Thought for the Month » December 2008
It is hard for me to believe that it is December already, and that this year is already drawing to a close. This year has seemingly flown by…It brings me to reflect and ask myself if I have used every day wisely. Have I grown spiritually this past year? Have I become a stronger pillar in my home? Has God been glorified through my life, my actions, and my words these past twelve months?

God blesses each of us with this gift of time. Once this moment is passed, it is unretreavable, and once the sun sets tonight, this day is past into eternity. Let each one of us keep this perspective in mind as we go throughout the day. Let us prepare for the returning of Christ, and use each moment until then for His own glory. Soli deo Gloria!

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Thought for the Month » November 2008
God has been showing me the need in my life for humility in receiving correction. A friend recently said honestly, “I hate being corrected!” I know that God wants me to accept counsel humbly. In receiving correction or rebuke from my parents, God has pointed out that I need to have a humble attitude toward them and be thankful for their guidance. They are the authority that God has put over me, and I need to show them honor by listening to their instruction. It is hard to respond to a rebuke with a cheerful heart; yet I need to put my selfish feelings aside, and put Jesus’ example of a humble spirit in its place. Will you, too, seek to receive correction as a wise woman? Proverbs says, “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.” (Proverbs 1:5)

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Thought for the Month » October 2008
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:16-17). Last night I discovered this beautiful verse. Isn’t it amazing that Paul, whose afflictions where hardly “light” humanly speaking, said that the pain was for a moment, light in comparison to the Glory ahead? How much more should I, especially since I don’t face ship wrecks, snake bites, or physical persecution on every side, daily cling in faith to Jesus’ promises and seek His strength, so I can overcome temptations I face? I can overcome fleshly desires, and chose to do the right thing; it will be worth it all! Keep pressing on toward the “eternal weight of glory”!

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Thought for the Month » September 2008
Jesus did only His Father’s will on earth…every thing He did was in accordance with what God told Him to do. That was His life’s mission! How much more should I be seeking God’s will in EVERYTHING in life…in service to God who Jesus my Savior completely obeyed.

In seemingly small decisions everyday, I have realized that I need to ask myself, “What would God want me to do in this situation?” “How Would Jesus best be represented right now?” Not, “What do I feel like doing?” or “What would be more profitable for me right now?” Jesus needs to be in full control of my life – my every action, word and decision. That is what He did and that is what I should do as well. “I come not to my will, but the will of my Father who sent me.”

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Thought for the Month » August 2008
How much did I really accomplish this past week? Sure, I did all my regular chores and came closer to finishing school, but did I really do anything lasting? When I think about it, I have to face the fact that maybe I am not using all of my abilities to serve others and to bring glory to God. If I am to use my single years wisely and in service of others, I must start now using my time wisely. I must start today serving my family, and I cannot waste time, just letting time slip by. If I get married someday, I will not have time to give to others and energy to devote other things. Am I using each day now in wise preparation?

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Thought for the Month » July 2008
I have found lately the benefit of dwelling on Christ’s sacrifice for me. When I am tempted to rudely respond to someone who has hurt me, I remember His humble attitude toward His enemies who mocked Him. If I think on Jesus’ great love toward me constantly, it is so much easier to reply kindly to my siblings, or be patient when I am feeling irritated. It is hard to have unkind thoughts and actions. Singing of His salvation in hymns and thinking on Scripture also help keep the mind focused on Him.When I am dwelling on Christ, I start thinking “What would Jesus do in this situation?” “How would He respond to this rude person?” I find it hard sometimes to respond patiently because I am selfish and do not like to be taken advantage of. It hurts my pride! Yet, Jesus’ selfless spirit says, “Give of yourself. Do something extra for that impatient person!” If we are grateful for Christ’s work on the cross, we will strive to please Him through this obedience.

Why don’t we take the challenge of thinking of Jesus every minute of our day today, and let Him change our selfish actions into His loving ones?

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Thought for the Month » June 13, 2008
With the busy summer season arriving, and our family working on our land so we can move later this year, I think it is wise for me to change these “weekly thoughts” to monthly so I can be consistent with updating. I still will keep you posted on any big news and let you all know when KBR is published. I’d love to hear from you!

The summer issue of KBR will be Lord willing, printed this coming week. We’ve been having difficulties finishing it since our computer decided it wouldn’t work anymore. We’re in the process of changing computers and moving files…Thank you for your prayers for the completion of this summer issue.

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Thought for the Week » June 2, 2008
“For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44). Because our Lord is pure and holy, we should be the same. God cannot dwell in sinful or corrupt places, and if we let our thoughts wander and dwell on unprofitable or thoughts that do not build up, then God cannot be in us working. I find that too often my thoughts wander to foolish or vain or simply unworthy thoughts. When I let this foothold in my life, then God is restricted to working in my heart. WIll you strive with me, to take every thought captive in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ?

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Thought for the Week » May 19, 2008
“For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). We know this verse, but when obstacles show up we are quick to doubt and even push to the background that God is in control and that with Him, anything is possible. Lately He has shown me that nothing – even all the things that are seemingly in our way of moving on – can stop Him. In fact, He may even use these to show us that the only way we can get through is by His miracle! Time, money, resources, people, or anything can get in the way of His plan. How assuring!

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Thought for the Week » May 13, 2008
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not His benefits…” (Psalm 103:2) How often we forget the hand and works of the Lord! At the times of His work, we praise Him and are thankful for it. But all too soon we forget the great deed, and become once again overcome by the trials along the way. If we could only remember all His miracles and mighty acts, we would not become overcome with daily burdens. Lately as my father has been trying to work out building a house and the moving process, at times it has been so easy to loose focus that God can work it out…and become overcome by all the obstacles. But I should instead look at all He has already provided along the way. “Lord, help me to keep my eyes on You!”

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Thought for the Week » May 7, 2008
Lately I’ve been reading in Exodus for daily devotions. Right now, I’m reading about the tabernacle specifications and the priests’ clothing and sacrifice guidelines for the Israelites. At times, it is easy to think, “What does this mean to me? We’re not going to build a tabernacle or sacrifice lambs!” But God has placed each of these words in His own holy Book, and thus it must have meaning and importance to Him. We can learn something through each part of the Bible. Here we can see the importance of detail to God–He was very specific about the building. Every word of the Bible God has a meaning in it for us, because HE wrote it! 

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Thought for the Week » April 28, 2008
What a smile can do for someone’s day! This simple act can lift another’s spirit when they’re down or discouraged. What a better witness I could be if I was constantly smiling and always cheerful, radiating contentment. Smile! Exercise your smiles – see how many times you can smile in one day. Not only will it bless others, but it will also be a reminder to yourself to show Christ’s love! 

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Thought for the Week » April 21, 2008
“And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)”Who am I?” This is a question I should ask myself often – Who am I? Unworthy, nothing without Christ, a mere sinful human…I am no one without God’s grace and His salvation…I am nothing without His changing power in my life…I can accomplish nothing without His help…and I am condemned to hell without His mercy.
So why am I proud? This is my prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts” (Psa 139:23). Let us acknowledge Who He is in our lives.

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Thought for the Week » April 14, 2008
Are you constantly pressing upward? It is hard and many times I find myself getting “stale” in my spiritual life because I am not striving to do better, with God’s help. I am not asking Him to give me a better attitude, or asking Him for grace for my weaknesses. But I need to set a goal each day for some weakness that needs to be changed (such as being patient, or being respectful, or another area). Set a goal for the day and ask God to help you do better in that area. Do not give up! 

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Thought for the Week » April 7, 2008
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 3:6) Here we see one of the most detrimental decisions made by Eve, in the beginning of time. Her decision made an impact on the generations to come. Noah and Abram and other patriarchs also made huge impacts on our world today. So do we also have decisions to make that will ultimately affect our future descendants…and it starts in the small things like honoring family, choosing the right thing even if it is unpopular, and following the Lord’s narrow way. Do not give up in well-doing; it has a great reward!

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Thought for the Week » April 2, 2008
“And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!” (Matt. 27:29)Jesus was mocked by the soldiers as a king. They placed a “crown” of thorns upon His head. He took this humiliation with quietness and forgiveness. He did this for me! For a sinner! Someday Jesus will be worshipped by every knee, and each person will “confess that He is Lord.” (Prophesied in Isaiah 45:23 and Romans 14:11) Bow the knee! Worship Him, for He has given His life for us. He is our King and Lord!

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Thought for the Week » March 24, 2008
“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time” (Col 4:5). The Lord has been impressing upon my heart the need in my life to “redeem the time,” or use each moment for His glory. Each minute is a gift from God, and I should use it wisely! When I do not use them, and let them slip by, all those lost moments add up to be approximately 15 days per year. I can use these short spare moments I have to search the Scriptures, or spend time with individual family members, or write a note of encouragement to someone in need…the list goes on. These moments, too, will add up, but in a good way: 15 full days of encouraging others or benefiting my walk with God. Will you join me in striving to use every moment for the glory of God? It will count!

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Thought for the Week » March 17, 2008

“Woe unto them! for they have fled from me:
destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, they have spoken lies against me.” (Hosea 7:13) How sad yet true this is of today – though Jesus came and gave His life to save mankind, the majority reject Him and “transgress against” Him. We are here, saved by Christ, to be a light to others, pointing them to the salvation of the Lord and to “stand in the gap” of their eternal punishment. Are we?

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Thought for the Week » March 10, 2008
Too often, I think, we are trying to “do good things” for the Lord, instead of spending the time in His Word seeking His face, getting to know HIM better. Of course there is nothing wrong with serving Him (we should be doing this also) but knowing Him better would be fruitful in our spiritual lives also. Next time you have a bit of spare time, spend the minute praying and meditating on the Creator of all – praising Him for Who He is, and seeking His will for you.

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Thought for the Week » February 29, 2008
“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:24-25). This is an amazing account of God’s faithful servants, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, standing up for their God. When the king put them into the furnace, “the Son of God” came into their midst! When we, too, are standing for the Lord and in a “furnace” of persecution, the He will not only be protecting us, but He also will be with us! Trust on, as His faithful servants!

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Thought for the Week » February 18, 2008
Do we remember that today Jesus is watching us–that all the time He sees our lives? We would be so much more careful of our words and attitudes if we remembered that Christ is present. He is watching and is displeased when we act selfishly. But He also sees every little kindness done in secret and will reward those. Remember His precious presence!

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Thought for the Week » February 11, 2008
This year on Valentine’s Day, why don’t we make it a special point to show our dear family we truly love and appreciate them? Our God loves each one of us with such an infinitely greater love than we can ever receive from anyone else. Why don’t we share this true love with our loved ones around us?

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Thought for the Week » February 4, 2008
Our influence on younger girls in so powerful! This is a topic very close to my heart and I desire to be friendly to girls younger than me as a witness to them. Often young girls look up to girls older than them. At this age in their life, they are faced with the important decision of what kind of the woman they will be. Let us be a friend to the younger and use our influence to further God’s Kingdom.

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Thought for the Week » January 28, 2008
The Lord’s presence is beautiful (Psalm 29:2), and when He is dwelling inside of us, His shining beauty radiates from within us. Daily we should strive for this beauty of His holiness. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Himself was holy: “In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life” (Luke 1:75); also because the Lord God tells us to be holy, as He is holy: “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness”(1 Thess. 4:7). Keep pressing onward towards this beautiful holiness!

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Thought for the Week » January 21, 2008
“It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness “ (Lam. 3:22-23). In the midst of God’s judgment upon His people, Jeremiah proclaims His great mercy and compassion. How true this is, that even when God chastens us, He does it in love and compassion. Truly, God’s compassions [tender mercies toward us] are new every morning. Do we notice?

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Thought for the Week » January 15, 2008
“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). If we are Jesus’ true followers, we must deny ourselves. This means that we must forsake our fleshly desires and give ourselves wholeheartedly to serve others for Jesus’ sake. Our Cross is light in comparison with the Cross the Lord Jesus carried of all man’s sin. So we should happily set out to serve the Lord through our little acts of kindness in our home.

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Thought for the Week » January 7, 2008
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice…”My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:33) I have always wondered why Jesus said God had forsaken Him on the cross. It was not until just recently that I realized that God had to turn His back on His own Son in His last three dying hours, and let Him suffer the penalty due to MY sins. He had to turn so Christ could fulfill the sacrifice for our sin. What love Jesus had to suffer in that way away from God’s presence, in physical pain, so we would be saved. But even more, see the great love the Father had for us. He gave His only perfect Son for us, filthy sinners, to be saved. Praise His Holy Name!

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Thought for the Week » January 1, 2008
I have seen our Heavenly Father’s abundant goodness poured out in our lives. God is always blessing us; too often we fail to see His loving hand providing for our needs. In many ways He is faithful to bless us, undeserving sinners.
Yet how often do we stop and see His blessings? And even more so, stop and thank Him for His goodness? Maybe we pray during the day, but is it just to ask for something? God does want us to ask Him for things, but He also wants us to thank Him for His goodness. I am making it a point in my life as I enter the new year ahead to thank God for His workings in my life; to do more than request, but to be grateful. Will you praise our Father too? 
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” (Psalms 100:4-5).

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Thought for the Week » December 27, 2007
We were out of power for ten days because of an ice storm that came through. This has been very tiring for our family, and we have realized how often we rely on electricity! Almost everything we do requires power; and we were definitely not prepared for this outage.So many are “out of Power” – in a more important sense. God is the ruler of man, yet so many do not see this as truth or give their hearts to Him. Do we, His ambassadors, do all we can to “connect them to Power”? Not as an alternative, but as a change of heart and life? to become His own outlet for His work.Let us be reliant on our never-ending Power–and tell all others about Him. He is the only way to Salvation and Life.

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Thought for the Week » December 10, 2007
This week the Lord has been showing me that His way is not always easy, but it is best. In everyday situations, I must deny self for Christ to become big in me. I have to give up my will, my comfort, and my plans for Christ to live in and work through me.This is hard when it requires giving up my free time to play a game with my younger siblings, or help Mom clean the kitchen. These may seem such small things, especially when the battle is raging within me! But this is the way to let Christ dwell in me.

The fruit of Christ’s hand in my life is so worth every little sacrifice. Won’t you join me in serving Christ even in the smallest details of surrendering self? It is the pathway to Life.

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Prayer Request » December 7, 2007
This week we received an email from the P. family of VA. Their youngest child, Micah (aged 21 months) went to heaven on December 5, 2007, after a long struggle with a brain tumor. Please keep them in your prayers: pray for the peace and comfort of this dear family.

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Thought for the Week » December 3, 2007
“Let no man despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12, KJV). This is a good reminder for us to shine for the Lord in everything and to be a bright witness for Him.

In all things, we should keep the mindset of living for the Lord. In everyday life, we can look upward for the way Christ would have us live for Him–in all things–in every thing. Why don’t we start asking ourselves, “How can I respond that would show Christ?” Often the right thing to do is not what we feel like doing, but let us deny ourselves: we are the Lord’s. Let this be our goal of the week.