A Man is Only as Strong as his Coffee

Tonight, as I sit on my couch scrolling on social-media, I realize how much I am becoming like one of my heroes. I look down and realize that not only do I act like Him, dream like Him, and even get frantically nervous like him, but I take my coffee black with a small spoonful of sugar,

 JUST. LIKE. HIM.

On a normal occasion, this wouldn't even come to mind, the coffee isn't that big of a deal. But, as I am frantically nervous while I dream about my future, one person comes to mind:

My hero.

When the word hero comes to mind, what do you think about? Honestly, 99% of the time, I think about Captain America. Lame, I know. But, you can't forget about the real heroes. You know, those heroes whose only script is scripture. Those are the real heroes, who don't just save our physical lives, but our spiritual lives too. No matter how far you fall, they never cease to amaze you with their grace and mercy. When all else fails, they don't.

I miss my hero, 2,600 miles away, I can't pour him a cup of coffee or sit under his teachings. But one thing keeps my heart happy. He is living in the will of God and serving his purpose in Ecuador.

 I love you Robert! I can't wait 'til y'all come home!

114 Days

I'm counting down the days, July 15, 2016. 114 days to be exact. As the fear sets in, so does the peace. I realize that nothing is wasted, everything counts, every second, every penny, every prayer. Months and months of hard work is about to pay off. Looking back, every toilet scrubbed, every horse trough cleaned, every screaming child/puppy, every spotless house, it was worth it. All of the work seems small in contrast to the big picture, this is just a piece of my puzzle.

I'm nervous beyond measure, so many things could go wrong. 

I've never been on a plane before, this is my first mission trip. What if I get scared? What if I get sick? What if my spleen explodes? What if this turns into a bad episode of Grey's Anatomy?!?

Anything could happen. 

One of my Pastors, Laura Powell, once told my family something that changed the way we thought (and prayed) about missions forever:

"Nowhere on Earth is safer than in the will of God."

If we're standing in the will of God, He will protect us. We have to trust Him, He has a plan. And no matter how much we worry, His promises are true.

I'm excited beyond measure, so many things could go right.

I've never been on a plane before, this is my first mission trip.

What if I find confidence? What if I find healing?

What if I have the chance to witness to someone on the plane?

What if somebody's life is changed forever?

Anything could happen.

A Life Worthy of My Calling

A few years ago, I was called to go to Ecuador. I just knew in my heart that God had work for me to do there. The calling was clear but the provision wasn't there yet. So I left it alone and continued serving in ministry where I was.

I have also been called to children's ministry, and one of the biggest issues in Ecuador is the corrupted society. Because the Ecuadorians have been without Christ for so long, sin has been allowed to corrupt every aspect of their lives, including their children. It has caused young girls to lose their childhood and their innocence and I really feel led to give my heart to that area, so come hell or high waters, I will go.

I have been blessed to live a lifestyle that is ripped out of their hands at a very young age. 

 A lifestyle of purity.

Many girls In Ecuador are abused before they are even considered a teenager. And it makes me sick to sit in my cushy chair in my comfortable house, with a warm cup of coffee in my hands, listening while beautiful, well produced worship music flows from the speakers of my top-of-the-line, 60 inch television while I know what they are going through.

That is my story, and by the power of the Cross, and I'm sticking to it.

But, I need your help... 

 

If you would like to help me get to Ecuador, please send me an email at KimbreElise@gmail.com and I'll tell you how you can help.

If you would like to learn more about the amazing things that are happening for the Glory of God in the jungles of Ecuador, go to:

www.junglemissionary.com

 

The Farmer

Last week, I was walking through our garden that we plowed under in September, wrapped up in my Carhartt jacket and boots. It was 55 degrees and in case you aren't well versed in the terms "y'all" and "Roll Tide" and "Bless your heart," in Alabama, we call that COLD! As I avoided stepping on the fall crops, I was completely surprised to walk up in the bean patch and find a perfectly healthy (and beautiful) rattlesnake bean plant.  (See Picture) Why was I surprised, you ask?  Well, because I'm the farmer, and just last month, I, myself, decided it was the right time to plow all the bean plants down.  They had served their purpose. I didn't need them anymore.  They had given me all they had.  And I was done with them.  So, I decided to plow them under to make room for something I deemed worthy of its valuable space.


Well, God said I was wrong.

Sometimes the farmer knocks down the plant before it is ready to die.  God plants seeds inside of us and sometimes they take time to bloom.  Who tends those seeds is our choice.  If your farmer is having a hard time trusting God in a particular season, he'll accidentally plow down a plant before it has had a chance to bear its best fruit.  (Numbers 19:12) An impatient farmer will kill the plant before it blooms, never realizing the consequence of his actions.


Your farmer isn't necessarily bad. Some farmers just aren't YOUR farmer for YOUR season.  You wouldn't trust a dentist to cut you hair would you?  NO!  Your farmer has influence on your life and destiny.  Choose your farmers wisely!

Trust in the Lord

O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Psalm 84:12 (NIV)

Many times in The Bible faith has saved people, sinners, murderers, adulterers, and even you and me. But the lack of faith has caused a heap of trouble. Even the super heroes of The Bible had their moments of unfaithfulness. 

Abraham didn't have faith in God's covenants and took things into his own hands by having a child with his wife's servant. The Israelites could have taken the whole Promise Land, but they didn't trust God to fight their battles and they were later overthrown.

I know that our distrust doesn't create the same consequences as it did in The Old Testament, but God has saved us from so many things. And still we don't trust him with the little things like tithing and trusting authority.

God deserves our trust, and when we trust him he blesses us. He never ceases to amaze me and blow my mind everyday.


"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
 Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

Remembering 9/11

Today, 14 years ago, "our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts." Many children were left fatherless, motherless, and some even orphans. The city of New York was dark, covered with smoke, dust, ash, glass and debris. Many firefighters, police officers, military service men and women and innocent civilians were killed. There were those killed instantly- as the men and women serving our country rushed to the site, as fast as they could, being stopped in their tracks as the buildings fell on top of them. The surviving ones- running, not from terror, but right into it, searching for the ones left alive. As our whole country mourns, two more planes crash. One into The Pentagon, and another brought down by U.S civilians willing to give up their lives for my country. 

And today there are kids without parents, women and men left widowed and a country with no security. So now we must pray. Pray for healing in the families of those killed and left disabled during this tragic terroristic act, pray for healing in our country, our schools and our churches. And pray that as the media and schools talk less and less about what happened yesterday, we the people talk more and more about the truth about who we are as a nation. 

Just hours after this happened, our then-president George W. Bush gave a speech that not only threatened the terrorists behind the mass act of terrorism. Please take five minutes out of your day and listen to the words of a man who knew how to run and take care of our country.

Former President George W. Bush Addresses the Nation

The Power of Knowledge

We study our memory verses and read our Bible every day. 
But do we really know and apply what we're learning?
 Do we really care enough to get the whole picture? I know I'm guilty of just reading, never really paying attention to the story or how God's trying to speak to me. ...Always just reading it word after word, 5-10 minutes a day. 

But God deserves more than that. He deserves our everything, in our worship, in our study and in our serving. (The Bible actually says to "study to show ourselves approved unto God, 2 Timothy 2:15) I know, we're only human and only God is perfect but why not at least try to give Him what He deserves? We can try to give him our all, to become disciples and to lay ourselves down.

 Revelation 4:11 says:

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."