Encouragement.

I don't know about yall but i feel like the best gift i can be given is encouragement. Encouragement that God is working in the lives of others and are proclaiming his goodness to others. Here is an awesome blog post from a sorority sister in Auburn. i hope this encourages you as much as it encouraged me!
http://chasingthecloud.blogspot.com/2010/08/chance-encounters.html

Summer time [Part 1]

So far this summer has been super busy with work and school, but i have managed to have a little bit of fun! Here is an update on what's been going on so far this summer.

Mexican dinner for Chris' going away party! Chris is amazing and will be missed. Kentucky is lucky :)

Got to spend some lovely time with my girls before we all got super busy with summer!

SummerQuest was a long week but was a fantastic one! Joanna found out she was having a BOY this week and we are all so excited!

I was blessed to get to spend my 21st birthday with some amazing friends!

I had to pleasure of attending Sarah Hardekopf and Justin Hefner's wedding on the my birthday. Here is a picture of wonderful friends, including Sarah's beautiful sister and maid-of-honor Katie!

Sarah Hardekopf, one of the most beautiful women on the inside--She was a stunning bride!

Some of my family got to make a quick trip up to Charleston to see my cousins opening of her restaurant Hammett's landing!

The incredible owners of Hammett's Landing. If your ever in Charleston, South Carolina you have to cross on over into Daniel's Island and eat there! It is amazing!

So happy i got to spend some time with my beautiful cousin Tamra.

Blessed.

This last week I had to the privilege to be a part of the Camp of Champions- a camp held every year for foster children and foster families. I have gone to this camp growing up, being that my dad works for the Alabama Baptist Children's Home, but this year was different, mostly because my heart has been broken for these children.

Of course I kept the toddlers :) and had the opportunity to love on them while their foster parents attended seminars to educate them on their children and adoption. I have never been around children who are starving for love and attention like these children. I would have 3 and 4 children in my lap at all times and i wouldn't have wanted any other way. Here are some incredible pictures my sister Stefanie took from the week.

Savannah and Tate were so happy to be reunited. For those of you who don't know we adopted Savannah when she was 2 and we had Tate as a foster child right when he was born weighing 2 pounds. They didn't leave each others side the entire week.

Scrapbooking.

For those of you who know me know that i LOVE to scrapbook. It relaxes me! I have had several people ask me if i would put a scrapbook together if they provide me with the pictures. Here are a few pictures from a scrapbook i made for Savannah about a year ago--all of the other albums i have made are with the people i made them for :)

I do not set a price for a scrapbook it's whatever your heart desires :)

If you are interested please let me know, by either emailing me: kldewhurst@crimson.ua.edu or my cell phone number is 205-516-9147.

A Call to Action. Something Worth Losing Everything For.

A lot has been on my heart lately. After asking the Lord to make me uncomfortable he has done just that. But honestly I’m afraid of getting out of my comfort zone. I’m afraid of surrendering control. I’m afraid of what it might mean to have my behavior demonstrate that I care. What might that cost me? My heart has been broken more than i ever imagined it could be. Its taken my days to write this blog because i can't start it without sobbing. All my thoughts revolve around orphans and widows, but specifically orphans. I have no idea what the Lord has in store for me, but i do know that he is preparing my heart for something huge. Im so excited, but so very scared. It could be that the Lord is calling me to a foreign country to work in an orphanage. It could be that the Lord is preparing my heart to one day adopt. Right now all i know is that i have to be willing. Willing to lay down everything for my savior.

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."

James 1:27

I am overwhelmed with a sense of guilt. I want to spend my time blessing others and proclaiming his name but somehow it always comes back down to being all about ME. I am tired of making things about ME and not about HIM!

I have only read a small portion of Radical by David Platt and it has already rocked my world. He says, "Wake up and realize there are infinitely more important things in your life than football and a 401(k). Wake up and realize there are more battles to be fought, so different from the superficial meaningless "battles" we focus on. Wake up to the countless multitudes who are currently destined for a christless eternity.

Reminded: IT'S NOT ABOUT ME.

My prayer is that i stay broken, i NEVER want to go back to the place where I was. Our God is so good.

Don't Waste Your Cancer.

http://www.theresurgence.org/dont_waste_your_cancer

As a daughter who has watched my mom suffer from the atrocious and painful effects of cancer I was in tears watching this video. I was in tears because to me cancer is evil. This man is standing with a wife and 3 children having doctors tell him there is medically nothing else to be done and he has HOPE. He doesn't see his cancer as evil-he sees it as an opportunity for the Lord to be glorified.

"If God chooses to heal me then God is God and God is Good. If God doesn't choose to heal me then God is still God and God is still good. To God be the Glory."

Cancer is not wasted when it is healed by God. He gets the glory and that is why cancer exists.

I was reading an article by John Piper on his views on "Cancer", whatever your "Cancer" might be.

He says You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God. I will not do to say that God only uses our cancer but does not design it. What God permits, he permits for a reason. And that reason is his design. If God foresees molecular developments becoming cancer, he can stop it or not. If he does not, he has a purpose. Satan is real and causes many pains. But he is not ultimate.

You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift. “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).

You will waste your cancer if you think that “beating” cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ. Satan’s and God’s designs in your cancer are not the same. Satan designs to destroy your love for Christ. God designs to deepen your love for Christ. Cancer does not win if you die. It wins if you fail to cherish Christ. God’s design is to wean you off the breast of the world and feast you on the sufficiency of Christ. It is meant to help you say and feel, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” And to know that therefore, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 3:8; 1:21).

You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection. When Epaphroditus brought the gifts to Paul sent by the Philippian church he became ill and almost died. Paul tells the Philippians, “He has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill” (Philippians 2:26-27). What an amazing response! It does not say they were distressed that he was ill, but that he was distressed because they heard he was ill. That is the kind of heart God is aiming to create with cancer: a deeply affectionate, caring heart for people. Don’t waste your cancer by retreating into yourself.

You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ. Christians are never anywhere by divine accident. There are reasons for why we wind up where we do. Consider what Jesus said about painful, unplanned circumstances: “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness” (Luke 21:12 -13). So it is with cancer. This will be an opportunity to bear witness. Christ is infinitely worthy. Here is a golden opportunity to show that he is worth more than life. Don’t waste it.

Jesus is your life. He is the man before whom every knee will bow. He has defeated death once for all. He will finish what he has begun. Let your light so shine as you live in him, by him, through him, for him. One of the church’s ancient hymns puts it this way:

Christ be with me,
Christ within me,
Christ behind me,
Christ before me,
Christ beside me,
Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ in quiet,
Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger
(from “I bind unto myself the name”).

Remember you are not left alone. You will have the help you need. “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

Beth Moore

I know i have abandoned my blog lately but here is something amazing i found!

http://www.wednesdayswithbeth.com/

The Lord really uses Beth Moore in my life to teach me some of His amazing truths. Right now i am doing a study on Revelation with a group of women at church. One truth i have learned is that God is as deliberate about what He doesn't tell as what He does tell. Neither is accidental. I believe if we "take to heart what is written in it", (Revelation 1:3) we will be changed. The theme verse of this study is Revelation 17:4 (ESV), "They will make war on the Lamb and the Lamb with conquer them, for he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful."

I love that our father loves us, freed us and made us to be a kingdom. Praise the Lord.