Lay 'Em Down

Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”  Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things,  and by your will they were created and have their being.” (Revelation 4:8-11)

I read these verses this morning and I wanted to share them with all of you.  This is such an incredible depiction of what our lives serving God should look like.  When you break these verses down, you can easily see how this can be applied to our every day lives here on earth.  These verses are talking about life in heaven but we are the walking, talking, and breathing kingdom of God here on earth.  Each and every follower of Christ here on earth is a tiny piece of heaven for this world to see.  

Day and Night:  The creatures before the throne never stop worshipping God.  They worship Him day and night by acknowledging that 1) He is holy, 2) He is the only God, and 3) That He always was and always will be.  

Fall down before Him:  The twenty-four elders around the throne literally fall down before the throne of God.  This is an act of humility and acknowledging that God is so much greater than we could every think or imagine and that we are nothing without Him.  God is constantly working in and through us.  He chooses to use us for His glory and because of this we need to humble ourselves before Him and realize that we can do nothing without God.

Lay their crowns:  The crown is a representation of not only one's accomplishments but ultimately of someone's identity.  Any king or queen in history has worn a crown and it signifies their accomplishments to get to that point and it also signifies that they are in fact the king or queen.  The twenty-four elders lay their crowns before the throne of God.  As they do this they say that God is worthy to receive glory, honor and power because ALL things have been created by God.  The significance of this for our lives is that we need to realize that our accomplishments are not of our own doing but actually God working in and through us.  Because of this, God deserves all glory, honor, and power.  Also, the significance of the elders laying their crowns down signifies that we are not defined by our accomplishments, we are defined by who we are because of God.  Christ at work in our lives defines who we are.

These few verses pack a lot of practical ways that we can live out each day.  Worship God day and night in all that you do, humble yourselves before God, and give all glory, honor, and praise to Him who was and is and is to come!  When you apply these verses to your life, you will find that it becomes easier to keep moving forward...

Kelsey J.

The Father's Love

"Don't be deceived, my dear brothers.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:16-18

I will be speaking Monday night at camp to all of the girls and I wanted to write my thoughts down here before I did so.  I have been blessed with a very loving dad and a dad that I know will always be there for me.  He loves me unconditionally, supports my decisions, and has and will always be there for me.  I love him deeply and because of the love I have with my dad, it has made it easier for me to accept the love from my Father in heaven.  Some people have a hard time with accepting the love of God because their earthly father has failed them in some way.  I have never had this problem and I have grown up such a daddy's girl.  In this blog, I want to talk about a few instances with my dad that can easily be related back to our relationship with God.

When I was younger, I would sit on my parent's bathroom counter every morning and watch my dad shave.  I would time it perfectly so that I would get there just in time knowing that if I did, he would put some of his blue shaving cream on my nose.  I looked forward to this each day when I woke up.  Whether or not I was there, my dad was ALWAYS there first thing in the morning to shave.  I could choose to spend time with him or not.  God will ALWAYS be here for us.  We can choose to spend time with him and get to know Him better or we can choose to not spend time with Him. If we choose that path, then we will never get to know the full extent of His love and all of the many things He wishes to give to us.

My dad would get home from work about the same time each day.  I would hear the back door open and I would literally sprint from my bedroom into the kitchen and then jump straight into his arms.  Before I got too big, he would set me down and I would then cling to his leg and he would carry me back to my room like that.  This happened every day and it is one of my favorite childhood memories with my dad.  I clung to my dad each day when he got home from work.  In the same way, God wants us as His children to cling to Him and seek Him for comfort.  In the life we will have hardships and struggles but God wants us to rely on Him and cling to Him when the going gets rough.  I love sprinting into my dad's arms because I knew that he loved me, he would protect me, and that he wanted the best for me.  God loves you, will always protect you, and wants the best for you.  Sprint into His arms that will always be held wide open for you.

Also when I was younger, I had this heart shaped paper.  One day during church, I wrote "I love you" on one and gave it to my dad.  He still has that piece of paper in his wallet.  He also still has a voicemail on his phone from last year when I sang him happy birthday on his birthday.  The cool thing about God is that He stores our prayers up in heaven.  In Revelation it talks about how our prayers are like a sweet incense to God.  Our prayers are a sweet fragrance to God and He remembers what we say and He stores them up in heaven with Him.

The love that our Father in heaven has for us far outweighs any love that we will receive here on earth. He created each and every one of us and loves us deeply and passionately as His creation.  God gave each and every one of us a dad here on earth to show us a small portion of the love that He has for us.  Some father's fall short and don't show their children the love that they should.  Regardless of whether or not we have loving father's though, God will love us unconditionally no matter what.  God longs for us to spend time with Him, God wants us to cling to Him always, and God loves it so much when we pray to Him that He stores our prayers up in heaven.  Accept the love that the Father has to show to you and when you do, you will find that it becomes much easier to keep moving forward...

Kelsey J.

P.S.- I love you dad!!!!

#1 Super China Buffet VS. The God Buffet

"And my God will meet ALL your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:19

The them this summer at Camp Timberline is Provision.  Because of this, I have been learning a lot about all that the Lord is able to provide for not only me but also for everyone who is a follower of Christ.  I have started to notice more of everything God provides on a daily basis and realize how much I need Him in my life.  I have realized that my life will be much easier when I am relying on Him for my provision instead of trying to go about things my own way.

The title of this blog may seem weird but hopefully once I fully explain it, it will begin to make more sense and strike a chord with you.  At the #1 Super China Buffet, you pay a cheap price to eat an unlimited amount of mediocre food.  More than likely, a few hours after eating here, you will regret your lack of judgement and realize that was a poor life choice.  You will have consequences from eating here whether that shows up in the form of a stomach ache or something even worse.  The #1 Super China Buffet can easily be related to the world and what it tries to offer us.  We think that the world has so much to offer, but it will never satisfy us like we originally thought. In the world, we try to make our own way and we search for satisfaction in things that will later leave us with regret.

Now, lets relate the God Buffet to a relationship with God.  The doors are always wide open here.  There are a ton of signs everywhere that say "Free Buffet".  It's absolutely, without a doubt, no questions asked FOR FREE.  You have one of two options: believe that it is too good to be true or believe this as truth and accept this free gift.  The doors are always open and it is your choice on whether or not you enter in.  You see, Jesus Christ was your payment into this buffet.  He payed the penalty for your sin on the cross and if you choose to believe this as truth then you will get to enjoy all of the free gifts awaiting you on the other side of that door.  If you enter through these doors then you will have an unlimited supply of God's provision.  When people hear the word provision they automatically think money or material things.  God gives us so much more in the form of hope, eternal life, wisdom, identity, security, unconditional love, and the list goes on and on and on.  God offers us more than we could ever think or imagine.  What is offered at the God Buffet will not leave you feeling empty of unsatisfied.  All that is offered here is good and will ALWAYS satisfy you and it will NEVER leave you with regrets.

So here's the deal, why waste your time trying to pay your own way only to be unsatisfied when God has something so much better for you?  The Lord's goodness and His provision goes way beyond what we could ever think of imagine.  Enter through the doors of the God Buffet, accept His gift, and find the satisfaction that only God can give.  When you do, you will find that it is easier to keep moving forward...


“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” - C.S. Lewis

Kelsey J.