Benefits you have in Christ Jesus

Psalm 103:1-5 (Amplified Version)
BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name! Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits-- Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases, Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy; Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

{Please read it again...but out loud this time}

This scripture has been rolling around in my brain for a few days and I thought I would share it with you sweet sistas!!

• bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, oh my soul...in times of sadness, sorrow, grief, blessing and joy...at all times I should be gratefully and affectionately praising the Lord.
• forget not [one of] all His benefits...when seeking a new job, one asks what is the pay, vacation time and other benefits of working there. What are the benefits that you have in Christ Jesus?

1. The Lord forgives [every one of] all your iniquities
2. The Lord heals [each one of] all your diseases
3. The Lord redeems your life from the pit and corruption
4. The Lord beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy
5. The Lord satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good
6. The Lord does all this so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

He is amazing!!

I am so grateful to be saved today. I am so grateful to know the truth. I am so grateful today to be a Daughter of the Most High God!

Spend some extra time today thinking over each one of those listed benefits and then affectionately and gratefully praise your God!

He loves you so much sistas...and so do I ~ Laurie Kay

torn

I BLOG today torn. Like some definitions of the verb tear, I feel divided or disrupted by the pull of contrary forces. And yet I feel as one. OK, to see it written down I look crazy!

I am weeping and I am rejoicing ~ at the same time.

I have had so much bad news this past week from friends and family. My heart breaks for them...they are living with grief from loss of lives, loss of health, loss of jobs and loss of relationships. I am weeping with them. I am praying for my Daddy to come down and lavish on them comfort, healing, peace, strength and love. I know He cares for them ~ even more than I do. I know He wills for them a future and a hope. I know He will work all things together for their good. I know He is an ever present help to them in this time of their trouble. I know He is faithful and true ~ and soo much more. I know He is their all in all and for all! I thank Him for these truths. I praise Him for who He is and who they are in Him. I still am weeping for them.

I BlOGGED a while back: B R O K E N {7/15/09} and said in there about weeping for the child as if he was my own. I have mourned with some friends as if it was me walking in their shoes. I was not doing this to be disrespectful of their loss...I just could not imagine going through what they are enduring and I just found myself thinking about it being me in their place. It drew me to pray for them constantly. I do not know everything that they have had to walk in this week...but they got a lot of prayers offered up to the Father from this sister.

I have had so many moments of intense laughter this week as well. So many side splitting laughs and joyous times. I have gotten a lot of good news this week too...people getting their prayers answered in a completely amazing way...better than what they even asked for and not exactly how they prayed for it to turn out. I am rejoicing with each one of them. I found myself thinking about them and praying for them throughout the days as well.

BOOM!! And then within a second I find myself tearing up and crying again...praying for the others. Yes, I do feel crazy at times, but I am so thankful to be alive. I am thankful to have relationships with people. I love knowing them and being known by them...doing life together and learning together.

I shall always be torn. I have learned this lesson all too well this week. To live is to be torn and we shall be made whole in Heaven. All will be made right. Now, this is not a "new" lesson for me...I always knew that life is not a "walk in the park" and that in Heaven all is well. It was the living in the intense extremes all at once that made these truths more real to me. I never had so many of both at the same time before.

I am so thankful for the life God has granted me to have here on earth and I am so thankful that I will live with Him forever in heaven. I thank Him for my family and my friends. I even thank Him for their quirks...for by them ~ quirks and all ~ I shall be changed into the person Jesus wants me to be.

Read this Scripture out loud and relish His love and faithfulness!!

Revelation 21:3-5 (Amplified Bible) Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away. And He Who is seated on the throne said, See! I make all things new. Also He said, Record this, for these sayings are faithful (accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy) and true (genuine).

He loves you so much sisters & so do I ~ Laurie Kay

I am not that bright!

It has been way too long since my last post!

Here's why...I would normally try to log in and it would just ask for my password...but the one morning in August it asked for me email address as well. I typed in what I thought I knew it to be and it would not let me in. I tried again. And again. And again and was locked out!

I tried back at the beginning of September...same thing.

I tried back in the middle of September...same thing.

It finally hit me this morning to ask my husband. WOW...I am not that bright!

He is the computer guru {Really he is!!! He is an IT Director} and he set up my account but I didn't think to ask him till now.

He just sat down and logged me in...nice...so I wrote down all the proper info so I can do this again!

I love you my guru...he doesn't like to be called a geek...but they have come into their own haven't they...a geek now is not what they used to be...right??? Well, he still doesn't like that name so I call him my guru...this name I can use!!

I love you...thank you for helping me out...yet again...and I am so sorry I didn't think to come to you sooner.

Maybe I will will do better next time...till then...sistas, enjoy your day!!
Jesus loves you...and so do I ~ Laurie Kay

A growing season

Did you ever try to do something and it feels like everything is getting in your way of getting it done? Things popping up to do and you want to do them...they are good and even beneficial...sometimes they are needed.

Oh my stars...that is my day. I am trying to get a lesson done and everything it seems is popping up needing to be done. They have come up so subtly. One is grocery shopping for pity's sake.

I need to get this lesson done...home life needs to be done. Sistas...I am going through a season of growth...adjusting my life for what God has me to be doing...mom & ministry. Today is not a solitary day...I've had many this summer.

Too many of my friends...answer simply...you should not be doing ministry till your kids are in school full time. That's not what Daddy told me to be doing. I do not fully understand the why's and how's about knowing this to be so...I just know...to juggle now is necessary.

I have spent this relaxing and refreshing summer hashing out everything I am doing.

• The hashing: Why do I do this a certain way? What would happen if this task was done differently? Why do you do this task on this day at this particular time? How do other women do this particular task? Why does it take me longer to do this than so n so? What am I doing wrong? What am I doing well? Why is this task easier to get done and not that one? How is my attitude about this particular task? Oh...the hashing goes on and on.
• The everything: Writing; teaching; connecting with people by email, facebook, regular mail, and phone; meal planning ~ preparing, shopping,and storing; laundry; all rooms in the house ~ their layout; all the home improvement projects; storage of all things for the house and the people inside; time with my man; time with my children; devotions with God! Yes, I meant everything!

This has been quite a growing season. The pruning, sucker growth and weed pulling have been so painful at times...but I am so thankful to God for it! I am His child and I love that He is my Daddy and so I am thankful for His correction when I need it...just between us...I need it everyday...all day!

Read this scripture slowly...and praise Him!

Hebrews 12:5-11 (NKJV) And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “ My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

I pray you all have a great day as daughters of the Most High God! You are dearly loved by Him ~ and I love you too!
Laurie Kay

What an amazing Sunday morning!

Happy Sunday to you sistas!! I pray all is well with you and your families.

We usually attend the Saturday Night service at our home church...but I needed to go to a meeting there this morning for the ministry that I volunteer in. It was a great meeting.

I went back to the Nursery area to retrieve my daughter and ran into a sweet sista whom I haven't seen in a while...gave her a hug and noticed her belly...I congratulated her and asked when the due date was...and asked if she knew what she was having...she gave me a business card and said a boy and we are due Dec 5th. I then said that is fabulous...as I am a December baby myself...and said I will be prayin for your little bambino.

I left the Nursery Area and brought home my children...fed them lunch and looked up their BLOG. I knew something was not "normal" when she handed me the card...and I wanted to know what was going on...so I read ALL of their BLOG posts and am amazed at the craZZZy journey she and her family are walkin in right now.

God is with them every step of the way...He has been loving, faithful and completely amazing! I wanted to BLOG about them to get you sistas to join me and the countless others in praying for them...they are Kelly and Doug Barrett and baby Jackson. You see baby Jackson is having some trouble with the left side of his heart (the valve) and needs our heavenly Father's healing. {In my layman's terms...his left valve needs to be wider than it is and he underwent an in utero surgery called Fetal Aortic Balloon Valvioplasty to enlarge it and help the blood flow and him to grow. It was a successful surgery...but he is not out of the woods yet and so please pray for him.} Please visit their BLOG site as it is much more detailed and can give you specifics as to all of their prayer needs...their BLOG site is http://www.thebarrettjourney.blogspot.com/

Think about this sweet sistas...Psalm 18:6 (NKJV) In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

Our cries go up to His very ears...they are not floating around in outer space...rest assured beloved...He indeed hears our prayers! Whatever you are crying out to Him for...know that He hears you...and know it is only a matter of His timing when He comes down and delivers you out of your distresses. Can we stand in prayer with you...let us know your needs...we want to petition the Father with you.

He loves you so much and so do we...grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus ~ Laurie Kay

LaZZZZy days of summer

Wow...it is the middle of August...the kids are going back to school soon...where did my summer go???

We have had a great relaxing summer...this has been the most relaxing one in a long time.

I did not "do" much this summer...just...played with my children...talked with my man...did family fun things together...had a great vaca...talked to all kinds of fun people on facebook...wrote some things for this fall...got many new ideas and insights during the mundane moments in life...oh, and I did some of the important "have to do" things of life!

I am so thankful for the summer I had.

God has been so good to me and the family.

I am ready to take on the fall...ready to...get back into school and all that goes with it...get back into a routine...plan family meals...go see my sistas at WOW...go see my sistas at BM Studies...go see my sistas at Namesake events!!!

The LaZZZZy days of summer have been soo good for me...spirit ~ soul ~ and body! And sistas I pray they were for you as well...I hope you are excited and ready for the fast and furious frenzy that accompanies fall!

What amazing things does the Lord have in store for us? Whatever it is it is for our good...ponder the following scripture while you think about the fall and what awaits you...if it is a frenzy, or a chaotic time...draw strength from God beloved...take comfort from His Word and remember you are His!

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

The NKJV says thoughts...the NIV says plans...let both sink into your soul for a moment and know He thoughtfully plans your path sistas!!

He loves you so much...and so do I ~ Laurie Kay

We all need a little vaca...don't we???

We just got back from a very fun and relaxing vaca as a family. It was not a long one...but it sure did "do the job".

Just a few questions to ask yourself...What do you go on vacation for? Why do you like it? Why do you need it? What do you hope to get out of it?

We go for one reason here in this house and that is to get away from daily life as a family and do things together...no other responsibilities...no important meetings...no important phone calls. Well, maybe a birthday wish here or there (JV ~ love ya sis) or an anniversary greeting (DS & RS ~ 1 year yeah!!). But mainly time away together...just "being".

There are places we want to go to and explore as a family...parts of this great country of ours to see "live with our own eyes" but we are unable to at this time with ones so little...but we hope to someday not too far in the future. Where we were able to go and what we did were so much fun for this little family and we are extremely grateful.There were years when we were unable to get away for a vacation and so we made the most out of our weekends and days off were treated like mini vacations.

There are scriptures that use the word Selah in them and many scholars have many different meanings for this word as there is no "concrete definition" for it. One that I like to use is given by many as meaning to take a pause and weigh the words spoken to you and measure them by what you know to be true.

Vacation is also like a Selah in life for us. Our daily life is paused and my hubby and I take long walks to ponder what has happened so far and seek the Lord for where to go next and what to do.

I pray that this is and was a summer that did the job for you...whatever you and your family needed...I pray you were able to have...I pray that you were richly blessed this summer in Jesus...no matter the length of a vacation or a day off...I pray you took or take the time to Selah and then praise your God for all His love and what He has done for you.

He loves you so much sistas & so do I ~ Laurie Kay