tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73197034994034829362024-03-13T07:20:41.309-04:00Kelly's DiaryKelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-23211816681250519512016-06-03T11:45:00.001-04:002016-06-03T11:45:47.168-04:00Succeeding in Parenting Really HurtsThis morning I am anxiously waiting the return of my two little girls. They have been at camp all week and I haven't spoken to them even once. This is the longest I have ever gone without hearing their little voices.<br />
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I know they are fine, the counselors did a great job at posting pictures and showing what a great time they had. They probably didn't miss me for one little second, but I must admit this has been the hardest week for me. The worries creep in: What if they need me? What if they get hurt? What if someone is mean to them? What if they.... you know the drill.<br />
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I have told other parents (and myself) over and over that our job as parents is to raise our children to become productive members of society; and as a parent to two girls, I must also raise strong confident independent women. Independent. That means not in need of others...not in need of me. I hate that part. I want them to need me. I want them to run to me when they are hurt, scared, angry, confused, happy, joyful, content.<br />
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But my job is to teach them to be able to handle hurt, scary things, confusion, anger, happiness, joy and contentment without me, but with a reliance on God alone. The bible even promises I will fail them: Psalm 27:10 (NKJV) "When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me."<br />
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Did you notice that verse says "when"? Not if, not maybe, not just in case, WHEN. I will fail my kids and so will you. I am human. Thank God He is not.<br />
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I want them to grow up, and become the wonderful women that God has created them to be, but wow; the process, the act of them leaving; emotionally, intellectually and physically is really hard and really hurts. It truly is not for the faint of heart. I rely on God for the strength to do it everyday.<br />
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I pray I don't coddle them too much or too little. I pray I don't shelter them too much or too little. I pray that I will do what my mother taught me: To rely on God alone, get my strength, my self worth and my wisdom from Him to make it through this parenting thing.<br />
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And I am reminded by my precious Savior that He Loves Them More Than I Do! What a wonderfully comforting thought in the times I feel helpless and unable to control the surroundings and circumstances of my children.<br />
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Lord, may we all survive; no, may we all thrive in this season of growing up and becoming independent, powerful, godly women.<br />
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<br />Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-19273702965553515262016-05-15T19:51:00.001-04:002016-05-15T19:51:57.583-04:00God Uses Ordinary People for Extraordinary ThingsAs I have mentioned before, when my mission statement first became clear to me, I was not happy about it. It made me feel small, less important...ordinary.<br />
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God gave me this mission:<br />
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"Your mission is to be a missionary in ordinary ways, in ordinary places to ordinary people. In doing this, you will have an extraordinary and eternal impact on the lives of those who would otherwise not be touched."<br />
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I was disappointed because I was focusing on the first part, the ordinary, instead of the second part, the extraordinary. And even more specifically, I had completely ignored the part about <b><i>reaching people that would otherwise not be touched.</i></b><br />
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Think about that for a second. God' plan for me, little ole Kelly, a housewife and mom in Cartersville, GA, will be able to reach people for Christ that would <b><i>Otherwise be untouched. </i></b><br />
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I don't know about you, but that is actually pretty extraordinary! I have friends who are missionaries in North Africa and that is why they were called to Africa: To reach the unreachable.<br />
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So I went from being completely self righteous and disenfranchised about my personal mission statement to being completely intimidated. I found myself praying, "God, I can't do this. I am just an ordinary girl, how can I reach the people who would otherwise be untouched?"<br />
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And God answered, "Who better to reach ordinary people than an ordinary girl."<br />
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The cool thing is, God uses ordinary people all the time. It's all through the bible! My favorite list of ordinary people that God uses in the bible is in Judges. In Judges, we have everyone from Gideon, a complete fraidy cat, to Samson, a womanizer with anger issues, to my favorite, Deborah.<br />
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Deborah was ordinary, maybe even less than ordinary. She was a woman, after all and in this time, women were basically property. She was however, a prophetess. She would basically sit under a tree and she was the 'solver of problems' for Israel at the time. She kept the peace, as God asked her to do. God also asked her to try and get the men of Israel to step up to the plate. She told Barak that God said to go and the He would give Barak the victory, but Barak wouldn't go without Deborah. God said He had already won the victory, but Barak didn't have enough faith without Deborah, so she went with him and, just as God said, they won the battle.<br />
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Israel experienced 40 years of peace after that. All because of the faith and obedience of an ordinary girl who obeyed God's mission for her life. It started out pretty normal. Just help people settle their arguments. It ended by bringing an entire nation to peace.<br />
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Extraordinary thing for a very ordinary girl.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-49484247129733613242016-04-08T09:30:00.002-04:002016-04-08T09:30:52.782-04:00An Ordinary Test on Extraordinary ChildrenMy 9 year old came home from school the other day and told me she wanted to quit her Challenge class (that is what our school calls the gifted program) because she felt dumb. She felt like she was the stupidest one in the class, like everyone else got it quickly and it took her hours or days to get it. She was crying and the words were hard to say for her. It had taken her weeks to even figure out how to put these feelings into words. I sat at the table with a little girl who felt defeated. She had been asking me for weeks to quit Challenge and I just ignored it. I thought she was upset because she hadn't done well on a test in that class and just didn't want to put in the work. Now, I sat at this table with a sobbing little girl feeling so guilty I could hardly stand myself.<br />
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You see, Krissy is Dyslexic. That means her brain processes things differently. Her brain is special, extraordinary. It means that she can see things and imagine things in a ways that you and I can't. But it can be hard to be so special and so not standard in a standardized school system.<br />
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We are blessed that she has great teachers that love and respect Krissy and they are all going to work to help her not feel alone or dumb, but in a few weeks, she will have to take that dreaded standardized test. Last year, the anticipation of the test literally made her sick. She had to come home 2 days in a row because of severe migraines brought on by the stress of anticipating this test. A test that is incapable of measuring this child's ability, knowledge and especially not her worth.<br />
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I have read many great letters that teachers and parents have written to the children about this test, detailing that this test doesn't know them, who they are and what they are made of and I will write another one of those to my sweet daughters. But first, here is a letter to those who have imposed this test on these kids.<br />
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Dear "Powers That Be"<br />
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I am sure you have good intentions. You feel you must evaluate your teachers, the standards for the school, the curriculum. I applaud you for your intention, but I respectfully submit that these tests are your way of trying to find the easy way out.<br />
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I understand that a test everyone takes gives you a nice clean spreadsheet of data which is much easier to deal with than actually going to schools, walking through halls, sitting in classrooms and meeting real teachers. If the test is the new measure of a school's worth, then what is the job of the principle, the school board, the superintendent? Is the test in place because you don't trust in your ability to hire a principle that can evaluate his or her staff and the educational needs of his or her community? You say the test is to be sure that what needs to be taught in the classroom is in fact being taught, but wouldn't a better way to evaluate that be to actually go to the classroom and see? Meet the principles, the administrators, the teachers and the children. See for yourself the many and varied needs within a specific community and allow the individual schools the freedom to meet those specific needs.<br />
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I pose these questions because children are not standard. That is what makes them amazing and beautiful. Maybe trying to get them to fit into the mold of a standardized tests is what is keeping these kids from becoming extraordinary adults. Maybe that's one of the reason we have so many young people without the drive to be extraordinary, they all just want to be standard. Which makes sense if we have taught them in the 12 years of school that the goal is a standardized test.<br />
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If we teach our children to meet standards then the drive to be extraordinary is being stolen from them. They are taught to be good enough, instead of great. They are taught that someone else always has the right answer instead of learning how to discover for themselves. What's so wrong with letting kids explore, discover, learn and make mistakes? Why are we so afraid to allow teachers to use a different path to the same destination?<br />
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I know the argument is not all teachers are extraordinary, but finding and keeping the ones that are and getting rid of the ones who aren't,well, that IS your job. A job meant for a person, not a test. A test can't assess a teacher or a child's passion, enthusiasm or ability to creatively teach the children in his or her classroom. A test doesn't show you the progress of the one child who started the year angry and combatant, daring the teacher to try and teach him and the fact that the teacher has worked all year, slowly, lovingly, painfully to help that child get past his anger, and the pain that anger was masking, to help him redirect his emotions and channel himself into learning instead of the destructive behavior he was exhibiting.<br />
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If the test is meant to highlight the teachers and schools that are failing to teach, I dare say it has failed miserably. It seems to me that the bad teachers are the ones that will teach the kids in their classrooms just enough to pass this test, nothing more, nothing less. They will selfishly be sure they can bubble in the correct answer without making sure the children in their rooms understand how to actually use the knowledge they have gained.<br />
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To be completely honest, I don't know all the reasons you think this test is necessary. All I know is what I experience in my own house and my community. What I see is one child that breezes through the test with flying colors every year. She far exceeds the expectations every single time which is not surprising because she is incredibly smart! She remembers things after you tell her once and she processes things very quickly. this also means she spends most of her days at school bored, because she has already gotten what they are teaching the first time around and yet, she is not in the gifted program because the test for that program, she doesn't do as well. But because of these tests, the teachers who know her are not allowed to make an exception and put her in the program. I encourage her in the best way I know how, but how long, how many years before she is bored with school all together and simply stops trying?<br />
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Then there is my other child who is in the gifted program. She has an amazing mind and is full of knowledge, passion and ability, yet she is horrible at standardized tests. This is partially because she is dyslexic and mostly because she is not standard. Neither of my children are standard. They are extraordinary in very different ways.<br />
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I say all of this to ask a question. Is the data gained from these test really accomplishing the goal? Are you really assessing anything? Or should we try a more personal approach?<br />
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I am sure this test is expensive to administer. In my house, this test costs us a lot. It costs my child's feelings of insecurity and self worth. It costs weeks of stress and tears. It costs hours of encouragement and reassurance that the scores on those tests do not measure who they are as a person or what they can accomplish. That is too expensive in my opinion. So I ask, is the cost worth it?<br />
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Sincerely, A Concerned MommyKelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-47141010376340971412016-03-21T13:20:00.000-04:002016-03-21T13:20:28.981-04:00Ordinary Party, Extraordinary Moment for EternityI went this past weekend with some girlfriends to Savannah for their annual St. Patrick's Day Festival. Savannah is serious about this holiday! They have a 4 day street festival that lasts all day and night for the entire time. There are tons of people, music, food, parades and lots and lots of green.<br />
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I was excited to spend some quality time with my girlfriends, eat some good oysters and have a few drinks while we danced and hung out with a few thousand of our closest friends. These kinds of events are always good for people watching and we always meet a few characters, but I never expected to have a life changing spiritual moment in the midst of a huge party.<br />
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We met this group of friends and ran into them a few times during the evening. At one point, I noticed that one of the guys, let's call him Jay, was sitting and crying. His wife was a little upset with the whole situation. I didn't blame her. They were out to have a good time and her hubby is in the middle of this huge crowd having break down.<br />
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I sat down to talk with him. Come to find out, he is active duty military and has been on 11 deployments. Yes, that is right, 11, it's not a typo. I can't even imagine what he has seen and experienced in 11 deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Certainly more than the human mind can process and still function on it's own. I asked him if he knew that he had PTSD and he said he did, but didn't know what to do about it.<br />
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I was able to share with him my personal experiences from my past and from my father's extraordinary walk and healing through PTSD. I encouraged him to go to the VA and get help. I talked to his wife and encouraged her.<br />
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The Holy Spirit gave me the words. He guided the questions that I asked and the advise that I gave. He even gave me a few things that were very specific to Jay and his journey. Things I didn't know, but God did. When I told Jay that, "God is telling me to tell you...(I won't give you the details, these words were for Jay)" after those words, Jay looked me in the eye for the first time stood up, gave me a long bear hug and said, "God sent you to tell me this." In that moment I knew God was using me in an ordinary way for His extraordinary work. God knew that Jay needed to know that God loves him and would go to great distances to tell him so.<br />
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It is amazing how God finds us and who he decides to use, when He decides to use you and where He decides to use you. I never would have expected for God to show up in the middle of a street party in Savannah, GA. We were not there for a Christian revival or women's retreat. Honestly, I wasn't expecting a spiritual experience. Jay certainly wasn't expecting to find the depth and breadth of God's love at 2 a.m. after a night full of drinking and partying. Yet, that is what God chose to do, and it is where God showed up.<br />
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It was a very ordinary setting with extraordinary results for the Kingdom, for me, for Jay and his family. I am praying that Jay will get the help he needs to process and heal from the trauma he has experienced. I pray for all those who see and experience war. I hope you will pray too.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-85086855729022076822016-02-29T21:40:00.002-05:002016-02-29T21:47:34.442-05:00A Missionary In Ordinary WaysA few years ago, I asked God for a mission statement. You know, something that would give me a higher purpose than just ordinary living. I love my life and I was in a pretty good place with my relationship with Christ but I felt...boring, unimportant, dispassionate, just bleh. I had friends that were being called to be missionaries in foreign countries, to eradicate homelessness in our city and be great bible teachers. And then there was me. Just a wife and mom in a small north Georgia town with a regular job. Don't get me wrong, I love all of those things, but they didn't feel important, they just felt...ordinary.<br />
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So I assumed I must be missing what God truly had for me, because I just knew I was supposed to be doing something great. Something special. something extraordinary. I knew the way to find out what that very special, very exciting, very passionate and extraordinary mission was to be was to pray, so I did. Fervently, consistently, faithfully.<br />
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I waited expectantly. I started to get excited knowing that with my persistence, God would surely answer with something great like, "you are going to write an amazing novel that will be a best seller and cause revival in our land," or "you are going to be a screen writer and be able to minister to the very lost and dark people in the entertainment industry with your deep and spiritually moving stories."<br />
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One day, God clearly gave me my mission statement.<br />
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"Your mission is to be a missionary in ordinary ways, in ordinary places to ordinary people. In doing this, you will have an extraordinary and eternal impact on the lives of those who would otherwise not be touched."<br />
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Can I be honest? I was really disappointed. I mean really? Be an ordinary missionary? In ordinary places? I don't get to write a great novel or screenplay or become a missionary in Paris (If I am dreaming about where to be a missionary, it might as well be someplace awesome right?)<br />
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Now before you go judging me for not being excited about the mission directly given from the Lord God Almighty, be honest. If someone told you your mission in life was to be ordinary would you be excited?<br />
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So I did what any logical person would do. I questioned the never failing, all powerful, all knowing Creator of the universe, "Really? Are you sure? I mean, I think I could do a lot more than that. I am a pretty good writer and I am a great public speaker. And I love You! Can't I do something more important than being an ordinary person?"<br />
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But God, you know that amazing Father who only knows how to do what is absolute best for us, does not operate on logic, well, not tiny finite human logic anyways. He operates with a mind that can understand concepts like eternity, black holes, the space time continuum. He knows where the snow is stored in summer and knows what's at the end of space. He thought up things like DNA, curly hair, blue eyes, ocean waves, blow fish, vultures and llamas.<br />
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So after a few more sessions of my self righteous questioning of God, I finally just sat still and allowed God to let this new mission statement sink in. "Okay God, I am ready. Show me this mission you have for me."<br />
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In that quiet place, I heard God say that my mission was to <b>serve</b> in ordinary places and ways, not to <b>be</b> ordinary. My job was to be quietly extraordinary, secretly extraordinary. What you do in public, for public praise, the praise itself will be your reward. But what you do in private, only for the Lord to see and know, you will be praised in public and for eternity.<br />
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God clarified to me that what He wanted from me was truly amazing and special. He was telling me to show His love not to the masses through a best selling novel or movie; and not to the children in Africa or Paris. He has told me to love the overlooked. The next door neighbor that may seem like she has it all together, but is actually deeply hurting and is scared to death that she is just doing it all wrong. He asked me to be a friend to the girl at work who is pessimistic and critical or the one who is way too needy.<br />
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When I opened my eyes to what God was saying, it was like scales fell from my eyes. I suddenly realized that checking out at the grocery store was a very ordinary thing and maybe I could have an eternal impact on that grocery clerk in those few minutes. I starting praying for those moments to happen. I started asking God to break open her heart in the 3 minutes we were together at the check out stand and give me words that would speak living water to her.<br />
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The funny thing is words that speak living water don't always sound so spiritual. I rarely ask if they know Jesus or if they go to church. Usually God prompts me to ask about their story. Something innocent thing like, "Wow, you have an interesting name, is there a story behind it?"<br />
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Or asking the waiter that is serving my family at dinner, "So what's your story? Are you going to school, providing for your family, taking some time off to figure out life?"<br />
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At work, the ordinary ways can be as simple as always saying hi and asking, "How was your weekend?" and truly listening to the answer.<br />
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At home, it's making fried rice for dinner because that is what my daughter asked for. It's consistently telling my cousin how impressed I am with the man he has become, how blessed we are to have him live with us and that we are praying for God's perfect mate for him. It's giving my husband a little kiss or pat on his butt every time I walk by.<br />
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Truthfully, when I stopped looking at ordinary ways as not important, I started to see every little opportunity I have in every aspect of my life to show the unconditional, unfailing and ever important love of Christ to a whole lot of people. Ordinary people. The people that are normally overlooked because, well, they are just like me. And who am I to 'help' someone who is in the exact same boat I am in?<br />
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I am the person that God has chosen to do the job, so that alone qualifies me.<br />
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God has given me a mission and I am choosing to obey.<br />
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Expect the extraordinary. I have a feeling there will be a lot of it around here. <br />
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<br />Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-3211099872072932442016-02-23T13:59:00.000-05:002016-02-23T13:59:13.050-05:00Christians, We Are FailingI just came back from a week long conference in Southern California. Going to California is usually filled with two predominate emotions for me. First, I am excited for the weather. Always sunny, no humidity and a slight wind. My other feeling is dread. This begins by flying into LAX, the most chaotic, crowded, disorganized place on the planet. Then getting into a car and if you have ever driven in LA, then you know how crazy it is. If you haven't, just imagine what it would be like if a bunch of angry chickens learned to drive.<br />
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Overall, my trip this time was amazing! The conference was fun and inspiring; I got to eat some great food, had good coffee and met some wonderful people. But as I waited in the airport for my flight home, I suddenly experienced another emotion: overwhelming sadness.<br />
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I realized that, the majority of people who live in this city are sad, lost, a little angry and most importantly to me, living in darkness. They are in the 'city of angels' yet most don't know that angels are real. Most are walking around without any hope at all.<br />
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And who can blame them. For most people, the view of a Christian is they are judgmental, selfish and, well, downright mean. (disclaimer: I didn't do a scientific study, these are just my observations).<br />
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And friends, brothers and sisters, people who I love and plan to spend eternity with, please hear my heart. I am saying this with all love and because I know we are not that list of things above, but I do know that is how the world is seeing us, and that, my friends, is our own fault.<br />
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We are speaking much more passionately about our politics than we are about hope, peace and the love of Christ. We are known to speak out about the high cost of healthcare but not helping those who are sick. We are standing up opposed to the things we find immoral instead of shouting from the rooftops that there is light in the darkness, hope to the hopeless and love, unconditional love for the unlovable.<br />
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Are we so far removed from the person that we were before we met Christ that we don't remember how scary, sad and alone it felt to be lost? Do we think heaven might get too crowded so why tell anyone else about eternal life and happiness? Are we so comfortable with our every day mundane sins that we forget that they are just as horrifying to God as the ones that make the headlines? Have we forgotten the Beatitudes? Blessed are the peacemakers, the meek, the poor, the suffering.<br />
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Are we so bogged down in following the rules that we forgot to love the people? Yes, this is where I believe we have failed, friends. We have forgotten to love the people. The lost people, the hungry people, the angry people, the entitled people, the drug addicted people, the money hungry people, the gay people, the straight people, the weird people, the boring people, the people of the opposite political party, the people of a different religion, the people covered in tattoos & piercings and the people without any hope.<br />
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Jesus never scolded a lost person. He loved them, He ate with them, He wiped away their tears, He gave them water. He scolded those who claimed the same religion as His own. He didn't turn the money tables over on the prostitute or the tax collector, for them He showed love, kindness, and a better way of life. Not by telling them what they were doing was wrong, but by showing unconditional, unfailing, unapologetic love. And ultimately, by dying for our sins on the cross. They will know you by your love, is what the bible says; not by our moral standing, our political party or by our set of rules.<br />
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Who have you loved today that wasn't of your same belief, of your same political party, in your very own family or church? That person you know who is royally screwing up their life, have you loved on them through prayer, coming along side them, being a friend or providing for a genuine need or do you just shake your head and allow them to continue in darkness?<br />
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We have probably all heard the saying that we are all equal at the foot of the cross. What I fear is we forget is that we are all nothing more than dirty rotten immoral degenerates if it weren't for the cross. The only difference between a Christian and every other face on earth is the cross and our responsibility is not to show the world some sort of moral superiority, it's to show them that they can find hope, love and peace at the foot of the cross too.<br />
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Honestly, who cares if we 'restore this country to Christian values' or have laws that are perfectly in line with the laws of the bible if we are still living in a place full of people who don't know Jesus? What profits a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his soul?<br />
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Christians, please, express your views, vote for whoever you want to vote in office, but above all, be known for your love. A love that is indescribable, unconditional, indiscriminate and irresistible because it is the pure love that comes from the knowledge that without Jesus, we all go to hell, no. matter. what.<br />
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Share the love.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-53421829259246507662015-05-05T09:24:00.000-04:002015-05-05T09:24:02.940-04:00Are we really on the right path to end racism?As I was drinking my morning coffee, my mind wandered to the yard at the place I used to work in San Diego. It was an animal shelter and on the fence where we would take the dogs to play was a sign that read, "Respect all Life." As I scroll through my Facebook newsfeed and watch the news, it is evident that we don't do that very well. <br />
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I see videos and photos of disrespect to all manners of people: black, white, Hispanic, business owners, rich people, poor people, old people and young. The preponderance of evidence that we are all taking sides: Black lives matter, Police lives matter, Immigrant lives matter, White lives matter. And my mind and heart keeps heading back to that sign in the play yard at my old job: Respect all Life. All lives matter. every single one.<br />
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We all seem to be so busy making sure our voice is heard, that our side of the issue is respected and acknowledged, that none of us are listening. The saddest part is we are all so busy pointing out our differences, that we don't see that we are all saying the same thing. We are all hurting and we all want peace.<br />
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On the heals of the Civil Rights movement, Satan began feeding this country a lie that we have believed for years. As long as we get justice for the wrongs of the past, we will have peace and harmony. Justice for the past is what matters, that is what will produce peace and harmony for the future right? Wrong!<br />
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Justice does punish those who have done wrong and there is a place for justice, but if the goal is peace, justice is not the answer. Forgiveness is. The irony is this is what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his contemporaries preached. That is why the Civil Rights movement had so many successes. They did not focus on righting the wrongs of the past, they focused on righting the viewpoint of people for the future. They strategically did things that caused people to listen, not riot, to pray not point fingers, to come together for change, not against each other for justice.<br />
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The cause is still and always has been the same. We want peace and respect for all life, no matter the color, the gender, the race or the creed. But if peace is the goal, the way is not through justice, the way is through forgiveness, grace and understanding. It is not through making sure your point is heard, it is through active listening to the point of view of another. The way is not through posting a counterpoint on your social media page, but through the unselfish giving, listenning and prayers for the hurting.<br />
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Compassion that ends for a person just because you don't agree with their actions is not compassion at all. It is easy to have compassion and understanding for those who do what you do, live the way you live and think they way you think. We all want compassion when we are the ones that are in the wrong, but the real test is your ability to give compassion when someone else is in the wrong, and you are able to see past the action to the hurting and scared heart of the person who is acting out.<br />
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And here is the point: Hurt, fear, anger, these things are not exclusive to any race or gender or creed or station. These things are common to all life. I am compelled to believe that when we can stop looking at our differences and judging them as good or bad, and start focusing on our common emotions and common goals, we will begin to make our way towards peace.<br />
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Philippians 3:13-14: But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."<br />
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When we have been wronged and are hurting, justice seems to be the thing we want, but I ask you: Will justice bring you peace? Will Justice change the future? I believe the answer is no. Justice does punish the one who has wronged you, but justice does not change the future or create healing, only forgiveness, understanding and love does that.<br />
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If we want a nation that is not racist and is at peace we must stop defining things by race. Instead of respecting an individual group, let's respect all life, respect all culture, respect all. You don't have to agree with someone to respect them, listen to them or find a place of common ground, even if that ground is as simple as you both want peace.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-52131224387625892892014-04-18T10:36:00.002-04:002014-04-18T10:36:24.006-04:00He BECAME sinToday is Good Friday. The day that Christians all over the world celebrate that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. In our house, we talk about that all the time. We discuss it with our children, we say prayers of thanks at every meal. I thank God in my own private prayers especially when someone I know has died and I know they are now in heaven rejoicing with our risen Savior. <br />
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About a week ago, however, I felt a deep conviction in my spirit that I needed to deepen my understanding of what Jesus truly did for me. This conviction took me to 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."<br />
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So I pondered, meditated and repeated this verse over and over, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal something new to me. <br />
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<u>He who knew no sin</u> - Jesus never sinned. Just think about that for a minute. He never had a lustful thought. He never looked at another person and thought, "what an idiot, I hate that guy!" He never held a grudge over all those people who tried to kill Him. He never lied, not even a little white lie. He never got enraged with the stupidity of man. Until He was hanging on the cross, and the Father turned His face from Jesus, He had never ever experienced shame. I remember the first time I truly felt shame. I don't remember what I had done, but I remember the overwhelming feeling that I just wanted to not exist any longer. I felt hopeless, helpless, worthless. <br />
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<u>He became sin</u> - Not only did Jesus feel shame, but in that moment, when He was separate from the Father, he actually was hopeless, helpless and worthless! The bible said He didn't just take our sin on and carry it on His back, He BECAME sin. Ponder it. Let the Spirit show you the gravity of that which Jesus did for you. The faith that it took for the man Jesus to become sin, being separate for the first and only time from the Father, trusting that the Father would rescue Him from the pit of hell and allow Him victory over death is barely comprehensible to me. <br />
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<u>And WHY did He do it?</u> For me. For every single face that you will look at today. For every sinner on this earth no matter what their sin may be. No matter what your sin may be.<br />
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<u>So we might become the righteousness of God in Him</u> - It wasn't even a sure thing. He didn't die knowing that this would be accepted by everyone. Quite the opposite. Jesus died knowing that a very small percentage of people would actually accept this amazing gift of freedom, love and reconciliation. He knew the return on investment was dismal. He knew that most of the world would still choose to live in the bondage of flesh, rather than the righteousness of Christ. <br />
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<u>Today, Good Friday, I ask you to ponder a few questions:</u><br />
Do you understand the gravity of what Jesus did?<br />
Are you grateful?<br />
Do you live like you are grateful?<br />
Do you look at the faces of others and know that Jesus died for them too?<br />
Do you love them the way Jesus loves them?<br />
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Today is very very good, but it came at an extremely high price. A price that we disrespect if we try to do anything other than Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.<br />
<br />Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-71946842733413693952014-02-11T11:01:00.001-05:002014-02-11T11:01:23.871-05:00WaitingCurrently, my family is in the middle of a season of change. My girls are growing like weeds; I feel like I send them off to school in the morning and they come home older, bigger, more mature every day. Rich was laid off and is in the process of finding a new job and I am in the middle of job and extended family changes. People often say that change is scary, unsettling, bad. Lately, I have been wondering, why is change so hard? I have decided it is because of one main thing: we hate the waiting.<br />
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If we woke up one morning, and everything had changed overnight, the children we older, the new job had already been received, all the answers were known, we would simply adjust. We may have some moments of panic but overall, we would adjust and move on. The part about change that kills us is the "what ifs." What if we haven't raised them right and they make bad decisions? What if the new job doesn't come quickly enough or doesn't pay what we want? What if I can't balance the changes in my job and my responsibilities to family? What if we have to move and start over? Waiting is what stirs up all these emotions and anxieties. If there were no wait, we would know the answers, accept them and move on. So here is the question: Why does God make us wait?<br />
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The bible is full of waiting. Abraham had to wait for the birth of Isaac, David had to wait to be king, Joseph had to wait to be the leader, Daniel had to wait in the lion's den. The Hebrews had to wait to enter the promised land, the Israelites had to wait through 400 years of silence before Jesus was born, Mary had to wait for Him to grow up. Jesus had to wait 33 years before fulfilling His destiny and now we wait for His return, over 2,000 years and counting. <br />
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As I have pondered on waiting and why we wait over the last several months, I keep wandering back to Mary. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be a young unmarried girl and get a visit from the highest ranking angel, telling you that you will be impregnated by the Holy Spirit. Then to have to wait 9 months for this child, the Savior of the Universe, her very Creator to be born. But after His birth, she then had to wait again! He was not enthroned immediately. He did not instantly become a full grown man ready for kingship. He was a baby! I wonder if the wise men coming from the East when Jesus was about two years old wasn't an answer to a prayer from Mary. I wonder if she hadn't been on her knees begging God, "God, I trust you. I know you say He IS you, and our Savior. I know the angel came and told me so but please. I need a sign. I need something to bolster my faith. It has been so long and it's not happening like I thought it would." The next day, the wise men show up just to reaffirm her faith. God is pretty cool like that. He does big grand things just to give us a little more strength to persevere. Mary may have received the first visit from Gabriel but all other angelic communication went to Joseph and we don't have any reason to believe that Mary or Joseph were given God's full game plan for Jesus' life. That seems to be a theme with God. He rarely gives us the full game plan. Often when he does give us the plan, like he gave to Moses, we don't believe Him anyway. I like to believe that God sent those wise men to show His love and care for Mary. That she needed some faith building and God was happy to oblige. He usually is when we ask.<br />
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Why did Mary (and all of the world for that matter) have to wait for Jesus to grow up? And why so long? In those days, 33 was ancient! A normal boy would have started working around age 8 and be married and well on his way to a full career by late teens. When we first meet Jesus as a young man of the age of twelve in the temple, he should have been on the edge of manhood and yet He is presented as a young boy still having to be looked after by His parents. God used young men half Jesus' age as Prophets, warriors and leaders in the old testament and yet we get to wait twice as long for the most important event in history. Mary had to wait twice as long. The disciples had to wait twice as long. So why all that waiting?<br />
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The thing we don't like to hear is that faith building, character building, more often than not, involves lots and lots of time. It takes time to learn to trust someone, to love someone, to know how someone will react to something. It even takes time to do little things, like memorizing a passage or learning to ride a bike. It takes time to learn to cook well or to read a good book. It takes time to clean a house, cut the grass or build a house. Even instant rice takes 90 seconds in the microwave, not to mention all the time it took in the factory being prepared before it hits your pantry shelf.<br />
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I don't know what God is doing during that time that we are waiting, but for me, today, I am practicing trust. I am reminding myself that the same God who did give Abraham Isaac, did make David king, did make Joseph a leader, did save Daniel from the lion's den and did send Jesus, is the same God who has asked me to wait on His best. And isn't His best worth the wait? <br />
In waiting, I am learning that my statement that God is my security is not just lip service, but true! When I wake up every morning not knowing the future yet not being anxious about it, I confirm to myself that my security and my hope is in the Lord, not the world. If nothing else happened in my life, I am so deeply thankful that God has allowed me to know that about myself. I wonder if Job felt that at the end of his ordeal? I wonder if he sat back and thanked God, not just for replenishing all that had been taken away, but for the deep knowledge that he was 100% all in with God no matter what came. <br />
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There is a peace is knowing that the things we say we believe, once tested, prove to be the things we do truly believe in practice not just speech. In our hearts, not just our heads. I serve a mighty God who is faithful and His plans for me are to prosper me. To give me a future and a hope. So I wait in faithful anticipation of the next stage of life He has for my family. I do not know what that will be. I am not blind to the fact that it may involve hard decisions or possibly hard circumstances, but I know that in the end, it will be amazing and perfectly within God's ultimate plan. I would rather be homeless in a cardboard box in the Will of God, than in the biggest mansion out of His will.<br />
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As the song says, "So I wait for you, I am falling of my knees, offering all my needs, Jesus, You're all this heart is living for."Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-39135101205556898932013-08-27T09:15:00.001-04:002013-08-27T09:15:26.187-04:00I am Determined to be a Better MotherI need to confess. My reaction to the Miley Cyrus performance surprised me. I am not normally one of those people that are outraged by others' behavior. I am often the person saying that we cannot ask people who do not believe or serve the God I serve to obey the rules that He has set forth, when I myself cannot meet that standard and I have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I am a full of mercy and grace kind of girl that takes our ability to choose our own life paths (right or wrong) very seriously. <br />
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But that Miley Cyrus struck a nerve. I watched in the video clip in awe, disgust, anger and sadness as she made a fool of herself. As the day went on, it only got worse as I learned that both her mother and Robin Thicke's wife had seen the rehearsal and no one sent up a red flag. By the time I was picking my girls up from school, I was in full fledged anger mode. Finally, this morning during my quiet time with God, I asked myself, "Why did this affect me so much? Why do I care? What is it about this situation that is causing such a strong emotional reaction inside of me?" <br />
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Here is my answer:<br />
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1. She is a little girl who most likely has no one speaking truth into her life. I know she's 20 and legally that makes her an adult. Do you remember when you were 20? At 20 I was away at FSU having the time of my life. I made some of the worst decisions in my life at age 20 and I actually have parents that care about my moral fiber! What I saw on that stage was not an adult who had made bad choices; I saw a little girl who no one cares enough about to tell her the truth. To tell her she is worth more than her body, her voice or the price that people will pay for her. A little girl who is crying out for someone to love her and instead of receiving love, is being handed a paycheck.<br />
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2. I am genuinely mad at her parents for not doing a better job. I know I don't know them and I am judging them. I understand that. I feel a little bad about that. It isn't even Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus that I am so upset with as it is this whole generation of parents who have believed the lie that it is more important for your child to be happy than it is for them to be healthy: both emotionally and physically. Parents, it is not your job to be your child's friend! It is your job to train them to be productive members of society, to make good decisions, so have a positive self-worth based on the only thing in our world that does not change: God. Stop trying to be their friend. Stop basing your own self-worth on whether or not your kid is happy. Happy isn't always right. Often, happy is destructive and counter productive. I am never happy when I go to gym. I don't go because I like it. I go because I have to for my body to be healthy. The same is true for our emotional and spiritual health. Sometimes the right decision is hard, not fun and takes 3 times the work. It is also worth it. Always. As my mama says, "nothing worth it ever comes easy."<br />
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3. I am upset because she IS a role model. Now, before you get all high and righteous on me and start telling me that I shouldn't have put this girl in the place of a role model, I didn't! I direct my girls to look at positive role models like their babysitters who are strong young women who have led lives of integrity and strength. We talk about women like Deborah, Ruth, Elizabeth and Mary in the bible. I point out women in history who have championed the causes of women's suffrage, better medicine and missionaries. I didn't put Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez in my daughters' heads as role models, but they do look up to them. That is a consequence of the fallen world we live in. Sadly, I don't have control over every thought in their heads. I see the look in their eyes when they watch them sing on stage and I will not turn a blind eye to that fact just because I say, "They are just singers, actresses or models; they are not people to aspire to be." Young girls look up to these girls. It is a fact that will not change. So that means that we as parents, have an even harder job. We must use these moments as teachable ones to show our girls what not to do; but also to teach them to show love and compassion for those whose lives are a living train wreck. It also means that we can't just sit back and blame her parents, judge Hollywood or simply point and tell our girls, "don't do that." We must be the change we want to see (didn't someone famous say that?). We must work harder to influence the world around us to want to be better and do better. We must be strong, secure, godly women who do not take short cuts or do what is right in our own eyes. We must care more about others than ourselves. We must care more about how our children turn out than whether they like us or not. I know I will never fully take away the fact that my girls will hear Miley Cyrus on the radio, sing her songs and a part of them will think how cool it would be to do that. But I do know that I can at least be a good enough role model and place good enough role models in their lives that when one of these "famous" role models fall, they will know for sure that they do not want to follow that path.<br />
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So today, I am no longer angry or even sad. Today, I am determined to be a better mother, role model and godly servant. Today, I am recommitting to my girls and to God to be the change I want to see in the world, and to show His love and grace, which is truly the only answer to all these woes.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-65240884361114385752013-01-15T12:13:00.000-05:002013-01-15T12:13:01.207-05:00Earning the Right to Share the GospelOn Sunday, our pastor talked about salvation. He used Acts 16: 11 - 34, when Paul and Silas were put in jail in Phillippi. As I was reading the passages, it reminded me of how much I really like Paul. Paul was unapologetic about his faith and he would not be pushed around. He was humble before God yet confident in His position in Christ as a member of the Holy Priesthood.<br />
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He did preach the gospel at every turn and yet ironically, he was not preachy. This Acts story is a great example. Paul and Silas go down to the river "where prayer was customarily made" and talked with the women who met there. They went to a group of women whom they knew would be receptive to talking with them. They were careful to throw seeds to fertile soil. Lydia overheard them and consequently was saved and baptised. Too often we as Christians try to force the message of salvation onto infertile soil. We do this because we get our role mixed up with the Holy Spirit's role. We somehow think that it is our job to get people saved when that is the furthest thing from the truth! Our job is to be witnesses, to be available, to obey, to be confident in our position in Christ, to show love, to be the vessel to show His light, to ultimately bring glory to God through our lives. It is the Holy Spirit's job to soften hearts, draw people to Himself and to ultimately give them the saving knowledge that Jesus is salvation. It is an amazing thing to see; that moment when someone realizes that true hope eternal does exist, that salvation is theirs for the taking, but we as Christians are just the messenger, we are not the ones who did that work. So when we try and force the message of Jesus and salvation onto those whose hearts and minds have not been readied to receive it by the Holy Spirit, we might as well be preaching salvation to a rock. <br />
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<u>My first lesson from Paul and Silas in this story</u>: Be aware of my audience. Seek an audience prepared to hear and allow The Holy Spirit to be in charge of who is in ear shot. It doesn't mean that God's not going to use me to bring the message of salvation to a stranger, it just means its not my job to pick that stranger, it's His.<br />
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In verses 16-18, Paul got annoyed with a woman who was possessed. She followed them for days yelling, "These men re the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." Why would this annoy Paul? It was a true statement after all. That was in fact the mission of Paul and Silas; they had dedicated their entire lives to spreading the Good News of the Gospel. But this spirit inside this woman knew something that we need to remember, the gospel message spread on infertile soil is not ignored, it is offensive. The spirit in the woman knew that by proclaiming this at random to the people would cause the people to distrust Paul and Silas before they even said a word. So Paul remedies the problem and casts out the demon. <br />
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<u>My second lesson</u>: trying to give the message of salvation to those who are not ready to hear is not useless, it can be detrimental. We might not be able to do the work of the Holy Spirit, but we sure can get in His way and make it much harder.<br />
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The result of Paul saving this woman from possession of a demon was Paul and Silas were honored with being arrested, beaten and thrown in jail. Paul had messed with some pretty influential guys cash flow and they were not going to let that go unpunished. <br />
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<u>Lesson number three</u>: doing God's work doesn't always produce the outcome that we might expect. Actually, it almost never produces the outcome we expect. We are small minded humans and God is huge minded, amazing and all powerful.<br />
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Just because we didn't expect this outcome, doesn't men that God didn't. This in fact was God's plan all along! God knew that the only way to soften the heart of a Roman jailer was a huge act of mercy, so He allowed Paul and Silas to be beaten and thrown in jail. He then allowed a great earthquake to release the chains that bound them and open the doors to the prison. God also knew that Paul and Silas would have the discernment of the Holy Spirit to know they needed to stay in that jail and they would be able to convince all the other prisoners to stay in that jail in order to save the life of the very man who had beaten every single person in the prison. I can only imagine how strong the presence of the Holy Spirit must have been at midnight in that Roman jail in Philippi when a broken, tired and bloody duo came in, were locked into stocks and began to sing hymns of praise. Can you see the hardened faces of the prisoners softening and wondering, 'what on earth would cause these two to sing praise songs?' I wonder what Paul and Silas said to them after the earthquake to convince them to stay? They were all criminals after all; I doubt they were staying out of a sense of morality. Had Paul and Silas's singing caused the others to begin to ask questions? <br />
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So the jailer was about to kill himself when he heard Paul say that all the prisoners were still there. The jailer runs in and sees that it is true and then asks THE QUESTION, "what must I do to be saved?" Ahh, the soil was fertile. The amazing act of mercy along with the unashamed praises to their King had earned Paul and Silas the right to preach the gospel. The result was an entire household being saved and probably a few of those prisoners. <br />
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<u>Lesson four</u>: willing obedience to God regardless of the consequences always leads to a greater result that we could ever imagine.<br />
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<u>Lesson five</u>: acts of mercy often lead to Christians earning the right to share the gospel to fertile soil.<br />
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<u>Lesson six</u>: Praise God all the time, no matter what, no matter where. He really is the reason I am alive and He is always ALWAYS worthy of praise.<br />
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I want to be God's witness and vessel to share His Gospel. I don't want to be a road block to people on their way to meeting Jesus.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-24695143046656470882013-01-14T11:10:00.000-05:002013-01-14T11:10:03.839-05:00Hello 2013In my quest to set some new goals for this year, I stumbled on my blog. I haven't written here since 2010 which isn't all that surprising, considering how crazy 2011 & 2012 were for me. One of my goals for 2013, however, is to start writing again. In order to do that, I am going to give a very brief rundown of the experiences and challenges of the last 2 years:<br />
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2011 - The year started out pretty well and then, just before Easter, the rug was pulled out from under me along with many of the people I know. The Pastor of the church that Rich and I had attended and help build for the last 5 years admitted to a 2 and a half year affair with his assistant. That in of itself would have been bad enough, but his wife is one of my best friends. The result of this admission meant the end of that church as we knew it. The church itself did move on under the directions and leadership of another church and today it is a growing vibrant church. the former pastor and his wife began the long hard road to reconciliation and I am happy to say that today they are doing quite well. Rich and I however, were both very clearly told by God that our time at that church was over and we were to move on. <br />
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Everything in our life at the time was wrapped up in that church. Our friendships, our community service, our social lives and our spiritual growth. I honestly couldn't imagine my life any differently so this call to leave was devastating. But we were strong enough in our faith and feared God just enough to obey so we did. This came at a bigger cost than I expected. We had not only lost our church, which was a great source of security for us, we began loosing most of our friends.<br />
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2012 - This year began with a "Good Riddance" party to 2011 and a renewed hope for 2012. After a great deal of rather painful searching, we finally found the church that God was sending us to, Cartersville First Baptist Church. We were both surprised, quite frankly, because it is a very traditional church. Having grown up in a traditional Baptist church, I was completely comfortable. I welcomed the structure of Sunday School, Choir led worship and Wednesday night supper at the church, but this was all foreign to my husband who did not go to church growing up and was born and raised in Southern California. <br />
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Once again, Rich and I both heard God very clearly. This was the church He had for us, and He was putting us into a time of rest and renewal, preparing us for a much bigger assignment to come. Over this last year, we have seen God be faithful in that. He has given us rest, renewal, wisdom and a clarity of His word. <br />
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I have come to realize that my life and my efforts were in need of re centering. I was spending so much time on things outside my family and my marriage that I had neglected the very ministry that God had told me to put first. I was so focused on having a big group of friends who all loved me and having a large social agenda that I wasn't being a good mother, wife or true friend to anyone. I had neglected my parents whom we had moved to Georgia to be near in the first place. <br />
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This past year, I have spent time correcting those things. I spend much more time with my kids, enjoying them, playing with them and praying for them. I have concentrated on my relationship with my husband which has been wonderful and hard all at the same time. We have grown a great deal and all growth involves growing pains. We have spent more time with my parents nurturing and growing those relationships. I have allowed God to order my outside friendships and I have concentrated on the few that He has allowed to remain from my past and the wonderful new ones He has gifted to me. I have come to realize that my self worth is not in the number of people who like me, but in my relationship to Christ and in my ability to be a good friend to others.<br />
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2012 did have some other big hurdles: Rich had a second cancer scare and we had to end a relationship with a young adult that we had mentored for several years, but these events proved to strengthen our faith and our ability to trust and obey God, even when we didn't fully understand. It has been a great source of comfort and strength to be able to look back over these last 2 years and see how much God has grown my faith, my trust and my willingness to obey.<br />
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So as 2013 begins, I am beginning with a renewed spirit. I am content in the period of rest that God has placed me in and I will be ready to take on the next assignment He gives us. Until that big assignment comes, I will serve the ones He puts before me and remain ready to say yes, no matter what the call.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-20199954864232197012010-10-18T09:04:00.000-04:002010-10-18T09:04:06.636-04:00My God is ScaryHow often have people said the sentence, "If God is so good, then how come He kills all those people in the Old Testament?" I bet this thought has been used hundreds of times to explain why someone does not believe in or follow Christ. Or they may say, "Why does God let bad things happen to good people?" My first question to that is what is your definition of good, but that is a whole other post. The thing is, people want God to be nice, loving and sweet. I think we want to picture Him like a sweet grandmother who is always there with hugs, kisses, candy and a comforting story to read to us. We want Him to rock us to sleep at night and fix our boo boos when we fall down and hurt ourselves. We want Him to love us no matter what and fix all our problems, whether we caused them or not. We love the God is Love part. We bask in the God is gracious, kind, and slow to anger part. We relish the God will work everything out for our good part. And we want all of this without the God is Justice, Creator, Avenger of the Faith, and Holy part. We like God to be sweet and soft, not big and mean.<br />
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But can God truly be sweet and soft without being big and mean? We live in a world that is ruled by the devil. The bible says the earth is Satan's domain. Is a God who will not or cannot defend us from evil truly a God of love? If you were a child that grew up in a rough neighborhood with gangs and criminals all around you, what was more comforting for you: your grandmother's hugs and stories or your father's ability to handle his gun and defend your home? <br />
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Here is the bottom line: We live in a big ugly world full of people and spirits that are out to get you. If I am going to survive life in this rough of a neighborhood, I want to know that my Daddy can defend me before I will feel safe. I want a God who can beat Goliath, who can destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, who can wipe out entire armies and nations for that matter. I want the God who can part the Red Sea and feed me for 40 years. I want the God who expects me to stay within His fortress and doesn't ask me to fend for myself. <br />
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Yes, I also want God to be loving, patient and long suffering with me. I want God to meet me at my shortcomings and shore up my doubts and unbelief, but I do not want a God that is weak. I already know all too well how weak I am. I want my God to be big, scary and without weakness. I want Him to be Love so completely that He is willing to protect me and all of His children at any cost.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-74726878781145848222010-08-28T12:43:00.000-04:002010-08-28T12:43:54.257-04:00All Things Work Together For Good"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28<br />
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All things; God says all things. <br />
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Absolutes are not a successful part of the human experience. We are far too flawed to do anything consistently all the time, good or bad. We are equally unsuccessful at not doing things all the time. How many times have we said to ourselves, "wow, I will never do that again," only to turn around and in fact do it again. <br />
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So as a human, who is intimately acquainted with my inability to "always" or "never" do something, this verse stopped me in my tracks the other day. I couldn't help but ask God the question, "Really? All things? All the good ones and the bad? You really are going to use everything in my life, past, present and future for good? The truth is, I just can't see how that is possible."<br />
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But God very gently answered me, "You don't have to be able to see how that is possible, because I do know how it's possible."<br />
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So why is it so hard for me to see how it is possible? Do I doubt God's ability? Well, if I am being completely honest, I guess I do. Not so much because I think He's inadequate, but because I know the darkness of the things that have happened in my life and in the lives of other people whom I know are believers! I mean, let's face it, some really horrible things have happened in the world to people. People are abused, victimized and hurt everyday. And on the other side of that coin, people are abusers, aggressors and even murderers. Yet some of those very people come to know Christ and are in fact "called according to His purpose." Paul, who actually wrote Romans, is a perfect example of that. He was a murderer and yet was called by God. So if I am to take the Bible, and God, at His word, that means that all those things work together for good too. Do you blame me for being skeptical? Are you skeptical too?<br />
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But thankfully, I am not the final say on whether what God says is true. As God reminded me, I don't have to know how, I just have to know WHO. As I have grown in my relationship with Christ, I have learned who He is. Studying the old testament has taught me a great deal about God's character and through prayer and personal experience, I have learned that God has never let me down. He has in fact carried me when I needed carrying, walked beside me when I needed a companion and worked through me once I finally came to the end of myself and gave it all over to Him. The Creator is much smarter than the creation. God doesn't need me to understand how He does things in order for Him to be capable of being consistent and successful with absolutes such as ALL.<br />
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So do I know how God will use all of my past, present and future for good? no. But I do know that He will and on that promise, I can rest.<br />
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As a matter of fact, He has never failed. He has always been and He has never contradicted Himself. So I will sit back, rest on Him and watch how He can turn ugly to beautiful and grief into Joy.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-87195909186862764612010-06-24T12:24:00.000-04:002010-06-24T12:24:08.726-04:00Top Ten Parenting TipsSome of these I have learned on my own, some are from the bible, my mom and my mentors.<br />
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1. Put your kids to bed! One of the biggest factors in a child's behavior is lack of sleep. C<span class="goog-spellcheck-word">hildren</span> need 10 - 14 hours of sleep each 24 hour period. Give a child a consistent bedtime and give them enough time to sleep. Give younger kids a nap everyday. I promise, this will help improve their behavior!<br />
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2. Never name your child Grace. Not even the middle name! It is a self fulfilling prophecy that means you will need more grace for that child! D<span class="goog-spellcheck-word">on't</span> believe me? ask anyone who has a child named Grace!<br />
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3. L<span class="goog-spellcheck-word">et</span> your yes be yes and no be no. If you say it, mean it. If you threaten it, do it. It sounds simple, but I know it's hard. You are a parent now and can't afford to be too tired or too busy to follow through. Just think of it this way, you can either deal with it when they are 2 or 3 or you can deal with it when they are teenagers. I am not saying that if you are consistent when they are young, they will be perfect as teenagers, but if your kids know that you mean what you say, your word will go <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">alot</span> further when they are teenagers.<br />
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4. Yes, it is more important to play Barbie, hide and seek or star wars than to have a clean house. Your child and your friends don't care if your house isn't perfect. Your child won't even remember! But they will remember that you built a tent out of sheets in their bedroom or that you use to hide in the closet for hide and seek. I don't think you have to be your child's only playmate, but I do think parents should play, really play with their children everyday.<br />
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5. I think it is more important to have family time together than to be in a sport or other activity. If your family doesn't have at least 3 or 4 meals a week together, you or your kids are probably over scheduled.<br />
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6. The single most important gift you can give your child is an excellent relationship with Christ. Be a witness for Christ to your children by having a vibrant active relationship with Him!<br />
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7. The <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">seco</span><span class="goog-spellcheck-word">nd</span> most important gift you can give your child is to have an excellent relationship with your child's other parent. If you are married to them, love them with everything in you! Wake up every morning thinking about how you can out serve and show love to your spouse today. If you are not married to your child's other parent, never, never, NEVER speak badly of them! respect them and keep the lines of communication open with them. It is no longer about you, it is about raising your kids.<br />
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8. Teach your children how to handle failure, disappointment and injustice by handling it well when it happens to you. Own up to your mistakes. Sometimes, it really is your fault, not the circumstance or someone <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">else's</span> fault.<br />
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9. Allow your children's grandparents to spoil them. Everyone should have someone in their life that thinks they can do no wrong. It may take some "detoxing" once the child comes back home after a stay with the grandparents, but I think that is a small price to pay for the benefit of having another group of people that pour love into your child. Take it from someone who grew up without grandparents! It is an amazing gift.<br />
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10. PRAY specific, bold extraordinary prayers for your children everyday. God has great plans for them! Put them in His hands everyday.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-34975969276708396412010-06-03T12:20:00.000-04:002010-06-03T12:20:54.526-04:00How old were the disciples?This past year in <a href="http://bsfinternational.org/"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word">BSF</span></a>, we studied the book of John. I have never done such an in depth study of this book and I have to say, it has been an amazing life changing experience. (side note: every encounter with G<span class="goog-spellcheck-word">od's</span> word should be life changing, shouldn't it?) Anyway, because of this, I have decided to study Acts over the summer. For the past few days I have been thinking about the disciples and the huge responsibility that was placed on them by Jesus and I wondered: how old were they? This is what I have come up with and I WELCOME and encourage those of you with far more theological and historical knowledge to add input.<br />
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It looks to me like all of them, but Peter, were between the ages of 16 - 20. I am basing my conclusion on a couple passages of scripture. Exodus 30:11-16 explains the Temple Tax and it says that all men over the age of 20 had to pay half a shekel. In Matthew 17:24-27, we are given the story of when Jesus and Peter pay the Temple Tax with a shekel that was in the mouth of a fish that Peter had caught. All the disciples were with Jesus at this time, so if they all owed the tax, why wouldn't he pay the tax for all of them? This led me to believe that all but Peter are age 20 and under. <br />
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The other thing I saw in my research and a sermon that <a href="http://youcanknowgod.com/">Michael <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Lukaszewski</span></a> preached recently, was that all Jewish males went to Hebrew school to study under a rabbi and to learn the scriptures until the age of 12. At that time, only the "cream of the crop" went on to continue studying to eventually become a rabbi and the others went to start a trade. Since the disciples were all in a trade, they would have started it at about the age of 12, so by 16 they would have been completely entrenched in that trade as these guys were.<br />
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So what does it matter? Well, it probably doesn't, but I think it's interesting. The fate of the entire church and the spreading of the gospel was put into the hands of a group of teenagers and young adults. Oh, and the Ho<span class="goog-spellcheck-word">ly</span> Spirit, which is the lesson for me: dependence on the Holy Spirit is the ONLY way to accomplish what God has put me on this earth to do.<br />
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Let's face it, I am completely inadequate to do just about everything that God has charged me to do: raise my children, be a good wife, be a good friend, be a witness for God. I am comforted by the fact that the disciples were inadequate too and they were still able to accomplish the task that God had given them, because of the filling of the Holy Spirit. I think for this, their youth may have been an advantage! I remember at that age thinking I could do anything, be anything and that I knew everything. This attitude of invincibility probably helped them to not focus on the magnitude of the task at hand. At the same time, knowing that they were young and small in number, probably helped them to lean harder and become more dependent on the Holy Spirit.<br />
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This is my lesson: Yes, I am inadequate, but I am serving and working for a completely adequate God! I must lean hard on the Holy Spirit and never take credit as if I had anything to do with it, besides having the <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">pri</span>vi<span class="goog-spellcheck-word">le</span><span class="goog-spellcheck-word">dge</span> of witnessing His work first hand as it happens through me.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-79574356638777928402010-05-26T10:36:00.000-04:002010-05-26T10:36:30.162-04:00IJP4UIJP4U - I just prayed for you. My mom texts me this often and I cannot tell you how good it makes me feel! It is better than an "I love you" or an "I miss you." It is the ultimate expression of love in my eyes. Think about it. My mom just stopped her day to enter the throne room of the living God and instead of asking for something for herself or for world peace, she asked God to think of me. The very same God that knows the names of all the stars and the number of grains of sand lining the ocean. <br />
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I think we as Christians tend to say we will pray for people rather flippantly. How many times have I told someone I would pray for them and never did? How many times have I thought, "I really don't want to get myself involved in that situation so I will just tell them I am praying instead of actually helping." The truth is, truly praying for a situation is the ultimate act of service, IF you actually do the praying. On the flip side of that, saying we will pray for someone and not actually doing it is the ultimate act of betrayal. I<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background: yellow;">t's</span> like telling someone who just lost their job that you will hand deliver their resume to the owner of a company that you have an intimate relationship with and then never actually doing it, but saying you did. What kind of friend does that? And yet, I have to admit I am guilty. I have told people I would pray and never done it. I have asked people to pray for me knowing full well they would not do it either.<br />
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I found that the answer goes back to that text from my mom. My mom once told me to never tell someone that you are going to pray for them, only tell them after you have done it. This way, you aren't setting yourself up for failure before it even happens and when you do deliver the news, that you have prayed, they don't have to wonder, "Are you really going to pray for me?" <br />
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Pr<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background: yellow;">ayer</span> is the single most important tool we have as Christians. Only God changes hearts, only God controls the consequences of <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background: yellow;">li</span><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background: yellow;">fe</span> that is around us and only God is in charge of the universe. Going to Him for help, comfort, provision and support is the most effective thing we can do to help those around us. Thanking Him for caring about us is vital to our own well being.<br />
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Don't lie about praying. REALLY PRAY! IJP4UKelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-38531494531879609112010-05-25T14:32:00.000-04:002010-05-25T14:32:09.517-04:00Christianity should not be safe<div>There is a local Christian radio station who's tag line is "safe for the whole family." I totally understand what they mean and I love the station, but when I hear that, I automatically think, "my brother wouldn't think so." My brother is not a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Christian</span> and so all things <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Christian</span> or even things about God get him fired up. When my nephew was young, my brother would not let my mom take him to bible study with her because my nephew would then come home and start asking his dad questions that my brother was not ready to answer.</div><br />
This got me to thinking. Christianity is not safe and quite frankly, it shouldn't be! Jesus was crucified on a cross! Peter was crucified upside down for being a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Christian</span>. Stephen was stoned to death, Paul spent most of his life in jails. Ask the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Christian</span> in China how safe it is. Jesus himself said that they persecuted me, they will persecute you.<br />
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<div>So why is it that we tell people to come to Jesus and your life will be great! That is a lie! What we should be saying is come to Jesus, life will be harder, you will experience pain, hardship, persecution and probably die because of it, but it's so worth it! Because your life will have purpose, meaning and your soul will be filled. You will realize that this life is just a game and the real deal is coming after death. </div><br />
<div>I feel sorry for people who wear Jesus like a suit. They just put Him on when they need to look good or get out of a particular situation and then put Him back in the closet when they want to do things their own way. I know, I used to be that person. What an empty, sad life! How alone they feel. I pray that every person who lives this way will have something major rock their world so they can come face to face with the true power of Christ and they can learn to live authentically through Him.</div><br />
<div>I pray that we as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Christians</span> will stop <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">lying</span> to people to try and get them "on the side of God" and start telling them the truth so they too can have a real <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">relationship</span> with the one true living God. It is a dangerous life to live, but I for one like danger! Especially when I know we already won.</div>Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-68576659782227655142010-05-24T11:04:00.000-04:002010-05-24T11:04:20.750-04:00ImmigrationI am not very political but I feel strongly about immigration. It seems that the liberals are up in arms about the new Arizona immigration law and the conservatives are somehow offended that the liberals don't like the law. First, I want to point out that on a scale, I lean more liberal than I do conservative on many things, I am a tree-hugging <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">recycler</span> who thinks we should care about people, all people, so I am not about to bash anyone, liberal or conservative, but I want to say my opinion.<br />
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The truth is, it has nothing to do with this law. It is the fact that this law got passed and real reform is at a stand still. As it has been pointed out by many, there is no real need for this law. It is already a Federal crime to be in this country illegally. I mean really, what part of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Illegal</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">don't</span> we understand? If Arizona, and all states would simply enforce the laws we have on the books, they would be able to detain and deport who ever they wanted. The problem is, no one wants to pass or enforce a law that punishes the companies that actually employ illegals. We get very self righteous about this topic and say that if someone wants to be in this country they should go through the proper channels, and fundamentally, I agree with that, but our ridiculously screwed up immigration system makes that nearly impossible for the average person. If you are face to face with an actual person who is here illegally and they tell you their story, it will most likely be that they are here to work, to provide food, clothing and shelter for their family and an education for their children. Most people are not here to become drug dealers or to blow anything up, yet we are making them the enemy, when in fact the enemy is already a US citizen. It is the person who employs the people who are here illegally. They employ them for less than minimum wage, don't provide them benefits and don't pay taxes for them. They do it because if the company gets caught, they might get fined, but the fine is far less than what they would have to pay if they had to pay each person what they were worth. How is it that we can say we care about people, and also say it is OK for employers to treat them like, well, slaves?<br />
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I have heard the argument that we need these laborers, who else would spend all day picking strawberries, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">avocados</span>, onions, etc., but if we need then, then lets make the process of getting into this country legally <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">accessible</span> to all people and then let's pay them as if they are a real person, not just a "laborer." Instead, we want them to come here and pick our strawberries for $2 an hour but don't want to provide them with health care, education or basic human rights? How is that respecting human life? How is that treating everyone with dignity? I have heard that if we don't use this cheap labor force then our economy will collapse. All I have to say about this is that is the EXACT same argument that the south used to try and keep slavery alive.<br />
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If every person who is here illegally and is working had to go through a process to get documented, and then paid taxes and then every company had to provide at least minimum wage, pay taxes and pay for basic benefits, we would probably solve most our economic woes.<br />
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I think the problem is we are trying to correct this problem by punishing the people on the bottom of the problem instead of the top. I understand why, the people on the bottom don't contribute to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">political</span> campaigns and they don't vote. That, however, doesn't make it right, and it <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">certainly</span> doesn't make the problem go away.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-88509155390557525042010-05-21T12:34:00.005-04:002010-05-21T12:55:29.229-04:00Bake him a cake!I strive to be a good wife to my husband and a good mother to my children. I have found that for most women, those are our two top goals! So I have decided to start writing the things I have learn about marriage and family in my blog. I hope this can be a blessing to you!<br /><br />Two of my friends, Naomi and Tina, went to the pool together and were talking. Tina said she had to go home to bake a cake, Naomi asked what was the special occasion. Tina said, "There is no occasion, but my husband has been out of town and comes home today, so I want him to come home to the house smelling good so I am going to bake a cake."<br /><br />When Naomi was telling me the story, she said she felt bad because she had never baked a cake for her husband when he came home from being out of town. But I told her that I beg to differ! She has "baked a cake" for him plenty of times! When he is out of town, she weeds his garden, keeps his tomato plants in their cages and ensures he comes home to a clean house. For Naomi's husband, that is what speaks love to him. For my hubby, when he comes home to a house that smells like bleach, that speaks love to him. I have another friend who's husband smiles from ear to ear when he comes home to a house that smells like dinner and the kids are playing together because they have all finished their homework.<br /><br />I think the lesson is, it's not about trying to become someone else and mimicking their actions, but about seeing <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">someones</span> biblical character traits and reflecting that.<br /><br />So I ask you, how do you bake your husband a cake?<br /><br />(Thanks for being an inspiration, Tina!)Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-19059433557939039232010-01-24T13:31:00.003-05:002010-01-24T13:46:27.804-05:00John - 7 SignsThe book of John has 7 miracles, which John call signs. Each miracle highlights a different aspect of Jesus’ character as well as proving that He is in fact the Christ, the True Messiah. I focused on the character traits of Christ and what they meant to me. I hope they will bless you to see Jesus in this way as well.<br /><br />1. Jesus the Problem Solver – John 2:1 - 11 – Jesus turns water into wine<br />- He meets us at our shortcomings and completely satisfies the need with excellence.<br />- The only people who knew what Jesus had done were the servants, the disciples, Mary and the host. Jesus performed this miracle, not to prove his deity to the wedding party, but to the disciples. Sometimes Jesus does big things for just a few people. That is how important we are to Him.<br /><br />2. Jesus the Healer – John 4:43-54 – Jesus heals the official’s son<br />- There is no medicine like His Living Water<br />- He shows he can heal anytime, anywhere. He <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">doesn</span>’t have to be present to heal, and the person receiving the healing <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">doesn</span>’t have to meet a certain criteria. The official and his son were not Jews.<br />- Jesus says that He knows that people won’t believe unless they see miraculous signs and wonders and so He does just that.<br />- The official took Jesus at His word and took the two day journey home. He didn't have any proof that Jesus had done anything. He just believed Him. Do I do that?<br /><br />3. Jesus the Merciful – John 5:1-15 – Jesus Heals at the Pool<br />- We are not deserving and yet He gives<br />- Jesus shows mercy to a random person who is so busy complaining about his circumstances, he <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">doesn</span>’t even see that Jesus is there to make him well.<br />- Jesus abolishes the religious tradition that interferes with the spirit of the law.<br />- this is also the first time He says plainly that He is the Son of God.<br /><br />4. Jesus the Provider – John 6:1-15 – Jesus feeds 5,000<br />- He is able and wants to provide for all our needs in abundance!<br />- If we will give Him everything, no matter how big or how small, Jesus will use it in a great and mighty way to meet our needs and to do great things!<br />- Only 2 people had faith that Jesus could solve the problem – The little boy and the disciple Andrew – but Jesus used the faith of those 2 to bless everyone and increase the faith of everyone. I wonder if that little boy knew he would have such a huge impact on eternity when he took that food with him to hear a new teacher speak?<br /><br />5. Jesus the Deliverer – John 6:16-24 – Jesus walks on water<br />- He meets us in the middle of the storm.<br />- The disciples were afraid, but that <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">didn</span>’t stop Jesus from saving them. Once we are in His hands, our fear and even our lack of faith cannot stop Jesus from delivering me from evil.<br /><br />6. Jesus the Authority – John 9:1-12 – Jesus heals the man born blind<br />- His words, His rules come before all else.<br />- Jesus had already proven he could heal people, this time it <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">wasn</span>’t about the healing, but about getting rid of false doctrine and tradition. Jesus once again healed on the Sabbath, and he healed a man that was born blind. It was widely thought that a person born with an illness or disability were that way because of the sins of their parents. Jesus corrects this thought as well.<br /><br />7. Jesus the Savior – John 11:1-44 – Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead<br />- He brings us from death to life.<br />- John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”<br />- This shows Jesus’ authority over death and is the end of His public ministry. After this, He is preparing for His own death and resurrection.<br /><br />We serve an amazing and mighty God. He truly does supply every need. Do I allow Him to do so? Do I really live as if I serve a God with all of these characteristics? There is an amazing Hymn that comes to mind:<br /><br />"Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,<br />Just to take Him at His word,<br />Just to rest upon His promise,<br />Just to know thus sayeth the Lord."Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-77248070669526587472009-12-24T03:19:00.004-05:002009-12-24T03:56:16.798-05:00Christmas EveI woke up this morning with the wonderful song "For unto us a Child is born," in my head. I was blessed to be able to sing this song when I was in college and was a member of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra Choir, and that is <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">always</span> the version I hear in my head. It got me thinking about Jesus as a baby and how utterly amazing it is that God decided to enter the world this way.<br /><br /><br /><br />The God of all creation chose to come into the world helpless, unable to even feed himself. Mary not only birthed him, (without an <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">epidural</span>, mind you!) but she also fed him, changed his diaper, rocked him to sleep when he was crying (And yes, despite the Christmas Carol, of course baby Jesus cried! It is not a sin to cry so why wouldn't he?). I will admit, I have control issues, but this is truly amazing: God gave up ALL control, even of His basic needs, so I started to think, why?<br /><br /><br /><br />I believe everything Jesus did on earth was to teach or show us something. He could have simply come as a man, appeared on the scene and still lived a sinless life and died on the cross for our sins, but He chose to live a whole life, why? What do we learn from this?<br /><br /><br /><br />1. Dependency - God asks us for complete dependency. He says, "die to yourself, and give me everything. Trust me completely with everything you are and want to do with your life." I think that is somehow easier to take from someone who understands the feeling of letting go all control. He also let go all control on the cross, but maybe His earthly body was better able to do that because He had <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">practiced</span> as a child. Which is my second point,<br /><br />2. Practice - The hard things usually do take practice. A good athlete doesn't get to be good without <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">a lot</span> of practice. Look at Gideon. It took him <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">a lot</span> of practice to get to the point where he could just obey God without question. If Jesus was fully God AND fully man when He walked on earth, then I would think that getting Himself to the cross in complete obedience and letting go of all control would take practice. He often says in the book of John that He can only do the will of the one who sent Him. That kind of obedience and dependency takes practice.<br /><br />3. Connection through shared experience - I have noticed that if I am trying to get to know someone better and get to point of true friendship that it comes easier with shared experiences. If we have both been to Yosemite or have both done the same <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">embarrassing</span> thing, it is somehow easier to then get deeper with that person. Maybe this is why God came as a baby too. I mean, seriously, He's God. He already knows every human experience and emotion without having to experience them in the flesh, but I somehow feel better praying to Jesus about my temptations, fears and struggles knowing He has felt them in the flesh. Maye just <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">because</span> my finite mind can't wrap around the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">infiniteness</span> (probably not a real word) of God, but even so, I am comforted by Christ's humanness.<br /><br /><br />The fact that Jesus was a baby, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">helpless</span> and fully dependant is convicting for me. Who am I to try and control anything? Jesus later says that to be the greatest in heaven, you must be the least. He was born to a poor family, in a stable, laid in a feeding <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">troth</span>. He grew up and died a criminal's death. He truly was the least and He truly is the greatest.<br /><br />"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Mighty</span> God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6<br /><br />Merry ChristmasKelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-19925041283854736062009-08-18T10:50:00.007-04:002009-08-18T11:25:11.598-04:00My song of praiseAll creation cries out your Name<br />Singing glory <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">hallelujah</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">when I feel the wind on my face</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">I am reminded of Your gentle power</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">And loving grace</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Your strong Tower</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">and warm embrace</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">That you beg me to rest under Your wing</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">And bask in your true beauty and light</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">In Your presence I hear salvations ring</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">and see your promises become light</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Although I am rebelious and immature</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">You are constant and pure</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Your justice is tempered only by Your grace</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">And I am humbled and thankful to be allowed</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">a glimpse of Your face</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Who am I that You would think of me?</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">And yet you call me precious and princess</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Who and I that You would consider me?</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">And yet you died for me.</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">My king who washes His disciples feet</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">And willfully goes to the cross in percieved defeit</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">yet death has no sting</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">no victory</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">You hold the universe in one hand</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">and me in the other....me, You love</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Me...You hear</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Me...You save</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">What can I do but praise</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">What can I say but thank you</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">I rest at the foot of the cross</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">And in the shadow of Your wing</span>Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-33960852159613088342009-08-17T09:56:00.004-04:002009-08-17T10:16:16.432-04:00What Does a Christian Look Like?I was asked this question about a month ago and I have been thinking abut it ever since. It's interesting because it can be so different. Here is my attempt to answer:<br /><br />A <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Christian</span> looks like me who grew up in a Christian home and yet strayed for many years, mired myself in a life of sin and then came broken and dirty to the foot of the cross. It also looks like my friend Jennie who has lived an amazing life of integrity, who has always known her self worth came from Christ Himself and was <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">able t</span>o present herself pure to her husband on her wedding night. Or like <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rich</span> who did not grow up in a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Christian</span> home and yet had a God given knowledge in his soul that he there had <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">to b</span>e more to life. A <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Christian</span> also looks like my dear friend Ernie who died several years ago at the age of 35. He was plagued with an <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">addiction</span> to alcohol and although he tried to "kick the habit" was never able to do it.<br /><br />A <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Christian</span> can be in a nice suit with perfect hair <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">singing</span> hymns every Sunday or can be <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">tattooed</span> and pierced and rocking out to heavy metal. She can be calm and demure or loud and obnoxious. He can be a shrewed business man or an out of work construction worker. He can have a foul mouth or be an eloquent speaker. She can <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">have</span> it all together or be a complete disorganized mess.<br /><br />The bottom line is <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">being</span> a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">Christian</span> has nothing to do with who we are as a person. It isn't how we dress or how we were raised. It isn't what sins we commit and which demons we a conquered. Being a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">Christian</span> has very little to do with me and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">everything</span> to do with CHRIST! I have to do one thing to be a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">Christian</span>: SURRENDER. He does the rest.<br /><br />When it all comes down to it, working out my salvation doesn't mean I have to keep trying to be a better person, it means I have to keep surrendering more and more of my old sinful self to God who He can get rid of it and replace it with the new creation that He has allowed me to become through His grace and the gift of His Son.<br /><br />Is a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">Christian</span> perfect? NO - Christ is perfect!Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319703499403482936.post-57884003070026993002009-08-15T06:51:00.003-04:002009-08-15T06:58:58.216-04:00Pure WorshipGod gave me a great gift the other day. I have been struggling lately that I haven't <em>Felt</em> the Holy Spirit during my prayer time lately. I know God is <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">listening</span>. I believe His word when He says that the Holy Spirit intercedes for me, but the "feeling" hadn't come in a while.<br /><br />I was driving home in my car and Faith Hill's song "I can feel you breathe" came on the radio. I closed my eyes and sang it to God. It was an amazing, spirit filled moment. It did not require a big build up of 3 hours on my knees or an eloquent prayer. I was just suddenly in His throne room, feeling Him hold me and breathe His life giving breath on my shoulders. It was amazing and the exact thing I needed.<br /><br />Thank you, God for meeting my every need, all the time.Kelly Nagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02250906530363682178noreply@blogger.com0