An Oceanful of Grace

I carried my 18 month old cousin on my hip, watching the sun rise. My other cousins were splashing in the waves or chasing seagulls, but she sat on me, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. I stared out at the ocean, seeing out as far as I could, knowing there was still more water than I could even imagine in the ocean. "Wata," She suddenly exclaimed. I smiled and took the pacifier out of her mouth to let her talk. "Watar," she repeated, this time clearer now that the pacifier was out of her mouth. Even she was fascinated by all the water, constantly reminding me every few seconds that there was 'watar' around us.

Like the ocean, God's grace extends everywhere. You might not always notice it, or you might take it for granted, but it's there, gently nudging you a reminder that you don't have to be perfect because of God's grace. He was willing to send down His sinless Son to die for our sins. Because of His great grace we don't have to be perfect to get into Heaven. Thank goodness for that, because I know I wouldn't get to Heaven if I had to be sinless and perfect. God's grace is huge, don't take it for granted.

Kayla Joy

Beating Dandelions or Bowing Before a True King

To freshly cut blades of grass, a dandelion must look like a huge towering giant. If each green grass blade was a person, they'd probably elect someone much bigger and more powerful--such as a dandelion--as their king. But to the human eye, dandelion's are one of the littlest, most harmless things there are.

God's probably looking down on us and wondering why we tend to get frustrated with our presidents.  Because to Him, those presidents and leaders are just like dandelions. They might be bigger than grass, but compared to God, they're nothing--just dust in the wind. Why spend time beating up on our presidents? In reality--they're just like us. They're humans. They mess up--sometimes big, sometimes small--and they need God's grace too. Don't spend time naming their mistakes, instead spend time bowing and awing in front of the real King--He won't make any mistakes.

Kayla Joy

Sparkling Examples

One thing I've noticed about South Carolina is that the pavement sparkles with silver. Wherever you are. Even people's shoes sparkle with silver because they walk on the cement. I mentioned this to my cousins, as I've never seen it sparkle before, but they said it sparkles all the time in Illinois. To me, this was an amazing discovery, as I've never seen pavement sparkle silver glitter in Ohio before. None of our pavement stands out, it's all alike.

In our Christian walk, are we blending in too much with the world? Are we calling ourselves the title of Christians, but not acting like one? If we're truly acting like a Christian, we will stand out in the world, much like the glitter stood out to me. A person who walks by will be able to tell that there's something different about you. Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform any longer 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."

Before we were Christians, we acted like the rest of the world. Now that we're Christians, we need to show the world what is important to us. Let's be sparkling examples for Christ.

Kayla Joy

Key to Stress!

I sat in the back car, stressing about schooling on vacation. Stressing about my math test. Stressing about my computer being broken. And in the midst of it, suddenly something I'd read online a few nights ago came back to me. The person said it helped them when they were stressing to praise God. So I tried it, not fully expecting it to work. But it did!

When you're stressed, you're worrying about something. Whether it's worrying about something you have to deal with (which it most commonly is), or worried about something for someone else, it's worrying about one thing or another. When you're focused on that one thing, sometimes it's hard to get your mind off of it. It was for me. But when you're praising God, you're focusing on Him. You're ignoring your troubles. Sure, you will have to deal with them. But you're putting them aside for the moment and giving praise to the Maker of the universe.

I know, it's easier said than done. I certainly don't feel like praising God when I'd rather crumble up in a corner and complain about how unfair life is. One thing that's helped me when I feel that way is singing songs of worship. Singing is a beautiful of bringing praise to God. Another way is reading scripture. Reading in a book like Psalms shows you how David was praising God, even through hardships. And lastly, if you're still having trouble giving genuine praise to God, try listing all the things that He's given you. Start with things like family, friends, food, blankets, warm house. Then move on to things that you often take for granted, such as breathing, walking, skipping, seeing, hearing. I have yet to find it possible to try all of those things and not feel genuine thankfulness to God. I'm giving praise where praise is due, and in the meantime, as a special bonus, I'm not stressed. I went from the state of ready to rip my hair out in stress, to smiling and praising God. The next time you're stressed, try refocusing that energy on praising God.

Kayla Joy

Hand Picked by God

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." ~John 15:16-19
 
God chose us. Not because we're worthy of His love, since we're obviously not. Not because we're selfless, because we're obviously not. Not because of any sacrifice from us. He chose us, He appointed us, because He loves us. God loved us enough to pay for us.

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first." God is saying, 'Hey, I know what you're going through when the world hates you. I've been there, felt that. But it's okay for the world to hate you because of Me. I'm the One who paid for your price, not the world. So why even try pleasing the world?' If the world loves us, we're trying to please the world, not God. If the world hates us, we must be doing a pretty good job of showing Who we belong to. God chose us--we belong to Him. Are you showing that you belong to Him?

Kayla Joy

Imitators of Love

As humans, we tend to be selfish, caring only about ourselves, and always want to get something out of every favor. Remind you of anybody? Sadly, with our selfish motives and sinful nature, we sound a lot like we're imitating satan. Satan wanted power. He was selfish for it. We want control. We can get selfish for it.

Ephesians 5:1-2 says, " Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."  If we call ourselves Christians, why aren't we acting more like Christ?


Kayla Joy

Giving Everything to the One Who Made Everything

I flipped the page on a book, enraptured in it. Suddenly, what I was reading didn't make any sense. I flipped back and checked the page number, only to discover several pages were missing. Throughout those pages, the plot had changed drastically. What good is a half a book?

Sometimes, we tend to give only some of ourselves to God. We figure we can please Him in the big stuff, but convince ourselves He doesn't really care about the little things. Truth is, He cares about it all. He wants all of us devoted to Him, whether we're doing something small, or doing something huge. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." God wants all of us dedicated to bringing Him glory and praise. What good is half of us?

The amazing thing is, He knows we're not perfect. He knows we mess up. He knows we fall flat on our faces sometimes. Even though He knows all that, He still wants all of us, every single one of us with all of our faults, sins, and mistakes. God doesn't ask for perfection. He asks for every part of us. Considering He made everything in us, shouldn't we willingly give Him what we have?

Kayla Joy

Ordinary Vessels

"Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,  and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her." ~Luke 1:28-38.

Mary was an ordinary teenage girl. She had made mistakes in her life. She had messed up. Yet she was a willing servant. She was willing to be the Lord's vessel if that was God's plan for her life. Are you willing to be that kind of servant to God?

Kayla Joy

Guard Yourselves from Toxic Hearts

I walked into the dark kitchen and grabbed my cup of water that had been sitting out. I started to drink, but immediately spat it out in the sink. The water tasted nasty...dirty, strange, bitter, definitely not like the water I was expecting. I flipped on the lightswitch and peeked inside my cup, only to find, to my disgustment, dirt floating around. After asking, I found out someone used my cup to pour chemicals into our orange tree. Toxic chemicals. And hadn't bothered to put my cup in the dishwasher.

Proverbs 4:23-25 says,“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” If we're around people who are speaking corruptly, before long we'll start talking like that. You can take in dirty things, or you can take in good things. Your heart will show the results of which you chose. Which will you chose to take in?

Kayla Joy

Hustle and Bustle A Different Direction this Year

A bitter wind cut through the air, making me walk faster. Sammy stopped walking and cheerfully sniffed a tree, finding it very intriguing. I, on the other hand, wasn’t very happy about this. I tugged at his leash to make him move forward faster. If you know Sammy, you know he can be as stubborn as he is sweet. He was determined not to budge. I was determined to make him budge. He dug his nails into the concrete, seeming to enjoy my frustration. Eventually, my force was stronger and he slowly trailed behind me.

As the Christmas hustle and bustle season approaches, it can be easy to forget the real reason for the season. The real reason for the season--Jesus--gently pulls us one way, while the commercial Christmas pulls us another way. Jesus reminds us that it’s not about giving the best gift, it’s not about getting the best gift, it’s not about beating the Christmas rush for shopping. The commercial Christmas sharply tugs us in the opposite direction, trying desperately to convince us that it’s about buying the best presents, impressing our friends, and shopping till we drop.

This year for Christmas, remember the real reason for the season. Don’t let the commercial Christmas tug you into lies. Christmas isn’t about presents. Christmas is about Jesus.

Kayla Joy

Heart Listeners

I shuffled through a crowd of people, trying to find someone to talk to. We were at a homeless shelter with our youth group, and we were hanging out talking with some people in the game room. Most of the people were playing games, or someone who didn't have much of an interest in talking to a teenager. I glanced in the corner and noticed a man sitting by himself. Unlit cigar tucked cautiously behind his ear, a hat covering his head, a half grown bristly beard, and dirt jammed under all of his fingernails, he didn't exactly look like a person who would be willing to talk with me. Still, I can at least try, I thought to myself. Walking over to him, I said hi and introduced myself. I asked if he liked the cooler weather we've been having. All I had to do was start small talk. Before long, he was telling me his life story.

He told me everything from his childhood memory of playing on the train tracks, to being laid off work and running into the homeless shelter. We talked for over an hour, and it was surprisingly easy to talk to him. All I had to do was ask him a few questions and he'd start pouring out more details from his life.

All this guy needed was for someone to listen to him. Someone to sympathize during the sad parts in his lifestory, someone to laugh with when he told a happy childhood memory, someone to understand that he wasn't a stereotyped homeless man.

There are many, many people in the world like that. Not all of them are homeless. Some just need someone to listen to. They need someone who will listen with their heart, to truly understand how they feel and love them regardless of what they've done. Will you be that listener?

Kayla Joy

Honking Love Isn't So Loving Afterall

I stared out the window, watching the cars slowly crawl by. It was rush hour, and a sea of cars flooded on the highway, all impatiently thinking about how late they were going to be. Some showed their frustration through their faces, others through honking noisily. Either way, no one was having fun.

Sometimes, we're in such a rush to get where we're going that we miss out on chances to share God's love. Whether it's through praying for someone when you're stuck in a flood of cars, praising God through music, or simply smiling at someone through the car window, we're given plenty of chances to show what's important in our lives. If we impatiently sit in the car, honking at the person ahead of us...what does that say about our priority in life?

Kayla Joy

Tantrum Trust

A little girl pulled herself up on a small plastic playset. She peered over the end at the ground and giggled happily. She advanced to the corner of the plastic playset, not realizing that there was a hole in the platform. The hole was made for toddlers to go under and play, but she had just learned to walk; she wasn't noticing the hole. I picked her up, placing her safely out of the hole's way. Not happy about this, the little girl started to cry. She couldn't see the danger. She didn't understand why I moved her.

Sometimes, we want things our way. We want to be in control. We want to go where we want to. We don't even realize how close we are to falling off. The good news? God knows. If He places you somewhere in life you aren't happy about, try to see through God's eyes. He knows why He placed you where you did. Don't throw a temper tantrum everytime you think you're headed in the wrong direction, trust Him to lead you.

Kayla Joy

Giving Him all the Credit

"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be." ~1 Corinthians 12:14-18~

I know I can get down about my talents. While I may admit I'm skilled in certain areas, when I start comparing myself with other people's talents, I overlook the talents I possess. But God says that we each have different gifts and abilities. We don't all have the same, but that's okay! He made us to have different talents. Though one might seem more important than another, they all rely on each other.

Don't be caught overlooking your own talents in the process of looking at someone else's. No matter how small your spiritual gift may seem, it's essential. It's going to benefit someone else if you use it. God gave you that talent for a reason. Use it to glorify God and bring Him praise, don't let it get buried under the dust of discouragement. 

Kayla Joy

P.S. It's my third night writing in a row! Think I can keep it up? :)

Swallowing Challenges VS. Smashing Challenges

I frowned, pushing a bottle of yogurt away from me. I was only a few years old, and I had been pushing this yogurt can back and forth between me and my mom for minutes. She was determined to make me eat it. I was determined to not let a drop of that nasty thick liquid ruin my taste buds. Eventually, showing her how serious I was, I picked up the yogurt and threw it on the wall. Pink yogurt sagged down, sliding slowly down the wall as I watched with glee. My mom, on the other hand, was not so happy about my latest achievement.

Sometimes, we complain when challenges get thrown in our lives. Instead of swallowing them down, we prefer to slam them against the wall and try to forget about them. But God's ways are different than our ways. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." Thankfully, His ways are different than our ways. He knows what He's doing. Sometimes He allows challenges in our lives so that we can grow from them. If we didn't have challenges--what need would we have to rely on Him?

Kayla Joy

Childlike Obedience

I sat crosslegged on the floor, smiling at a 7 year old who was making my hair. I was babysitting her, and, taking a break from the endless rides of "horsie", she wanted to make my hair. She just finished putting pig tails in my hair, gleefully exclaiming that it was her first pony tail ever. I complimented her on how nicely she made it (and really, she did a good job! Pulled out much less hair than I was expecting!) and she dreamily sat back, telling me she wanted to be a hair stylist when she grew up. I asked her what other things she wanted to do when she grew up, and she told me, "I don't know what God wants me to do yet. But I'll do whatever He tells me to!" This statement was so surprising for me, coming from a 7 year old. At that age, most 7 year old's are dreaming about being a ballerina or a princess in a land covered with sugary candy.

If a 7 year old has that much wisdom, shouldn't we? Shouldn't we submit to God, realizing that He has our whole future mapped out? While we may ponder what we want to do as adults or for a job, He doesn't have to ponder it. He knows it. Have obedient childlike faith as this little girl does--let Him tell you what He wants you to do with your future.

Kayla Joy

Possible Carrot Starvation?!

I sat stone still, wide-eyed, nibbling on a carrot, picking at a half eaten bologna sandwich, and watching with terror as a traumatic event that would forever impact my life unfolded out before me. Our toilet flooded.

I was 5 years old, and to me, that was the worst thing possible. I kept imagining it getting worse and worse--what if we used up all of our towels and it still was flooding? What if it flooded our house and we were trying to swim to safety in it? What if it suffocated us, filling up to the top of the house, burying us alive, swimming under water? What if we managed to live, but all that water completely destroyed our house and we were homeless? What if it washed away all of my carrots and I starved to death? As I said before, it was a very traumatic event.

I know that I certainly worry too much in life. I worry about an upcoming test, I worry about people, I sometimes even worry about if I’m worrying too much! Matthew 6:25-34 is a beautiful passage for when I’m worrying too much. One of my favorite verses in that passage is verse 27, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”. That’s a pretty powerful verse. It makes me back up and ask myself if worrying was worth it. It makes me wonder if I wasted time pointlessly worrying about something that was going to happen whether or not I worried about it.

In the end, it turns out I’m still alive--not swimming frantically in a house that is quickly filling with water from our toilet. We still had clean towels left over. We still had a house to live in. And, most importantly, I still had my carrots to enjoy munching on. At that time, I was so stuck on the present that I couldn’t see through my worries. My worries clouded my vision. Don’t let your worries cloud your vision, see past them. Anytime you feel the urge to start worrying, start praying for someone instead. That's a hobby that you won't ever have to question its worth.

Kayla Joy

Possible to Have Joyful Monday's?

I admit, I'm definitely not always joyous. I wake up on Monday morning's and think of how much school I have, how it's going to take all day, and how Friday night is a long way off. This Monday morning, however, I saw it differently. I didn't dread my school. I didn't think how late I'd be schooling. I didn't think about how Friday was a long way off (well, okay, maybe I thought about that a little, but not as much as normal!). My verse to get me through the day was one of my Grandpa's favorite Bible verses, Psalms 118:24, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Over the years, this verse has held even more meaning for me.

While God makes every day, we don't always view the days as something to be thankful for. I'll admit it--I'm not joyous everyday. Sometimes Monday's and Tuesday's can seem to slowly crawl by, while the weekends fly by and are gone before I know it. The past year I've been learning to be joyous no matter what. It doesn't mean putting a fake smile on your face, it means realizing what Jesus has done for you and being thankful for it, even throughout difficulties in life. When you think about that, no matter how bad a day it may have been, it can't help but to put you in a joyful mood. Next week, count your blessings instead of your dreadings, it'll make the day go much faster in a more joyful way.

Kayla Joy

Jelly Melon Invasion

I attacked the poky vines of a jelly melon plant. Starting out as a tiny, helpless plant, this jelly melon grew until it finally overgrew my flower garden. I hadn't minded it, until it choked out my flowers and invaded my flower garden space. Now, I was ripping the dead remainders of it off the fence.

As I did this, I couldn't help but think how similar it is to our sin. It can start out small, but if you don't weed it up, it can choke out good and destroy things. At first it looks harmless--but in just a few days it can grow to an enormous size, if not handled. Isaiah 64:6 says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Don't let your sins sweep you away, take care of them before they invade on you. Instead, ask God for forgiveness, He'll weed up any ugly spots in your life. And after that, don't continue to sin, turn from sin.

Kayla Joy

Prayer Pouter

A long strand of raven black hair stuck to a little girl's cheek, glued on from her tears streaming down her face. All of her hair but that one strand was tucked into a neatly tied bun, but she didn't even bother to wipe the strand away from her face. She sobbed loudly, in order to get her mother's attention, and stomped throughout the store. After a few steps, if her mother wasn't paying her any attention, she'd stomp as loud as she could, just to show how angry she was. I didn't know why the little girl was upset, but I figured it was probably because the girl wanted something in the store that her mother didn't want to get. Whatever the reason, this little girl wasn't going to let her mother forget it anytime soon. She stomped a couple more paces, stopped stomping so she could wail, and then continued stomping and sniffling.

I'm like this little girl when I pray sometimes. Maybe not to the same extent, but if I don't hear God answering me immediately, I can go off in a little stomping rage. "God, what I'm asking for is reasonable. It's not like I'm asking for all the money in the world. All I want is this! Why won't you give it to me?"

God always answers our prayers. No matter how silly the prayers are. No matter how reasonable the prayers are. God always answers our prayers. He says yes, no, or wait. We'd prefer an immediate answer, we think we need an immediate answer. Then we realize, God knows what we need. He knows what we need even better than ourselves. Luke 12:7 says, "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." The truth is, He knows us better than we know ourselves. I don't have a clue how many hairs are on my head. But God knows the exact number for each of us. If He knows us better than we know ourselves, shouldn't we realize that He knows better? Maybe what we're stomping and grumbling about is something we don't need. I'm sure the little girl didn't need whatever item in the store she wanted. She may have felt she needed it at that moment, but her mother knew she didn't. 


If God tells you no--it's okay. Don't become a prayer pouter. He knows what He's doing better than any of us. Trust Him to give you what you really need. 


Kayla Joy

Our Timing VS. God's Perfect Timing

"'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.'" ~Jeremiah 29:11~

If you know me, you know I love this verse. At first glance, it might seem like God was telling people this when everything was going their way. But if you back up and look at the context, He's actually giving hope to the people when they're discouraged. Just one verse back it says, "This is what the Lord says: 'When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 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.'"

In that verse, God is telling them that He will fulfill his good promise to bring them back. He will fulfill His promise, just not in their time, in His time. If it was in their time, they'd be brought back that instant. But God knows better. He waits.

I love reading this verse and putting emphasis on a certain word..."For I know the plans I have for you...". He knows the plans He has for us. We don't have a clue what all He has in store for us. But that's okay, because He does. We don't know, but we know He knows. Trust Him to carry out His plans for you in His time.

Kayla Joy

God Suds

I shoved the last pair of blue jeans into the washer and walked over to the laundry detergent. Scooping a small dip, I read the claim on the Tide's detergent's label, "Removes virtually every stain!". Virtually, that was the key word that basically means "You can't sue us if it doesn't remove every stain because we only claimed it removes 'virtually' every stain!".  I dumped a scoop full of soap into the washing machine and paused, watching the sudsy soap mix with the water. I instantly thought how God makes our sins clean, much like the washing machine cleans our dirty clothes.

Dirty clothes are filthy and can't be worn until they're cleaned. They're simply unfit to be worn. Our sins are filthy and need to be cleaned. You can't walk around with something dirty on for long. 1 John 1:8-9 says, " If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Don't leave those stains on you any longer. Just ask with a sincere heart--mean what you say. God already took care of your sins on the cross. You can have more than just "virtually" every sin removed if you simply ask.

Kayla Joy

Three Hundred Against Three Thousand?

"Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped  at the spring of Harod. The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now the the people, "Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead." So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you' he shall not go." So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from whose who kneel down to drink." Three hundred men lapped with their hands to the their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others."~Judes 7:1-8~ (Italics mine)

If you're fighting a battle in today's world, thirty-two thousands soldiers sounds a lot better than just three hundred. If I were Gideon, I would have been thinking, "Whaaat? But, just to make sure we win this battle, don't we want at least a thousand? I mean, com'n, God, look at all the soldiers they have!"

If thirty-two thousand soldiers fought the battle and won--what would be miraculous about that? The Israelites would probably start bragging about their wonderfulness. All the men would be bragging over feasts saying, "Ha, you saw how I slashed that Midianite's head off? It definitely was a skillful move! Couldn't a won the battle without me, you couldn't!". But God had only three hundred men go with them. Against thousands of Midianites. Not a chance of the Israelites winning solely by man strength with those numbers. That's why God chose those numbers. He wanted the Israelites to see it was Him who won them the battle, Him who worked a miracle, Him who had the power.

Sadly, in today's world, we can get pretty prideful and stuck up on ourselves. If something seemingly too good to be true happens to you, don't thank yourself for it. Thank the One who made you.

Trust in the Eternal Light

I'm normally the last one in my bed. As a routine, I make sure all the lights are turned off downstairs, call Sammy to my side, and stumble around in the darkness till I find the staircase to my room. When it's pitch black and the only thing you can feel is a pile of wagging fur close to your feet, it's slow going. Your mind is running with the thoughts of, "When should I turn to the left to find the stairs? I gotta make sure not to trip on Sammy...I don't want to trip on the first step either. And I definitely don't want to miss the turn and walk straight into the wall." And trust me, I have done all of those things numerous times. As soon as I've reach the staircase, I always extend a searching hand on the wall, trying to find the light switch. The second I succeed, I'm filled with relief. I'm no longer in the dark, wandering aimlessly around. I can see any hazard items, such as books, on the staircase that could have made me trip in the dark. I'm seeing around me with new eyes, things I wouldn't have been able to see if I were still groping around in the dark for a light switch.

Isaiah 42:16 says, "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." Though we may not recognize the paths He's taking us on, though we may not always agree with them-- they're not unfamiliar paths to Him. He's the ultimate Light. While we're still groping around in the dark trying to understand why He's doing what He is, He can see more than we can. He understands more than we ever will. He promises to guide us and never forsake us. God knows we don't understand why we were taken on this path. He also knows why we were taken on that path. Trust Him.

Kayla Joy

"He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'" Matthew 14:29-31.

One tiny detail in this Bible passage that I love looking at is when it says, "Jesus immediately...". Jesus immediately reached out His hand to save Peter from drowning. Jesus didn't think to himself, "Hmph, it's all Peter's fault that he became frightened and looked the other way. You know what? Just to teach him a lesson... I think I'll wait till he gets a good mouthful of salty water in his mouth before I save him. Ha, that'll teach him a lesson!" Jesus cared for Peter. He didn't let him drown.

If you feel like you're drowning in the never ending seas engulfing you, just reach out to Jesus. Cry to Jesus. He's waiting for you to come to Him. He's been waiting all along, hoping you'd want His help. Cause let's admit it--we've tried before. We can't live without Him. We fail miserably at it when we try. Don't try to swim in those seas again. Instead, call on the One who made the seas.

Kayla Joy

The Little Candle That Could...

Yesterday, we were celebrating my sister's 21st birthday. We had gotten her a candle that hums the tune of "Happy Birthday" when lit. Now, however, hours after we had lit the candle and dumped it into a cup of water in order to silence it, it was still happily humming happy birthday. It reminded me of a few years ago when we were celebrating my Great Grandma's 100th birthday party. We had gotten her a candle of the same sorts, and, in order to silence it forever, we had tried drowning it, beating it against the counter, and hacking it with a knife. All the same, the little candle kept singing, dutifully doing its job and wishing the birthday person a very happy birthday indeed.

Is your faith in Christ like this? That no matter what trials in your life you face, you will always keep spreading the news of a Savior? Or does it slowly come to a stop after each trial gets harder and harder to manage? Let your faith in Christ be like this candle--always spreading the Gospel, no matter what obstacles could stand in the way.

Kayla Joy

P.S. In case you're wondering...we froze the candle in a cup of water. I'll get back to you on whether it worked or not, we have yet to find out! I, however, am cheering for the little candle to not lose voice and keep singing.

Child Like Faith

When I was little, I loved climbing trees. I was a good climber, able to balance well on a rather weak looking branch. My problem wasn't climbing trees--it was getting out of them. I could fearlessly climb as high as the clouds (or what seemed to be, in my small mind) without a consideration of how I'd get down. I was confident on how I'd get down, because I knew I'd just call out to my dad and he'd pluck me out of the tree and set me safely on firm ground. He'd never failed to get me down before when I'd asked, why would he change that?

Matthew 18:3 says, "And He said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'" God never changes. He's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Can't we have that same childlike faith we had as children and trust that He'll take care of us?

Kayla Joy

30 Day 30 Minute Challenge

"Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

Sure, we love to spend our morning's with Jesus. A reading of a random chapter or two of the book of Psalms, a few seconds of prayer, and maybe a minute or two of listening. But we have things to do in the mornings. We're on a tight schedule. It's not really our fault if God doesn't speak to us in the time period that we give Him. Right?

If you haven't been hearing God speak to you lately, maybe you haven't been taking the time to hear. So if you're reading this, I challenge you to a 30 day challenge. For 30 days, get up 30 minutes earlier than you normally would, and use that time doing whatever you want with Jesus. Talking to Him, asking Him, listening to Him, singing songs of praise to Him, memorizing scripture, whatever it is you feel He wants you to do that day, do it. And don't use this as a substitute for whatever time you already spend in devotions. Let this be a time to transform you and refresh you. Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for Him. If you feel Him telling you to spend more time with Him, adjust what time you get up at so you can spend more time.

Jesus loved you enough to not only make sacrifices for you, but to be the sacrifice for you. Can't you give Him 30 minutes for 30 days with you?

Kayla Joy

Don't Have a Way With Words? You're Not Hopeless, God Can Use You!

Paul. What do you think of when you hear that name? A devoted follower of Christ? A wonderful apostle of Jesus who made many follow in his footsteps? A Jesus follower with a wonderful, bold ways with words? Not someone we could ever live up to? 

If you're thinking that, then you must never have read 2 Corinthians 2:2-5, or at least not taken it to heart. 2 Corinthians 2:2-5 reads, "'My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.'" 

Suddenly, this changes everything. Or at least it did for me. Paul is basically admitting, "Hey, you think I'm an awesome role model? Think again! It's God whose the awesome role model. My words were weak, had too many 'Uh's and 'Um...'s in them. They weren't persuasive words, and the way I presented them definitely wasn't a work of art you'd see hanging around any Art Museum. For goodness's sake, my words weren't even good enough for an article on a newspaper! It was all God's doing." Maybe that's not exactly how he'd phrase it...but I think it's close enough. 

Think Paul's being humble here? 2 Timothy 3:16 would say otherwise. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness..." This isn't Paul saying 'Aww, shucks, thanks for the boost of confidence, God, but it really wasn't that awesome. I think I'll just slip in something here to let the reader's of this book know that'. "All Scripture is God-breathed..." 

Paul isn't just adding the part about him being a bad speaker to be humble. He's being completely honest. So, the point?? What's it matter about if Paul was a good speaker or not?

The point is, you don't have to be a good speaker. Look at Paul. According to him, he was pretty crummy at speaking. But Paul did have a demonstration of the Holy Spirit. And this proved to others listening to him that it was God's power, not Paul's fancy way with words. Don't worry if you don't have a way with words. Don't be concerned if you stumble or can't think of the words to say. Let Jesus's light shine out through you in all you do, so that's Christ's power is seen, not with any words of wisdom from you, but with the demonstration of the Holy Spirit. 

Kayla Joy

 

School Assignment

 Thought I'd share an assignment for school I did the other day. This is just the first draft, so any suggestions on revisions would be appreciated! And I'd love any title suggestions, I don't like the title I have right now! :P It's supposed to be an "I believe" essay, but it can't have 'religion' in it. Though I didn't add any, I can't help but thinking of the verse, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.'" (Mark 12:30-31) when I look over my essay. Of course, the neighbors this verse talks about aren't only the ones living in our neighborhood, but it includes them, too!




Michaela Maas
Kelly Booth
9/29/2011
                                                               A  New Beginning
   
    It was a warm, pleasantly windy day in early August. It was Wednesday night, and I was taking my dog, Sammy, for a walk with my parents. We were quietly chattering amongst ourselves, when a loud, gruff voice broke the silence. “Hey!”, a man cried out, startling all of us. We turned abruptly, and saw our neighbor signaling to us. As we crossed the street to talk to him, we approached a heavy cloud of smoke. I hoped he wasn’t going to spend a lot of time talking with us, already the smell of his cigar was nauseating. His voice broke my thoughts, “Have you heard the news about Jean?”.
 
  I was immediately taken aback, wondering what could have happened to Jean. We weren’t close friends with most of the people in our neighborhood. Sure, we waved to them if we saw them pass by, but we never really stopped and talked to any of them, except Jean. Jean was a 94 year old widow who lived five houses down from us. We first came to know her through my dog, Sammy. Whenever we took Sammy for walks and we passed by her house, she was often outside gardening. She would always tell us to wait right there while she got a treat for Sammy. Though she didn’t have a dog of her own anymore, as her dog had passed away a number of years ago, she bought dog treats just for the neighborhood dogs. She loved all of the dogs, but she always told Sammy he was her favorite dog. Before long, we were good friends with Jean. We shared stories, prayer requests, hugs, laughs, and smiles.
   
I was bought back to the present day remembering that it was Wednesday, the day Jean always went shopping for food at a local grocery store. Though she was old, she was sharp witted and quick thinking. She always insisting on driving herself to the store.

    My neighbor spoke up again, “She got in a bad car accident this afternoon. Doctor’s say she has a crushed ankle, collapsed lung, several broken ribs, might have broken a spot in her skull and spine, and probably more.” He let a moment’s pause slip in between, then continued, “It’s real bad. It’d be hard for someone her age,” here he stopped and pointed to me, then continued, “to recover from something like that. But, well... she’s 94 years old, don’t know how much longer she has left.”

    Then it struck me. She was old. We really didn’t know how much longer she had left. Why hadn’t we listened to her stories more? Why hadn’t we baked cookies for her and shown her more love? Why hadn’t we done that for our other neighbors? Even though most of our other neighbors weren’t as old as Jean was, their life could be taken in a split second as well.

    So, saddened by the news, I baked cookies for her. My mom suggested making a card for Jean, and having everybody in the neighborhood who knew her sign it as well. I loved the idea, so I quickly got out some card making supplies and got to work. Before long, I had a decorated poster with room for signatures. We grabbed a container of rainbow colored gel pens and set out, ready to have people sign it for her. I thought it would be a quick thing. I was wrong. At each neighbor we stopped at, we talked for at least 30 minutes, normally longer. Each person was delighted to sign the card for their friend, as well as share stories with us and have several intent listeners. This time, I didn’t mind if the person signing the card had a thick smell of cigar smoke on them, I loved that they were taking the time to talk with us and sign the card.

    As the day came to a close, and the sunset got lower and lower into the sky, until you couldn’t see the beautiful pink and blue raspberry colors anymore, we headed home with a poster full of loving signatures. A few days later, we visited Jean in the hospital, my hands full with our poster. We had given our cookies to her son to give to her, so she had already gotten our cookies. She was delighted to have the poster, signed not only by neighbors, but also signed for all of the neighborhood dogs, and had us set her poster right where she could see it.

    Jean soon moved to a rehab center and was doing much better, much to my relief. But through all of that, Jean had set a beautiful example for me. She had shown me how important it is to love your neighbors. She was close friends with everybody who lived by her, unlike us. She showed love to them, gave the little kids cookies or candy, gave cards to people when they were sick or injured, and even bought treats for their dogs. Because of her, I now believe it’s important to love your neighbors. You don’t know how much longer you’ll have with them. You don’t know what sort of struggles in life they’re going through, unless you love them and show them you care.

I grabbed a soft tissue and balanced a toddler on my hip, gently dabbing her tears away. Her silky blond hair clung to her moist cheeks. She had latched onto me from the beginning, and was laughing just minutes earlier. Now, however, she was screaming, tears flowing from her eyes, crying for her mother. I told her that, if she was really quiet, she might be able to hear her mother come in the room, since her mother’s meeting was almost over. Thankfully, this seemed to do the trick. She stopped crying and strained her ears to listen for her mom. It was silent, save the occasional hiccup from her earlier crying. Then, softly, she whispered, “I don’t want to be in this cage anymore.” Those short nine words melted my heart.

Now, let me get one thing straight--she definitely wasn’t in a cage. She was in a room surrounded with toys, snacks, and kids her age to play with. But that didn’t matter to her.  All she saw was a door that was closed. A door handle that locked from the inside. A mother that was nowhere to be seen. She was so focused on getting her mom back, that she missed the joy all around her--the things that her mother had purposefully surrounded her with while she was at a meeting.

I'm like this little girl sometimes. Aren't we all? It's so easy to get caught up with what we don't have--whether it’s money, security, or getting into a good school--that we forget about the beautiful things around us. While we're busy watching the closed doors, we miss the doors God is unlocking all around us.

Kayla Joy

Confidence in God's Gifts, or Pride?

I memorized Hebrews 10:35 during the summer. I found this verse to be a really interesting verse, especially for me. It says, "So do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded." We're all aware of Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Pride, confidence, what's the difference? Believe it or not, there can be a huge difference. 

Without God, nothing is possible. He gave you each and every talent you have. You wouldn't have any talents at all if it weren't for God. Are you being confident in the abilities that God gave you, and giving Him the glory for giving you those abilities? Or are you becoming prideful in the abilities that you supposedly 'earned'?

Kayla Joy

Forgotten Trust

A little girl with long brown, slightly wavy hair stepped out her back screen door and ran to her neighbors gate, giggling happily. At the same time, almost as if knowing the little girl was there, waiting for him, a beautiful golden dog came bounding across his yard, coming as close to the gate as possible. The little girl bravely stuck her hand through the gate, grinning happily as the dog slobbered her hand in dog slobber. But this little girl didn't care. The relationship between this dog and this girl wasn't a new one. They'd been doing this daily for months, no matter what the season. In the winter, the little girl would take a stick and write "Best Friends Forever" in the freshly laden snow, underlining it. Whenever new, fresh snow covered the words up, the little girl made sure to write it again. Before long, this dog grew so attached to the little girl, he tried to dig his way out of his fence, so they could run around together and play. Spending hours digging, he finally created a hole big enough to fit his head under, but no more. Whining sadly, he looked into the girl's eyes and pleaded for her to help. So, shoveling snow aside, she did her best. But soon, the dog's owners put fresh soil in the hole, covering up all of the two best friend's work. As the years drifted past, the little girl came out less and less, becoming busy with school. Soon, it was a surprise when she came out, no longer a daily, yet exciting, event. It seemed she had forgotten about him.

Are we like the little girl to God? First becoming quickly attached, becoming best friends with Him before long. But then, slowly, as the years drift past, draw farther and farther apart? At first the little girl and dog seemed inseparable. Everyone who observed commented saying, "That girl and dog sure have an amazing bond. Surely not age or years could draw them apart." Yet somehow they did. The little girl with the amazing bond with the dog was me six years ago. Don't let your bond with God draw apart as I did with the bond to my neighbor's dog. Don't let yourself drift away from God, rather cling to Him, draw closer to Him as the years go on, not farther away.

Kayla Joy

Butterfly Trust

I wandered through a beautiful garden near our house, trying to find the perfect flower to take a picture of. There were so many flowers, orange ones with hundreds of mini flowers inside each flower, red roses with white at the tip, bruised purple flowers, so many to pick from. But immediately, I was drawn to one that was swarming not with bees, but butterflies. I instantly knew I'd be lucky if I could get one, non-blurry shot of these active butterflies, but I decided to try, anyway. And, as I predicted, they were avoiding me, getting away from me as fast as possible. All but one. One gorgeous gray, brown, and a hint of white butterfly stayed on the flower it was on, letting me get as close as I wanted to it without flying away.

I was shocked to see him staying, even when I was so close I could pet him. Snapping hundreds of fast photos of him, not sure how long he was going to stay for, I was delighted to photograph this little poser. After about 20 photos of him on one flower, he'd fly over to a next, and let me take pictures of him there. He was so trusting of me, he knew I wouldn't harm him.

How trusting are you to God? Do you get worried and take matters into your own hands, not trusting Him? Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." Just like it's the nature of butterflies to fly away when a human approaches, humans have a tendency to panic and not trust God. You can be that person to trust God, just like that one butterfly trusted me. 

Kayla Joy

(Pictures on left are of the butterfly who trusted me!)

Love Them Like Jesus

Why would Jesus go through such a horrific death for you? Why would He being willing to die for you? Because He loves you. He knows all of your mistakes. He knows your heart. He knows you even better than you know yourself. And He was still willing to die for you. Jesus went through the death that was meant for you. You deserved it. But now, He's taken your punishment as His own. So this day, don't wave it off. Don't push it aside and act like it's some trivial detail. To show Jesus how thankful you really are for His amazing gift of life, turn around and love someone with the love you've received from Jesus Christ. Look at the unloved and hurting people of this world through new eyes. See them how Jesus sees them--someone worth dying for. And love them as Jesus loves them.
Kayla Joy

Renewing Grace

I was reading 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 tonight. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." I kept thinking, "I'm bad at so many of those things! I'm not patient. I'm not always very kind, I envy at times. I'm self-seeking, often thinking about me and not others. I can be easily angered! I talk too much and don't listen enough, and I definitely am cautious to trust."
 The good news? I'm not hopeless. And neither are you. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." God knows we mess up. He knows we don't have perfect love. That's why His grace is sufficient for us. His grace covers all of our weakness. And His grace does more than cover our weaknesses, His power is "made perfect in weakness".
 Kayla Joy

A Boatload of Ugliness

Trashcans come in many different varieties. Some are small, some are large, and some are in between. Some have lids and others don't. Some have pink floral roses decorated on the side, some have animals decorated on the side, and others are just plain white or black. No matter if the trashcan is small, has a lid, or is plain white, it's still a trashcan. You can't change what it contains on the inside by making the outside more attractive. There's still garbage inside, even if it's the prettiest trashcan design in the world.
 Sometimes, we dump our sin in a trashcan and try to disguise our sins. Maybe if we lied about something, we try to downplay the lying..."It wasn't that bad, I had a good reason to do it, after all". Whatever the sin is, often we try to downplay it into something smaller, something prettier, something more attractive. The truth is, no matter how much we try to pretty up our sin, it's still a sin. It's still nasty. It's still unattractive. And, it still needs to be taken care of. It needs to be taken out and thrown away. We don't leave garbage in trashcans to rot away, we have to empty the trashcan or it simply becomes too much to live with. Imagine living with a trashcan overflowing of trash, flooding into all rooms of our house. Similarly, we need to 'take out' our sins. We need to get rid of them. We can't keep living with them. No matter how much we try to disguise it on the outside, it's still ugly on the inside.
 The point? Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The wages for all those nasty sins that we try to disguise is death. But instead, Jesus took our sins from us. He knew the trashcan was too heavy for us to lift, too filled with all of our mistakes, sins, and sadness. So He lifted that weight from us. He took our sins. And, in placement? He offers us a free gift. Eternal life with Him. All we have to do is accept it. Give the trashcan load of ugliness in your life to Jesus, let Him carry it, He already took care of that, all of that, on the cross. And instead, walk towards Him, with no burden weighing you down.
 Kayla Joy

Beautiful, Broken Shards

Ever seen the colorful jars that seem to be made by many broken pieces? It looks almost as if someone created a perfect jar, smashed it, then picked up all the pieces and glued them back together. Somehow, after the pieces have been glued together, the jar is so much more beautiful and elegant than ever before.
 Sometimes, we get so broken and hurt by things in this world. Our hearts seem crushed beyond repair, and we don't know how to repair it. Anytime we try to pick up the shards, we just get cut and hurt more by them. Psalms 34:18 says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." No matter how broken beyond repair you may seem, God is close to you. He'll pick up those broken pieces in your life and repair them. And, though it may not seem like it at the time, He can make something even more beautiful than before out of the broken pieces.
 Kayla Joy

Beauty Unseen

Stepping barefoot into dried, brown soil, I cut a rose off our blooming rose bush. Having just starting blooming a few days ago, this bush is currently a very impressive display of vibrant red roses, and bright pink roses. Sitting down in the grass, I looked over the rose I had picked and smiled at its beauty. The rose was a gorgeous dark red, so red it could almost be called purple. But, until I looked closer, I hadn’t noticed pink camouflaged bugs crawling on the inside of the rose. The outside was magnificent, but, as it turned out, the inside was filthy with bugs.

Sometimes, we try to look beautiful on the outside. We want to be pleasing to the human eye, and we can get so carried doing this, that we forget what really matters--being pleasing to God on the inside. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” Yes, you have beauty. But your beauty should come from the inside, the beauty of an unfading, gentle, and quiet spirit, not from anything on the outside. If you truly want to please God, stop comparing your outward beauty to others and start considering how your inside looks. For what’s the use of only being beautiful on the outside?

Kayla Joy

Build Your House on the Rocks

You’re given three large rocks, a bin, and a bag of yellow, grainy sand. You’re told that, somehow, you must fit the rocks and sand in the bin, and still be able to close the bin. Thinking this will be easy, you smile confidently and begin to open the bag of sand. Carefully pouring the sand into the bin, you wait until every last grain is in the bin, then proceed to the rocks. Putting the three large rocks in, you then grab the lid of the bin, prepared to close it. Then you realize something. There’s no way you can close the bin with the rocks on top. You can easily close the lid with the rocks out, but it doesn’t seem possible to fit them all in.

Then, it hits you. Why didn’t you put the rocks first? If you put the rocks on the bottom, then the sand will gradually sink in, filling the holes around the rocks. After rearranging it like this, you can easily shut the lid. The bin is still full of rocks and sand, but the order of importance is rearranged.

Don’t we do this in our life? We say that we’re too busy to spend time in devotions, too busy to pray, too busy to spend time listening to God. We want to put a time limit on God and say, “God, I’m giving you five minutes to speak to me. If you don’t speak to me in those five minutes, Your fault. So You’d better hurry and speak, cause I’m not waiting any longer!” We say we have such a busy schedule that we can’t fit in time with God. We say the important stuff comes first...so why doesn’t the important stuff come first? The important stuff is devotions and time with God. Yet too often, we decide that those are only the ‘if we have time’ options. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Like the rocks and the sand, if we put the most important stuff at the bottom, the rest of the stuff can slide in around it, it’ll find room to fit somehow. If we seek God first, all the other things will work out. What comes first in your life?

Kayla Joy

Each with a Purpose

Sitting in the shade of a tree, I plucked a dandelion. This once vibrant yellow dandelion had faded over a period of days into a white fluff of seeds, ready to spread out on their own and make new dandelions. I plucked one seed from the dandelion and twirled it around between my fingers. A dandelion like this might, from a distance, seem like one whole flower. But when you look closer, you can see tiny individual seeds, each with an almost identical look.

The seeds on the flower weren’t a mistake, God put each and every little seed there for a purpose. Similarly, God made us each unique. He made each and every one of us, and gave us all different abilities.

Finally, I blew all the seeds off the dandelion. Fluffy, white wisps of seeds were swept away in the breeze. Some of the seeds went farther than others, some went higher, some went on the grass, only to be swept up again in another light nudge from the wind.  But no matter where they ended up, or how long it took them to get there, they all eventually made it where they were supposed to. Some of us are better at math, some are better at painting, some of us are better at sports, but whatever it is, God made you unique. He had a purpose in mind when He made you.

Kayla Joy

Forever Loved

A flower reminds me of God’s love for us. It blossoms with all sorts of colors, fiery orangish red, sunshine yellow, and bruised purple in different seasons. Sometimes it wilts and we don’t notice it as much. But even if it looks all dead, it’s still a flower. And even when we don’t pay attention it to, it’s still there, sitting, waiting to be noticed and bloom again. The big difference is, God’s love for us doesn’t fade in and out or wilt like a flower does, it’s always there, and always strong. But sometimes, we ignore it. We forget to how important it is. Just because we always have it and we always will have it, we start to think it’s nothing. But then something reminds us of God’s love and His love is once again noticed and relied upon. Having God's love always makes us forget how special His love for us really is. But shouldn't it make His love all the more special? Shouldn't it make us realize that everything changes, but God never does, He always loves us, and He always will. Can’t we at least try to fully appreciate the love God pours out on us day after day? Or will we just go on, remembering only on holidays such as Easter, about God’s great love for us?
 Kayla Joy

Little Eyes, Big Impressions

I smiled as I watched a little three year old girl run around the chapel after the morning service. Her long, gorgeous black curls bounced with each small step she took, and she laughed as she took off in a hurry, trying to avoid the tagger in a game. Just as she was about to get tagged, she spotted me and sprinted towards me. She stopped just short of me, leaped as high as she could, then wrapped her small hands and legs around my skirt, clinging tightly, and squealing "Up! Up!" in the excitement of the moment. Her adorable grin lite up her whole face as I scooped her up. Gleefully laughing that she was now taller than her tagger (a 7 year old girl) and thus couldn't be tagged, she tugged on my shirt and plea-fully begged for me to run. I couldn't disappoint her! Running around the nearly empty chapel with her in my arms, she giggled uncontrollably. Before long, her laughter was contagious, catching on to me and another little girl we were playing with. After 10 minutes of running around carrying a giggling 3 year old, I set her down on the floor to give myself a break. What I hadn't realized then was, after 10 minutes of a completely joyful 3 year old, this little girl wasn't going to be happy unless I was holding her. She was already attached to me (quite literally, not letting go of my legs), so I had to satisfy her for 20 more minutes of holding her.
 Though it may not seem like it sometimes, children are watching us. Whether it's our neighbors children, or children you see passing in the streets, they're watching us, waiting to see how we'll react to things. Even this little girl was watching me, wanting to see how long I would hold her before tiring. Are we going to lose our temper at the little children when they mess up, or are we going to forgive them and show them love?
 Matthew 18:6 says, "If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." I always thought this verse was so severe sounding. Notice how it doesn't say that it would be better for them to be put in jail for a few years or anything that small. Rather, it says, "It would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." That verse definitely implies how important it is to not cause a little one who believes in God to stumble. Whatever you do, they're going to notice. And they will learn and start imitating you. So what are you showing them? Are you showing them how to lie by lying to them? Or are you praying with them at bed-time, teaching them how to pray on their own? No matter the size of the eyes watching you, set a role model for the people around you.
Kayla Joy

Loving Loudly

While I was up in Minnesota for camp during some of the summer, I spent the weekends at my aunt and uncle's house. Though very much sleep deprived from the week, I loved running around with some of my younger cousins, Buddy and Kallie, and playing a game with them. Their game was very simple--they try to capture me and put me in the 'dungeon', I try to escape from capture. I cherished every second of their laughter and smiles. But after a while of running around, even they were happy to sit down and eat supper.
 After fighting over who got to sit next to me (Kallie won that time), Kallie turned to me and loudly announced that she had a secret to tell me. I smiled at her and she leaned in close. Cupping both of her small hands around my ear in a very secretive manner, she declared (loudly enough for everyone at the table to hear), "Guess what?? I love you!". My heart melted at this adorable moment from my little cousin. Kallie sat there grinning at me, so I cupped my hands around her ear and whispered that I loved her, too.
 Just like how Kallie's loud 'secret' message wasn't a secret, so is God's message to you. His message to you? He loves you! No matter what you've done wrong, what you've been through, how long you've been on the wrong path for, God still loves you, and He always will. Ephesians 3:17-19 says, “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” His love is wide, long, high, and deep. Nothing can separate us from His love, and He wants you to know that.
 Kayla Joy

The Best Part, or the Whole Part?

I carefully scooped oatmeal into a white paper bowl and handed the bowl of warm oatmeal to an elderly man. I was working in dining hall up in a camp in Minnesota, and I always loved meal times. Our supervisor had to pick one or two people to help serve the food to the campers. During the second week, I was the only person who wanted to serve. So, I always got the chance of serving food to these people. This week was family camp, so I was serving to all sorts of people--adults, teenagers, toddlers, and even babies. It was organized in a cafeteria style. After a family was dismissed from their table, they would walk, one by one, and go through the line of food. Servers would stand in different spots and serve food. I earned the nickname 'Oatmeal Lady', since I served oatmeal every breakfast, and today was the same. After being asked by this elderly man if this was the real stuff or "a fake", I assured him that this was real oatmeal. Thanking me, he walked on his way. I glanced at the line ahead of me, preparing to scoop up more oatmeal, when I noticed something that made me laugh. A little boy, about 2 years old, stood by his mother, staring at the blueberry muffins sitting out on a tray. His mother, clearly distracted by putting bacon on his breakfast plate, didn't see what this little boy was doing, until it was too late. This blond haired boy stretched out his small hand, reached as much as he could, and finally grasped a warm muffin. Licking his lips, he took a huge bite out of the top of the muffin. Then, once only the top of the muffin was gone, he looked both ways (to make sure nobody was looking), and set the muffin back on the tray. This clearly already eaten out of muffin sat pitifully on the tray, definitely not an appealing sight to any hungry campers. Then, taking another muffin, the boy did the same thing. After his second muffin only had the top bitten off, he put it back. By this time, his whole face was light up with a smile bigger than a house. Grabbing for yet a third muffin, he opened his mouth for a huge bite. But this time, before he could feel the crumbly muffin reach his mouth, his mother realized what he was doing. Quickly snatching up the muffin, she set it back on the tray. Then, horrified by what her son had done, she scolded him lightly. Picking up the two muffins he took a bite out of, she set them on his plate, determined that he would eat even the less tasty bits of the muffin.
 Isn't this what we're like in our Christian life? It sounds great to call ourselves Christians! But...we don't exactly what to live like Christians. Living for Jesus every single day of our lives? Not like, once a month? Maybe even once a week, on Sundays? So instead we decide that, we'll just take the best part. Just like the little boy biting into a muffin, he just wanted the yummy part. We often just want the title 'Christian', and leave the living for Jesus bit to someone else. Might be appealing to someone else, right?
 There's no point to even calling yourself a Christian if you only want the title. If your only reason for calling yourself a Christian, is because it sounds impressive to other people, don't even bother calling yourself a Christian. We can't decide that we want to be called a Christian, but not live like one. If that little boy had tasted the bottom of those two muffins, if he had given them a chance, maybe he would have realized that it was better than he ever thought possible.
 Kayla Joy

Stumbling Steps

Sitting down on our back steps, I gently picked up my Bible and started reading from it. After reading a small passage, I glanced into the beautiful sunset just starting. The wind gently blew my hair, adding a pleasant relief to the hotness. Hearing squeals and giggles, I smiled and turned towards the noise. Our neighbors had a little girl, about a year and a half old. This little girl is the happiest girl ever. Always with a smile on her face and a hand quick to wave at anybody, she can find pleasure in the slightest things. Intrigued by placing a small cup inside a bigger one, she was finding this so amusing she just had to show her mommy. Toddling over unsteadily to her mother, she tripped on the cemented steps and landed on her knees. This only wiped the smile on her face off her for a second. The next second, she picked herself up, smiled, and continued slowly toddling towards her mother, not forgetting for a second what she found so funny.
 It's much like this in our Christian walk. We set our minds on a goal--to be more Christlike--and slowly, ever so slowly, progress closer and closer to that goal. Often, throughout this walk, we stumble, much like the little girl. And stumbling can definitely be discouraging. Whether we fall on the ground from a large height, or only a small height like the little toddler, it's disappointing. It's easier to just give up on our goal all together. To say that we stumble too much and will never make it there. After all, we know that, even if we get up and try walking again, we'll stumble countless more times.
 God knew we would stumble. He knew we would get discouraged. He knew we would lose focus of Him. He knew. The amazing thing? God's grace covers us. All of us. No matter how many times we stumble, He'll be there for us, reaching out His hand. No matter how many times we get discouraged, He'll be there for us, waiting for us to turn to His word and look for encouragement. No matter how many times we lose focus of Him, He'll help us refocus our attention on Him. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." His grace is sufficient for you. That grace didn't come at a cheap price. But He gave it to us because we are worth it. It doesn't matter how many times we stumble, fall into a huge pit, or mess up, He's waiting for us to turn back to Him. And when we do? He covers us with His amazing, endless grace and once again focuses our attention back on Him.

Kayla Joy

Spider Love

After many times of meaning to memorize a certain verse, I decided it was official. I was going to memorize more Bible verses! Sitting down at my computer, I typed out a list of some of the Bible verses I wanted to memorize. Then I came across 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Halfway through writing out this verse, I saw movement in the corner of my eye. Glancing down, I noticed a huge dirt colored brown spider crawling only inches away from my foot. Leaping out of the way, I instantly searched my room for something to kill him with. Conveniently, my sandal was right beside me. After a scary chase around my room, I finally smashed him to his death. Then I thought about the verse I had just been typing. 'Love is patient'. Well, I hadn't exactly been patient with him and compromised saying, 'Okay, I'll give you two days to get out of my house. The door is downstairs, I'll wait for you to get down there and open it for you since you don't exactly feel like getting killed today'. 'Love is kind'. Well, I hadn't exactly chosen the kindest path for this spider. 'It always protects' Hey! I'm not going to protect a spider, okay?? He's...a spider! 'Always hopes'. No way am I going to hope for this spider to not crawl up my arm in the middle of the night and suck my blood!
 Another words, I hadn't been loving to this spider. Which, seeing as he's a spider, is fine. But don't we act this way towards people, too? Maybe they're difficult to get along with, always seem to be doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Maybe they're slow to understand a concept or can't seem to ever stop saying rude, hurtful words. But this Bible verse says that true love, the kind Jesus showed for us, loves the person regardless of how 'unlovable' they may seem. He loves them, even with all of their faults, just like how He loves us, even with all of our faults. If He created them and loves them, why can't we show that kind of love to everybody, not just the 'easy to love' people?
 Kayla Joy

Thoughts on a Bible Passage

John 13:1-17 describes Jesus washing His disciples feet's. Now, I can perfectly understand the disciples washing Jesus's feet but, really? Jesus humbling Himself to the position of a servant and washing their feet? The disciples didn't deserve it, they should have been the ones washing Jesus's feet. But thankfully, God doesn't always give us what we deserve. We deserve to die on the cross for our sins, but instead Jesus took our punishment. He humbled himself to a position that we were supposed to fulfill. Someone had to do it, but instead of the ones deserving of the punishment, Jesus took it for us. Jesus, the perfect One, cared enough for us to die on the cross for sins He was completely undeserving of. Why would He do it? Because He loves us. He loves us so much that He would rather pay for our punishments than give us what we deserve. Because He took our death away and gave us life instead, can't we live for Him?
Kayla Joy

Trust in Strawberry Cheerios, or Trust in God?

One of the few cereals I liked when I was little, was cheerios. Plain cheerios were 'alright', but in my small mind, the best thing ever was to have cheerios with fresh strawberries in them. Even when I was little I always accompanied my mom to the store. I remember one particular time when she told me to pick out which kind of cereal I wanted. Naturally, I darted to the rather large section of cheerios. What seemed like hundreds of choices of cereal loomed before me, and I could spend all day deciding. Knowing that I didn't have all day to decide in, I grabbed a box with a seemingly perfect picture. In the box picture was a large shiny spoon with a mound full of cheerios stacked high on it. Milk swam in the bowl below the spoon. And, to top it all off, there were my beloved strawberries, beautifully mixed in with the cheerios, not to mention generously sprinkled on. I could already imagine biting into the plump, juicy strawberries. I quickly grabbed that picture perfect box and ran to the cart, and, as I did with all of my precious items, placed the cheerio box on the cart's childs seat. I then fumbled with the buckle. Clumsily I secured the buckle around my precious box of strawberry cheerios. Sighing contentedly, I willingly offered helpful suggestions to what we should buy, (suggestions such as begging for cookies, chips, and healthy things such as that).
 The next morning I woke up rather tired, wishing I could have slept in more. Strangely enough, my tiredness vanished completely when I remember the box of cheerios. My strawberry covered cheerios. Scooting my stool over to the fridge, I climbed up and successfully took down my cheerios. I grabbed a bowl and a spoon, and sped over to the table. After requesting that my dad open the box (as most of the boxes I attempted to open turn out tattered in my frenzied attempts to open it quickly) he opened it for me. Thinking for only a second how jealous I was of him for being able to open it so perfectly, I peeked in the box. Cheerios were covering the box, but I didn't spot a single one of my juicy strawberries. Convinced they were hiding at the bottom, I started to pour myself a bowl. Only dried up old looking strawberries came out. No fresh, juicy, bright red strawberries.
 I instantly questioned my dad, holding up one of the pitiful looking dried strawberries. "What are these?!  The box showed juicy strawberries!" He explained gently that these were airtight strawberries, they wouldn't rot like the fresh ones would. I was instantly let down. I had mainly gotten these cheerios for the juicy strawberries--I had been cheated of them! I then demanded, "Why did the box lie?! They showed a picture of these, it has to have these in it!". Unaware that I had been expecting the juicy strawberries, my dad tried explaining to me again, but I felt I had been cheated. "This is a massive injustice! We should return the box for a box of fresh strawberries! The box says you can if you're not satisfied, and I'm not satisfied at ALL!" I remember thinking, filling with a rage. I finally settled down to eat the cheerios, disgustedly tasting all of the dried up strawberries. I stared at the box the whole time I ate, thinking if I looked upset at the the whole time, maybe it would help.
 We tend to put our trust in people. Now, it's not bad to trust people, but we have to understand that they're only human, they're going to mess up. They're going to disappoint us. But if we put our trust in God, He will never forsake us. We may be disappointed because He didn't do something how we wanted Him to, but He has a good plan for us, and He's in control. I put my trust in the picture on the cereal box, sure that it would come out exactly how it said. But I was sorely disappointed, my lovely fresh envisioned strawberries were nowhere to be seen, only tiny dried up rather wilted looking bits of strawberries. Hebrews 13:5 says, "“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” People come in and out of our lives, you can't guarantee whose going to stay in your life and who won't, but you can be sure that God will. He promises never to leave or forsake us! And He doesn't false advertise like that box of cheerios did. Why don't we put our trust in the one whose perfect, who will never forsake us, and who loves us faithfully?
 Kayla Joy

Wandering in Circles, or Walking with a Purpose?

Pausing for a split second, I happened to glance at an ant on the wall. My first reaction was immediately to get rid of him, but I resisted this urge out of curiosity. I simply wanted to see where he was going and what he would do once he got there. Taking a seat on the floor, I watched this little black figure walk hesitantly up the wall, stopping every few seconds to glance about him. Finally, he seemed sure that he wanted to go to the top of the wall, so, zooming speedily along, he continued to make his way up the wall. Once he had reached the top, this little guy stopped to consider his options. It seemed he had forgotten why he wanted to get to the top, and, decided that, instead, the bottom of the wall looked much nicer. So, turning his body around, he started at a slower pace down the wall. This loop went on for seemingly forever, though, in reality, only a few short minutes. At arriving at the bottom of the wall, he turned straight around and made a bees line for the top, after the top turned straight around and made a bees line for the bottom. Finally, I let my cruelty take over and killed the pitiful thing.

This small black ant seemed, even to himself, to have no purpose in life. All he knew to do was, once stuck inside a room with the door shut, climb up and down the wall. He couldn’t make up his mind where to go. The instant he was on one side, he decided he wanted to be on the other. Thus, shifting constantly, he was walking in circles and getting no where.

Don’t we do the same sometimes? At times, we feel invigorated in our faith--ready to live every second for Christ! And yet, at other times, we feel dull and ordinary, not exactly determined to live for Christ. Revelation 3:15-16 says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Similarly, like the ant, we can’t decide which side to be on. So we end up being between as a compromise. We don’t want to be on one side and stay there! But this verse strongly makes its point, it’s better to be hot or cold than in between. Just like that ant--what’s the purpose of wandering from side to side?

Kayla Joy

We All Fall Down

I don't know about all dogs, but Sammy definitely wants to please us. But, he's just a dog, he sometimes disobeys us because he thinks he has a better idea. We're like Sammy, we want to please our Master, and we love our master, but, we all mess up. And sometimes, we think we know better. Sammy seems rather torn if we call him when he'd rather not listen. Sometimes, he does obey us. But there are other times that he thinks he knows better. He doesn't realize that if we had him off leash and let him dart for a squirrel, he'd run straight into a car into the street. We're like that, we love our Master, but we all mess up. We all sin and decide to do something instead of obey our Master. But the amazing thing is, He doesn't throw us in the dog pound for being bad, He lifts us up out of the muddy hole we're stuck in, wipes our tears away, and tells us that He already paid for that sin.

Kayla Joy

Which Will You Choose?

We had grown from seed a tall orange tree, and expected it to produce many good oranges for us. After all, we had taken the orange seed from a huge and fruitful orange tree. Why shouldn’t this plant be just as fruitful and delicious as the first plant, or so we figured. Thus, watering faithfully and watching grow from a tiny green sprout into a tall plant, we happily nurtured this plant with everything it needed to survive. A nice sun room, warmth, water, soil, everything it needed was provided. But before long, we noticed changes between the two plants. The orange tree with many oranges clinging happily to it was bushy, and wide. It seemed to spread its branches and leaves as far out as they could go. Whereas the other plant grew straight up, reaching for the ceiling, and almost accomplishing it’s goal. However, the most noticeable difference between the two plants soon was discovered--the incredibly long thorns that completely overtook this tall plant. Not one tiny orange, pitiful or not, grew out of this plant. After giving it many years of growing, we finally gave up on it and dumped it into its grave--the compost pile. This plant was given everything possible to grow into a healthy fruitful tree. So shouldn’t it have grown into one, instead of an tall, poky tree?
 What sort of fruit do we bear? We’re given the chance to read our Bibles, to attend Bible studies, to grow in our faith. But sometimes, even though we’re given all the things we could possibly need, we remain fruitless and thorny. Luke 6:43-44 says, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.” As this verse says, people don’t pick fruit from thornbushes or briers. What good is a thornbush or brier bush? None at all. Many bear thorns and bristles, but only some choose fruit. Which will you choose to bear?
 Kayla Joy

White-Out, or White as Snow

Picture a book typed out from a typewriter. Half of the pages are filled with dents, black ink blots, and misspelled words. But you have a whole half a book of emptiness. Just waiting to be filled. Are you going to continue your life how you started, constantly messing up, trying to, unsuccessfully, use white-out to disguise your mistakes? Or are you going to confess your mistakes to the One who can make them as white as snow? And the second question is, what are you going to do with the second half of your book? Are you going to make mistakes along the way? Yes. But this time, you don't have to feel like you're all on your own--cause you're not on your own. You have Jesus picking you up when you fall. And He does more than disguise your mistakes with white-out, He erases them completely
 Kayla Joy

A Cheerful Heart and a Lasting Impression

Last year at this time, we were at a hotel, on our way down from Florida. I can clearly remember every detail about breakfast at the hotel that day. That day was a special day. That day, was Christmas day. But that breakfast would have passed over in my memory by now, after all, I was too excited about traveling to Florida to think about anything else. Yet it stuck out in my memory for a sole reason--a person named Deborah.
 The only reason I know Deborah's name, is because I saw her name tag. She was serving breakfast at the hotel, and went way beyond what her job duty called for her to do. All she was supposed to do, was clear off tables, clean up spills, and keep the food refreshed and full for ravenous travelers. She did a good job of this, filling up the food containers when they were getting low, picking up spills caused by young, clumsy hands, and clearing dirty plates after they were abandoned. But this, in itself, wouldn't have made an impression on me in the least bit. It was what was expected of her, after all. What stuck out to me, was the ways she went beyond her job. Keep in mind, this was Christmas day, not a fun day to be serving grumpy, tired travelers their breakfast. But she would go up to tables, and ask if she could get a drink, food, or anything for them. She acted as if she was a waitress! The whole time her face was gleaming with a huge smile, that seemed to light up the very walls themselves. She talked with me some, asking me my name, and wishing me a Merry Christmas. So that day, I wrote her a note and stuck it with some chocolates. Just a reminder that somebody appreciates what she does. Now that we're back at that very same hotel, I'm writing her another note. I don't know if she still works here or not. I don't know if she remembers me or not. But if she does still work here, even if she doesn't remember me, I know she'll appreciate a thank you note. So I'm leaving her another one. Maybe it'll be the last time I can, or maybe it'll be a new tradition.
 Just a reminder for this Christmas/New Years. You might have to work on Christmas Eve or maybe even Christmas day itself, but, keep in mind the real reason for the season, and then you'll definitely have something to carry a smile on your face the whole day. Happy Christmas and New Years! :)
Kayla Joy

A Stranger's Encouragement

    I quickly walked from our church van to the inside of the homeless shelter, hoping to avoid the freezing cold. Nodding a polite “thank you” to the gentleman opening the door for me, I stepped inside the building. It was a cold night in downtown Cincinnati, and just the thought of spending another minute outside sent shivers up my spine. Even though it was November and the ground bore no snow, the air sent flurries of cold rushes every now and then. I gently stamped my feet against the carpet several times, trying to regain the feeling in them.   

    Soon my youth group and I were swept away. We followed the person who seemed to know where he was taking us. Walking through winding passages, we passed by mysterious doors. The closed doors had just enough sound coming from the inside to make you curious to know what’s behind the doors. Finally, our short tour through the building came to a close, as the group stopped. I peered ahead, straining to see where we were led. Looking ahead, I noticed a room filled with people. We had arrived just in time to catch the end of the sermon the homeless shelter was providing.
  
    After the sermon, my youth group and I were signaled to quietly follow our youth group leader. He lead us along more passages, until we stopped at the kitchen.  We were given a short introduction of how to do things, then told to put on gloves and necklaces. Putting on my gloves, I quietly laughed at how big they were on me. Next, I was handed a beaded necklace, with a plastic chili pepper dangling at the end. Carefully placing the necklace around my neck, I stared at the design for a few seconds, smiling. It was a Mexican theme dinner, and they definitely wanted everybody to know that. The food included spicy rice and chicken. The brightly lit room held decorations on the colorful walls, making the room dance with glee. Rubbing my gloved fingers against the smooth crescent shape of the chili pepper necklace, I waited for the homeless people to come in.    

    Within minutes, a flood of people came in through the doors. Taking seats quickly, the people sat down expectantly. I took two plates, one in each hand, put on a welcoming smile, and set out to serve the women first, as we were instructed to do.         Next, we gave the men their food. They seemed especially hungry, and were soon asking for seconds. After a continuous motion of picking up two plates, and setting them down in front of people, finally, everyone was content. I smiled at the large, chatty, happy group. I was glad to be able to help someone in need. As the demand for workers died down, a few of my youth group mingled with the crowd.    

    My eyes searched the large room, looking for a welcoming face. They wandered to a certain table. At that table was a man with a short white beard, his fingers were opening up a battered and torn sketchbook, revealing a crystal white, blank, sheet of paper. Watching a girl in my youth group, Melissa, he was carefully studying her face.      As long as I can remember, I’ve had a passion for art; unfortunately, I’m horrible at it. You can’t even recognize what I’m drawing! My love for art took me over to that table anyway. He had already completed the outline of her face, adding in stray bits of her hair. I glanced at his materials for drawing. A sketchbook, a well sharpened but small pencil, two colored pencils, one was a light brown, and the other was a deep blue sea, a pencil sharper, and an old, well used eraser. The eraser looked like it could stand for only one more use, before it would crumble up into practically nothing.These were all the tools he had for drawing.    

    In less than ten minutes, he had completed all of her drawing. The finished work nearly took my breath away, glueing my eyes to the sketch. He didn’t add much color, couldn’t, with only two colors to choose from. However, he did color in her eyes. A gorgeous light brown. That was the only place he added color. Few people really consider how gorgeous light brown is, but when you see it used like I did, it was simply amazing. Wisps of hair ran slightly into her face, making the drawing seem more realistic. The shading was perfect in the drawing, lightly filling up some corners, and adding more shade in others. He gently tore his drawing out of his sketch pad, and said he wanted her to have it. She thanked him and walked away, after chatting politely for a few more minutes.   

    I just couldn’t seem to leave that table. So I sat down to talk with him. I asked him if he’d ever taken art classes. “I’ve never taken an art class in my life,” was his simple answer. He was just naturally good, saying, “It’s not my best art work, I had to hurry and finish, it’s really not that good.” I told him about my love for art. He said he felt the same way about art. He told me never to give up, and told me what was most important in artworks to him. “Details matter the most,” he said repeatedly. He encouraged me in my love for art, telling me that I could do better than him one day.

    Eventually, it was time to go. I asked him for his name, but only caught the last part. Hill. Mister Hill. It’s his encouragement that’s kept me going throughout the frustrating artworks I draw, that never seem to look like anything but scribbles and lines. If he, with only a stub of a pencil, a sheet of paper, and sheer determination could create something that beautiful, then surely I could continue to try to draw as good as he. A stranger encouraged me in my passion and love for art. He knew I could do it, and he had faith in me. 

                         Kayla Joy