my thoughts on the matter...

i really hope that in our family, we are able to be who we are.
we are o.k. with tat's, peircings, oddly colored hair... thank goodness, or me and my daughter wouldn't be able to attend. so why can't we speak what's on our mind and work through it. i have been told my whole life to " be quiet" to be "seen and not heard". i almost thought that being silent was a GOOD quality. wow. i'm glad that Jesus wasn't made silent when God told Him to speak or we would not have any guidence after the old testament....

cool stuff

• i got a new job. start on tuesday.
• have great friends. one of which got me the new job. (thanks Chris)
• have a new book addiction, thanks to Meghan and Mary.
• plenty of time spent this weekend with good friends. you know you love your friends when you're actually excited to help them move.
• get to party tonight. yay Joe and Deniese! looking forward to that.
• starting the love and respect group here this thursday. it's an awsome study.
• stirring BBQ here on friday night. if you're reading this, you are invited...

i'm sure there's more cool stuff that i'll post on later. have a great night...

11 years ago...

...we said goodbye.

i really wish you guys could have met him.

he prepared me for this life that i have. he taught me how to change the oil in the car, how to cook, how to never give up no matter how crappy the situation, what to look for in a husband and father for my future children. sadly he never met them.

i eagerly await the day i get to hug him again.

july 21 1947 ~ september 9 1997

50 years was NOT enough.

K.I.S.S.

i'm not talking about the band. this is a term used by randy, on more occasions than i can recall. if you hang around him much, you will get his version, "keep it simple stupid"
this is my version: (the acronym is the same)

as christians, we tend to complicate things. we have rules that we have to follow if we are to fit in. we worry so much about what we should do, and how we should act, but by doing that, we so quickly turn 90 degrees away from the life that God has called us to. i recently found out that my favorite verse was also my friends favorite. it, coupled with the first commandment, is what helps us to keep it simple...

Romans 5:3-5 "we rejoice in our sufferings because suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, charter produces hope and hope does not disappoint us , because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

the first commandment: love your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor like yourself...

if you truly understand these two concepts, if you love your God, and you neighbor as yourself, you will not commit the rest of the sins... theft, adultery, slander...
if you understand that by suffering you will become the person that God has created for you to be, then you will understand the heart of God.

will we ever be like Christ? i sure as heck won't. i can try. i can pray for the heart of Christ, but i will never BE Christ. will i love my God? with my whole heart. will i love my neighbor? i have to admit, it is easier to love the ones who love me. but will i try to love those that oppose me? only when i have the character that comes after the struggle. i struggle with coveting what is not mine. yep, that's one of the commandments. but i pray that God gives me the strength to LOVE. that's the whole focus of this sermon right. love my neighbor, do not want what is theirs, but be happy with what God gave me. LOVE my neighbor... LOVE MY NEIGHBOR. i struggle with that, but i will persevere, i will gain the character and hope that is poured out into my heart by the Holy Spirit that is in me...

what is worship?

is it swaying side to side to the music?
is it raising your arms and hands on a Sunday, just because everyone else does?
is it falling face down in the isle of the church floor?

if it is for you, then God bless you. i admire your courage. i look up to you, and am maybe a little jealous that you are at that point in your journey. maybe it is the first time you have really heard God speak to you. maybe you have followed Christ for years, and God brought you back to a time of reverence. that's AWESOME! (that one was for Nate) i love the fact that we worship in a community that allows us to worship in the way we feel led, just as we live in a country that allows us to vote as we see fit. but is all worship the same?

i have attended "the other church". i have been told i was too different from the rest, to please take it down a notch... what i have learned from that experience is this:
God created everyone different. He created us to be in awe of Him, to fall at His feet. but also to live for Him. to fight for Him. isn't worship something we do on a daily basis? isn't it in the way we treat our spouses and our children? does it count when i hold my friends hand when they are in distress or wipe away their tears and pray for them? isn't that worship?

i believe that God wants our love and devotion. He loves when we fall at his feet, but if we are always in the posture of kneeling down and anointing His feet with oil or perfume, when are we going to live the life that He created us to live? LOVE YOUR GOD~THEN RISE~ AND GO FORTH INTO THE LAND AND PROCLAIM HIS GLORY!!!!! let your life be worship unto Him.

change... sucks.

time to change things up

you know those moments when you are just sitting there, minding your own business, and it hits you? i mean like someone just smacked you in the back of the head with a skillet type of moments? i had one of those such occasions yesterday. a little bit of information goes a long way...
the change for me, may be subtle at first, but who i am is slowly changing. i'm getting stronger. i think even a little smarter. now it's time time kick life in the butt, and just go for it. i can't sit around and wait any longer. that's not the kristyn that God created. one of the things i like best about myself, is i'm not afraid to change. so bring it on!!!