Posted on by Kristina Knowles

My favorite type of High…

will always be Jesus!

I am often asked how I stay so positive and happy. It happens almost daily and my response will and always be Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! In fact, some of my new friends in Texas call out Jesus as soon as they see my face. I love it, I love that they name Him out loud.

Now for the bad unfortunate, heart-breaking news. We have an alarming amount of people getting high daily off of things that are dangerous. So dangerous that they are ruining families, disrupting classrooms and reeking havoc on all of our lives in one form or another. One joint, one peek, one line, one pill, one drink, one deal at a time for a senseless high.

I wish I could take away the urge for so many to want that unnecessary need to disappear from the reality of their mental or physical pain. I would love nothing more than to be able to give people the tools to deal with their pain sober and not under the influence.

We live in a highly distracted world that doesn’t allow us to stand still. However, I make time every day for God because He makes time for me. It’s the least I can do for He does so much for me. I didn’t deserve to wake up this morning to write this blog but God deemed it so. I want to honor Him and help other’s too.

My Mother and Father are great people for different reasons. They are not perfect, neither are you. And if you watch your surroundings carefully, you will see the other Mother and Father figures God brought into your life, just at the right time. We should want to reach out and take care of each other daily.

Satan is and will always be the soft whisper of hatred, self doubt and ugliness. Evil convinces you that being good is bad and being bad is good. Dark forces will encourage you to hold grudges and to not forgive the unforgivable. And you should know we are ALL the unforgivable, all of us. No one person gets more of a “pass” than the other, none of us are worthy. Here is the good news, by the grace of God, we are forgiven by Him through Jesus. Why is it so hard to forgive your Brother or Sister?

Are you trapped by Satan or redeemed by God?

Peace be with you!

Posted on by Kristina Knowles

The one that got away…

Thanks be to God!

I know society talks about this person in television shows, movies and talk shows. The infamous “person that got away”, I am here to explain to you why this person doesn’t truly exist. We can waste a lot of time pining away for this person with questions or statements. Why didn’t I do better? Where did I go wrong? Why couldn’t they change? What if I said this? Waste. Of. Time.

I read the bible for thousands of reason, this would be one of them.  We live in a world that requires us to believe in man more often than we should believe in God. Healthy and well meaning relationships are important and necessary to strive in this world, we need them. The most important relationship we create is the one we establish with God.

After we develop our relationship with God, the next relationship we create is the love for ourselves. I see so much self hate, it’s terrible. People would rather ruin their lives with medication, drugs, fantasy, alcohol and jealousy. Instead of loving themselves, accepting themselves as God created them.

When we are in right relationship with God and ourselves we tend to attract the good people of our lives. And even if we don’t, a few bad seeds might slip in from time to time. Just know in your heart that God gave you an internal hard drive that allows you to know the difference. It’s up to you to listen or ignore the truth.

So let go and let God be the ruler of your life. Let go of ” the person who got away” and don’t look back at the “what if’s” of life. Just realize at this very moment you have the opportunity to change everything that is wrong about your life, especially the relationships. Learn from these past relationships, learn what you loved and what you hated. Don’t look back, its just a waste of time…

God bless “the one who got away”!

 

Posted on by Kristina Knowles

I don’t dress like a…

Christian. Wow, really!?

A friend recently told me that a person I don’t even know or have ever met said I don’t dress like a Christian. I was taken back by her comment, then I had a really good laugh. I take pride in my beautiful wardrobe for my work-outs, my career, my casual time and my lounge wear. And then I started to think.

Wait a minute, hold up! Is this really about my wardrobe? Or is this a feeble attempt to condemn me for my style choices vs. their own style choices in the name of God? Timothy 2:9 Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,

“Adorn themselves in respectable clothing”, I feel and believe I practice this. Now every once in awhile I will wear a cute sundress because the weather is HOT. Modesty and self-control are very important to me as well. Again, we all have our own interpretation of what these words mean; respectable, modest and self controlled when dealing with our clothing choices. I am extremely frugal, so I tend not to wear costly attire anyway. I studied fashion so I am well of aware of the major mark-ups on clothing.

What I will admit, over the years I have changed my look and my outlook on my clothing choices. I have progressed in a different direction the minute I became a wife, then a mother, then Mrs. Virginia, then a Director, then a Minister. All of these life events changed my view on myself. If I see someone wearing something I deem inappropriate, I pray for them. And you can do the same thing, instead of publicly condemning someone for their own personal choice of clothing. Shaming someone for their clothing choices is wrong.

God loves us, just as my clothing choices have changed over the years so has my relationship with God. I am proud of who I am, I am proud of my Son, I am proud to have the family and friends that He has put in my life. I am not perfect but I am good enough!

I am a Christian.

Posted on by Kristina Knowles

A table and chairs…

From God.

After my divorce, I moved from Virginia to Maryland. I sold a lot of items and kept a lot of items. There was one thing I would need, a table and chairs that I could put in the kitchen. The eat-in kitchen sat empty, I needed a table to have breakfast, lunch and dinner with my son, Griffin.

There were only a few things standing in the way of buying a table and chairs. Limited funds and a lack of desire to buy anything. However, I have always believed that my meals with Griffin were and will continue to be important. Griffin and I have had some of the best conversations while breaking bread.

I had gone to Wal-Mart and Ikea to see what type of table and chairs I could find that were inexpensive, nothing moved me to buy it, despite my need. So I decided to go to God instead of relying on my own decision, I prayed. Once I prayed about it, I never thought about it again. Then this happened…

One day my friend Ray and I decided to go to a Farmer’s Market in College Park, Maryland. We found a lot of delicious fruit and vegetables, it was such a fun day. As we headed back home, I started to drive home a different way. I couldn’t even tell you why.  We were driving past a few stores then I saw it.  There it was in plain view, a sign on the side of the road that read: Free table and chairs. I started to tear up, drove past it in shocked then pulled over. I am not sure what Ray was thinking but I didn’t care.

There was my table and chairs all for me from God. When you ask God for His help, His provisions He delights in blessing us. God is here for the little stuff(table and chairs) or the really big stuff. We need to go to Him for everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Which school, where should we live, what food should we eat, all of it everyday-all day!

So I am happy to report, I still have the table and chairs. I was even able to feed 12 family members on this beautiful blessing from God. God blessed me far better than I could have ever imagined with faith and patience.

 

 

Posted on by Kristina Knowles

“Who do you say I am?”..

Jesus asked.

I love this question, it makes me ponder how people truly view Jesus. And Jesus was just as curious as I was, that is why he asked. Jesus wanted to know after everything he did, after all the conversations, after all his teachings, after every miracle performed. Who do you say I am?

I recently thought to myself, that if we asked this very question to all the people we met in our lives, who would they we were? Would they focus their response on all the positive or negative? Would they have a little to say, or a lot to say? Or would they remain silent?

When I ask this question to myself about Jesus, I instantly smile. I say, Jesus is the Savior, Jesus is the only way, I say Jesus is my Redeemer. I say, Jesus died on the cross for our sins and performs miracles each and every day. I would say, Jesus because of God through Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit became man and is seated at the right hand of God. I say, Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead and his Kingdom will have no end. I say, Jesus is amazing and his teachings have influenced me and touch my life.

Could you and I start today to recognize the value of asking ourselves,”who do you say I am?” Would you live your life differently if you cared about who people say you are? Are you living your life in a way that would be pleasing to God? Are you living like Jesus? Are you loving more, helping more, forgiving more, happy more?

I challenge you to ask yourself this very question every day. Feel, each and every word in this question: Who. Do. You. Say. I. Am?  Would you hear? I Am Loving to everyone, I Am Kind to everyone, I Am Good to everyone, I Am more like Jesus to everyone. Let’s decide today to be different, to be better. When we change for the better in every facet of our life, we change the world for God!
 

Posted on by Kristina Knowles

Do you really love Jesus or…

Are you just going through the motions?

I spend a great deal of time in the Gospels. I listen to at least 3-4 sermons a day, I pray and attend church weekly. I love the good news of the bible, I relish in it. And I am stunned to see so many Christians so unhappy and disconnected. Are we reading the same good news of God?

I have come to realize that our family and friends play a huge part on who we are but God is bigger and better. If I stayed in a mediocre state of life, I guess I would be walking around unhappy and disconnected too. Instead I am filled with joy, I am so grateful I wake up happy and grateful every day. If you don’t believe me, ask my son Griffin.

At some point in life you must believe what you are reading in the bible and activate your faith. We all must truly live like Jesus, help like Jesus and most importantly love like Jesus. Within yourself, within your home, at your job, where you volunteer. Wherever you go and whatever you do, be more like Jesus.

Share your testimony when appropriate with those who need it. Almost every day someone asks me why I moved to Texas, I always respond excitedly, “Jesus!” Then I get to share the story when I was led by Jesus to move to Texas 11 years ago while on a business trip for Proctor & Gamble. It was a moment I will never forget.

Let’s all be amazing stewards of this great gift of life. In a blink it will be over. So let us not waste another moment focused on things that never truly fulfill us anyway and share the only thing that will last forever, faith in Jesus!

 

Posted on by Kristina Knowles · 2 Comments

Are you a bully or an up lifter…

To your friends, family and neighbors?

I ask this question because most people think it’s okay to bully, negatively name call and hurt people, even their own family members. It amazes me that families will allow this type of behavior to take place in their own homes for generations. Some subscribe to a belief that this bullying will make them stronger, more confident and tough. Unfortunately this is not the case, the resullts are counter productive and damaging.

I recently had a conversation with a person who didn’t receive words of affirmation, compliments or goodwill from his family or siblings. Instead he received teasing, ridicule and negativity. And now he lives in the memory of all the mean things that were said to him by the very people that he believed were suppose to love him-his family. Verbal abuse will take it’s toll on everyone, and everyone suffers.

I couldn’t help but think of Joseph and his brothers and how badly Joseph was treated by all of them. But Joseph behaved how God wants us all to behave, he had faith. No matter what happened to him Joseph made it a point to be joyful, forgiving and loving. Wow, what a great example and reminder.

How to spot a bully? They call you mean names, make fun of you, they cuss at you, they enjoy making you feel bad in order to make themselves feel better, they have low self-esteem masked by severe cockiness.

THE GREAT NEWS: Today is the day to stop, today can be the day that you stand up for yourself and refuse to be spoken to in an unkind manner. Or today can be the day you no longer speak illwill to anyone ever again. Speak words of affirmation to everyone around you. I beg you to Uplift and speak easy to one another. Be kind and love everyone; especially your enemies.

 

 

Posted on by Kristina Knowles

Godly goals…

Make life so much better.

Every so often I will make a list to serve God. It’s either 5 to 10 bullet points long, written on big white poster board and God is all over it. I want to serve God in a way that is pleasing to Him and His Kingdom.

My goals are all the prompting of God and His desires for my life. God makes up all the wonderful things of our lives, even the really hard uncomfortable times. When God makes a promise He keeps it, just read the bible and see for yourself. Isn’t that awesome!!?? I believe so, and so should you.

Today I ask you to ask yourself is God in the center of the details of your life? Is He or are you, your family and/or friends in the details of your life?! How differently do you think your life would be if you trusted God with everything? I mean, really and truly trusted Him with EVERYTHING!!??

My life reads like an adventure with God, for God. Without a shadow of doubt God has been all over my life. Even when I didn’t want to listen or be obedient, He was there…waiting. God has protected me, given me strength and saved me by sending His only Son to die on the cross. Every day is a gift that I get to open my eyes and breathe.

What are your goals? Is God in your goals? If not, how will you change your life at this very moment for God? Are you willing to give up everything that is not working in your life for the cross? And let me be clear, everyone defines success, love, goodness, greatness differently. Pray and desire God’s success, love, goodness and greatness over your life and your families. It might hurt at first but God’s plan for your life is far better than your plans…I promise.

Posted on by Kristina Knowles

Generational curses…

Don’t pass them on.

I have heard many stories, I have had many talks and lots of conversations about families. I am a Christian who believes in the generational curse. There has been many debates about it, I just have seen too many cases to prove otherwise.

I want to start off with the good news, you have the fortitude to stop it today. And then you get to stop some more of it tomorrow and so on and so on and so on. See, I believe we can see the curse if we just pay close attention. Most people think it’s normal if their parent is a drug addict or alcoholic that they will most likely become the same. Then you have the person who fights tooth and nail to be nothing like their parents and end up being like them anyway. Sound or feel familiar? Lastly, you have the person that is completely honest with their family history, starts to ask important questions, researches pass & present behaviors and makes every effort to stop the generational curse with honest knowledge.

It can be very daunting to try and figure out how to be different than your family for the better. I think people get scared to be different, eat different, dress different, behave different all for the good of God. And please know the difference between good vs. perfect. I am not perfect, God doesn’t expect us to be perfect but He does expect our best for Him.

My Father does not drink alcohol, my Mother started to enjoy a few alcoholic drinks much later in life. Alcohol was not glamorized in our family. And I know why, my Mother’s Father George was an alcoholic and he hurt his family in the process. George and I have never met but his legacy has lived on way pass his death.

I encourage you to stop and think about all the negative things you do, how you behave and how you handle everything. Are you riddled with fear, anxiety, rage, stress or depression? You may find the answer in the past so you can change the present and protect future generations to come. It may require you to do really big things but we have a really big God, so don’t worry.

Posted on by Kristina Knowles

Love, truth, God…

Pass it on!

I shared my story about my son and God with Hannah, a beautiful 17 year old girl who then shared my story with friends and family. I tell that story as much as I can to those who will listen. I always make sure they have 3 minutes before I start the short and powerful story.

Love comes in at that really dark moment when all you can do is to Love, hope and pray with God. My scary situation taught me in this moment God loves us everyday, all day. We may not understand the trials He puts us through but we must always remember He loves us so much, more than we could ever fathom. Love also appears when I became strong enough to share the difficult story.

Truth is when you read the Doctors diagnosis and there is nothing he can do about it. The truth is your scared but you know how big your God is, so you begin to pray. Truth is that knowing when every time, which is every day, you see a heart you feel the truth that God answered your prayers and healed your child.

God is amazing, He sent his only Son to die on the cross for our sins. This is the same God that moved Hannah to share the Love, Truth and God with all her friends and family after hearing my story and seeing the hearts appear day after day. It moved her so much that she and her Mother bought a personalized plaque for me that read:

Psalms 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Let’s be the positive driving force for everyone around us. Let’s sow seeds that create a Love so great that God is so pleased and proud. Let’s tell the truth no matter what. And let God shine so bright in your life that His blessings will rain down on you for everyone to see.