Forgiveness????

Let me first start off by saying I am in no way and expert at this subject or have I master the art of forgiveness!  Here are just some random thoughts and lessons and I am learning.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word FORGIVENESS? Do you shutter because you know you are harboring unforgiveness in your heart?  Do you feel anxious because you don't know how to forgive?  Do you feel free because you have forgiven?  Do you feel humbled because you have been forgiven?


Forgiveness is the greatest gift that we can give and receive.  God gave us the ultimate forgiveness when he sent Christ to bear our sins and die on our cross.  We receive this gift when we accept Christ as our Savior.  This is the greatest example of forgiveness.  Without an acceptance or understanding of this you will never be able to truly forgive or be forgiven.

Let's talk a little about Unforgiveness.  To harbor unforgiveness in your heart towards someone takes all control away from you.  First of all it's not what we are called to do as Christians.  We are to forgive as Christ forgave us (Eph 4:32 & Col 3:13).  When we don't forgive people that wrong us or hurt our feelings we are giving them control over us.  Unforgiveness will eat away at you.  It will consume you.  It will be all you think about, it will be your focus.  It will hinder your relationships with those around you and crush your relationship with God.  When we forgive we are taking the control back!  We are saying yes you hurt me and no I don't agree with your behavior but I forgive you.  I will not allow you or your actions to control my thoughts or my behavior.  I will forgive you so that I can be who God says that I am.

Once you regain the control and you truly forgive it is the most joyous feeling in the world.  You will no longer be weighed down with this burden.  You will be able to move past the situation and serve God with you whole heart.

When I think of forgiveness I think who am I not to forgive when Christ forgave me.  Me!  A wretched, weak, undeserving sinner!  He forgave me!  He took the sins of this world, my sins and he allowed himself to be beaten, mocked, tortured, tempted, spat on, and crucified all in my place.  If my Lord can endure such anguish for my sake then who I am to decide who is worthy of my forgiveness.  The truth is forgiveness is for me not for them!

If your aren't sure how to forgive the only I advice I know to tell you is look at the greatest example.  Open God's word and read about his forgiveness for us.  Follow his example and learn to forgive.  

So how many times are we too forgive?  I will leave you with these verses,

Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

I do not own any rights to this video or the music played in it I simply copied it from YouTube. 

WOW! What a week!

I never in a million years would I have thought that just 1 day after my first blog post would my world me shaken to the core!  On Saturday, September 10th, my Daddy fell about 14 feet off a roof.  You have to understand before I go any farther my Daddy is the strongest toughest man I know and I'm not just saying that cause he's my Daddy he really is! 

So when I find out about the accident I am told that he has a broken wrist and broke rib, the ambulance is picking him up and we are headed to the hospital.  Of course at at this point I am throwing clothes on, making phone calls, and rounding up kids.  I could already feel my soul crying out the my Savior to take care of my Daddy.  As I rushed around the house preparing to leave I had the over whelming need to stop, kneel, and pray.  Now mind you this was the last thing I wanted to do was stop!  I needed to be on the road I was thinking I can pray and drive.  But, again I had the need to stop and KNEEL!  So as I am hurring the kids to get dressed and rinsing the toothpaste from my mouth, I stop and I kneel at my bedside and I beg my Heavenly Father to take care of my Earthly Father.  Now this was only for a minute or two , but as I prayed the Holy Spirit washed over me and I had an undescrible peace that flooded my soul.  I knew whatever I was about to face that it was going to be ok. 

So I drop the kids off at my mother-in-laws, meet my husband on the way, and we head to the hospital.  After several hours and lots of tests we are told my Daddy has 4/5 broken vertebrae, broke rib, broke wrist, and a broke collar bone.  Now, remember I told you he was tough,  my Daddy also has Rhematoid Arthritis and has for over 20 years.  This disease causes his bones to be very delicate.  Because of the vertebrae fractures and the arthristis the doctors at this hospital are not qualified to treat his injuries.  We are transported to a different hospital on Sunday afternoon so that he can recieve treatment.  That's when we learn the ugly truth of what all was really broken.  My Daddy has the following fractures:  3 vertebrae in his neck, 1 vertebrae in his lower back, small bone in the top of his neck, 4 ribs, collar bone, shoulder blade, wrist, 2 toes, and some small bones in his foot.  See I told you he is tough. 

After lots of doctors and lots of nurses and lots of opinions they decide no surgery.  Daddy has had several bad days where his breathing was not what is needed to be and things were pretty scary at times.  But, even as I stood at his bed side and watched him gasp for air I knew that he was going to be ok.  I knew the road would be long, painful, aggravating, and stressful, but I knew he would be ok.  Any of the injuries to his back/neck could have left him dead or paralized. But by God's grace and mercy he will walk, talk, and be as normal as he was before the fall.  They have put Daddy in a HALO to treat his neck and will have to have some additional treatment on his arm and shoulder.  But for the most part he's on the mend just 7 days later.  My sisters and I had to laugh when they told us Daddy was getting a HALO.  My oldest sister said she always he was an angel now he has the HALO to prove it. 

I have to tell you though, there is no doubt in my mind that the only reason my Daddy can "walk" away from an accident like this with injuries like this is because of God and the power of prayer!  You see the house that he was working on is a Christian home.  The lady who owns this house starts her day everyday in prayer.  Since the construction began she would prayer for the safety of the men working, that God would watch over them and protect them.  The moment my Daddy fell she was by his side, as they waited for the ambulance to get there she sat in the dirt by my Daddy's side and prayed with him and for him.  Before his family even knew she was already calling Heaven on his behalf.  She was the first of many that was and still are praying for my Daddy.  I can honestly say I know what it feels like to have a multitude of people praying for you and your family.  The prayers are felt, they are seen, and most of all they are appreciated.  I know God is in the miracle working business and  am forever greatful that he chose to send us a miracle on September 10, 2011. 

The scripture I clug to during this ordeal was Phil 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Christ will strengthen my Daddy's body so that he can heal, he will strengthen my Mom;s tired weary body and soul so that she can take care of him, and he will strengthen all of his family so that we can support them as this journey begins.  I am strengthen by my family, friends, and community and the outpouring of love for us.

From the bottom of our heart we thank you for your support, prayers, and love. 

Nice To Meet You

I thought it fitting for my first blog post to be somewhat of an introduction.  That way when I reference people in later post you will know who they are.  I thought is made sense so here goes.  My name is Katie, I am a Christian!  I am also, a working mom of two children, wife to one husband (ha-ha), friend to many, sister to several, daughter, and various other things on any given day. I am a plain spoken country girl that is just trying to figure out how to make sense of it all.  You know juggling work, home, kids, church, husband, family, friends, and the list goes on and on.  And, somewhere in the midst of all of the lists, chores, errands, etc... figuring out how to make time for me and MY SAVIOR to have a moment of complete quiet and stillness. So that I can feed a soul that is weary and tired so that it can nourish a body that needs to serve.

 

Now let me introduce you to the family!  My husband, Kurt, is my best friend.  He is loving, loyal, funny, structured, kind, gently, a great father and even greater husband.  He was my high school sweetheart and I can honestly say that I still get giggly and all mushy about how much I love him.  We have been married for 12 years and I love him more today than I did yesterday and will love him more tomorrow than I do today.  See I told you I get mushy about him!  He surrendered to the call to preach God's Word in 2005 and serves in our local church as a Deacon and fills the pulpit when needed.  He has a fire for the Lord that is contagious.  I love to sit back and watch God use him to bring glory and honor to his Kingdom.

Kassidy, is my spit fire!  She is 9 years old and wise beyond her years.  She is a beautiful, opinionated, creative, compassionate, loving, child.  She accepted Jesus as her Savior in 2009 and is very grounded (for a 9 year old) in her faith.  She loves music, singing, and cooking.  She has taught me way more than I will ever be able to teach her.

Karson, is my BOY! He is 6 years old and is 100% BOY!  He has a gentle and humble spirit. God did a work in Karson's heart this past summer and he accepted Jesus as his Savior during our VBS.  He is a tender heart, compassionate, funny, and just all around sweet.  He loves to be outside, hunting, fishing, playing with dogs or dirt it doesn't matter to him. He has taught me to slow down and enjoy the little things.

We are just an ordinary family, desiring to serve an Extraordinary God!