My sister Carley at Carley Rene Photography gave me the Kindred Spirit award, so I thought I would pass it on to some of my “kindred spirits”!

So to Phylicia at Quill and Ink Well , I love your blog, and I also love the sweet person that you are!

To Meshaay at Goodshepherdtoknow , I love how you enjoy prophecy, and share it with others… not many teenagers do that! 

So thank you both for being a light to this generation and keep up the good work!

Just go here, copy this image and add it to your sidebar. Then pass it on to kindred spirits you know!

And thank you Carley, for giving me this award. I love you sis!

Courtney

PS. Oh, for those of you who haven’t joined the Kindred Spirit Network, I encourage you to do that! Check it out here.

  This Psalm is one of my favorites! It just speaks volumes about the character of God, of His grace towards those who fear Him, and of our worth to Him because of that grace. I really can’t add anything more, I think David pretty much sums up all I could ever hope to say about God!

 

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.               

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your

iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from the pit,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years

with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

The Lord performs righteous deeds and judgements for all who are oppressed.

He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Isreal.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in

lovingkindness.He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our

iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His

lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions

from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has

compassion on those who fear Him.

For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.

As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place acknowledges it

no longer. But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting

on those who fear Him. And His righteousness to children’s children, to those

who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them.

The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.

Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the

voice of His word!

Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will.

Bless the Lord, all you works of His, in all places of His dominion;

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Psalm 103

“Why are you looking for love? Why are you still searching as if I’m not enough? To  where will you go child, tell Me where will you run? To where will you run?”

  That is a verse to one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. It’s called By Your  Side by Tenth Avenue North, and yesterday I was listening to it and that verse just hit me right in the heart. I have been searching for love in places other than Christ. Whether it be friends, or dreaming of getting married and what it will be like. “Why are you searching as if I’m not enough?” Those words are what broke me. Christ is all I need, all I could ever want. He is everything! And yet I still, in my rebellious heart, choose to look in other places for love. The chorus of the songs says “Please don’t fight these hands that are holding you. My hands are holding you.” And it really made me think, “Am I fighting His hands that are holding me?” Sometimes I think I do. Psalm 94:18 says “If I should say, “My foot has slipped,” Your lovingkindness, O Lord will hold me up.” God is holding us, He is what gives us the strength to get back up again. Why do I fight Him?

So I had a time of repentance yesterday, and I am not searching anymore. What I was looking for was right inside of me all along.

 

I was reading a forum on Pro Life Teenagers, and I hadn’t realized how pro-choice Obama was. I think it is appalling that he thinks babies are a “punishment”. There was a post on Your Sacred Calling that was also very eye opening. So I encourage you to check that out.

  We need to pray for the election this fall. We need to REALLY pray!

  This morning as I was reading in Isaiah, the Lord showed me these verses, and as I was reading them, so many present day events came to mind. “”O Lord, Your hand is lifted up yet they do not see it…” (Isa. 26:11a) America came to mind. We are a Christian nation with “In God We Trust” on our money, yet we are a wicked and sinful nation that has rebelled against the Lord and His Word. I believe that the Lord’s judgement has been upon us multiple times, yet nobody seems to see it. Think back. 9/11, Katrina, the economy falling, and all of the tornadoes in Iowa and other places. Does any of this mean anything significant to anyone? Is it all just chance? I don’t think so. I believe the Lord is judging us for our iniquities, and His hand is lifted up. “For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity…” (Isa. 26:21a ) He is a righteous God, He cannot allow sin to go unpunished.

  Now I am not anti-America, or a gloom and doom sort of person. But I think we as Christians need to take this seriously and get on our knees and pray for revival in our nation. We need to ask forgiveness for the iniquities of our people as Daniel did. “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, commited iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame…O Lord hear! O Lord forgive! ” (Daniel 9:4-5,7a,19a) 

   But even in the midst of the judgements of God, there is hope. “Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him.” (Isa. 30:18 ) God is longing to be gracious to us! We wants to have compassion on us if we will just long for Him! He is just, He is good.

   So, where do you stand today? Do you long for the Lord, or are you rebelling against Him? If you are, then I plead with you, turn back to Him. He is longing to show you compassion. And if you are already longing for Him, pray for those who aren’t. Pray that the hearts of the American people would turn back to their God. 

 

   Kaysie Said:

 

God has been taking me through a time of refreshing through studying and applying His nearness. Many times I assume God is far away up in the sky, and I neglect the amazing truth that God is near and He is with me. The greatest good a human soul can experience is God’s nearness. There is no greater feeling in the world. I am learning this truth firsthand. I will strive to be near to God, for that is what makes my heart content.

“But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” Psalms 73:28

 

 Courtney Said:

 ”The stedfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3    I have always loved this verse, because it is contains such a precious promise. I desire peace… I think everyone desires peace, and this verse gives us a promise: if we have a stedfast mind and trust in the Lord, He will keep us in perfect peace.

  Recently I was reading on a friends blog and what she said really made me think. “Peace is not a feeling, which is something I wish I had learned long ago.  Peace is the acknowledgment that God is in control.  It is the product of trust in Christ.  Just as you can’t force the sun to come up any sooner than it does, so you cannot force yourself to have peace.” (please go and read the entire post… it was really great!)   So peace is not a feeling, but keeping a “stedfast mind” and putting our “trust in Him”.

So I have been learning a lot about peace, and hope to be continually trusting in the Lord.

 

  Carley Said:

Today I was reading and I came across this verse:

“If You, O Lord should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.” Psalm 130:3-4

I was so encouraged by this verse, to think that if God kept a record of my sins, then I would never be able to stand before Him, but because of His grace and forgiveness, we can stand before Him. That is so amazing to me!

God is so great, so forgiving, and I am so thankful that He is my Savior!

I don’t know if any of your know this or not…. I could just be one of the slow in finding this out, but the makers of Facing The Giants and Flywheel are making a third film and it is due in theaters September 26. You can watch the trailer here . I think it looks like a awesome movie, so I am hoping to go and see it when it comes out!

   Today, as we sat around the kitchen, my Mom asked my sisters and me a very good question: “What drives you? What do you wake up and think about? What keeps you going throughout the day?”  I had never thought about it, and it was a really hard question for me to answer. What does drive me? The dictionary defines “drive” (or to be driven) as “A fact or feeling compelling someone to act a particular way, especially one that is considered undesirable.”  Okay, so what compels me to act a particular way, even if that way is undesirable? Or I could look at it this way, what drives me to walk this narrow way, to be different for the Lord, even when it may be undesirable? Well, first off it should be because of the Lord, but is it? Do I wake up and think about Him, or keep running this race because of Him? I must be honest. That is not always the case. Sometimes I am driven by the praise of others and do things only because I desire just that, praise. Sometimes I wake up and only think about myself and what I desire for the day. But this is wrong. I should live and breath for my Savior only. To wake up and think about His love and mercy towards me, and also to follow His commands for my life. I need to be driven throughout the day to serve others and think about their needs, because that’s what He desires for me.

  So I encourage you today, ask yourself “What drives me?” Is it the Lord, or something else? And even if it is something else, pray that God would change that. That He would be the driving force behind your life. Because that is the prayer for my life, and I hope it is for yours too.

 

I know this video may seem a little strange to post on a daughter’s blog, but as Christian women, we need to know what’s going on in Congress, in politics and in our country. The only way to make a difference is to be involved. But to be involved, we’ve got to know what we’re involved in! (hope that made sense!)

 So this video was a real wake-up call to how crazy our country has gotten about going “green” and saving energy, even though it may be harmful to the enviroment…. not to mention our lives! So let me know what you think!

 

What is love? Do red hearts, chocolate and little, chubby babies in diapers that shoot arrows come to mind? If so, you are not alone. Our world has warped what the true meaning of love is. To the world love is showing affection when we feel like it. When it’s convenient or doesn’t cost us anything. 

  Okay, so the world has really messed love up. How should we as Christian women (this can apply to men too of course) change that? Well, first we need to see what God says love is, and how we, as His children, can live it out.

   1 Corinthians 13 is called the “love chapter” and do you know why? Because it’s mostly about…. you guessed it… LOVE!  But as many times as you may have heard these verses, try and look at them as if you’ve never read them before. As fresh, living words from God. (because, hey, they are!)

  1 Corinthians 13:4-8a “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it’s own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…”  

  Whoa! Talk about bursting our “love bubble”! After reading all of the qualities that make up love, I wonder if I’ve ever loved anyone! God sets a very high standard for love, doesn’t He? Love must be so important to the Lord, because in verses 2-3 it says “If I have the gift of prophesy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” (italics added)  That speaks volumes to me! I could prophesy the future, and understand all mysteries, and remove mountains with my great faith, give everything I have to feed the poor, and be a martyr for Christ…. but if I didn’t love, I am nothing and all of that profits me nothing! Wow… love really is the “greatest of these.” (1 Cor. 13:13)

  How can we apply this to the way we love those around us? Whether it be our parents, siblings, friends at school, or enemies? How can seeing the truth in these verses change who we are as Christians? Why not take one of these traits a week, and see what the Word has to say about it. Pray over what you find and live it. I struggle with every single one of those traits, and sometimes it is so hard to “live it in the real world”, but we serve a big God who can help us, strengthen us and forgive us when we fail. So I challenge you today, let’s learn to love the way God commands us, and show this world what love is really all about.