A. Knight

Key Words

August 11, 2014October 21, 2016 A. Knight

There are times in my day-2-day that my ears and mind is arrested by something someone says, or something I see…

An example (just to let you peek in the box of words), at our annual “Wanda Weekend” last year, mother’s words one morning over coffee and devotions- with the sound of the waves colliding with the shore and the aroma of coffee and salt air mingling in our minds– “It’s time to take flight!” stirred more than my ears to full alert…it stirred my heart. A secret longing. More than the “Be all you can be” quote by a dedicated military force, it woke me from a contemplative state that morning into wide awake.

It happens often. I take note, write it down, and talk to God about it.

Saturday it happened again. I saw a sign in a field on my way to spending more than I needed to for things we will consume and forget…I saw a sign. A sign that reminded me of the brevity of this existence—and the surety of His words to believers.

I stopped on the side of the road and snapped it with my phone.

COMING SOON
When you make up your mind, call:

HIM. Of course there was a phone number listed which I marked out–but to call Jesus…no phone is necessary.

Your call will not get dropped.

He is never out of range.

Call on HIM today….He’s COMING SOON.

Friends

Sharing with a Friend!

August 6, 2014October 21, 2016 A. Knight

It has been quite a while since I ventured off page…but today I am over with Lisa Shaw, at Lisa Shaw Cares! I hope you will join me–I feel so honored to be visiting with her friends while she is away from her computer! (Isn’t technology just amaZing??)

Lisa is a friend I met first online, then in person. Her smile will brighten up your heart–no matter how gloomy you may feel! If you’ve ever met a person who seemed to radiate the love of Christ–that would be Lisa 🙂

Grab a cup of coffee or your water with lemon and head over! We will have a great time sharing what God is doing and what He has done in our lives!

Click HERE!

Missions

Stepping Through Time

August 4, 2014 A. Knight

Each mission trip we have participated in has been like stepping through to another time…

In many instances the various places have afforded much of what we have here—such as electricity, running water, cell phones, TV’s –but there are far more mule, horse or ox driven carts than you could imagine.

It’s way further back than “Mayberry”…. It’s not like walking off a movie set and then everything is back to normal…this is their normal.

This particular picture is from our first day in Cambodia in 2012. We had traveled to the temples and the heavy spirit was just as draining as the heat.

There are days that my mind wanders back to the humid climb up the steps—that was every bit as breath taking as the view. Literally. Hard. to. breathe. ~~Walking~~ climbing with Vanessa Perkins beside me—and both of us trying to encourage the other one—“you can do this”… It was tough. Tougher still, is trying to relay what we saw to others with the punch and impact that the trip made on our hearts and minds.

When you tell someone that you’re going on a mission trip—some responses make you smile—and they encourage you to share. However, there are some responses that cause you to “smh”. As they say on facebook. (shakin’ my head)

In 26 days, we leave. Actually, it’s shorter than that I think –depending on what time you read this post. My heart is already boarding.

We’ve got several newbies. I LOVE NEWBIES! I love seeing their faces (I’ve said that before) when they encounter the new land. When they hear the songs of worship in another language…oh my …. Heaven will be unimaginable. Every tribe…every language…all in harmony—singing to the King of Kings!

My role this trip will be different. More than just photographs…you will (I hope) get a REAL feel for the people and the land.

I hope you will join us here on the blog—and pray. Pray even now as we are preparing. Pray as we are packing.

We’ve got a lot of things to take with us this time—with two missions happening at once, the building going up—and the Kids Crusade Team ministering about an hour away….we have been so ridiculously blessed by God! He’s splurged on us- pray that we get through customs without one hiccup. Or sneeze.

There are several team members that are being “sent” by friends and family—you have set aside money to help them go with us—and you have no idea the blessing YOU have become to this trip! Thank YOU! For giving—so that they might go. You are a vital part of this trip.

In just a few short weeks, we hope you will join us…as we step through a door of time… Bolivia. Here we come!

Photo: © Angie Knight 2012-Cambodia

faith, Ministry, Mission Trip, Trust

Is it me–or is it Odd?

July 10, 2014October 21, 2016 A. Knight

Kolomoki Mounds Lake

Ok…there are some odd things happening…

Not bad odd…just odd odd. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

It’s the “odd” sort of things that cause me to pause in my thinking, go back and dig in my prayer journal where I record prayers, thoughts, answers, Scriptures—because when I backtrack to what I’ve asked Him…I find that months later, there’s the answer in front of me—via Word from God through the Word…a scene that stares back at me from across the lake, through a message preached…or through a person– and most always most of those combined.

Side note: I had the BEST surprise this week. A monetary gift from Cindy M. from California to purchase BIBLES to carry to Bolivia! I was thrilled! God is faithful to His promises! If you want to get in on the action or find out what I’m talking about –go here: Bibles and School Supplies for Bolivia! Side note end.

This is from a past devotion. I’m not even sure of the date—but the “odd thing” was I happened on it by accident today… I wasn’t looking…I promise.

In the words of Oswald Chambers, “Dreaming about a thing in order to do it properly is right; but dreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong.”

Can I just tell you that on the day I read this one…it hit me square in the eyes. For several reasons.

1) I had missed doing my devotions in my Oswald Chambers book for a few days. I read other things…—but when I picked my book back up, I flipped first to the “day at hand”.

“SMACK”. Right between the eyes.

2) Yes, I had been dreaming. But to put action behind my dreams scared me to death! But still…

My mother always told us, “Actions speak louder than words”. Yes. I know. A mother’s wisdom.

Oswald goes on further, “When we are getting into contact with God in order to find out what He wants, dreaming is right; but when we are inclined to spend our time in dreaming over what we have been told to do, it is a bad thing and God’s blessing is never on it….’neither sit nor stand but go.’ “

It is alright to wait before the Lord to get the instructions…or the road map—but there are times, when He bids us go–have faith in Him and go—and He directs us step by step.

Wanda’s favorite verse was Psalm 27:14. Wait on the Lord. As you are waiting “before Him”…meaning on your knees, in your prayer closet, or on your face, in your private devotions, He is doing the strengthening. He will be your strength. When you feel you have gone your absolute limit….give it up. To Him. And when He answers, however He may choose to answer, give Him all the praise.

There is preparation work ahead. It’s been on my mind—and just last week—those words were spoken over us and to us by an incredible couple—who are just as hungry to see God in action as we are. They have long since been acting on His instructions…

It’s really odd how things are coming together…For you too?

I firmly believe this:

^“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.⁸Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:¹¹whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:7-11 ESV)

faith, Hope, Trust, Wanda

Face Your Facts With Faith

July 9, 2014October 21, 2016 A. Knight

The last Sunday of June, Doug Clay, General Treasurer of the AG, brought a message that struck and stuck.

If you would like to listen, go to the church website and click on “Hanging Out In God’s Waiting Room”.

The audio/video quality is not the best–but the message was spot on. My interest was highly piqued when he started asking the question, “how many of you feel like you’ve been in or are in God’s waiting room?”

I don’t know if you remember, but that was the only blog post my sister, Wanda, and I wrote together. It was originally on our site, Sisters of Faith, with the title “God’s Waiting Room“, and it was also featured on her funeral service guide.

I had created that blog site so in hopes that it would revive her weary heart with something fun and inspirational to do before her last hospital visit–but God had other plans. Although our lives were dramatically altered, we know His plans are always best…His timing and order always flows in the right direction. And we carry with us, the faith that bore her on.

Sorry to side track–it happens at my age, more often than not….But back to the message by Bro. Doug. It was one of those that resonated in my spirit. I heard– as much as felt the vibrating of the strings as my heart was plucked along with the words, as God began to remind me of the journey we began. I had almost forgotten. No, not really, but as I told a friend — there are days that the memory of what He called me out for is faint–covered with a mist- or fog–like your bathroom mirror after a hot shower–wipe it off.
Now. Can you see…and remember.

I can’t re-preach his message–but I do want to share what God has been reminding me of since that day:

His promises are true. What He said He will do–He will do.
If He has called you to a place–He expects you to follow Him. No dawdling on the road side.
Time is short. Get busy with the gifts He has given you and be contentious with His resources.
Faith is believing without the basis of proof. A missionary cannot prove to you that God spoke to their heart and called them to serve Him in a foreign land (foreign to them, may not be foreign to you)…but they believe and therefore they put their belief into action.

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 12:8) By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the One who had promised was faithful. therefore from one man–in fact, from one as good as dead–came offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand by the seashore. (Hebrews 11:11-12) (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

You and I can have power to conceive…that dream…that promise…

Maybe the facts are not in your favor…but Faith is.

Face your facts with faith*. Watch God in action.

*Statement from Doug Clay’s message, “Hanging Out In God’s Waiting Room”.

Photo: 2012 Retreat-Panama City Beach. © Angie Knight. Used by permission.

Bolivia

GUESS WHAT!! (??)

June 26, 2014October 28, 2020 A. Knight

I can never remember when you are excited about a question–if you are supposed to use an exclamation mark first then a few question marks…or is it questions marks then the exclamation… oh, never mind. You know I am excited to get you to ask me “WHAT?”

This is that time of year when my excitement kicks into overdrive…and I bet yours will too once I tell you the “WHAT”…. 🙂

We are getting ready for B-O-L-I-V-I-A! I told Joel Morales this week via Facebook that I was packing an EXTRA LARGE suitcase this time because I was staying a L-O-N-G time! 😉

Well, I’m not staying longer than the team, but I really am packing big…so are several of the team members…and we are giving YOU an opportunity to make an impact on some awesome little kids…but what is even more neat–the teachers there in Bolivia were blown away last year by the response we got when we had a “school supply drive”–and YOU helped. Many of you brought school supplies to the church, one of my dear friends mailed some in– another couple sent money to make purchases of supplies–it was so exciting! And we are at it again!

This is one simple and fun way that you get to be involved in the life of a child…one that our team will share Jesus with–and hopefully, we BELIEVE, will be able to lead to Christ in that first week of September!

Last year, the faces of the teachers, the look of incredulity was amazing. They ooooed and aaahhed over the pencils, erasers, and crayons. The chattered back and forth in excitement. It brought us to tears.

The only thing that will last throughout all eternity are lives. People. When you sow into the life of another–you are making a difference that will last. I cannot express this enough–if you are not able to go “yet” on a mission trip–this is a GREAT way to get started! (I said “yet” because I BELIEVE that if you truly want to go, God will make a way for that to happen!)

So, without further adieu, we are asking for the following school supplies:

Color Pencils
Regular Pencils
Erasers
Small individual pencil sharpeners
Crayons
Notebook paper
Scissors
Glue
Construction paper
Red Pens (for the teachers)

We also plan to distribute some things in the village:
Tubes of toothpaste and toothbrushes
Bars of soap/bath cloths
1 Kitchen towel, dish cloth and potholder per house (that we visit)

God has opened a door for us to be used in this village where we built the first church and the school is located–and our desire is to keep working there in various ways until He redirects us. Please be in prayer as we work these last two months in preparation for August 30!

ONE LAST THING:
We are taking New Testaments in Spanish to be distributed again–what a joy it was seeing them receive their first Bible!

For each $2, you can buy a New Testament. You can put the Word of God in the hands of someone who has never had their own, and very possibly may never have their own copy without our help.

Can you help? Anything you do will make a difference.

I would like to challenge you who have kids–let them be a part of helping other kids around the world. Show them the pictures from some of my past Mission Blogs and let them see the faces of those we will be visiting. Let your kids help choose the pencils and crayons. Let them help mail the box, or deliver the box! Then when we get there, and I start taking pictures and capturing smiles, come back here and let them see the “more” the world is made of…and I bet you can capture a smile in your midst…

To mail donations or a package:
P.O. Box 40
567 Main Street
Chipley, FL 32428
Attention: Mission Bolivia 2014

We look forward to hearing from you!

faith, Mission Trip, Reflection

Deliberate Commitment

June 11, 2014October 21, 2016 A. Knight

Oswald Chambers wrote: “Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be “foolish” enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.”

I think too often that is where we get hung up. Life has offered us so much—it’s hard to let go. One minute we think we can—easily relinquish the goods…the next minute there’s a hesitation. The hesitation become like a freight train at full speed down the track, blowing steam and making headway into our neatly stacked blocks of thoughts and ideas of what our lives should look like at 50…and 60…and 70.
But what if at 70, God calls you to step out of your comfort zone and commit more to Him than ever before. What if God asks you to let go of what you’ve always called “yours”…and give it up.
What if God says, “I have a better plan”, to the list maker at 25?
What? Are you kidding me?
But I made a list. I have all things lined up. I know when I will graduate, have kids, get married… I know where I’ll live, why, I’ve already picked out the fence for the back yard that will enclose the dog I don’t yet have…what do you mean LET GO?!
Oswald said, “deliberately commit”.

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37:5

I choose to commit, pledge, entrust all of me to God. For His choosing. I have asked myself, “what will that look like”?

Obedience- with joy.

I am a missionary. I serve where I am—and my heart beats for more. I have felt a stirring for quite some time to “commit” all I have to Him…and I do. There is nothing that I own that I would not be ready at a moment’s notice to relinquish. As a matter of fact, I have given thought (much thought) to having a yard sale at my house and dragging as much as I can live without right now into the yard and putting a price tag on it… (What do you want?)
I am certainly not saying you have to do this—just because I feel it…
You alone know what God has in the works for your life—and you likely already know what He will require…or at least part of what He’s already put His holy finger on. We need to remember that the things we hold dear… are just things…yet they bind us so much that we feel a chokehold kin to a death grip on our lives.
What’s the matter with us? We have allowed “things” to possess us, rather than us possess things.
Jeff and I are the mission pastors at our church—a position we love and are called and committed to. We chose to say, “Yes” to God when He spoke into our hearts and lives. It required some decisions that, although they were difficult, they were necessary.

Dreams aren’t fulfilled without putting on your shoes of commitment and taking deliberate steps and action into the road that leads to the realization of those dreams.

Yesterday, after the workday was complete, I sat in my chair and looked back at some pictures of the past steps that are leading to the fulfillment of our dreams. I see, on the periphery that God has shifted things around in such a way that I see the dream coming into more of a reality than I did 4 years ago.
Our church hosts at least one missionary each month. There is one way to grow your mission department in your church—hear their voice. It sounds like the voice of our Father. “Go –commit. Feed my sheep. Make disciples. Love them to Me. Build relationships…and build buildings.”
I love doing what I do. I love following God’s voice and heart. Tears spring hot to my eyes when I think of all the places He has led me and all the words He has spoken into my heart.

Deliberate commitment.

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Psalm 37:4-6

I am committed to doing MORE. Seeing MORE. Being MORE. Loving HIM MORE. GROWING MORE LIKE HIM. Deliberately.
It won’t happen by accident.

Devotion, faith

Go with God

May 23, 2014October 21, 2016 A. Knight

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. Genesis 12:1 NLT

First steps are critical. First steps are applauded. They are remembered. Just as a parent watches with joy, the first steps her toddler takes, so God, watches each of us as we embark on the unknown journey’s of our lives. One step at a time.

Obedience. Step-step. One foot out, here comes the other… Without hesitation or forethought of where it might lead.

That’s what Abram did. The Bible states in verse 4, “So Abram departed…”

When God speaks to us–often we take a practical approach. The human understanding approach. The common sense approach.

We make a list. While lists are not bad… in the process of making the list, we can often turn aside to our own devices. We sort through what God said as if we were sorting through the mail–and we take the parts that make most sense…and then…we consult the accountant…or the neighbor… or the friend.

I’m not against “consulting”. I am actually all for it. So is the Bible. But too often I think we consult those who may not understand–and therefore they give us the idea that — “maybe we heard wrong–or, maybe we are acting in haste”…

I’m very careful on who I consult with regarding my “God journey’s”. I learned the hard way. There are those who “get it”…and those who don’t.

If you have a dream–or a vision that you believe God is directing you to, the first thing (in my opinion), just say “yes”. Then allow God to walk you through the process. Consult those who can lead you in the right direction–in taking the steps necessary to get you from point A to point B….and go with God.

There is an exciting journey ahead. Along the way–you may become discouraged–even think you didn’t hear correctly. TRUST the Voice you heard.

Obedience is key–God will grow you, mold you, re-make you all along the way. Take note of all the things you learn. Keep a journal. There is significance in every step.

And… Go with God.

Photo credit: Beverly Buchholtz 2013

faith, Mission Trip

All For The Commission

May 15, 2014October 21, 2016 A. Knight

We recently had our first “annual” color-paint “Running for Souls” 5K race. What a day.

Carol Rudd supervised and orchestrated the entire event. (She is an amazing missionary and friend!) We had a great time meeting each week planning and laying out all the needs and possibilities for the day…then the day came…when the rubber soles of sneakers hit the asphalt pavement for souls in Bolivia.

That’s what we are about. Bolivia is our current country assignment. With hope and anticipation, I look for God to add another country assignment soon. But for now, we are there. Well, not literally (yet), but in every other sense, we are. We are working hard this year to raise money to buy Bibles, supplies, bricks to build the church, and will take donations from you in any amount! $10 will help buy Bibles! $50 will buy bricks! We leave in just a few short months…time is ticking…

We are running…we are golfing…we are having yard sales and facebook sales–some are doing home repairs, barn building, roof laying, you name it and there are those on our team doing it for missions.

All to share Jesus Christ with those who don’t know Him. All for another soul for the Kingdom of God.

We are active here and there. Don’t get twisted up thinking this group of people only do foreign missions. There is a heart for the lost everywhere here amongst us…in us.

It was a colorful day…

Determination ran…

For souls…

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:18-20 KJV

Devotion, faith, Friends

Attainable Stars

May 1, 2014October 21, 2016 A. Knight

A commercial came on the other night–and the music was neat, and I had been hearing it without seeing it.

So after about the third round of this particular “app” commercial–I watched–absorbed.

At the end I thought, “How cool! I think I’ll download the app”, so I proceeded to download. When it finished, I opened it, expected to “see”…but all I saw was my living room ceiling.

“You dummy”, I said to myself….”you gotta go outside!”

But rather than leave my cozy nest on the couch, I set about exploring the app.

I clicked on “STARS”….

“To see the stars you must pay the price.” That statement popped then rolled in my head the instant I saw the price beside the stars…

Well, I’m not one to just “click” on every single interesting app. If it’s free…and has good reviews, then I likely will…this one wasn’t fully free. But it had good reviews.

“To see the stars you must pay the price”.

I want to see the stars…not just the kind that roll around Sylvester the cat when he gets conked on the head…but the stars that only God can bring about in our lives.

There is something special about gazing up in the black velvet sky–and seeing all these twinkling, blinking lights, billions of miles away–and remembering The Creator.

You are not here by chance. I am not typing this by chance. But by a careful orchestration of events of my life and yours.

I thought the “thought” of the stars this week…and even shared it twice this week…and God knew both times who and how it would affect me, as well as the listener. “To see the stars you must pay the price”.

So, Listener. How did it affect you?

Is there something so “far out of reach” that you think it’s unattainable? It’s not.

The Bible says “with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

In 2009 Tiffany Stuart bought me a card–it was significant. She wrote in it and sealed it up in November of 2009, but didn’t mail it until January 2010. The significance is what was happening at both times. In November, I began praying about something that would alter my course. In January I acted on what I believed God was saying. Her words in pen came on the very day of my action. His message of confirmation.

The front cover of the card was a girl “reaching for the stars”…

I began to do just that…on tip-toe I reach up–for more of Him. His calling on my life, His direction to follow, and His word in my heart–ready to share at any time–with anyone.

One of my biggest encouragers, Connie Haile, sent me this picture:

Is there a “dream” you are dreaming…

Perhaps it seems as distant as the stars…

Yesterday I was compelled to send a message to 3 birdie friends…

“reach for the stars…follow that dream”.

I didn’t send the message because I stayed busy at work…but today….

I’ve arrived home–sitting on my porch, looking up at the sky and imagining the stars...

They are attainable.

Matthew 17:20; Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37; Hebrews 11:6.

Deliberate commitment.

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Psalm 37:4-6

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Psalm 37:4-6