That there is one smart 2 year old!

Oh my stars!!!

I just had to share this with you all today. I am sitting at my desk working on the Christmas Lesson ~ Christmas Time Is Here. I let the children put on a movie while I work at my desk.

The 2 year old wanted to pick a movie which happens to be "Toy Story", but she calls it "BuzzWoody" ~ the other 2 do not want to watch it. So, knowing this, I send the 2 year old up to the movie closet to pick a movie. The DVD's of Toy Story 1, 2 were on top of the TV...and she did not see them. So I sent her upstairs thinking she would see a different movie and want to watch that instead.

She came down the steps singing, "I pick it! I pick it! I pick movwee!". So, I stepped away from my desk went into the living room to take the movie and bust out laughing...oh my stars!!!!

She brought down the VHS of "Toy Story"!!! She found it in the sea of movies and brought down exactly what she wanted to watch. The other 2 screamed, "oooo, no mom, no!".

I had to let her watch it...she just took my breath away with her persistence, accuracy and smarts!!!

They are now watching it under protest and tears. You would think that I had just poked them in the eye or something!

Oh, I guess I should tell you that the 2 year old picked this everyday for the past 2 weeks and she loves it more each day...they are sick of it. Yet, they do not remember that they did the same exact thing at that age...and sometimes still do!!

Just thought you might have needed a little laugh!!

Enjoy your day...Jesus loves you & so do I ~ Laurie Kay

Care Package Details

I was asked by a few women ~ "What is up with the care packages {for the December 1, 2009 Christmas Time Is Here Lesson?} What are they and why is that Namesake's outreach?"

So...I thought I would share all this info with all of you too.

1. What are they?

They are little bundles of happiness...or I hope they will be. They are some much needed items for any extended hospital stay ~ in my opinion. Some of the items will be: socks; a blanket; chocolate candy & container for candy; lip gloss or balm; hand cream; dental floss; razor; magazines; phone calling card; journal; colorful pen; word search and many more items all tucked into a nice reusable shopping tote. Oh...and i can't forget a tiara! After all, these are packages for women...fellow princess'. HELLO!! {PS - for those of you who do not know this...I wear a tiara when I teach!}

There are a few kinks getting worked out as to "specifics" on other items...so to list them would take the fun out and also be a let down if we can't fulfill it...I hope you understand!!

2. Why is that Namesake's outreach?

I was on hospitalized bed-rest with my 4th child for 2 weeks before she was born.

My room was a regular room...TV was only "so many" channels...the view from my window was a brick wall...YES...you heard me ~ a brick wall...well the view from my bed that is...when I was actually allowed out of my bed...I saw the whole roof and then the rooms of the other patients with windows facing this roof...not a fun view to see for 2 weeks!! And I was mainly in my bed so...I saw a brick wall! OH, the things I wanted to do with that space...that is a completely "other" BLOG!

Anyway...I met so many wonderful girls in that unit and got to hear their stories. Sistas ~ some of them were in there for 6 weeks with another 4 to go after I got there...that is a long time to stare at a brick wall. Some of them were also from different cities in PA and even a few out of state-ers. They were on their phones constantly...cause their families couldn't afford to be with them in PA...so they stayed connected by the phone.

My heart ached for them! Every day ached. Here I was getting company from my great sistas {Hello WOW girls and thanks for your love}. They would bring me in magazines, chocolates and even ice cream {God bless you JG & MT!!! Ice cream...I felt normal having real, flavored, from a carton and not a cafeteria ice cream!}. The sistas lavished love upon me and I loved every ounce and effort...I also really needed it.

I didn't realize how important it was to your whole well being...but sistas it is. Tangible love goes a long, long way!

One day, I had no visitors not even my man!! I had no phone calls all morning and at lunch...I was feeling lonely. It was out of no where like being run over by a mack truck...I was lonely and feeling helpless. I cried...like a baby! Why did I feel so lonely...it is only 1 day...my man will be with me 1st thing in the morning...God why does this hurt so bad? I kept praying these thoughts and crying out to Him for wisdom, strength and comfort and He slammed me with the reason: there are women in here that feel this way for weeks...and they have no one to physically be here with them ~ they are facing their trial all alone.

Oh, my gravy!!!

I did not know what I was going to do...I just knew I had to do something...that is the beginning of this care package idea...it is also why I got to know the other patients better.

So there you have it...these are the answers in a nut shell.

When something moves us we gotta move!! It is Namesake Ministries Scripture in action: Hebrews 10:24 (NKJV) And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.

To which I add: And when He stirs my heart by His love I gotta show love back to Him by my good works and hopefully stir up some sistas in the process!

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

Christmas Time is Here

Remember in yesterday's Post called Due Season, I talked about the good, the bad, and the ugly? Well, today I wanted to share the good!

I am so excited to finally be able to share this with you: Namesake Ministries will be having a Live Christmas Event for Women!!

Christmas Time is Here!

Join us for a night to celebrate Jesus and receive strength from God's Word. May this holiday season be a time of blessing and revival for us ~ not just survival! Whether you have had a rough year, are going to have a busy and hectic holiday schedule or aren't really "feeling it" this year...come and get some merry and bright Christmas spirit for your whole spirit, soul, and body. We pray that you will be revived this Christmas in His Word, His way, and His loving-kindness!

Tuesday December 1, 2009

7 ~ 8:30 PM

North Way Christian Community

In the KiDZ Ministry's Large Group Room

A Monetary Donation of your choosing will be accepted at the door.

With the proceeds, Namesake Ministries will take "care packages" to women in local Pittsburgh Hospitals. We will be taking these packages down to women that are on pregnancy related bed rest, cancer patients and patients with other illnesses.

Mark your calendars and gather your girlfriends for a great night of Christmas Cheer...we are even going to have an all girls Choir leading us in Christmas Carols!

I hope you can each make it!! Grace to you this fine day...and will I catch you thinking about Christmas???

Oh how He loves you sistas and so do I ~ Laurie Kay

Due Season

There have been many crazy things going on over here since my last post. And I will fill you all in ~ as I can.

Life has been moving right along ~ the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good ~ We are going to have a Christmas Lesson on Tuesday, December 1st at North Way Christian Community Church here in PA...so excited and getting all things planned out for that (more on this tomorrow). The bad ~ (not really bad...but hard for me) We are getting further ahead with the Non Profit "stuff" ~ it is like a foreign language to me...but our Great God and Saviour has been helping this simple girl push through the pain of it all. And alas, The ugly ~ so many dear people that I love have been going through some very tough trials.

Today, I want to share the ugly if I may. The roughness of life has slammed me in the face again...so much death, disease and hardships going on around me and it all equals heartache for me. It is in these times that I get attacked ~ with insecurity.

They come in the form of whispers. "Hey ~ you should really stop all this doing and trying to help...you can't help them all. You can't bless them, pray for them, speak scriptures to them, give them what they need right when they need it, you are not able to help. Just stop ~ God will use those who are better qualified." {These are the whispers in a nutshell...the real whispers are far more elusive than these.}

You see, I was really slammed with a lot of these kinds of whispers the past 2 days and then last night while weary physically and running on too little sleep ~ I thought on my own...God, I feel like I can't even help just one person ~ Is this really what I should be doing ~ Is this really Your will? I then asked for help, wisdom, direction, strength and sleep.

Today I got an email off of the Namesake Ministries website. A dear sister in Christ ~ hello CH ~ sent me an email and at the end thanked me for making her day. Oh my gravy!!! That was a word spoken in due season...even if she did not know it...Jesus used her to speak to me...there was the "one" to my question above. To hear this from someone I never met before...who lives in a different state...I was given so much encouragement from her words. God really used them to speak into my heart yet again about His strength, ability and will. He is such a loving Daddy.

I do not function on "just feedback"...but there are times when this human sista needs some feedback ~ I did last night and God blessed me rather quickly.

Please, if you feel like you should do something as simple as thanking someone for making your day...it may only be simple to you. The person receiving that may need it far more than you could ever know.

A few scriptures for thought:

• Proverbs 15:23 (NKJV) A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!


• Romans 14:19 (NKJV) Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

He loves you so much sweet girls...keep your eyes on Him and do His will!

Love you ~ Laurie Kay

You have turned for me

My all time favorite scripture is Psalm 30. This came to be because of a time of hardship when I was newly saved. One of my devotions this past week caused me to think of that moment in my journey and in turn this portion of scripture.

Let me share with you my moment:

I was newly saved and talking to one of my school friends about how I was so excited to know Jesus for real and know for sure that I was going to heaven. She then told me that she went to church all the time too and that she enjoyed going.

She also said that she would love to go to church with me and I thought that that was great. We knew each other since elementary school and it meant so much to me to go to church together ~ that is was another great thing to do together and make some more awesome memories...ya know?

We went and she was blown away by the goodness of God and we talked and talked for days about her experience. I think this is where her parents stepped in...cause she wasn't allowed to go back with me.

She told me it was great for me to go and she would go to her parents church and we could still hang out. So we did. Then some crazy things happened next with one example being parties ~ "alcohol parties". She said come on it is just a party and it's OK with God...He doesn't care that you do it. I was not liking it...but not wanting to be "left out"...so I went...it was horrible...I felt horrible just being there and I only took one sip of beer!

You may ask...what is so wrong with that? What is all the fuss about? That's nothing Laurie Kay. Well, it was something to me. You see I had a problem with alcohol.

My problem: Before I became a Christian at the age of 16, I used it as a buffer for awkward situations ~ as calmer for my nerves ~ as a way to let loose and be outgoing. I/we (my friends and I) started just taking it from my and my friend's parents cabinets to have on the weekends to try it ~ then we took it to get wasted ~ then we got older people to get it for us to host our own parties ~ I even would get drunk on the way to school. It was sad ~ sad because I was looked at as being cool to do those things and provide for my friends.

When you become a Christian...you are a new creation in Christ Jesus ~ all the old is gone ~ all things become new...I took this scripture from 2 Corinthians 5:17 close to my heart and felt God say this lifestyle is not for you ~ I have better for you, better than the world could ever provide.

I went through a time of purging ~ so to speak ~ right after this and this scripture was a great comfort to my soul...and God used it many times through the years over and over again to mold, change, comfort and bless my socks off!

Enjoy ~ Psalm 30:1-12 (NKJV) I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved.” LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. I cried out to You, O LORD; And to the LORD I made supplication: “What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

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

Shine on sistas!!

I had a hard time as a new believer stepping out of my comfort zone and approaching total strangers to tell them that Jesus loved them and that they needed Him in their life. It was such a "big" thing to go door to door...you were looked on as having great boldness in the faith if you did this. I was more comfortable talking to friends and family.

I remember thinking that I was totally letting God down by feeling this way. Like I was ashamed of Him...yet I wasn't ashamed of Him and would open my mouth every time I thought I could ~ I just could not get past that "go door to door to total strangers" thing.

At 16, I wore Jesus Rules shirts {JESUS RULES was written across the back of my tees} to school for pity's sake...how un-bold was I really??? Well, sistas, it still bothered me.

It bothered me bad. Then one day while I was having my devotions before going to work at Denny's ~ I believe God lead me to this scripture...1 Peter 3:15 (NIRV) But make sure in your hearts that Christ is Lord. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you about the hope you have. Be ready to give the reason for it. But do it gently and with respect.

I prayed and cried before the Lord...that I wanted someone to ask me that. I was putting His Word in my heart and I made it my aim to obey Him. Why didn't anyone ask me this question?

So I went to work and did my job. Then 3 boys from High School came in and we were chatting and the one just out of the blue asked me!!! I was floored and so I answered him and we talked the whole time they were in...it was amazing how slow work was that night and the time I was able to spend talking to them.

What I learned then, was that I did not need to "only" go door to door to be a witness. Living for Him was being a witness. Living my life like an open book...being real, honest and "showing" my devotion to Him spoke louder than just my words spoken alone. What powerful words in this text:

• make sure in your hearts that Christ is Lord
• always be ready to give an answer ~ to anyone who asks you ~ about the hope you have
• be ready to give the reason for it
• do it gently and with respect

Ever since then, I do my part of putting His Word in me and spending time in prayer with Him ~ seeking His will, wisdom and asking Him to help me know when to speak and when not to speak...it has been a crazy blessed 21 years of Him leading me.

I thought of sharing this story with you because I heard this song on K-LOVE the other night and it reminded of that time at Denny's and the lesson I learned.

Here is just the chorus ~ Shine by Newsboys

Chorus
shine
make ´em wonder what you've got
make ´em wish that they were not
on the outside looking bored
shine
let it shine before all men
let´em see good works, and then
let ´em glorify the Lord

Shine on sistas!!!
Jesus loves you so much & so do I ~ Laurie Kay

All stirred up!

Namesake Ministries "Ministry Scripture" is Hebrews 10:24 (NKJV) and it reads: And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

My heart for this Ministry is that what is shared stirs you up to love and good works. When you walk away are you stirred up? Are you spurred on?

A few interesting definitions for you:

• Stirred ~ 1a to cause an especially slight movement or change of position of b : to disturb the quiet of : agitate — often used with up
• Agitate ~ 3a : to discuss excitedly and earnestly b : to stir up public discussion of
• Spur ~ 2 : to incite to action or accelerated growth or development : stimulate

I desire to inspire you to live out to the full what God has called you to be doing...some days I want to stir you to change your position to His position...if need be I would like to agitate you...and how about some stimulation!! Can I stimulate you to love God more? May I agitate you to love the lost more? How about stir you to change your position about how you view your children to how God views them?

Does the stirring up of love cause you to be provoked to do some good works in His name? Or even to pass it on and stir someone else up? Go with me for a moment...in some recipes you need to keep stirring to get just the right consistency...that is true with our God. He wants us to be living out His will in our lives and will put people and situations in front of us to stir us up so that we fulfill it!! He will keep doing this till we are the right consistency!! Sometimes it feels like a little agitation, and others very stimulating...but it is all for our good and for His glory.

Praise Him today for His love and faithfulness to you...and check out the Message Version of this scripture!

Hebrews 10:22-25 (The Message) So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

Is there anyone you can stir up to love and good works today? Go and be blessed doing it. He loves you so much & so do I ~ Laurie Kay