I am who you say I am

He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

- John 1:11-13 (NIV)

 

“You’re not my real mom!”

Although I have never heard these words from my children, I see them in the faces of my cats when I tell them to get off the counter or table, but I have heard children of friends utter these words in anger to a step-parent or an adoptive parent. 
I have seen the pain that crosses the face of the parent in question that has stayed up nights with that child when they were sick, held them when they cried, prayed for them when they were struggling. 

“You’re not my real dad.” 

Those words cut a parent to the core, just as bad as hearing “I hate you” or “I wish you weren’t my mom/dad”. 

I wonder if Jesus felt the same, when His own people denied who He was. 
I wonder if God feels the pain and hurt when His children willfully turn their backs on Him. 

I’ve shared this song before, but I really want to share part of the lyrics again:

Who am I that the highest King would welcome me?

I was lost, but He brought me in

Oh His love for me

Oh His love for me

Who the Son sets free

Oh, is free indeed

I'm a child of God, yes, I am

Free at last, He has ransomed me

His grace runs deep

While I was a slave to sin, Jesus died for me

Yes, He died for me

Who the Son sets free

Oh is free indeed

I'm a child of God, yes, I am

In my Father's house

There's a place for me

I'm a child of God, yes, I am

I am chosen, not forsaken

I am who You say I am

You are for me, not against me

I am who You say I am

Who the Son sets free

Oh is free indeed

I'm a child of God, yes, I am

In my Father's house

There's a place for me

I'm a child of God, yes, I am
He is our real dad, whether we are willing to admit it or not, He is our real Dad. 

We are children of the One true King. 

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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you can’t take it with you

Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands.

- Ecclesiastes 5:15 (NIV)

 

Ok, who has heard of the KonMari method? 

Come on, at least one person in your life since 2019 has decided to “go Marie Kondo” on their homes, and if something didn’t “spark joy” it was supposed to be tossed away.

I had to clean my grandmother’s apartment when she went into a skilled nursing facility, that woman could have used a little of Marie in her life!  

I went through the same thing a few times with my mother, moving her from Iowa to assisted living here, then from assisted living to skilled nursing and then her last move in December when she passed away and I brought her belongings home with me. 

I still have a section of my attic that has her stuff, clothes, cassette tapes, pictures, books miscellaneous stuff that I will probably never take out of the boxes.

We recently started working on the interior of our home, replacing floors, painting, making it look fresh and new (ok to clarify, my amazing husband is doing most of the work), and as we have gone through each room I am forcing myself to get rid of stuff.  

I hate to dust, so having a bunch of knickknacks and “things” sitting on shelves is about to drive me crazy.

I don’t know what compels me to keep stuff, we can’t take it with us when we die as clearly stated in this verse in Ecclesiastes, and I am pretty certain that my kids will have no use for the cat picture that I drew in the 3^rd grade (also in a box in the attic).

These are “things” and maybe they do or maybe they don’t “spark joy” but for certain the joy is usually a memory associated with the item, and memories are far better than “things”.

I want nice things, I work hard for the nice things that bring me joy, but in the end, will there be more joy in my “things”, or will there be joy for a life well lived, a life full of friends, a life where I shared the love of Jesus with everyone I met?

That is something that we can take with us.  

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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who

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

- Matthew 16:15-16 (NKJV)

 

Excuse me, but who are you?

When asked to identify Himself, there are 80 references in the Gospels where Jesus saying that He is the Son of Man, yet in Matthew He asks His disciples who they say He is. 
In Mark 8:29 Peter answered “You are the Messiah”, in Luke 9:20 “God’s Messiah”. 

Interestingly enough, the Gospel of John doesn’t mention this particular conversation, yet this was a very important event in the lives of the disciples because this is the point where Jesus is making sure that they know who He is. 

Now we know this verse in Matthew to be Peter’s confession of who Jesus is, and the revelation that Peter didn’t just come across this information on his own but that God Himself has given this knowledge to Peter. 

So who do you say He is? 
Is He your Savior, your Friend, your Leader? 
If He is your Savior, are you keeping Him to yourself, or are you telling others who He is?    

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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teach me

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

- Isaiah 29:13 (NIV)

 

Do you hunger and thirst for knowledge? 
I have a friend that absolutely loves to learn, so much so that she spent her entire military career taking classes and as a result she seriously knows something about everything!! 
How many of us went to Sunday school and church as children and did stuff simply because that was the way we were taught? 
Do you really know the reason you are baptized or take communion? 
Do you know why you pray a certain way?

When we do things out of habit, it really isn’t much mor than a mindless activity and God doesn’t want that kind of worship. 
He wants us to love Him with our whole hearts, to have a relationship with Him, not recite mantras and perform actions just because we are taught that is what we do.

Let’s step away from old habits and renew our relationship with God, so when we talk about Him we really are honoring Him.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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call me

In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.

- Jonah 2:2 (NIV) *August 31, 2018

 

We all go through tough times.

Some days are harder than others and every single person handles the bad days differently.

One thing that we all have in common though is that we can all call on Jesus when we hurt.

Song reference!!

I'm so very ordinary, nothing special on my own.

Oh, I have never walked on water,

And I have never calmed a storm.

Sometimes I'm hiding away from the madness around me

Like a child who's afraid of the dark

But when I call on Jesus,

All things are possible

I can mount on wings like eagles' and soar

When I call on Jesus,

Mountains are gonna fall

'Cause He'll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call

Weary brother, broken daughter,

Widowed, widowed lover, you're not alone

If you're tired and scared of the madness around you

If you can't find the strength to carry on

Call Him in the morning, in the afternoon time

Late in the evening He'll be there

When your heart is broken,

And you feel discouraged,

You can just remember that He said

He'll be there

Call Him in the morning, in the afternoon time

Late in the evening He'll be there

When your heart is broken,

And you feel discouraged,

You can just remember that He said

He'll be there

Call Him in the morning, in the afternoon time

Late in the evening He'll be there

When your heart is broken,

And you feel discouraged,

You can just remember that He said

He'll be there

I sang that in church once as a solo, many years ago (and not even at the church I attend now!), and had people tell me how moving this song is. (Nicole C. Mullen rocks, ya’all!) 
We are ordinary, but He made us special, and yeah, we can call on Him, no matter what, no matter when, call Him, He’s got our back!!

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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reigning

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

- Isaiah 52:7 (NIV)

 

Birthday shout out to my biological mother, I hope you have an amazing day!

Our God reigns – how pretty does that sound when we say it?

How about when we sing it? 
How lovely on the mountains are the feet of Him,

Who brings good news, good news,

Announcing peace, proclaiming news of happiness:

Our god reigns, our god reigns!

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

He had no stately form, He had no majesty,

That we should be drawn to Him,

He was Despised and we took no account of Him,

Yet now He reigns with the Most High.

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

It was our sin and guilt that bruised and

Wounded Him, it was our sin that brought Him Down.

When we like sheep had gone astray,

Our shepherd came, and on His shoulders,

He bore our shame.

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Meek as a lamb that's led out to the Slaughter-house,

Dumb as a sheep before its shearer.

His life ran down upon the ground Like pouring rain,

That we might be born again.

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Out of the tomb He came with grace and majesty.

He is alive. He is alive.

God loves us so, see here His hands, His feet, His side...

Yes, we know, He is alive!

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

Our God Reigns

That is the Lenny Smith version, you should google it and listen now!

Seriously, ya’all we are so fortunate that we have an amazing wonderful God that love us, and will move mountains for us, we should be the ones that tell everyone about Him and His great love. 

Go tell it on the mountain, shout it from the roof tops, sing it out loud, our God reigns!!!

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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they will know

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

- John 13:34-35

 

Do you consider yourself a disciple?

Do you love one another, as Jesus taught us to love?

He plainly says they will know we are His disciples – OOOOO – song reference!!!

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

And we pray that our unity will one day be restored

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love

Yeah they'll know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side

We will work with each other, we will work side by side

And we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love

Yeah, they'll know we are Christians by our love.

And they will know.

I posted this same verse in August of 2019, with a different title and a different commentary, and if you would indulge me, I’d like to repeat that commentary.

My friend shared on Facebook the story about the math teacher that had each student make a list of every student in the class and next to the student’s name write the nicest thing they could think of about that student.  She gathered the papers and gave each student a copy of what everyone in class said about them.

I’ve heard several variations of this story.

The point is, sometimes we are so hard on ourselves that we forget the reasons we are loved.

if you need a virtual hug, either comment on this post, send me a text or a private message and I will tell you why you are wonderful.

This still holds true today – you are loved, if you are reading this in an email a text, a facebook message or group, Instagram, MeWe or Twitter, know that I write these because I love the people that read them, and maybe even people I don’t know. 

Let’s show the world what love really is.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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talk about love

This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

- 1 John 4:10

 

It is still Valentine’s week, so let’s talk about love.

God loves us.

Regardless of what we want to believe, no matter if we chose to accept Him or His grace, God loves us.

As a parent there are days that I am not sure I love my kids (I’m kidding, kids) (sort of) (ok, yeah kidding) much less to love them no matter what.

He didn’t just sacrifice for us, He sacrificed for everyone – every single human being.

God loves us and He wants us to love Him back, to share His love with others who don’t know about Him.

I hope that you feel as loved as I know that you are.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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thank you

 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.

– 2 Thessalonians 1:3

 

There is an old song in my heart.

Do you want to hear it? 

Of course you do!!

I dreamed I went to heaven

And you were there with me;

We walked upon the streets of gold

Beside the crystal sea.

We heard the angels singing

Then someone called your name.

We turned and saw a young man running

And he was smiling as he came.

And he said, "Friend you may not know me now."

And then he said, "But wait,

You used to teach my Sunday School

When I was only eight.

And every week you would say a prayer

Before the class would start.

And one day when you said that prayer,

I asked Jesus in my heart."

Thank you for giving to the Lord.

I am a life that was changed.

Thank you for giving to the Lord.

I am so glad you gave.

Then another man stood before you

And said, "Remember the time

A missionary came to your church

And his pictures made you cry.

You didn't have much money,

But you gave it anyway.

Jesus took the gift you gave

And that's why I'm here today."

Thank you for giving to the Lord.

I am a life that was changed.

Thank you for giving to the Lord.

I am so glad you gave.

One by one they came

Far as the eye could see.

Each life somehow touched

By your generosity.

Little things that you had done,

Sacrifices made,

Unnoticed on the earth

In heaven, now proclaimed.

And I know up in heaven

You're not supposed to cry

But I am almost sure

There were tears in your eyes.

As Jesus took your hand

And you stood before the Lord.

He said, "My child, look around you.

Great is your reward."

Thank you for giving to the Lord.

I am a life that was changed.

Thank you for giving to the Lord.

I am so glad you gave.

There are so many people that are in or have been in my life for whom I am thankful.  

I would try to name them all but I would miss someone and hurt their feelings or I would run out of space.

Google “people come into your life quotes”, there are a bunch.

I think my favorite is Abigail London: 
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. Don’t try to make those people fit where they aren’t intended.  This is what causes you pain and brokenness,  Try to find the lesson God is sending through that person to build your own strength and character.

We don’t know why God brings us together, but I am thankful that He does.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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sing it loud

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

- Acts 16:25

 

I still love to sing, I still lose myself in the lyrics of songs.

Hymns and worship music are an amazing way to tell God how you feel and when you are singing, others my hear and say “hey, what’s that song?”  (what a great way to open a dialog about the Father!!!) 

Did you know that God loves to hear you sing?

He doesn’t care if you are off key or if you forget a few words.

You are not putting on a concert, it is not a performance, it is worship.

Even if you think your joyful noise is just noise, it is music to God’s ears.

Sing out loud, He is listening.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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it’s love again

Let all that you do be done with love.

- 1 Corinthians 16:14 (NKJV)

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I have to mention a cute little girl named Dixie who is celebrating her birthday today. Happy birthday, Dixie Jean!  

According to the internet, Valentines day is the number three holiday in retail, with number one being Christmas/Hanukkah and the second highest being Mother’s day.

I’ve heard Valentine’s day being referred to as “singles awareness day” and I’ve known of people who spend so much money trying to make their significant other feel special on Valentine’s day. 

Stop it!!

Don’t just make someone feel special one day a year, make everyone that you come in contact with feel the love of Jesus flowing through you.

When you go pick up your coffee, tip the baristas, and do it with love.

When you go out for dinner, hold the door open for your significant other with love.

Let all you do be done with love and let Jesus’ love for you show through the things that you do.

You may or may not have an earthly valentine this year, but God has been asking you to be His valentine since the day you were conceived.

You are God’s love story, so show it, live it, be the love that lives in you through Christ Jesus.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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empathy

Share each other’s troubles and problems, and so obey our Lord’s command.

- Galatians 6:2 (TLB)

 

The definition of empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Some people are known to be empaths, or highly attuned to the feelings and emotions of those around them, their ability to discern what others are feeling goes beyond empathy and extends to actually taking those feelings on, feeling what another person is feeling at a deep emotional level (the definition is not mine, I copied it from the internet).

I asked a pastor one time if he believed that there are empaths in the world, he said that he is more inclined to believe that those people are filled with the Holy Spirit and this is how they are able to feel on such a deep level. 

It can be overwhelming and exhausting, and some people find it invasive when a person can read them so easily.

We are called to share one another’s troubles and problems, regardless of if we are “an empath” or not.

This means that while we may not feel their pain, hurt and anger, we still need to understand it.

We don’t have to fix it, and sometimes people that are hurting don’t want us to fix it, they just want to be heard. 

Sometimes we can share each other’s burdens simply by being a friend.

Cook them a meal or take them to dinner.

Text them to check on them.

Go for a walk with them.

Pray for them, and with them.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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be nice

Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.

- Proverbs 11:17 (NIV)

 

I have five cats in my house (only five).

Most of the time they live peacefully with one another, eating together, grooming each other, curled up purring together.

I have even spotted all five of them on the bed sleeping at the same time.

Recently my oldest cat Mittens (6) has declared war on Latte (2), fighting with her, hissing and growling and poor Latte runs for the highest spot in the house or sequesters herself under the bed behind my storage boxes.  
Mittens does not fight with Princess Buttercup (4) or Mouse (3) and she even leaves the baby cat Boots (5 months) alone.

No, Mittens has a vendetta against Latte, she just doesn’t know how to be nice.

Mittens has brought ruin on herself by being cruel to Latte, because now she is forced to take a calming remedy which she hates because it probably tastes bad and I have to hold her down to administer it. 

If Mittens would be kind to Latte, she would find herself benefitting by receiving yummy treats and extra love.

Humans are the same really, we reap what we sow. 
When we sow kindness we receive kindness in return, sometimes all it takes is a smile.

But if we are cruel, bitter and mean others are going to hiss and growl at us, and probably tell their friends how horrible we are and then no one will want to be around us.

I can’t tell Mittens to be nice in a way that she will understand using words, it has to be a sort of behavior therapy.

Perhaps humans need behavior therapy too! 

I’m over here with the treats.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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peace be still

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

- Exodus 14:14 (NIV)

 

I have some things weighing heavy on my heart recently, things that keep me awake at night and steal my joy in the day.

We have read “be still” in the Bible, heard it in church and Sunday school, seen it plastered on posters, t-shirts, billboards and home décor.

We tell our children and our anxious racing hearts to be still, but what does it really mean?

My dear friend sang this song Sunday morning, I am not sure if it was the lyrics or her beautiful voice that very nearly brought me to tears.   

I don't want to be afraid

Every time I face the waves

I don't want to be afraid

I don't want to be afraid

I don't want to fear the storm

Just because I hear it roar

I don't want to fear the storm

I don't want to fear the storm

Peace be still

Say the word and I will

Set my feet upon the sea

Till I'm dancing in the deep

Peace be still

You are here so it is well

Even when my eyes can't see

I will trust the voice that speaks

I'm not gonna be afraid

'Cause these waves are only waves

I'm not gonna be afraid

I'm not gonna be afraid

I'm not gonna fear the storm

You are greater than it's roar

I'm not gonna fear the storm

I'm not gonna fear at all

Peace be still

Say the word and I will

Set my feet upon the sea

Till I'm dancing in the deep

Peace be still

You are here so it is well

Even when my eyes can't see

I will trust the voice that speaks

Peace peace over me

Let faith rise up

Oh heart believe

Let faith rise up in me

Peace be still

Say the word and I will

Set my feet upon the sea

Till I'm dancing in the deep

Peace be still

You are here so it is well

Even when my eyes can't see

I will trust the voice that speaks

Peace peace over me

We don’t have to be afraid of the storms because we are not alone, we are never ever alone.

Sometimes we just need to go to a quite place and tell God that we are ready to listen.

Then be still.  

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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