Kove's Cove

I greatly enjoyed working in a friend’s garden this summer. I know nothing of gardening so I did lots of thinning and weeding – I can at least identify the wanted plants from the weeds!

I was thinning some greens last week thinking “Why do I need to pull these healthy plants?” A very foolish thought I knew right away. Every plant may be fine now as little more than a sprout. For the plant to reach its potential, be what it is designed to be it needs enough space to grow. Crowed conditions lead to problems and lack of productivity.

As I pulled the plants God spoke to my heart. Ideas are the same way. They need room to grow and be developed. Trying to implement too many ideas will lead to problems and lack of productivity. I have been struggling with so many ideas for writing and marketing and networking; not to mention my home and children. It is time to do some thinning. In thinning the plants the pulled ones are wasted- Thankfully not so with ideas. I can save ideas for another time. I can share them with others who have resources to make them grow. Some are simply not that good.

The first area of thinning is my online activity. I believe an online presence is important. I also think it needs to be quality, something worth having. Something worth connecting with. The idea of an online presence is to build community. In my effort to “get out there” I have joined and started too many things. My online presence seems to me quite flaky, not building community like I want. I cannot maintain all the places I currently have online.

My “thinned” online presence looks like this: I am focusing on learning to build relationship and consistency in just a few places. First- my blogs. Kove’s Blog is where I write regularly, sharing encouragement, thoughts and lessons on my journey to be the Christian, wife and mother God destined me to be. I created a schedule of topics so I can track what I need to write and initial if I have a post scheduled. Thoughts for Authors is just beginning, infrequent posts for now. It is focused on new authors and those considering publishing. I will share my experience, advice and things I find helpful. Next- facebook and twitter, mostly facebook for now – very much a learning experience of what to post, Twitter is even more of a mystery to me.

As a result of my “thinning” Kove’s Blog will be moving to KovesBlog.blogspot.com.

In Kove’s Blog I process my thoughts, share things I am learning and events from our life. I also share about Publishing, Christmas is About Jesus, and Easter. Below are the current categories and a brief description.

Categories First Posts I introduce the category, hopefully letting you know if you can relate to my writing.

Scripture Confessions takes a scripture and gives an example of a personalized confession of the verse or passage.

Sermon Notes - just that my notes anf thoughts from Sunday's message

Ideas to Share things we are doing in our home and family to live our faith. I pray our sharing will help you live yours as well.

Glimpses of My Week maybe lessons, learned, favorite photos, pretty much anything!

Cleaning My Heart is areas of growth and change I see in myself.

Refreshing shares devotional thoughts to refresh your spirit in Jesus.

Refuge is thoughts on practical ways God is indeed our refuge.

Just Me will show thoughts and ideas I wanted to share, but wasn't sure where they fit

Countdown to Christmas, Focus on Jesus is a series of posts that share extended thoughts and activity ideas to go along with the devotional book.

Christmas is About Jesus contains the activity ideas as well as posts about the devotional book.

CIAJ Reviews and Events has reviews of the devotion and updates on future events.

One Thing, only one thing. I get easily overwhelmed so I try to just take one thing from a book or a message to focus on.

Education houses posts about our thoughts and experiences educating at home as a family.

Publishing records my journey through publishing my first book and future projects.

Easter devotions on how the things in the stores and in the media around Easter can focus us on Jesus.

You can share your thoughts with me in the comments.

Please Don't Miss It is a beautiful post about the vaule of how we think, our perspective.

Ann Voskamp shared her friendship with Sara in "when longing to choose joy"

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

(Hebrews 11:1)

Last Sunday during worship I was feeling quite disappointed in myself. I have such high hopes, and then there’s what I really do. I need to learn to not be so idealistic, but that’s for another post. I was asking God how it could be that he doesn’t see me like I see me. He sees me in the righteousness of Jesus – perfect, holy, blameless (1 Corinthians 1:30 & Philippians 3:9).

I can’t see you the way you do. If I saw you the way you do you would be stuck forever. I must see you as you will be, as I created you to be, or you would have no hope.

Then he showed me a butterfly. A butterfly is a new creation of a caterpillar. I am in Christ. I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The butterfly may not remember its former self. It certainly doesn’t over think things like I tend to do. It comes out of its cocoon a new creatures and it acts like it. It flys, it eats different. I too often still act like a caterpillar. However, no matter how much I act like a caterpillar, or my old unredeemed self, I am a new creation. By God’s grace I will believe the miracle he has done and learn to act like it.

I love to sit under Danny’s teaching! So many powerful questions to ponder this week….

Culture is everything – Luke 6:45

Jesus said if you have seen me you have seen the Father. The same is true of us. What we believe of the Father will show to the people we encounter. – Wow.

Productivity requires cultivation – cultivate your heart and mind because that is where your life flows from.

Creating who we are – Attitude “What are you doing on purpose?”

Do you control yourself or do things control you?

Knowing your true identity is vital – True Idenity is Free & Powerful, think of how you want your children to be, your slave? your servant? Or a free and powerful individual completing their destiny? How much more our Father God?

It is vital to be courageous to give courage to others. Do I give or take courage?

As a Christian I am to be famous for my love for others

Give courage directly and indirectly

Bring life with my words

Set people up for success by

- stirring up faith, share what God is doing and has done

- Kill the fear of man Am I risking enough to lead others to success?

- Practice – Practice – Practice

Remember it’s not all about me:) I am only a very small part of something much bigger. Individual relationships matter to the whole. Dishonor is the biggest threat to having a Kingdom of Heaven culture.

Cycle of Dishonor requires a “victim”, having a victim requires a “bad guy”, victims are rescued so there are “rescuers” who go after the bad guys.

There are no victim is Heaven. Victims are powerless and not responsible for anything. Jesus was not a victim, he chose to lay his life down. We are to empower not rescue. Partnering with the lie of powerlessness is the biggest mistake a Christian makes. Helping someone else partner with a lie of their powerlessness is devastating.

Ask “What are you going to do?” It implies they have power and responsibility.

When someone comes with a problem (gossip, looking for sympathy) with another person ask, “Are you going to tell them or do you want me to tell them about your problem with them?” – I’m thinking most readily of using this with tattling children

Do not wallow in offense Danny had just been on a moose hunt and learned about wallows first hand. Amazing what a truly accurate analogy it is. A moose urinates in the dirt and then paws it into mud, then rolls in it and amazingly it attracts moose for mating…. So do not take the waste of your past relationships and mix it with the dirt of your feelings and cover yourself in it trying to attract partners in your offense.

Offense is a decision point if you partner with offense you sacrifice your freedom, you are no longer free around the person you allowed yourself to be offended with or you can seek relationship.

John 8:15 tells us Jesus did not come to judge – He didn’t leave us here to judge either!

Withdrawing love from a relationship is always a mistake.

Revival – bring life to something that is dying

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

I enjoyed this story and pray it will encourage your heart as well.

After the birth of their daughter, a wealthy and powerful king and his wife found out they could have no more children. Always wanting a son as an heir to the kingdom, they adopted a baby boy.

As the son grew, he could not understand his father’s ways and, although his father loved him very much, he struggled to receive that love. He never felt a part of the family.

After many years, the son decided to leave his family. Before he left, the father handed him a note, sealed in an envelope, and told him, “If you ever need anything, open this envelope.”

We made a very simple book of folded paper (8.5 x 14) stapled at the edge, no cover, no binding. I love the creative options of making those, but today the focus was on our hearts.

Today for our devotions we looked at what was in our heart. I drew and wrote. One son writes, one draws. My daughter draws.

We asked God how he saw our hearts.

So thankful He sees me in faith. He sees me as he designed me. He sees me as I will be. If he saw me as I am I would be doomed to stay that way. 

When we are out with our children people often comment about how much the look like us. Usually people will say there is no denying who the boys Dad is. My daughter is frequently told how much she looks like her mom.

I want to live my life in such a way that when people who know my Heavenly Father see me they will know I know him as well. I want those who do not know him to want to know who I know. This is sometimes more of a challenge at home than out in public. At home I let my guard down. I live with little people who are experts at pushing my buttons. I get far too wrapped up in my “to –do list” to hear the voice of the Father.

We are to follow Jesus, do what he did and greater things (John 14:12). Jesus said if someone had seen him they had seen the Father (John 14:9). So as a Christian I want people to see me and say “I know who her Daddy is.”