Worth Every Stumble

The month of January is, to me, the gloomiest month of the year. Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is a long way off, and any sort of holiday seems too far off to even think about. The days seem to drag on and bitter coldness freezes any hope of flowers peaking through. Sickness reigns in households and seems as if it will never leave.

During this month, I often have to remind myself of the race we’re in. This race isn’t a race to finish first, or second, or even third--our race is to finish and finish strong. Hebrews 12:1 sums up how we’re supposed to run this race, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” As the passage says, we need to ‘throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles‘ and run with perseverance and endurance. This isn’t a sprint, this is a marathon.

During a marathon, it gets discouraging. The mile markers progress steadily, but the miles seem to repeat themselves. Tired feet trip over themselves and every muscle aches. You know you’re farther along with each step, yet you still feel so far away from the goal, from the prize at the end. The prize at the end slowly fades from the mind until you can’t seem to remember why you’re still in the marathon at all. Why are we still running with perseverance the race marked out for us? To see Jesus face to face. In the end, that will be worth every stumble, every wrong turn,  and every single second of discouragement along the way. One day, we’ll see our Savior face, to face.

Kayla Joy

Amazing Love How Can It Be....

I can never resist little kids! I smile uncontrollably when one begs to braid my hair, I am frequently found making absolutely ridiculous faces to make babies laugh, and my heart melts when kids scream my name from another room and run into my arms. I’ve been called a ‘kid magnet’ before and I love every moment of being with a joyful child of God’s. No, they’re not perfect. Some throw temper tantrums, some refuse to eat their dinner yet beg for candy, and some have major potty accidents, looking at me to clean them up. All the same, I can’t help but love them. 



God is the same way with us. He loves when we want to spend time with Him. He loves when we call on His name. He loves being in our presence. When we come to Him crawling on our hands and feet, completely messed up, He’s there for us. Even when we throw adult temper tantrums and blame Him for everything, He’s there for us. Romans 8:37-39 says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We mess up daily. Our God loves us regardless. How can we help but want to obey a God so amazing as ours?

Kayla Joy

Same Challenges, Different Attitudes

I was at my grandparents house the other weekend and a football game was on. Both my dad and daddygrand were intensely watching it, and the rest of us sat around with stomach’s growling waiting for our carryout food to be ready. Before long, my eyes wandered to the television and I focused on how the camera blurred some things and put others in focus. I tried to imagine what it would look like if everything was shown with the same focus, and I came to the conclusion that it would look rather boring and dull. My daddygrand noticed me watching the TV and said, “I didn’t know you liked football, Kayla!” I had to admit that I don’t care for football one bit. I wasn’t focused on that. While he was watching the players fight for the ball in a game filled with rules I’m clueless on, I was watching the mechanics of how they gave different perspectives with techniques such as blurring. We were looking at the exact same thing yet we were focused on completely different things. 



Christians and non-Christians go through the same trials. Though there are some different trials each will face, they will all go through some of the same challenges in life--trying to get a job, get a degree, decide what they want to do with their lives, etc. Yet, as Christians, we’re able to go through our lives with a widely different perspective. We know that there’s more to this world. While non-Christians are focusing on cramming everything into this life they can and making the most of it, we can look beyond this short life and realize that there’s so much more in store for us. Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.” We can go through the same challenges as non-Christians with a completely different attitude--one of hope, joy, and peace. 


Kayla Joy

Living in Expectation

Sadly, I'm not always like my dog.

Now before you go all crazy on me wondering why I'm disappointed to not be like my dog, let me explain.

Any scrape of a chair, any unusual squeaking sound, any gasp, any knocking, practically any breathing sound can, without a moment's notice, send my dog into a frenzied bark. Sounds of nails scraping against the slippery wooden floors will commence, along with a dog who seems to have gone insane. Running to our door, he will bark ferociously at our mail slot, sure that the mailman must have arrived. 49 out of 50 times it will be a false call, and he will settle down for a little bit, awaiting the next unknown sound that could possibly be this mysterious intruder.

My dog knows that the mailman is coming and he's waiting. He will be ready when the mailman comes--there's no chance my dog is going to miss him.

Now, let me back up to my first sentence. Sadly, I'm not always like my dog. I know for a fact that Jesus Christ is coming back. But I'm not always acting like I know that. I'm not always living how I should for someone who knows that Jesus could come back at any second. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 says, "Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."

 We're living in the knowledge that Jesus could come back any second, but are we living like we truly believe it? 

Kayla Joy

Teetering Through the Day?

I teetered back and forth, sure I was going to fall off. For the first time in horseback riding lessons, we had tried to ride without stirrups at a trot. If you've never ridden horses before, then you don't know how hard this is. If you've never ridden a horse at a trot without stirrups with a tilted saddle before, then you have no idea how nearly impossible this is!

My wonderful horse, Captain, is sweet and stubborn. He won't let anyone tighten his girth. And without tightening his girth enough, the saddle will be tilted. After a worker painstakingly managed to tighten his girth, she didn't tighten it enough.

Here I was, on a tilted, sliding saddle, going at a trot (with my horse begging to burst into a canter), without stirrups, and turning a corner. Everyone watching was sure I was going to fall off and, honestly, I have no clue how I was able to hold on long enough to slow him down.

Like me teetered back and forth on a saddle, it is possible to not read your Bible as you go through the day. Lots of people do. But I have honestly found that it makes the whole rest of my day go smoother if I take time to read my Bible in the mornings. Often time the passages I read that morning stick with me throughout the day, encouraging me. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." If Scripture is God-breathed, then it must be important to read.

Without reading my Bible daily, I find myself teetering through the day, worn out and down right grumpy. It's amazing the difference when I actually take the time to be in God's Word.

Kayla Joy

Lukewarm Love or Fire Love?

I forced a shoe on my foot, hopped over to the stairs, sat down, and put the other shoe on. The whole time I was hopping to the staircase I couldn't help but think, "That was pretty pointless. I should have just sat down first and then put the shoes on." What good was it to hop around with one shoe on? If I just sat down first, then put them on, I'd be fine. Or even if I put both of the shoes on at once and didn't bother to sit down, that would work as well. Instead, I chose to awkwardly hop to the stairs. I couldn't make up my mind--I was in the middle.

Sometimes, we're like that for Jesus. We certainly don't want to be on an extreme side of loving Jesus. I mean, loving Jesus, obeying everything He says, that sounds a little restricting, doesn't it? So what if we just remain in the middle? We can say we follow Jesus, and obey His command when it matches up with what we want to do anyways. That will work, right? 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." But, (there's always an but, isn't there?) the world isn't on fire for Jesus. If we were on fire for Jesus, we wouldn't fit in with the world. Better just to blend in, right?

No, we won't blend in with the world when we're on fire for Jesus. We'll stick out. When you're on fire for Jesus, people can't help but notice. Which are you going to do? Blend in with the world, or be on fire for Jesus, even when it means sticking out and standing up for Him?

Kayla Joy

I Remember

Below is something short I wrote for my parents. You aren't meant to understand everything in there (there's a few inside jokes you won't understand), but I thought I'd post it anyways. Something else I remember? My parents always check my blog. Therefore, I'm posting this on my blog and leaving them to discover it that way :)








                                                       Mom, I remember.

I remember crying in the middle of the night for you, instantly flooded with relief when I could hear the creaking of you going up the stairs.
I remember when I hid behind you, feigning shyness from people interacting with me. 

I remember when you gently bathed me, careful not to get any water in my eyes.
I remember when you put off the ever growing stack of dishes and laundry to cuddle with me.
I remember when you would let me come to the grocery store with you, even though you knew it would only take longer (especially with me putting kings on their thrones!).
I remember when you would push me on the swings.
I remember when you would come home early from work if I was sick.
I remember you coming straight home from work to teach me how to ride a bike.
I remember when you picked me up from every swim practice.

I remember when you cheered me on at every piano recital.
I remember you encouraging me to read my Bible.
I remember you leaving for work trips and always bringing us a special treat.



I remember. When my life leads me off on different adventures and you stay home, wondering if I’m even thinking about you, I will always remember to come home.



                                                    Dad, I remember


I remember you comforting me when I thought the world was going to be flooded by our overflowing toilet.
I remember you entertaining me when I wanted to school like my big sisters.
I remember you scooping me up on your shoulder when my little legs tired out on walks.
I remember my adrenaline pumping after leaping from couch to couch, avoiding you in a game of ‘Monster’.
I remember you wiping my tears away when I was upset about something.
I remember you cooking dinner for us every night.
I remember you taking me to the park to play.
I remember you kissing my ‘owie’ every time I stubbed my toe.
I remember you making lunch for me and letting us watch an episode of Gilligan’s Island while we ate.
I remember you patiently correcting me every time I missed a subtraction problem.
I remember you always being willing to drop your busy life to help me out with school.
I remember you going on a full fledged shopping trip to pick up ginger ale, 7-up, popsicles, and chicken noodle soup when I was sick.


I remember. When my life leads me off on different adventures and you stay home, wondering if I’m even thinking about you, I will always remember to come home.

Kayla Joy