With All Due Respect – Honoring Our Mothers (May)

Posted on May 1, 2012 by KBR Ministries

  With All Due Respect: Honoring Our Mothers by Lolly Hale As we approach Mother’s Day, we want to encourage you to honor your dear mothers this month – and all year long – through God-honoring respect. Lolly is a young wife and mother who shared this excellent exhortation to us – thank you so much Lolly! ~KBR Ministries We as girls like to dream, don’t we? Somehow dreaming enables us to escape reality… perhaps without us even knowing it. Even if we’re not dreaming about a “forbidden” subject, we like to dream about what the Lord may have in store for our future, because it gives us an escape from the reality of who we are right now, and aides us in believing a truth about ourselves that perhaps is not true at all. Dreaming about the future of becoming a wonderful wife and mother is exciting. After all, it’s one of our physical and spiritual goals! However, now as I find myself as young mother, my view has changed twofold on the topic of motherhood: first, my view has changed on what it takes to be a good mother, and second my view has changed on how much respect is due to good mothers. Six short years ago, I was twenty-two years old, with marriage less than three months distant, and motherhood soon to follow. Little did I know, that in less than five years I would be the mother to four sons! Somehow that kind of reality seemed so far away… But I knew that when children did come, I wouldn’t have too much to worry about. Growing up with eight siblings, and me being the second oldest, I had many opportunities to be a big sister, and practice being a mother someday. When I was pregnant with our … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Relationships | 3 Comments

Edifying Conversations (April)

Posted on April 1, 2012 by KBR Ministries

  Edifying Conversations by Sarah L. Bryant Ring….ringgg…..riiinnnnngggg! “Hello, Julie speaking!” the voice on the other end of the line was that of a sweet young lady. The voices of young children could be heard faintly in the background. “Hello, Julie! How is the Lord blessing you today?” Rose greeted her friend. “Dear Rose, thank you for your kind phone call; the Lord planned that perfectly, because I was just thinking of you this morning. I wanted to tell you what He showed me this morning during my daily devotions. I am studying Colossians – you know the passage I am memorizing in chapter one? – and how my heart was struck by verse seventeen! It says of Christ, ‘He is before all things, and by him all things consist‘! Isn’t that an amazing statement?!” Excitement flowed from Julie’s voice, who ardently loved the Word of God, and was always eager to share it with others. “Oh, that is one of my favorite chapters in the New Testament, Julie! I can hardly comprehend the depths of the truth of this verse.” Rose mused, “Just think, God put Christ before all of His creation, higher than the heavens, thrones, dominions, principalities, and all powers!” “So true. One day how glorious it will be to at last see this great Savior Who has redeemed us from the power of darkness and brought us into His truly glorious light. He seemed to prick my heart gently this morning, by asking me, ‘I am before all things in this world. Do you allow me to sit on the throne of your heart in every area?” For a few moments, there was a deep pondering silence as both young ladies dwelt on this all-encompassing question. “How prone to wander is this heart,” Julie continued, with a sigh. “May we … Continue reading →

Posted in Blessing Others | 8 Comments

God Our Refuge – Garden Gleanings (March)

Posted on March 29, 2012 by KBR Ministries

  God is Our Rock & Refuge This is the final in a five-part weekly series; we pray it has been a blessing to you! Thank you to our guest writer, Alyssa, for sharing these gleanings from your times with the Lord. “The LORD is my defense; and my God is the rock of my refuge.” {Psalm 94:22} Our heart, like a greenhouse, is suited for growing, fertile, ready to produce good fruit, and has to be managed. Your thoughts are like seeds—some become flowers, some become weeds. As you are selective in the seeds you allow into your greenhouse, even more importantly you must be careful about what thoughts you allow to grow in your heart. The more selective you are with seeds, the more delighted you will be with the fruit. Stand watch as a trained soldier at the gateway of your heart. Guard your heart and deny wrong thoughts entrance. Submit your thoughts to God’s authority. Your mind is your heart’s doorway, where you determine which seeds to sow and which seeds to discard. The Holy Spirit helps you manage and filter thoughts trying to enter by standing at the threshold with you. Transient squirrels and migrant birds pausing on a rock illustrate how rocks are resting places for the weary. In the same way, we find refuge in God. Rocks speak to us of strength, permanence, and stability. God is dependable, immovable, all-powerful, and always present during grievous times and gladsome times. God, the Rock of Ages, is always near, ready to provide safety and solace.  “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved…My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Walk With Christ | 2 Comments

God Our Protector – Garden Gleanings (March)

Posted on March 22, 2012 by KBR Ministries

  God is Our Protector This is the forth in a five-part weekly series – we’d like to celebrate spring and the opportunities it presents, both physically to the new life on earth, and spiritually to the work Christ is springing forth from our hearts. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” {Proverbs 4:23} Our heart, like a greenhouse, is suited for growing, fertile, ready to produce good fruit, and has to be managed. Your thoughts are like seeds—some become flowers, some become weeds. As you are selective in the seeds you allow into your greenhouse, even more importantly you must be careful about what thoughts you allow to grow in your heart. The more selective you are with seeds, the more delighted you will be with the fruit. Stand watch as a trained soldier at the gateway of your heart. Guard your heart and deny wrong thoughts entrance. Submit your thoughts to God’s authority. Your mind is your heart’s doorway, where you determine which seeds to sow and which seeds to discard. The Holy Spirit helps you manage and filter thoughts trying to enter by standing at the threshold with you.  Tips for Your Garden For growing plants indoors…When cutting off brown tips of leaves on potted plants, leave a narrow brown border; cutting into live tissue will cause further drying and dieback.Do not use leaf shine products, as they may clog leaf pores. Enhance leaf luster by wiping them with a damp sponge. Keep plants free of dust, as dust can clog leaf pores. If the house has low humidity, spray a mist of water on the leaves to give the plant a bit of humidity. Have any gardening tips to share? Feel free to leave a comment! ~Alyssa K. Hage {Guest Writer}  Feel free to forward … Continue reading →

Posted in Walk With Christ | 1 Comment

Our Living Water – Garden Gleanings (March)

Posted on March 15, 2012 by KBR Ministries

  God’s Word is Our Living Water This is the third in a five-part weekly series – we’d like to celebrate spring and the opportunities it presents, both physically to the new life on earth, and spiritually to the work Christ is springing forth from our hearts. Have a blessed spring rejoicing in Christ’s glory! “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water… Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” {John 4:10,13-14} The cactus plant retains water to survive living in a dry climate. Be like a cactus. Retain the water of God’s Word and you can live cheerfully anywhere, even in a desert. John 7:37-38: “Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” It’s important for the gardener to be regularly present—to observe and prevent, to notice and nourish—in order for the garden to grow. It’s important for us to be regularly in God’s presence in order to grow spiritually; if I am not, I won’t notice His songs, hear His voice, or respond to His instructions. As we are persistent in cultivating a lovely garden, so we should persist in the cultivation of living in God’s presence. As we draw near to Him, our gardens (our lives and homes) reflect the glory of His presence. Our relationship with God, like a … Continue reading →

Posted in Walk With Christ | 1 Comment