Memory of a goldfish [6/4/13]

Hi everybody! :) 

There has been a question in my mind for a few weeks now... And I really can't figure out the answer to this question! 

Is it summer yet? 

The weather has been up and down and all around and it seems as though I can no longer pinpoint what season it is. How confusing! But you know what's cool? Although our walk with God seems to be hectic at times, and there are periods of time when God feels more absent than others, he is always constant and he is always there. No matter what! 

In the past week and a bit that I haven't posted anything, a lot has happened and God has, as usual, been working and revealing new and old things to me! I no longer label my faith as a roller coaster ride, because thankfully, my faith has become more constant. The only roller coaster ride in my faith is how struggles come and go! But I try to welcome these struggles as I am able to participate in the sufferings of Christ and will be overjoyed when his glory is revealed! (1 Peter 4:13) The past couple of weeks have been a test of welcoming new struggles as they have been marked with different struggles where I was tempted let go of my trust in God and tried to deal with the problem myself. 

I love, love, love it when I am able to see what God has been doing my life. I love it when he reveals his plans to me and shows me what he has been teaching me and how he has been doing it! 

Today, I was spending some much needed time reading the word of God when I was lead to read Exodus 14-17. This specific part of Exodus is where the Israelites cross the Red Sea, and rejoice, then seem to forget what God has done for them when they complain for food and water. In Exodus 14:31 it says, "And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant." 

If I were them, I would be exactly the same! What other man or god could split the Red Sea in half and allow us to pass through with safety!? What else is capable of doing this impossible task? From my knowledge, the answer is nobody. There is no one else capable of such amazing works! None but our God! 

As I continued to read Exodus, I read Exodus 17:7 where it says, "And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarrelled and because they tested the Lord saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" The meaning of Massah is testing and the meaning of Meribah is quarrelling and in my opinion, is that not slightly embarrassing for the Israelites that their lack of trust in God was so significant that they actually named the place after their doubt? 

From fear to testing - what a distinct contrast between Exodus 14 and Exodus 17! When I read this, I actually started chuckling a little bit. How inconsistent and foolish humans are. We say we fear the Lord one moment, and the next moment we test him? You would think that once you walked through a parted sea, you would always fear God and trust in him and his provision. But nope! We always end up doubting him and sometimes forgetting the amazing things he has done for us! 

As I read Exodus, God was gently telling me that I am no different from the Israelites. I as well have seen God do amazing things in my life, only to forget the next week and go back to my foolish ways of doubt. And I think this is the case for many people! If this is you, then you are not alone! We are often called to trust in God, in his provision and trust that his plan will be unraveled in his time, but we still end up worrying about whatever situation is causing us to struggle and we try to put things in our own control. 

So brothers and sisters, I want to encourage each and every one of you to remind yourselves of who our God is - how powerful, wonderful and caring he is. We should also encourage one another in these times (and all other times)! As I have had several different struggles entering my life recently, I was blessed to have brothers and sisters that continued to remind me to just trust in the Lord - be constant in prayer and thanksgiving to the Lord for what he does in my life. Praise the Lord!

May we trust in the Lord always! :) 

- kjoosaurus out!

The Lord is my shepherd [05/22/13]

Hello to my wonderful friends :)

I've received many encouraging words about this blog, and I want to thank you for the kind words you've spoken! I've found that I'm rather unskilled at expressing my gratitude to people, but in reality, I am actually extremely grateful! I really do thank God for using you to encourage and challenge me. I'm better at expressing myself through writing so FEEL MY LOVE AND THANKS! :D

I love the way God works. He is so detail-oriented, meticulous, mysterious and exciting! The way he plans things in his perfect timing is amazing and mind-blowing every time he reveals part of his plan to me.

Yesterday, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed... The very wrong side. You know those mornings when you just feel groggy and disoriented? That was my Tuesday morning. When I wake up like that, I dread the day ahead because I'm grumpy and lazy and sensitive and just a bunch of not so very good things. So there went wrong side of the bed Kristen, walking very slowly to meet her friend at Starbucks and secretly, but not so secretly, wishing she could stay in bed forever.

As I waited, I said to God, "Please give me the energy to get through the day. Please give me the motivation to stay out and not cancel all of my plans and go home to my really warm and cozy bed."

You know what's cool? When you can SEE God answering your prayers! God is very true to his words.

1 John 5:14
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

Once I met up with my friend, we started talking about our faith. She's a brand new Christian friend I met in my Spanish class. She told me her testimony, about her life in Rwanda, about her many struggles with her family, about betrayals from the past and she just listed so many things she had gone through that I could never even imagine going through. Then, as she began to tell me about how Christ had saved her, I saw such pure and genuine love for God in her expressions and I could hear the thankfulness in her voice. I was so encouraged by her! Her ability to remain optimistic and hopeful in Christ when everybody else had hurt her and deserted her.

My day didn't end there either! Later on, I was walking along Mackenzie King bridge, and I made eye contact with the most beautiful pair of blue eyes I have seen. I've seen many beautiful blue eyes, but this pair was especially captivating. These eyes belonged to a homeless man sitting on the side, asking for spare change. Normally, I just say "sorry, I don't have any change" (which I don't) and then proceed with my day, but I just had to stop and talk to him. He told me about his day, about the "newbie" panhandlers, about how this was his spot and how he had to kick people out of his spot sometimes. It was a simple conversation, but he was just filled with so much joy and happiness! I had to run to catch my bus, but as I was leaving, he gave me an excellent handshake accompanied with an enormous smile and said, "My name is Frankie. It was really nice to meet you."

God really provides us with everything we need. Sometimes, I laugh at myself because I worry about the silliest things like having to deal with people in my disoriented state of mind. I laugh because I know I have an all-powerful God who is constantly providing for me and loving me, yet I still worry.

In John 14:27, Jesus says:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

What Jesus has to offer us is beyond anything the world tries to offer us. Thanks to Jesus, we can live every single day with joy and peace in our hearts. What the world hands us is temporary and short-lived, but what Christ has offered to us is beyond all else and I'm grateful for this truth in my life! I'm grateful for the way God leads me to people who will encourage me and brighten up my day - constantly showing me his goodness and captivating love.

This is not at all what I was planning on writing about, but that's okay because I was still able to share God's goodness in my life! :)

I want to end this post with Psalm 23.

This was my grandmother's favourite Psalm. It has always meant a lot to me, but as I saw her rejoice in the truth of these words in her passing days, it has found an extra special place in my heart. I'm working on memorizing it and I encourage you to join me! It will probably take me a while since my memory isn't my forte, so don't worry if your memory is bad too! :)

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green 

pastures.

He leads me beside still waters. 

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, 

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, 

they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies; 

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall

follow me

all the days of my life

and I shall dwell in the house of the 

Lord 

forever." 

Fruit of the Spirit [2/2/13]

Hello~

Finally, a week of madness is over! No more exams and tests... Until next week! haha. I finally have the chance to share a little bit with you all again :)

This morning as I was doing QT, I read Galatians 5:22-26.

It says:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." 

As I was reading this, I realized how important the fruit of Spirit must be because God specifically listed out each characteristic that qualifies as the fruit of the Spirit. It's also important to realize that the fruit is coming from the Holy Spirit and not from our own selves. Although we don't give ourselves these qualities, we still have to allow the Holy Spirit to work through and in us. God is so willing to change and mould us, but he can't do this if we are unwilling to be changed.

In John 15:5 Jesus says:

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." 

Just as the branches draw life from the vine, we as well draw our lives from Jesus. If the branch is separate from the vine, it can do nothing just as if we are separate from Jesus, we can do nothing.

I'm always amazed at how we always try to work and grow and live on our own when we're always reminded of how little we are able to do without Jesus! I'm sure we all know that we, on our own, have no strength, but we often forget to ask God for his guidance and his strength. 

I know that I personally rely on my own strength and knowledge to get through things... If I realize I can't do it on my own, I turn to other people, but why is it that I so often turn to God last? He has taught me this lesson over and over and over again, yet I am always making the same mistake! But God is so patient, loving and merciful... Even when we make the same mistakes over and over again, he so patiently teaches us the same lesson until we finally have it imprinted in our minds!

I pray that we will allow the Holy Spirit to work in us! I pray that we will let go of everything we don't need and allow God to be our everything as he is all we truly need.

Jesus, we thank you for your goodness, your glory, your patience and mercy.

Thanks for reading~

-kjoosaurus out!

Living by the Spirit's Power [5/17/12]

Good evening!

Today, I had a special request to write about Galatians 5:16-26. The bible always puts me in a state of awe when I read a passage and I see how relevant and true it is when applied with my own life! 

Galatians 5:16-26

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

I'm not sure about you guys, but as I was reading this passage, I caught myself nodding my head in agreement with it. Do you see all of the acts of flesh that are listed? Before I came to Christ, I was guilty of almost all of them. I had to look up dissension in the dictionary, and it means strong disagreement. I giggled a bit when I read this because before I came to Christ, I argued with everybody! It didn't matter whether I actually agreed with them or not, I always looked for arguments. It's kind of weird now that I think of it. Why would somebody want to argue with people? Well, I'm not sure WHY I wanted to, but I did. 


It's not only this quality that I possessed. I was also a very, very jealous person. Actually, it is still something I struggle with, and jealousy is a very annoying quality to possess. It prevents you from doing a lot. It is a very difficult quality to have in a relationship, and jealousy can lead to many destructive things. I'm so grateful to have met Christ, because He has truly been changing me in this way! 


Something that I have recently come to realize is that there is always a war going on. Yes, we may not be able to see it at times, and we may not be able to feel it at times, but it is always happening. As children of God who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we are still going to struggle with our flaws and our imperfections, but we will no longer be dominated by these things because we now have the strength of the Lord on our side! 


It is not enough to stop these acts of flesh, but we must also seek the fruit of the Spirit! 

Romans 8:5-8

⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires;but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

We must always be seeking the Spirit. God will be pleased once we have a mind governed by the Spirit, and why wouldn't we want to anyways? I can personally testify that being closer with the Lord has made me a million times happier. Inside, I am at peace for the Lord is with me. Of course the battle is always occurring, but the Lord continues to have an obvious presence in my life that is not only visible to me, but visible to others as well. With the Lord, we find true joy, love, and peace! So, why shouldn't we seek him? 

I want to hang all of my sins and acts of the flesh on the cross. The struggle is present now, but soon, they will be gone! I know many of you are struggling as well, and I will be praying for you! If any of you have   any struggles you want to share with me, please do! I will pray for you! 

May you feel the presence of the Lord by your side every single second of your day. May you know He is always with you. He never leaves us alone! :) The Lord is great, is he not? He brings us true joy, love and happiness! With Him, our struggles are nothing. Nothing at all! Praise Him! 

Have a good night everybody! 

- kjoosaurus out!