End of the Semester

So, the last time I posted I said that in the coming weeks I would be talking about all the things I'm thankful for. Here's my first one:

I am THANKFUL that I am finished with this semester!!!

I took the last exam of my entire MA in Pastoral Counseling & Spiritual Formation degree this past Wednesday...Woo hoo!! (In case you're curious, it was my Crisis Counseling final) So now all that's left of school is to finish my internship.

A quick update on my internship...I am now at about 70 hours of counseling completed, which means I have 130 left to go. While I was hoping to reach 100 hours by the end of the year, I don't know that I will, BUT I'm still pretty stoked to have gotten this far! Thank You Jesus!

One more thing to leave you with for now...This is one of my new favorite quotes, and a prayer for my life (and yours too):

“Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued
above all.” - Augustine

Lots of love!!

Kristen

Thankful Times...

It's been forever since I last posted...Life has been hectic the last few months, to say the least.

But just to give you a quick update from my life: I'm still keeping my head above water! (or should I say, God is.) Something to definitely be thankful for!

Life is so hard and so many people I know are suffering with some major tough stuff. With all that going on, sometimes it can be hard to find something to be thankful for. I personally have had a particularly hard time keeping a positive and grateful attitude...

But let me tell you, God has been so good in my life even within the last 24 hours. He has showered His grace on me in many small but powerful ways - and mainly through the listening ear, encouragement, support, prayers, and hugs of different people. (Thank you dear friend who spent 2.5 hours with me today listening and praying for me!! God has restored my soul through you! "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul." - Psalm 23:1-3a ) I love my God and I'm so thankful that He loves me this much! Without Him, this past week would have been much harder than it was.

Thank You God for Your constant love and faithfulness - even when I'm unfaithful to You. Lord, help me give You all I've got because You deserve it. When it's hard to find something to be thankful for, please remind me - remind all of us - of the gifts You've provided in our lives and may we ALWAYS remember to praise You.

And a quote to leave you with...

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Lord, please help us all to live out gratitude!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! And find something to be thankful for!

Take a minute to post a comment about what you're thankful for. I'm making a list of all that I'm thankful for....I'll be posting these in the coming weeks, so come back to visit. :-)

Love you!
Kristen

Failure...Unless God Steps In

My mom gave me a really sweet card a few weeks ago and this is what the front of it said:

“Attempt something large enough that failure is guaranteed…unless God steps in.”

I think this sentence was written just for me...This is how I feel about my counseling internship!!!

It's so awesome to see how God fills in the gaps where I have holes, makes my inadequacies adequate, and equips me when I'm unequipped.

I'm kind of glad for the "holes" in my life because they make me realize how much I have to depend on God.

It's like Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

"He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

As I write this, I realize that I already made reference to this Scripture in my last post, but I guess it's pretty important to me right now. :-)

Anyway, do you have any thoughts? How is God speaking to you lately?

Love you! Have a good weekend.

Raining, Pouring, Flooding

Sometimes life just seems like more than you can handle.

How true it is that when it rains, it often pours. Even things that are good can be stressful and overwhelming. When was the last time you felt stressed out and overwhelmed? The past month, I have been overwhelmed with the struggles my friends and family are facing, as well as the stress and excitement of beginning my internship.

This past weekend was especially challenging for me, with activities and commitments all day on Saturday & Sunday from 8 am to 8 pm both days. Getting insufficient rest and just being physically exhausted, I was at the end of my rope with literally nothing left to give. But God met me there. He reminded me that His grace was sufficient for me and that His power is made perfect in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). His grace and power are what brought me through this weekend and are helping me moment by moment now.

I get stressed out when there’s a lot of stuff to do and not enough time to do it, when life and relationships don’t meet my expectations, and when God takes me out of my comfort zone. I also get stressed when I can’t see how God will make everything turn out alright and when I question His goodness, wondering whether the God I think I know is the God who really is. (Of course, He is the same God, though I can’t see it at that time.)

Basically, I get stressed out when I’m being a control freak and when I’m not trusting God or believing His promises. Is anyone with me?

Listen to the sentiments of the psalmist:

“The floods have risen up, O Lord. The floods have roared like thunder; the floods have lifted their pounding waves. But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore – the Lord above is mightier than these!” - Psalm 93:3-4 (NLT)

Oh, the floods of life. Yes, life sometimes does seem like more than we can handle…and you know why? Because IT IS!!

We’re not supposed to be in control of every single detail of our lives. We have a mighty God who is so much mightier than anything life will throw at us. We’ve got to love Him and lean on Him, because He’s our greatest ally!

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today…The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” – Exodus 14:13-14

Be still and let Him fight for you in the floods of life. Let His power be made perfect in your weakness. His grace truly is sufficient for you too.

Peace, Be Still

This past Sunday, I was commissioned to begin my counseling internship at my church, Spirit of Joy. Wow. It was an amazing weekend. As Sunday approached, my excitement and nervousness were growing as I thought about this incredible opportunity the Lord was placing in front of me...and the fact that He was also pushing me forward out of my comfort zone to speak. (I team-preached with Pastor Fran during both Sunday services.) But through it all, God was singing His love over me. Below are the lyrics to the song that He showed was his love song to me in the midst of everything:

Peace Be Still by Rush of Fools

Come to Me, you who are weak
Let My strength be yours tonight
Come and rest, let My love be your bed
Let My heart be yours tonight

*chorus*
Peace be still, Peace be still
Please be still and know that I am God
and know that I am God

Come empty cup, let Me fill you up
I'll descend on you like a dove tonight
Lift your head, let your eyes fall into Mine
Let your fear subside tonight

*chorus*

bridge:
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
(repeat)

*chorus*

Here's a link to the song if you're interested in hearing it: Peace Be Still by Rush of Fools

Maybe this love song is for you too. If you're going through a tough time right now, be reminded through this song and through the words of Scripture that He is God, He is WITH YOU through what you're facing, and HE LOVES YOU!!!

"When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...
You are precious and honored in my sight,
and...I love you...
Do not be afraid, for I am with you."

~Isaiah 43:2-3, 4a, 5a

For those of you who wonder how last Sunday turned out, let me just say that God showed up in a BIG way. Here are some pictures (Sorry I don't have more. I forgot my camera!):

Sitting with the children during the children's message:

These kids were so precious...After the message, all of them placed their hands on me and prayed for me! :-)

Here's a goofy picture of me decked out in full Lutheran garb:


It was a really special day which I will not forget. I am soooooo blessed to be able to come home and serve at Spirit of Joy!

I hope you all have a great weekend soaking in the peace and love of the Lord.

Love you,
Kristen

Welcome!

Hey!

Welcome to my blog. Yes, I've entered the blogging world...The ladies at Proverbs 31 made me do it! Just kidding. Anyway, I decided it would be easier for me to let everyone know what's going on in my life through my own blog. So here it is...I'm going to try to update it every week or two, so keep coming back! :o)

Love you,
Kristen