Tag: walk

stumbling thru life?

Don’t allow Your offense to be the stumbling block in your walk with God. Fix it and move forward.

Do you ever stumble when you’re walking and look back to see what caused you to trip? We look back to see the ‘culprit’ that made us fumble with our footing. Sometimes it is an uneven sidewalk, a rock we didn’t see, tree roots, or just simply clumsiness. How often do we  do this in our spiritual walk? Do we simply go on, never looking back and never seeing?

And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. 1 Peter 2:8

He is the answer and when necessary, He will trip us up so that we will turn back to Him. If we keep our focus on God, he will make our paths level and straight.

And I will make my mountains into level paths for them. The highways will be raised above the valleys. Isaiah 49:11

This is what the Lord says: “I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness— secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. Isaiah 45:2-3

We must follow God through his Spirit.

Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’” Zechariah 4:6-7

Prayer: Father, help me to do your will and walk in the paths you have prepared for me. Help me to listen to the Holy Spirit. Thank you for laying the groundwork in my life and engineering a level path to walk on. Thank you for your provision and for smoothing out the avenue set before me.

Unity of Faith

From dictionary.com: 

unity (noun) 
  • the state of being one; oneness.
  • a whole or totality as combining all its parts into one.
  • the state or fact of being united or combined into one, as of the parts of a whole; unification.
  • absence of diversity; unvaried or uniform character.
  • oneness of mind, feeling, etc., as among a number of persons; concord, harmony, or agreement.
Synonyms: accord, agreement, harmony, integrity, peace.

Unity of faith brings maturity, peace and perfect love.

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Ephesians 4:14-15

What will bring this maturity about?

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Ephesians 4:13

When will we have this unity of faith; what has to happen?

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16

Unity of faith brings maturity. Then we will live as we were created to live, by complementing each other in the body. We will live in peace and grow in perfect love – God’s love.

In Jesus Christ’s own words:

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”  John 17:20-23

(Emphasis by underlining is added.)

Wedding Bliss

My fiance and I have shared our story to anyone who will read or listen. I will share my version.

I used to write a political blog through a publication which I enjoyed. I made many friends through the years and have kept loosely associated with some of them. My moniker was ‘Str8_talk.’ (Not associated w/McCain!) One of the other bloggers I met was Jonathan Alligood, known as ‘Good Al.’ I occasionally read his posts. I had gone through a very anguished  relationship and I wasn’t looking to marry again or date anyone. At first I was adamant that I wouldn’t marry again but later I said “God will have to show me if I am to marry again, then I will know it is meant to be.”

I was writing from Kansas City, MO when I first encountered Jonathan through blogging. We found out that each of us were on Facebook, so we connected in that venue just before I moved in with my daughter in VA. I was looking to converse with someone who shared similar beliefs to mine. We shared what we both learned or believed in our faith in God’s Word and we had some very lengthy discussions on the Bible. We agreed on just about everything and we grew in the Lord together.

Fast forward to my son-in-love’s transfer to North Carolina, which is Jonathan’s home state. Jonathan had shared with me about a church in a suburb of Jacksonville, NC. I really enjoyed what he said about their beliefs and it felt right in my spirit (the spirit that I received through my salvation). I told him I would visit there because I would be looking for a home church.

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. Ephesians 1:13 (NLT)

The day I walked into Kingdom Life Fellowship (then known as Praise Tabernacle) I knew I had a church home. It was good, the worship and the message were phenomenal and I knew I had found rest for my soul. I am not a bystander though and I plugged in wherever I could. I worked a couple of times through the food bank and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting those people. If it weren’t for the generosity of my daughter I might have been one of ‘those people.’ I also helped with other areas, and served two days in the soup kitchen. I want to share the joy and peace God has given me. I love people of all types, isn’t that what we are encouraged to do?

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. Isaiah 61:1

I met another guy through a different ministry who asked me “What are you looking for in a man?” I told him “I am Not looking for a man, I am in a relationship with God and it is the most important relationship in my life.” I have continued to seek God first in my life. I wasn’t looking for a relationship or someone to marry. I just wanted to know God more; if and when I was meant to be involved with someone God would show me.

In December, I met Jonathan face to face. In the past, he had been at our church to hear teachings and the theatrical performances by the drama team. He came to see a play that our drama team put on which I was privileged to be a part. The next day he came over and visited for a few hours. By this time we were good friends and we shared more of the Lord. We knew each other better than friends we’ve had for most of our lives because we had a strong spiritual connection.

In January, I attended a seminar at his church three hours away with another friend from my church. This was not to see him but to continue on my spiritual journey and learn more about God. There were two sessions on Saturday and one on Sunday morning. During the praise and worship portion of the service, I felt like God told me “Jonathan will be your husband.” It was quite a shocking revelation but I had said all along that God would show me who, when, and IF I was to marry. I said “Okay God, you will have to show him as well, then I will know it is from you.” I didn’t change in the way I acted towards Jonathan but God was working on my heart in how I viewed him, moving from friend to eventual partner in life and ministry. I continued to be his friend, knowing that if God was in it, He would work on his heart as well.

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 

Obviously, if you know us or looked at the title, you know that God did start revealing to Jonathan that I might be the woman for his life. In April I mentioned to Jonathan that I wanted to go somewhere and shoot some photography. I asked his advice on the state parks since NC is his home state. He told me he might not be available on that Saturday and I asked him why he said this. I hadn’t been hinting for him to go, I just wanted his perspective as a native Carolinian. He said he needed to get out and he would like to go. We spent the day together at Raven Rock State Park hiking the beautiful trails with the dogwood in peak bloom. That evening we went to an authentic Italian restaurant where the song playing when we walked in was “I Can Only Imagine.” This seemed to set the tone for the day. 

        

After dinner, we went back to the park for more hiking. We ended up getting caught in a thunderstorm together and walked back in utter darkness except for the occasional lightning strikes and light from the small flashlight which I had grabbed before we set out on our second hike. We managed to get back to our cars by making all the right turns.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

We have had many dates since April and feel very blessed to be in each other’s lives! On July 23rd, Jonathan proposed to me at my church. We will be getting married on August 20th! We look forward to a shared ministry together.

You may read Jonathan’s version of our story here: 

Good Al is Getting Married to Kimberly


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