victoriously freed

"If you choose to carry your own burden and guilt and sins, then you are choosing to believe that Jesus dying on the cross was for nothing.  He died to save you from those sins and wants to carry you burdens and guilt for you.  Let Him"

This is what a very wise friend of mine said to me recently after I had shared with her many things that have been on my heart for a while now.  Those words truly spoke to me.  Let me explain why.

For those of you who don't really know me, I am very independent.  I like to do things on my own, I don't like to ask for help, and if somebody tells me I can't do something, I am going to keep trying until I can prove them wrong.  I think that 14 years of sports helped to contribute to that.

Having said that though, the only One whom I will ask for help from is my Savior and Lord.  I know He is always here for me and will always help me even when I can't admit I need help.

Lately, I have felt burdened and guilty.  My walk with the Lord is not where I want it to be and not where it should be.  It's not that I have done this big, horrible act, I just needed to be closer to Him again.  He never left my side, I was just wasn't walking close enough.

I have known this.  I have struggled with this.  But I have told myself it wasn't that big of a deal.  I have felt this sense of guilt and the burden that came along with it.

But finally, enough was enough.

As I was singing in church recently the lyrics of this song struck me.  The song says:

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
Should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace
Everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart, in my soul
I give you control
Consume me from the inside out
Let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love you from the inside out

That was when I truly realized that I was ready to stop acting like I could carry this guilt on my own and I was ready to love Him from the inside out and to give Him complete control of me once again.

It was that same night that I talked with the lady that shared with me the words I quoted at the beginning.  I am so thankful that the Lord used her to speak to me the words that I needed to hear at that moment.

Now, there is no more guilt and no more burden because the One whom walks beside of me is carrying it for me.

It's amazing knowing that as His child, He will carry all my worries, burdens, fears, failures, and everything else for me.  All I have to do is let go. 

Hi, my name is Beth Kinser, I am a Christian and I am not perfect.

 I mess up.  I sin.  I lie.  I fall short of perfect everyday of my life.

I am not perfect.

I break the ten simple rules that my Father gave me.  I fail Him every single day.

I am not perfect.

I have put other people and other things before my Savior.  I have cheated.  I have idols.

I am not perfect.

I don't always pay attention during church.  I get distracted when I pray or read His Word.  I try to to read the Bible everyday, but I don't.

I am not perfect.

I try to be the best I can be, but the more I try on my own, the more I fail.  My thoughts are of this world; they are not always holy.

I am not perfect.

I do all of this and more.  I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

I am not perfect.

I am not perfect, but He still loves me anyway.

I fall and He picks me up.  I hurt and He comforts me.  I feel weak and He carries me.  I don't know what to do and He guides me.  I feel lost and He directs me.

He continues to provide for me, despite my constant failures.

He calls me His daughter, though I don't deserve it.

I am not perfect.

I am not perfect, yet He still chooses to care for me.

I am not worthy of any of His grace and love, but yet I still am given it.

I am not perfect!

My name is Beth Kinser, I am a Christian and I am not perfect...

But I am forgiven!

Happy Monday!

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and a great start back to work or school.  This is my last full week of classes before Christmas break!  Just 3 finals stand between me and Christmas break.  Speaking of Christmas, I thought it would be very appropriate to pick a Christmas song for today's Music Monday.

So, here it is, one of my favorite Christmas songs!

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Well hey there!  I know that it has been a while since my last post, but school and life in general got kinda crazy all at once.  But I am back for another post and just in time for Thanksgiving!  Can you believe that Thanksgiving is TODAY?  It's truly crazy to think about how fast this year has truly flown by.  With Thanksgiving today, that means that Christmas is literally almost here!  And in my opinion, Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year!  From celebrating the birth of The Savior to waiting for the snow that [normally] doesn't fall.  This is the time for the family traditions, pictures with Santa, cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, opening Christmas presents together, family gatherings, reading the Christmas story and The Night Before Christmas, and so many more!

The best part though, in my honest opinion, is being able to spend time with these crazy, strange, awesome, amazing people I get to call my family.  This doesn't just stop with my mom, dad and siblings though.  You see, not only do I have the best mom, dad, and siblings ever, I also have the best aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents ever.  Whenever the holidays come around, I get to spend time with these amazing people and it truly makes me so happy.

Now, let me tell you just a little about my family.  Over the past three years, the Lord has revealed to me how truly amazing my whole family is.  This conformation all started when my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer.  Since then, we as a family (not alone) have been through many journeys that people really don't want to have to go through.  And though the journeys may have been difficult sometimes, there has been One Person who has remained the same the whole time: God.  Through every single road that we have walked on together as a family, our Savior has been walking beside us holding our hands and guiding us through the difficult times.  He [God] has been the provider of peace, understanding, answers, comfort, and even joy in the times when we have needed it the most.  

But you know what, His care isn't just there in the tough times, God always provides and never will stop!  If that's not completely comforting, I don't know what is.

As this Thanksgiving and Christmas season continues to come around, just remember how blessed you are to have your family to be spending this time with.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Is it strange that I actually enjoy my speech class?  It's not that I really like speaking in front of people, but for 3-10 minutes at a time, I get to share what is on my heart and people have to listen!  That's the part that makes me happy; sharing my opinion and having fun doing it!

So far, I have given a speech about me, my [awesome] volleyball coaches, how-to win a guys heart (in three easy steps), and the latest one, Lecrae Speaks to Us. This one is by far my favorite!  For 8 minutes and 20 seconds, I got to share about this guy, Lecrae, and a speech (sermon) that he had given that spoke to me.  I decided to share who he is, how he relates to us and what we can learn from him.  All of this had to come from the 31 minute speech he delivered at Liberty University back in March of this year.

Basically in this post today, I just want to briefly talk about this speech and a couple key points that really spoke to me.

First of all, in case you don't know who Lecrae is, I'll help ya out.  Lecrae is a Christian rapper.  But don't get thrown off by that, let me tell you, this guy is amazing!  If you don't believe me, just click here.

(This is one of his less-intense songs, but they are all so great.  The words in this song are awesome, too.)

Anyway, in the speech at Liberty University, there were many things that really spoke to me.  The main thing is the "Sacred/Secular Divide".  He goes on to explain what this means by saying that we, as humans, look at this world with two separate views.  But as a child of God's we must get rid of the split, combine the two sides, and look at the world by putting on our "spiritual glasses."  We have to be able to look at the world with a "Biblical Worldview!"

It gets even better though, because then, Lecrae talks about three steps we must take to get rid of the sacred/secular split.

 In order to combine the two sides, as a child of The Lord, we must engage, love, then rehabilitate the people around us who are not saved.

An example of this that my mama reminded me of is the woman at the well.  Jesus first engaged the woman before He began to teach her.

This is just one of the many things that I learned from this speech,  but I found this very important.  After all, the Bible tells us that it is our job to share His Word with everyone!

Romans 10:14-15 says: How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

This is just one of the examples where the Scriptures tell us that we are supposed to share His love with people who may not have a chance to hear about God otherwise.

So take this as a challenge, instead of turning away from the lost, engage, love, and rehabilitate them!

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In case you decide you would like to listen to this speech given by Lecrae, just click here.  I promise it will be worth your time!

 

Hey there y'all, happy Monday!

 

It is so hard to be happy on a Monday sometimes.  They're first day of the work week, school week and busy week.  Remember though, it's okay to just take time and chill, even on a Monday.

 

Enjoy this song as you go about your day!

 

 

We Are by Kari Jobe

 

Have a blessed day, y'all!

 

Sorry y'all, but now that y'all know my major, I will probably be using examples from my classes often.  So, let's just look at the first-of probably many-from my Psychology class.  Also, let me say that for me, Psychology and Sociology are not just analyzing behavior from a scientific viewpoint, but I want to be able to relate everything from a biblical viewpoint as well.  So with that being said, I will now continue.

 

Wednesday in class we were discussing feelings and emotions.  Let me start by saying that I personally am no expert  when it comes to emotion.  Ask most anyone and they will agree.  It's not that I think that showing emotion is a bad thing, just not something that I am good at.  Thankfully though, I will just be talking about the lecture, not giving personal examples.

 

After several minutes of my teacher lecturing he turned on a video that we would watch the rest of the class.  The man in the video was a priest and did a fine job talking about emotion and feelings.

 

He started by telling us how the are two main emotions that all other emotions derive from.  There is LOVE and there is HATE.  These are the two starting points for all other emotions. 

 

Around the word LOVE, he wrote other words that come from love: peace, joy, forgiveness, tolerance, satisfaction, etc. .

Around the word HATE, he wrote the words that come from hate:  self-pity, jealousy, depression, defeat, guilt, grief, etc. .

 

LOVE leads to HAPPINESS - HATE leads to UNHAPPINESS

 

Then, he did the unthinkable.  He showed how the two ultimate emotions/feelings can actually work together by reminding us all of the well-known question: What is LOVE if there is no JEALOUSY?

 

Think about it, it's kind of healthy and helpful to be jealous when you are in love.  Jealousy can show how much you truly care and that you don't want to lose that person.  (However, be careful though, trust is very, very important as well.)

 

But why am I mentioning this?  Because immediately I began thinking of the lyrics from the song How He Loves:

 

 He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

 

Y'all, GOD IS JEALOUS FOR US!  The One who created us all in His image is jealous for us!  For us unworthy sinners!  He wants us to be His.  He is jealous for us and doesn't want to lose us to the worldly things that Satan shows us.

 

Isn't it kind of amazing knowing that Someone so incredibly important is jealous for you?

 

I know it makes me feel special, but I'm not alone.

 

So, the next time that you are feeling down and gloomy, don't let your emotions get in the way, instead, smile because you know that He is jealous for you!