Posted on by Kristina Knowles

We decided to meet at…

Red Lobster.

Chris would be out of town, I thought this would be a great opportunity to get to know the Birth Mother better. I was so excited to see her again, to make sure she was in good spirits and that she had not changed her mind about the adoption. Our dinner could not have gone better. We both asked each other so many questions. I left happy, relieved and grateful to God for our positive meeting.

Chris and I wanted the Birth Mother to freely receive our love through God. Which means there were no attachments to anything. We didn’t want her to miss our intentions. And I didn’t want God to be disappointed with us. We made it very clear with our first meeting, we want what is best for the baby and the Birth Mother. Chris and I wanted God’s will to be done. Our dinner gave me the opportunity to make sure she understood.

After meeting with the Birth Mother, I quickly realized we could help her with a healthy eating program with meals prepped by me. As a personal Fitness Coach and Chef, we wanted to bring her food that she would enjoy but would also be nutrient dense. The Birth Mother agreed and the weekly meals began. The Birth Mother would send me a text that stopped me in my tracks. She wrote,”Even before the baby is born, they will be fed food from you.” I went down on my knees with love and thanksgiving.

I started a hashtag on my social media; #thebabyisstillalive. The baby remaining alive was a daily celebration for Chris and I. I know that at any moment the Birth Mother could change her mind. I also know that satan loves to place doubt in the minds of the helpless, scared and fearful. We had shared our news of adoption with a select group of Prayer Warriors all over the Country. We were excited for the prayers and they were excited to be a part of the story.

Going through adoption is a valley of emotional highs and lows. Thankful for the Trinity. God is always with us, minute by minute, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But in times like this we cling even more closely. And we need to realize that without our Lord and Savior we are nothing, we have nothing and the outcome of doing life without God is heartbreakingly lonely.

The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months. We were getting sonograms, updates and daily/weekly news. And little did we know something else was happening behind the scenes.

Lord, thank you for keeping us alert, eyes wide open and giving us holy discernment. We love you so much, thank you for the days that feel so unimaginable. Please forgive us, always turn our hearts to you and you only. Remove any pride and ego. ~Amen

Part 2, there will be a Part 3.

Posted on by Kristina Knowles

Do you know the difference…

Between Mentally unhealthy and Emotionally healthy?

I had an awesome conversation with a 20-something year old recently. The light bulbs were going off by the end of our final words together. It all started with a question about a relationship. What does a healthy relationship look like?

Safe people with healthy boundaries is a good start. A safe, healthy person isn’t going to put you into a situation that would harm you physically, mentally, emotionally or morally.

Examples but not absolutes…

The physical harm would come from driving drunk and getting drunk, hitting you, abusing you, doing drugs and driving high. Anything that prevents you from being sober minded is putting yourself and the person you love in harms way.  “Be sober minded.”

The mental harm would come from daily abuse in the form of words, texts, emails or gossip. When a person abuses you verbally is changes who you are. Unfortunately, this is why some people contemplate suicide, who can’t be present in their own life because of depression, angry spirits, high-anxiety and closed minded people who refuse to be open to healthy communication. “Gentle words bring life and health.”

The emotional harm would come from ghosting, lying, manipulating, tricking and emotionally unavailable. When a person is self-centered, conceited or arrogant you’ll instantly notice their ideas and ways of doing things are the “only” way. They typically are not open to healthy advice or suggestions because they are centered focus on themselves. This type of behavior doesn’t allow for healthy growth in the proper direction, like a lastly, loving relationship. “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.”

The moral harm would lack trust, honesty, respect and purity within the relationship. The world has desensitized us to believe being good is wrong and stupid, maybe even crazy. We watch movies, television shows, play video games that detracts us, encourages us to live ungodly, inappropriate and degrade us. When your significant other tramples on you because your beliefs, it’s a strong sign he or she is NOT the one.

Heed my loving warning to all those in a relationship. Make sure you are a safe, healthy person first before entertaining or attempting a relationship. And when sizing up the person you are most attracted to, ask them the important questions. Being safe and single is far better than in a relationship with a mentally unstable person, I promise.

God loves us so much, He wants His best for your life. Lord, I ask that you bring forth the healthy people that need to matched with other healthy people. I ask that you heal the broken, the unsaved and the hurt, all of them Lord. Open our eyes to you Jesus, so we can see and know who you send instead of how we want. Thank you so much God for everything you continue to do for all of us, we deserve nothing. The blessings are unbelievable. In Jesus’s name we pray…Amen!

 

Posted on by Kristina Knowles

Hurt people Hurt…

You, me, others, him, her, animals and themselves.

If you take note of the people in your life, you might notice the healthy people vs. the unhealthy people. Revenge, hurt and pain will be on the mind of your unhealthy friends and loved ones. Unhealthy people tend to have a constant dialogue of negative speaking, gossiping and inappropriate speech. While healthy people are into problem solving, giving loving advice and care for friends and loved ones. Healthy people tend to be positive, happier and more open to life, help lead others to success and care about other people’s feelings.

You will almost never find a happy, normal healthy person commit a crime, murder, spew deliberate words of condemnation, hate or inflict pain. When you dig deeper in a persons life, life-style and past history you’ll definitely find the root cause of their behavior.

It is extremely important that you learn and teach the difference to yourself, friends and family. Unhealthy living leads to an unhealthy life-style as well. The pain lives on in the inside as well as outside. With the unfortunate verbal abuse and actions of the unhealthy person. Your body suffers from the pain along with the people around you that have to listen to your verbal abuse or witness your terrible actions.

The same is true for healthy people, your body and the people around you benefit from your healthiness. Your body is more at peace and your loving kindness also helps the hearts of others. When you give yourself to others as a positive loving gift you spread love.

God knows exactly what is going on in your life right now and from the beginning. He knows what you have endured, the pain, the abuse, the terrible incidents, all of it. And He has a plan for our lives far bigger and better than our broken past. God still continues to love us more than we could possibly imagine. So please know, make peace with your past. Get off of the UNHEALTHY train going nowhere of your present, don’t let your past define you and look to God today. He loved you enough to open your eyes to see another day.

Peace be with you.

Posted on by Kristina Knowles

Merry Materialism and…

Happy New Debt!

I have one child who was spoiled because he was the 1st grandchild for awhile. If I could go back and change anything, I would never spoil a child or another human being with too many things. Things can be nice, amazing, fun, pretty and mind blowing.

Unfortunately, things ultimately end up being just things. Things become boring, collect dust, break and become old or outdated. We have been silently seduced to believe the more things the better, the one with the most things wins and the “you only live once” consumption mentality.

As the holidays are fast approaching, please remember the true meaning of Christmas and what it represents. When Advent begins it takes my breath away to light each candle, each night. It is a pleasant and powerful reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ.

I believe our best is given when we can share a testimony to each other to make their lives better. I over compensated with gifts and presents to make my Sons life good, happy and perfect. I was so wrong and I will never do it again.

In order to make my mistake known and praying Griffin won’t make the same mistakes. I recently called him to apologize for all my past mistakes but especially for the time we spent focused on the wrong things about life. Please don’t misunderstand me, we spent good quality time together and still have a wonderful relationship.

However, I would love nothing more than for anyone who reads this to understand that spoiling people only guarantees one thing, you will spoil the true meaning of Christmas and ultimately life. Living within your means, not overspending, avoiding debt and being more concerned with quality of life and not quantity should be the ultimate goal.

The plan was Jesus. The time was Christmas. The reason was His love.

God bless you and yours, Kristina!