Instant Makeovers, Southern Living, and Jesus

In a day of Pinterest and ideas at your fingertips, I still subscribe to a few magazines. One of my favorites is Southern Living. (yes, I am a Southern girl. If you are dying to hear a Southern accent, you can click here for my first vlog.) And so, this morning I picked up my March Southern Living and took a gander at the front cover. "Instant Spring Makeovers" caught my eye. Gazing at the table of contents, I realize that the "Instant Spring Makeovers" covers 37 pages. Wow! That's a lot of instant makeovers.

As I begin perusing those 37 pages, I honestly didn't see anything that was made over in an instant. Instead, I found articles with pages of beautiful homes, patios and gardens detailing actions like 

• How to replace your front door and shutters
• How to lay a stone pathway
• How to upgrade your fencing and gates
• Replace retaining walls with beautiful stone wall
• Planting a useful and beautiful herb garden
• Changing all the hardware surrounding your entryway

Now, I know I am not Martha Stewart, but I don't believe any of these things are instant. If they were, I would just wiggle my nose and snap, crackle, pop...they would appear. But that's not how it works. 

Friends, you want an instant makeover? Jesus will not disappoint. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!                 2 Corinthians 5:17

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

Now, I know that the sanctification process of becoming more like Christ and living for Christ isn't instant...but our hearts are cleansed from sin the moment we confess our sins and our need for a Savior...now that is an instant makeover! (1 John 1:9)


And when you peruse God's Word you will find the Living Word of God with pages of beautiful stories of God detailing actions like

• How to replace your attitude and thoughts with thoughts of God (Philippians 4:8)
• How to lay stones for a tangible reminder of God's faithfulness  (Joshua 3 - 4)
• How to upgrade the fencing and gates of your mind (Philippians 4:7)
• Replacing broken walls by rebuilding and restoring what the enemy has torn down (Isaiah 58:12)
• Planting us by streams of Living Water to be useful and fruitful (Psalm 1:3)
• Changing the entryway of our mind and heart  (2 Corinthians 10:5)
• And so much more!

Lord, may you make us over today...instantly and gradually as we long to become more and more like You.

Need a makeover today? I know I could use a good mind makeover at times. Let God do His work in you today. And I would love to hear about it! Comment by clicking here.

I am Living for ONE!

Kelli

Linking with...

Joy in His Presence: Presence Filled Fridays

Today seemed like a great day to link with Five Minute Fridays:


At Five Minute Fridays, you take a topic and just write for five minutes with no critical editing and no need to perfect it. They should call it Freedom in Five!  Anyway, the topic today is JOY. And since we always talk about His Presence here on Fridays, I thought it was a perfect match.

Joy in His Presence


Bekah and I had fervently prayed for her for several months. Keisha, my sister-in-love's sister, had been diagnosed with Wegener's disease, an auto immune disease that attacks your entire body. She was barely 30 years old with a husband and three children at home. She had her ups and downs in the hospital. Some days looked hopeful. Other days seemed desperate.


Bekah was on her way to her first grade classroom the day we received the dreaded phone call. I decided to wait until she got home from school to tell her about Miss Keisha's death. 


"Bekah, I have some bad news."


"Yes, Mommy?"


"Bekah, Miss Keisha died last night."


"So...what's the bad news?"


"Bekah, sweetie, that is the bad news."


"But, Mommy, Miss Keisha went to be with Jesus. How can that be bad?"


Words spoken confidently and beautifully by my six year old daughter challenged my heart and my thinking. To Bekah, joy was and is and will always be found in the the presence of Jesus. You see, Bekah had just accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior and Joy just a few weeks before Miss Keisha's death. Seemed like she totally understood Paul's words, "To live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Phil. 1:21) Oh, to have the childlike faith that says...


"My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16: 9 - 11


So tell me, friend, have you found the joy that only the presence of God brings? Please share! And if you are struggling right now with finding joy in the midst of your circumstances, I would love to pray for you. 


Unwrapping the gift of JOY in His presence,


Kelli

There's a Party Going On Right Here

"Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: "Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!' 10 Count on it--that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God."   Luke 15: 8 - 10 (Message)


I will never forget the day that Ryan and I were riding down the road in the "Swagger Wagon,"  aka minivan, and we were discussing my nephew's upcoming baptism.  Ryan was four at the time and had many questions (not unusual) about Jesus, baptism, God, etc.  His main question was, "Can I be bap-i-tized?"  I explained to him that baptism was an outward sign of an inward decision.  That baptism followed accepting Christ into your heart as your Savior and Lord.  He waited a few minutes.  And then I heard him say, "God...Jesus...both of you guys...would you come into my heart?"  "Ok, Mom, now I can get that bap-i-tized thing."  Well, I didn't doubt the Lord drawing Ryan to himself.  I didn't even doubt Ryan's decision.  I wasn't quite sure what to do.  So, I told my husband about it and we decided to just wait and see if Ryan brought it up again.  He didn't.  


Fast forward three and a half years.  I have always felt secure in the fact that the Lord had already started a work in Ryan.  But now that Ryan was older and he was learning more and more, I wanted him to solidify that decision to follow Christ.  The Lord really laid on my heart in January of this year to pray fervently for Ryan to truly understand what it meant to accept Jesus as his Savior.  So, I began to pray.  And I asked others to pray.  I knew God was working.  I could tell by Ryan's prayers, his questions, and his change in behavior.  He went to overnight Kids Camp for the first time this year.  God stirred.  He moved to a third grade Sunday School class with Mama Carol (a kid loving, Scripture teaching, woman of God!) God stirred some more.  


This week is VBS at Christ Community Church.  Last night was my night to teach.  The story:  Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.  I had recruited a friend of mine, Garrett, to help me teach it by portraying Peter.  Garrett did a phenomenal job in sharing how Peter must have felt when he blew it with Jesus...denying him 3 times.  I asked the kids, "Anyone in here ever felt like they blew it?"  Ryan raised his hand and said, "1000 times , Mom, you know it, 'cause you're my Mom."  I smiled.  And then I reminded the kids that God forgives, that God loves them so much that He sent His son Jesus to die for them and their sins, and that He rose again so that we could live forever with Him!  "If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, tonight's a great night to do that.  If He is calling you, listen to Him."  I prayed with the kids and dismissed them.  On the way out, Ryan came and hugged me and said, "Mom, I want to ask Jesus into my heart and...I want to be digested as soon as I can!"  "Digested?"  "You know, Mom, the water thing?"  "Oh...Baptized."  "Yes!  That's it!"


We came home.  He shared the news with Bekah and Daddy.  We all four (now a house full of Christ followers!) sat down as Ryan prayed to receive Christ into his heart.  He told Jesus he wanted Him to control his soul and his life.  (His words.)  And then the three of us took turns praying over him and blessing him.  Chris (my man) thanked God that his son was now also his brother.  Bekah prayed for Ryan to "fully embrace his relationship with Christ."  I prayed that God would bless him and have him do AMAZING things for the kingdom.  It was GLORIOUS!  


And yes, there's a party going on right here!  A Celebration to last throughout the years! (Forever!) Won't you join us at the party?  We have a place reserved especially for you.


Thanks for letting me share my heart today.  You all are such a blessing to me!
Kelli