Seattle!

I'm leaving early Thursday morning and driving up to Seattle with two of my good friends Derek and Erin! It's going to be so much fun! I can't wait to see everyone! Hope you're all going to be at Taylor and Noelle's wedding so I can see you all!

Are You Seeking?

Something that's been on my heart for a little while. Let me know what you think.

Are you seeking?

One of my favorite verses to read when I need encouragement is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” We often stop reading there, but what follows is incredible. Jeremiah 29:12-14 “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.”

Do you see what’s going on here? God wants to fulfill the plans that He has set us apart for. Are we willing to seek Him out so that He can? Or are we going to stay in our comfort zone and make Him come to us? In order for God to move, we must first acknowledge that we need and want Him. We must set aside our selfish ambitions and worldly desires and look to Him first, with our whole heart. We have to be willing to step out in faith and lay aside our preconceived ideas that God has a magic wand and will give you everything you want. There has to be a price, otherwise it wouldn’t be worth it. What is it in your life that He’s asking you to lay aside? What is the distraction in your life, whether big or small, that’s keeping you from seeking Him and all He has for you?

Are you trusting?

When we lay our burdens and junk at His feet, He is faithful to remove it from our lives. So often I find myself doubting that He wants me to give all of my cares, hurts, and stress (the list could go on) to Him. I find myself not believing that He wants me to give Him the desires of my heart and letting Him take control of it. Basically, it boils down to trust. I’ve always had a hard time with trust. Ya’ll know how it is; everyone has been hurt or burned by someone at one time or another in his or her lives’.

God showed me this weekend that by not giving Him my whole heart and all of my cares, worries, failures and successes that I was breaking His heart by not trusting completely in Him. Instead, I’ve been holding onto little, in some cases big, pieces in order to keep control of things. He reminded me of His promises and told me that no matter how things look on the outside that I must trust Him and His timing.

Psalm 37:3-6, “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”

Two words really stick out to me here: He will! If we believe the Bible to be the truth, which we do, and we believe it is the word of God and is never wrong, then how can we ever doubt Him and the promises He’s made us? We can trust that He is faithful and that He will do what He says He’ll do.

I want to encourage you to set aside a few extra minutes tonight before bed and really search your heart and ask yourself these questions:

- Am I seeking Jesus, or my own wants and desires?
- Am I trusting in Jesus, or am I living holding onto the things of this life because it’s comfortable and all I’ve known, and can’t let go of them?

Get on your knees before God, seek Him out, and give Him everything, even the little things. You’d be amazed at how freeing it is! Ask Him to change your heart and help you to trust in Him. Thank Him for all He already has done and the things that are to come. Chances are the plans He has are a lot bigger than you can imagine. God is calling us to a deeper relationship with Him. It must start with us calling out to Him and trusting who He is.

Be blessed,
Kenzie

God uses interesting ways to get our attention!

As most of you know, I’ve had laryngitis since Saturday evening. It hasn’t been fun. My voice is slowly coming back, as long as I don’t talk too much. I wanted to share with you what God has reminded me of.

I was thinking about the timing of this, not having a voice during a weekend I was on worship team. At first I was thinking it was the enemy trying to rob me of joy and rob me of getting to sing on a weekend where I really loved the songs and was looking forward to singing with the team, and we were even recording! I almost called Kurt early Sunday morning to ask him if I could just stay home, what was the point of being up there if I couldn’t sing, but I decided that I should go anyways. It was torture at first. But the more I thought and prayed about it, the more I think it was God reminding me that it’s not about how you sound or who you’re singing with or the song list. It was about being faithful, first to the commitment I had made to be on worship, and second, but more importantly, to be faithful to praise God no matter what was going on or how I felt. It wasn’t about my voice, or lack of, it was about my heart and ushering the congregation into worship, and getting to pray for them. So many chances to pray for people! It was incredible! I was so blessed by this weekend’s worship, getting to see lives changed and hearts broken for God, it was amazing. That’s what true worship is about, your heart, seeking God no matter what, showing Him the love you have for Him, showing people His love and grace, being willing to step out and worship Him even when you don’t feel like it.

As funny as this sounds, I am thankful I haven’t had a voice for the last week. It’s really helped me to stop and listen and see what’s going on. Not that I’ve enjoyed the being sick part, cause that has been horrible, but I know everything happens for a purpose.

God did some amazing things this weekend and I had to share how faithful He is. I hope you’re encouraged to praise Him no matter what.

It's Been Awhile!

Wow, I didn't realize how long since I last blogged! Geez! Alot has changed and happened since I last updated everyone on this, but I'm don't have time right now to write!

What I do have time to say is, at the end of March, my apartment lease expires, and Tara is moving back home to her parents house. I'm getting a one bedroom apartment in the same complex, and get this, it's the building right next door! I won't even need a truck to move anything! I am so excited! It's a really cute apartment! Has tons of space and many closets! What more does a girl need? JK! :) Ok, so I have to go, but I will write soon, I promise, or at least I will try! :)

I thought I would include one of my favorite pics from Tahoe! I miss the Summer! It was so beautiful up there! I can't wait to go back!

Life in General

Hey everyone! I don't really have time to blog, so I thought I'd put up a few pics! It was a great summer and I'm sad to see it go. It's already getting cold here at night, and it's cooled down to 80 :( I love it when it's warm though! Don't want it to get cold!

What Are You Thirsty For?

For those of you that have MySpace, or have gone to www.thegatheringnv.org, you will see that I've posted this a few times. But I wanted to share what's on my heart, so here it is.

What are you thirsty for?

“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35 So many times we go through life thinking we have to do everything on our own. God calls us to wait on Him, to trust in Him, to be dependant on Him, to come to Him just as we are. He says “Be still and know that I am God,” Psalm 46:10. Going back to the beginning of Psalm 46, it says “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…” This entire chapter is amazing and shows God’s faithfulness.

There will always be something that tries to get in the way of God. Something will always try to distract us from the call He has on our lives, but your true character and who or what you believe will shine through in those times of trials and tribulation. That’s when you’ll find out what you’re really made of and whether or not you’re trusting in Him. When was the last time you just gave everything to Jesus and let Him bare your burdens? What are you thirsty for? What fulfills your hunger cravings? Is it the word of God? Is it knowing how faithful He is? Is it worshiping Him a bit longer?

Jesus, show us the areas in our lives that we need to give to you. Show us where to begin and what to do to get closer to You, to have a deeper desire for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Kenzie

Life

Life has been so busy! I wish I had time to write all that's been going on. I don't, so instead I'll include some pics! :)

More Pics!

I just had to add more pics! I'm hoping to add more later as well, once I resize them. Woohoo! :)

Friends

I thought I would share some pictures of me and some of my friends down here in Sparks! I have a ton more, but I don't have time to load them or explain them- most need explanations :) Enjoy! And make sure to comment! :)

Slacker!

Wow, I haven't updated this in a long time! Went to Seattle again June 15-17 for Father's Day and for Britney's graduation. Going to Seattle again for the 4th of July for a Leadership Retreat. Should be alot of fun!
Wish I had more time to write! I got a new car! God is amazing! I'll write more later!

Seattle, here I come!!

Hey everyone! I haven't written in awhile, but I wanted to let everyone know that I would be in Seattle this Friday, June 1st until Sunday, June 3rd. I get to go to service at Real Life too, so I hope to see everyone there!!

It's already May 7th!

I can't even believe it's May 7th already! Time has been flying by! I'll be in Seattle on June 1st-3rd! I can't wait to see everyone! I'll be there for church as well! That is what I'm really excited about! It will be so awesome to see everyone! Then I'll be up on June 15-17th for Britney's graduation and my parents 30th Wedding Anniversary and my mom's 50th Birthday celebrations! That will be a much shorter trip though, because I don't get in to Seattle until 10:30 Friday night and I leave at 8:30 Sunday morning.
I hope all is going great for all of you! For all of you in Seattle, I can't believe I've been gone for 6 months! I miss you all so much! For all of my friends, I know God has awesome things in store for each of you! I am so blessed to have you in my life!

Thankful for Fridays!

Hey there everyone! I am so thankful it's Friday! It's been an awesome week! God is so incredible and He's shown Himself so faithful this week! He's answered so many prayers! I have a calendar on my desk with a different scripture everyday, and today's is:

"And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

It's funny that this verse was for today, because it's been a challenging coulpe weeks, and just when I think I can't handle anything more God brings answers and miracles. He amazes me everyday!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I can't wait until 4PM!

Thank you Jesus for my dad!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! My dad doesn't have to have any sort of surgery for his heart. They did find a few blockages, but the arteries branched out and created away for the blood to go through- Praise God! The doctors said he needs to take meds and the stronger dose will help!

I just want to encourage everyone that God is so faithful to answer our prayers. It says in the Bible that "you have not because you ask not," "Make your requests known to God!" "Ask and you shall receive!" Nothing is too small or too big for God to overcome! Remember it was by His sacrifice that we are made whole again, no matter our past or present situation, He wants to love us as we are. Thank you Jesus for hope, for your faithfulness and above all your unconditional Love for us!

Dad's Heart Issues

This is what I wrote yesterday:
My dad went in today for an angiogram. A few years ago he had a triple bi-pass surgery and late last year he had shoulder surgery. Please pray for quick healing and that the Doctors would be wise. My dad hasn't been thinking the best thoughts about what's going on, so please also pray for peace, joy and understanding. I know God's watching over him and taking care of him, but he doesn't think he deserves God's grace or mercy.Thank you in advance for your prayers! Be blessed! Kenzie

Life Throwing You a Curve Ball?

This week has been an interesting week personally, at work, school and home. It's been really tough. So many times this week I started dwelling on things of my past, and where I've screwed up. Then I start thinking about all these things that I want to accomplish and how is it going to get done, there's no time, can God really use me, I'm not good enough. I've just felt so attacked. Yesterday I got to work and found this verse: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6 I was reminded that no matter what it is I need or what I've been through, I just have to give it up to God with a happy heart. If I don't ask for those things I need, then how can I be mad when I don't get them? I want to see Jesus lifted high in my life, I want my life to glorify Him and all the things He's done in me to be brighter than the brightest star. I also found this verse, "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life," Revelation 2:10. What an amazing reminder that we can go through trials, even to the point of death, and we can still "count it all joy" because the worlds outcome doesn't matter, it's God's outcome that we should strive for. Thank you Lord for reminding me how faithful you are.

I hope I'm not totally rambling, I just wanted to encourage everyone that no matter what life throws your way to keep your chin up, knowing that God's on your side, even when you feel like you're completely alone. And as you "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, He will lift you up", James 4:10. As well as "A happy heart makes the face cheerful..." Proverbs 15:13

Moving Day!

Today I sign the lease for my apartment! I'm so excited! Tomorrow is when we move everything. Not looking forward to moving everything, but definitely excited to be in an apartment again. I am so thankful for Kurt and Mary, and their continued support! I have really enjoyed living there, spending time with them and their beautiful children and learning from them. I am so blessed to know them. I hope someday I can be as much of a blessing to them as they are to me! Oh, and want to know the best part of moving into the apartment, Karon and Justin are our neighbors! They aren't right next door or down the hall, but they are in the apartment building next to ours!

Well, I have to go. It's been a long time since I wrote, so I figured I should share the fun news :)

School

So, I start school on January 22nd! I'll also be Full-time Permanent at my job on January 22nd!
God is so faithful! He's really blessed me here! I couldn't ask for anything better than what He's already provided.
I wish you all could see how truly beautiful Nevada is! Growing up in Washington, I never thought I'd live in a more beautiful place, but Nevada could definitely compete with it!
Well, that's all I have time to write! Love ya'll! Leave me comments! I miss ya'll in Washington!

Bad Kenzie!

Ok, so I left a blog saying I would blog soon, and I haven't. I'm a bad, bad blogger lately! Bad me! :) OK, so I promise I'll try and blog soon!

Hope everyone had a great New Year's! Seahawks are still in the playoffs! Woohoo!

No new posts

I'm sorry I haven't updated this recently. I promise I will later! Hope everyone has a great Christmas!