If you aren't already... you can follow me over here at KayleneElise.com for further Hungary updates. I doubt I'll be updating this blog much for the next few months. Look forward to seeing you over there. :-)
I am coming to the conclusion that one must be very careful about "blogging about tomorrow" because "you never know what that day may bring.". Just for example, you never know when one day you might leave for a photography course hoping to return and share pictures with your blog readers, only to find yourself, upon your return from said photography course, in a whirlwind of preparation to move to another country without any time to update the blog!
True story. You can read more here. (Read from the bottom, up, to get the whole story)
Starting another adventure today! I'm headed to Portland to hang with friends and go to a photography workshop I've dreamed of going to for literally, years.
Hope to return with amazing tales and photos to prove it. This summer has proved to be somewhat surreal. So many opportunities have worked out, many of them involving travel. I'm feeling very blessed and don't take a minute of it for granted! What are you up to this summer? Working? Playing? Fill me in...
You shall not go out with haste . . . for the Lord will go before you,
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard Isaiah 52:12
"Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.
Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands,
and step out into the invincible future with Him."
Oswald Chambers
I just finished the best chapter in the Bible. Is it ok to say that? Don't take that as a theological statement or anything. I'm just feeling biased at the moment. Revelation 22. [thats a huge hint to go read it.you won't be sorry] Its been a favorite for the last few months, and was a wonderful way to end this reading challenge.
Did you catch that? I just finished reading the Bible. And the fact that makes me the happiest is that a number of you have finished already as well. I'm curious how many of you really thought you could do it??
So far I have heard word that Leah (finished in 3 months), Anna (finished in 5 months),Angela, Laura, and Melinda have finished in 6 months. Would anyone else who's finished please comment! To all of you, I am blessed that you were blessed. And I deeply appreciate your accountability.
If you are not finished by midnight tonight you are automatically disqualified and you lose! please, please don't stop. =] Keep reading those deliciously large amounts of The Word. Keep on keeping on. We're still in this with you by prayer and accountability!
I kept wondering how we should end this. I thought about doing my first blog giveaway or having a drawing of some sorts. I finally decided-- I think all of us gained an incredible amount through reading the Scriptures. I don't want to take away from that. Nothing I can do in celebration of us reaching a goal, can really compare with that. So bloggy party?? Someday. But today lets just relish in God's goodness in the revelation of His written word and strive to share it with others. Please feel free to comment here on what blessed you the most during your journey through the Bible. Also, please link to your "finale" blog posts concerning the challenge. Thanks, thanks, and thanks!
"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let him that heareth say, 'Come.' And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Revelation 22:17
"When life hands us situations we cannot understand,
we have one of two choices.
We can wallow in misery, separated from God.
Or we can tell Him, 'I need You and Your presence in my life
more than I need understanding.
I choose You, Lord.
I trust You to give me understanding and an answer to all of my whys
only if and when You choose.'"
-Catherine Marshall
There is less than 1 week left for all of the 6-month-Bible-readers to finish on time!
I am in Hebrews and am simply basking in the richness of it and the books proceeding it.
I've spent this week sitting in a hospital room, next to the sweet elderly man I've been caring for the last few months. (When things are good I care for him at the assisted living--its been a bad week for the poor guy) Its been a sort of blessing in disguise to have that time to read the scriptures. Its amazing how through out these 6 months my circumstances have felt bathed in scripture. I often read in short intervals through out the day. God's perspective has been on my mind a whole lot more because of it. Thats what its all about isn't it? O to intimately know His heart more and more each day.
Later, peoples.
patient.
loving.
gentle.
manly.
strong.
wise.
careful.
faithful.
playful.
He's not perfect, But he's my daddy.
Happy Father's Day!
Happy Saturday!
I was just briefly going through my google feed reader when I came across my friend Melinda's post. In it, she very honestly, but sweetly shares of sister Rachel and their relationship. It blessed me this morning so I thought I would send my readers over to read it.
Interesting tidbit about Melinda and I. We met in Oregon. I was visiting a home fellowship one Sunday and I had shared where I was from. A couple (and their daughter, Rachel) came up to me afterwards asking me if I knew a family that used to be from my area. I did. Come to find out this couple was from Oklahoma! We kept talking and realized we had even more mutual friends (mostly thanks to the homeschool scene). It was such a treat to talk of friends from home after being away for several months. Anyways, Melinda's mom told me she had a daughter my age, so I gave her my contact info, sincerely hoping to hear from Melinda sometime. Melinda promptly emailed me... and the rest is history! Melinda is a sweet friend, and though we haven't gotten to spend as much time together as we would have liked, we stay in touch, and I'm thankful.
I'm off to finish my laundry and cleaning this messy room so I can escape this afternoon to a quiet place somewhere to do a little a lot of Bible reading* and photo-editing.
*only eleven days left! where are you? how can I be praying for you?
...We need to talk.
Ah, its ok. No one is getting spanked... unless you all rise up and decide I need a good one for leaving the blog unattended for going on two weeks with no explanation.... shame, shame on me.
But here's the scoop.
Two weeks ago I left on a ca-razy trip. The destination was the Oregon coast for a missions conference. The means of getting there... was the craziest [funnest] part of the whole gig. Its a whole post in itself. The conference was great. I have yet to discover how to summarize/describe a weekend like that in a single blog, with out actually live-blogging it. Hmmm... maybe I should look into that.
I'm back. I'm alive. And I'm trying to figure out what parts of the trip would be interesting enough to the world, that I should actually blog them. My sister also videoed me sharing a testimony in the ladies meeting. I have very mixed emotions about posting it. I'm undecided.
Now on to the current and more exciting news...
We are down to three weeks, Bible readers, three weeks!! The end of June will mark 6 months. And me oh my has it come quickly. Thats ok, and I'm excited to hear everyone's testimonies --whether it was victorious all the way, or struggles here and there. I know of a couple who have already finished. One accidentally chose a 3 month Bible plan and decided to stick with it--- and she really did finish in that time! Another one of you finished in 5 months! I'm blessed beyond what I can express, to hear/read of your desire for His Word. No matter the date you finish.
I thought maybe I should also mention...
If any of you are still subscribed to my old blog (everythoughtcaptive.wordpress.com) You may be getting posts in your feeder... that aren't from me. I handed the domain over to someone else who wanted to use the theme 'Every Thought Captive'. So that explains that... and the really cool templates the new inhabitant has been trying out that you may have noticed. Oh, and my archives from that blog have been moved to : kayleneelise.wordpress.com.
Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!!
"...Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." Proverbs 30:8&9
I'm excited that I'm excited to spend some time with Jesus tonight.
Because... Some days I do it because I know I should.
Some days I do it because I'm desperate.
Some days I just don't do it.
Some days I do it because I need to feel assured of His love.
But tonight. I do it because I feel I need to assure Him of mine.
Refocus. Deep breaths. Hand over the controls.
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine.
–As the Psalmist implies in Psalm 139 –
“Thou art the God of the early mornings, the God of the late at nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea; but my God, my soul has further horizons than the early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature. Thou Who are the God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot trace, dreams I cannot get at–My God, search me out.”
by Oswald Chambers. (emphasize mine)
hI've been given several blog awards in the last few days and I thought it would be fun to go ahead and acknowledge them here. I've been awarded a few over my blogging years (years?? I've been blogging for years?? Oh my.) but haven't always taken the time to post them and do the associated tag or assignment.
Blog awards don't necessarily represent prestige or rank in blogdom. They are more like just a fun ways to share your favorite blogs and, depict by the award you give them, why that blog is one of your favorites. Or thats the way it seems to me. But I for one, always feel a little special after receiving one. Between comments and blog awards, its fun to know people actually read what I write.
Abbie and Anna awarded me the 'You're going places, Baby' award. I'm with Anna, this has got to be the most unique I've ever had. Made me smile. The rules to this award are: Share where you see yourself in ten years and then award this to ten other bloggers.In ten years I'll be 30. And that right there, is sorta hard to wrap my mind around. The last 5 years especially have been so unpredictable its hard to actually put in writing what I imagine myself doing/being in 10. But here goes! I would love to be married and have some kids by then. If not, I'd like to be on the mission field somewhere. To be oober specific, I would like to be found, in ten years, surrounded by bunches of little black babies who need me at least as much as I need them.
I award this to (because I see all of these people going places, leading purposeful lives):
Sarah H gave me this award:
- Post about the tag.-Choose 5 bloggers who deserve this award.
-Leave a comment on the blogs of the people you tagged, letting them know they were awarded.
-Answer the questions along with your post. (Omit questions you don’t want to answer)
1. Which do you prefer–Apples, Oranges, or Bananas?
Oranges. Is this supposed to say something about my personality?
2. How many siblings do you have?
2. How many siblings do you have?
Three. a brother and two sisters
3. Where do you live–a prairie, Woodland, city, or other?
Hmmm. I guess that would be prairie. Cuz its definitely not the other two.
4. What is something you enjoy doing with your family?
Playing banana-grams and watching movies. Spending time in the Word and prayer.
5. Is your room clean?
we're working on that. :)
3. Where do you live–a prairie, Woodland, city, or other?
Hmmm. I guess that would be prairie. Cuz its definitely not the other two.
4. What is something you enjoy doing with your family?
Playing banana-grams and watching movies. Spending time in the Word and prayer.
5. Is your room clean?
we're working on that. :)
6. Which would you prefer to vist–Italy, Greece, France, Spain, or England?
Mmmm. maybe Spain. I'm not picky.
7. What is a scripture that encourages you?
Mmmm. maybe Spain. I'm not picky.
7. What is a scripture that encourages you?
Just one? Ok. Psalm 138:8 "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands."
8. Gum, chocolate, or jelly beans?
Gum. I know, I'm weird for not saying chocolate, but I'm being honest!
9. What are your favorite types of books?
8. Gum, chocolate, or jelly beans?
Gum. I know, I'm weird for not saying chocolate, but I'm being honest!
9. What are your favorite types of books?
Missionary biographies. by far my favorite.
10. Which is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Vanilla.
11. If you had to eat one type of food for two weeks, what would that food be?
10. Which is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Vanilla.
11. If you had to eat one type of food for two weeks, what would that food be?
Potatoes. Potatoes. Potatoes.
12. Are you an outside or an inside person?
Depends.
13. Describe yourself in three words.
pretty. much. impossible.
12. Are you an outside or an inside person?
Depends.
13. Describe yourself in three words.
pretty. much. impossible.
14. What chore do you like to do the most?
this is by far the hardest question for this here lazy bum. I'm going to have to say cleaning toilets. Its not as degrading as it sounds. :)
This award goes to:
- Melinda @ Abounding in Hope
- Jen @ Its a Jen's Life
- Katie @ Reflections from Katie
- Abigail and Lauren @ Pearls and Diamonds
Sarah also gave me the following awards.
-State 5 random facts about yourself.
-Award 5 of your stylish blogging friends.
-Award 5 of your stylish blogging friends.
1. I like cars.
2. I love to fish.
3. I'm not a huge fan of shopping unless its shoe shopping.
4. I pretty much flunked Algebra 2 in highschool.
5. I have a mild form of computer geekiness but when it comes to a cable TV remote I'm totally lost.
There. Was that random enough? :)I give to ye 5 bloggers:
Anna, Alexis, Abbie, Eden, Lauren
And now for one more fun thing. Ashleigh over at Heart and Home is having a giveaway week and today she's giving away some Thrive Coffee and a traveler's mug. Pretty cool giveaway-- go check it out!
...in exactly one week.
I haven't done a picture post in quite awhile, and I took a bazillion or so photos on my trip last week, so I'd thought I'd post a few. The scenery on the way to Oregon, was scrumptious. The wedding was beautiful. And the company was, well... the company made the whole trip worth every cent and more. I'd take a week off work again in a heartbeat to be able to travel with my grandparents, attend my cousin's wedding, and fellowship with my dear friends in Bend, Oregon (where I took the Discipleship Training Program last year). Hope you can experience a tinge of my excitement and memories through these pictures.
Many thanks to my parents for loaning me the family vehicle for my trip. A tad bit of humor comes to play when you see its a minivan sporting a bumper sticker that says 'I love horses!' I happen to be the only one in my family whom that sticker does not speak for! But take note, a mini-van is the safest way for a young single gal to travel by herself. it seemed to scream 'married with kids'. Almost as good as having a man right next to you to protect you. Hehe.
These are my grandparents. They were so generous to let me ride along. (I drove a day by myself, to get to their house in Colorado and rode the rest of the way with them). It was so fun to hear family stories and share the memories of Ashley's wedding and meeting up with old friends. I was reminded of the godly heritage I've been blessed with. Their hearts for God are tried and true.
Meet Julie. She was assigned to me as my 'accountability partner' during the training program. I don't think either one of us knew to expect such a precious and long lasting friendship out of the deal. I'm so thankful for her wise counsel and the fun times we've had.I was thrilled to stay a night with her and her family and do a little catching up.
This is Ashley: in two photos she's pictured with her new hubby Jose, and the other one she's pictured with her dad, my Uncle Greg. She was a stunning bride and it was such a happy day.
I simply love to travel. Anyone want to take a trip? I promise it will be fun and interesting, and only occasionally embarrassing to travel with me. One night on our way back, we stopped in Ogden, Utah for the night. We went looking all over the place for a WalMart and much to my delight found a Super Target instead. It was almost closing time for them so it was kind of quiet for a big store. Oh and have I mentioned how much I love Super Target? Ehem, anyways. I buzzed through all the departments I love, out to prove I could do it in the same amount of time Grandma took to pick out her groceries. I finished and then tried to track her down. A nice young man with a red target apron asked me if he could help me find something. I was headed the opposite direction he was, but I slowly turned around as he made the offer and looked him in the eye. With many a mischievous thought running through my head, I said in a pitiful voice "Do you know where my grandma is?" He looked at me. Shook his head. and quietly said no. I purposefully laughed, hoping he would know I was teasing him. To this day, I'm not sure what was going through his head and it seems better left up to the imagination... So yeah, anyways... who's game? I'm ready to take another trip! :)
Oh and more pictures are here if you're interested.
Well hello lovely people! I've returned from the short little silent spell with good news and happy things to share.
(1) I took a trip to Oregon for (2) my cousin's wedding and on the way there and back (3) I got completely caught up on my Bible reading! Then (4) while I was gone a shipment of graduation invitations came for one of my senior photography clients, and she was very happy with her pictures and cards. And I would have to say that (5) is just that the weather is simply divine right now. I'm so thankful winter is over.
There are tons of details and pictures I'd love to share right here and now about my trip up north, but it will have to wait. Thank you all for your patience with me, and my blog!
Something I was reminded of while going through Kings and Chronicles is that heaven is so not the point. King after king is named and their deeds recorded. Good kings, bad kings. A few lukewarm kings. But at the end of their lives all that mattered was whether or not they served God in the time they'd been given. The kings either "did what was right in the sight of the Lord." or "did evil in the sight of the Lord." We're never told whether or not their deeds or decisions to follow God landed them in heaven or not.
I feel like I could preach a sermon [gasp!] about how I believe the Gospel is being taught from the wrong perspective these days. It seems like we make whats important to us the emphasis, as though it were what is important to God.
Living forever. Seeing loved ones again. Streets of Gold.
We talk about being saved from Hell. We take about being separated from God forever. Both are true. But I've been thinking lately how its more important to realize, that Christ died and rose again to save me from myself. 'Myself' being that sin infested creature that can only be truly changed with a transformation starting from the inside, moving outward. My heart sometimes even deceives my mind. Without the Lord it is "desperately wicked", void of discerning truth and loving sincerely. Heaven is a mere stage in that transformation that must take place, but the transformation must begin now. I think the kings of the old testament are good reminders of that.
Chapters read since I last posted: 44
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
