A glance at my favorite driving app warned, “Crash ahead – expect delay.”
Great – just what I needed.
This was my regular morning route – 3 minutes before the exit for my job. (ain’t God speaking!? won’t He do it?) 🔊
My GPS rerouted me with enough advance notice that I didn’t get stuck in traffic.👍🏽I quickly pivoted to the right lane and took the next exit.
As soon as I took the suggested detour, I literally sailed over the gridlock and shook my head while peering at the congested parade of brake lights. Delay indeed.
It’s not healthy to ignore the signs intended for your benefit.⚠️
Reroute! NOW.
While there’s time. Before you get stuck and have limited choices.
Let’s act like we know God is speaking to us…because He is!
Blessings, Kayren
“12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear [to hear] them now.
13 But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].
14 He will glorify and honor Me, because He (the Holy Spirit) will take from what is Mine and will disclose it to you.”
The orange highway sign flashed, “Object on road ahead.” I had a choice to cynically ignore the warning, or begin to scan ahead so I could avoid connecting with an obstruction. I chose the latter, and I’m grateful.
A key takeaway from this morning’s commute: Warnings aren’t always bad.
Sometimes they don’t feel good, but they’re not always negative.
Warnings give us time to adjust our decision and our direction. Another perspective is to view a well-timed warning as a guiding indicator, a gauge, or a gift. 🎁
In life and health, as on the road, sometimes we’re going too fast (for the given conditions or for our own good) and we need to get the message another way.
Here’s your sign…⚠️
Blessings, Kayren
“12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Revelation 1:18)
There’s so much in Luke 7 that I need to continue digging into from the passage explored in my earlier post, Fewer Words, Greater Impact.
The situation at an organized funeral looked bad to everyone – except Jesus. We see the authority of Jesus’ words as He spoke life to the dead man, “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.”
But what happened next?
He That Was Dead Sat Up
Once we’ve received God’s Word, it’s up to us to do something with it. We must take action!
What good is being raised from the dead if you just stay in the same ol’ place? Exactly!
The dead man started moving. He shifted his position from where he had been and left where he was.
Cuz if you’re alive, there’s NO WAY you wanna continue laying in a casket or on a bier…since that is a place where the dead lay down…and stay…
And Began to Speak
If we’ve experienced the healing, resurrecting, and restoring power of Jesus, there’s NO WAY we can remain silent!
An encounter with Jesus is transformative, and we’re compelled to tell others.
Sharing the Good News is a direct response to contact with the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25). The Light of the World (John 9:5).
How can we keep it to ourselves?
Jesus reunited the man with his mother because He is well aware of the power of connection within loving relationships (Luke 12:15). Can you imagine the reunion between a revived, resuscitated man with the woman who had given him natural birth? Wow!
God Was Glorified
Respectful, holy, reverent fear came on EVERYBODY who saw and heard about what happened when the dead man was raised to life again by Jesus.
All for a purpose – to glorify God!
How exciting to know that God is still visiting His people…during this Lenten season, I encourage you to dig into the scriptures for yourself and learn of Jesus.
I believe He still wants to make dead things come alive in us, and His power is beyond adequate and more than sufficient to meet our needs!
Do you have evidence and receipts of a direct encounter with Jesus? If not, Jesus offers an open invitation to get to know Him for Who He truly is. And if so, it’s time to get moving, tell someone, and glorify God…because transformation speaks for itself.
Blessings to you, Kayren
“12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.”
I’m SUPER-EXCITED to join Dr. Zoe Shaw for the hope*writers Tuesday Teaching on 3/18/25! We’ll discuss writing through the transitions of life with grace…and lots of other good stuff… 😁
If you’d like to join us at 12:00pm ET on Tuesday, March 18, check out https://hopewriters.com/ to get a free 7-day trial…because I’ve learned that the writing process is better within a supportive community!🥳
Spending time in God’s Word is an eye-opening experience. As much as I’ve been exposed to the Bible through church attendance and listening to excellent Bible teachers, when reading it for myself lately, I find myself exclaiming a lot, “I didn’t realize that!”
Case in point: While reading Luke 7 this week, I started looking at the specific words Jesus spoke that caused things to happen, situations to be transformed, and lives to be changed.
“Weep not.” (Luke 7:13)
“Arise.” (Luke 7:14)
I was amazed that just THREE words brought about comfort to a grieving mother, life to a dead man, and hope to a group of mourners.😯
In a time when many are talking about “doing more with less,” could this also be applied to the words we use? As directed by the Holy Spirit, can I choose to use fewer words (aligned with His will) and watch God amplify the impact?
Game on and challenge accepted – it’s a new week, so let’s see what we can put into practice! Drop a comment if you see some positive results you’d like to share after applying this lesson…
Blessings, Kayren 🙂
“12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.”
The precious little birds in my yard stopped me in my tracks, and I took a moment to observe their movements. I watched them pecking UNDERNEATH the feeder – apparently, there was enough there to satisfy them so they didn’t have to tap the feeder itself.
Though there’s a full bird feeder overhead (thanks to my wonderful hubby), provision was made for these tiny chickadees even in the midst of a rainy day or a blustery storm. Their needs were beyond met – they had abundance!
If God takes thought of details pertaining something as tiny as a single bird, how much more does He care for and provide for us as His children? Take note of your current position and stand in awe of HIS greatness! Selah…
May your day be filled with gratitude for the overflow that already surrounds you, Kayren
“6 Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? Yet not one of them has [ever] been forgotten in the presence of God.
7 Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are far more valuable than many sparrows.”
As I updated my monthly whiteboard calendar, I started putting a pink heart by the things I was excitedly looking forward to with audible squeals of glee. Unfortunately, they were spaced out too far from each other as I noted the scheduled drudgery of everyday routine. But WHY should I wait another three days until I’m thrilled about something happening in my life?!
I literally exclaimed, “I need more HEARTS in my week! I can’t make it with just ONE per week!”
It was a stunning visual realization that I wasn’t replenishing myself with soul-nourishing activities after participating in the “gotta do” tasks that depleted me throughout the week. With this paradigm shift, I took action to add a HEART for that day…and it left me smiling! One intentional decision and I was in a better headspace; it felt AWESOME!
So I’m on a mission to add MORE HEARTS to each week. Some people refer to them as goals or milestones. (Humor this sparkly unicorn – I’mma call ‘em HEARTS!) #MoreHearts #Hearts EveryDay #Today #Now
To this effect, I’m planning a BIG #MoreHearts virtual event on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 @7pm ET – so save the date if you’re a Christian woman interested in joining me virtually for an event to add joy and gratitude to your life. I’d love to connect with you there!
Because maybe you need MORE HEARTS in your week, too…
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
I took note of my personal growth when I recently deleted a set of emails without opening or scanning the preview content first. <collective gasp!> Learning not to look at quarantined “spam” messages – this has to be a timesaver in and of itself, right? Baby steps (in the right direction) still lead us to progress…
If you think this isn’t a big deal, then you may not use a Yahoo email account from the early 2000s (or late 1990s if I’m honest) with over 56k unread messages…and counting. But IYKYK. 😆
(Do I think I’m super-cool because I actually know that IYKYK means “if you know, you know?” Absolutely, said the mother of college children.)
The lesson I took from this observation was: That message was quarantined from the regular inbox messages FOR A REASON. Lower value. Questionable content. Sus. Doesn’t need to consume my time or attention.
Ponder that for a moment.
What distraction is taking you from the area that NEEDS your focus? (preaching to myself here)
We always hear about spring cleaning for our homes, but do we have any relationships, habits, time-wasters, or energy drainers that we need to purge? IJS. It made me think.
No, everyone doesn’t deserve to be deleted from your inbox. However, I’m reminded that errybody can’t be top tier! Let us take an honest inventory and choose how we invest our precious God-given energy with judicious prudence.
And don’t forget to DELETE stuff ya don’t need! We’re making space for greatness, y’all…let’s GO! #Purge #Refresh #Reset #Renew
Blessings, Kayren
“But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.”
As I watched the progress on the new construction in my neighborhood, I couldn’t help but wonder, “What if the builders got complacent with the work they did on the foundation, or the fact that they got the walls framed up?”
On their own, these are significant milestones – worthy of celebration beyond a blank canvas. But if the work stops there, the house will never get to the point where a new family can live there, occupy it, and take up residency.
A timely reminder for us to keep building today on what God has placed in our hearts as a Kingdom assignment.
Blessings, Kayren
“11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” (Romans 13:11-12)
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