Depend on it

Last week, my supervisor (ok, more my friend than "boss") called me to a challenge. 

I needed to find a "word" for 2012. (To take Kelli's challenge, read her full post here. It's awesome. I promise. Hey, it inspired me so much I'm blogging about it!) 

Honestly, I have never found a word like that before. Sure I have had themes or big ideas for new season/years/chapters of life, but never really focused on a single thing or experience. 

So I began to pray. 

Here's the challenge for me. If I am not focused on prayer and being in God's presence, I start to think. And thinking leads to distraction. And distraction leads to focusing on whatever shiny thoughts I have in my head as opposed to what God wants to reveal to me. 

My thoughts started to flow. "Maybe it will be an exciting word like 'adventure.' Or a loving word, like 'compassion.' Or something inspirational, perhaps the word 'hope.'" 

This went on a for a few minutes until I realized I wasn't listening but rather doing this on my own... Again. Fail. <insert sigh here.>

Let's try this again. 

I sat, closed my eyes and began to pray. I thought of Kelli's challenge. I focused on the words I had read out of my devotional. I started meditating on Scripture that I had read recently.  I took a deep breath. Then BOOM. There it was.

DEPENDENCE. 

Dependence. THAT was my God-word for 2012??!? Huh. I began  to let it sink in. If this is really my word... it's going to be an interesting year. 

You might have picked up on this through my previous blogs, but I really enjoy having control of things. Which is why I struggle with letting go and letting God just do His thing in my life. I'm getting better... but apparently... 

I needed some work. 

DEPENDENCE. 

The longer I sat and let this marinate, the more excited I became. This WAS going to be a challenge... but one that I was interested in exploring. So, in my typical nerdy fashion, I grabbed my iPad and looked up "dependence" in the thesaurus. 

What I found there surprised me. 

Dependence: confidence, reliance, assurance, belief, expectation, hope, faith, stability, steadiness, trust, attachment, habit, subordination, yoke, craving, security blanket. 

Surprising, huh? Those words stood out to me... They all were some form of dependence and could certainly be applied to my 2012 journey. 

Confidence in Him. Reliance on Him. Assurance that he IS God. Belief in His faithfulness. Expectation of His promise. Hope of His plan. Faith in His love. Stability of Him in my life. Steadiness of Him to never fail me. Trust that He is with me. Attachment to God. Habit of spending time with Him. Subordination to Him. Being yoked with Him. Craving Him. He IS my security blanket. 

DEPENDENCE. 

I am slowly releasing it to Him. I will depend on Him in all things. I don't need control... I need Him. 

Yep. It is going to be a great 2012. We can DEPEND on it. 

With Expectation, 

SGK

What is YOUR word for 2012? I would love to hear it! Leave a comment here.

"My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge." --Psalm 62:7

Heavenly Friends

Cuddly. Playful. Adorable. Rolly-Polly bellies. Clumsy legs.  Wet noses. Always content. 

You might guess that I am describing a flock (gaggle? herd) of small... babies at a daycare. But if you think wet noses and contentment don't always (but sometimes-HA!) fit them, you are right. 

Puppies. They are so awesome. 

Sure, some are better than others. They have to be training, coached, taught and molded to behave the way we desire. But as I was watching my wonderful little baby dog Sweet Justus the other day, I couldn't help but think... How awesome would it be to be a puppy? 

I don't say I desire to be a baby dog because people typically love them automatically and they are cute. (I have met some ugly puppies.) But I began to think deeper. Puppies and dogs in general seem to have all of the traits we desire as Christians. And unlike our continual struggles, it comes NATURALLY. 

Don't believe me? Let me explain my thoughts through the non-superficial traits I observed a few days ago from our pup. (NOTE: I know, I know... Like people, all dogs/puppies are different. This is a general overview of the general puppy population.) 

Dogs are Loyal: Puppies never doubt what we insinuate or hint at. As long as you are a decent pet owner, they have never-ending trust for us even if we don’t come through every single time. If I say the word "Treat" Justus is always has faith that I will give him one no matter what. I don't always. But he still trusts and believes, never forsaking. God never lets US down... He says The Word and it is a guarantee. So why should we doubt and allow our trust/loyalty to falter?

Dogs desire Closeness: No matter what size of dog you own, most of them desire closeness to their owners. Whenever he gets the chance, Justus loves to cuddle up in my lap or at my feet or wherever. He desires the warmth he gets from closeness to us. He wants the companionship and goes after it, every time. Shouldn't we constantly be on a quest to feel God's warmth, seeking out His companionship and desire closeness to Him always? 

Dogs possess attentiveness: All I have to do is make the pursing sound with my lips, barely touch Justus or sometimes even just look at him... and he is there. Dogs are incredibly attentive, always seeking, listening, searching for any hints of commands or a chance to please their master. How can we do the same with our relationship with God? 

Dogs Follow: If dogs have a good relationship with their owner, they will typically follow them... all the time. Sure, some do run off and get lost (I bet we the same thing with our relationship with God sometimes) but they always come back. Justus is like my shadow. To the kitchen, backyard, on walks, in the car, and he has recently even started waiting for me outside the shower. They are so in love and dedicated to us, they will go ANYWHERE we call them. Can't we do the same for our Lord? 

Dogs have a content heart: Puppies live a life of thanksgiving. They know to be happy about the small things. Some fresh food or water in a bowl, a simple "Good boy" (well done my good and faithful servant!) or experiencing the great outdoors with a best friend. They have a happy heart. Most dogs wag their tail to express appreciation. Oh, and let's not even get into how happy they get when receiving an above-an-beyond blessing like a treat, meat scrap or new toy! If they are excited about the "small things," why can't we swim in a sea of Thanksgiving with our heavenly father? 

Dogs wait expectantly: Not only do our dogs exhibit loyalty and dedication, but they always wait in faithful expectation. They believe what we say or promise, then wait expectantly for it. Justus has slept in a kennel downstairs for most of his puppyhood but has recently discovered the joy of sleeping in a people-bed. I told my husband good night the other day and Justus disappeared. He was upstairs. On the bed, waiting expectantly for the invitation to snuggle under the covers. What is stopping us from hopefully and expectantly waiting on the promises of God? 

Dogs give us unconditional love: This is self-explanatory. Dogs give this to us. Christ also gives us unconditional love. Shouldn't we return it? 

We can't physically become dogs. (Duh...) BUT we can learn from them. We should desire to have a loyal, seeking, attentive, close, content, expectant and loving heart towards our God like our puppies/dogs have toward us as owners. 

What is God spelled backward? Why DOG of course! How much do you love your dog? Do you have some of the same heart qualities towards God that your pup has towards you? I sure hope so.  Dogs are a heavenly friend and a gift given to us from God. Be thankful. Grow. Let's follow Our God-- He will never let us down and desires nothing more from us than faithfulness and unconditional love. Let God be your heavenly best friend in the form of a loyal, ever-present master. 

Following Him, 

SGK

"God will make you the head, not the tail; you'll always be the top dog, never the bottom dog, as you obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God, your God, that I am commanding you today." Deuteronomy 28:13

I would love to hear about your faithful four-legged friend. Share your comments here. 

The Devil's Copyright

I found Satan yesterday. 

No, that's not a typo. You might have figured out I already found Jesus long ago (hence the Christian blog,) but I met Satan head on yesterday. It. Was. Intense. 

You might be curious where I ran into this sneaky literal devil. He was in the copy machine at church. 

Are you confused yet? Probably, but that's ok. I was too until I started thinking. Here's the back story: I have been working like crazy this week to prepare for a big team launch that I am heading up our church. I love teaching, teambuilding and leadership, so this is right up my alley. While it is a TON of work, it has been very exciting. We are doing our official launch of the team tomorrow, hence why I was making copies of everything imaginable. 

And, as we have discussed, The Enemy doesn't want us doing great things for God and sharing His message. Which is why he was hiding in the copy machine. Waiting for me. 

A job which should have taken an hour or so consumed my entire afternoon-- as well as our administrative assistant's afternoon, the copy machine/printer guy's time, and a big chunk of valuable time of my boss and her daughter. 

While I am beyond thankful that these folks jumped in to help me out, it would have been even better if things went smoothly and I could have slammed this project out on my own. However, Satan had different plans. Nearly everything that could go wrong and/or slow down the process did (minus my computer actually melting into a puddle, and I think God's grace saved that one.) 

Long story short: My computer wasn't hooked to a printer, there were only a few methods on how we could print color, the margins weren't lining up, things that originally were spelled correctly (seriously) somehow got changed between my computer, Janell's (admin asst) email inbox (since I had to email all of the docs to her) and the copy machine, ETC. 

So why do I tell you all of this? Because I was surprised how I reacted. Yes, I was frustrated and a little stressed. Annoyed. Exasperated. In need of a Diet Dr. Pepper and huge bag of chocolate. But I still confident that God was going to figure it out in His time. I have been in these same situations in previous jobs and spent most of the time fighting tears (and usually lost that fight.) 

But yesterday, as we were FINALLY nearing the end of this debacle and Satan was starting to loosen his grip, Janell walked up behind me and started to rub my shoulders for some encouragement. She gasped and commented how my neck and shoulders weren't tense AT ALL. I laughed and realized that all day I had been praying... outloud, under my breath, knowing God called us to this and was going to bring us through it. After about 12 hrs of ministry work (5:30am to 5:30pm) I found myself singing praise and worship music in the admin wing of the church. In the copy room.  

Wow. Good work, Jesus. You win again.

Oh, and did I mention... after I got home, I power-cleaned my house (because it somehow vomited on itself and one of my best friends from KS is coming to visit) for THREE hours straight. I contribute this motivation of course to the power of God, but also because I gave him my firstfruits of time today. Between my personal quiet time with him and CRAVE, I spent nearly two hours in His presence. Not to mention all the time that I spent talking (begging) Him to help throughout the day. Even with a huge to-do list. My heart is at peace. And I almost can't believe it. (Almost.) 

Moral of the story: be on the lookout for the The Enemy-- you never know where he is going to be. He might be in your living room, car or even church. 

Hey, he might even be waiting for you in a copy machine so he can attempt to exercise his Devil's copyright. 

Well, I've got news for Him. When Jesus is involved, the devil ain't gonna get nothing but a copywrong. Christ will win. Every time. 

Victory in Christ, 

SGK

Has The Enemy tried to sneak attack you? Where? When? I would love to hear your story of how Jesus won! Leave a comment here. 

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." --1 Corinthians 15:57

Show the Love. Share the Wealth.

Money. Cash. Dinero. Wampums. Moolah. Dough. Coinage. Bread. Buck. Gravy. Loot. 

Huh. With so many names for it, you would think that we kind of love money or something...

Don't get me wrong. I love the things money CAN buy, specifically food, clothes, technology, medicine... well you get the point. But as 2012 showed up this week, my husband and I sat down to look at our budget. 

Let me rephrase that. 

We sat down to CREATE a budget. A real one. With the goal of actually sticking to it. 

I have personally made several attempts to budget in the past. I got all excited about color-coding my spreadsheet and doing simple formulas, but as far as the follow-up and use? Yeah. That lasted about 7 minutes. 

This year, however, we truly do need to follow a budget. We have went from a double income budget to single, and that take some adjustment. We kept wondering: Where did our money go? 

Where is YOUR money going? Do you know? (Is it like socks in a dryer? You put the debit card in your pocket and somehow the cash on it magically disappears?) Brandon and I have created a pretty intense budget guestimating where we spend our dough... The month of January will be interesting to see where we come out, especially since we are recording our expenses. 

But this post isn't really about financial advice. Believe me, I am no numbers expert. In fact, I despise numbers and money, at least when I have work with them to make them match. Instead, this blog is about looking at how richly blessed we are. Literally. 

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I am reading a book called "Guerrilla Lovers" by Vince Antonucci. Just says after creating our new Knobloch family budget, I got to the part of the book where Antonucci showcases how richly blessed we are... 

Compared to the world, we are rich. Yes, rich financially. 

Antonucci says in chapter 14 on page 119 that...  

• 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean water. (Do you have access to clean water?) 
• One billion people live in extreme poverty, meaning their access to food, water and shelter is so limited that death hangs over them. In fact, every 3 seconds, some in the world dies because they didn't have enough food. (As you read this, is your big question "What 's for dinner tonight?" or "Will I live long enough to finish this chapter?")
• 80% of the world lives in substandard housing. 
• 70% of the world is unable to read.
• Only 1% of the world has a college education.
• Only 8% percent of the world owns a car. (So if you own one car, you are richer than 92% of the world! if your family owns two cars... well, you figure it out.) 

Um, yeah. We own two cars. I have a great house, a masters degree, possess the ability to read (and write) this (ahem, on a computer!) and I AM thinking about what's for dinner tonight. 

Where do you stand? 

Maybe the better question is... where will we stand when we come before the throne of Jesus? He has given us this financial richness not only to give at least 10% (aka first fruits) to the church, but to give the excess away. Sharing the literal wealth doesn't mean you have to sell everything you own (unless of  course you are called to do so.) Rather it means showing the love of Christ by sharing the wealth with acts of kindness/generosity. 

He gives it to us so we can give it away... and ultimately bring more people with us to heaven. Show the love. Share the wealth. After all... we are livin' rich-- in more ways than one! 

Cashing out, 

SGK

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” --Matthew 19:23-24


How YOU plan to share the wealth for 2012? Leave a comment here and let me know! God bless.

Be Original: Don't forget the Squirrel

I  can't help but remember the first time someone copied me in school. It wasn't on a test or assignment, but rather it was a nature shadow box for science class in the third grade. I have always been the one to think outside the box (get it? shadow box?) and this third grade project was no exception.

Instead of using just paper, glitter and a few real twigs and leaves, I went a little crazy with this assignment. I remember making a "real fake tree" and even putting a pretend squirrel in it. After I shared my shadow box with the class, I noticed when a classmate presented his the next day, there was a "real fake tree..." and a squirrel. 

I cried. 

I was so upset that my genius, creative idea had been jacked by some booger-laden third grader. (I know, I know... I was a booger-laden third grader too. But you get my point.) I went home upset and cried to my mom. She tried to explain to me that imitation is the highest form of flattery. 

Yeah, whatever. I would have said "That's crap, Mom" but I know that would have found me hanging over the bathroom sink trying to get the taste of dial soap out of my mouth. 

We live in a society where fads and trends can dictate our lives if we allow it. With the new year here, everybody and their brother has set resolutions. Probably the most popular one? Lose weight. Other areas find us following the crowd, buying the expensive name-brand jeans or teasing the kid with glasses at school because that's what the cool kids do. 

But we were born original. So let's not die a copy. 

There is nothing wrong with following trends or learning new things to better yourself. It is when those fads start to take priority or blur your vision and we cease to think with our own, unique and wonderfully  made-by-God brain when things start to go south. 

So how can we love God more deeply in 2012 even if it isn't the most popular choice? Let's be like Jesus. He didn't follow the crowd. The crowd followed Him. He was an original and certainly didn't die a copy anyone. 

We can share his message and provide an avenue for others to follow us in His steps. If we share His message, then others will "copy" us-- which, unlike my third-grade mind decided, CAN BE a very good thing. 

Think outside the box (literally and figuratively) on ways that you can share the love of God with others. Open a door, bake cookies for a neighbor, pay for a stranger's lunch, pray...  If you are original by being bold in your faith, others will surely follow. That isn't the highest form of flattery for us, but rather one of the highest forms of loving and glorifying God. 

Build your "real-fake" tree OUT of your box. Be original. Let others follow YOU. 

Oh. And don't forget to add the squirrel. 

Embracing bold faith, 

SGK 

"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Mark 8:34


I would love your feedback. Leave a comment here. God bless you!

Our Heart and Macaroni Art

I saw him from a distance. My heart started to pound. I smoothed my hair and gave myself a mental brownie point for wearing my favorite shirt. I considered moving closer to him... but he turned and started walking toward me. My breathing sped up. He was coming. He was beautiful. And I knew I belonged to him. 

Pretty romantic huh? Probably sounds like every chick flick ever produced. But I am not talking about anyone tall, dark and handsome (or blonde with blue eyes in my case.) I am talking about God. Our Father. Our One. 

Perhaps I should back up a little bit. God (obviously) loves us and woos us. Last week, I had a dream where God told me to fall back in love with Him. A few days later, I awoke in a panic, realizing that I hadn't had my official CRAVE time (quiet meditation) with Him at church in over a month (maybe even two!) I had been doing my daily Bible study during our leave vacation, but my heart wasn't really focused. My mind was all over the place, and I bet if you pick a page on my journal from the last two weeks, it will be pointless gibberish. 

So I needed to fall back in love with God and CRAVE Him. I was still working on my 1000 gift list, but He told me it wasn't enough. I prayed about it for the next few days and when we arrived back in Georgia, one of our first things to do (after unloading the car and sleeping) was to head to church. Confession: I was tired. Really didn't want to go. 

But I am sure glad I did. 

I arrived at CCC and was blown away. The worship song line up was incredible. (Good thing they didn't play Amazing Grace, or I would have been sobbing face down in the aisle.) I felt myself falling... back in love with God. Then the message sealed the deal. Why? Because for the first time in my experience at Christ Community, we actually had a mini CRAVE time. 

I realized that God wasn't asking me to do anything but receive His love. That in itself allowed me to fall back in love with Him. He met me there and swept me off my feet. Again. But we have to be attentive to Him and show Him that we care. All of the things we DO for our amazing God like prayer, petitioning, quiet time, worship etc seem so small compared to the beauty and glory that is our Bridegroom Jesus. 

But God is our father. And He adores our acts of love, as small as they might seem in our eyes. We are like the child, coming home from school and giving Dad a picture with dried out noodles on it. Our small actions are simply love in the form of macaroni art. He doesn't throw it out. He appreciates it and puts it on the fridge. 

The stores are already putting out Valentine's candy, so for the next month and a half the world will pushing THAT holiday (didn't we just finish UP a holiday season?) But the cards, flowers and candy don't mean as much as the macaroni art that we can give to God. 

It's a new year. How are you going to fall deeper in love with God? What kind of macaroni art are you going to make for Him in 2012? 

Receive Him. Fall deeply in love with Him. Give Him your heart and some "macaroni art." 

From the elbow (macaroni) to the heart, 

SGK 

"Get up, my dear friend, fair and beautiful lover—come to me!" Song of Solomon 2:10 (MSG)


Leave a comment here.

Getting SMART with 2012

Welp. It's a New Year, America. 

Sorry. That was kind of an obvious statement. But obvious or not, Happy 2012. I hope you are excited... because I am!! (After sitting in church yesterday morning, I have a feeling God has some BIG plans for us this year.) 

I used to be a person of big "resolutions." I would have all these grand plans of losing a bajillion pounds in a week and reading one letter of the encyclopedia per week. (Only a slight exaggeration.) Then of course, in about 3-5 wks  (if it lasted that long) I would lose steam and be back where I started... If not further off course. 

So. What's the key to setting successful goals? They have to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Bound. 

It's okay if your resolution-ish statements don't lend themselves to all of these traits. But let's try to make it happen... Together... With God's help. 

I am going to make myself pretty vulnerable here. By sharing with you my SMART lifestyle changes (note: I did not say resolutions) I am calling you out as my accountability group. GULP. (That being said... I would LOVE if you would comment and share a 2012 lifestyle change of your own.) 

Here we go. Deep breath. Saying some prayers. Annnnddd... 

SMART Change #1: Operation Fort-itude Fitness. Let me explain. I had this idea during our time on leave in Kansas. I knew I needed a new workout routine... I have done Couch to 5K, P90X and even used a personal trainer. But I want something new. And free. Heres the idea... 

Over the next ten months from January 2nd to October 2nd I will "travel" from Fort Benning, Georgia to Fort Riley, Kansas (Fort-itude-- get it?) by walking, running, swimming, biking and elliptical. It is 980 miles total and breaks down to about 24 miles per wk. I will log my progress on a wall map to see where I am hypothetically "traveling." But Sharita? What about strength training? Never fear, that too shall be incorporated into my routine... I will log 25,000 reps of strength/core work by the time I "reach" Fort Riley. (Average: about 104 reps per day or I can do a couple hundred reps a few times a week.) 

WHEW. That was a big one. Here are some more, yet simpler SMART lifestyle changes that I will incorporate or continue to improve on. 

SMART Change #2: Spend at least one hour per day in the Lord's presence by using my new Jesus Calling Devotional and studying the accompanying Scripture. I will also continue to keep a prayer request list in a notebook and/or iPad. 

SMART Change #3: Complete my 1000 Gift List (inspired by Ann Voskamp's book) by the end of 2012 (although I believe it could be much sooner than that... if so... I will just keep adding to it!) 

SMART Change #4: Memorize a book of the Bible, starting with 1 John. 

SMART Change #5: Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry and submit to God DAILY in all areas of my life. (Not super specific, I know. But I do know what I am supposed to be doing with it and have been working on it for a few months now anyways.) 

Some of these SMART changes will flex up and down throughout the year... some new goals may surface or God could lead me in a whole different direction. But now is the time for change. We worship a God of fresh starts. Ask Him to wipe the slate clean and join me in getting SMART with 2012. 

With a heart of anticipation, 

SGK 

"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." --Roman 12:2


Share your SMART changes and leave a comment here.