Days Following Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Is it really too late to tell you Merry Christmas!? 

I think we should use that -traditionally used in December- sentiment *all*year*long*. People who have never heard about Jesus, hear about Him unabashedly, daily, during "The Holidays"... Why can't we expound on Jesus year around with no shame? With no fear of offending? Jesus said if you are persecuted for My sake, you shall be blessed... 

My youngest son LOVES Christmas. I asked him recently what makes Christmas so magical for him. He told me it is because peoples' attitudes and demeanor change during this season. It is a mystery to me. Why can't people carry this same attitude and demeanor (heart) with them throughout the year? 

So, although it may sound funny hearing "Merry Christmas" in any other month than December, if you do hear someone say those very words in an out-of-place day or out-of-place time, you may have just met/heard this Blog's author... 

Merry Christmas to you with all the cheer of the holidays throughout the year!

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:10-12 NKJV

Getting Ready for Church...

When I was a little girl, my parents took us to church. I learned about Noah and Moses and GMG (Girls Meeting God) and Daniel and the lions and David & Goliath and tithing and how scary God is and rainbows and crosses and the Three Wise Men and Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.  I was, and still am, very fond of Baby Jesus. But more so now than ever in my life. I knew Jesus; I know Jesus. I heard the stories. I had the best parents in the world. I was in a loving home. I had food, shelter, family, love... I was even told a secret... that the Little Engine could if he kept trying. Oh, that's another story...

This morning as I have prepared to go to church I think about what it means. I think about how there is pomp and circumstance. I think about how people go to church as families, why they are going, and what it really means to them to be in .C.H.U.R.C.H.  I am tired. I am busy with my job. I have been staying at school late every night. I am caught in a trap. 

I want to go to .C.H.U.R.C.H. to see Jesus. I want to be there because God calls ME there, and calls ME to fellowship, and calls ME to learn, and calls ME to take what I have learned and "Go!" to call YOU.

Do you see how Jesus put into motion what was meant to restore our relationship with God? 

I have read the Advent study e-mail from our pastor and there was an eye opening statement made by one of the authors of the book he is using to guide that study.  It said, Jesus, instead of storming the authorities' offices to take over, "gathered a small group, shared His vision, and let His revolution happen a little bit at a time." Ed Robb

That is an incredible thought. We are a part of the authority of Christ if we have taken up His cross and follow Him. We are a part of the R.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N! Even in our tiny churches, in our small town, in our insignificant communities. As a whole, we are the body of Christ. We are in The Lord's Army... As were my folks who taught me about Noah and Moses and GMG... and their parents, and their parents... I praise God for the legacy of Jesus Christ... handed down to me StepxStep.

"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Joshua 5:13-14

Why should I believe in Jesus?

There is only One worthy to believe in. Jesus

I grew up thinking that I would never be enough; I was right.
I grew up thinking I could never do enough; I was right.
I grew up trying to be enough; I was wrong.
I grew up trying to do enough; I never could.

When I finally realized that I had wasted so much time trying, I was not devastated; I praised God for giving me eyes to see and ears to hear when He did. It was not too late. There are so many people who are spoken to, but never hear, until it is too late. There are millions who are shown, but never see, until it is too late.

There is nothing I can do of my own. There is nothing I can be on my own. There is only Truth. Jesus came to bring us Truth. He is The Truth, He is The Way, He is The Life... we cannot see God but through the Son.

I can hear the mockers and the skeptics and the deceived...but that is really only a diversion. A ploy to distract me from sharing Jesus, sharing Truth.

I know Jesus; I know Truth; I want to share Him with you.

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." Luke 4:18-19

Did you know you are the poor, brokenhearted, captive, blind, oppressed... If you were locked in a cell with bars would you not welcome the gatekeeper with the key? Jesus is the Gatekeeper... follow Him.

Begin at the beginning!

Believe in Jesus. John 3:16

Repent of your sin. Luke 13:3

Confess Jesus. Romans 10:10

I believe baptism is a profession of faith, not an action to save. I wonder what the thief on the cross beside Jesus felt when Jesus told him he'd be in paradise that very day? He had no time to work or be baptized, yet Jesus Himself took him to heaven... Interesting. 

[I neither mock nor make light of what Christ did on my behalf and the behalf of all humankind. I do question the works and words that have been attached by human hands to the simple message of Jesus.]

Jesus said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it:'You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 23:37-38

Finished

Have you ever noticed that we are given 24 hours each day... 720 hours in a week... 8760 hours a year... and we think we have a right to use each moment for our pleasure. For those who work, how many of us watch the clock in anticipation of the end of the workday so we can use our time as we choose? I could even be caught during hours of my workday using it for my pleasure... I look at my job as a calling & as a career & as a blessing & as a ministry & as a mission... & as a job. My pleasure is to serve the LORD.

Have you ever thought about those who would love to get out of bed to work, or to turn back the clock to recapture their working days. What about those whose job was ripped from their capable fingers because there was no money to pay them, or they turned 50+ and were traded in for a younger model? What about those who serve you and serve me... would they rather have a job as good as the one you whine and complain about? I know, I am ashamed of myself, too. It is pitiful how I have the best job in the world, yet all I think about is getting off at the end of the day or the weekend or the holidays...

Have you ever noticed that we are given time and we use it for our folly? Time wasted in front of a device, such as the one I am tapping away on as I think. (Although, I hope I am being productive with my tapping.) Television, computers, games, movies, the list goes on. Hours given away like an unappreciated or unwanted gift. Wasted where production could be realized. What could we do if we learned more or gave more or sang more or thought more or listened more or shared more or... You name it, what could you do less of to be more productive?

Have you ever given thought to the 24 hours we take for granted?

In reality time is the moments when we live punctuated by rest. Many of us don't use it as God intended. We waste more time than we have a right to. 

Have you ever realized that Jesus "finished" His ministry in three years. He was more productive in His three years than thousands of the rest of us in a lifetime. 

• Was it because He knew what was coming? It's likely. 
• Was it because He had a mission? That's likely, too. 

But I think it was really because He did not take even one minute of His human living for granted. He is, was, and always will be obedient to Our Father. Jesus came to do the business God sent Him to do. He was obedient unto the cross. Then, to give us teeny, tiny, little creations supernatural power from ON HIGH He sent the Holy Spirit. 

We do not need to live, and breathe, and do from our own strength... We have Jesus.

2 Behold, God is my salvation... Isaiah 12:2

10 ...by the name of Jesus Christ... 12 nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men... Acts 4:10-12

13b ...in Whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise... Ephesians 1:13b 

Jesus Became the Center of Time Itself.

Tick-Tock.Tick-Tock.Tick-Tock.Tick-Tock. 

Time. The alarm wakes me... I set it for six, but never rise at six. 

Time. Work at eight, but arriving with five.extra.minutes is a treat... I could treat myself daily, but remember, I never rise with my alarm.

Time. I watch as the minutes pass. I teach.  

Time. My heart grieves the loss of the present as it turns into past. 

Tick-Tock.Tick-Tock.Tick-Tock.Tick-Tock.

Time. A guard who ushers us through the day with an inconsistent set of expectations. Rigid. Relaxed. Never consistent. Always fluctuating. Always consistent. Never fluctuating. 

Time. A prison from which freedom only comes when the final breath leaves the body. 

Time. Where did we step off of the path; when did we lose the way?

Jesus Christ was born; time began to tick at a different starting point: Rum-pum-pum-pumm. 

A special star glimmered and lead the friendly on a timeless search: We Three Kings.

Centuries stopped; centuries began: . B.C. A.D .

When did we forget to honor the King with *our* time?

Whose pernicious lie have we fallen prey to moment by moment?

How did we lose our way and allow the enemy in to rob us of the sabbath, the one.day we are to set       aside for rest and to honor Him?

Where do we go to listen for that still small voice?

What are we going to do now?

Why?

StepxStep is no longer just a 'walk.about' journee; it has also become a 'one.day' journee. 

"But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one.day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one.day."  2 Peter 3:8 

The prompting for this excerpt is based on "O Come, Let Us Adore Him" pg. 22 CHARISMA Magazine Dec. 2014 

Beginning the Journee!

This is the planning part of starting a ministry. I have been pondering what to do FOREVER! O.K., only for the last couple months seriously...but it feels like FOREVER -a wonderful FOREVER-! I know this is where God is calling, and this is where I am going in obedience and with determination to keep my eyes on the Him.

It is all in the journee. I know journee is generally spelled j.o.u.r.n.e.y, but for me it is a different walk than the typical journey ~ it is a quest ~ it is Kami D's Journee, and it is going to be done StepxStep! : )

It is peculiar that I would use the name StepxStep, but Jesus walked everywhere He went. He walked every step of His journee. StepxStep. It was only when He entered into the final part of God's plan, His final ascent-descent, that He rode on a 'vehicle' that moved step by step. So, although we live in a land and at a time that step by step (rather than mile by mile) would be impossible, I am willing and determined to take my journee, and to keep my eyes on Him StepxStep.

So, without further ado, welcome to StepxStep: a personal blog, chronicling a personal journee taken in obedience to Jesus Christ, God of the universe and Savior of my soul. Come, join me! My backpack is loaded, and my Bible is in hand... adventures ahead on the path to the Promise Land..."Because narrow  is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life..." Matt 7:14 and it has to be traveled StepxStep.