Say You’re New

Has anyone struggled with the transition from a non Christ follower to a sold out Christ follower? If you are like me, you certainly have!

I was always so confused. I constantly struggled with the fact that my sinful nature always wanted to take control. I keep thinking how can I really be saved?

I actuality I got saved 5 years before I became a Christ follower. For 5 years I said I was a Christian but I had no idea what that really meant. I never really showed Christ’s love through me because I had no idea what it was. I tried to set a “good example” but I think I confused a lot of people and myself.

When I finally realized that being a Christian was less about religion and going to church and MORE about having a relationship with Jesus it changed my life!

I would like to share with you a scripture that has helped me through this journey tremendously!

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

 I came across this one day and just sat in awe! God sees me as a new creation! He does not see all my sin and my past mistakes, instead he sees me as a new creation!

I hope all of you can realize that you a new creation in Christ! Proclaim it to the world! Do not let anyone from your past try to make you feel bad for your past mistakes. You are a new creation. They only remember the old you. Know the truth so that when you run into one of your old friends you can be a witness to them.

Here are some additional resources I would like to share with you on this subject.

ID in Jesus blog- this blog is done by my older sister. Her blog is all about helping people learn about their identity in Jesus. I encourage all of you to check it out! Here is the link to her blog: http://sheriyates.blogspot.com/  

The book Faith Food Devotions- this book is filled with wonderful daily devotionals that will stretch your faith so much!

I pray that you all realize the wonderful creations you are in Jesus! I pray you go out into the world and preach the good news!

Have a wonderful day! Please feel free to leave me feedback as I come closer to the end of my guest blogging! :) Thank you all!

Love, Kathleen

Facing The Giants

Are any of you tired of the movies being made today? Even watching a kid’s movie today may mean it has material to mature for children. I am sick of this. I think it is time for there to be more movies with Christian influences. I am sick of movies all about sex and drugs, and full of horrible language!

I believe it's time for people to step up and demand something different! Something like Facing The Giants.

Have any of you had the chance to watch this movie yet? If not, now is the time! This is my all-time favorite movie! I watch it every chance I get!

Facing The Giants is a must see movie for everyone! No matter what the age group. This movie was made by Sherwood Baptist Church of Albany, Georgia. This church did a wonderful job making this movie! I love the heart behind it! We need more movies like this!

This movie has it all! Funny moments, serious moments, and best of all it is packed with scripture! You cannot watch this movie without feeling that “With God all things are possible!! (Matthew 19:26)

They definitely stress that nothing is impossible with God! Do you believe that today?

What is impossible with God?

Nothing!

What giants are you facing today?

For me, I have been facing giants of fear. Fear has been causing me to step back and not take enough risks. But I finally realized I was not trusting in God! I thought I was but everyone time I thought about taking a risk my flesh took over! I realized fear was holding me back. Through discovering this I have fully began to realize that NOTHING is impossible with God!

I pray that all of you watch this movie and are extremely built up! I pray that you find the giants you are facing in your life and begin to take them down! But most of all I pray that every single one of you begins to realize that there really is nothing impossible with God!

Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful day!

Love, Kathleen :)

Truth or Trash

Have any of you had trouble discerning exactly what truth is and what trash is in today’s world? In today’s world there are many worldly views and opinions making it hard to figure out if what you are hearing is the Truth or not.

However! There is any easy way to discover what the difference between truth and trash is:

 TRUTH is what God says. You can find this Truth in the Bible!

TRASH is anything that He does NOT say. Trash includes facts and opinions. Opinions are things people believe to be true. For example: Justin Bieber is a good singer. That's your opinion.

The fact of the matter is that in today’s world most of what we say and hear is Trash. 

People are always willing to tell you what you AREN’T:

-You don’t look good enough (through movies, magazines, what others say about us- “Wow did you see ‘so&so’ today? She is getting really fat!”) (Trash),

-You are a failure (“Did you hear ______ lost his job?”) (Trash),

-You are stupid (“______ got an F on their test!” or “Their major is foolish”) (Trash), etc!

But, there is good news! Most of what you are hearing is Trash, not the Truth at all!

Romans 3:4 says:

“Let God be true, and every man a liar.”

We must constantly be reading the Word of God to fully realize how much Trash is rooted deep within us! Once we begin to notice the Trash we have been told, we can then begin replacing it with Truth!

For example, if someone is constantly telling you that “You are not special!…” that is Trash! You may feel like you are not special because someone keeps telling you that, but that is just a feeling! The Truth is that you are special and God set you apart before you were born! (Jeremiah 1:5)

I pray that each of you begins to realize the Trash that is being said to you and around you AND/OR that you realize the Trash that you are saying about or too others, and then you will begin to replace that trash with Truth!

For those of you with iphone’s, ipad’s, or ipod touches! Check out this amazing free app! http://is.gd/xrjYgo  It’s a game called Truth or Trash. It will help you discover what is Truth and what is Trash! It is a great app for all ages! It just became available Friday. Keep looking for more updates and please provide feedback about the game! 

Have a wonderful day and check back tomorrow for another blog post!

Love, Kathleen :)

Fashion Friday: Around-The-Waist-Belt

You might have noticed that I'm still around...haha. We had to postpone our vacation a bit because of the hub's work but we plan to leave soon. Didn't Kathleen do a great job yesterday?! She's a sweetheart and a talented writer. I told her I'd do Fashion Friday today and let her take back over next week. Sound good to you? So here ya go: Fashion Friday, Around-The-Waist-Belt.

Up until recently, I thought belts were made solely for belt-loops in pants. Worn right below the belly button, the purpose of belts originally was to hold up your pants, am I right? Well, frankly, that old way of thinking really just applies to men now-a-days. I guess it could apply to a woman who has lost some weight and has britches that are too big for her. But even when using a belt, pants that don't fit don't really flatter. I say to that woman, time to get some pants that fit your new, skinnier body!

Ok, my point is this: Belts are an accessory. Sure, you can still wear them in the belt loops with a cute tucked in top, but what about to show off your waist? A belt around the waist highlights the skinniest part of a woman's body. This look is literally everywhere now. Here's some inspiration photos of J, my favorite fashion blogger:

A slouchy tee with a belt takes this casual look to a whole new level!

The belt brings in the cardigan and balances out the boyish plaid shirt with some feminism.

A skinny, printed belt like J's leopard one makes this simple jacket and skirt combo unique!

Basically, you can belt anything! A cardigan, a dress, a loose fitting top, whatever looks best on your body type and makes you feel comfortable!

Mrs. Obama's style rocks! The neutral belt really pops against her neon top. Makes the whole outfit seem more exciting! Photo from People Style Watch

Now that you've seen proof that other people actually wear their belts around their waists, here is my take on the look. You can click on the photos to see me up close :p

Ok, here I am with an adorable loose-fitting top, BEFORE I added the belt. The top still looks good this way, but doesn't do much to accent my waist.

Here is the same top AFTER I added a skinny brown belt to my waist. See how it makes the top a bit more flattering? What do you think?

This is one of my favorite cotton dresses. It's a khaki color that can sometimes look a little drab, but add the right accessory......

....and it looks instantly updated! Great for work or summer BBQ's :)

Here's my final look, a belted cardigan. I am always FREEZING in the summertime indoors because people go crazy with their A/C. I have a sweater in my car at all times, and a belt like this one to pull it all together.

So what do you think? Would you wear belts around your waist? Or are you going to skip this trend and stick to belt loops?

Have a great weekend everyone!

NEVER SAY NEVER

Have any of you had the chance to see the Justin Bieber movie: Never Say Never yet? If you haven’t it’s alright. I’ll be the first to admit I never wanted to watch it.

I did not care for Justin Bieber’s music and I certainly did not understand the so called “Bieber Fever”. So I just figured why would I like his movie?

I basically judged this movie (and him) without taking the time to learn anything about him!

I would have never watched this movie if my family had not wanted to watch it. Let me tell you… I would have been missing out!

Never Say Never is basically a documentary about Justin Bieber’s life. I won’t go into a lot of detail because I don’t want to spoil the movie for those of you who haven’t seen it. I will just say it is wonderful and all of you should take a chance and watch it.I love how basically the point of this movie is to tell people to always follow their dreams and never give up!

After watching this movie I was definitely pumped up! He definitely had me believing that my own dreams could come true and that I should Never Say Never and I should never give up. I hope each of you feels this same way after watching this movie.

I want to encourage each and every one of you to follow your dreams! Spend time dreaming daily! Use your dreams to encourage yourself and to discover what you are passionate about! Use your dreams by focusing on good, lovely, and heavenly thoughts. Ask God to put His desires in your heart so that you may live out your life for His good and pleasing purpose! I pray that each of you seeks out your dreams and boldly pursues them! I also pray that you do everything in your life for Jesus!

Have a wonderful day and check back for another post tomorrow!

Love,

Kathleen :) 

Also, since I am a first time blogger and this is my first post, please leave any comments, tips, or ways to improve my posts! Thank you so much!

Allow me to introduce....my GUEST BLOGGER!!!

Hi everyone! First off the Swap Meet was AWESOME last night. All of the women that came were amazing and I think we all went home with some cool stuff! When I get back from vacation I'll post pics from the event and go into a little more detail.

Speaking of Vacation, I'll be leaving soon and my wonderful friend Kathleen Ray has agreed to guest blog for me! I met Kathleen at the Faith County auditions where she was cast as Ruthann, the Pastor's wife. She's a sweetheart, and I know you'll love reading her posts! She will continue to post a link to my facebook page to keep you up to date with her posts. Here's a note from Kathleen to help you get to know her a little better :)

Hi! My name is Kathleen Ray! When I was 5 years old, my parents divorced. They were good parents, but their divorced caused me to travel and learn how to manage the expectations of each household. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I didn't know who I was. Oh, did I mention, I am a twin too. Some days, I had identity confusion!
Then, I met the perfect man! It was Jesus. I fell in love with Him and learned who I was and it CHANGED ME!

Today, I am finishing up my last year at SEMO where I am majoring in General Studies. After college I plan to attend ministry training because I love knowing Jesus and learning more about Him, as well as sharing His love with others!

Thank you Leslie for this opportunity!
Kathleen
 

Kathleen and I on the set of Faith County.

Kathleen has shared with me that she'll be posting some product reviews, as well as a Fashion Friday post; so stay tuned! I know you'll all love her! 

Love you all!

Les