FWB

Dear Ladies,

I guess it is about time I wrote again. Having not yet shared about our FWB (Family Without Borders) Night, I have decided to take this opportunity to let you in on a part of our life that is really exciting.

In February, seeing our family going in many directions, we decided to start having a family night. We ate, played music and worshipped together as those are our favorite things to do. The next week different ones of our family started inviting their friends and it just sort of grew. Sometimes people would say that they did not want to interfere with our family night hence the name FWB (Family Without Borders). We have been amazed to see how God touches lives without our even doing anything.

My goal is to feed every one a hearty meal that comes through the door and to try to remember their names and to hug their neck. I am amazed how hungry people are for family love and we are more than happy to dish it out. I feel like I have graduated from being the mother of 5 to being the Mom of many!

We have seen 2 people get saved (thank you Jesus & more Lord, please!!) and 2 filled with the Spirit (sorry if that does not fit in your book :-) by that I really mean that two precious people got the gift of speaking in tongues, though that did not happen in the context of a Family Night, but as a result of FWB :0)

We have seen Jesus touch hurting hearts with His gentle love. What an endearing thing to see people bloom and open up and walk in the reality of who God has made them. We have watched people step out, some for the first time, with the Song of the Lord or a prophetic word. I have even had the privilege of doing some "hight tech" mentoring via email and text messaging and of course over a cup of coffee!

The ages of our new family range from little baby to Grandmas! What is family with out the grandmas! & the babies, they both add so much joy and love. There are a few families who come on a regular basis and lots of singles, all drawn together by one passion, Jesus! We want to worship and honor our King and to come into His presence corporately, we love to soak in His presence and see lives changed. Sadly we have sent a few of our "family" off to college and one to boot camp. The Dad of one of our families is in Iraq. Many more students will come as the school year rolls around. David is going to CU Boulder and a number of kids come from there.

Usually David, Emily and Joe lead our time together with worship, getting direction from the Lord. It is different every time. Through out the night, other people jump in with the music as needed. We have a wonderful friend, Sherman, who plays guitar and sings beautifully. He also makes spaghetti for us about once a month!

Tonight there were less folks than usual, it was nice and intimate. Having a whole slew of people and being packed in like sardines is also fun. As long as the Lord is here, it doesn't really matter how many people come. Even if no one came, we would still have our Family Night. We love seeing who God brings and encouraging each one to seek God as to what He has gifted them with. We want people to have a safe place to use what God has given them. It is a joy and privilege seeing people of all ages set on fire for Jesus and seeing their view of Him expand and the light come into their eyes when they realize that they are loved by the Father. When that realization sinks in it is mindblowing.

Like I said, we eat a meal each Monday. My goal is to start eating at 6:30 so we can get to worshipping. Sometimes it does not work out the way I plan. Today I started cooking a huge vat of bean soup at 4:00 and by 5:45 they were still crunchy. I was not too happy about that. But, Josh (our 14 year old for those who don't know) said, "Mom, that's OK, we are not a restaurant." I thought that was sweet. It was nice to be reminded that we are just family. We finally ate at 7:45, and it seemed that everyone enjoyed themselves and the soup, quesadillas and salad.

We have had a few different things; baked potatoes w/ chili, tostados and green chili, bean soup with rice and quesadillas. We have had spaghetti, pizza, garden pasta salad and hotdogs and of course Josh's famous potato salad. We have had humus and pita (or tortillas) uummm...... breakfast burritos & chicken pasta salad. I can't remember what else. We always serve a huge salad and lots of sweet and unsweetened tea. We don't always have dessert but this time we had leftovers. Please ladies, I need some new ideas. I have no idea what to serve next FWB in just 6 short days. The hard part is that I am never sure how much to make. We have had over 60 people and usually not less than 30ish (including kids) it is hard to figure out. But, the Lord always leads me and once, I am sure, He multiplied the breakfast burritos. :o) We called it our Mexican loaves and fishes. Once, when we made Sloppy Joes, someone else was bringing the buns. I felt to buy another bag and we ended up using 1/2 the bag. Tonight I thought there were not going to be that many and there wasn't a ton of people.

One thing I love about FWB is that it is a family affair. Each one of us has to pull our load or it just won't work. Josh has been amazing! I think he could about run the whole thing. He is my right hand man and we have fun. Ari (he's 11) has been pulling his load and leaning to work hard. Emily (22 years old) helps when she can by stopping at the store for that one forgotten item and pitching in when she gets home from work. She also prepares for the music and generally seeks the Lord for the evening as do the older brothers, David (20 years old) and Joseph (18 yrs.). David & Joe have been helping set things up and sweeping and mopping and all the other stuff that goes into it. We have never had such a fun and exciting family activity and to think it includes all our favorite things, loving on people, getting to know Jesus more, food and lots of fellowship.

All together I can say that we feel honored and bless to be able to be a part of such a wonderful thing that God is doing. He is good & we love being a part of His Kingdom!

So, if you are in the area, please come join our FWB. We would be very blessed to have you and I think you would be blessed too! Our mailman came and a few of our neighbors as well.

So, if you are wondering, FWB is a big part of what we have been up to for the last 6 months and loving every minute of it. And, I forgot to add, sometimes, I am so not ready and God sends the most precious people to help me. Some girls have become more regular at helping, others are house guests from out of town. All in all, God has helped me and sent me help right when I have needed it the most as He does so well.

Hope you were bless by hearing about our Family Night. By the way, we start at 6:30 on Monday nights. Please come join us. You can always email me for directions. I believe we will continue on through the school year unless the Lord shows us other wise. Here is my email: Karise7@gmail.com.

Love,

Karise

Let's Get Practical!

So Girls,  

I decided to get real and share with you a practical way that I guard the atmosphere in our home.  Like I said before, we can't earn God's presence but we can cultivate an atmosphere where He feels comfortable to hang out.

 

"Where two are three are gathered, in My name, there I am in your midst."

So, Fred and I were having an argument of sorts...not a knock down drag out thing.  He mentioned that I seemed to be walking in an attitude that I had not walked in in a long time.  It revolved around the way I had been acting towards him the last few days.  This time I really didn't see it. (doesn't it say somewhere about sin that we are blind to?)  

Anyway, I started to justify myself etc.  This tiff went on through the whole morning.  We were starting to get agitated.  I stepped back and looked at the situation and almost laughed.  Honestly, it has been a long time since we really got into an argument.  The Lord just showed me that the whole thing was so petty....on my part.  It was legitimate for Fred to point out an attitude in me. He even did it nicely.  

I evaluated and knew that it just wasn't worth continuing in this lame argument because it was going to keep Fred & me from the free flowing relationship we are used to.  Also, it was going to quench the Spirit and what He is doing in our home.  

Looking at it that way puts many things perspective.  I long to have God's kingdom come and His will be done in our lives.  Walking in this thing with Fred, wanting to prove I was right, was really quenching the Spirit.

So, I told Fred that I really did not see it but I would take it before the Lord and work on being more gentle and kind in the way I respond to him and the situations that come up in our home. I said I was sorry for upsetting him and that I would do whatever it would take to maintain being in His presence.  

I started being proactive in the area he had pointed out and it really helped Fred and we were able to get back to where we had been or even better and I did notice a difference in the atmosphere in our home.  This is vital if we want to see the presence of Jesus in our homes & if we want to know His joy.  "In the presence of the Lord is fulness of Joy!" & "The Joy of the Lord is our strength".

So there you have it.  Sometimes it is easier just to say how great things are but I want to be willing to share the process that gets us from here to there.  

Hope this helped  someone!

With Love,

Karise

 

More Thoughts on The Shack....it's not a true story...

Hey Friends,

OK....Fred just did some research on "The Shack". He realized after looking for a while that it really is not a true story.  Parts of the book really impacted us and other parts we were not sure about, which makes us feel better that it isn't actually real.

The author wrote it from his own searching of God and there is some wonderful insight. We did feel a little ripped off because from reading the forward and the epilogue, it made it seem that it was based on a true story and that there really was a guy named Mac. But it does say it is a novel on the cover.

Anyway, the fact is, God did a real work of healing in both Fred and I but I could esp. see it in Fred.  So if you want to read a novel and gain from the things the Lord has shone this man then you might get a lot out of "The Shack".  It was not written as a theology book, it can't be taken that way.  You have to be able to chew up the meat and spit out the bones for sure. It has to be read as you would "Hinds Feet on Hight Places" or any other allegory.

I think it is a good exercise to be able to read something like "'The Shack" and be able to glean the good stuff.  It can establish us more thoroughly in what we believe and get us to evaluate our surroundings by the Word of God with the Holy Spirit as our guide.

Blessings on you and your week....

In His Love,

Karise

PS Fred found some interesting things written by an author that helped write or tweek the book.  On this site he presents where the author was coming from and he goes through all the different things people have had a hard time with.

You can find it here:

lifestream.org/blog/?p=530

On To The Next Thing....

Ok Girls,  I am sooo tired but a fun time was had by all.  Joe was blessed!  I hope you too had a wonderful Saturday. 

Father's Day tomorrow....think we will be in Boulder at Chitagua park and then to a Jewish Festival in the afternoon.  

Thank you Father for the wonderful father my kids have.  I am astounded at how you have gently but persistently grown my husband over the years. Life together is getting better & better like good wine...thank you Father!

Ladies, so many ideas and issues come into my mind when I think of all of you my dear friends.  So much goes into LIFE....Isn't it wonderful that He has come to give us life and that more abundantly!! 

 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly"  John 10:10

Tomorrow is a new day.  I can't wait to go to sleep and enjoy REST!

Bless you each one!

Love,

Karise

Time Management...

OK Girls, just kidding about the time management thing....the fact is, I am in the middle of getting ready for Joe's big graduation party tomorrow at 12:30.  Oh My!!  I am reminded about what I said in the other post about rest being a weapon against the enemy....ahh.  I actually borrowed it from Graham Cook, he has helped Fred and me in our walk with the Lord!

I can rest in Jesus while I get my buns in gear!  (The buns in gear are the time management part!!    ;0)

I just love you gals so much.  I feel a camaraderie with you, we are all on this walk together.  Wanting more than anything to see Jesus kingdom come and His will be done in our families and neighborhoods and right in our own sphere of influence.

Your Fellow "Kingdom Mom"

K.

Rest & Joy

Good Morning Girls,

So here is what the Lord has been reminding me of this morning, maybe it will minister to you as well...Rest is a weapon against the enemy! There is an entering into, a pressing into His rest.

Really, the only way we can rest is if we know in our hearts & in our spirits that God is truly in control...period. We can only rest in His sovereignty when we are secure in His love. We know in our heads that "God so love the world..." but do we really know and believe that He loves me...NOW! not when I finally get my act together. He loves you and me individually! His heart is bent tenderly towards us.

This LOVE thing is something so powerful! I heard a message by Bill Johnson where he said that he takes time often to bask in the love of the Lord. He sits down in a chair (or where ever) and just says, "OK Lord, I just open myself up to receive your love." He says that he doesn't pray or talk to the Lord. He just uses that time to receive the love of Jesus. I started doing this and man is it hard!! I would hear sweet things from His heart. At first I found it hard to sit and listen to sweetness about me. I told the Lord, don't you want to tell me to pray for China or go do something for someone. I felt the Lord tell me that I first had to be settled in His love to be affective in His work. The more I have just listened to His sweet heart towards me, the more settled I am becoming, the more trust is building up and I see a new level of compassion for others.

So rest is a weapon against the enemy. The joy of the Lord is our strength and in His presence is fullness of joy.

Have a day of rejoicing in His goodness & kindness and bask in His love.

Karise

"Hazelnut Please..."

So, where to start on something like this....I guess it is easiest to just jump right in.  I have been thinking about ways that we can create an atmosphere in our homes where the Lord feels comfortable enough to hang out with us.  Jesus says that where 2 or 3 are gathered in His name, He is in the midst.  I think we overlook the "in His name" part.  Plenty of people who come to our home comment on the atmosphere in our here.  They say they feel the Lord's presence and His peace.  

I know for sure that you can never earn God's presence.  I also know that we can make a place for Jesus in our lives. The minute we make it a rule based situation, things fall apart (at least on the inside).  I think God is more pleased by us accepting each other in our humanity, restoring one another in a spirit of gentleness, as needed, rather than having people feel that the standard is so high they will never measure up. There can be the feeling that it's better to just look good on the outside and cover up struggles they are having inside.

There have been many times when I have just gulped real hard and nodded my head hoping that my expression did not expose what was buzzing around my head.  We all need a hug and understanding when we sin or struggle.  It is Jesus' kindness that leads us to repentance.  I have to be careful as a parent not to have my identity so wrapped up in my children's behavior that they are afraid to be real and feel that they have to perform and act like a "good Christian" for me to love and care for them.

We can have a Jesus culture in our homes.  Relationship vs. rules produces lasting fruit, that hold true even in our relationship with Jesus.

I guess that is all for now girls....let me know your thoughts.