My, My, It's Been A While

Ah, it seems that my posting has been a bit scattered these days. I do have a legitimate excuse though. :-) We are switching the bedrooms in our house around, and my new room is currently under construction. Plus, 4-H Communications Arts Festival is tomorrow, which I am not really ready for, so life has been a wee bit on the crazy side, but it's wonderful!

The Bible Reading Challenge has been going well. I did get a few days behind this week. (There is nothing quite like the realization that you have to read 45 chapters today in order to get back on track. - I split it up.) But, I am back on track and lovin' it. I've been reading about David as of late. I'm always so inspired by his life. God used him in mighty ways, and yet he wasn't some perfect being. He was a completely human man that made some pretty bad choices and yet God used him.

We listened to a sermon by Paul Washer on Sunday night called "What a Man is Not." You can listen to it here. David and his life were talked about quite a bit. My Bible readings kept reminding me of the sermon. By the way, this is good for the girls too. I was sorely convicted, in fact there some parts in that sermon that are especially important for all people, men and women alike.

Today, we were reading some stuff on this website about the persecuted church in North Korea. Oh friends, my heart aches for our brothers and sisters there. It is so easy to put them out of our minds, but they so need our prayers. I really feel burdened for them, so I would like to ask you all to keep them in your prayers this week - and month, year, decade... They have endured so much for Christ.

That's all for now.
Maybe I'll have some pics of the work I'm doing in my new room later.

Blessings to y'all!!!
Kaila

These days....

So, I have only done one, single blog post about my Bible reading progress. Sorry about that. Life has been very busy. One thing I have decided is the reading portions are quite large. I enjoy it, but it usually takes me all day to finish. It helps me focus on the Word more during my day.

Yesterday, I was reading in Exodus. I was tempted to get rather...well...bored, but I decided that I shouldn't be bored with the Bible. The Lord showed me so very interesting things about the Scripture I was reading. All those plans and measurements that He gave in regards to the tabernacle and Aaron's clothing, were specific instructions for beautiful pieces of art. When you actually think about the materials and the colors that the Lord instructed them to use, you realize what an artistically minded God we have.

Something else I thought of - and I'm not saying this is a revelation or anything - is the fact that God's wanting the priest's breastplate to be laden with all of those beautiful stones, shows that He likes when we use certain of His creations for our decorations. :-) I mean, those stones are rare and exquisite stones. It seems to me that God actually intended us to make use of those gems and wear them. Of course, I say that while keeping in mind that it should not be our goal to draw attention to ourselves, but I don't think that it is bad to wear pretty jewelry.

Going back to what I read earlier this week, I am always amazed at the whole history of the 12 tribes of Israel. What an incredible story of God's faithfulness to generation upon generation. And these weren't perfectly holy people. They were flawed human beings, like you and me, that God used to fulfill His purposes. That encourages me so much, because it helps me to remember that God can do great things through any person's life regardless of their situation and social status. His ways are better than our ways and His plans far exceed ours!

So, as we head into another week, do you have anything that the Lord has taught you that you would like to share? Even if you aren't doing the challenge feel free to share. God reveals different things to people and I think that it is great when we share those revelations with each other.

Day 2 Bible Challenge

Yes, I know, I didn't post on day one! (I won't be able to post everyday - that's the one promise I can make.) Today, I arose late, stuffed up, coughing and not well. But, the Lord is faithful and I did get up and am about half way done with today's reading. One of the things I have really been struck by the last couple of days is the generational vision that the generations after Adam had. Seth's line had several great God-fearing men. Many of these men don't have much written about them, but we can learn a lot about them by the way their sons feared the Lord.

I was also thinking about Ishmael and Genesis 16:12 stuck out. "And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." This verse still continues to apply to Ishmael's descendants to this day.

Having a generational vision matters. It's easy to live in "survival mode," as we often joke in our family, but we do need to be thinking about future generations.

Those are my thoughts for the day. Sorry they are short - it's a busy day. :-)

Prayer Note: Pray that the Lord will strengthen the future generations and give us the passion and vision for raising our children in the ways of the Lord. Pray for the descendants of Ishmael - mainly Muslims - that they would come to Christ and know Him as God.

Your Sister in Christ,

Kaila

So, do you have any thoughts to share? I would love to hear them.