Have yourself a merry little Christmas!

Christmas time! oh how much I love Christmas. Everyone seems to have a cheerful spirit about themselves. Christmas carols are played everywhere, Church is getting ready for the youth Christmas program, the tree is up, ordained with its beautiful ornaments. Hope everyone has a blessed Christmas this year!
"  In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."Luke 2:1-20

~KayK

Lasting Memories, and tear filled goodbyes

I often am faced with the question of why goodbyes have to exist, why do they have to be so hard? Why are Hellos, so much easier than goodbyes? the first day of camp was always so exciting, always. Yet by the end of the week, when the time to say goodbye grew nearer and nearer, it got so hard to bear the thought of leaving the cherished friends behind, even today, the distance between me and my wonderful camp friends sometimes seems impossible to fathom. Yet I am reminded; I will see them again. Its not goodbye forever.....

The hurt of saying goodbye is so hard, it seems to echo in your mind for weeks after. There always seems to be a thought of that person, somewhere in your mind, reminding you of them, of your time together, of how much you miss them.

But what would life be like without goodbyes? some might think it would be quite wonderful, but think about it; without goodbyes, you'd have to stay in the same place, knowing the same people, for the rest of your life. Life would have boundaries, there would be no adventure, no making a home in a new land. God says there is a time for everything; 
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;" Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

I try to think of this, as I say goodbye yet again to my eldest sister, as she leaves to her new home with her new family. " A Time to mourn and a time to laugh." now may be a brief time of ' mourning' but I will see her again. The Lord tells me to be strong in him,
 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might." Ephesians 6:10
and Trust that he will take care of me, and if it be his will, bring me back to all of my friends and my beloved sister. I take peace in know that he is in control and will see his plan through, whatever it may be. And thank him for the wonderful time he gave me with wonderful people.

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" Numbers 6:24-26
~KayK 

Beautiful Sights

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We traveled to Iowa to spend thanksgiving with my sister, and what a great thanksgiving it has been!
Unmistakable beauty surrounds us, the endless rows of corn, the huge farms, barns. The vast country side that seems to go on forever. The solitude feeling of not being able to see any other houses from here. 
I look around, seeing all the different sights, and stand in awe of our creator. We have so much to be thankful for.
" Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 
~KayK 

Another pony post

Today, was a great day! 
This post will be a follow up like on my previous post, " Pony's, Jonah, and other such things"
Went riding again today, in a western saddle ( So I was much more comfortable with what I was doing.) And the horse picked up the canter the second time! The overflowing joy that came with that simple, couple strides of the canter was amazing.
The only way I can put cantering in words, to say that it has to be the closest thing to flying. My instructer also had a great day, she got her horse to canter around the ring three times, with out trying to buck her off. ( Hes a bit of a challenge)
Its funny, how much easier it would have been for all of us if the horse would have just done what I asked in the first place. Yet instead, he just fought and fought and fought last time. He wouldn't do what I was asking of him, and he paid for it in spending a lot longing in the riding ring that he would have if he would have just listened in the first place.
How often do we just fight and fight with God, not wanting to do what he asks of us? we think we know what is best for us, so we just push him aside or try not to think about it...
He's asking, and asking, yet we just don't listen? Why can't we just do as he asks, and trust that hes not going to lead us stray? The horse has to trust me that I am not going to ram him into a fence, or make him do something hes not ready to do. In the same way, we have to trust God, that hes not going to lead us into something we're not ready for.
" Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make strait your paths." ( Proverbs 3:15)
~KayK

Adventures on the AuSable

Huron Forest camp Cedaridge, is a place that does, and will forever have a part of my heart.
I've been going three and a half hours up into Michigan for eight years now. My older sisters started the tradition, and I continued.
This past year, I had the wonderful experience of going on a trip my camp offers, " SOAR" (Surviving on the AuSable river)

We spent 5 days canoeing  on the AuSable river, and yes, sleeping and eating at camp sights along the river. What I think made the trip so special, was that I got to spend it with my wonderful two older sisters, right before my oldest sister got married and left for Iowa. ( T-minus 2 weeks until we see her!:)
One night, we decided to take our canoes out and star gaze, ( easily one of my favorite nights!:)
We paddled our canoes out to the middle of the river and gazed at our Fathers handy work, looking up at the blankets of stars made so clear out in the pitch dark of night.
Another night, we all gathered around the fire, and lifted our voices to God, singing every worship song that came to mind. ( Plus the ones on the sheet we brought!:)
The first night, we played to be what I would guess about and hour and a half to two hours of a game called Ninja. The point of the game is to make one swift motion, and try and slap someones hand to get them out! We played well after dark, and many, many, many more times through out the week! I must admit, as much as I love the game, I really am awful! but I got through it, even I was even  the runner up, once!:)
The last day was the hardest, we had about double the miles we normally had during the week. But we made it, through winds and rain and cold, we made it to Lake Huron! We paddled ashore, parked our canoes, got ice cream, and played on the beach.
The memory of that week, and all of my other weeks of camp are still clear as day in my memory. I look forward with great anticipation to next year... 
"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." ( Philippians 4:13)
~KayK

Pony's, Jonah, and other such things..

I did my Horse Riding lesson today, and learned several things from it. But first, I'll let you know just what I did, so you can get where I'm coming from a little better.
We decided to put me in an English saddle today, something I've never done. There are two main styles to ride, English and Western. English is what you would see a jumping horse in, its very " showy."  Western is what cowboys use, barrel racing horses, for example, are western. Both styles have different saddles, English ( In my opinion ) Is more uncomfortable but looks a lot better in the show ring and is easier to lift. Western, Is more computable but is big and bulky. Every rider has an opinion on what saddle and style they like, I like western. Anyway, I was also on a horse I had never ridden, and was warned before I got on that he's stubborn. All was going great, he was listening to me for the most part. Until, we tried to get me to canter him. ( a canter is a nice run, but not a full blown gallop.) Now, when you are trying to get a horse to do something, you can never just decided in the middle of riding to give up and try it another day, because then the horse thinks he "won the battle" and it will be one hundred times harder to get him to do it at a later time. So once you start something, you must finish. Whether it be cantering, trotting, jumping, etc. We ended up spending about an hour in the ring trying to get this horse to canter. It really wasn't the horse, if his owner got on him, he would canter just fine for her. But me being a newer rider, not being comfortable in the saddle, and never had ridden him before, he was testing my strength, patience, emotions, control... the horse tried every way he could think of to not canter. It was to the point where my legs to numb from trying to push him into a canter. ( Of course they still hurt, a lot.)  Finally, after what seemed like forever, my instructor gave him a good swat on the hind and that got him going. The funny thing is, that horse is almost my favorite, out of all the horses I've ridden.

How often, do we try to " test God?" he's telling us to do something, but we're just to stubborn to do it? we try to wiggle our way out of it, no matter how much hes pushing us along. I think of Jonah, God wanted him to go to Nineveh, but he wouldn't. He resisted God, got a a boat going the opposite way, ended up getting swallowed by a huge fish. In the end he finally gave in, repented and the fish spit him on land. How often do we just need a good swat to get us to relize that we're not in control, but God is?  Why can't we just learn to trust God and give in? let him take the reigns? and the funny thing is, God always loves us. Out of everyone in the world, he knows us, and loves us.
"“Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane? Do you make him leap like the locust?" Job 30:19
~KayK

Ruth's Steadfast Love.

"Naomi said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." but Ruth said, " Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you."Ruth 1:16-19
The saying above is from Ruth, one of my favorite books of the bible. Both Naomi and Ruth had lost their husbands, Ruth had married Naomi's son. So Naomi not only only her husband, but her two sons also. Naomi decided to return to her home land, and Ruth went with her. As said above, Naomi tried to discourage Ruth from traveling with Naomi, but Ruth refused to leave Naomi's side. What is truly amazing is that Ruth found love in Naomi's home city. I often think of what would have happened is Ruth had just said to Naomi " You know what? your right, I'll stay here, you go on." What great blessing's would Ruth had missed out on? her dedication to Naomi is so inspiring, and I continue to challenge you to be a Ruth, to stick with your friends, family. To trust God no matter the circumstances. I continue to try my best to grow in God and strive to be more like Ruth.  " But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation." Psalms 13:5
~KayK