Guard Your Heart!!

"Above all else, Guard your heart 

for it is the well spring of life." 

{Proverbs 4:23} 

 

Your heart is the most important leadership tool you have. 

It is not your experience, knowledge, or skills.

 It is your heart that matters most of all.

The fragility of our heart should not be taken lightly.

(even though that sometimes is the case)

If your heart is the only connection to God, what kind of relationship will you have if your heart starts to fail? 

If we allow all the unkind forces and spirits in the world pull us away from God, our heart becomes very unhealthy.

If we only feed our heart, junk from the World, our heart stops working the way God fully created it. 

Just like our physical health, our spiritual health can fail if we don't take good care of it. When we let down our guard and forget the things that God tells us through the Bible and through prayer, 

we do damage to our hearts and our relationships with God. 

That is why we are told so many times, to faithfully be on guard for the protection of our hearts.

What is the reason we 'have' to Guard our hearts?! 

Because your heart is extremely valuable!! We don’t guard worthless items do we?! (At least I don't) 

I take my garbage to the street every Wednesday night. 

It is picked up on Thursday morning. 

It sits on the sidewalk for everyone to see all night, 

completely unguarded. 

Why?? Because it is worthless. 

Not so at ALL with your heart!! 

Your Heart is the essence of who you are.

It is your authentic self...

the core of your very being. 

It is where all your dreams, your desires, and your passions come alive within you. It is that part of you that connects intimately with God and with other people.

Do we actually grasp the fact, 

that our hearts are under constant attack...?? 

When Solomon says to guard your heart, he implies that you need to be living your life, in a 'protected zone' with God. 

Many of us are so oblivious to the fact and reality of this constant warrior-battle. 

We have an enemy who is bent on our destruction. He not only opposes God, but he opposes everything that is aligned with Him... including us.

Satan uses all kinds of weapons 

to attack our hearts. 

That is why if we are going to succeed as Followers of Christ 

& survive as individuals. 

We NEED to faithfully be guarding our hearts in His Word, and in daily prayer. It is more important than we can possibly imagine.

 

If we lose heart, we have lost everything.

So begin to be more on Guard for your heart. Dig deep into his word frequently, and be in a constant prayer mode!!

God will be with you, as you guard your heart

through those moments of Battle. 

He will be guarding your heart, 

just as you are!! 

Until Next time, 

~Kerrington 

The Journey of 'Singleness'

Today I am going to talk about something, that is so very near and dear to my heart, and that is the topic of 'Singleness' 

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 

{Jeremiah 29:11}

What messes up most of our lives, 

is the picture we have in our heads of how our lives
are supposed to be. 

If that snapshot in your dream-scrapbook includes a handsome hubby by your side, you’re probably wondering about now where he is. 

Yeah, I thought he’d be here by now.  

Plenty of other godly, single women in every age range are thinking the same thing. Me included... 

But my heart breaks and aches, 

for the many women I have met 

who have settled for less than their

God-given best. 

Women who didn’t believe that they were worth the fight, magnificent, extravagant, and crazy amazing...

I’m saddened by how easy it is for us women to give our hearts away, sometimes to the most undeserving of men. 

Women will only be choosy when they believe that they are worth choosing. When we begin to believe we are treasures worth finding 

and precious gems worth keeping 

our mindsets instantly start to change. 

Choosing to wait for our future spouses'
goes beyond a boundary, 

it goes beyond any rules. 

It is overflowing in love, purity, 

and true desires. 

I choose to wait for whoever God has for me because, I believe that this season of waiting will help mold me into the Woman of God, 

He has called me to be. 

I think part of our problem as Christian women lies in, our fear of unconditionally trusting God. 

Deep down, we want to fully trust Him, but we wonder if we really truly can. We wonder if He will really follow through. We wonder if He knows us, as well as we think we know ourselves. 

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;" 

{Proverbs 3:5}

I believe waiting will teach us to trust God with everything...

Even in our 'love lives' ;)

The purpose of waiting is NOT because we are waiting for God to ‘hurry up and finally bring the guy’. 

Keeping this in mind, 

God isn’t keeping that wonderful man from you. 

Nor has He forgotten that you’re over there waiting. You’re not on your own. You don’t have to invest all your energy looking right, or being in the right place, at the right time to find God’s match for you. 

Instead, our energies are better spent growing every day into amazing women of God, who will recognize God’s man when he shows up in our lives. 

We are being shaped and formed each day, into the image of Christ. 

There are things God is working out of us, and into us. 

God created us with one sole purpose of knowing Him and making Him known. Your singleness is God’s perfect place for you to thrive. 

You don’t have to wait for your "knight-in-shining-armour"

 to start living. 

You can know the Lord fully and serve Him wholly right here, 

right now.

The purpose I believe, in our singleness is to take everyday and glorify Jesus in everything we do. 

From saying hello to people, 

to serving those who need help. 

It is an incredible opportunity to be able to spend hours with God in prayer, in fasting, and in worship. 

It is an opportunity to let our lives 

be true living sacrifices. 

My desire for my life is to be a reminder to the world that singleness does not mean you are “stuck”. Remember, waiting is not always a bad thing, ladies!! 

Waiting is an opportunity for God to purify and perfect His will in our lives. The longer we wait, the more time we can invest in becoming more Christ-like, as Single Ladies :) 

 

Everyday is an opportunity to be 

refined in God's fiery love. 

Everyday is an oppurtunity to say yes to love and no to fear. 

Everyday is an opportunity to open locked doors in our hearts and to discover hidden talents and desires. 

Everyday is an opportunity to go deeper in God's love. 

When we begin looking at this season of waiting as an opportunity to be purified and refined for a possible spouse, it most definitely becomes more of an adventure!! 

Instead of dreading each new day, wondering if every person we see is “the one." 

We can start living right now, 

we now can choose to see the beauty in each and everyday, knowing that it is shaping us to be who He called us to be. 

(First and foremost a Lover of God)

 "Trust in the LORD forever..."

{Isaiah 26:4} 

The journey to one day become a 

Wife starts now. Today matters.

How we respond to the things of today, will determine how our tomorrow goes. 

Though the Battle may get tough... 

Seek your strength from prayer, 

not people. Be open, and trustworthy, live in full communion, 

with our Heavenly Father. 

 

Love waits...patiently.

 

So today, if you are single will you make the choice to wait patiently and proactively?!? 

We all have a choice in how we can Live your lives. Looking forward to what God has for us today and everyday to come, or impatiently waiting for the day we will meet 

"the one" and possibly missing out on opportunities today. 

So, as much as we want to plan out our picture-perfect lives...we unfortunately can't, but on the brighter side of that, Life always has a way of surprising you with unexpected things that will make you even happier than you originally planned, so that's always
something to look forward to ❤️

Ladies, in closing I would like to say, 

like I have said before in many previous posts...
Never be ashamed of your Singleness!
Just because you are the only girl you know who isn't dating, doesn't mean you are not worth waiting for...
There is a man out there waiting just as patiently as you are, 

we just have to TRUST God! 

Never forget that you are worth the wait!! 

Until next time, 

~Kerrington 

Choosing Joy! {Even in the 'Unguarded' moments}

Unguarded- Speaking carelessly without thinking about what you are saying. Very direct and honest especially when you should be cautious. Not protected or watched over. Vulnerable to attack, unprotected. Free from guile or wariness. Direct, incautious. 

Proverbs 15:1 

"A soft answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Ladies, we all have those days where we are stuck in a tangled web & we are caught off-guard in that one moment of attack.

Someone can say something just slightly negative 

(Terribly rude in our minds) 

& our 1st instinct is to snap back at them.

I like to think of this situation kinda like a snapping turtle.

Like the Zoo-keeper always says, before entering into the 

Snapping Turtles exhibit: 

She doesn't snap, unless provoked 

or caught off guard,

but when she is... 

Then watch out!!! 

Cause here she goes! 

Also please keep your fingers/food to yourselves. Don't want your little hands to be her lunch. Hah! 

Those are the moments where the Devil plots out a away to catch you off-guard & provoke your spirit man. 

One second you will be all cool, 

calm, & collected.

Then the next, the Devil's got you cornered & you begin to reply in a not very graceful manner at all. 

We then begin to get sucked into this whirlpool of bitterness & 

un-forgiveness. As we are struggling to keep swimming against the current & are trying to choose Joy & see the positive in this negative situation,

the devil just continues 

to keep pulling down on us, 

until our heads go under 

& we drown into an off-guarded moment. 

In these moments it's very easy, 

(speaking even for myself) 

To say things we will later regret.

 

When we show bitterness or 

un-forgiveness towards someone, 

Our hearts then lose the special protection 

covering that God has placed over them

& we then take every slight negative comment,

as huge ones. 

 

 Because our hearts are not being protected

we instantly feel provoked, 

& feel the need, to reply in 

not-so-graceful manners to prove a point. 

Colossians 4:6 says 

"Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, 

that ye may know how ye ought 

to answer every man.

That is probably the absolute hardest scripture

right there to live by. 

Speaking in every situation with grace & a calm tone... 

Definitely something, we ALL need to be working on!   

My mom always reminds my sisters

& I of this, often daily: 

"Are my words bringing peace to this situation or are they just fuelling a fire of anger??" 

Before you speak it, take a look at what you are about to say

& ask yourself this quick question: 

"Is this glorifying to God, is this speaking with a tone of grace, & is this bringing joy into that person's life??" 

If not, then don't say it. 

(Plain & Simple.) 

As I began to write this post, 

I started to examine my own heart, 

God kinda gave me this little review film of the things that I have said verbally or even online to people in the past 

& I began to weep. 

I felt so ashamed, dirty even. 

In that moment of shame, 

bitterness, & un-forgiveness...

I kneeled before God at 1:54am 

& I rededicated my 'mouth' to the Lord.

 

With tears rolling down my cheeks I said:

"God whatever flows from my mouth, 

let it be glorifying to your name & let it always be with Grace. God help me to always choose Joy even in the 'unguarded' moments & Thank you for always loving me,

even with my many mistakes." 

I don't know about you, but 

Today I will choose JOY!! :) 

Until next time, 

~Kerrington

Guest Post~ Preparing for His purpose

 

 

Written by: Joanne

At a very early age, I knew God was preparing me to be a mom. I would lovingly gaze upon all new babies (and still do) and dream of the day that I would be blessed to have my very own.

I prepared myself by cooking, baking and learning all of the things that I thought I needed to learn to be a successful keeper of the home. I would dream of the day that I would have my own home to keep. I would write down the names of the children that I would have, dreaming of what they might look like and how extraordinarily cute they would be. Preparing and waiting, waiting and preparing...I spent what seemed like an eternity waiting for the next step.
 

Many of you lovely young women, may be feeling a sense of unrest. I am sure that most of you have dreams of meeting that special someone, starting a life together and living happily ever after....but when?! Maybe your minutes tick by slowly, and you wonder when God is going to reveal your next step. It is the waiting that is difficult...but it is in the waiting that we are to prepare.

Young Queen Esther knew about waiting. Having just spent an entire year preparing herself to be presented to the King, she knew more about waiting and preparing than all of us combined! She had just endured 12 months of beauty treatments. Now to be completely honest, I sometimes think that I could so use twelve months of spa like treatments,   special food prepared for me, with six months of oil of myrrh followed by six months of special perfumes and ointments! 

After all of the waiting, finally Esther's time had come and she was lavishly dressed in royal robes and jewelry. Esther had prepared herself to meet her King. As history records it she not only met the King but she found great favor with him and he crowned her Queen. Around this time, I am sure Esther thought that her work was done. She had spent hours soaking in oil, eating healthy foods (no cheeseburgers for this gal!) and she had fulfilled her calling of being Queen. 

 

But God wasn't finished with her yet. There was a greater purpose for  all of that waiting. There is a higher purpose for the waiting. Ladies, we all know the history, we know how the story ends! 

The young Queen Esther bravely rescues the Jewish nation because of her acts of unselfish heroism. Through the times of waiting God prepared a path for Esther to fulfill His purposes. I want you to know that all of the waiting and preparing that I did throughout those years prepared me to fulfill the greater purposes that God has had for me. So many years ago I would never imagined the opportunities that God has blessed me with, and many times I have reflected back to those times of waiting and smile at how they have prepared me for a greater purpose, His purpose.

Precious women, give the waiting to God. Ask Him what He wants to prepare you for. Pray for guidance, and then wait. Use your time wisely, dig deep in the Word, gather together with other Christians.

Dream big dreams and be totally sold out for Him!
 

About Joanne:

 

Joanne is a wife to the love of her life and best friend, Jeff and together they have four children Kyle(18), Lauren(16), Conner(13) and Katherine(8). Joanne is actively involved in her church and community with a passion to serve Christ with her whole heart! Joanne home schools her children, loves to read and can always be found in a pair of heels with a tea in hand!

Kindred Spirits

Proverbs 17:17 

"A friend loves at all times..." 

I have had many good friends, 

but these two special,

Young Women of God have been there through the thick 

& through the thin! 

They both have been there to pray & encourage me in my walk with Jesus Christ on a daily basis & support my crazy (sometimes unrealistic) dreams.

They have been there when I just need a hug, a shoulder to cry on, or just a really good laugh.

They have been a place of refuge & comfort when I needed someone to confide in. They will always be my 

Lauren & Kalista :) 

Proverbs 27:17

"As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."

Lauren 

Lauren is a sweet, quiet, book-loving, helpful, giving, beautiful young lady I have the absolute pleasure of calling my Best Friend & sweet sister in the Lord!

I have known Lauren since 2004 when we met at Home-school Co-op, where we became good friends & then just about 4-5 years ago our friendship started to blossom

& we became best friends :) 

Lauren & I share a passionate love for "Anthem Lights" our favourite Christian band, Which we just recently

(back in December) had the pleasure of meeting in Florida!! In our free-time together we usually fill it up with, making stop-motion videos, watching hall-mark movies, soaking in our hot-tubs & making any food which involves some Nutella!! Yum! 

Kalista

Kalista is a spunk, hilarious, generous, crazy, actress-in-the-making, out-going kinda gal! I have had the pleasure of knowing & calling her my best friend for about... 

umm my whole life haha! 

We have wrote 2 books together, started a talk show at the age of 12 & even started a small catering

business for our families on the side ;)

Kalista & I share a sincere love for shopping!

"Shop till you seriously drop" 

is our motto, we love finding great deals & we both are extreme couponers in the making as well! 

We met at, our home-church about 14 years ago & have been Best of Friends ever since! We have had our rough spots & our differences, but I wouldn't trade her for the world! 

As you can see, 

I have been friends with these beauties for quite some time now ;) 

 & I can honestly say they have

been some of the best years of my entire life. 

 I am truly blessed! 

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I thank you for Lauren & Kalista. 

I thank you from the bottom of

my heart for sending me these sweet 'sisters' into my life! 

I have sure needed them over the years :)

 I am SO grateful for each of them 

& there very unique personalities! 

Jesus, I pray that the people reading

this also have a 'sister' or 'brother' 

to confide in, but Lord if they don't please comfort them during this time & remind them that they are NOT alone in this world & that they always have you to confide in & that they always will have a place of refuge in your arms, Jesus! 

I pray today for Lauren & Kalista that you would strengthen them, fill them up full of you, & bless them Lord, Jesus! :) 

In your Precious name, 

Amen! 

Until next time, 

~Kerrington 

Testimony Tuesdays!

 

Written by: Donna 

 

Surprises from Father God! 

One day last year, 

I was spending time

in prayer and enjoying the 

peaceful Presence of Father God.

I began musing over the thought that

most of my Christian friends knew

God’s Will for their lives; and how they fit into the Body of Christ. 

In contrast, my life seemed to be an unfolding work in progress rather than a blueprint with details.  

I wasn’t really expecting an answer to my musing, but I got one, and a surprising one at that!  Father clearly pressed on my heart that I liked surprises, and that was why He kept me in the dark concerning what He was doing in my life. 

As I considered that thought, I had to admit I do love surprises!  But I had never thought about it before, and chuckled at the fact that God knew me better than I knew myself! 

 I loved the fact that He would be interested in such little details and that He would take that into consideration in the way 

He ordered my life!  

As interesting as it was,

 I remembered my list of things to do and got about the busy everyday rhythm of my life.  But as the weeks went by, I began to have one surprise after another show up on my figurative doorstep.

 It was as if Father God was proving His point! Life was becoming an adventure, and I lived in expectant anticipation every day, wondering what He would do next!  

This past year, God healed me Physically, Spiritually, and Emotionally, and with each of those healings I began to walk in new found freedom.  And, with that freedom, came gifts, a.k.a. surprises that would delight and fill me with joy!  

One gift was presented to me by Father while helping at our Wednesday Night Kids Group at my home church.  

We had been teaching the children to listen for God’s voice and this particular session had the kids painting pictures of what God had spoken to them. 

As I walked around the room admiring the pictures, and asking questions about what they had painted, I found myself wishing that I could also paint a picture!

  I had never painted artistically before, and never had a desire to try that type of creativity.  But, instead of fading away, that desire became stronger, and the next day I told my friend that I wanted to paint. She explained, that it just happened that it was her art lesson day, and she invited me to come along. 

 I could use her materials and she even helped me find a picture of a sunset that I could paint. At 3:00 o’clock we arrived at the art studio, and was put to work creating. With some guidance from the teacher, 

I began to paint, 

and was at once captivated! 

 I loved it, and felt as if 

it was something

 I was always meant to do!  

It has been almost a year now, and I am painting and creating daily, and, what a joy it has become to me!  

After a couple months of oil painting, 

I felt a strong desire to try drawing portraits. After my experience with painting, I learned not to just dismiss those promptings, so, 

I got some pencils and a 

sketching pad. 

After watching some

You Tube videos, I started drawing. 

It was amazing!  

Though far from a ‘Rembrandt,’ 

my renderings weren’t bad for someone just beginning.  

I felt that if I continued to work at it, 

it would steadily improve. 

I am amazed and in awe of what Father God has begun in my life in this area, what a wonderful, surprising gift! 

Recently I’ve begun working with acrylic paints and have done some nice pieces that are improving 

day by day!  

What is even more interesting is that I’ve been asking Father God to give me a picture to paint to go along with an encouraging word for someone.  

So far, I’ve gotten several words and pictures that have impacted those with whom I’ve shared. 

It is so much fun to 

create with God! 

About Donna: 

I’m a sixty-two year old 

Grandmother who is discovering gifts 

that I never knew I had 

residing in me! 

 I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter

 if you are 6 or 66. 

We have a Heavenly Father

who loves to give

good gifts to His children!  

Isn’t He amazing?

 

Thanks for reading about my testimony! 

Hope you enjoyed it :)

~Donna 

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