2 Free Printables for your planner or journal. Enjoy and Be inspired!

Today I was watching Mandee of The Kitchen Wife. She was doing a periscope and she was saying how she is noticing so many people this year are gloomy and cranky. She encouraged others to be a light. To be the one that smiles, the one that holds back for a parking space and so on and so forth. This really touched me. I know that I can get so moved, emotionally by "cranky" people because of my own self centeredness. The thing we all need to realize is that everyone has a back story and we really need to be considerate of that and be the cheer we want to see in others. Set the example and be grateful that you have the opportunity top do that reather than be bitter about it. Let these tags help and be a reminder of that is just remind yourself to be full of grace and love for people because one day you may need the same. (Print these for your blog or enjoy them anyway you would like. These are for personal use, please feel free to direct people here for these tags

Blessings and Inspiration this Holiday season!!

Kristin 

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TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY FOR ALL I DO AND ALL I AM. I am not my own but I belong to HIM who lives in me!
Kristin M. Zolkowski

Christians; how can you test your fruit? Fruit of the spirit! What fruit are you producing? Part 1 Love

Galatians 5:21-23 (KJV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
You want to be checking yourself to see if you are walking in God's ways. How do I do that? A great way to do that is to see whether or not you have fruit, and what your tree is actually producing?

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit Luke 6:43-45(KJV) 

“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Imagine looking out into your yard to see the most amazing tree. Beautiful and glorious to look at. It is a pear tree. It will yield the most succulent, juicy pears. Nothing like you have ever seen. The problem is that you need to feed your family from this tree and as you look at the tree you notice that it only bore 1 pear. 1 pear to feed your entire family! The most delicious pear you have ever eaten. Now you need to share that with your family.

A great place to start is to measure your heart by the fruit it is producing. Are you producing many fruits of the spirit or are those fruits you are bearing rotten and inedible. You need to be looking at the motives and intentions of your heart. We will start with the fruit of Love. 

First we want to examine our lives, our thoughts and motives, our actions and intentions to see if our life is bearing the fruit of love? 

The bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (KJV)
Charity (love) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (love) envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.Charity(love)never faileth.

Now let us look at what that scripture means if  you break it down. 

Do you Suffereth long; to be of long spirit; not to lose heart, preserves patiently and bravely in enduring misfortunes and troubles. Bearing offense and injury of others. To be mild and slow in avenging, slow to anger and slow to punish.
Are you kind?;To show one's self mild, to be kind and use kindness. Act benevolently
Do you envieth not?; To burn with zeal. To be heated or to boil with envy, hatred, anger.
Do you vaunteth yourself?; To boast one's self, to display, employing rhetorical embellishments in extolling (Praise enthusiastically) one's self excessively. Strongs (middle voice)
Are you puffed up?;To make natural, pass into nature, puff up and make PROUD? To bear one's self loftily. Proud.
Do you behave unseemingly?; to act unbecomingly
Do you seek to have your own way?;
Are you easily provoked?; To make sharp, sharpen, to stimulate, spur on, urge. To irritate, provoke, arouse or anger, to scorn or despise. Make angry or exasperate. To burn with anger.
Do you think evil things?; Think; to reckon, count or compute, count over. To take into account or make account of. To weigh the reasons, to deliberate. To consider.
Evil; of a bad nature, not such as it ought to be. Of a mode of thinking, feeling and acting. Base, wrong, wicked, troublesome, injurious, pernicious destructive and baneful.
Do you rejoice in Iniquity?; Iniquity is injustice, unrighteousness of heart and life. A deed violating law and justice. To act unrighteous.

Keep in mind that if you behave unseemingly around your buddies and then Godly around your Christian friends at church, you are still behaving unseemingly. If you are patient with your coworkers and out of control with your children. You do not carry the fruit of patience.


If you can honestly say, " I posses and exhibit the fruit of love" then great. Otherwise you can use God's example of what love is and start asking Him to produce this fruit in your life. You can repent and ask God to start working in that area and rest assured our loving, gracious, full of mercy Father will be more than happy. That is after you come in true remorse and repentance letting him know how truly sorry you are for not walking in His ways. God already knows your heart and whether you mean what you say or not. Once true repentance takes place you will being to see true change. You will begin to see Christ formed in you in these areas. 

Keep in mind that any time we produced fruit, it is not for our benefit, but for the Father's Glory and Honor. Isaiah 43:7 “Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” (KJV) 

Jeremiah 9:23-24
“Thus says the LORD:
Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the LORD, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the LORD. ” (NKJV)

A Word from the Lord May 2013 The season of your heart

Mitch Salmon

Friday at 10:37am ·

I do not know the season of your heart. I do not know the trials you have faced or are even facing today. I do not know the troubles you have seen. What I do know is this. The LORD has a word for you today. “You are entering a new season,” declares the LORD. “While you have been oppressed in your prayer life and your walk with Me, I am creating an opening. I am creating an opportunity for you to press through and to press into Me. Many will read this word and your first response will be doubt. You will say, ‘I have heard such words before and yet they have not come to pass.’ ‘I have heard such words and yet I am in the same place fighting the same battles that seem to never end.’” The LORD says, “I understand. I walked with you through those valleys. I heard your cries. While you may have believed you were alone you were not. While you may have believed that I had turned My face from you, I have NOT. Nothing will separate you from My love.”

The LORD says, “Many of you will read this message and immediately recall your failures. You will declare over yourselves, ‘This is not possible. Look at my failures! I have done this and this and this.’” The LORD says, “Lean on My promises and believe that they are true! While your circumstances may change and while the seasons pass by, I do not change. My word is established. My promises are TRUE. What I have spoken shall come to pass. There is but one choice that remains for you. That choice is simple. Will you believe and receive or will you continue on in doubt and with a negative self image?”

The LORD declares, “As far is the east is from the west, so far have I removed your transgressions from you. Now walk into My forgiveness. It has already been given and now is the time for you to receive. Repentance is simple. Turn your back on whatever has drawn you away from Me. Turn your back on that and fix your eyes upon Me, the Author and Perfector of your faith. Leave behind not only the behaviors, but the image that you have chosen to take on because of them. That image is dead just as that life is dead.” The LORD declares, “I have new life for you. Do you not know that the old is dead and gone and that the new has come? Stop resurrecting the dead works of your past and instead walk into the new life I have prepared for you. Stop declaring curses over your own life and over the lives of others and walk into My blessing.”

The LORD says, “There is an army rising up. I have prepared a place for you to fight and WIN in the name of My Son. I have prepared a place for you among My warriors. Shed that old self image. Shed that old, dead life. Come unto Me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Come unto me all who are broken and I will heal you in the name of My precious Son, Jesus.”

“Yes, this is a new season,” says the LORD. “Close your fleshly eyes and open your spiritual ones. See what I see. Profess what I profess. Declare My goodness. Declare My blessings. Declare My forgiveness. Declare these things over yourselves. Declare them over your families. Declare them over your co-workers (no matter how ungodly you believe they are). Declare them over your friends. Declare them over strangers. Listen to My still small voice and allow it to be your guide. Forsake the old, familiar voice in your head and you will find that My voice has been speaking to you all along. My sheep recognize My voice and follow their Shepherd. In this season even as the world seems to fall away from Me, I will lead and guide you on My path of righteousness. I will lead and guide you into abundance. In My mercy, I will lead and guide you into healing, wholeness and new heart.”

God’s word is spoken. If you have read it, it has been declared over you. You can choose to deny it. You may decide that it is impossible, that it is too good to be true and go back to your “regularly scheduled programming.” Or you can choose to believe and receive it. Test the word and you will find that it is the truth of the LORD spoken corporately but also to you personally. Now, if you receive this word, do not let it end here. PASS IT ON. SHARE IT. POST IT TO YOUR WALL. POST IT TO THE GROUPS AND PAGES YOU ASSOCIATE WITH. SEND IT OUT. God bless you in the name of His precious Son, Jesus. AMEN

TODAY is the DAY OF OBEDIENCE to HIM!!! by Itsallofhim

TODAY is the DAY OF OBEDIENCE to HIM!!! by Itsallofhim

I hear the voice of GOD today….telling me…’never compromise what I’ve/YOU been called to do!!!’ – NEVER allow others to deter my/your calling with their carnal wisdom and street logic.  HE has trained me/you for a specific mission.  There is a mission – a purpose for your life!  Others have not heard what you have heard from YOUR time together with the King of KINGS!!!  YOUR time together with JESUS!  

Others have not been through the Refiner’s fires that you have endured and from which you’ve benefited!!  Let HIM set you free ‘in’ that fire!!  Walk in HIS counsel.  Join with others who are moving in the same direction in which you have been called to go, but NEVER – EVER allow them to change your course; when that course was designed by your LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!  Seek HIS counsel – seek WISE counsel; yes….but the final approval of your life will come from your time together with Christ Almighty!  Rely on HIS WORD!  

Rely on the wisdom HE has given you.  You are called and anointed to a specific task.  Your life is important!  Don’t ever doubt that! If you do – at that time – you have invited the god of this world to enter into a sacred place of fellowship with your Saviour.  You will be calling HIM a liar.  YOU are important!!  Let’s move and have OUR being together!!

OBEDIENCE is big to Father God.  An obedient Christian is developed over time through direct contact with the Lord.  Allow HIM to change the rebellion and pride in each of our hearts.  As HE refines us, HE also defines our lives.  Each of us is tailor made to live a specific life, which is ordained by GOD ALMIGHTY - - GOD HIMSELF…and it is accomplished by the Power of the HOLY SPIRIT!!  NO other way can it happen!! To have someone who hasn’t heard what you have heard and hasn’t paid the price that you have paid in prayer, try to modify what you’ve been called to do is a violation of the trust the LORD has placed in you.  It’s an attempt to redefine the life the Father has called you to live!!

It is soo important to find trusted friends who understand who you are in Christ and are dedicated to always speaking truth to you.  In order that you can keep your direction in life in line with the WORD OF GOD!! But remember…you MUST be willing!  

GOD help you if your not!  THANK YOU LORD for all the grace and mercy YOU bestow on my life – straight from the throne room of heaven – and from the people in my circle.  However, the only one who will answer for your life when you come face to face with the LORD….HE has the final say in either calling your life significant or lighting the bonfire that contains the wood, the hay and the stubble you’ve presented to HIM!!!  Teach us LORD to follow YOUR ways….ONLY YOUR WAYS GOD!!!  HELP us LORD – not to listen to others and be moved by opinions!  HELP us KNOW when YOU speak to our hearts!! 

It will always witness with the WORD YOU have given us!!!  We are empty and useless without YOU and YOUR WORD!!  We are absolutely NOTHING without YOU LORD GOD!!!  BLESSED be the NAME of the LORD, in JESUS NAME!!!

LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Why don't you understand what love is? 1 Corr 13 Revision!

Let's face it! We live in the age of acronyms. Some teens have a hard time understanding full sentences. That is not a judgement it's just a fact. We live in the technology age. A time where people speak in LOL, ROTL, Woot and BRB. 

My revised version of 1 Corinthians 13 

(With the Lord's expressed permission hehe)

1 Corr 13 (The Love Chapter) The modern day version for those of us who are confused on what God really said.

The Greatest Gift

Although I am totally cool with most people, I have a ton of facebook friends. I say what they want to hear, do what makes them happy all while having a smile on my face, but do not love you, I have become just as loud as a screaming child during a church service on a Sunday morning. A person on their cell phone in the library, forgetting they are in the Library. And even though I am born again Christian, serving in the church, prophesying what the Lord will do, and understanding all these things about God as well as memorizing scripture. Even though I have a ton of faith, It’s like I could totally remove all the problems I experience, but do not love you, I am NOTHING. And even though I give money to Save the Children and the Salvation Army every Christmas, and even though I give my body to be crushed and die on the mission field or even while ministering to people in the ghetto, but do not love you, all my works are worth nothing! I mise well have not even bothered. (mise well is a yorkism J)

Love suffers long, Love is Patient and it puts up with people treating you badly, it turns the other cheek when a driver cuts you off, or your bestie puts you down, it survives criticism and endures ridicule, it suffers problems with the boss and the wife without complaint. It is quiet when being yelled at. It keeps going when our children reject us. It preservers when it is exhausted. It does not quit. Love suffers long. 

Love is kind; love opens doors for others, love lets other skip in lines, Love gives without expecting in return. Love helps when there are more important things to do, love listens to a hurting friend when it has been a horribly long day, Love gives of itself and asks the Lord to be a vessel when its self is broken. love is kind.  

Love is not envious, love does not want its friend’s house because it seems better and is filled with more things, love does not want a husband like its friends because he spends more time with His children. Loves does not want what God has not ordained for it to have. Love is happy and content with what God has decided is best. Love is not envious.

Love does walk around trying to be noticed, love does not announce to world how great it is, how fast its car is or what a great employee it is, it does not share all its latest achievements but rather asks others what theirs are.  Love does walk around trying to be noticed.

Love is not all “look at me!” love does not think they are better than anyone else. Love does think more highly of themselves just because they have more knowledge, are cuter, funnier or wiser. Love is not all “look at me!”.  

Love is not rude, love is more content with listening then declaring what is “right” love does not exchange insult for insult, love it not greedy and love does not share based on whether someone deserves it or not, love does not jump in line at a concert and leave their cart for the clerk to put away Love is not rude.

Love is not looking on how to get its own way, It does not insist on being right or being first or being noticed but love doesn’t mind being last, it doesn’t mind being overlooked. Love doesn’t throw tantrums when things do not go their own way but rejoices in someone else’s blessings Love is not looking on how to get its own way.

Love is not provoked, the second someone declares you are wrong love does not come out swinging; it does not instantly believe the worst but believes and trusts God. Love does not budge when someone goes into the bathroom first in the morning or eats your favorite cereal without asking. Love does not hate back. Love is not provoked.

 

Love does not think evil things; Love does not plot revenge against an enemy or have mean thoughts towards a bully, nor does love dwell on negative emotions, opposite of God’s Word. Emotions that are destructive and full of death. Love thinks about things that bring joy and happiness. That bring life. It does not constantly think over and over about all the wrongs that have been done towards him.  Love does not think evil things.

Love does not get excited about evil, it does not consume itself with things that bring spiritual death but it desires Truth.. .Love does not get excited to break the rules but instead love gets excited to obey God and to walk in His ways. Love does not get excited about evil 

Love goes completely and joyfully bonkers when it is in the center of Gods truth. Love puts up with ALL things, every mean, horrible, rotten, unthinkable, unkind thing, Love believes all things, Love Hopes all things and endures all things.  Love never fails, it never ever gives up even in the most hideous, dire and painful of circumstances. But think about this, even where there are these great amazing people of God who speak prophecies and wisdom from above, even that they will fail; even when there are these supernatural spiritual gifts taking place around us like speaking in tongues, they will stop one day; whether there is this uncanny, incredible knowledge, it will also disappear. Done away! Can you believe it! It is true!

So then we are told to have a devoted faith, hope and love. But, Paul says, the greatest of these is love….

Why am I so jealous?

Proverbs 23:17 (NIV) Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.

Because of the trials and affliction I have had to walk through in the past 10 years, I have found myself constantly dealing with the sin of jealously and envy. I look at people and their families, and what they have and I think, wow they are blessed! I wish I had that, I wish I could do that. 

What a vicious horrible snare to be entrapped in. Incredibly consumed with “self” rather than Thanksgiving and Praise for the one who gave me this life. Romans 11:36 says, “For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. “When the Lord shows me these sins in my heart, I know that I need to be quick to repent. In order to really repent I need to turn from my ways. Even though I repent, I still find myself desiring other people’s lives! How sad is that? 

The one thing I know that the Lord revealed to me is that what I see on the outside is not necessarily what is going on, on the inside. A lot of times, the people that look the happiest and fulfilled are the saddest people. The people that look like they have everything on the outside might be struggling with massive debt or depression. Who knows? 

One thing I know is that I need to be God focused, not “me” focused. I need to stay in continual gratitude for the Life, God especially chose for me. I need to be constantly renewing my mind in this area. The best way to do that is to soak in the Word of God. Let it be absorbed into my very being. Become one with it as Christ is being formed in us. “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,” Galatians 4:19. 

God is so good. You do not to place your mind on your broken past mistakes. You just need to look up and place your eyes on the one who died for them.

God Bless...

Mold in those secret places

Mold in those secret places

Today I randomly decided to clean my refrigerator. Generally I keep my fridge clean. Although on rare occasions I begin to ponder on how it is getting too cluttered. On a seconds notice, I find myself completely stripping out the chaos so that I can reorganize. I look for foods that may have expired or are right around the corner from that. 

As Josh and I began to excitedly rip apart the freezer and fridge, we came across an unexpected surprise. An old container of mascarpone cheese. I slowly lifted the lid back to find what looked like dark green worms. I quickly shut it and gasped. Joshua said, “mom, what is it?” Nothing, Joshua. I beg you not to look. Spare yourself the horror, I said. As I laughed out loud.. He, replied with a smile and said, “no way, I’m looking.” Alright, I warned you. He repeated the frightening ritual of opening slowly, the unknown. As the loudest shriek came from him, I began to laugh hysterically. Bend over, holding my tummy, I cried, “I told you so. “Ewww”, he yelled. I know right! Gross, yuck, disgusting. We both ran to get our cameras so that we could grab a snapshot of this amazing discovery. This was the beginning of me contemplating what had just happened and how it so related to what God has been imparting to my heart over the past couple of years. 

You see, from the outside my fridge looked clean, at times even downright sparkly. I, nor my son would have ever expected to find such horror, buried inside a contained that looked so perfectly clean and new on the outside. I was not aware of what was going on inside that little container. I believe that, had I not looked, I would of left that disgusting mold alone until it grew legs and crawled out of the refrigerator. 

Up until now this was pretty funny, until I looked at it with my spiritual eyes and made the comparison of that horrible, disgusting mold to my horrible disgusting heart. The Holy Spirit has been constantly leading me back to the Truth that says, Mark 10:18 and Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Paul repeatedly spoke of his weakness and replies, speaking as a Christian, says, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." Romans 7:18. 

I remember when I began to learn these principles. I would think to myself. Well hey, I follow the laws of government and I pretty much follow the 10 commandments to the point of being a goody two shoes. I am nice to others, I do nice things and am polite. Ooo man was I deceived. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God” We were born into sin. You do not have to teach a young child to be naughty. You need to teach him the ways of God, but never to be naughty. We do that from birth on. 

How often we forget that in Samuel it says, “The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Most assuredly most of us will find a relationship with Christ and begin to work on the outside. Our works and our acts. We continue, in most instances, way before we come close to dealing with our hearts. You see most of us still believe that if the outside looks good, clean and shiny there must be no problem whatsoever on the inside. Until the day you are willing to allow God to break your heart for Him. The day that and you know that the motives and desires of your heart must be submitted to your Holy God, will you ever begin to come into true genuine fellowship with the real God, creator of the universe. The God that sacrificed His beloved,His only son for your wicked heart. For my wicked heart. 

Most times it is so much easier to submit in those outward appearances than to let the Lord dig up all those evil motives of the heart. That hatred towards your neighbor. The envy and lust in your heart. The selfish ambition you hold so deep inside that you have no clue it exists. 

For so long I saw myself on the outside. I knew that it was the other people, the circumstances of life that caused me to remain in a wounded place. Until I was willing to lift the lid off and let God show me the evil mold spores that lurked in the dark, I remained wounded. There is nothing easy about letting the God show us our dirty, disgusting hearts but when He does there is nothing like it. He can begin to heal and restore the real you back to Him. Not the the imitation, fake, put on a happy face you. The real you,  back to that sacred place where He dwells. David said, Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. ... Psalm 139:23. What a beautiful heart towards God, David displayed.

When I finally found that cheese, it took mere seconds for me to throw it out. Why? Repenting with a sincere heart towards God takes mere seconds. In John 1:9 it says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” 

Today I am happy I decided to clean my yucky dirty refrigerator. You see, although it looks just fine by a quick glance. Once I tore it apart is when I discovered what was truly lurking there.