

Have an amazing day!

The Fatal Trade.

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."

-Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT

Now, hold on. This is another one of those "finish the verse in my head before I finish reading it" verses. Hear me out, though. I'm pretty sure I've had this passage marked on my brain since Cubbies (and for those of you who don't know what I mean by "Cubbies," it's Awana's version of preschool). I know I have a hard time processing it every time I hear or read it, but a friend of mine brought it to my attention the other day, and I am so thankful, because I never truly grasped the depth and weight of this passage.

God performs an incredible act of kindness on our behalf in these verses. He does not wait for us to be the best Christian we can be, nor does He wait for us to even try. The very second that we accept His grace and love, He takes the broken shards of our shattered lives and puts them back together to form a beautiful stained glass window. Out of the ashes of the lives that we feebly attempt to build, yet destroy, rises a new and glorious flame as a result of His good grace.

This grace is presented as a gift, or better said a trade. Here, Christ is trading our death for His life. He took on the death that we deserved, our cross, and gave us a life that we could never fathom, His crown. Grace, the gift that the Lord deemed worthy to die for, is now what we are living for. It is only by His grace that any of this took place, and only His limitless love that we are alive in Him today.

I am praying that you would take the time to consider this trade. Are you making the most of it?

Ins and Outs.

I haven't blogged in a couple of days and I really should be studying right now but I can't seem to focus so I am just going to talk about a few things. Just some random updates about things that I find to be important...and some that aren't so important.

1. Am I the only one who's noticed the sudden rise in Facebook babies? You know...those people who haven't posted anything on Facebook in months and then all of a sudden this adorable picture of a baby shows up. But that's not it, there's always that one person who says "Aw, precious! Whose baby is that?" Then the person has to say..."It's mine" as if they're upset that the person asked. Here's all I have to say to those people...if you hadn't fallen off the face of the earth for nine months and told someone about you being pregnant, that person would have to ask whose child it is. So get your panties out of a wad.

2. It's not even April yet and I'm stressed about baseball season. No, I'm not talking about offseason...that's a totally different stress level. Which is what brings me to why I'm stressed. Going into the offseason the Boston Red Sox have lost Theo Epstein and Terry Francona. Which leaves them in a major rut. Yes, they needed to start fresh...or a "clean slate" if you will. But where do they go from here? Obviously first they need to find and appoint a new general manager. But whatever they do, they better get themselves in line, because they have their work cut out for them.

3. I have a History midterm tomorrow and if it wasn't for Wikipedia, I would have probably failed. I've been hitting up Wiki all day.

4. Another Facebook rant. (These are tiring, I know. & Apologize.) The mini-newsfeed. In the top right hand corner of the screen. What is that even for? I get updates every time a person breathes, or so it seems. I cannot even handle the fact that I can legitimately stalk someone I don't even know because one of my friends wrote on their wall. Super stalker...Not exactly a title I think any of us are going for.

5. Today has been a lovely day. Sometimes, it's just nice to sit in the background and watch life happen. Nothing spectacular has happened that will make today a glorious memory. I probably won't even remember this day two weeks from now. But it's been nice to just take some time away from all of the hustle and bustle of life and just enjoy things as I come to them.

Breaking Down Walls.

Have you ever had "one of those days"? I know I have. It's as if anything that could go wrong, did go wrong...like the entire universe woke up to an agenda that read "destroy Kimberly's life today". Well, the past week and a half has been a continuous "one of those days" for me. I'm not sure if it's because I have been sick and have had a negative attitude or if it's because the world was seriously out to get me. But either way, today I realized something I found to be rather significant. Now, it may be incredibly insignificant to you and if so I apologize. But if not, hopefully it will speak to you in some way.

Figuratively speaking, everybody has a wall that they have to tear down. It was built to guard the pain that holds them captive... Whether that be fear of rejection, fear of disappointment, fear of failure, fear of love, so on and so forth. And every smile that they hide behind is simply masking the pain beneath the surface. We cannot understand why we're trapped behind this wall, but we can all relate to it. Each and everyone of us deal with our own wall.

Basically, we all have a fear or many fears that hold us back from what we truly desire. And it is up to us to tear down these walls and live life with courage. We need to know that with God's unfailing grace, unwavering mercy, and unconditional love...He can get us through any situation. We need to refocus our eyes and hearts. We need to tune into what God wants for our lives and stop hiding behind a poorly built wall of fear. I guess I've just learned the hard way that no matter what the world throws at me, or how many of "those days" I have, God's got it all under control. I need to take a leap of faith, trust that He knows what He's doing, and stop hiding behind my own fears.

There is beauty in relying solely on Christ. Though, you may not see it now. When you look back on this situation later, you'll be glad you did.

So True.

I saw this today and absolutely had to share it.

We need to teach our daughters the difference between a man who flatters her and a man who compliments her; a man who spends money on her and a man who invests in her; a man who views her as property and a man who views her properly; a man who lusts after her and a man who loves her; a man who believes he is God's gift to women and a man who remembers a woman was God's gift to man; and then teach our sons to be that kind of man.

Are you a trader?

Repeat. Sort of.

A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog about the desire to fall. The urge to fall, if you will. Now, that sounds weird and it kind of is. But it's a wonderful sensation really.

In the other post, I talked about how I remembered when I was ten years old, and was sitting on the ledge of our house. That ledge was only about five feet tall, but when I felt myself leaning over the edge, my stomach lurched and my heart jumped. The freedom in falling is sort of unexplainable to me. But like I said, sometimes I have the urge to fall. And it really is about freedom and letting go, right? For me there is just something about not having the ground beneath my feet that is freeing.

I say all of this (again), because even though I have this urge, I definitely protect myself from it in other aspects of life. I don't like the aspect of trust. I don't like trusting people, because then I'd have to fall. I don't like being vulnerable, because then I'd have to fall. I don't like sharing my personal thoughts, because then I'd have to fall. I don't always trust my family...my professors... my friends... do you see where I'm going with this? ...I'd have to fall.

I guess I came across this post at the appropriate time, because lately I've been afraid to fall. I've been too afraid to let myself go. Though, had I let myself fall, things might have turned out differently. I guess I just realize that when I "fall", I learn something. I gain something. I stand back up as a better and stronger person. I get what I most desire. Anyway, I challenge you today to heed the call in your life to fall... to trust... to let go, or to do whatever it is that demands you to fall. You'll gain something, I promise.

Falling requires trust. Falling forfeits control. Falling requires effort.

Falling is a wonderful sensation.

Someone Like You.

I seem to continue finding covers of Adele songs and they're always so good. Just thought I would share the video that's currently trending on Youtube with all of you.

27 Blessings.

I know many of you girls out there have seen 27 Dresses, as I have. I honestly cannot say that I remember much of the movie, but I do remember the main gist... and the infamous closet.

For those of you who haven't seen the movie, the main character has a closet solely comprised of the bridesmaid dresses that she has worn in weddings, but no wedding dress. The dilemma is that she was always a bridesmaid, but never a bride.

Now, I can see how that would be problematic. Naturally, a woman who is seeking a mate would tire of that. The longing in her heart would continue to grow for a husband, and being a part of twenty-seven weddings would not help fill that void in any way.

Through the duration of the movie though, I couldn't help but keep thinking to myself, wow, she has had the opportunity to be a part of twenty-seven marital unions. Which means, she has twenty-seven close friends or family members who wanted to share that special moment with her. What a blessing!

Obviously, I'm not saying it would be easy, but I realized that I dwell on my twenty-seven dresses so much that I over-look the blessings they have been in my life. I can look back on times or events that I thought were catastrophic and see the growth, prosperity, friendships and benefit that I gained from those experiences.

Today, remember that something good will come from one of your dresses. Try to look past the "Bridesmaid Curse" to the blessing that it holds.

Prayer and Christian Service.

Today's blog deals with two things that have been on my mind lately. I usually would separate different thoughts into two different blogs, but today's a lucky day for you.

Prayer:

In high school, I used to have the mindset that my prayers for a nation could not make a difference or that I could not pray hard enough to make a change somewhere halfway across the world. Boy, I have never been more wrong in my life. If you have been keeping up with this blog, you know that there was a time when I had people from different countries who I did not even know, praying for me and my family. I was so thankful for the thoughts and prayers that were for our behalf. Through that experience, the importance of prayer in my personal life grew tremendously. Not only personally, but I began to realize the need for prayer focused on other people, other tribes, and other nations.

As the body of Christ, we are to encourage other believers and douse our prayers on them. As we do so, the ties between each and every one of us is strengthened. However, our calling does not stop there. We are called to pray, encourage, and reach out to every part of God's creation. If that means praying fervently for a nation of whose tongue we are unfamiliar, if it means selling everything you own and moving to a country where there is not one familiar face, or simply driving across the train tracks in your hometown to minister to those who need, then we ought to do so based on that individual calling. So today, if you are having a hard time knowing what to do while watching the news of the many tragedies throughout our world, just sit and pray for the families. It will make a difference.

I was reading some of the details of the earthquake in Japan from a while back, and this is what I found,

"According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the largest initial earthquake struck at a depth of about six miles, about 80 miles off the coast east of Miyagi Prefecture, a mostly rural but still densely populated part of Honshu, Japan's largest island."-Chico Harlan, Washington Post

Eighty miles east and six miles deep, and it still made a terrifying impact on Japan. You know what that tells me? That if something that awful can be that strong, our prayers can triple that strength. No, they might not fix every problem, rebuild every home, or resurrect all the lives that were lost, but they CAN make a difference.

It also reminds me that my life full of deadlines, papers, grades, financial aid, interviews, and stress could be much worse.

Service Project:

Let me just fill you in on a little something. While looking into different graduate school's Psychology/Religious Studies programs (It's early, I know. But as we all know, I like to have a plan), I noticed something odd, you are required to fulfill eighty hours of Christian service in order to graduate. That is ten hours per semester. Therefore, it made me question whether forced service is Christian-like. Many students think that it would be more beneficial not to have required service; that way, the student body would have a better attitude and therefore produce more fruit of service in the community.

Believe what you want, but here is my thing: I was sitting here thinking about the service project, that most schools require, and quite honestly I dreaded even thinking about it. I had an awful attitude; not necessarily about the service requirement, but about the service itself. That is where my problem comes in, and I would be willing to bet it is where the majority of the student body's problem comes in. You know, that is kind of serious. It is a heart issue.

You see, the service requirement does not really matter. If I am in the right place with God, then I am going to want to produce fruits of service. Maybe not every second of every day, but for the most part, I will want to spread the love of God. I do not necessarily believe that having a better attitude would fix all of the problems, but it would make a fair dent into the heart of the problem.

Not to mention the plethora of other factors relating to the argument: Prior to attending these schools, you know of the service requirement, so in a way, you are asking for it; it's ten hours per semester, come on, that is hardly two days of work; you know, blah, blah, blah...

What I mean to say, is that God just put it heavy on my heart this morning that the issue was in my hands. If my attitude reflected Christ's regarding service, then the requirement would not be an issue when it comes to thinking about my future at different schools.