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On Wednesdays, we read Psalms. Today's reading asks us to read Psalm 145. Read it silently, read it aloud. Write it out. Circle or highlight phrases or words that pop out at you. Pick a verse that means the most to you, and carry it with you this week. Heck, try to MEMORIZE it :) For me, the verse that I am going to take with me as I go about my week is: The Lord is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love. I want to challenge myself to be slow(er) to anger, to exude LOVE first in all my interactions. What verse is your takeaway? Please share below! Psalm 145 1 I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. 2 Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. 4 One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. 5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty-- and I will meditate on your wonderful works. 6 They tell of the power of your awesome works-- and I will proclaim your great deeds. 7 They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. 8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. 9 The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. 10 All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you. 11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, 12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. 14 The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. 17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. 18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. 20 The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. 21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.
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Hi dear friends,
Excited to talk with you today about healing! Healing is possible for each and every one of us. Isn't that exciting?! We all need it, and we know, if we are honest with ourselves, the areas within us that need healing. The good news is we have a loving Father and provider just waiting to heal us. The story accompanying today's reading is of a crippled man, waiting by a pool known at the time to have healing powers. Jesus heals a man who had been waiting a long time, unable to make it into this pool. John 5:6-9 says: When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. I have heard and read this story many times, but something stuck out to me this time around. Jesus comes to this man, asks him if he wants to be healed, and the man gave an excuse about what all the other people were doing that prevented him from being well. Jesus then instructs him on what to do, and he is healed. Jesus came to show us the way to live a life fueled by love. If we follow Him and train to live in this way, we will be healed. I feel like in the areas where I need healing, my first instinct is to point the finger outward. At my circumstances, at other people, at the obstacles that lie in front of me. Just like the man by the pool. What power that gives us! Instead of sitting around blaming other people/things, we can rest in knowing that WE are responsible for starting our own healing. Led by God. BOOM! I'm in for that!!! God knows the healing that we need, even in our most desperate places. He knows, and He comes to us with the question "Do you want to be well?" I suggest that following the instructions He gave us will lead us on a path of wellness. Live a life fueled by love! I'm sure going to try to :) Love you, Kim Hello friends!
Sorry for the delay, I am sure you were all waiting anxiously for my blog posts to return :) I had a few days with all my kiddos and got swamped! But, you all were on my mind and in my hearts, and I am thrilled to be back and ready to write! Have you been keeping up with the readings? This week's have been interesting! Monday's reading was about delayed gratification! An amazing concept that I have a hard time with. For those who missed the reading, it starts with a scientific study done on young children. A psychologist gave a child a marshmallow, and told the child they could either eat that marshmallow now or wait 10 minutes and get a larger marshmallow. The study was conducted on over 600 kiddos, and they discovered interesting findings! The children who were able to delay their gratification ended up with higher SAT scores, lower body mass indexes, and went on to higher education than their marshmallow gobbling friends. The ability to control themselves and hold out for a better option seems to be important. It's not just important to psychologists and scientific studies, but the Bible holds it pretty important too! As one of the fruits of the spirit, self-control is SUPER important to our spiritual growth. We talked a few weeks ago about waiting, and how hard that is for us in our instant-paced world. But, we learn so much by being mindful of ourselves, our thoughts and our actions. Without the ability to control ourselves, we open ourselves up to temptation. When we just do whatever it is that pleases us in the moment, without being mindful, we can set ourselves up for some big let downs. This reading challenged me to do a quick check in on my own self-control. Putting myself in those kiddos shoes, would I be able to wait the ten minutes in hopes of a bigger, fluffier, yummier marshmallow? What about in real life situations, how I can I look for ways to delay my gratification? Exert Self Control? If you are anything like me, these opportunities are ALL AROUND ME. Hugs to each and every one of you, Kim Hi friends,
Today's lent reading is on the topic of faith. Faith and Hope are tied closely together, and I so loved our discussion about Hope this past Sunday morning. Hebrews 11 tells us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things unseen. Faith is defined in the dictionary as confidence or trust in a person or thing; belief that is not based on proof. The scripture reading included in the reading paints a great illustration of what a life of faith produces: 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ It's kind of like the baby steps guide to faith. We show faith, and get rewarded. We prove ourself for a little, and we get entrusted with more and more! The good news is, Jesus tells us we only need to have faith as small as a mustard seed in order to do great things for Him. That takes some of the pressure off, amiright?! It's not like you have to have rockstar amounts of faith, just a little can start you off on the path :) The Wake Up section today asks what/who you put your faith in? It challenges us to spend some time as we walk through our day noticing when we have the urge to place our faith in something other than God. For me, I tend to put my faith in other people something, and more so to put my faith in myself. Rather than giving things over to God, I try to do it/fix it/figure it out on my own. Doesn't tend to work out well for me :) What about you? Sending love, my faithful friends! Kim Hi Friends,
Today's exercise is Psalm 84. Read it silently, read it aloud, write it out. What words or phrases pop out at you? Which verse means the most to you and why? What emotions, struggles, or frustrations do you think the writer of this Psalm was facing when writing it? Have you ever felt this way? Here is the Psalm: Psalm 84 1 How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. 8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob. 9 Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. 10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. 12 Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you. The two verses that stuck out for me the most were verse 10 that I have in the image above, and verse 11: For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. I like the imagery of God being both a sun and a shield. He lights our lives, and protects us. My walk may not be perfect, but I am quick to try to clean up areas where I know I am falling short. God's blessings on my life are abundant, and I am so thankful He is my light. Sending a big ol' Psalm-y hug to you, Kim Hello my dear friends!
I spoke with some of you about Tuesday's devotional reading- I found it to be super powerful. It was hard to write about! It is about the mass shooting in South Carolina, where a man sat with members of a church service, and shot and killed almost everyone at the end of the service. Just horrific. The writing was about how TWO DAYS LATER, in this man's sentencing at court, family members of those who were killed stood and offered their forgiveness of this man. Unbelievable mercy. The author talks about how the Easter story is one of mercy, about God granting us mercy through his Son, Jesus. How the mercy we've been shown is boundless, so we are called to offer it and show it to others in this same way. Beautiful, but intensely hard to do when seen in the light of the example above. This morning, Ray Hausler, our upcoming new Youth Pastor here at The Quest, shared a beautiful piece about mercy. It reads: "When you can blame....have mercy. When you can shame....have mercy. When you can criticize....have mercy. When you can condemn...have mercy. When you have a political disagreement....have mercy. When you have a theological disagreement....have mercy. When you are certain you are completely right....have mercy. When you could exact your revenge and get even.....have mercy." This framed mercy in a much more attainable way for me. I think the mercy that those family members were able to offer in the most horrific of circumstances is amazing, and is the goal! But, extremely hard to picture myself having that amazing ability to do. What I KNOW I CAN do, is attempt to have mercy in the countless things that come my way throughout each and every day. I may not have mercy in all of my interactions, but if I keep the idea of it in my mind, perhaps I will remember more often than not that MERCY is the right choice. The Wake Up section of the reading asks us how we've been shown mercy in our lives, and how we show it to others. How can you practice mercy on a daily basis? With so much love, Kim Hello friends,
Great to be together for a lovely Sunday morning yesterday. For those of you who weren't able to be with us, you were missed! Today's Lent reading is about being purposefully chosen! Woot woot! The scripture referenced for this reading is the story of the Samaritan woman. (John 4:3-42). Jesus lived his life in a purposeful way. Every moment of His life meant something, and this story is full of meaning. To help us understand this story, it is important to note that in these times, Jews and Samaritans didn't get along. I guess that is an understatement. They would avoid each other AT ALL COSTS. But, in this story, Jesus chose to walk through Samaria. He was going to make a point. He has this amazing interaction with this Samaritan woman, dropping truth bombs left and right. Not only does He completely blow the woman away, but all those who were watching, as He tore apart biases and predisposed distastes. Jesus deliberately sought out this woman, who needed to hear Him, and because she shared what happened to her, MANY others started to believe in Him. She was purposefully chosen. The cool thing is, SO ARE WE! We are deliberately chosen as called by Christ. In my daily reading of C.S. Lewis that I get in my email each morning, I thought this was a lovely little snippet: "You ask ‘for what’ God wants you. Isn’t the primary answer that He wants you. We’re not told that the lost sheep was sought out for anything except itself [Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7]. Of course, He may have a special job for you: and the certain job is that of becoming more and more His." In this same way, we were purposefully chosen. Not to DO or BE anything in particular. He just wants US, and for us to draw nearer to Him. The Samaritan woman encountered God and then shared about it, drawing more people near to God. We should do the same! Share the ways that God has touched our lives. WIth love, Kim Hi Friends,
It's Saturday, and I hope you are off enjoying the start of a wonderful weekend. Just wanted to briefly discuss today's reading. As you may remember, Saturdays we focus on specific people to serve. Today's calls us to serve our FAMILY. God has placed you exactly where He wants you to be. It may not feel that way all the time, but you are right where you are supposed to be. The reading gives some ideas on how to be of service to your family, such as: -Wash your Dad's car -Wash, fold, and put away all the family laundry -Strike up a conversation with your Mom after school -Spend time with your Grandparents -Surprise your siblings with breakfast one morning There are TONS of ways to serve your family. What are some of your ideas? I love having this in the forefront of our minds this week. We may not be able to make a giant list right now, but I guarantee opportunities will pop up throughout the week if you are looking for them :) Have a great day! Love, Kim Hello Everybody! Happy Friday!
Today's devotional reading is about patience. I don't know about you all, but I'm not so great at waiting. We live in an immediate gratification world. If I don't know the answer to something, I google it and know in mere seconds. If I want to buy something, I go to amazon and can literally buy something with one click, and it will arrive right at my doorstep within two days. If I want food, I go to a store and get food. If there are long lines at the store for food, what an awful mood it puts me in. How dare I have to wait!!?! What an absurd thing, really. This post itself tested my patience! I wrote this whole thing out, then went to add my graphics and it somehow deleted my entire post. The inner turmoil with having to RETYPE my own thoughts, was kind of hilarious to be aware of. Typing about having patience, and having to be patient because it didn't go as I expected. Thanks, God, for the immediate example :) I loved the example given in the reading today, of the art teacher who gave the assignment for her students to stare at a particular painting for three hours. Staring, thats it, for THREE. HOURS. Sounds like torture to me. But, the idea behind it is if she would ask them to study it, they would give it a quick glance and look at the painting. But, to slow down and spend time with the painting, they will see so much more (detail, brush strokes, color mixing, etc). You can look at something but not really SEE it. SEEING things really takes time, and in our immediate culture, we don't like to give things time. God is so patient with us. He is unfolding Himself to us over our lives, in different ways. The more we slow down and really aim to SEE Him, the more we will learn about Him, We want to know, and we want it now. But, it doesn't work like that. The Wake Up section of today's reading asks us to slow down, and ask God what He would like us to learn from taking our time. I am interested to hear your thoughts on what there is to learn from this, as well as ways we can force ourselves to slow down!!! My first draft was much better. Dang, patience! ;) Love, Kim Good morning friends,
Today's post is a difficult one for me. I am struggling, and I tried to think of a way to lighten up a bit, but I want to be vulnerable with you and just have you see me where I am. Today's devotional reading is about hope. More specifically, having hope through the troubles that come. As many of you know, our dear friend David has suffered a medical event, unexpected, that will have lasting impacts on the course of his life, and his family. This news was very hard to hear, and has challenged me over the last few days. Good thing we had just talked about it being ok to doubt and ask hard questions of God, 'cause I surely have walked that path recently. The reading reminds us that Jesus did inform us that trouble WILL come. (John 16:33) But, goes on to give us a few bible verses that call us to have HOPE through these troubles (check out Romans 5:3-5). I am thankful that it also includes "Hope deferred is one of the most difficult aspects for us to understand." That is where I sit today. Hope is hard for me to understand. But, even given that, I do have hope. Pastor Joe has imparted this beautiful truth to me, and I do believe it: That there is a God, and that God loves me. (which goes for everyone). God LOVES David, and his family, and IS HOLDING THEM through this. I have HOPE in that. While I may not understand all the "whys" and questions that this event brings up, I do have the HOPE that this family will be ok. God is with them. Now, we patiently wait to see what God is up to in all of this. Reyes family, we love you more than you could ever know. We are praying for you ALL the time, and are holding you so close through this challenging time. The Wake Up section of today's reading asks where do you find yourself overwhelmed? How can you establish a thread of hope through your life? Please feel free to reach out to me and we can walk through this together! With deep love, Kim 1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. |
AuthorKim Labozzetta is the interim Director of Middle School and High School Student Life at The Quest. ArchivesCategories |