Kenya Sports Ministry

JAMBO!
I am sorry I am pressed for time but we leave today for Kenya with 25 student athletes from Baylor to do Sports Ministry. Click KENYA SPORTS MINISTRY now - this is the blog address we will be using every day. Feel free to tag along as we speak the global language of Sports to share the love of Christ.



Please pray that British Air does not go on strike while we are gone and that the volcanic ash does not affect our travels. Thank you friends. JAMBO (hello in Swahili)!
With love from a grateful heart, kim

Prepartunity

Prepare + Opportunity = Prepartunity

This is an old word coined by Baylor's own Coach Grant Teaff.

As Christians we prepare by prayer, reading God's Word, hiding it in our hearts, and inviting the presence of the Holy Spirit to direct our thoughts, words, and actions each day. Then we are to be on the lookout for the doors God Himself opens up. Especially ones we could have been knocking on for months or years then, one day, when we are not expectant, the door swings wide open, along with our mouths, and we are face to face with an opportunity - a divine appointment to share the Good News of God's Amazing Grace!

In that moment, you realize that preparation pays off. Repetition, note cards, songs to help you remember, word pictures, and most importantly personal experiences or testimonies of faith have been your training ground.

PREPARED
"Be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, encourage, with great patience and careful instruction." 2 Timothy 4:2

OPPORTUNITY
"Therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:10

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders, make the most of every opportunity."
Colossians 4:5

"Do not give the devil an opportunity." Ephesians 4:27

Happy Spring!
O how wonderful it is to feel the warmth of the sun on your face again.
I love spring because it is the visible reminder of the cycle of life -
and spring, to me represents new life or a new beginning.

In case you missed church the first Sunday of Spring Break - Michael Criner gave a message on being "Sifted Like Wheat." He took it from two verses in Luke 22 where Jesus is talking (v.31-32), "Simon, Simon, behold, satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

Four points and two side notes:

Point1 - satan has to go to God for permission to "sift us like wheat" - sifting involves violent shaking - so it infers we will be shaken, even violently, but God Knows!



Sidenote 1 - the you in this verse is plural -meaning satan has demanded permission to sift all of us like wheat. Christians are not exempt - in fact they are a primary target.

Point 2 - But Christ Himself has prayed for us...can you even imagine? The God of all creation is praying for our faith not to fail.

Sidenote 2 - The you in this phrase is singular...Jesus Christ has prayed for YOU- Kim, Melle, Laura, Kathy, Melissa, Pam, etc....

Point 3 - even though He is praying for our faith not to fail, He already knows it will --> "and when you have turned again" (back to me after denying me)...He knows we will fail and yet he has provided a way for us to get back to Him, back home.

Point 4 - We are not useless when we fail..."when we have turned again, strengthen your brothers (or sisters)" - we have a job to do...and with His power, His forgiveness, His restoration, we shall strengthen each other.

So, those are my verses: Luke 22:30-31

March 1 Verse Post

Good March Morning to you! I am so proud of you girls who are being purposeful in hiding God's word in your heart this year ! As with anything worthwhile, it takes discipline -- oh but the rewards are so great ! So it is now time to post your Mar. 1 verse and place GOd's words in your heart.

The Bible study I am invovled in right now is "Revelation" , by Beth Moore. I have thought about posting weekly all the info. that we are receiving weekly through this study, but the "weeklys" have gone by and I have not posted ... so today I wanted to share a little bit of what God is teaching me through the study of Revelation.

I have always been a huge Mickey Mouse fan. Growing up in Florida, it may just come naturally, but the "otter"in my personality loves a party , and let me tell you-- Mickey knows how to throw one! So, what does this have to do with Revelation -- well, I'm getting there! I have come to the conclusion that the "Magic Kingdom" can not hold a candle to the "Heavenly Kingdom" that our GOd lives in . I have been blown away by the description of the throne room and by all that surrounds it. My eyes have been opened to a new level of wonderment, and my heart to a new level of awe for the Majestic God that I serve. I am truly amazed at His majesty, astounded by His glory and blown away that He has any patience with us here on earth .

I guess above all, I have felt an incredible love from a God who does not need to love us, yet He chooses to love us. Even though He is surrounded by riches beyond measure, praises beyond comprehension and power beyond human understanding... He loves you ! Wow- if that doesn't bring you to tears, well, you know it brought me to tears :) , maybe this will.

The part of the story that I have been struggling with is our part. The other week, I came home after Bible study and while tucking my 11yr. old son in bed had a conversation with him that just left my heart torn. He has asked me to "update" him on Revelation as i am learning new things each week. So I started to share with him all the amazing new descriptions about Heaven I had learned about that night. Then we started to talk about our world -- or his world that he is living in as an 11 yr. old. In came the names of some popular music artists. We talked about the vulgar and sick words that are being used as "lyrics". We talked about the slimy ways the enemy uses to get any piece of us he can. We talked about why we need to make choices to guard our hearts and minds against this stuff -- and i just cried with my son to know, that this is just the beginning of the many battles that he will face in life. Before I left he asked me to pray over him for courage and strength to stand up for what he believes .

As I left his room , I just wept before the Lord. A God so full of majesty, love and amazing grace , who created us in HIs image to live here on earth in order to glorify him , must be so heartbroken over His creation. I felt such a sense of sadness in His heart as He watches His creation "team up" with the enemy and find much monetary success here on earth while corrupting kids at the same time. I went to bed and felt a strong need to pray for this particular music artist. I prayed that he would fall on his face before a God that still loves him, that he too would understand the depth of mercy our God has for him.

All that to say, Revelation has given me a new perspective into the majesty and holiness of the GOd. It has given me a greater sense of humility to realize that He has absolutly no need for me, yet I have every need for HIm -- and to know that He chooses us-- shows that He has lavished love on us. So know that by memorizing His word, you are honoring a God who deserves your

honor. Hoping today you fall more in love with a God who is crazy over you!

15th

Good Morning Bucket Filler Girls!

It is a beautiful day in Central Texas...a little cool but sunshine all around. I got a text last night from a 30-year old friend of mine who informed me "...I had heart surgery from the Lord fuing these last few hours of prayer...it was lifegiving." I can honestly say that my own heart stopped as I read the first part then I realized what she was saying. Don't you find that amazing? Figuratively and literally? An incision can be made, which causes some form of pain, the work of skilled hands some some much needed repair, and then the healing begins.

To be healed we must be cut. To be whole we must be broken.

From Psalm 119:

v 25 Revive me according to your Word
v 28 Strengthen me according to your Word

Are you in need of heart surgery?
Do you need to be revived?

v 93 I will never forget your precepts for by them You have revived me.

Take a moment to log in your verse for the last half of February...and be revived!

Perfect Love

February 13th

Did you wake up thinking about V-Day? ....which is tomorrow.

As I woke up this morning I was thinking about I John 4:18

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love drives out fear...
the one who fears is not perfected in love."

I was also thinking about a Larry Crabb quote regarding encouragement:

When the motivation is love and the target is fear,
the words will be encouraging.

So, as you think about what you want to give your beloved for V-day...think about some true encouragement. The Spirit of the Lord lives in you; therefore, perfect love lives in you and can be your motivation. Target the fear of your spouse, kids, parents, friends...and speak an encouraging word straight to their heart. What could be better?...it has zero fat, zero calories, gives lots of energy, and can be used over and over and over again and never goes out of date.

Why Hide the Word?

Here is the book Melle was talking about earlier. It is a good read and a great way to share
the strategies we all need to be a positive influence on those around us. You can get the kids version or the adults version - either way - it is a choice you make every day.

Fill'er up!

Melle explained it well...to hide the word in our heart will keep us from sinning, it will light our path which is directed by Him, and His Word will become our path to His presence. Psalm 119 is the longest book of the Bible. It talks about the revelation of God and the revelation of God's will to man. Throughout the Psalm (22 verses of 8 lines = 176 verses) there are several words for the Word of God: testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, word, promises, judgements, teachings, instructions, law, sayings...Torah.

Here's the challenge: 2 verses each month. You can identify one verse on the 1st and one on the 15th or you can identify 2 verses on the 1st of each month (sometimes verses go together). Here is a little tutorial on memorizing scripture from our Siesta Mama - Beth Moore: click on RENEW.

*Commit to memorize (or seriously meditate on) 2 Scriptures a month. See? Very, very doable! Doesn't seem like much at first but imagine that, in exactly one year, you'll have memorized 24 new Scriptures! That, my dear sister, is a feat.

*Watch for posts on the 1st and 15th of every month where I'll ask you to turn in the Scripture you're feeling led to memorize. (You'll write it all the way out in the version of your choice and put the reference with it because one of your Siestas might read it and want to memorize it next.) This is an important part of our process! We're NOT going to memorize the same Scriptures. I've learned through the years that we have the most victory with the verses that we each need most. Ask God to give you what He wants to prioritize for you this year then listen carefully through your quiet times, your Bible studies and your pastor's sermons for verses that really resonate with you or that you know you really need. He'll highlight one of those in your heart. Choose it with confidence. You'll most easily memorize what means most to you.

*Buy a brand new set of index cards with a spiral that is only for this Scripture memory plan.

*Watch your prayer life change. Check out John 15:7-8. The more God's Word abides in us, the more the mind of Christ is developed in us. The end result will be that we will pray more and more of God's will and get more and more of what we've asked. Do not think for a moment that praying in the will of God narrows your requests. It blows them wide open! Ask Him in this Jesus-year to explode your effectiveness in prayer then watch it happen.

**We are so excited to be on this journey with you. We are sharpening each other and we can be accountable to our families. One other thought from our weekend with Siesta Mama. One of the questions asked of Beth's girls was What was it you saw or heard that turned your heart toward the Lord. The answer from each was:

• Amanda - I saw my mom (Beth Moore) having her quiet time each day.
• Melissa - I watched as my mom lived out what she believed
  

So there you have it - let your kids watch you sharpen up and grow.