Inspirations from the Funny Farm

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

As we’ve been continuing our nightly reading through the Bible in a year, your girl here has had the pleasure of reading through the Old Testament. I’m currently in Chronicles. As I read aloud to my husband, I read the names with great authority pretending I know how to pronounce them. We get a giggle out of it every time. I woke up with some of those crazy names running through my head: names like Eleazar, Dodai, Jehoida, Azmaveth. Who comes up with these names? Well, it turns out, in biblical times, the names truly had meaning and gave identity to the person. Think about these few examples. Joshua means God is my salvation. Caleb means faith and devotion. Jabez, oh Jabez, his name means born in great suffering. His mama had a time delivering him!
Also remember that God changed names several times. He changed Abram to Abraham to mean father of a multitude. He indeed became father Abraham. He changed the name of Simon to Peter and Saul to Paul thus changing their entire destiny.

Man has tried changing biblical names as well. Old King Nebuchadnezzar (there’s a name for you) changed the name of Daniel to Belteshazzar, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah. Their birth names were declarations about God, but the king was trying to give them a new identity with names that identified them with the gods of Babylon. As we all know, this didn’t work. Man can change a man’s name, but he can’t change his heart. Their hearts belonged to the one true God. Lions didn’t devour Daniel, and Jesus walked in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Not one hair was singed, nor did their garments even smell of smoke. God wins every time!

Just for fun, I looked up the meaning of my name, and I have to say my parents did well! Krista means follower of Christ. Thankfully, I had a father that instilled Christ into me at an early age and laid the foundation for the person I am now. All my life, I’ve been called Kay Kay, which I’ve shortened to K.K. over the years. The meaning of Kay is rejoice. Rejoice rejoice! I think that’s pretty cool!

Nowadays, names aren’t necessarily given because of meaning. Rather most babies are given the name because it’s a family name, or because we like the sound of it, or the name means something to us. There is one name above all others which has great meaning and truly identifies the bearer of the name: JESUS. Jesus means to deliver and to rescue. Matthew 1:21 declared it. “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Jesus came into this world to deliver us, to rescue us, and to save us from our sins. He is Emmanuel, Christ, Lord, Master, Son of God, and Son of Man. That name is truly a name above all names. We should sing praises to His name. Because He has saved us, we are His and He is ours. He is within us, and our identity is in Him. So no matter what your mama or daddy named you, your identity is now in Jesus. Isn’t that awesome! Let’s live life out to the fullest today for the One whose name is above all names!

John 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Yesterday, I enjoyed a much needed girls day with my lifelong friend, Lisa. Lisa has quite a few special events upcoming in the next few weeks as she anticipates the arrival of her grandbaby, and she needed some new clothes so she called me up. The two of us have been best friends since second grade, but we are total opposites in so many ways. I kind of like to trade the barn clothes or scrubs in and dress up and wear pretty clothes and shiny jewelry every now and then. Lisa never really liked the dressing up part so she called in reinforcements for a shopping mission. That is part of what’s made our friendship strong over the years. We are different, but our differences compliment each other.

Lisa and I know pretty much everything about each other. We’ve been by each other’s side for births and adoptions, divorces and marriages, and deaths of loved ones. We’ve shared good times and bad, and we may not hear from each other for weeks at a time, but when we talk, we pick right back up where we left off.

Friendship is a treasured gift, and I’m thankful for all of the wonderful, remarkable friends that God has placed in my life. But there is one friend that stands out above all others. His name is Jesus. I pray that you Peeps know Him, but if you don’t, what are you waiting for? Jesus is the truest friend there is. He loves us no matter what. It doesn’t matter how bad you think the sin in your life is or how horrible of a person you think you may be. He loves you. It sounds crazy, huh? When a friend does something that hurts us, we get angry. We fight and fuss, and sometimes friendships are destroyed. We separate ourselves from that person because we don’t like them anymore. It’s not like that with Jesus. Amazingly, He loves you right where you are right this very minute. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve run from Him. He is waiting with open arms to welcome you home.

In John 15:15, Jesus tells His most beloved disciples that He no longer calls them servants, but He now calls them friends. To be a servant of Christ is a very high honor. It is a great honor to be the servant of the one true King. But a king or master doesn’t tell his servants His plans. He doesn’t share His secrets with His servants. The servants aren’t privy to the business of the master. But Jesus shared His plans and all that God had shown Him with the disciples. He elevated them from the honorable position of servant to the most honorable position of friend. And John 15:13, Jesus reminded us that there’s no greater love than a friend who lays down his life for his friends. Jesus is that loving friend! He laid down His life for us on the cross. He took on the sins of all man. He died for you and me and even that grouchy old neighbor you don’t like. He died for us so that we may have everlasting life with Him. There is no truer friend than that. There is no greater friend than Jesus! If you don’t know Him, you are missing out on the greatest gift ever given. Take time to get to know Him today!

Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

Isaiah 41:13 For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

I Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

In the movie “War Room” there is a precious little lady named Miss Clara who speaks volumes of great wisdom. She’s a cocky little thing, but she is a true warrior for Christ. If you search the internet you’ll find many of her wise quotes, and I came across this quote this morning: “You need to plead with God to do what only He can do, and then you need to get out of the way and let Him do it.” That, my friends, is easier said than done.

How often do we go to our heavenly Father and unload the burdens that are on our hearts? We cry out to Him. We tell Him our troubles. We beg, we plead, and we say, “We’re giving it all to you God.” We then feel a great relief, but it’s all too often short lived. Why? Well, I can tell you it’s not because God quit working on the problem. It’s usually because after giving our burdens, problems, and worries to God, we don’t leave them at His feet. We snatch those troubles right back away from God and start worrying over them again and trying to fix something that we aren’t capable of fixing. That’s just craziness. We’ve given something to the Master to take care of, but we snatch it back thinking that we can do a better job solving the problem than the Maker of the universe. That’s absolute nonsense, but we are guilty of it all the time!

Think about it in a different way. What if you inherited a very expensive, very old grandfather clock. This clock was worth a pretty penny. It was beautiful to look at, but there was a problem. The clock didn’t work. It wouldn’t keep time. So you did your research and found the finest, most reputable clock maker and took the clock to him. You left this beautiful, priceless clock in his capable hands. He said he would have it fixed within the week if he didn’t have to order parts, but it may take a little longer depending on how long it would take to correct the issue. You go home feeling good, but then a couple of days go by, and the clock isn’t fixed yet. So you go pick up the clock, bring it home, and begin disassembling it and trying to fix it yourself. You know nothing about repairing clocks and can not get it to work again. Now there is a beautiful clock with pieces all over the floor. It’s wrecked. So what do you do now? Take if back to the master horologist, and he repairs the clock. You take it to the master, leave it, and get out of way.

We have to do the same thing in life with all of our troubles. God wants us to bring our burdens to Him. He knows what is best for us, and He knows the solution to every problem that can possibly come up. We only need to trust the situations into His very capable hands. Don’t go grabbing your troubles back and trying to fix things on your own. Leave them at the feet of the Master! Give it to God, and get out of the way!

1 Corinthians 2:9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

Hebrews 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Revelations 21:2-4 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Do you ever stop and think about heaven? I’ve always wanted to go to heaven, but I confess that during my youth I prayed and asked God to wait a while before He took me home. Oh, you know how it is. I was a girl with plans…lots and lots of plans…and I’m still a big time planner today. I had quite a few talks with God, and told Him that I wanted to finish school, get married, have children, and a career. Well, then, I had to see my children grow up…and now there are grandchildren. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Lately though, my conversations with God are more like, “This place is a mess! You can come get me any time you want me now!” I can hardly wait to get to heaven! It’s human nature for us to cling to the material things in life, but we also have a spiritual nature, and our spirit desires our permanent home. Seriously, our spirit longs for heaven!

David Jeremiah preached on a series on heaven, and one of the topics was “heaven won’t be boring.” He explained that we wouldn’t get bored because we would be in the presence of almighty God, we would be serving daily, and we would be with friends and loved ones. I can’t wait to reunite with those who’ve gone before me: great grandparents, grandparents, Mama, aunts and uncles, and friends. He also reminded me that when we get to heaven we can become friends with our ancestors. Can you even imagine having the opportunity to sit down and have breakfast with David or Joseph, or maybe lunch with Ruth and Boaz, and then supper with Esther? Oh my goodness, I can’t even imagine the conversations that we’ll have!

But with all of my excitement over heaven comes great heartache. I have only an inkling of knowledge of the splendor of heaven. It excites me to the core of my being, yet at the same time I feel distressed because everyone that I love won’t be there. Yes, the Bible speaks of heaven, but it speaks even more loudly and clearly about hell. Hell is real. We aren’t living in hell right now, no matter how bad things look. Matthew 13:42 is just one of many scriptures that tells about this awful place. “They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” It’s a never ending, continual blazing furnace. The agony will be unbearable. There will be no quenching of thirst or putting out the fire. Hell sounds incredibly awful, but what would be even worse than that would be eternal separation from our Father. I can’t even fathom it!

I don’t want to be separated from my heavenly Father, and I don’t want to be eternally separated from anyone reading this. So today I ask you with all sincerity and seriousness, do you know where you will be spending eternity? Do you know without a shadow of a doubt that you will be joyfully running through the pearly gates? If you don’t know this for sure, now is the time to know. Ask Christ into your heart today. We aren’t promised tomorrow. I’m ready to run through those pearly gates as soon as the good Lord decides to let me in. I pray you’ll be running through them some day as well. Run with joy and peace to Christ!

Roman’s 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Am I ever going to be enough? I know I’m not the only one asking this question because there are hundreds of posts on social media that echo these words. There are thousands of self help books to teach us how to better ourselves. Television commercials pitch anti-aging miracle creams, magical weight loss remedies, and even those awful Spanx like girdles! No wonder we are a nation full of insecurity. Everywhere we look, we are told that we aren’t good enough!

We walk by our mirrors and notice the hairs that are out of place, the crown of gray peeking through, the wrinkles, and oh yea, don’t forget those few extra pounds we put on lately. At our jobs, we work hard and give it all that we have, but then wonder if we could’ve done a little bit more. With our families, we worry that we aren’t spending enough one on one time with the ones we love. Are we teaching them the things they need most? Do they know how much we love them? Are we ever going to be enough?

Well, Peeps, I’m here to tell you that if you are living life asking these questions day in and day out, you have become the victim of identity theft! Yep, identity theft! You’ve gone and let the world steal away your identity. All of those insecurities are NOT who you are. You are a child of God, a child of the Most High, King of Kings, Lord of Lords! I mean really y’all, it doesn’t get much better than that!

Insecurities of self leads to worry and doubt, and when we are full of those two evil things (worry & doubt), we will never be enough. However, with Christ, we don’t have to be enough. In fact, we could never be good enough to deserve salvation, and once we realize this, we can really truly rest in the grace and mercy of our blessed Savior. Jesus knows who you are. He knows all the good, bad, and ugly in your life, and no matter what you have done or haven’t done, He loves you just the same. We can’t do anything to make Him loves us more, and we can’t do anything to make Him love us less. Because of His love for us, we are enough. It’s through His righteousness that we become right with Him.

Quit worrying about being enough. If you’ve got Christ in your heart and you are living for Him, you are enough because of who He is in you! The One that is in you is greater than the world. You are enough!!

I Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Jeremiah 17:10 I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.

Matthew 23:27 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.

One day last year, my grandson, Jude, was excitingly changing clothes to get into the hot tub for the first time. When it was time to get dressed again, he brought me his shirt which was inside out and asked me to turn his shirt “outside in,” and then next, his shorts were in the same condition. He asked that I turn them outside in also. He actually meant outside out, but I suppose outside in is the opposite of inside out. Lol
At any rate, this got me to thinking about our outward appearance verses our inward hearts. On the outside, we may look beautiful and put together, but our hearts may be broken and falling apart. Or on the contrary, we may look a hot mess on the outside, but on the inside, all is well. I learned a long time ago that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.

God doesn’t judge us based on our appearance either, thankfully. God sees our hearts! We can fake it to make it in life, but we can’t fake it with God. He sees past the outward appearance, the nice clothes, shiny jewelry, and makeup. He sees what we are made of not how we’re made up. You can’t fake christianity. You can try, but you won’t succeed.

Have you ever been to visit a older friend or family member? Their house may look totally dilapidated and worn out. Paint may be flaking off of the house. Maybe a few boards are loose, and the old tin roof is totally rusted. The house looks a mess, but then you step inside. The home is as neat as a pin. It’s beautifully decorated and adorned with photos of loved ones. You can see how much care was placed in the decor. When you are standing on the outside looking in, you see the home in a completely different light.

That, my friends, is how God sees us. The world sees the mess of our outer shell, but God KNOWS our hearts. He knows everything that is going on, and He knows right where we are right now. He knows what we need before we even know. He’s right there beside us to see is through any and every situation.

I’m so thankful this dilapidated body of mine is just a temporary home. Yep, it’s falling apart. The fingers are getting knotty with arthritis. I move a little slower at times. My body definitely tells me that it’s not as young as I think it is! But that’s okay. I know that my heart and soul belong to Jesus, and I can rejoice in that. I’m still a work in progress. I work on the inside every single day. I want God to know that when he looks at me from the outside in, that I am truly His and He is mine! My heart belongs to Jesus!

Matthew 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 49:16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands

There is way too much bad in our world today. Evil lurks around every corner. COVID 19 ran rampant for far too long. People are still fighting for their lives. There is sickness among us…physical, mental, and emotional. We’re all drained and weary after watching the news for less than 30 minutes a day. Goodness, when we watch the nightly news, we hear the reporter list off all of the shootings and resulting deaths that occurred over the past week.The numbers are shocking, although, I feel that I shouldn’t be shocked by anything anymore.

With all of the chaos, sadness, sickness, and just the day to day messes that we find ourselves in, we have to have something to keep us grounded, to keep us focused on the bigger picture, and to keep us moving forward. Thankfully, we can lean on our Lord and Savior and rest knowing that He’s got us right in the palm of His hand. We can rest on Matthew 28:20 knowing that Jesus promises that He is with us to the end. That means He is always there through thick and thin, good times and bad times, and with us whatever life is throwing at us. He never leaves. Isaiah 41:10 has become my stand on verse lately. There is no reason to be dismayed and get all catawalpus. We have the promise that God will be our strength and that He will hold us up with His righteous hand. God has never broken a promise so I know with all that I am that I can trust in those words.

My husband, Jeff, is always encouraging to the kids, and he has been such an encouraging light through these trying times. I overheard him tell them, “Me and God spoke about it. Its gonna be okay either way so I’m just gonna go with that.” We know that no matter the outcome of any situation or trouble, God has control, and we merely need to lean on Him and trust that He has us right in the palm of His hand.

Knowing that God really does have us in the palm of His hand is so very reassuring. With that knowledge, we can approach the day knowing that either way, it’s gonna be okay. God’s got this!

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Job 22:26 For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.

What do you want out of life? Oh, the answers to this question are too numerous to count. What we think we want now doesn’t look like what we wanted this time last year. We’re always wanting something, searching for more, trying to attain the next goal. There seems to be a never ending void in our hearts that we just can’t satisfy. Well, I’m here to tell you that there is only One that can fill that void, and His name is Jesus!

I read a story about a man seeking wisdom. He went to the great and mighty philosopher Socrates, and asked Socrates how he could get great wisdom. Socrates walked the man out into the sea. When they got out about chest deep, Socrates pushed the man under the water and held him there. He let him up, and asked, “What is it you want?” The man replied, “I want wisdom.” Socrates continued to dunk the man under water holding him longer each time, and each time the same question was asked and the same answer was given, until finally, Socrates held the man under until he was fighting to get up. The man came up gasping, and Socrates again asked, “What is it you want?” The man gasped, “Air, I want air.” Socrates then said, “When you want wisdom as much as you wanted air, you will get it.”

We are motivated by the desires of our hearts and minds. We set our sights on something, and we go after it. Psalm 37:4 tells us how to get the desires of our heart. We must delight ourselves in the Lord, and He will give us the desires of our heart. That hole we feel, that emptiness we are trying to fill up, that eternally, empty black hole can only be filled by Christ. He designed us that way. He designed us to want Him, to crave Him, to yearn for Him, to desire a close relationship with Him, and until we allow Him into our hearts and we need and desire Him just like we crave air to breathe, that black hole of emptiness will never be filled. Our hearts will not be satisfied. We will continue to search for things of this world to satisfy us until we nearly drown ourselves.
I know that Jesus is my heart’s desire. I want a lot of things in life. I do. I’m human. But I know that Jesus is in my heart and rules my life, and because of that, He gives me the desires of my heart. My needs are always taken care of, and many of my wants are too. He always gives me just what I need, when I need it most, and always right on time. So what do I want most in life? Just give me Jesus!!

Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Genesis 3:6-7 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Merriam-Webster defines freedom as “liberation from slavery or restraint from power of another.” Today, we celebrate freedom as a country in the United States of America. That freedom was won a very long time ago after battle and bloodshed. Since becoming a free nation, brave men and women have continued to go into battle to protect our country so that we can continue to live in freedom. We are not slaves to other nations or powers that be. We live in a democratic nation that allows us the freedom of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Unfortunately, we as Americans seem to be pushing our liberty of freedom to the limits. God created the most beautiful garden ever designed and placed the man and woman that He created in the garden to care for it. He told them that they could eat of any fruit in the entire garden EXCEPT for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That old evil satan got to Eve. He talked her into tasting the fruit, and she shared it with her husband, and well, you know the rest of the story. Men knew no sin before that first bite, but that action brought sin into the world. We’ve been struggling with sin ever since.

We, like Eve, long for freedom to do whatever we want. We too often take that “pursuit of happiness” thing to the limits. When we are constantly pursuing a lifestyle of doing what we want, we become slaves to self and to sin. Then, we aren’t free anymore.
Thankfully for us, our freedom was purchased not just a little over 200 years ago by soldiers as we celebrate today, but rather our freedom was purchased by the blood of Christ on that old rugged cross over 2000 years ago! And when Christ ascended to heaven, He left a comforter: the Holy Spirit. With the precious Holy Spirit, we are empowered to say NO to things of this world, and YES to Christ! The Holy Spirit guides us ever so gently and helps us to choose what is right and desire what is godly.

Our freedom was purchased and paid for in full by the One who loves us most. We are no longer slaves to sin. We are children of Christ. Are you really experiencing freedom today? If you have Christ, you have been set free. If not, what are you waiting for? He’s already paid the price in full. You only have to accept the gift of freedom of salvation!
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, PEEPS!

Jeremiah 2:25 Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry? Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway?

Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

I see it reflected in movies and books that the idea of farmhouse living is a quiet, slow paced life. Oh, how I wish that were true. The only thing slow around here is the internet! I work hard in the clinic, some days harder than others, but we tend to work much harder right here at home. The pay isn’t great, but the rewards are immeasurable.

The minute our feet hit the floor, we get busy. There are babies to feed, animals to be tended, garden to be picked, vegetables to be put up, jelly to be made, fences to be mended, hay to be cut, equipment to be repaired, and there is always, always something that needs to be cleaned. We are super busy people pretty much all of the time.

I’m constantly moving from one project to the next, and I’m guilty of putting little schedules in my head and allotting times for each task. I always have a lot of things that I need to accomplish every day, and most days I succeed. It’s tiring though! Day in and day out I’m moving in fast speed trying to complete a task so that I can move on to the next one. And if I’m not careful, I can get too busy to sit down and have some quiet time with God.
Recently, we have been so busy that we actually took a day off. We actually stopped and slowed down and just rested for a while. I called the day a “dog day” because I laid around like our dogs.

I looked out from our back deck at our hot tub and at the creek that trickles behind the house, and I say, “we don’t ever need to go on vacation. We have the perfect vacation spot right here!” But then I laugh and realize that the only problem is we don’t vacation while we are here. We can’t stop long enough. That’s the truth. We take a vacation every year so that we can slow down and be still for just a little while.

But y’all, God doesn’t want us hurrying around all day long. He wants us to enjoy His creation, enjoy a relationship with Him, and glorify Him. I started writing these morning devotionals at the beginning of the pandemic to encourage myself and to possibly encourage others. I thought I would only write them for a few days or maybe even a weeks, but here I am ovee a year later still writing. I look forward to this quiet time every morning. Before I write, I pray and ask God to give me a word. Then, I read scripture and other devotionals. You see, writing these morning devotionals has made me slow down for about an hour every…single…day. I slow down and really spend some quality time with my Father.

In this busy, chaotic world, we have to slow down. What are we chasing anyways? We should be chasing Christ. This is only our temporary home. We are just passing through. You don’t have to write devotionals though. That’s not everybody’s cup of tea. But slowing down and spending time in the presence of our Lord and Savior on daily basis is an absolute must. Our hearts long for that quiet time with Christ. Slow down today. Etch out a little time to sit down and have a little chat with God. You won’t regret it! All of those things you feel the need to accomplish will be accomplished with so much more ease if you put Christ first! Slow down!