It's OK to feel: a self-journey from depression to joy

Well a few days ago I joined the ranks of Pinterest, found out that I have a lot of friends on facebook that are on there too, anyway I am getting used to that and from what I can tell I am loving it :) it's really cool...

anyway I've been helping one of my best friends these past few days, she's been going through a LOT, I felt so bad because last night she told me that she was so numb, I seriously almost started crying, because I remember feeling that exact same way (for different reasons but the feeling was still there) and I spent a while like almost afraid to feel because I thought that if I started then I wouldnt be able to STOP crying....and I ended up bottling up everything, and sooner or later I've blow a gasket, it was really bad....

then God totally revealed to me that you know it's OK to feel, it's healthy even....and if you start you will stop at some point...but it is needed or else you start to get super stressed about little things, worry starts creeping in, anger and resentment come, and sooner or later you blow up at the closest person...

God told me to come to Him with everything I'm feeling, He promised to take the pressure off my shoulders, and He promised to replace it with His peace.

anyway if your going through some storms in life, and your worried about feeling "too much" go into a quiet place and talk with God about it, it's OK to cry out to Him, it's OK to not understand what He's doing, and it's OK to FEEL....

it took me a while to get out of the depression and numb state, there were times when the only thing that kept me from "harming" myself  were my kids, there were times where I would have to think of THEM before myself so that I wouldnt hurt myself because the pain was so much. in my teen years I struggled with self image, and insecurities, in order to cover that up and mask it I started taking artistic photo's of myself....

I looked at these and I saw a hurting girl, I almost didnt recognize myself, I remember that numbness and depression...
I compared these with photo's taken recently

and I saw a complete change, God showed me that He took me out of that darkness of depression, He broke off chains from abuse, and words of discouragement and numbness....He took those things and replaced them with JOY, PEACE, and HAPPINESS....
now I know a lot of people would be surprised to know that I struggled with depression and self harming thoughts, because I tried my best to hide it, I tried to  ACT like the happy girl....but I see honestly that photo's really are windows into the secrets of the soul (through the eyes) so yeah....the amazing thing is God took me OUT of that darkness and He shed His LIGHT on me.

and I really want to encourage you, if you have gone through depression, or any other thing like that, God wants to take that away and replace it with HIS joy and peace...but you need to give up those dark feelings and thoughts to Him.

anyway I wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences with you

<3
With Love,
Krysten

Easter Post #2: completely in love with us

Another Easter Post,
I absolutely LOVE this song and I can sing amazing harmonies with it, anyway....the song and video are completely amazing because they never cease to remind me of all that God did for me.

I mean seriously, The Lord of all the Earth, humbled Himself, came in the form of a man....healed the sick, fed the poor, and taught the Love of God. but that wasnt His main reason for coming....His main reason was to Die on a cross for the sins of the whole world...and the rise from the dead in order to give us all the Gift of Eternal Life

now I had someone today try to tell me that the Bible and Jesus were only meant for a certain time and place...(his example was milk...it only lasts for so long) I felt bad for this person because He didn't have the Hope that I feel...because of my relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ....Jesus is Eternal. He is Immanuel (God with Us) and He came to earth, died and the rose again so that we can have a personal relationship with God, and our sin is covered by the Blood of Jesus, and we can be free because Jesus Lives!

anyway this video reminds me of what Jesus did for us, I've had one person ask...why? the answer: because He loves us utterly, passionately and completely, He loves us so much He was willing to die so that we can live and have a personal and passionate relationship with God...

God Bless
With Love

Krysten

Easter Post #1: Why did Jesus have to die?

As promised I am posting reflections here and there about what Jesus has done for us, in honor of Easter coming up.








When we ask a question such as this, we must be careful that we are not calling God into question. To wonder why God couldn’t find “another way” to do something is to imply that the way He has chosen is not the best course of action and that some other method would be better. Usually what we perceive as a “better” method is one that seems right to us. Before we can come to grips with anything God does, we have to first acknowledge that His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts—they are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8). In addition, Deuteronomy 32:4 reminds us that “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” Therefore, the plan of salvation He has designed is perfect, just, and upright, and no one could have come up with anything better.

The Scripture says, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Evidence affirms that the sinless Jesus bled and died on a cross. Most importantly, the Bible explains why Jesus’ death and resurrection provide the only entrance to heaven.

The punishment for sin is death.

God created earth and man perfect. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s commands, He had to punish them. A judge who pardons law-breakers isn’t a righteous judge. Likewise, overlooking sin would make the holy God unjust. Death is God’s just consequence for sin. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Even good works cannot make up for wrongs against the holy God. Compared to His goodness, “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6b). Ever since Adam’s sin, every human has been guilty of disobeying God’s righteous laws. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Sin is not just big things like murder or blasphemy, but also includes love of money, hatred of enemies, and deceit of tongue and pride. Because of sin, everyone has deserved death – eternal separation from God in hell.

The promise required an innocent death.

Although God banished Adam and Eve from the garden, He didn’t leave them without hope of heaven. He promised He would send a sacrifice to take the punishment they deserved (Genesis 3:15). Until then, men would sacrifice innocent lambs, showing their repentance from sin and faith in the future Sacrifice from God who would bear their penalty. God reaffirmed His promise of the Sacrifice with men such as Abraham and Moses. Herein lies the beauty of God’s perfect plan: God Himself provided the only sacrifice (Jesus) who could atone for the sins of His people. God’s perfect Son fulfilled God’s perfect requirement of God’s perfect law. It is perfectly brilliant in its simplicity. “God made Him (Christ), who knew no sin, to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

The prophets foretold Jesus’ death.

From Adam to Jesus, God sent prophets to mankind, warning them of sin’s punishment and foretelling the coming Messiah. One prophet, Isaiah, described Him:

“Who has believed what they heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:1-12). He likened the coming Sacrifice to a lamb, slaughtered for the sins of others.

Hundreds of years later, Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in the perfect Lord Jesus, born of the virgin Mary. When the prophet John the Baptist saw Him, he cried, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Crowds thronged Him for healing and teaching, but the religious leaders scorned Him. Mobs cried out, “Crucify Him!” Soldiers beat, mocked, and crucified Him. As Isaiah foretold, Jesus was crucified in between two criminals but was buried in a rich man’s tomb. But He didn’t remain in the grave. Because God accepted His Lamb’s sacrifice, He fulfilled another prophecy by raising Jesus from the dead (Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 26:19).

Why did Jesus have to die? Remember, the holy God cannot let sin go unpunished. To bear our own sins would be to suffer God’s judgment in the flames of hell. Praise God, He kept His promise to send and sacrifice the perfect Lamb to bear the sins of those who trust in Him. Jesus had to die because He is the only one who can pay the penalty for our sins.

Easter coming up :)

The Cross of Calvary is a bittersweet Place. It’s a Supernatural Place where ‘bitter’ is transformed to ‘Sweet’. He took our ‘bitter’ and made it ‘sweet’. Every bad/bitter thing must come to a halt at the Cross. And every good/sweet thing comes to us because of the Cross. #ThePassion

Easter is coming up very soon (April 8) and I love to take this time to reflect on what Jesus did for us...

so I hope to be posting different verses and things God gives me about the Cross and Resurection. anyway now i'm going to bed...

With Love

Krysten

Be a Light to the World.

Today was really good, I cleaned the bedroom and organized it, and lit a new candle....I absolutely LOVE candle's, I love the scents, color's, and look of candles....when I look at a lit candle God always brings a verse to mind.

 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:14-16

Jesus Tells us to let our good works shine like a light, and that those who follow Jesus are the Light of the World, we are to show His love to the world so that they might see and glorify the Father in Heaven....

we are to show the love of God to the world....why? because that is the Gospel: 

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17

We are to show the Love of God to the world because He first loved us and He came and died and rose again all because He loves us so much and He desires the love, devotion, and praise of those who deperately love Him and desire to be with Him. 

we are to share the Truth in Love, what is the Truth? 

 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Jesus is the Truth...

anyway, my point here I guess, is we are to share the Gospel of Love with the world. we are to show the Love of God to the world, so the world can see Jesus in us.

anyway I am going to bed, Night

With Love,

Krysten

Photo Collage I created

A Collage I created of my hubby and I, I will create more but I wanted to share this

With Love,

Krysten

God's plans are for Hope and NOT disaster: learning to trust that

Today it's raining, and I was thinking when I heard the rain on the roof, just how much I like the rain.

not so much for the cold wet feeling you get if you go out into the rain....more like the reminding that God shelters us from the storms of life (hence the roof) but sometimes He does allow us to feel the rain at times, but not to bring us down, we experience problems and storms in life into order to bring us into a deeper and closer relationship with Him and to make us stronger and get us ready for His blessing.

we may not know what the outcome can be, but we can trust that God knows, and we can also trust in His promise:

"And we Know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them" Romans 8:28

we can KNOW for a fact that God works ALL things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. that is probably one of my favorite promises from God, because it reminds me that no matter what I have gone through and no matter what I'm going through now, God will work it all out for Good, we may not be able to see how or when but we can rest and trust in the promise that HE WILL.

It took me the longest time to realize this and actually get to the point in my life that I rest in this promise and meditate on this. because when bad things would happen I would wonder why would God allow this, and I had people of other faiths come to me and ask where was god when this thing happened to you....it caused me to lose my faith for a bit....but God started to remind me that He will work it out, all I need to do is TRUST Him, 

"For I know the Plans I have for you, says the LORD, They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

here we see another promise, God already knows the plans He has for us, they are GOOD plans to give you hope, these two promises go together, God already knows the plans He has for us and He will work EVERYTHING for good....so if you'r going through some of life's storms, Have faith, because God is right there carrying your through, He has a plan through all this and it WILL work for good.

With Love, 

Krysten

Photo's from today :)

My Sweet Hubby and I

Glasses

His and Hers drinks lol

Muah!

my awesomely awesome day!

Today was completely and absolutely UH…MAA…ZING! (for those who didn’t get the word play I just said Amazing, lol)

it was my husband’s 22 birthday today, this morning I went out and Got the rest of his gifts, I got him a brick of bullets (he asked for them lol) some cologne from Avon, a shirt that says “if I dont remember, it didnt’ happen” LOL and I also got him a picture frame and put a photo that He had made of him and AlliGirl on her birthday

He loved everything.

anyway then he went to lunch with his brother, I cleaned the house and then I got ready to go. I looked HOT! :)

we went to chevy’s and had a few drinks, then we went and got coffee at starbucks, then we went and stood in line to see The Hunger Games, and WOW…I totally LOVED that movie, I havent read the book yet but I’m going to be. but yeah I loved the movie. anyway we went and got some food at In and Out, then we came back home.

but yeah it was so awesome! I had a wonderful date with my hubby and He had a really good birthday.

well my best friend finally joined the ranks of bloggers everywhere, yay :) she and I both have so much to say, both telling our stories and imparting wisdom to the masses. so I think it will be awesome!

Ciao

Krysten

Midnight Ramblings :)

Well I changed the blog look, I hope you all like it, it's something new and I like it...

anyway it's midnight here, and I have some things on my mind, and I've always thought that the best way to relax is to talk about what is on your mind so I want to share my midnight thoughts with you.

~~~

-I hate dishes....I dont care what time or how many there are...they are horrible...

-I really need to fold laundry, but seeing as it's MIDNIGHT there is NO WAY I am going to do that...so it will wait until tomorrow when the cleaning process starts ALL over again

-no matter how much I do...it never seems to get done....

-there is NEVER enough time in a 24hour day for a busy mom to get everything done

-my best friend is the bee's knee's (side thought!!!...do bee's even HAVE knee's?! what a weird thing to say!!!)

-I want to write a song but I have no piano or keyboard training whatsoever....so I have words but no music (no words yet either but I'm working on it)

-I love running my fingers through my hair 

-focusing on God's love for me makes me want to jump for joy...even in this tired state I'm in

lastly -the more focus I put on Jesus the less stress and worry I have....food for thought (speaking of food...I'M HUNGRY!)


~~~

well those are my late night thoughts tonight, lately I've been having some problems trying to put my thoughts in blog form...I mean I have a lot I want to say but just thinking of ways to say has been kind of a problem...but I'm working on it.

hopefully I'll post more tomorrow.

Blessings

~Krysten~

BREAK every Chain, in the Name of Jesus

There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus

To break every chain
To break every chain
To break every chain

All sufficient sacrifice
So freely given
Such a price bought
Our redemption
Heaven’s gates swing wide

There’s an army rising up
There’s an army rising up
There’s an army rising up
There’s an army rising up

To break every chain
To break every chain
To break every chain (4x)

There's Anointing in the Name of Jesus

There's Anointing in the Name of Jesus 

There's Anointing in the Name of Jesus 

to break every chain

to break every chain

to break every chain!

There’s power in the Name of Jesus

this song has emense power, NOT because of the song itself but because of the anointing that falls down when you completely engage in the Holy Spirit and in worship. God wants to break every chain off of you, He wants you to live a free life dedicated to Him and lost completely in His love and passion.
there truly is power in the name of Jesus, all you have to do is depend on Him and just engage in His presence.
if you want to live a free life, free from bondage, free from the enemies lies...give it all to Him.

Blessings

-Krysten-

Amazing night at church

tonight was AMAZING!!!
I went to evening church, and worship started, we only got through the first 2 songs, and God TOTALLY showed up, He started speaking to people, breaking down walls, breaking chains, and pouring down anointing.

Anyway when I had first accepted Jesus I had started singing in the Spirit and praying in tongues, but ever since I had walked away for a short time I had been unable to get that back for some reason, anyway tonight I had been really getting into His presence and I totally had a personal encounter with Him, and the Holy Spirit came on me stronger then it has been in a LONG time, and I prayed in tongues for the first tiime in years and I started really singing in the Spirit, OMGsh it was amazing.
God broke off chains from me, and He gave me a vision, He told me (and this was something that He compelled me to speak loudly for everyone to hear) the chains that are keeping me in bondage were like a chainmail suit, now I dont know if you know this but chainmail is REALLY heavy, I've picked it up and wow....just imagine WEARING it...

that is what the bondage is, the lies that the enemy tells us, it's heavy, and it weighs you down...just like chainmail....

but God told me tonight that He is REMOVING that chainmail, He is taking that heaviness and weight off and He said that He is REPLACING that with His Armor....which He said is LIGHTER then a feather but NOTHING can penetrate it, it's so strong that the enemy cannot touch me but it's so light there is no burden...

anyway I wanted to share that with you. Church was amazing, and after an encounter with God I am never the same and it's awesome...

if you have a burden, or something weighing you down, God want's to remove that and replace it with His armor and His peace which is NO burden at all.

Be Blessed :)

-Krysten-

4th Birthday :)

Today was so fun!
My oldest turned 4 today, we went to lunch at Chevy's (The Mexican resteraunt) I had fajitas, with their homemade tortillas, it was awesome...I also tried my first margarita, I had a frozen strawberry margarita, and it was okay but after that one time that I got totally drunk from taquila, after that I havent been able to stomach the taste of it, and the margarita had more taquila taste then strawberry taste, so I didnt finish it...my hubby finished it...anyway then we went to chuck e cheese, met a few friends there, friends from church and also friends from the Mom's group I used to go to and so it was a lot of fun.

I want to thank everyone who came, and everyone who sent gifts, My little girl LOVED EVERYTHING :) so thank you so much...

anyway Write more later...
Krysten

Pray for Israel

Israel is being attacked once again by Gaza....

http://www.idfblog.com/2012/03/10/israel-under-fire-gaza/

this is the time where we need to seriously pray hard for Israel, I mean we need to pray all the time for israel but we seriously need to stay in prayer for Israel's safety.

the bible calls for believers to support israel, those who bless and support israel will in turn be blessed by God, those who dont.....well....if you look through history at all who cursed israel...

God protects those that He calls His own.

anyway so please stay in prayer for Israel, God will protect and bless israel,.

God Bless

Krysten

Dream Journaling

today was a lot of fun, I went to church tonight and we did Dream Journaling, it's where you scrapbook about your hopes an dreams and you then pray over them...its really awesome, so far I did three pages.

Worship Leader Dream.
God told me that I have a worship leader spirit and calling and He is going to cultivate that in me. so I am praying into that.

Restoring My Marriage.
God promised me that He will restore my marriage, He told me to trust my heart because He is leading my heart. and He also said that my husband and I will do great things together. so I am meditating on that and fasting for that.God's will be done

Traveling to Israel Dream.
I have a dream to travel to the Holy Land, I feel called there...and I feel like that is home to me when I see photo's. so I am praying to someday go there. God willing

so yeah those are all I have so far but I'm planning on adding even more. my next dream is to make it BIG with Avon :) so look for that post I will post photo's soon too :)

Much Love and Blessings
Krysten

The 7 places Jesus shed His Blood

This was shared at Bible Study last week, and I really read it and meditated on what it said and it has been really awesome, because once we start realizing what the Blood of Jesus did for us, not just saving us from our sin but overcoming so much more, we can start walking in our destiny...


The Seven Places Jesus Shed His Blood


1. In Gethsemane, Jesus Won Back our Willpower. Luke 22:43-46 "Then an Angel from heaven appeared and strengthened Him. He prayed more fervantly, and He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. At last He stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted with grief."


2. The stripes on Jesus' back won back our Health. Matthew 27:26 "So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman Soldiers to be crucified."
This fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah 53:5 "But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins, He was beaten so we could be whole, He was whipped so we could be healed."


3. Jesus' crown of thorns won back our prosperity. Matthew 27:29 "They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on His head, they placed a reed stick in His right hand as a scepter. They knelt before Him in mockery and taunted, "Hail! The King of the Jews!"


4. Jesus' Pierced hands won back dominion over things we touch. Matthew 27:35 "After they nailed Him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for His clothes by throwing dice."


5. Jesus' pierced feet won back dominion over places we walk. Matthew 27:35 "After they nailed Him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for His clothes by throwing dice."


6. Jesus' pierced heart won back our Joy. John 19:31-34 " It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was the Passover). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out."




7. Jesus' bruises won back our deliverance from inner hurts and iniquities. Isaiah 53:5 "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole."




when we truly grasp the reality of this, we can be free, and we can start walking in our destiny. we can walk in the Kingdom Promises that God has for us. 


anyway I hope your all blessed


Krysten

Blessed and Highly Favored

Tonight has been nice, I have been spending a lot of time in the presence of God, it was interesting earlier...I had someone threaten to "curse" me....LOL crazy right? LOL anyway this guy was mad because I wouldnt send him a cell phone, so he said that he's cursing me...so I was talking to God about it and He was telling me not to worry (I wasnt but it was nice to hear it from Him) and that He is protecting me and I just need to trust God, because He is bigger then any curse. God told me that He is blessing me, and nothing can come against that :) so that was really nice to hear that straight from God.
so yeah...
anyway one of the things I wanted to talk about is we dont need to worry about getting cursed when we are washed in the Blood of the Lamb, we are protected, blessed, and highly favored when we start walking in that protection.

So when we walk in the destiny that God has for us nothing can stop us. so thats what I'm doing, I am walking in the destiny that God has for me, I am covered by the Blood of the Lamb, and I am Blessed by the King.

so yeah anyway you can have the same, just start chasing after God, because when you chase after Him the Blessing follows.

Stay Blessed
Krysten

resting in the promises of God

Hey all,
well today was interesting....
the enemy was really trying to get at me the last 2 days, so it's been emotional and not so fun...
he was just speaking lies (or trying to) into my life, and just trying to get me upset, and it did work for a little bit, but yesterday when that happened I went to one of the only places I feel joy even when I'm upset...Church....
God ministered to me during the evening service, all the worship songs were songs I needed to hear so I ended up crying all through the service....but God comforted me and He spoke to my heart, He told me to keep pressing in, keep going, he said "I got this" so that's what I'm doing...
then today the same thing happened....the enemy was trying to get at me....through my marriage....he was trying to speak negitive things into my life....I realize now that I'm calm that it wasnt that though, it was the enemy speaking those things through both of us....so again God spoke to me, telling me that His promise is still valid, He had promised to restore my marriage and make it better then it's ever been before...so I am holding onto that.
so yeah I've had negitivity spoken by others as well...I dont hold it against those who spoke it....I know that they didnt mean anything by it...it was just the accuser trying to get me to focus on something other then God's promises for me...I trust God, and I know that He already knew what was going to happen before He promised to restore my marriage so I know that I have to first go through the trial in order to experience the promise and the blessings....
so yeah I had my weak moments but I am once against standing strong because I do trust God and I know that He knows what He's doing....I may not be able to see the whole picture, but God does....

anyway I guess what I'm trying to say here is no matter what trust God

Blessings :)
-Krysten-