Wednesday Word // Encouragement.



What has God taught you about encouraging others in the blog world / real world?
 



Whew! Can I start with that?!  First, let me address the "What has God taught you" portion of the sentence.  God has taught me SO many things, but and foremost God has taught me to trust Him in every situation.  Lately, I've found myself in the dark on so many decisions / events in life and I've left my full trust in His care.  And I feel wonderful.  I feel encouraged. 

 

 

So, what has He taught me about encouraging others?  It is vital.  It is as necessary as taking the next breath of life.  Without Him, we are dying and going to hell.  Living a good life doesn't give you that automatic pass into Heaven's gates.  We have to earn our keep and God is there pushing us the entire way.
 

o "It's scary."  You are dang right it's scary.  Don't you think God knows you are scared and shy to stand up for Him?  He is challenging you, friend.

 

 

o "I don't know what to say."  None of us do.  God will provide the words, you provide the source.

 

 

o "I don't know enough to tell anyone else."  Honestly, this is the one that gets me the most.  For a long time I feared that I didn't have all the answers for a lost soul.  And then God smacked me in the face and I realized I'll never have ALL the answers.  That's why he wants all His children to come to Him.  He is our safe-house. 

 

 

STOP making excuses.  Get out there and tell a friend / family member about God's love for you and I.  We are His children.  And I for one want all my loved ones with me one day when we are walking into those pearly gates. 

 

 

So, to answer the prompt, God has taught me to be ME.  He has taught me to stand up for what I believe in and not feel ashamed by it.  He has taught me that He is my Father and will be there for me and you in every situation in life.  He has taught me to pray, and pray hard, for our world and our brothers. 
 

God has taught me encouragement and He has shown me encouragement.

 

 

What has He taught you? 

Wednesday's Words (Intro)

I'm so excited to be joining today with Jenni and Martha Kate for Wednesday's Words.  Finding other women who love the Lord is one of my favorite aspects of blogging.  I've met and did Bible Studies with women I would never met in this life if it weren't for our beloved BlogLand.

So, since this is a brand new link-up, the girls wanted to start off with a little introduction.  So, here's a little more about myself..

I'm Kayla White.  I live in the NE corner of Mississippi. ( I'm seriously like 10 miles from the TN line and 20 from the AL line!)  I'm 30 years old and married to my precious husband, Brian.  We are coming up on our one year anniversary in October.  I can't believe it's already that close, but the Lord blessed me with the man that He knew I was meant to spend my life loving unconditionally.   

We have two furbabies, Reagan and Roxie, who have no idea that they are really dachshunds. They really are what makes our house a "home."  When I'm not blogging, you can find me reading or re-arranging some area of our house.  Brian just shakes his head at me. ha!

I've been blogging for several years now, but in the last two years I've really put more focus into making it memorable.  I started it as just a fun thing to do, but once I met and got engaged to Brian, it lead me down a road of being able to document our lives and all the memories I never want to forget. 

I've loved meeting the women that I have through this journey and I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for me next!  So, grab a cup of coffee (and me one too!) and let's be friends. 

 

#NamesOfGod2014 Volume V

Recap: Vol I, II, III, IV.

Chapter 10 Pausing For A Moment - Chapter 12 The Lord Who Sanctifies You

I love how in the opening of this chapter, she states how she simply reacts to situations rather than truly listening and relying on God.  We all do this and we all need to strive to fix this.

Now, I'm not going to lie to you.  Marking the words in this exercise was challenging for me.  I really don't grasp things or ideas that way.  It's just not in how I learn.  So this section really didn't help me. I can see the reasoning behind it and hope that you (who do like it!) found it beneficial. 

Here we are introduced to another name, Jehovah-nissi, meaning "The Lord is My Banner."

I want my banner to wave high and proud.  On judgment day, I want My Banner to show my obedience to Lord.  I love how it says "You are not alone on that battlefield; look to the Lord your banner." 

Isn't it nice to know He has us and comforts us when we most need it?!

Jehovah-mekoddishkem is the next name given to us.  This means the Lord sanctifies you. 

What did you think of this week's studies?

**Also, I want to bring your attention to something.  I know most of you have heard of The Unveiled Wife.  Well, I was chosen as one of the bloggers to participate in doing her 30 day devotional study.  I am starting it today and would love to have some of you do it with me as well, if you would like. 


I am hoping this will provide a new outlook on my marriage with Brian.  We are still newlyweds, but I know some days I could do more as his wife to support him.  I am ready to God to show me something in this study.  I'm eager to learn.

I will be posting my final review on September 1, 2014.


Let's let God control our lives and marriages. 

#NamesOfGod2014 Volume IV

I have to admit, I'm at the beach this week, so this post might be shorter than they normally are for regular weeks. In case you missed my previous weeks then check out Vol. I, II, III. 

This time I'm covering Chapter 9: The Lord who Heals

Very early on in this chapter, we find a statement that says Ignorance is bliss.  That's exactly how I feel a lot of days.  It says we live in our own world, ignorant to the reality of how much we need God.  

We want to change the world ourselves.  We want to make the most of our days, but we don't want to be bothered with others troubles. To me, these are the days when God is challenging us the most.  He wants to see us reach out our hands to those in need, those who need our love. 

We are introduced to another name, Jehovah-rapha.  This means the Lord who heals!

Today, stop and take a hard look at yourself.  Are you sharing The Word? Are you helping those who need relief? Are you telling of God's wonders?

Jehovah-rapha is the Great Physician. If you need physical, emotional, or spiritual help then you need to seek Jehovah-rapha. 

Keep God close. He is listening.  He will heal.

#NamesOfGod2014 Volume III

* Not sure why this posted, half done, yesterday.  If you saw it, please dis-regard that and try today!*

 

This study is amazing.  If you are not participating, I strongly encourage you to grab a book and start it yourself.  It will not disappoint.  If you want to catch up, you can find my Volume 1 and Volume 2 posts for a recap.  

Today I'm going to be covering Chapters 5-8.  I'm totally sure I'm on track with everyone else, but since there are no rules I am just going to handle it this way.  It makes sense in my mind! ha!

 
Chapter. 5 The All-Sufficient One   In previous reading, we leaned of Elohim, El Elyon, and El Roi. Today we are moving into the name El Shaddai, meaning the all-magnificent one.    We see the example of God appearing as El Shaddai to Abram when he blessed he and Sarah with descendants.  This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible.  That's pure trust.  Abraham and Sarah believed in the Lord and His promises.  
  In my own personal life, I've seen El Shaddai on those days when I felt like life was just too much and I was letting stress take over my heart and mind.  El Shaddai showed up and helped me conquer those issues.    

Chapter 6 The Lord

 

Before knowing God as El Shaddai, Arthur says we need to know Him as Adonai, meaning your Lord and Master.

 

To really know the Lord, you have to have a relationship with Him. This means you give total submission to Him. He is your Lord and Master. 

I really love how it states that with submission comes all we need for the task He puts before us.  So many times I find myself feeling "alone" but God always shows up and shows me that He has my hand, even in the most difficult of days.

Chapter 7 The Self-Existent One

We are introduced to another name, Jehovah.  This is a name fairly common in our language.  We see it abundantly in scripture. It is translated to mean " to be, or to become".  We see that God tells Moses at the burning bush that he is "I AM WHO I AM".  I think it's important for us all to remember that in our daily walks.  He is the same as he was and the same as He will be.  Lord and Master, forever.

Chapter 8 The Lord Will Provide

Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide.  Isn't that the best thing to hear?  Our Lord WILL BE THERE for us.  In those lonely bad days and through the glorious days.  He will be there. And He will provide.

Are you seeing God speak to you through this study? Have you been following along?  Don't forget to LINK-UP today with Rachel or Nicole.  I'm so excited to see what your heart has to say.  Don't be afraid to listen, He will speak.  

 

 

COMMUNITY BREW : Vol. 2

MARRIAGE

Verses: 

Ephesians 5:22-33

1 Corinthians 7:32-35

I'm so happy to see you back here today for the Community Brew link-up.  First, I want to say thank you to the ladies who keep this going, Madison and Rachel.  I love that we can use this space and our lives to show off what the Lord is doing in each of our lives.

I also want to encourage you to read the verses listed above, especially the ones listed for Ephesians.  This is used in marriages all over the world.  It was spoken in mine.  These words are DEAR to me heart.

How has your "life stage" helped you grow in your relationship with Jesus? 
- I turned thirty this year, so to say that my life stage has changed is an understatement.  I think in the last two years, I've found an even deeper relationship with God that I ever thought i would, honestly. 

What has God been teaching you about being single?
- Ladies, please hear me.  If you are single then YOU ARE NOT ALONE.  I thought being single was the worst thing at one time.  I was depressed that all my friends had husbands/boyfriends/etc. to go and do something with on weekends.  I was bitter. 

And then I started realizing that life isn't so bad single.  So, I used my time being single to focus on ME and MY dreams.  I went out with friends, caught up with old friends, spent time reading, and just being ME.  It was so beneficial in hindsight, and guess what?  Brian walked into my life shortly after...

What is God teaching you about being a wife?
- Every day, God gives me a new lesson on being Brian's wife.  Some days it can be something as silly as learning to be less control-freak when Brian leaves his empty glass on the table.  Then, some days it's challenging when I have to be in a serious conversation with my husband over something personal to us.  I am blessed for both of those days because I would be lost without him. 

God doesn't give us more than we can handle.  If you think He has, then I assure you that your lesson is yet to be learned.  God pushes us, test us, and angers us sometimes.  But being a wife is my priority right now and I will ask God to guide me any way He can.

What lessons have you learned while being engaged?

- My time while engaged, was a huge blessing to me.  I can see now that I was taught patience.  When Brian and I got engaged, I was ready to settle the deal and just have a wedding and become his Mrs.  But I stuck with my plans and waiting 11 months to walk down the isle to the man of my dreams.  To some, eleven months is long and to some it is short.  I think for me it was perfect.  God knew I needed the time to adjust and let me learn a valuable lesson from it in doing so.

You can catch my entire Love Story by clicking here.

#NamesOfGod2014 Volume 2

I am so happy to be back today with volume 2 of #NamesOfGod2014.  If you missed my post #NamesOfGod Vol.1 then you can find that as well.     Again, I want to say thank you to Rachel and Nicole for hosting this Bible study.  I love that I have found a good group of friends via blogland to share my love for the Lord.  I love what this study is showing to all of us, even if those things be very different.   That's what is awesome about God. He shows you what He knows YOU need to see, not what everyone else thinks you should. I'm picking up at Days 5-10 today.  

First let's dig in with the name El Elyon.  This is the name that designates God as the sovereign ruler of the universe.  I love this name.  I love knowing that our God is the ultimate ruler, protector, etc.  God is our ruler from generation to generation.  He wasn't just around while our grandparents' and parents were growing up.  He is still here today with us, and will be there for our children's lives.  He is there, all the time. Doesn't that give you a sense of peace?

 

In Isaiah 46: 9-11 God encourages us to forget all those things of our past.  We need to let go of them and stop letting them have control over our lives.  It's only God who can control us.  It's all through Him. I can speak from personal experience and tell you that I'm thankful for a forgiving, loving. non-judgmental God.

 

As we move on into chapter four, we are introduced to another name of God.  El Roi is the God who sees.  Life will not always be perfect.  We will get hurt, angry, sad.  We will feel betrayed and wonder why God would allow bad things to happen to us.  We may even feel like God isn't listening or watching out for us.  El Roi is the proof that He does listen, He does see.  God never turned his head on us, even if we feel He has.

 

I love knowing God sees.  Don't you?

 

I understand finding it hard to trust, but with God, it's secure.

 

What did you learn? I would love to hear.

THE BEAUTY IN ALL OF US

I'm sure most of you have seen/heard about Colbie Caillat's video addressing women's natural beauty and the way society has driven women to feel like they have to "try" to become beautiful.
That's where women are wrong.  They don't have to try.  
You just are.  
God made us all in our own special ways.  He designed us just as He saw fit for us.  
I love to dabble in make-up and hair products just the same as most of you, but we need to remember that we are who we are WITHOUT those items.  
Please check out the video below if you haven't seen it yet.  Or, if you just want to see it again like I did.


Way to go, Colbie.  The world needs more people like you.

#NamesOfGod2014: Volume 1

I'm terribly heartbroken that I am late with this post, but sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles.  It's not going to stop me from posting because this is for Him and I want to know all I can.

So, if you are joining me today, I want to let you know this is my first installment of my thoughts/reflections on Kay Arthur's book, Lord, I Want to Know You.  Two of my favorite blogs to read, Rachel of Rachel Rewritten and Nicole from Bloom are hosting this study.  I love both of their hearts and their obedience to God to go forth in leading this study for us. 

So, on with the goods.  If you haven't seen/heard this study is happening then go on over and order your book at Amazon or go to your local LifeWay store.  I am so pumped to see what the Lord will teach me.

Days 1-4

In the introductory part of this book, God is mentioned to be a "protector."   That alone just speaks to my soul.  When I'm troubled, I turn to God.  When I have something big and exciting on my heart, I turn to God.  All throughout the day I find things that are happening because of Him.

A protector is what He is to me.  He protects my soul.

When you are in trouble, who to you turn to?  I'm going to bet a lot of you turn to your husbands, or partners.  I do.  It's natural to want your significant other to fix things or share your feelings. But why do you turn to them instead of God?

Do we need that physical touch? A hug? A pat on the back?  Are we becoming a body of people who are shallow to life and need physical interaction instead of facing our giants with God in our prayers?

I love that this book states that as Christians we have feared and stepped back from "boasting in the name of God," which means "to have confidence in."  Our people are focused on physical touch, or things we can tangibly see and hear instead of the Lord talking to us.  We ignore that.

So many people are scared to talk about God in public.  We see and hear every day of someone being jailed or killed for telling of God' love.  But why does that stop the rest of us?  We have lost that confidence.  We are letting Him down.

Let's focus on the statement on page 10.  "I saw that as a woman I am to treat my husband in such a way as to give a correct opinion or estimate of him as a man."

This just stood out to me.  I value my duties as Brian's wife. I know what we do separately will in some way or another reflect back on our spouse.  However, I never thought of it as a measure of him as a person and his loyalty.

Do you love your spouse and glorify him/her? God created you to live for His glory and for His pleasure. This is an essential part of our Christian walk.

Upcoming: Beth Moore

You know her.

"The bigger the hair, the closer to God!" - Beth Moore

You love her.

You can see her, live.

Beth Moore is a woman with a heart for God.  She founded Living Proof Ministries in 1994. She wanted to teach women how to love and live on God's Word.

For those ladies in Mississippi (or near!) I want to especially reach out to you.  Beth Moore and Living Proof Ministries is making a stop in Memphis, TN at the FedEx Forum on August 22-23, 2014. 

I am making plans to attend, and would love to see you there as well!

Come out and have a great women's event to worship our God. 

For more information, please click here.

 

Community Brew {Vol.1}

YA'LL! I am so excited about this today.  When Madison and Rachel started this link-up, I found myself so encouraged by all the women who participated.  I love the idea of this virtual coffee date and getting to know one another, even if we are miles and miles apart!

 

The girls renamed the link-up to Community Brew and it will now be a more regular link-up.  I love knowing there are other Christian women who want to share their faith and gain new friendships via this blogging world, like myself.

This link-up is created for bloggers to be open, honest, and vulnerable, and to build community with others.

Topic:

Community

Bible Verse:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Brainstorming Questions:

What does community mean to you?

Why is it hard to pursue community or open up to others?

What does it look like to "live in a community" with other believers and non believers?

Why is community important to you?

What does it look like to love your neighbor?

To me, the idea of community is honestly scary.  I have never done real well "in crowds" and I sure am not very comfortable letting just anyone and everyone inside my thoughts and fears. But that's what community needs to be.  We need a community of believers who can lean on each other and offer a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen when times get less than great. 

I'm a very private person, by nature.  I don't let anyone in very easily and I sure have my guard up in any new relationship I plunge into in life.  That's purely the fact that the old me was too trustworthy and it got me in bad relationships and caused a lot of hurt feelings. 

I believe for this very reason, it is hard for people to commit to being part of a community.  Sometimes the word "community" itself can come across leaving a bad taste in your mouth.  I am from a small town and I have seen/heard things from those who "lead our community."  Over the years, I've agreed and disagreed with movements and choices, but as I've aged, I've figured out my grumbling does nothing FOR the community.  I need to stand up and be a part of things and show my own talents and suggestions.

Growing a town and growing religion in that said town is an even harder task.  There will always be non believers around every corner to try and pull you down and steer you from showing just how wonderful God is to our lives.  This is when we need a community the most. 

My hope and prayer is for a community stand to show our love and gratitude toward God.  I want non believers to see us and have to re-think THEIR lives instead of trying to change our views.  The Lord works in mysterious ways and I think sometimes in the most uncomfortable settings.

While Brian and I were dating, we were attending two separate churches.  I knew this was something I wanted us to fix ASAP in our marriage.  He had responsibilities to his church by operating their sound booth so he and I didn't get to start attending church together until a month before our wedding.  We bounced around to a few churches in hopes of finding "our" church home together. 

While I LOVED my church pastor and his messages, Brian just simply wasn't comfortable in that church.  It is the largest church in town and a drastic change from where he was attending.  I knew this was God's way of showing me marriage was a compromise from the very beginning.  We ended up settling at his home church.  While at first that may sound "unfair" that I left mine and we now attend one of his choice, let me assure you it was my decision.

Walking into that church is a sense of community for me.  Like I said, I've never been the center of attention or a crowd seeker, but when I walk in this church and people fling their arms around your neck and ask things other than "how are you?" then it changes my outlook.  I feel at home at our church.  I feel a part of the community.

Brian's membership was still at this particular church, so there was no process for him to join.  I began to pray that the Lord would put it upon my heart to join this church if this is where Brian and I were supposed to worship.  I'll be completely honest, there were a few times I felt like God was talking to me, but I turned my ear until this one particular Sunday night.  God was pushing me to that altar and begging me to trust Him.  And I did.  The tears on my husband's face was worth every ounce of insecurity it took for me to stand before that church body.  (Remember, I don't like all eyes on me.)  It's a memory I hope to last a lifetime.

So I encourage you to BE a community yourself.  Invite friends over.  Put yourself out there. Trust in the Lord.

And speaking of community, I am so blessed and thankful for my fellow blog ladies who I really feel "a part of the community" with when I e-mail and text and read their blogs.  Communities aren't always those physically near you.  It can be those you don't even know in real life.  But your worth in their eyes is one in the same. 

   

Wednesday in the Word: Worry

Good morning, loves.  I'm linking up with one of my favorite bloggers, Jenni, from Frankly, My Dear.  It is so nice to know that there are other Christian women out there who want to show their love for the Lord.  I adore seeing Jenni's posts every Wednesday morning and I always think to myself that I wish I could just remember to get mine written.  Well, guess what? It happened this week and I'm here to share my heart with you. 

 

Worry.

 

This is a word we all know, and all hate.  I'm by nature a worrywart.  Over the years, I've had many friends come to me for advice or just to share their hearts about current issues.  I always do my best to listen and give them good sound advice, or my opinion.  But that's never stopped what happened after our talk.  I began to worry.  I would worry for them, for their heart, for the others (if there were) involved, and what the outcome would ultimately be for the issue.

 

I would take things to heart, sometimes too much to heart.  And that's when I turned to God to give me a solution to still be able to be that kind of friend that someone feels they can come to, but yet I can lean more on His timing and let Him handle the worries, not me.

 

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

 

This verse is exaclty what I needed in my life.  I needed to hear that is is normal and okay for me to want to carry the wordly worries, but I should not let that remain on my shoulders.  God knows the outcome before I even know the problem.  Stop and think about that for a minute.

 

God knows the OUTCOME before we know the PROBLEM. 

 

He's a mighty God. 

 

Every day we will find a new "struggle" in life, but we cannot let that take over our hearts.  God wants us to live a good, faithful, spiritual life and help spread His word.  We can't be overcome with the world's problems and slack in our duties to God. 

 

I'm not at all saying this will be easy.  Life isn't easy.  Hard life decisions aren't easy.  But what you can find easy is God's love. 

 

He will provide for you, if you shall let him.

 

So the next time you, or someone else, face a hard time in life just rememeber Matthew 6:34. God WILL be there for you.

 

Happy Wednesday, friends!

A Weekend to Remember!

Wow, I feel like I have not published a blog in forever.  My apologizes for that one.  Life has been rather hectic lately! But I wouldn't trade it all because God has been working ALL around me lately.

 

This weekend was a VERY special weekend for the White side of the family.  After months of planning and talking behind her back, my brother-in-law planned a surprise proposal for Lindsey. 

 

We met at a local restuarant to celebrate Bryce's birthday.  But what Lindsey didn't know is that she was getting more than family time. 

 

It was a very sweet proposal.  Each of us had our own sign to hold up and take part in Ben's big question.  I know she was caught off guard!  Congrats Ben and Lindsey and officially welcome to the White clan!

 

After the propoal, Brian, Ben, Lindsey, and myself all went to see God's Not Dead.  Believe me, if you have not seen this movie then you NEED to go.  You will walk out of there with a new sense of yourself and living for God.  It is a huge eye opener and I plan on owning it one day.  It's a MUST SEE.

 

Saturday for lunch we met up with my wedding photographer and Lindsey booked her for her wedding.  I'm SO excited to know we will get to see more of Amanda!  She did a fantastic job on my own wedding and I know she will for Ben and Lindsey as well.  Not to mention she is one of my best friends now. 

 

 

 

After a good lunch and catching up, Brian and I went by to see my little sidekick, Jenna.  She was all wound up on sugared donuts, LOL!

 

 

 



Sunday was another big day for us.  After church and a family lunch, we took Brad home with us while the rest of the crew went to see God's Not Dead.  They loved it as much as we did and came out of there feeling a spritual high just as we had Friday night!

 

 

It was so much fun hanging out with my little man and enjoying some snuggle time.  After the crew was out of the movie, they came and hung out with us awhile.  Then, the best thing happened.  I was watching The Walking Dead and I got a FaceTime call from Bethany.  Now this is not usual for us.  Bethany and I text ALL the time, but not FaceTime, so I moved back to the bedroom and answered.  Bryce was there, so I was talking to him and then he starts crying.  I immediately think something bad is wrong.  And then he tells me why he is calling.  And they were the sweetest words..

"I just asked Jesus into my heart."

 

Ya'll.  I mean really, I died inside.  That was the best thing I had heard.  My sweet Bryceman has made his eternal decision and there just are NO words to describe how AWESOME that is to hear!  The tears were flowing, and they lasted awhile.   

 

We are rejoicing today people.  GOD'S NOT DEAD!



 

 

Wednesday in the Word

Good morning, dolls.  How is everyone on this fine Wednesday?  The weather here has turned off back cool and looking stormy so I'm hoping for no bad weather later tonight.  I'm SO ready for Spring and Summer to make it's appearance and stick around.  My soul needs sunshine.

 

Today I'm linking up with Jessi from Frankly My Dear.  This girl is awesome in her love for the Lord and after talking to her, we actually are orignally lived near each other and didn't even know it!  Small world!  Go check her blog out and get to know this sweet girl. 

 

 

John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

 

Honestly, I would say that most days I feel like I have troubles and things that I worry over.  It may be as small as what to eat for lunch, or as important as how to pay the huge gas bill we got in the mail.  Either way, it is a part of our daily lives to worry.

 

We live in a society that gives us plenty of things to be troubled over.  Each day the crime rates grow and more lives are taken for senseless acts.  This world we live in needs help.  It needs God.

 

People want to lean on prayer when it is convient for THEM, but God doesn't work that way.  God wants you to lean on Him during good and bad days alike.  The troubles you face cannot be blamed on God for "not answering a prayer."  We, as humans, make our lives and the things we face come to us based on how we choose to live our lives day to day. 

 

We need to remember to not loathe in self pity, but rather give our troubles to God.  He already knows those troubles and has a plan for our lives.  Seek Him.

 

Let's talk God!

  Hello, loves!  How is 2014 treating you so far?  I must say, I'm loving mine.  Brand new year brings about brand new opportunites for yourself.  If you are a "scheduler" and a Type A personality like myself, then you see endless chances to get things back on a good schedule.   Reading my Bible more is actually my #1 task this year.  I will admit that I have tried three different times to read the Bible from front to back, and failed each time.  And oddly enough, I get to the same spot each time.  I just get lost in all the long names, I suppose.    So this has been on my mind, and since my wonderful husband bought me a new Bible for Christmas (complete with the new happily married name!) then this is now the time to try once again.  BUT this time, I don't want to pressure myself.  I am currently in the middle of a few Bible studies that I encourage you to try yourself.   Being that I am a newleywed, I am beyond thrilled to be doing the Wife After God challenge this year. It is 30 days of devotions and time with your Bible to help you be a better Godly wife to your husband.  If you are interested, please feel free to visit Unveiled Wife, where she is leading this challenge.   Oh, and don't worry if you are thinking it's already Jan. 7th and you're behind.  I'm actually not on the same time-line as they are, but I caught up last night.  So it doesn't matter WHO else is doing it with you and when.  God's word isn't on a time limit.  

 

Now, item #2 on today's Let's Talk about God post, is that I am so excited to share that you can download FREE Beth Moore books for your Kindle, or Kindle app.  Please see this website to get your books.  This is a fantastic chance to get Beth's books.  She is amazing, and I know you will love her.  Also, she is coming to Memphis in August and I am going! Maybe some of you can too, and we can meet??!     Aaaand, item #3 is the devotional I mentioned in my last post. I am joining in from Jan. 19 -March 1 for a devotion and Bible study entitled Made To Crave.  See the website for more information, and let me know if you will be joining me!   This is your time, ladies, to get better in line with God.  Let's make it worth it!

New Year, New me.

I kind of feel like I should re-introduce myself.  My apologizes for being absent for the most of December.  I finally took a break from the blogging world and LIVED.  
And I am so glad that I did.  I spent time with my family, Brian's family, friends, and gained a new outlook on life.  I'm turning over a new leaf in this little corner of mine on the blog-o-sphere.
So, let me back up with Christmas.  

The unofficial Christmas card.  I totally slacked getting a picture of the real one posted this year too.  Hey, don't judge.  We are barely back from the honeymoon, ha!
Anyway, the hubs did a good job this year by getting me a new Bible (with my married name), a Keurig, and a MICHAEL KORS.  [Sidenote: I might or might not have cried over that one!]
It was a great time hanging out with family and getting some much needed "life" back in me. 
But it is GOOD to be back.  I've missed you ladies and I have tried to keep up with others blogs here and there, but let's face it- I got too behind. 
So, if I missed something big in your life, bare with me! :)
So.  That brings me to 2014.
And I was in bed around 9:30 last night so, so no wild party pictures from me for this year.  I'm pushing 30 and I can feel it more every.single.day.
But, I do have some new years resolutions. Aside, from the obvious weight loss that a million other Americans are swearing to do, I want to get a better "Kayla" all around.  I want to lose around 10-15 lbs, but I've decided I'm not going on some crazy diet.  I can't win at diets.  I'm just going to eat smaller portions and try and control the sugar and bread intake! :)
Speaking of food and the temptation that comes along with it, I am starting a Bible Study (with my wedding photographer!) very soon.  If you are interested and want to participate, then please see THIS WEBSITE and join in, and please let me know you are doing so!  I would love to have you to discuss it with as well!
Another resolution that is dear to my heart is one that I have tried at three times, and failed. But this will be the magic year for me.  I just feel it.  I am going to read the Bible through THIS PLAN I found via one of my favorite bloggers, Nicole, who is a God-loving woman.  I strive to have a mindset more like hers. I can't wait to strengthen my heart, my mind, and my relationship with God.
So, I'm back ladies.  And I'm ready to give 2014 the best it can be! :)