Gospel

gos·pel (thank you, Google)

/ˈgäspəl/

Noun

1. The teaching or revelation of Christ.
2. A thing that is absolutely true. 
3.  
4. This is interesting.  Yesterday, a delightful Pastor spoke at my church and the Scripture that she spoke on came from Acts, chapter 8.  Verse 4 says, "Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.  Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ."  & Then also in verse 25, "Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans."
5. I mean, "preaching the word/gospel" comes up a good amount in The Bible, am I right?  I've heard before that "The Gospel" means "The Good News".  I want to know, what did people say when they told someone the Gospel?  
6. I need to go to Bible school.  I'm half kidding.  I've felt this way for a long time, but it seems impractical.  I don't understand The Bible and I desire to (one is not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition, but I don't know another way).  I want to know how it went about when it says in the Bible, "...and he/she told him about Jesus!" or "...they proclaimed the good news."  What does this news entail?
7. There lived a man, Jesus, who was man in flesh, but was the Son of God.  He was God, in a human body in order to live with us, teach us, and then to die for us.  By Jesus being crucified, willingly might I add, His death is the atonement for all of humanities' sins.  Whoever believes in Jesus and professes the name of Jesus on his lips, will live forever.  He is all mankind's Savior.  It is through Jesus that we, people, are made right in God's eyes because God is so good, we need something to take away our sin.
8. How'd I do?  :)  I believe what I just wrote.  Is this all of the Gospel?

Intro to Healing

It would be most helpful for readers of this post, if I were to explain more as to where I'm coming from with this new interest of praying for healing.  Or rather,  it would bring me more peace of mind to give more background unto this notion.  However, I really just want to document these early stages and happenings, and perhaps I'll go back to the very beginning another time.
Last night, my friend and I went on a walk with my family's two dogs.  We walked about a mile to where this public lake was with a bike path around it and is a rather popular spot for families and individuals to go. 
Friend and I began walking around.  I learned that Friend is rather un-afraid/un-cautious of anything.  We have a short interaction with what looks like two highschool gentlemen.  As we turn away to leave, Friend exclaims, "We should've prayed for them!"  I'm surprised at her idea, as my natural instinct, and what I thought every other female my age would do, is to avoid gentlemen our age especially.  It's a judgmental/pride thing I have going on-let's face it.  Then again, Friend doesn't seem to have my issues. 
Friend and I keep walking.  We pass an older gentleman who walks with a cane and has a stiff leg.  I nudge Friend, "Look!  What do you think; Should we pray for him and his leg?"  Boom, baby.  With two rather large dogs, Friend and I turn around and approach the gentleman.  He is friendly and has a sweet smile.  We ask if we could pray for healing of his leg.  He says, "Oh no, it's okay.  It's permanent; I'm fine."  My healing prayers get confuzzled, "Does God heal permanent fixtures?  Does He/would He do big, big stuff like that?"  I don't know.
We did find out his name is Charlie and that he has had a fake leg since the age of ten, when it got caught or shoved under a bus.  He said we could take his name and pray for him.  God bless you, Charlie!!
Friend and I move on.  Several minutes later, we notice a young lady running/scooting around the lake path and she is approaching us.  Friend and I look at each other and try to process this.  The young woman continues and then passes us, all the while she runs with her right foot twisted/turned in a funny way that makes her running rythym odd and eye-catching.  I notice from behind her that her whole body looks tight- I don't know what musculoskeletal disease this is; I should, but I don't.  She is jogging/scooting at a pace in which Friend and I could walk a little faster and keep up with her.  I hold dogs' leashes and Friend walks ahead to talk with her. 
All in all, the young woman's name is Michelle.  She has tendinitis in her right foot and she told us she was supposed to  have surgery to fix it, but she didn't have that kind of money.  Friend says, "Jesus is the Great Physician."  Michelle lets Friend, and me standing on the side with two doggies, bow our heads and pray for her.  Way to go, Friend!  Thank You, God, for this opportunity, for Michelle, and healing power!!
Michelle eventually (after petting the dogs and chatting with us more) walked away with yet a twist in her foot.  However, this was a really awesome experience- the first of many, many, I do hope and it would be a privilege.
As we were petting dogs, big red dog had tick on him.  We began our walk home then.
With Love,
Ky

New Eyes

Good Morning.
A beautiful friend of mine gave me the devotional book, Jesus Calling, a couple of months ago.  I was thankful to receive it and it was very sweet of her to gift it to me, but I had my own thoughts on it actually.  Jesus Calling?  Why is this devotional so popular?  Why is everybody talking about it?  How can someone write from the perspective of God and apply it to everybody?  I'm not reading that. 
Well, I started reading it and you know, it's been pretty amazing how relevant this book has been.  Just this past Sunday some friends and I went running together and then we read the devotional from this book for the date and the conversations we just shared and other themes, connected with that days' devotional!  How interesting/intriguing is that?  I think I'm a changed person.  I don't know if I'll go public with this yet, but I'm actually really enjoying this book, Jesus Calling. ;)
Like today, I wanted there to be more for me to read.  Today is June 18th.  Here are some captivating words:
          If you trust that My plans are to prosper you and not to harm you, you can relax and enjoy the present moment.
Well, when you put it like that!  If I did trust The Lord and His Word, then yes, it says that He has good plans for me.  So why do I not stand on these promises?  
Which brings me to a rather huge problem: I need new eyes.
Sounds messy.  I'm rather serious, though.  When I read the Scriptures, it hardly does anything to me, I don't understand it, I don't believe it, I don't recognize how it pertains to me and that this, these words and promises that are believed to be from God are everything.
I need this prayer from Ephesians for me.  I need new eyes like someone reading the Word of God for the first, desperate time; Ephesians 1:3-8 (I need to feel excitement about this) & Ephesians 1:18-...on.
Kyla-Rae

Post-past Update

Hello everybody!  The last time I tried to log on to my blog site, I was redirected to my local community college's website or something like that.  It was odd.  On the contrary, today when I tried to log-in here it was easy peasy!  So, coolio ;)

Lots has changed, I feel.  Though I still have the same yearnings as always.  I still crave the name of Montana and the theory of my experience when I visit that state.  I'm still involved in AMTC, though I'm kind of in an "off-season" (though that's no excuse!).  I am preparing for the Winter Convention and the Summer Convention has yet to happen so I definitely feel under the radar.  However, I'm still in that...I still love to bake and cook!  Yesterday I returned from visiting one of my favorite places in the world which is the cottage my Grandpa and Grandma built and provided their family to enjoy.  It's in White Hall, MI and that is where my relatives and I congregate in the summer.  So I still love love that place and my family there.

On the other hand I'm not working at my church like I have been since I've been 16 years old.  I worked at a gas station for 3 days and I have been extended a gracious opportunity to work with my sister at a health and fitness facility, but I think I'm going to decline that offer.  There is this quote from C.S. Lewis that splashed me when I read it:  “The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career. ” 

I like this quote and I've thought about it since months ago when I read it.  I don't want to sell things to people.  I've been cleanings things for an income which I don't mind and I get some satisfaction from.  I've watched and cared for people's kids and I enjoy that as well.  And finally, I've settled on a business that has surrounded me for longer than I realized.  (Warning!  This is a long entry!)

 In 5th grade I was 10 years old.  The summer following 5th grade, I turned 11 in August.  By my 11th birthday when my family spent the day at Brookfield Zoo, my memories include me sipping on Root Beer soda and my mom begging me to eat half of a turkey sandwich while we waited for the dolphin show.  I dramatically refused the sandwich.  Since the beginning of that summer, I had lost a fair amount of weight.  Growing up I was always a "seal" with a thick layer of chub to provide my beautiful childhood with energy and my layers were also the result of taking rich pleasure in eating.  I was self-conscious of my chubby body, but it was what it was...

I got braces put on when I was 10 years old.  That's a good time to lose weight right?  I mean people expect you to lose weight when you get braces put on.  I read a book about a girl who was "diagnosed with anorexia".  That doesn't make sense, how do you get "diagnosed" with eating too little?  My 10 yr. old self thought, "That's silly.  What I'm going to do is not eat as much as I can control, and when I'm thin I'll just start eating again.  Duh!"

So I made it my ultimate mission for that summer to concentrate on not eating, and getting skinny!  And it was on my 11th birthday in August where my first memories lie of my mother encouraging me to eat.  Previous to this memory, I was getting compliments on my slimming figure that summer.  I enjoyed that.  I was enjoying immensely my thinning figure and the compliments and confidence and control I was feeling.  "Mama, what are you trying to do, making me eat that sandwich?  I'm on a roll, now!"

Maybe I'll write more about my journey another time.  The point that lies in my experience of anorexia lies where my mother and I started seeing a dietician.  This dietician was a Juice Plus distributor and it was during my 6th grade year when I was 11 yrs. old when my parents bought the Juice Plus nutritional shake so they could make shakes for me to provide more calories.  I'm now 20 years old and I really love that Juice Plus shake powder.  It hasn't been a consistent usage of Juice Plus since 11 to now at 20 years old.  In high school I went through another "flip".  I still didn't have a healthy relationship with food; I gorged myself and attempted other means of control over my body through food and exercise, etc.  I still live with some of these demons, but in most cases, life is a marathon not a race, right?

Really my point through this post was to say that I will be investing in the product of Juice Plus and talking about it with people.  There are so many nutritional lies out there and because I have the privilege to live in America and be an American (Yay, I appreciate America!), I also see the imbalance I have experienced and see in others, where depression and longings are lathered and subdued with American-dream prizes like food, isolation, and material possessions.

The essential product that Juice Plus provides is that of 17 different fruits, vegetables, and grains that is proven to do so much for our body.  Numerous real-life testimonies of the benefits of Juice Plus can be shared on how Juice Plus has positively effected people.  Trust-worthy and prestigious studies have been done on how Juice Plus along with a diet of whole fruits and vegetables, gives various diseases a serious run for their money, curing plenty of cases, or at least severely limiting the negative effects of disease.

Well anyways, I'm on a journey now with the product of Juice Plus, going back to God's food from the Earth including fruits and vegetables.  If I would "sell" anything, it's the hope and security each human has in a God that is their biggest advocate, Jesus Christ.  Underneath that concept, health and well-being effect people's emotional and physical and spiritual health so I'm eager to learn about the health and nutrition field too.

So, I'm on the road again... ;)  I'll blog again soon, I hope.  Another thing to ponder, that has stuck with me, is 1 Corinthians 7:32-35.  Hmmm, any reflections on that, baby?  Quickly I say that there is truth in that while a married person is anxious to please the spouse, the unmarried are anxious to please the Lord.  There is good and purpose for both lifestyles!

With gratitude for my Grandfather's cottage and God's Grace and Ingeniousness,
Miss Rae (aka Kyla ;) )