 What if we've missed the true point and focus of boundaries?
As Christians, or even those of us who just want to be "a good, moral person", we like to put boundaries on everything, right? Don’t watch R-rated movies… Don’t log on to this website… Don’t hang out with those people… Your clothing needs to at least cover this much… we can only spend x amount of time on social media. We could keep going and going and going. We love to ask, “What?” What’s the boundary? What’s the furthest I can I go? What’s the line between good and bad? We’re really focused on WHAT IS THE LINE??! Typically we stop there. But, when a Biblical boundary line is drawn, God never gives a WHAT without a WHY. Here's what I mean…
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 You are so blessed. Do you know that?
In case you don’t know quite how blessed you are, let me shoot you some statistics:
But, sometimes we forget, right? We’re surrounded by all this stuff all the time and we start to take it for granted. Or worse, we start to speak a word of ownership over all of these things that simply isn’t true. Do you know what that word is?  The New Year. A clean slate. A fresh start. I am always so inspired as I take down my Christmas decorations, clear out the clutter and get ready for a reset in my life. I like to open up a fresh new calendar with endless possibilities wondering what God will bring into this new year.
Walking into a new year can be equally exciting and terrifying. What will you have to walk through? What will God use to teach you? What blessings will be coming? What hardships are awaiting me?  This week marks the two-year anniversary of the day that my home flooded. It was a typical Thursday in November. I was at work when I received a call from my HOA that the river behind my building was rising… rapidly. An hour later, I received the news that the water had surpassed the two feet mark in my first floor condo unit. The damage was irreversible and set in motion a 21-month-long process of repair and renovation— in both my condo and my heart.
While feeling stuck in this extended season of the unknown, God was gracious enough to remind me that He is El Olam, the God of Eternity. If you find yourself in a season of:
Then I believe that this particular name and character trait of The Lord will speak directly to your heart and your situation...  You want me to do what? Standing in the jam-packed, sweaty New York City subway, hanging on to a pole for dear life—while simultaneously trying not to fall on anyone—God decides here of all places to ask me to do something uncomfortable. “I said, tell her I love her.” The response was crystal clear. I knew this was God and not my idea because everyone knows there are certain unspoken rules of the NY subway. And, I was about to break all of them...  Do you ever think about what you think about?
Seriously. What’s going on in that head of yours? What do you believe? You may be thinking of what Biblical knowledge you have. Like what you believe about Jesus. What you believe to be True. How you view the world around you in light of that. Maybe you have doubts. You’re reading this blog thinking, “Kaley… I genuinely don’t really know what I believe.” That’s totally fine. You do not have to have this figured out. God’s not scared of your doubts and questions. He can handle it. Ask away. Wrestle with this. You may not even care. That’s not important to you right now. That’s cool too. BUT did you know that no matter where we’re at, we all have some kind of formal and functional belief system that we operate our life out of. So, what do you believe?  We're packing up and headed out...
Our family loves to go camping. Does yours? As our last "hurrah" of the summer, our family is ditching the heat for some cool mountain air and all of our devices for adventure. I'm so ready. Packing for this camping trip reminded me of a writing I did from a time Gage and I did a cross-country adventure. I wanted to share it with you today because... There are some simple things we can do to prevent or even reverse those chapters of our lives where we burn the candle at both ends for so long that we have become simply ashes. Check out this note I jotted down from our campsite in Monterey Bay, CA to find out three three questions that will take you from burnt out to back on fire.  “Do you want some ABC gum?”
As a kid, when someone asked you this question, you quickly learned to say, “NO!” Why? ABC wasn’t a cute brand name; it stood for “Already Been Chewed.” If you said “yes,” your friend would spit out a saliva covered, flavorless wad into your open hand. It was hilarious as a ten-year-old… and disgusting. The thing is, a lot of us are probably not willing to accept any ABC gum, but we’re totally ok with an ABC faith. Here's what I mean...  Spring means it’s time to plant things. Fix up the yard. Finally put something in that empty pot in the front yard. I'm an amateur gardener at this point in my life. I have a small space in the yard with a few veggies sprouting up. There's an arch entryway with morning star jasmine trailing up the side. While I still plant things that don't survive and put things in the wrong place in my yard, for the most part I'm finally successful at keeping more things alive than not. But, I had to start somewhere. Years ago, when I planted my first real plant, my grandmother was the first one I called for advice. She's a green thumb if there ever was one and an expert when it comes to spring gardening.   As the pear and magnolia trees begin to blossom, and the daffodils, crocus, and hyacinth begin peeking through the earth to bloom, I find myself wanting to wander through the forest slowly soaking in the awe and wonder of spring. Not because I’ve got lots of extra time on my hands. But because I know I need to savor the truth that God is changing everything. And when I give myself permission to do this, to soak in the wonder of the certainly coming spring, I connect more deeply to that which is truest and deepest about myself. God is changing me, too. I don’t have to do everything. In fact, I cannot do everything. With every breath our creator so generously gives HE is reminding me I am accepted and empowered and I have the strength to keep going because HE is changing everything.
Do you need this reminder today, too? Does winter’s cold and darkness make you weary? Have you been in a long season of waiting and praying for something that still has not happened?
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