healing

He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.

- 1 Peter 2:24

 

We as humans go through a lot.

We have physical injuries, emotional meltdowns, serious pain, caused by many different things, the sins of others and often our own sin.

We have healing though, in Christ Jesus, no matter our sin, no matter our pain.  Song reference (chorus only this time)!

No matter the bumps

No matter the bruises

No matter the scars

Still the truth is

The cross has made

The cross has made you flawless

No matter the hurt

Or how deep the wound is

No matter the pain

Still the truth is

The cross has made

The cross has made you flawless

We don’t have to go through our lives hurting, we can turn to Christ for healing.

No matter what.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

gently

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

- Philippians 4:5

 

I used to foster kittens and cats, we have had 29 litters and a total of 142 kitties come through our doors.

I only adopted 4 of them, but believe me I wants almost all of them.

I enjoyed having people come over to meet the kittens and I enjoyed working adoption events.

When young children would want to hold the kittens, almost inevitably the parents would warn them “gently, you have to pet/hold the kitty gently”.

I like to think that as children of God, He is being gentle with us, loving us and holding us.

Since we are made in His image, we should in turn be gentle with other, human or animal.

The way that we treat others reflects directly on us, and in return how others treat us is based on how we make them feel.

Maya Angelou is quoted as having said “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

So be gentle, make people feel God’s love through you.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

happy anniversary

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

- Ephesians 4:2-3

 

Today marks 24 years of marriage to my wonderful husband.

That is a long time!

Together we have learned a LOT of things, how to raise kids, how to be a family, how to be individuals, how to love God.

We have made mistakes along the way, but we are still very much in love with each other.

The Bible talks about marriage from beginning to end, in Genesis there is reference to Adam and Eve, Ecclesiastes talks about marriage being a lifelong commitment, Ephesians clearly states that husbands and wives are to love and respect each other. 

Isaiah tells us that an ideal marriage relationship mirrors God’s loving relationship with His people, Proverbs says a strong marriage relationship is precious.

Marriage is of God, he instituted marriage and blessed marriage.

I am completely blessed that God gave me my husband, as far as I am concerned he is my perfect soulmate.

We have a lot of years ahead of us, it won’t always be a smooth ride, but as long as we have each other and God, we can survive the bumps.

I love you, honey, happy anniversary.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

hi Mom!

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

- Ruth 1:16-18

 

People tend to feel like most moms are pretty neat, someone to love you, care for you, keep you safe and stand up for you when things get crazy.

Mothers-in-law over the course of history have gotten a bad rap though, portrayed as evil, manipulative and sometimes downright nasty.

My mother-in-law is so far from that stereotype – she is simply top notch.

She raised three amazing children (my husband included), while working very hard supporting the family business and keeping house.

She is the best grandma, baking cookies and making sure grandkids have fun at her house.

She taught me a lot of cooking, sewing and family tricks and tips.

She, along with my amazing father-in-law taught me the most important thing in the world, they taught me who God really is.

My mother-in-law is celebrating her birthday this weekend, and I just want her to know how much I love and appreciate her.

I thank her for raising a wonderful son to be my husband, for being patient with me when I was learning how to treat him like a wife is supposed to treat her husband, for helping us to teach our children, for walking with me and gently prodding me when I was falling off the path God wants me on.

Thank you Mom, happy birthday, I love you.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

 

no more crying

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

- Revelation 21:4

 

Repetition is one of the ways that we learn.

I often feel like if I hear or see something more than once, that maybe God telling me “let that be a lesson to ya”.

I have heard this particular verse many times over the last few weeks, so there must be a lesson in it, as it comes at a time in my life when I am doing a lot of crying and having a lot of pain, and yes there is mourning too.

Perhaps God is telling me that it is ok to cry, for now.

Because things will get better.

Maybe not today, tomorrow, next week, month or year, but things will get better.

Good things will come, because God is in control.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

unfinished

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

- Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

 

I see lots of cute pictures of little kids or baby animals that are a mess with a quote about being patient with them because “God’s not finished with me yet”.

It’s true, He is not finished with us yet.

We are His creation, we might be having a season of sadness or tragedy, we might be feeling hopeless or lost but the bottom line is He. Is. Not. Finished.

Song reference!

I was born in Tennessee

Late July humidity

Doctor said I was lucky to be alive

I've been trouble since the day that I got here

Trouble till the day that I disappear

That'll be the day that I finally get it right

There is hope for me yet

Because God won't forget

All the plans he's made for me

I have to wait and see

He's not finished with me yet

He's not finished with me yet

I never really was that good in school

I talked too much, broke the rules

Teacher thought I was hopeless fool alright

I don't know how but I made it through

It's one of those things that you've gotta do

But I always had a knack for telling the truth

There is hope for me yet

Because God won't forget

All the plans he's made for me

I have to wait and see

He's not finished with me yet

He's not finished with me yet

Still wondering why I'm here

Still wrestling with my fear

But oh, He's up to something

And the farther on I go

I've seen enough to know

That I'm, not here for nothing

He's up to something

So now's my time to be a man

Follow my heart as far as I can

No telling where I'm ending up tonight

I never slow down or so it seems

But singing my heart it's one of my dreams

All I gotta do is hold on tight

There is hope for me yet

Because God won't forget

All the plans he's made for me

I have to wait and see

He's not finished with me yet

There is so much future ahead of us!

When things get tough we have to remember that this situation we are in, it is not the final chapter, God is not done yet!

 

#dailybreadbykitty

 

not for a moment

May the Lord our God be with us as He was with our ancestors; may He never leave us nor forsake us.

- 1 Kings 8:57

 

King Solomon built a temple for the Lord, and the Ark of the Covenant was brought up from Zion to be placed in the inner sanctuary of the temple.

Solomon said a prayer of dedication over the alter and turned to the people of Israel and blessed them, reminding them of all that God had done.

God does not leave us.

When the going gets tough, He does not get going!

In fact, God does not leave us for a single moment. Song Reference!

You were reaching through the storm

Walking on the water

Even when I could not see

In the middle of it all

When I thought You were a thousand miles away

Not for a moment did You forsake me

Not for a moment did You forsake me

After all You are constant

After all You are only good

After all You are sovereign

Not for a moment will You forsake me

You were singing in the dark

Whispering Your promise

Even when I could not hear

I was held in Your arms

Carried for a thousand miles to show

Not for a moment did You forsake me

After all You are constant

After all You are only good

After all You are sovereign

Not for a moment will You forsake me

Not for a moment will You forsake me

And every step every breath you are there

Every tear every cry every prayer

In my hurt at my worst

When my world falls down

Not for a moment will You forsake me

Even in the dark

Even when it's hard

You will never leave me

After all

After all You are constant

After all You are only good

After all You are sovereign

Not for a moment will You forsake me

What more reassurance do we need?

God will not leave us, we need to understand this and run to His arms when we feel ourselves falling. 

 

#dailybreadbykitty