Simply Redeemed

A few months ago a precious friend of mine went to be with the Lord. It was not expected. While she was at one of her hardest moments my fiance kept telling me "it's okay, Mackenzie is going to be okay." In which my out of anger response was, "no, it's not okay, you can't promise that." Him being wise knew I needed time alone and left the room for a bit. It was then I cried out to God. Laying face down, literally bawling I heard the Lord say to me, " I can promise that she will be okay." "Whether she is fully restored back to being 100 % Mackenzie, whether she isn't completely healed and leaves the hospital with disabilities or if she comes to be with me, she will be okay. She will be more than okay because she is mine." How comforting is that? No matter the circumstance, we are more than okay because we are God's children. Even though this was only a few short months ago that the Lord revealed this to me I am still afrai

We are NOT a people... Who are  lovers of themselves We are not a people who are lovers of money We are not a people who are boastful, proud, disobedient, ungrateful and unholy We are not a people who are without love, who are unforgiving, slanderous, rash and conceited We are not a people who are lovers of pleasure over lovers of God We are not a people who deny  God's power and have nothing to do with Him But... We are a people... Who have a purpose We are a people who have faith, patience, love and endurance We are a people who experience persecution and sufferings but push through because we are a people who have been rescued We are a people who continue in what we've learned from the Holy word of God and those who have gone before us We are a people who are made wise from these same words We are a people who have gained salvation through Christ We are a people who are equipped through God's word for EVERY good work BE WHO YOU ARE

Sin. It gets us out of the Lords will and destroys us. The enemy uses it to break us down. He knows what we struggle with most and when we are at our lowest and he knows exactly when to attack. We receive the seeds of sin before we even realized we've received it. The enemy has designed sin to get us out of the will of God so we will never ever see the power and plan the Lord has for our lives. This sucks. What do we do? Sit around full of self pity, letting it happen? Just say "ahhh darn i'm too weak to overcome this" Think that we are too far gone to ever turn back to our Father? NO WE FIGHT. We continue to address our sin until we are free. We demand discipline in every aspect of our lives, that includes demanding discipline of those you spend your time with. We stand up against generational curses and say "No more! It stops with me!" We must WANT to be free to be free. When there is a sin that is strong and consistent in your life a

Dearest friends and family, I have been blessed throughout my lifetime to go on many trips to different places, meet many wonderful people and learn a lot that the Lord had to teach me through those experiences. I would like to share some of the bigger trips that have grown my faith tremendously throughout my life. The first trip would be on my missions trip to Wichita, Kansas with my middle school youth group. This trip was where the Lord really opened my heart to Inner City missions. In high school I got the opportunity to go to Honduras not only once but three times! This letter would be seven pages long if I wrote all I learned there, but one of the biggest things I learned was that the Lord always provides. He provided me a way to get there each time even when it seemed almost hopeless and I had little faith. I also saw how He provided for those in Honduras who had faith like I have never seen, even in some of the roughest circumstances. The third wonderful experience I was ble

I've been learning a really humbling lesson recently. Forgiveness. Laying aside MY feelings, to love and forgive others. I cannot do this by my own power but by the power of the Spirit. There have been a series of events recently leaving my heart bitter and quite frankly hateful. A heart that wants to repay wrong with wrong. Repay harsh words with harsh words. But this is not what my heavenly Father has called me to do. He has so tenderly whispered into my heart this week to trust in Him. He is a God of justice who loves me and fights for me so I have nothing to fear. Words spoken against me that are harsh can be fought with HIS truths about me. When it comes to those who do not have a relationship with him who hurt me I have to remember I cannot hold them to the same standards as I would someone who has received Christ. For those who do not have the spirit, can I really hate them for not being loving and kind? Can I really hate them for persecuting me? No. But I

My heart desires things that the Lord is not ready to give me in this season. My heart has been struggling and this morning the Lord comforted me. I am reading through 2 Corinthians and Proverbs. Today I read chapter 1 of 2 Corinthians which talks about the suffering we will encounter but how we will ABUNDANTLY share in God's comfort! I went on from there to read Proverbs 19, where verse 21 really hit me like a ton of bricks. " Many are the plans of a mans heart, but it is the Lords purpose that prevails." SHOOT DANG. My heart has been envious of others who are getting married in this season of their lives. My heart has also been prideful in the sense I feel entitled, that because I may be older wiser, etc. I deserve marriage in this season more than they do. I'm thankful the Lord is gently correcting my hearts posture and my prayer in this season is that instead of moping and being filled with self pity I may use it to mature in Christ, securing and growing my iden