From Pity to Praise

Divine Interuptions

We live in a world where plans, schedules, and goals dominate much of our attention. We map out our days, set our objectives, and strive to stay on course. But what happens when God interrupts our well-made plans?

Throughout the Bible, we see countless moments where God interrupted the lives of His people – sometimes in unexpected, inconvenient ways, but always with a purpose. Divine interruptions may not always align with our timing or understanding but they are moments when God steps in to redirect us toward something greater.

Divine interruptions are moments when God steps into our plans with His. It may be a sudden change, but it can be a prompting from the Holy Spirit or an unexpected opportunity to speak to someone about God. Sometimes, these interruptions can be inconvenient, but they are always with a greater purpose. The question is, are you willing to yield to it?

Too many times the Holy Spirit has interrupted my day to do things, and I’ve let my flesh get in the way. Making an excuse, like “I’m too busy, or too tired.” And then felt horrible about it later when I was being convicted or guilty for it.

God’s interruptions often come in the form of “suddenlies” those times when God moves swiftly, without warning. It’s important to put our needs or wants aside and obey. There are accounts of this all over the Bible.

One of the greatest challenges we face in life is recognizing when the Holy Spirit prompts us. Sometimes we are so focused on ourselves we miss Him.

Satan works hard to keep us distracted, stressed, and rigid in our own ways, and God often speaks and moves quietly when we least expect it. We must develop a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and have a heart to be ready to shift course when He speaks.

Isaiah 30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, this us the way, walk in it.”

Welcoming divine interruptions requires us to surrender. Meaning we must be able to hold out plans loosely. God often interrupts us to grow our faith, stretch our obedience, and align us with His greater purposes. When we welcome these interruptions, we can step into a realm of divine flow where His plan unfolds in ways far beyond what we can even imagine.

In the Bible, Peter experienced a divine interruption when fishing, Jesus called him to leave everything and follow Him, saying “From one on you will fish for people” (Luke 5:10). That interruption marked a turning point not only in Peter’s life but in the entire course of history as he became one of the foundational apostles of the Christian church.

Divine interruptions are often linked to God’s perfect timing. We may not understand why He calls us to stop, turn, or move in a different direction, but we can trust His wisdom.

Proverbs 16:9 says, “In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” When God interrupts, He is establishing our steps in a way that fulfills His purpose and brings glory to His name.

The fruit of divine interruptions may not always be immediate. We may face opposition and confusion when we are redirected, but the long-term impact can be undeniable. It may begin as an inconvenient interruption but it’s a strategic move in God’s plan.

God is looking for those who will welcome His divine interruptions. We need to decide if we will be one of them.

Intimacy In Our Relationship With God -Psalm 91

Tickets To Anywhere

If you won two free plane tickets, where would you go?

If I won free plane tickets I would go to Hungary and invite my sister. I would love to see where my ancestors lived.

I would also love to Israel where Jesus walked and did his ministry.

Chasing Away Fear And Shame

“I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked at him and were radiant. They faces shall never be covered in shame” -Psalm 34:4-5

I grew up with ugly monsters in my closet named fear and shame. They were fed for many years, they hurled messages of insecurity, leaving me thinking I was unworthy, and unlovable. I feared judgement, rejection, and being made fun of, not being accepted by anyone, but hurt by stinging words. I as told I would never be good enough, if were told that long enough we tend to stay believing this lie. I never felt good enough, I felt unheard, unknown. I felt the burden of shame that weighed heavy on me at a young age. I had a hard time looking anyone in the eyes when they spoke to me.

For years I tried to cover the pain with drugs, and alcohol. I learned to go through the motions of life , but never felt alive. I was an empty shell.

Over the years I’ve learned a few things about fear and shame. One thing is that every mental illness, and addiction comes from two things – fear and shame. I’m not going to tell you I don’t still struggle with these things sometimes I think they are so ingrained in me I will never escape.

But there is something called the replacement theory that works. We can’t just get rid of the fear and shame and not replace it with something else -something good, something God.

There is a parable in the Bible on Matthew that explains this perfectly:

In essence, it describes a situation where a person, after being freed from a demon, is left vulnerable because the void left behind is not filled with positive spiritual influences. The returning demon, finding the house -the person swept and empty, then brings back seven more demons, making the person’s condition far worse than before.

I wish I could say I have lived fearless for the rest of my days. I still struggle with disappointing people and the fear of not belonging or being rejected or judged. I still live in bondage at times, my old demons of fear and shame like to revisit me from time to time.

But, I am grateful for the healing and victory God applies to my life over and years and continues to do. Life is a journey of the “now and not yet” in any life striving to follow God. Though I will battle the monsters of fear and shame the rest of my life, even though they feel less threatening I know Jesus will teach me along the way and is always with me. He gives me new thoughts, inclinations, and windows into my heart and His.

When we bring our fears and Shane to Jesus, name them and lay them at His feet as we would pieces of paper He will tell me I am delivered from them. We should be like a child, running to Him, jumping on His lap, and hearing Him say, “Child, turn your face toward me and be radiant because that’s how I see you, I Am here and I Am able.

Jesus is our deliverer and the One who makes our faces radiant.

How To Hear God’s Voice Daily

Does God really talk to us? We live in a world that encourages us to be busy. The busier we are, the more important we appear.

On our “days off” we are on the go. Many times I hear people say, “I run all day, but never accomplish anything. I have spent years on the go, working, volunteering, running around -until God showed me a better way. If we want to hear God’s voice, we need to slow down and give Hun our attention.

We need to actively listen. There are many times in life that we say we can’t hear God talking to us, or we don’t know the next step we are supposed to take because God hasn’t told us yet.

Sometimes this is true, God isn’t giving us an answer because we don’t need to know at that time. Other times, He may be waiting for us to slow down so He can talk to us. There are times I think I’m not hearing God talk to me, but He wakes me up speaking to me. How often do you hear God talk to you? My pastor always says, “If I ask you in the parking lot what the last thing you heard God say will you have an answer?”

Our conversations with God, are often one-sided. I can tell Him everything that’s going on with me -my concerns, my complaints, my needs, my desires, etc… but to hear what He answers I need to be quiet and actively listen.

God wants to have a relationship with us, and the only way we can have a genuine, deep relationship with Him is to allow Him to speak to us. Since we can’t see God, actively listening can be a challenge. Its important to know how we can actively listen to God?

Listening to His still small breath

We tend to work to hear Him, by our good works -our fruits. But God didn’t call us to hear Him when we bear fruit. He called us to “abide in Him.” “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in Me. I am the vibe. You are the branches. He who remains in Me and I in Him, the same bears much fruit for apart from Me you can do nothing” -John 15:4.

Staying silent

When we spend time with God daily and allow ourselves to slow down, we open the door for God to communicate with us through His Word. When we are reading His Word it’s important to remember to add some time to sit quietly and listen for God. When we do this, we will not only be able to hear God, but we will learn to recognize His nudges throughout the day.

“God is not a God of confusion but of peace” -1 Corinthians 14:33

Other Believers

There are times when God speaks to us through other like-minded people. When I was a new believer I went to a conference with another lady from church, and while I was there someone walked up to me and spoke to me telling me I was on a path of healing from trauma and I was going to help others and build bridges to save others. My first thought was that this lady was crazy. But it turned out to be true. I just had to trust that God was working through her. That being said, it’s essential to compare what they say to what the Bible says because they should not contradict each other. John 10:27 tells us, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

God, Is that You?

Discerning the voice of God can be a challenge if we are not actively listening to His voice. It’s okay when we aren’t sure if we really heard God to ask Him if that was Him talking to us. An excellent example of this is in 1 Samual when God woke him up three times, calling his name. Samuel thought it was his mentor, Eli, calling him, but Eli told him he did not call him. When Eli realized what was happening, he told Samuel to lie down , and if the Lord called him again to answer God by saying, “Speak Lord, for Your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:9).

Being able to discern the voice of God will help navigate our lives and guide us in our everyday conversations. Sometimes I get an uneasy feeling of no peace in my stomach when I speak or begin to make a decision telling me of my wrong choice. God can speak to everyone differently we need to learn the way God speaks to us.

We are called to be peacekeepers, and if we are called to be peacekeepers, who better to learn to listen to than the Prince of Peace Himself?

Here are a few steps that have helped along the way:

Look for the message of the Holy Spirit
Live in prayer mode. Keep your mind on God no matter what you do.
Search out and learn to model scripture.
Expect the mercy of confirmation. If you don’t know ask God.
When you study God’s Word learn it well, you will learn to discern God’s voice when you do and the fake voices will not be able to distract you.
You will be able to hear the message given to you through conversations with others.

It will take time before you feel confident that it’s the voice of God. Even when you get really good at discerning His voice. I still have some uncertainty sometimes. It’s because we are human and we live in a chaotic world that tends to keep us distracted. The more we can incorporate active listening into our daily lives, the more we will be able to hear God’s voice in our everyday lives.

Nicknames

What’s the story behind your nickname?

Some where I picked up the nickname Kat because I never told anyone what I was up to I just did it. I have an err of self-reliance and confidence. I tend to be no nonsense and have the ability to vanish without people realizing it.

Trust In God, Not Man

Trust is a serious issue to the Lord. He invites us to “Trust in the Lord will all our hearts” in Proverbs 3:5. When I read Isaiah 2:22 it reminds me to always place my trust in the Lord rather than man. It’s easy to look for others for strength and help. We seek people’s advice, and worse we seek their approval and all the while, we fail to look to the Lord for these things.

Isaiah 2:22 says, “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?” In other words, who look to man when we have the privilege to look to the Lord? In the words of Isaiah he quickly reminds us we are “mere humans” and that is all. This type of thinking does not go well in today’s society. The world claims we are “highly evolved creatures, but David said in Psalm 103:14, For He knows our frame, He remembers that we are dust.”

This world worships and praises those of high influence and status, but in the end, our frames are weak because they are dust. We are not Gods and we should not view ourselves, pride ourselves, or conceit ourselves as such.

Why do we spend our days only conserving and trying to impress those who are going to pass away like a shadow, when our primary concern should be the eternal God who we will one day stand before to give an account.

2 Corinthians 5:10-11 tells us, “For we must all be revealed before the judgement seat of Messiah, that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are revealed to God, and I hope that we are revealed also in our consciences.”

This verse reminds us that even the strongest, wealthiest men are only for a moment. Without breath in our nostrils, we cease to exist. We have no control over our lives. So, whatever talent, skills, riches, knowledge, strength and health we may have only exist while there is breath in our nostrils. Once that breath is gone, so is all the things we hold dear.

I have told people for years, that Jesus is not about religion, church, or rules or clothing, He proved that when we came to earth. It’s about God, the very one who breathed life into our bodies. It’s about the Bible, the Word of God.

Everyone is so focused on successful people in government positions and that they fail to realize what’s really going on in the world.

We should be praying and asking God to help us measure our days and realize how fleeting our life is.

Psalm 90:10 says, “The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for it passes quickly, and we fly away.”

Our lives pass by so quickly, and we waste so much time not realizing who it belongs to. There is no salvation in man.

David says in Psalm 121:1-2, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

There is an incredible difference between trusting in the Creator verses mere humans who are limited to the frailty of breath in their nostrils.

There is a serious price to pay when we trust in man and Jeremiah 17:5 warns us, “Thus says the Lord, Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord.”

God made it clear that He expected our trust to be in Him and not mankind. So, many churches have taught over the years how live, believe, dress, eat, drink and give a certain way. I’ve known churches that tell their members that they don’t need to read the Bible. The Bible is about who God is and how we are supposed to live for Him. Churches that tell people what to think, not how to think. Which I believe is why most people fall for the lies and propaganda on social media, and the news. It’s not

It’s not about mere man, it’s about Almighty God.

Strategies For Health And Wellbeing

What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?

Health and well being is so much more than physical health of watching what we eat or drink. Or exercisingand sleep are crucial though they are crucial. We tend to forget about our mental and emotional well-being which include stress management and positive thinking as well as social and emotional health.

My strategies include walking, trying to eat healthy as well as managing my stress and using the power of positive thinking, plus making sure I have a supportive relationships with friends and family but also setting boundaries and spending time with people who uplift me instead of bring me down.

All of these things are connected. If one is out of balance our health and well being can be shifted.

Traveling

What are your future travel plans?

My only plans for traveling in the near future are going to see my sister.

For many years we didn’t talk because we were both running away from our childhood trauma’s. But, in recent years we have become closer.

I try to see her at least once a year.

Letting God Be In Control

Life can be pretty crummy at times. It’s easy the think that we are going to be bomb at going straight to God when we are struggling. Its down downright hard sometimes to let God have control. Sometimes I think “I got this one, God,” when that cannot be further from the truth. When the challanges are not deep or there were not piling on top. I could easily think I’m a pro at this. Then I realize no matter what its easy no matter what its best to go to God.

My day started a little crazy I have been getting migraines again after 4 days I was ready to get back to life after resting up and getting rid of it. I managed to be late for a Bible study, get a nail in my tire, and spill a big cup of iced tea on me all in about 5 minutes. I made an appointment to get my tire fixed which took 2 hours, evidently having an appointment didn’t mean a thing. I was frustrated because of a crappy day. All because I didn’t stop and let God take control.

There is no denying that I didn’t need to rush into things with no guidance. I’ve done this before and it never works out. I wonder when I am going to learn. Proverbs 3:5 is a scripture I need to write on the tablet of my heart and remember, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Then maybe my life would be smooth sailing. After all, giving up control to God would be so much easier when He can run my life the way I desire Him to.

Our lives can become a whole lot better when we say, “I’m going to run to you with all my troubles because I know you can sort things out,”

For me, it’s not that I don’t have faith or trust God with my life. It’s because I get in too big of a hurry to stop and ask Him to help me or thinking I have something under control when I clearly don’t.

It’s about recognizing I will never know Him fully, but choosing to grow deeper in my relationship with Him enough to let go when things begin to get crummy. And trusting that He will fix it, if I listen and obey.

Changing Modern-Day Society

What would you change about modern society?

If I could change modern day society I would change the hate and greed that has taken over society. I think they are the biggest challenges we face. I know that it seem impossible, and there is definitely no quick fix.

This change would have to begin on multiple levels, personal, cultural, institutional, and systemic.

Hate and greed begin in the human heart. Hate and greed have to be fed. We would need to stop feeding it. Changing the narrative in media and culture. And reform the systems that reward greed and division which begins with economic reform, political accountability and the big media responsibility. All while investing in communities and connection.

I for one am tired of the governmental experiment that is being used against us and had been used against for many years.

Striving For Holiness

The Bible tells us grace is free. If grace is free, shouldn’t holiness be free also? Why should I have to exert effort to live a disciplined, righteous life? Why won’t God just give me sinless behavior, with no self-control required?

The problem is passive transformation. There are some things we struggle with that we will never be able to have self-control over. We can only surrender it to God. At least not in this life.

The reason Reality is we were not put on this earth to be passive. The key to overcoming is to rise above the temptation we have no self-control over. Not struggle or resist but to let go and give it to God. Maybe if we’re struggling it is proof that we’re doing something wrong, or we are trying too hard.

We all tend to look for a short cut of a cheat sheet, especially when it comes to doing the hard things. I would love to progress in my life without exerting any effort. Throw up my feet, put on the music, and let the changing begin. “Jesus take the wheel.”

Sadly, this is not how it works. The Bible gives us exhortations to resist temptation, die to sin, deny self, fight the good fight, and strive for godliness. In the Greek translation the meaning of strive is purposeful struggle.

In a Billy Graham sermon in 1957, he likened a believer to a boxer who masters his own body and practices self-restraint. All through the New Testament we can read words that describes what a believer’s life should be like, fight, wrestle, run, work, suffer, endure, resist, agonize, and persevere. This doesn’t sound like being passive to me. They describe a way to live a disciplined life.

So many churches equate spirituality with passivity. But that is not Biblical. Many people will have to reset their expectations. Being a follower of Jesus isn’t a pleasure cruise toward holiness. It takes pushing our bodies and learning that progress can feel like pain.

Our reluctance can be a smokescreen, a way of avoiding the humbling, hard work of seeking to change.

Holiness encompasses both Justification which is legal standing to being declared righteous and sanctification which is practical outward of that righteousness in daily life.

Justification is God’s declaration that believers are righteous through faith in Jesus’s atoning sacrifice. And sanctification is the ongoing process of being transformed into holiness.

Holiness is being set apart for God’s purposes and reflecting His character. It’s important to understand that holiness is not just a one-time event but a lifelong journey of growth and transformation,

We want to say we are saved by grace and not by anything we’ve done. So its easy to want to carry this truth over and apply it to sanctification. When we do that, we assume sanctification should happen like salvation: instantaneously and without effort. But in our attempt to protect one biblical truth, we distort another.

We can end up believing sanctification is passive in which God transforms us unilaterally. And it ends up hampering our spiritual progress. We become stalled out circa simple lack of effort. It becomes something Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace,” an unbiblical view of the gospel that embraces Jesus’s message but refuses the hard work of following Him. This devalues grace and ends up crippling our spiritual growth. But by striving for holiness, we honor the gift of grace.