Author: Kris Joi

Hi, My name is Kristen Joi Cantrell aka Kris Joi Founder of GC ink. Welcome to our virtual space. We are A Kingdom core.poration that focuses on creating and celebrating beauty from the inside out. Lets journey together through the word and world in Christ. Life. And Style. XOXO 😘 K.Joi Grace.Love.And.Mercy
glam, peace

Compare A Son

Kris Joi

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit

Romans 12:2-3 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith

Greetings In Grace ❤️ Beloved Ones,

I’m excited about being able to write this post on the last day of the month. A lot has transpired since our last post. Things have been intense lately. 🥊I have never felt pushed to so many “limitations” in any of my lifelong memories, as I have been this October. I am just now exiting some serious attacks, testing, and trying that could have been life threatening but God is so good! Even the more it makes me glad to be able to come and break the bread 📖of life together with you.

So in our last post we talked about gos…sip and the importance of keeping our wells 🚰pure. The bible says that out of our belly (mind to mouth) shall come rivers of living water. And how when we allow corrupt 🚫 communication to come forth out of our lips we create the opposite of life (death) for ourselves and all involved (see Proverbs 18:21). On the contrary when we take in the word of God it cleanses us inside❤️out. I’m reminded of John 4:1-42 where Jesus is with the Samaritan woman drawing water from the well and He admonishes her to drink from Him & be refreshed.

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Today God was impressing upon my heart the word comparison. And I love how He gave it to me to write out, Compare A Son, because at the end of the day it’s always about pointing us back to Jesus. So let’s dig in. A while ago we talked about our senses (taste, touch, 👁️sight, hearing, smell👃)… I actually think we skipped the last of the 5 but I promise we will revisit it. When I heard the word comparison I saw an image of a pair of eyes👀 that were looking all around. And although we ought to be alert and aware of what’s going on around us, we have to remember we are in this world but not of it. When we start to walk based on what we see we begin to walk outside of Faith (see 2 Corinth 5:7). In other words our eyes as beloved ones ☝🏽☝🏼were made to look up TO OUR FATHER & SAVIOR (see Hebrews 12:2 & Psalm 121:1). My friend we live in a world FULL of distractions, some intentional, some not so much. But laser sharp focus (given by God) is key 🔐 to us getting the victory. And remember when we win, others win also.

So what makes our hearts/minds so restless these days? Cares my friend…cares (see post Weight for a Weight). But Jesus says cast 👏🏽those cares on Him and He cares for us (see 1 Peter 5:7). On the contrary the world wants us to be weighed 🏋🏽down, worried, and weakened with all kinds of THINGS (social media, who’s doing this, who’s doing that, what will we eat, drink, wear, rumors of wars and wars, political agendas, etc.). This tells me something: our attention must be pretty valuable 💎because not only is the ONE who deserves it (GOD) vying 🥊for it but also is the world, family, friends, spouses, etc. And of course we should make time for those we love, but at what cost? It comes down to this: who & what we treasure/value gets our attention.

One of the more difficult things I had to learn was how to not try to overcompensate😣. I found myself always reaching out to everyone, availing myself to anything, and spending a lot of time trying to make things be that weren’t meant to be at that time. Much out of fear, anxiousness, and at times loneliness, all rooted in my pride(focus on self and what I wanted). But what I had to learn was how to be able to understand moments, quiet 🤫 my desires, learn what to value (including myself), and be led by God. And in exchange I received a greater level of peace (wholeness, soundness, completeness).

It was later I found through our church’s weekly sermon on worship that these exchanges of my heart 🤯for His ❤️were considered worship. So now instead of me worshiping my way, things, acceptance of others, etc. 😢I am now able to give that to God and ONLY worship/bow to God. My friend and what I received (and continue to receive as I continue in worship) in exchange for the excess was greater levels of peace. Y’all I love that word peace ✌🏽 it’s packed with soooo much good stuff. In fact, let’s go there. So please forgive me but over a year ago I said that we were going to do a dive into the 9 fruits of the spirit, and we never did because of my procrastination. But I have a feeling God’s going to have that be my next series of posts.

Isaiah 26:3-4 reads Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength. In fact if you have time the entire chapter of Isaiah 26 is a great read it further talks about the consequences of pride and the results of walking with God. But that word peace is the word shalom shalom in Hebrew. It means: ⛑️safety, wellness, 😆happiness, friendly, health, prosperity, favor, friend, good, rest, 🫡salute, and wholly. And my husband brought to my attention the other day that the word perfect in that passage is translated the exact same thing(shalom shalom). MY LORD! That means when our minds are stayed on Him, He keeps us and we receive a double portion of all those things listed above.

LETS PRAY! God THANK YOU for every promise that you have made to us. To keep us, shield us, and bring us into your perfect peace. We acknowledge Lord there is nothing this world has to offer us that is worthy of our worship. We give you our minds, our vision(s), and everything we possess for we/it ALL belongs TO YOU. We ask for you to keep us in perfect peace as we keep our minds stayed on you! In Jesus Name We Pray! Amen!

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Gos🗣️…Sip🚱

Kris Joi 
The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. ~Proverbs 18:4 
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. ~Hebrews 12:15

The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. ~Proverbs 18:8

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:14

Greetings In Grace ❤️ Beloved Ones,

So sow sew glad you are here. 😁Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity (psalm 133:1). AND Oh how God Loves Us, I Love Him and I Love You (truly)!!! The longer I live i’m realizing more and more the power of God’s Love to change us from the inside out. It has become my driving force these days and i’m so grateful for it!

I was meditating (pondering) on a few things this week and I was excited when God starting to impress upon my heart tonight’s topic (it’s currently in the 11 o’clock hour ⏰where I am located). Now by looking at the title you may wonder what’s so exciting about Gos…Sip, WELL it depends. I love that God had me to break 🛠️the word up into two parts Gos and Sip. When looking up the origin of the word, gos- actually originated from old English meaning god. And the word sip comes from the middle English word Sup meaning to drink. This is also where we get words like supper, super, supply, superior, supplement, etc. from. Which i’d love to talk about but for the sake of time & space we’ll save that for another post.

But what really excited me was when I realized that gos is also in the word GOSPEL. Now that’s good news! But nevertheless it was also on my heart to deal with the “other side of the coin” (so to speak or metaphorically). Let’s start with a question. Have you ever experienced 🗣️gossip firsthand in your life? How did it make you feel? What type of effect did it have on your thinking and/or relationships? Let me guess… probably a combination of confusion, pain, and disorientation. 😵‍💫Ask me how I know. Unfortunately friend we have all probably been both the victim & perpetrator of this act. And it (gossip) indeed is not a victimless crime.

Shrine Of Christ’s Passion in St. John, Indiana✝️

In fact it harms all those who are involved. SELAH (Pause & Ponder) and SAYLESS (Understand). I was taught by my leader that you cannot pray/intercede for anyone that you are actively against (see definitions of the words 🙏🏽pray vs. 🐍prey). Meaning you can’t be for someone and against them at the same time. Now does this mean we will agree 100% on everything always? Of course not. We are human. As they say there are two sides to every story, which I’m finding to be true.

Nevertheless there is ONLY ONE TRUTH (see John 14:6). And if we want to see if our ways and words are in alignment with truth we ought to look to God’s Word/Jesus, whom is the author ✍️ and finisher of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2). God is not a man that He should lie neither the son of man that he should repent (see Numbers 23:19). My friend God is faithful, even when we are faithless (see 2 Timothy 2:13). And He is a friend that 🪵sticks closer than a brother (see Proverbs 18:24).

In these last and evil days it is important that we ask God to give us hearts that can discern good vs. evil. For we know that the thief/enemy of our hope filled mind, will, and emotions only wants to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10). BUT OH THANK GOD FOR JESUS, ✝️ who comes to anchor⚓️ our soul (mind, will, emotions, appetites) in hope/Him. David said he would have fainted if he had not believed that he would see the goodness of God in the land of the living (see Psalm 27:13).

Let’s Pray. Father purify our hearts and cleanse our hands. Purge & deepen our wells. Let them bring forth living waters. Forgive us for our sins. Forgive us for all the unrighteous blood shed, the sins of our fathers, children, and our children’s children. Cover us in your blood that our hearts would be right before you. We repent (change our mind & actions) and ask that you would give us another chance to live the life you created for us to live. In Grace, Love, and Mercy, Completely Hidden In Christ.

XOXO,

K. Joi❤️

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Fix Your Face! 🙂🙃

Kris Joi

Isaiah 1:5-6 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Scripture References

Greetings in grace beloveds,

I’m grateful to God and pray that ALL is well with and for you! We serve an AMAZING God whose love for us is GREAT! I pray that as we continue in our journey we never forget where God has so graciously brought us from. Let us never cease in our thanks giving, and seize every moment of our lives as an opportunity to live in/for love. For God is Love (See 1 John 4:8). ❤️

On that note let’s dive in. Our ministry just came off of our seasonal time of virtual prayer & fasting, and as always it was AWEsome. The wonderful thing about these gatherings is anyone from anywhere who has a heart to seek God & grow can join. With just the click of a button people from all over the world (from different churches, cultures, and ages) have been able to seek and cry out to God together, for both corporate & individual advancement. And y’all we’re on the move! If you would to join a collective of like minded individuals who are hungry for God you can 📧 email admin at behindtheveil0720@gmail.com, the more the merrier 🙂 !!!

When I say I am so grateful for being able to be on the Lords side in these times, it’s an understatement. It disheartens me when I look at the condition we are in as a whole, and have committed myself to being apart of creating change for good. Seeing people being tossed from pillar to post, to and fro, in and out, up and down is not the Fathers heart for His people. One morning I heard God 🗣️speak one simple yet relevant word to me and that was STAND (See Ephesians 6:11). Ever since i’ve been holding that word in my heart as I continue on this journey.

In this verse (Eph. 6:11) Apostle Paul(A.P.) is admonishing the church to put on the armor of God to protect themselves from tricks of the devil our adversary/enemy. He further goes on to list the different pieces of armor in the next few verses and their placement. For the sake of time we are just going to take a look at the helmet ⛑️ and the head. In the natural we know we wear a helmet on our heads to protect it from harmful impact. In this passage A.P. identifies the helmet to be salvation (verse 17).

That word salvation ✝️ in the Greek translates properly concrete, defence, defender, or to protect from attack. We talked a little bit about salvation in a past post in which we ended with a call to return to the Lord. Whom is the head of the church, and our ONLY means of salvation. Apostle Paul is admonishing the church to protect there head/mind from outside attack by receiving continual salvation (through Christ).

When I heard the title for today’s post immediately after I heard Isaiah 1:5-6 and several other scriptures that talk about our eyes, ears, mind, and even mouth being surrendered to & set on God. I will include all of those scriptures in the next 💋 P.S. post for the sake of time & space. Nevertheless, God was highlighting to me how sickness in the head (literal or figurative) can lead to sickness being spread throughout our entire body. And that healing is going to come to us as a whole ONLY when JESUS becomes our focus from the head down. David said I will look to the hills, from which comes my help (See Psalm 121:1-2).

I’m reminded of the scripture 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. My friend I’m so encouraged that God gave us a way of escape from every enemy that comes against our hope-filled future. There have been many times where I found myself in situation that I needed rescue, and EVERYTIME I turned to God and asked Him for help, He never failed me. What is it you stand in need of today? Even if you’re not really sure, or there’s a laundry list of things, I encourage you (even as I encourage myself) fix your face on Jesus!

Inward Beauty Reflected Out #Grace #Love #Mercy #Christ.Life.Style

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Hide & Seek

Kris Joi

Psalm 119:11 NKJV Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Image by kalhh from Pixabay

Greetings in Grace Beloved Ones,

“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace” (Numbers 24-26). Hope that this post finds you well and inspires your heart. So when I heard the title for today’s post it made me think of how many things we learn as children that are still relevant in adulthood. I remember someone saying everything I needed to know I learned in Kindergarten. And whereas the word everything is a bit of a stretch, I agree that much of what I learned as a child, rather good or not so good, has had some effect on my adulthood. 

For instance I have fond memories of my mom keeping our home clean and making breakfast for us before sending us off to school. I also remember my dad going to work to make sure we had the things we needed as children. As an adult I am more able to appreciate their sacrifices than back then. Even how these things ingrained something in me in the form of training/cultivating me for my coming into adulthood. I thank God for them & their sacrifice. Even as our natural parents have sacrificed and ingrained things within us, how much more has our Heavenly Father who made us in His image & likeness.

Let’s “start” here our words & our actions have a residual effect on everyone that encounters them. David understood the power of words, especially God’s word. The book of psalms is filled with reminders of the UTMOST importance of the word of God being our meditation & habitation. In simple terms God wants us to Remember & Live in, by, for, with, and through His word. This is why in the scripture David said he would hide God’s word in his heart (mind, will, emotions). He understood the value of God’s word as it pertained to LIFE! The bible says man shall not live on bread alone but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (see Matthew 4:4). It also mentions the power of life & death being in our tongues (see Proverbs 18:21). Think & Speak on that!

So let’s take a look at a few words in the scripture Psalm 119:11 written above ^. The first one being, hid. The word hid comes from the Hebrew word tsaphan meaning to hide by covering over, to reserve, protect, esteem, keep, a secret place, lay up. Next, let’s look at heart, in the Hebrew leb, meaning feeling, will, intellect, center of anything, mind. And lastly sin, in the Hebrew chata, meaning miss, lack, lose, loss, lead astray. So as this generation would say David didn’t want to be caught slacking. He understood the word was a treasure that had some benefits to his daily life and if he didn’t keep it, it would be to his loss. The bible also tells us that there is a thief (the enemy) that comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I AM(Jesus The Living Word) comes that we would have life abundantly (see John 10:10). Now we have to ask ourselves when Jesus comes to see us where will He find us… seeking or slacking?? 

IDK about you but I want to be found seeking, serving, and safe in Him. Psalm 91:1-2 talks about dwelling in the secret place of God so that we are hidden from the dangers of the thief. Which leads me right into our second and last scripture from above Jeremiah 29:13. In this passage God is speaking to His people who have been led astray into captivity. He reminds them of His plans and thoughts to prosper (not harm) them and bring them out of captivity into freedom. And that this place of freedom will only come when they seek(worship, pray, ask, enquire, desire, strive after) Him with all of their heart.

Beloved I’m so glad that God provides a place of refuge in the seek. There are times where we may find ourselves captive/captivated by sin & wicked ways(inside & out). But Jesus says return/seek/see/speak of me & my way/word, and find Peace(rest, quietness, prosperity, be set at one again). Thank God for freedom! This makes me think of the parable of the lost sheep. That talks about a shepherd’s willingness to go after one lost sheep while leaving the 99. Jesus our good shepherd doesn’t want not one to be lost, but hidden & found in Him!!!

XOXO 

Grace, Love, and Mercy

P.S….. Post Prayers, Petitions, Scriptures, And Songs Coming Shortly 🙂 ❤

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Ascend N.O.W.(No Other Way)

Kris Joi
Photographer Credit: Stefan Cosma @ Unsplash

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Cast all your care upon Him for He careth for you.

Greetings In Grace,

And blessings be multiplied unto you in the favor of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. I thank God for His continual lovingkindness and faithfulness even toward us. One of my favorite scriptures is 2 Timothy 2:13, it states “if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” It’s a reminder that God is constant and doesn’t change, in an everchanging world and in our transitions in life. Let’s press in to His faithfulness.

The word humble (G5013) in the passage above means to bring low, lower, depress, assign a lower rank, bring ones soul(mind 🧠, will, emotions) down of its pride, think modestly/less of self. I heard someone say it like this it doesn’t mean to think of yourself as less but to think less of yourself. Then it says under the mighty (powerful) hand of God. This makes my heart ♥️ leap with joy because in the last post we were talking about feeling/touch, and God’s ability to be touched by our infirmity/ weakness, and to touch us back to impart into us His strength. When we allow God to bring us under His power, direction, and guidance He will lead us in THE WAY.

Let’s talk about some practical ways of humbling ourself. The first thing is making up in our mind that we are going to give our lives over to Him. The bible 📖 says we cannot save ourselves, Salvation only comes through Jesus. John 14:16 Jesus said to him, ” I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” If we believe in our ♥️hearts and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord we receive His eternal salvation. If you are reading this and are considering giving your life to Jesus I both encourage and admonish you to DO IT! I am going to attach a prayer 🙏🏽 of salvation at the end of this post, feel free(literally & figuratively) to use and/or share it.

Take note we are not saved by works (see!!! Ephesians 2:8-10), yet when we are saved there are works that come with and aid us in walking 🚶🚶🏽‍♀️out our salvation (victory, help, health, safety). These works done in sincerity of heart are ways in which we humble ourselves under God’s hand: prayer, fasting, hearing/reading/meditating/studying God’s word, serving/considering others, sacrificial giving, etc. For these are all things God has instructed us to do in His word (by His leading/strength/power) as a means of turning us away from the worlds wrong 🚫way of doing things, unto his perfect way. As we continuously turn towards God, seeking Him first, we continually grow, advance, and prosper as He changes our heart(see 2 Corinthians 3:18).

Now let’s look at the word exalt. It comes from the Greek word hypsoo (G5312) meaning to lift up, elevate, exalt, to raise to opulence, prosperity, honor, dignity, and happiness. The passage goes on to say in due ⏰time, meaning the proper/set time. One of the most important concepts i’m learning in life is time & place. Have you ever heard the saying being at the wrong place at the wrong time? Well just as that saying goes there is a such thing as being in the right ✅ place at the right time. And when we allow God to lead & guide us He always leads us in the right direction. 🧭

This is why Jesus prayed to the Father during one of His most agonizingly painful moments, if you be willing remove this cup far from me, nevertheless NOT MY WILL , BUT THY WILL BE DONE. At that moment Jesus felt all the feels, 😩 as this Generation would say, and the weight of every ungodly sin pressing on his body & soul that we would ever commit. Yet He knew no sin, He is righteous in every way! But He chose to take our failures, flaws, and mistakes upon Himself so that we would be set free from everything that holds us ⬇️down & back. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelations 12:11).

I find great comfort in the part of the passage that states, casting our cares on Him for He cares for us. The word care there means through the idea of distraction. In a time where there are so many things pressing to cause us to take our 👁️ focus off God’s Way, we must come pray like Jesus for willful determination to yield and keep our eyes on the prize. The prize is everything on the other side of where we are now, that God has promised 🌈 us (more peace, joy, love, blessings, glory, understanding, breakthrough, etc.). My friend God never runs out of goodness and He wants to 💝 gift us with it. When we trust Him with everything He exchanges our current reality for a greater one.

C.I.A. Call in Action: 💭 Ponder what things/cares have been distracting us from spending time under God’s guiding? Let’s pray 🙏🏽 and ask God for strength to surrender and strategy to press in and on to greater.

Grace, Love, And Mercy (G.L.A.M.)

XOXO K. Joi ❤

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Feeling Some Kind….Of Way

Kris Joi

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

Psalm 63:4-5
The Path of Logic?

Greetings in Grace Kings Kids,

Hope that this letter message finds you well. I speak blessing upon blessings over you, and stand 🙌🏽 touching & agreeing in the power of the Holy Spirit that it (ALL) is well with our souls!! Excuse my tardiness, last we spoke Winter was making its final appearance, but praise be to God Spring 🌺🌿 is here! I thank God for every season, for each has it’s own signifigance, but if in all transparency Winters are usually really hard for me. I live in the Chicagoland region and our cold is cold ❄️, and in addition to that there are shorter periods of daylight. And for someone with a Vitamin D (sunlight) deficiency it at time really affects my mood & momentum! Keep me lifted! 🙏🏽

Nevertheless, as the Apostle Paul stated, forgetting those things which are behind and REACHING 🙋🏽‍♀️ forth unto those things which are before (phil 3:13). Which is the perfect transition into todays post. We have been talking about the senses in our last few posts. In grade school we learned these 5 to be taste 😋, sight👁️, hearing👂🏽, touch✋🏼, and smell👃 . Recently I’ve been pondering on touch/feel/feeling. The scripture says we don’t have a High Priest (Jesus) who is unable to be touched by the feeling of our infirmities/weakness (Hebrew 4:15). Ohh do I thank God for that!

As I was gazing through the scriptures I came across numerous times where Jesus being moved with compassion released healing & strength to those that touched Him. Some touched Him directly and others touched Him indirectly, but either way it was their faith reaching into Him as the cure that caused them to be made whole. The word touch translates in Greek G680 aptomai which means to attach, fasten oneself to, cling to, adhere. When I read this my mind was so comforted in the thought of being able to be attached to God.

I then decided to dig a little deeper and look into the words feel and feeling, which are associated with touch. There were a few different translations & meanings for both, but for the sake of time I will just list 📝 a few that really STOOD OUT. Feel = G5584 pselaphao to handle, mentally to seek after, verify by contact, manipulate. Feel= H995 bi^n to separate mentally, distinguish, to understand. Feeling = G4834 sumpatheo to feel sympathy, have compassion. There are also some translations that have more of negative connotation to them such as to be apathetic and injure, but we will touch on those in a later post.

With these definitions in mind I realize why David (a man of many emotions)😩🤩😭😱would constantly command his soul (mind, will, emotions) to kneel or take a knee before God. He was acknowledging God’s sovereign rank above ☝🏽 all his feels, from depair to terror to cheer. I too can relate to at times my mind, will, and emotions being a rollercoaster 🎢 ride of right & wrong feelings. But thank God for the power of His word & Spirit to bring me/us into sobriety. Even as David cried Lord restore me unto the joy of thy salvation and unhold me with thy free spirit (psalm 51:12).

And my friend there has not been one time that in bowing 🙇🏽‍♀️ before/touching our maker that He did not (in His compassion) wittingly guide me into the Way (Him). As I was typing this I’m reminded of something my Father in the gospel often says, God was fully aware of everything about us, and everything that we would ever do when he called/chose us. Nevertheless, it’s a genuine pursuit/seek in humility that God desires/requires. One of my fav scripture is Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

If I can be honest with you friend there have been times past where I really was straddling the line of trying to earn God’s grace vs pressing towards the mark. Until I realized that’s simply not 🛑 truth, but an impossible lie. Our righteousness is filthy rags and void/empty. It’s not until we allow the Word/Jesus to permiate our hearts ❤️ that we are changed. I’m always in awe of how when I stand on/in the Word, things are steady. However, on the contrary when my feet are hitting the ground running with life i’m weary. 😮‍💨

So what’s our C.I.A. (call in action) for today forward? Wake up & Word Up! Bow and make contact with the lover and restorer of our soul!

P.S. 🔜 Coming Soon ….

Grace & Peace XOXOXO ~Glam Chic~

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P.S. Taste & See

Kris Joi

Scriptures

Prayer 🙏🏽

Dear Father,

Thank you for your goodness. Cause us to recognize it in our day to day living. Forgive us for the times we were blinded by prideful cares that didn’t allow us to see You. We desire to set our gaze upon you that we would be changed into the image that we see. Teach us how to guard and guide our tongue and eyes from things that cause us to stray. Let the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts ❤️ be acceptable in your sight oh Lord our redeemer.

We speak 🗣️ the word of truth that produces good fruit in our lives and those around us. We will use our tongue to build up and not to destroy. Forgive and cleanse us from gossip, idolatry, lust, envy, jealousy, greed and all forms of carnal/deadly actions. And as we turn away from those things we know that you see us and keep us as the apple 🍎 of your 👁️ eye. Again we give you thanks praise glory and honor. In Jesus name we pray Amen!

Song 🎵 🎼 🎶

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Oh Taste & See pt. 2

Kris Joi

Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him!

Glory, Honor, and Praise to our God! For He is good and HIS mercy endures FOREVER (to ALL generations). When I think on the goodness of Jesus my soul cries Hallelujah! I’m excited to share this place with you that God has had me in, with the hope/prayer that it will continously resonate to us-ward. I love that as the world is spiraling deeper into chaos God calls us deeper into Him (He= safety, security, fruitfulness, devine order & alignment). Last month we talked about how God has given us sense(s) to help us navigate not just our now but TO INFINITY And BEYOND (lol gotta love classic Toy Story)!! And when I say that word has been being tested, tried, and “trued” in me, oh my! Thus how I know God wants me to stay right there/here. And although it has not been easy, the fresh vision/outlook is well worth it! The word says ask and it will be given unto you, seek and you will find, knock and the door (Jesus) will be opened unto you (Matthew 7:7-8).

On that note 🙂 in Ephesians chpt. 1 (verse 17-18) the Apostle Paul prayed that the eyes of their (our) understanding be enlightened; that they (we) would know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints through the knowledge of Him Christ Jesus. As with all of our senses/organs of perception, first & foremost they are for experiencing God! Eyes for seeing, a tongue for tasting/speaking, ears for hearing, etc.. As simple as that may seem it does take some time, attention, and effort to obtain & develop our spiritual senses. The Bible says blessed are those who see and hear (Matthew 13:16-17), and further explains that many desire it but have not obtained. The word speaks of how being like the world disables our ability to have good sense(s). I recall moments in my own life where I became so distracted/overwhelmed by natural things that it became extremely difficult for me to see, hear, and feel God (see 1 john 2:16). It was not until I made the decision to turn my mind back to God’s word and way that my eyes were opened. I’m so grateful for the Holy Spirit of God who alerts me to pivot when i’m off. Whereas our spirit may lead us one way, God’s spirit re-directs us into truth (Jesus). I just want to encourage someone who may feel like they are drowning in cares right now to cast (aka throw forcefully) them on Jesus through the power of His spirit because He REALLY CARES FOR YOU!

Let’s start by taking a look at the eyes. The word eyes translates ophthalmos in Greek meaning eye-sight & vision, it’s where we get our word optometry/optometrist from. It also interjects the words jealousy and envy which we will touch on a little later. As stated & reiterated above God gave us both our natural and especially our spiritual eyesight for first Him. In fact the bible states that we are changed into the image of Him that we see. Our ability to see God for who and how He really is will directly affect the way we see things in life. I remember looking down from an airplane flying over downtown Chicago, and those huge skyscrapers looked like tiny ants from way up there. When we allow God to shape our perspective concerning things especially the big and/or challenging things we can respond in a greater way. Because now He imparts Himself into us so that we can be transformed (Romans 12). Remember in the beginning was the word, and the word was God (John 1). But what happens when our eyes become fixated on things other than God? Well… it gives room for the enemy to persuade us in the opposite direction and our fleshy human nature to come in agreement and carry it out. We see an example of this with Adam & Eve in Genesis 3. This is where we get things like jealousy (possessiveness/obessesion over things), adultery/perversion, envy (desiring what belongs to another), and a whole list of other things that come with lustful eyes (see 1 tim 6:5-6).

Now let’s take a look at the tongue/mouth. The book of James (one of my favorites) talks a lot about the tongue. Chapter 3 verse 5 mentions that it’s a little member(part) but boasts a great deal and likens it to a small spark that leads to a great fire. The bible also says the power of life and death are in our tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Meaning we can either cause things to thrive by what we speak or decay. How many times have we spoken things that created for us a world of trouble? I have been learning to be more conscience of what I allow to proceed out of my mouth. Because at the end of the day if it’s not in alignment with God’s truth, it’s simply a lie! And my friend lies lead to bondage (slavery) and truth leads to freedom. This is why speaking God’s word over our hearts/minds, our children, our homes, our loved ones, our cities, etc. is so important. One day as I was in the midst of a wrestling match with fear/doubt/unbelief, God said to me firmly and in love, whose report are you going to believe…Choose? Two of my favorite passages on the benefits of taste are Psalm 119:103 and Matthew 16:28, i’m not going to type them out right now but I encourage you to look them up (you can also come check them out and download them on this months P.S. prayers/petitions/scriptures/songs).

I know we spent a lot of time on using our senses to perceive God, but i’d also like to share some other beautiful ways our natural senses can be a benefit in list form just for fun & reference P.S. I’d love to see a picture or clip of you employing any of these strategies we talked about today #glamchic, email them under the contact section or post under the comments.
Taste & See List: Look at the flowers, enjoy your favorite savory or sweet dish, go bird watching, sightsee in your city, drink a hot cup of coffee/coco/tea, go on a picture walk through your phone, eat an apple or orange….

XOXO,

K.Joi