Red Sea Rule #6

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.’” Exodus 14:15

The Israelite children were scared and they were stuck but God said move forward. Rule #6 tells us that when we are unsure of what to do, we just take the next logical step by faith. 

So often when things happen in life when we feel stuck or overwhelmed we shut down. I know this is true for me. I tend to just stop. I know there are things to be done, but I just don’t know where to begin. Or I just feel so overwhelmed I lose all energy then I really don’t want to do anything. The more I shut down the more things pile up and the more I feel overwhelmed…it’s a catch 22 moment.

Going back to what I shared yesterday about a possible move for our family out of state; when we thought this was a go, and a rather quick sell and move we were overwhelmed by all that needed to be done. We started making calls to get home repairs on their way, we started painting, we started planning and in the process became overwhelmed, and we also got ahead of God. Rule #5 states Stay calm and confident, and give God time to work. In the process of staying calm and waiting on God’s timing there are things that can be done while we wait. For instance, we really feel like a move is in our future, we are not sure when, but we feel like it is going to happen, so we wait on the Lord to move. Until then we work on home repairs – some we have to do out of necessity and other we are working on to improve the value of our home for when it is time to sell.

The Israelite Children took that step of faith towards the Red Sea and God showed up!  What are the next steps you need to take while you are waiting on the Lord?

These are my thoughts; I hope you get a nugget out of them.

Red Sea Rule #5

Sorry for the delay again in posting. I was really hoping that when I started these posts I would do one a day until all ten rules were complete, but life happens. So here is Rule #5 - Enjoy!

For someone who struggles with anxiety telling them to stay calm in the mist of an upset is hard. And when so many things seem to be falling apart (sometimes literally) all around you it is hard to stay confident. But I know that there are times when I see an opportunity and I rush ahead of God.

Sometimes I try to put myself in the place of the characters in the Bible story I’m reading. So let’s put ourselves in the place of the Israelite children.  For me, as a former slave who has just been freed, I’ve seen the hand of God move in the plagues on the Egyptians and the protection of my people. Now I’m at the base of the mountain and the edge of the Red Sea feeling trapped because here comes Pharaoh and his men angry and ready to attack. I’ve cried out to the Lord for help but also blamed Moses for bringing us out here to die. At this point I’m sure I would be looking for a passage way up and over the mountain or a boat to take me across the sea, or at least some bamboo to strap together to float across the sea, maybe even some coconuts to make into a radio…okay too much Gilligan’s Island in my life.  But lets face it we all do it – we are faced with an obstacle or decision in our life and we try to figure out what we are going to do on our own.

Here is something that just happened to us as a family and how we handled it. I was recently offered a job with a friend who lives out of state. Meghan and I had been praying that God would open doors for me, we prayed that I would find another job and here it comes, almost out of the blue, and we feel like it is a no brainer. We prayed, God opened a door, must be the job I’m to take. So we start planning a move. We started calling contactors to help do house repairs; roof, drain pipe, AC unit...we start painting, we start cleaning out the old stuff we don’t need to move...It all became so overwhelming so fast. Long story short, it is not the time for us to move, doesn’t mean we won’t move in the next six months to a year, but for now it is not the time to move.

We got ahead of God – we didn’t stay calm, we were overwhelmed with what needed to be done and the amount of time we felt we had to get it done in.  Our Confidence was in us, not in God. And worst of all, we were working this out in our timing, not in God’s timing. We felt like everything had to be done now, this minute and we needed to work around the clock to get it done. We felt so overwhelmed by what needed to be done we couldn't start doing anything. The reality was, God was working things out and He still is and we just need to relax and wait on him. 

My screensaver on my computer has this image on it – 

This is a great reminder that Stress is a human thing and faith is a God thing – when we focus on us, things get stressful, but when we put our faith in God we have reassurance in Him. Since the move is on hold I feel less stressful and more peace about God’s timing.

These are my thoughts and I hope you got a nugget out of it!

Red Sea Rule #4

Sorry for the break in my postings but things around the Kinney house have been a bit chaotic, (I'll explain more in the post) which is why I am excited to share with you Rule #4 from the Red Sea Rules;

Pray - should be the first thing we do, but tends to be the last...why is that?

Lets start off by looking at our story of the Israelite children down by the sea, the Bible tells us that they looked up and saw the Egyptians coming for them and "they cried out to the Lord." (Exodus 14:10) They prayed, I'm sure out of complete fear. Been there before - in a fearful situation and you cry out to the Lord. But you want to know the part that got me? The author of the book pointed out that they "cried out to the Lord. THEN they said to Moses, "because there were no graves in Egypt, have you ten us away to die in the wilderness?" (Exodus 14:10-11) The author points out that they cried out to God but they didn't seem to expect Him to answer.

I'm not sure about you but there have been times in my life where prayer was my last resort. I tried it Scott's way, I cried out to my friends and asked them for advice, but in the end the only way that really worked was God's way. Time after time I would do this pattern, and in the end I would say to myself; "Why didn't I just pray about it in the first place."

There have also been times in my life where I was in a situation or facing a decision and I cried out to God in prayer, but then started figuring out how I was going fix it, solve it, change it...I cried out but I didn't expect an answer.

For example we have repairs to our house that need to be done. They aren't wants, they are needs. (Please understand I am sharing this, not for you to feel sorry for us but rather so you can see how prayer is working in my life through these situations.) We need a new roof, our roof has been leaking for a while now and we keep putting it off because of the cost. Our AC unit is 25 years old and went out a couple of weeks ago, we have window units in the bedrooms but the rest of the house is pretty warm. We found standing water in our garage and thought it was just coming under the door from rain and the garden house, turns out we have a busted drain pipe and the pipe runs under our foundation so they have to tear up our kitchen floor, and possibly our living room floor to replace the broken pipe. All this at one time, while we are waiting to hear from God on what is next for the Kinney family. Lots of waiting, lots of frustration, lots of dollar signs. Through all of this there have been a few sleepless nights, because I started off thinking I need to find a solution to all these problems. Then I was reminded that I -ME - Scott Kinney - did not need to find a solution, all I need to do at this point is pray and seek God's advice, counsel and direction.  I needed to be reminded that in my time of need all I need to do is cry out to God in prayer. Psalm 18:6 says; In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. God hears the cry of HIs people.  Nothing is too Big or too Small for God to care about. If it is important to you, it is important to Him because he cares about you. 
So what is going on in your life today that you need to cry out to God for? I'm happy to join you in praying for God's Will and provision for you so please feel free to share them with me. You can email them to me at scottdkinney@gmail.com 
I would like to ask you to join the Kinney Family in praying for God's Will and provisions in all that we are facing too. I'm learning not to stress out about it but to focus on Rule #2 - Be more concerned for God's Glory than for your relief. I can't wait to see how these situations will play out and to see God be glorified in and through it.
These are just my thoughts, I hope you get a nugget out of it!

Red Sea Rule #3

I hope you have been enjoying my thoughts on this book, but more importantly I hope you have purchased the book, The Red Sea Rules but Robert J. Morgan for yourself - click here to order. ( I get nothing from the purchase of this book) This is just one of those books that I had to share with everyone!
Quick review of Rules 1 & 2;

1. Realize that God means for you to be where you are. (stop fighting it and praise Him for it)
2. Be more concerned for God's glory than for your relief. (Ask; how can you be Glorified God?)

And Rule #3 - Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord.

In case you didn't know it let me set you straight - Satan is real! John 10:10 tells us that the enemy comes to seek, kill and destroy. Many people don't believe in Satan and his demons, but I promise you he is real and he wants nothing more than to destroy God's children.  Since the beginning of time Satan has tried to become like God. He brought temptation and sin into the Garden of Eden. He is our enemy.  That is one of the reasons I love being a part of Thorn Productions. I love how they show the battle that is going on in the heavenly realms for the souls of man. 

Rule #3 tells us to Acknowledge your enemy, BUT to keep our eyes on the Lord.  So often I get into situations and can feel the attack of the enemy. I can hear him speaking lies into my head and can get so fixed on those lies. When I find myself fixated on the lies of the enemy I start to believe them and what he are saying. But when I realize that it is the enemy speaking, I acknowledge that it is Satan. I tell him to flee in the name of Jesus. The Bible tells us in James 4:7; Resist the devil and he will flee. I then turn my focus to God because the devil has no place in my thoughts.

During this season of my life there have been many times when Satan will try to get into my thoughts - placing doubt and fear in me. It is where a lot of the "What if???" questions I spoke about in my post yesterday come from.  Some days I recognize them for the lies that they are right away and rebuke them and the one saying them to me. Other days I hear them and I think about them, and I ponder them and I worry, and fear...but thankfully God shows me where those thoughts are coming from and I quickly turn my thoughts back to God and place my hope and trust in him.  

I can't imagine how people go through life without knowing and trusting God. 

So remember that when the hard times come and the enemy attacks - Acknowledge the enemy, BUT keep your eyes on the Lord.  After all Satan was already defeated at the cross and in the empty tomb. These are just some of my thoughts and I hope you get a nugget out of them. 

Red Sea Rules #2

Today I'm looking at rule #2 of the Red Sea Rules by Robert Morgan. Rule #1basically told us God has us where we are...Rule #2 states; Be more concerned for God's Glory than for your relief. WOW! Looking at the story of the Israelite children from the book of Exodus, Chapter 14, God lead them out of Egypt and they are now camped out over in the corner of the desert by the mountain and the sea. Then God hardens the heart of Pharaoh who leads his army to kill the Israelites. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
We've all been there. We have all faced being stuck with no where to go and feeling like the world was coming down around us. I know for me I have always asked God to make a way out for ME! To remove ME from this problem/situation. But what Robert Morgan is saying is that instead of us asking God to remove us from the situation. Instead of asking God how do I get out of this? We should ask; "God how will you be glorified in this situation I'm facing?" When we change our question and take the focus off of us, God can do some incredible things and he will receive the Glory.
I know for me in my current season of life I get anxious about what is to come. I have lots of "What if..." questions. What if I don't find another job? What if we have to move away? What if the house doesn't sell? What if, What if, What if... Then I realize that my focus is on me and what I can do and how I can work out the situations in life. After reading this chapter, I'm trying to refocus my questions into "How can you be glorified in my current situation God?" (trust me, its not always easy, but it helpful). If God can part the Red Sea and save the Israelite children from Pharaoh, and that same God can raise Jesus from the dead, then I'm pretty confident he can find me the right job, he can provide for my family, he can sell the house...nothing is impossible for God! So I can worry and ask, get me out of this situation, or I can stop and say God how can you be glorified in my current situation.  I'm thankful that God has me in my current season and confident that he will be glorified as he walks me through my situation.
Those are my thoughts - I hope you get a little nugget out of it all!

The Red Sea Rules - by Robert Morgan

Did you ever get a book and start reading it and realize that it was a God given gift? That the contents of the book are what you need, right then in the situation of life that you are going through? Well that happened to Meghan and I. Meghan received a book from a friend called "The Red Sea Rules" by Robert J. Morgan. She read it first and would comment to me often on how I needed to read the book and how it applies to the season of life that we are currently in. I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of reading, but during this season of rest for me I have been looking for books to read that will "inspire" me. I had just purchased a book by Joyce Meyer called "Get Your Hopes Up" and had started to read it and I cannot read more than one book at a time, it gets too confusing for me. So I decided to put my book down and read The Red Sea Rules because it was only on loan from Meghan's friend and we were going to need to return it soon.  I am so glad I am reading it!

It really is one of those - "this is what I'm going through" kind of books. Now I'm only on chapter three but as I have been reading I felt like I was to share some of my thoughts about the rules Robert Morgan talks about. But please, don't take my word for it, go get the book and read it yourself.

The book is about these Rules that Robert Morgan has pulled out from reading the story in Exodus 14 of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. So let's dive in to my thoughts...

Rule #1 states - Realize that God means for you to be where you are. This spoke to me because for the past almost four months I have found myself in a new season of life. I'm between jobs (I like to call it a semi-retirement) and trying to figure out what I want to do in the next season of life.  I admit it has not been my most favorite season of life so far. I'm hoping that one day I will look back and love this season for all kinds of great reasons, but for now I'm just being open and honest...I have struggled a bit with being in this season. I've enjoyed the vacation time with my family his summer, but the lack of routine and constant thoughts of "what's next" has been less than enjoyable for me. But after reading Rule #1 I am realizing that God has me in this season of life for a reason. I may not understand it, I may not even like it but God put me here - He not only allowed me to be in this season, I believe he orchestrated the whole thing. 

Just like God lead the Israelite Children across the desert to the Red Sea and had them camp there, I believe he has lead me to this season I am in and wants me to camp here. I don't know for how long, it may be for another week, maybe another ten months, only God knows. But I'm here and I'm here for a reason. It may be to learn to rest, it may be to learn to trust him, but whatever the reason, I am realizing that God means for me to be where I am right now. And if I were to be honest with myself I really am starting to enjoy it, especially when I keep my focus on God and know that He placed me here and he will release me in His perfect timing. And when I keep my focus on God the "what ifs..." of life don't seem to matter as much because I know God's Got this.

Those are my thought on Rule #1 - Realize that God means for you to be where you are.  If you have read the book share with me your thoughts as we go through these rules together. If you have not read the book I recommend you get it. Here's a link to get it on Amazon - Red Sea Rules

I hope you got a nugget out of this somewhere!

Confessions of a closet ______ Fan...

To bring everyone up to speed…a little over 3 months ago I left my position in Children’s Ministry. Part of the reason I left was God was calling me to a season of rest. Well if you know me rest is not something I do easily. I like to be busy…I like to be doing things. Since I was eighteen years old I have been working 40+ hours a week, sometimes at multiple jobs.  Going from full speed to stop is not something I have enjoyed at all. There were moments of depression as well as moments of hearing God speaking. (And yes I know "resting" isn't just sitting around doing nothing, but its not being active like I'm used to) We did enjoy a three week family vacation visiting family and friends in PA, Ohio and Michigan. (with hopes of more traveling this summer and fall).

I have also done a few things that I’m not totally proud of, so allow me this time to confess…in the last few weeks I have watched all six seasons of…(wait for it)…Glee!  Yes I admit it, I’m a closet Glee fan. Now some of you probably aren’t too surprised to hear this since you know of my love for Broadway Musicals.  The first time I watched the show, when it first aired, I didn’t like it. But in my, “stuck at home without a job” rut I started watching it one night on Netflix and I couldn’t stop.   As cheesy as it can be at times I have to admit it has some good writers and some wonderfully talented actors. (The way I judge if an actor or show is good or not is how quickly I feel like I have become a part of the show). I have to say I learned a great deal from the show as well. By the way, this is not a debate on if the show has good moral ethics. I already admitted watching it and knowing it wasn’t the best morality show out there, however I did learn from it. (Romans 8:28)

The show is all about following your dreams. It focuses a lot on not just following your dreams in life, but also believing in who you are! (Again I’m not here to debate the moral ethics of the show). But after watching the show I really believe it is important to follow your dreams.

One of my favorite characters in the show is William Schuester, the Glee Club Coach. He reminds me a lot of one of my teachers in high school, DeAnne Casteel, not just because they share a love for the arts but because DeAnne also had this knack of pulling the “outcast” out of their shell and helping them to shine and to always follow their dreams.

Throughout the entire show, Mr. Schu, as the kids call him, is always fighting for the kids, helping them with their problems and teaching them to be themselves and to follow their dreams. There is one particular scene that stuck with me from season six where Mr. Schu is helping Rachel, a former glee club student who failed as a television star and now has come back home to find her parents are divorcing and selling her childhood house – she feels like her world is coming down around here. Mr. Schu, shares what I feel is some good advice for facing lifes’ challenges. He compares life with a bow and arrow and says;

“The power is created by the bending of the bow. The more the bow bends the more potential energy is created. Life’s challenges are just the bending of the bow. The bigger the challenge, the more the bow bends the more potential you create to do something amazing.  All you have to do is find a purpose- find the arrow that you’re gonna put in that bow.”

I love this advice, especially in my current “challenge” in life.  As I mentioned before I have worked full time and multiple jobs for many years of my life. To go from all to nothing has been a challenge. To say that I love my new life of not working would be a lie. I know God has called me to a season of rest but I’m not even sure what that is supposed to look like or how to do it. Most days it is a challenge just to face the day and figure out what I’m supposed to do, but I know that through this challenge God has amazing things in store for me. So when the enemy comes in and tries to steal my joy, or speak lies to me, I need to remember that God has bigger and better things in store for me – I just need to rest and wait on him.

I have other lessons I have learned from Glee and will share them with you at another time… for now I’m going to go sing a song and make myself feel better!

Just my thoughts – hope you found a nugget in there somewhere.