Jesus Simplified

One of the books that I am reading talks about Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus says, “Come to Me all you who weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me because I am gentle and humble in heart… For My burden is easy and My yoke is light.”  In the Jewish culture, each rabbi had a set of instructions- a teaching, that was called his yoke.  The religious system of Jesus’ day had instituted so many religious “hoops” to jump through that it made it virtually impossible for anyone to know and understand God.  But Jesus simplified all of that when He came.  He said that His yoke was easy and light.  In other words Jesus simplified a personal relationship with God to 1)  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength  2)  Love your neighbor as yourself.  For all the law and prophets are found in these two commands (Mark 12:30-31).  Religion complicates but a personal relationship with Jesus simplifies. 
Have a great weekend!  -Kalyn

Tough to restart

I realized today that I made a big mistake.  I ran my first full marathon 4 weeks ago.  It was an incredible experience.  However, it took several months and a huge amount of time to train for it.  So much time that I was a little burnt out afterwards so I decided to give myself a break.  I took 4 weeks off from running.  IT WAS A BIG MISTAKE.  Today was my first day to run again.  I never realized how quickly I would lose my stamina and running legs.  Even 3.5 miles was tough – especially in the heat.  It’s easy to get out of the habit and hard to regain lost ground.  But I am determined to get it back and then some.  As I was running today, I was thinking that the same is true for our daily time with God.  We don’t realize how quickly we can lose our spiritual stamina.  It’s easy to get out of the habit and takes determination to get back in.  But in the end, it’s vital to our spiritual health.  If you’re out of the habit, the best way to get back in is follow Nike’s advice, “Just Do It!”

-Kalyn

 

The Launch of elevate2life.com

Short Blog…  I am so excited about the launch of our new website.  It is so cool.  Interactive, informative, easy, and has a POP.  Huge thanks to Drew for it’s creation and to those who have helped me on the content.  Especially to Ashley – not sure what I would do without your help proofing.  You and Kevin are great people.  www.elevate2life.com

-Kalyn

Thoughts from me about this past week

This past Monday, I was privileged to attend a Church Planting round table in OKC.  Here were my favorite things about that time:

1. BBQ Ribs at Charleston’s
2. Meeting Church Planters from around the nation
3. Realizing that I am doing some things right
4. The challenge of moving the Church forward with vision
5. Connect with dear friends:  Brian, Dale and Becca, Mark and Ladonna, Rex
6. Meeting Steve:  Steve you left an impression on my life
7.  BBQ on the way home
8.  Seeing my 3 girls when I came home
9.  Reflecting the whole process
10.   God speaking to me through great people

‘trade-offs’ vs. ’sacrifice’

Last night in our leadership team meeting, I shared with our leaders something that God has shown me about Elevate Church and my life as well.  God spoke to my heart that we are in a Season of Planting.  Since we moved to the Wylie/Murphy area 6 months ago, I have thought about some of the ’sacrifices’ our leadership team has made to launch Elevate.  But over the last couple of weeks, God has been changing my perspective.  He has shown me THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SACRIFICE AND A TRADE-OFF. 

• Sacrifice = a total give up
• Trade-off = a give up for something better

The truth is that sometimes I mistake a trade-off for a sacrifice.  In the Planting Season, it’s much more a trade-off instead of a sacrifice.  Why?  Because soon there will be a Harvest Season.  Here is what God has shown me about the Planting Season:

1. It’s hard work and takes time, energy, and tenacity.
2. It requires much more faith and trust in God.
3. It has a focus on the future instead of the here and now.
4. It’s doesn’t seem to be as “glamorous” as the harvest season.
5. It is directly proportional to the reward of the future. 
6. It’s worth every moment!

It’s a trade-off because when you plant, God tells us that we will reap the reward.  As I thanked our leaders last night for making the trade-offs, I encouraged them to labor in this season of planting with a FAITH EXPECTATION OF THE PAY-OFF.  I am eagerly waiting in expectation with every seed planted.

 “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. “  Galatians 6:9 NLT

 Kalyn-

Blisters On The Heart?

I think I am still trying to assimilate all that happened to me 10 days ago when I ran my first full marathon in OKC.  It was a great experience.  I trained hard, disciplined my eating habits, and committed to myself to finish the race no matter what happened.  Funny how the little things can sometimes get to you the most?   I have a lot of trouble with blisters on my outer toes of each foot, so I usually wrap them with heavy duty fabric Band-Aids to keep them from getting raw (I call them band-aides made of duct tape).  About 14 miles into the race, one of those little band-aides came off and lodged between my toes and the crevice of my foot.  By the time I was at 22 miles, I had a HUGE blister in the crevice of my foot.  It actually hindered me more than fatigue or hills.  I was also in too big of a hurry to stop and remove it.  So I carried it all the way to the finish line.  If I learned anything from my race, I learned that it’s better to stop and remove the irritation rather than to keep going and make it worse. 

I think I also get blisters on my heart.  You too?  People or situations RUB US THE WRONG WAY.  Over a process of time, these irritations become severe blisters in our lives that show up in forms of frustration, discouragement, short temper, unforgiveness, fatigue, and stress.   These heart blisters hinder me from running my best race.  I am discovering that WHEN I GET HEART BLISTERS, IT’S BETTER TO STOP AND TAKE CARE OF THEM.  It will make the rest of my journey much more enjoyable. 

By the way, the best way to heal blisters is to air them out.  Maybe with God?

Kalyn