Grateful

Gratefulness, a condition of the heart, impacts how we manage life and ultimately relate to God.  I Thessalonians 5:18 says, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  Seriously, can you imagine what would happen if we actually gave thanks in all circumstances?  One thing for sure . . . to give thanks in all circumstances . . . is to trust the heart of God. As we thank God, the Sovereign Lord,  we are able to see that He has gone out of His way to intersect with us in a life-giving relationship.

So, what did the Exodus people miss?

 Moses said to them, "Don't leave any of it until morning." But they didn't listen to Moses. A few of the men kept back some of it until morning. It got wormy and smelled bad. And Moses lost his temper with them. (Exodus 16: 19-20, The Message)

The people did not comprehend that God would accomplish His purpose through them.  God called them to go where they could not go without Him.   To live beyond their limitations, they needed to focus, follow, and give thanks to God.

When you think about it, there is no one more grateful than the one that understands what it means to be freed from captivity . . .  to go where  God says to go . . . to do what God says to do . . . impacting the world . . . "giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light" (Colossians 1: 12, NASB).  

Celebrate your release from the captivity of a life without Christ.
"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  Be grateful.  Give thanks for a life in Christ with increased gratefulness each day.

Learning to KickStart the day with gratefulness,

Kerrie

(written by Kerrie L. Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)

It's All About You

Questions to ask to live beyond the "normal" life . . . to be a courageous follower of Christ . . . living in the realm of His presence:

How did I get here?

Do I belong here?

What is the point of it all?


We tend to focus on the moment rather than on the big picture.   If, we look beyond ourselves it will become clear that God has something more for us.  The thing is . . . we must follow God's directions . . . and trust His plan in the process.

Trust is not easy to do and often becomes a struggle.  The Exodus people struggled trusting God  especially when life became overwhelming as it did when they were stuck in the dessert without resources.  They could not see beyond their need.  They were once again focused on their circumstance rather than on God.  Though God said He would provide manna at dawn: they did not see the presence of God in the light of the day:

 So Moses told them, "It's the bread God has given you to eat. And these are God's instructions: 'Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent.'" The People of Israel went to work and started gathering, some more, some less, but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren't short—each person had gathered as much as was needed. (Exodus 16: 15-18, The Message)

 It seems to me that the people of God were constantly wanting to get out of their situations without seeing the bigger picture. They were blinded by the pressure of the situation.  Study the conversations between Pharaoh and Moses.  Pharaoh, a man living far away from the heart of God, could not understand the need to release the people.  After all, the slaves were holding up his nation's economy.  Without the slaves, their economy would tank.  That said, the people committed to God wanted to be released from the oppression of slavery but did not understand the point of it. The clue is in what God repeatedly told Moses to say. .  :  "Release my people so that they can worship me."

There it is . . . the bigger picture . . . worship.  True worship strips us of everything, opening us up to a fresh encounter with God.  It is all about God rather than ourselves.  I have a friend that says it this way:  "It is not about you.  It is not about me.  It is about God." 


Matt Redman wrote about it in the song, Heart of Worship:  

When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come / Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart… / I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus

See what the Exodus people could not see in dawn's light.  Step into the Light of God: In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.(John 1: 4-5, NASB).   Filter your vision through eyes of faith. Remember that life, in each and every circumstance,  is all about Jesus, the Light of all humanity, not the circumstance.  Hard to learn, but powerful to know. 

Learning to KickStart the day in Jesus,

Kerrie

(written by Kerrie L. Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)

Step into Belief

What we believe impacts . . . our patterns of behavior . . . our conversations . . . our thoughts . . . everything. False beliefs opens the door to fear of what might or might not happen.  Believing God produces faith with an expectant attitude.

Though the Exodus people  had been rescued and freed . . . they did not believe . . . that God would  provide.  Their unbelief created blindness to God's provision.  We can see that the desire of God's heart was to provide.  The thing is . . .  the Exodus people needed a breakthrough in their unbelief:  That evening quail flew in and covered the camp and in the morning there was a layer of dew all over the camp. When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the wilderness ground was a fine flaky something, fine as frost on the ground. The Israelites took one look and said to one another, man-hu (What is it?). They had no idea what it was. (Exodus 16: 13-15, The Message)

God had told the Exodus people that He would provide "manna" in the dawn; however, they could not see that God's provision was in front of them.  Though they were freed them from slavery, they were enslaved to false belie.  They needed to step into the reality of believing God to be freed.  It is in the divine realm of belief that we live in expectation of what more God has for us:     All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. (Romans 8:22-25, The Message)

Stepping into the realm of belief creates a lifestyle of expectation, focusing on God rather than the "stuff" of this world.  Confidence and courage flow out of divine expectation. It is our responsibility to keep living in expectation, refusing to go back to the old ways of the unbelief patterns of thinking, speaking, and behavior.  This is only possible through focusing on God which leads to belief rather than on fear which leads us to unbelief.

Step into belief.
Live in expectancy.

Learning to KickStart the day stepping into belief,

Kerrie

(written by Kerrie L. Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)

Listen

Worry.  Anxiety.  Stress.  It comes down to one solution. TRUST. The thing is . . . if trust is missing . . . it is impossible to live without worry, anxiety, and stress. 

For a variety of reasons we come to places in life where we can't trust God, Ruler of heaven, earth, and all creation.  When you think about it . . . being unable to trust God . . . is ridiculous.
What do we do to get to the point of failing to trust God?

We all know the answer.
We put trust in ourselves or others or circumstances, which apparently makes sense at the time.
We fail to realize God is our God.  

Listen to the conversation between God and Moses:   "I've listened to the complaints of the Israelites. Now tell them: 'At dusk you will eat meat and at dawn you'll eat your fill of bread; and you'll realize that I am God, your God.'" (Exodus 16:11-12, The Message)

God listened to the complaints.  God responded.  The Exodus people had to make the choice to trust what God said; however, they could not seem to trust.  God said He would provide bread at dawn and meat at dusk.  Trust would have required them to trust what God said rather than what they could see in the moment.  It may have seemed like a very long time between the dawn and the dusk as the minutes slowly went by in the hot, arid dessert.  The "inbetween" moments would have been a logical time to listen to worry.

As it does so often, worry begins a conversation in our mind and we listen.  Consequently, we open the door to anxiety and before we know it, stress takes hold of the body, mind, and soul. 

How many times do we listen to worry rather than to what God says?

God tells us over and over not to worry.  But.  We do.

Intentionally stop and listen:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done (Philippians 4:6, NLT).

Listen to Philippians 4:6.   Don't worry.  Instead pray, trusting God to listen. God listened to the Exodus people; He listens to you and I. As the day wears on . . . refuse to listen to worry . . . intentionally  listen to God.


Learning to KickStart the day listening to God,

Kerrie

(written by Kerrie L. Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)

Turn To Face God

There are days.  No one escapes the annoying . . . messy . . . wish-it-could-just-be-over kind of days. And, then there are the days . . . that we get it.  I mean we see what life is really about. Both kinds of days are overwhelming but from completely different perspectives.

It  happened to the Exodus people.  They were overwhelmed by all the changes in their life, which seemed too difficult to manage.  But.  The day came where they turned to face what was in front of them and they saw God:

Moses instructed Aaron: "Tell the whole company of Israel: 'Come near to God. He's heard your complaints.'"  When Aaron gave out the instructions to the whole company of Israel, they turned to face the wilderness. And there it was: the Glory of God visible in the Cloud.(Exodus 16: 9-10, The Message)

Simple. Powerful. True.  Turn around from all the stuff.  Face what is in front of you.  See God.

God is where He sends us.  God will go ahead of us.  God will work all things out.

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Romans 8: 26-28, The Message)

God promises to work every detail into something good.  God is faithful.  The Spirit of God will pray in and for us, keeping us present before God.

So. What do we do to get out of the annoying . . . messy . . . wish-it-could-just-be-over kind of days?

Turn from the details of those kind of days . . . the realm of what we see without faith . . .  to the divine realm that can only be seen through eyes of faith . . . turn to face God.

Learning to KickStart the day turning to face God,

Kerrie

(written by Kerrie L. Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)

Go To The Mountain

Complaining is

contagious . . . others, more often than not, will join in.
a habit; it is difficult to stop once it begins. 
a way to avoid taking ownership of a problem.
related to gossip.
never positive.
a symptom of ungratefulness.

Ultimately,  complaining is an obstacle to seeing God and what He has planned.

The pages of  the book of Exodus warn us that complaining is ultimately against God:
Moses said, "Since it will be God who gives you meat for your meal in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, it's God who will have listened to your complaints against him. Who are we in all this? You haven't been complaining to us—you've been complaining to God!"  (Exodus 16:8, The Message)

The thing is . . . when we complain . . . we lack vision and the courage to go where God has called us to go.  Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best:

I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.

I am reminded that God will take us to the mountain to gain perspective . . . but . . . we will never see beyond ourselves when we complain.  A grateful heart allows us to see God.  Christ said it this way:    "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8, NASB).

Let go of whatever makes you want to complain.
Intentionally give thanks.
Go to the mountain.
See God.
Enjoy the view.

Learning to KickStart the day with gratefulness,

Kerrie

(written by Kerrie L. Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)

Eyes Wide Open

My friend was one of those people that changed lives by doing life together.  I would be a completely different person had I missed knowing my friend.. This would have been birthday week, a celebration of #50 for my friend; however, the last celebration on this side of heaven was a decade ago.  Death was unexpected and certainly not welcome. The thing is . . . in missing my friend this week . . . I have more clarity.  It is because of our friendship that I am able to see the gift of others in my life.

There are so many things that are easy to miss, if, we fail to take another look.  Of course, it easier to see what we missed in the past than what we are missing in the present moment.  It is in the present that clarity of the gifts of God can be rather difficult to see, especially when life is challenging.  In our culture we tend to complain about the challenges and difficulties rather than to respond with gratefulness for the life we have.  In the book of Exodus, the people were told that their complaining was against God: Moses and Aaron told the People of Israel, "This evening you will know that it is God who brought you out of Egypt; and in the morning you will see the Glory of God. Yes, he's listened to your complaints against him. You haven't been complaining against us, you know, but against God."(Exodus 16:6, The Message)

Could it be that ultimately when we complain . . . we are complaining against God?  

 The thing is . . . the people missed the point that they had the presence of God and one another.  They failed to see that they had lived. .. though . . .   the most powerful army in the world had pursued them and they had crossed the Red Sea on foot.  They were alive because of God!  It makes me pause . . . and look again . . . to see the gift God has given, even in the midst of pain and suffering.  When it comes down to it . . . God wants us to see with eyes wide open . . . to see His presence and power in the present as well as in the past.  God has created us to see that we are a part of something so much greater than ourselves.

Paul wrote it to the early church:  By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones). (Ephesians 1:18, AMP).  

We see more when the eyes of our heart are wide open, flooded with light, the presence of Christ.

Are your eyes wide open?  See beyond the circumstance.  Look at what more you have received . . . through a relationship with God  . . . and those who have made a significant impact in your life.  Refuse to complain.  Intentionally give thanks. Celebrate!

Learning to KickStart the day with eyes wide open,

Kerrie

(written by Kerrie L. Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)