"Time?! I just aint got it!"

"There is just not enough hours in the day!"

Have you caught yourself saying that? I know I have. I am pretty sure that I am safe to say that we ALL have said that. If not, really, on a daily basis. About 2 months ago I caught myself saying that and was stopped dead in my tracks when God, in the every so gentle voice he has, said this:

"Amanda....did I not create this day?"

ummm...WOW! God you are so right. Have you ever thought about that very thought my friend? Thought about the fact that God created the very day you live in? He created it with a dawn and a dusk. With a sun rise and a sun set. With a day and a night. He created it with 24 hours.

24 hours


"14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night." -Gen 1:14-16

When we think about 24 hours in themselves, it seems like a lot. But when all of the sudden there is "so much to do" 24 hours is not nearly enough. What more could you accomplish with 28 hours? 30 hours? Would you be "done" with everything with 40 hours in the day? Would you die by the 50th hour? And to top it off....not only do we get 24 hours in a day, but we get SEVEN days with those 24 hours. Is it so rough to say, "I will take care of that tomorrow?" ...sometimes...yeah.

Believe me, I am preaching to the choir. I am one busy person and I do not quite understand the idea of rest yet, but Im learning the beauty of it. I keep myself busy all the time. I am finally in a season where I have a day off. One day off...but it's a start. I havn't had a day off in 4 years. I look back on it and think how crazy I was, I am!

I remember the night that I was diagnosed with Cancer. I was laying in bed after having a couple of hours to think about it and let it sink in. I remember the thought crossing through me mind, "I don't have time for Cancer." HAHAHA! WHAT?! WHO THINKS THAT?! You don't have time for Cancer? Well, Cancer doesn't stop because you are busy.

Let that thought sink in. "Life does not stop because you are busy."

What are we missing because we don't have time to notice it or see it?

Last week I challenged you to see God in the small things. How did that work out?

Life does not stop because you are busy.

Your kids are not going to stop growing up because you are busy. Your family holidays are not going to be lived again because you are busy. Special events in your life such as graduations, weddings, funerals, birthdays...NONE of them are going to be lived again because you were busy.

I think God put 24 hours in a day on purpose.

I mean look at us now. We cram everything we can into those 24 hours...sometimes not even acknowledging the One who created this day.

When I walked through my cancer...it was a forced rest. And I couldn't WAIT to get the heck out of it. It was hard. It was hard to force myself to rest, because my body needed it. Still needs it today. God showed me a lot during that time and is showing me more every day about rest. How he created it. How he desires it. I forced myself out of it early and I pay the consequences for that daily in pain and a longer healing time.

But that forced rest is what started my real journey with the "Kickdrum Trees". I realized that I was living life hour by hour, trying to get as much done as I could, I was missing out on the little things. How much of God's creation had I passed by without the acknowledgement that it was even there?

"This is the day that YOU have made...I will rejoice and be glad in it." -Ps. 118:24

What would our life look like if we started each day with a prayer, "LORD, this is YOUR day. Not mine. Lead me. Walk with me. Give me wisdom on how to spend it. And may every minute be glorifying for you."

I have heard a story before, and was reminded of it by a coffee with a dear woman in my life. This man said, "I spend the first hours of my day with God, because I know if I don't, i will get busy and won't do it at all." I think in some sense, he gets it. He knows that the most important thing about his day is his time with the Lord. Now i am not saying you HAVE to spend time with the Lord in the morning. That is not what this is about...but it IS about the time we do or do not dedicate to him.

That is kinda like saying, "Mom...you made this wonderful dinner, however, you can not have any of it...because I have plans for it."


Don't worry friends...I am trying to figure it out too. But these are the thoughts in my head.

24 Hours

Some questions I have been challenged to ask myself. Maybe you can too?

-How am I spending my time?
-Am I missing out on anything God has for me because I am rushing?
-Am I using wisdom in the way I spend my time?
-Is anything that shouldn't be suffering, suffering because I am to busy? (family, kids, friends, ect.)

Let's slow down this week. Let's be ABLE to notice the "KickdrumTrees" in our life because we did.

Lord,

I pray for my friends and myself this week. God teach us what it means to rest. Teach us what is means to slow down. When we are rushing, speak gently to our hearts and remind us that you are here with us. Lord give us grace for the things we are committed to...give us the wisdom of Balance. Lord, challenge us in the way we spend our day and may every decision and thing we put our hand to honor and glorify you. May we be able to see you in small things this week Lord. Thank you for creating the 24 hours we get every day Lord. Thank you for each sun rise and each sun set. May each we live be the beginning and end to a day that pleases you.

We love you Lord.

It all started with a game of "Words With Friends"

I bought my Ipod touch for one reason really..... "Words With Friends".

I was so excited when I bought it and I could finally play. So as I watched the screen as my app slowly began to load, i grew more and more happy thinking of all of my friends and their fancy Iphones that enjoyed this game together. When the loading was complete, I was stopped at a halt by 3 small words: Create a User name. So I sat and thought. Out of all of the millions of user names I could choose, what should I pick?

Let me rewind the story a bit further.

About 3 years ago, I was on an epic walk in a local park, "Woodward" is the name, with some of my friends to see this cave. We walked up this very long and dusty road. I remember looking down wondering why, one I had worn white shoes and two why i had not worn sun glasses. By the time we actually reached the cave, I won't lie, I was ready to go home. I sat and watched my friends all climb this steep little hill, dust flying everywhere, with this absolutely impossible chain that had a death sentence to hand any one's hands who touched it. Not to mention, I was of course wearing flip flops. Now don't get me wrong, the cave was pretty cool. Tons of people had visited it before and climbed in, tagged their name or whatever cute little saying they wanted and left it for the next "hiker" if you will. They called it the "peace cave", well, because there was a giant peace sign in it! (WAY TO GO HIPPIE TAGGERS!) Like I said before, don't get me wrong, the cave was cool, but I was focused on other things.

The other thing you may ask? ....A tree.

To the right of this cave on top of a hill was this AMAZING looking tree. To some, it could have been just an ordinary tree, but honestly, I was mesmerized by it and could not take my eyes away from it. It was right above where we stood. The face of the hill it was on had broken away leaving the roots exposed. As you looked closely, you could see the roots of this tree had been rooted down into the rock of this hill. In that moment, I remember just thinking of one word: Beautiful. Soon after I had laid my eyes on this wonder, I heard the Lord speak so clearly in my ear.

"Amanda, I want you to be rooted in The Rock"

I had been facing a season of stretching and molding and it was the perfect time to hear that word from the Lord. The very nature speaks of our creator, so why should He not use what he has created to speak to us?

This moment began my slight obsession with trees.

I just LOVE them. Not because they are anything fantastic, but because God often uses them, like he did in that moment, to speak to me. He often finds a way to relate a tree that I just happen to be around to speak to me.

...its the same is kick drums.

Drums in general give me a headache. Not so much when you hear them with other instruments, but when someone is just pounding aimlessly on them, with no type of rhyme or rhythm ...insta-headache. But oh...the kick drum. Any time hear a foot working that kick drum, my heart goes still for just a moment. Why you ask?

Because when I hear a kick drum, I hear the very heartbeat of God.

Over the last few years, God has really taken me on a journey to find him in the small things. We tend to look for him in the HUGE things. The things that are easy to see with the eye, but what about the things we have to look for? or listen for?

"The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." -1st Kings 19:11-12

How often do we cry out to God for an answer and plead with him as to why he does not give us an answer, when it is quite possible that he has, but we've missed it? Maybe it is that we are expecting God to answer they way WE want him to answer, but he desires something else. When I saw that tree, or hear that drum, it is a constant reminder that God can speak to me in ways I would never guess he would. Because he knew they would be placed I would remember. An "alter of remembrance" sort of experience. He knew that every time I see a "special" type of tree or heard a kick drum that I would listen for his voice.

I love watching for God in the "Kickdrum Trees". The Little things. God's voice surrounding me in all of creation.

Fast Forward to the "Words With Friends" Game.

When that game asked me what my username would be, I thought about it for a moment. Then it came to me. "Kickdrumtrees" My moments with God.

Later that week, I began a game with a woman I love and she asked me what the name meant. I had the pleasure of explaining the awesome connection I have with the Lord. In that same conversation she said, "Amanda, you should start a blog. You have a lot you could share with the journey you have been walking and have walked." Not 10 minutes later another friend said, "Amanda, you use words well, you should start a blog." ...Ok Lord...what are you trying to say.

I have never been one for blogging, but I love writing. So I figured I would give it a shot. So here I am. And of course, you gotta have a user name. So what would I choose? OF COURSE...you got it... "Kickdrumtrees". I would want nothing more then this to be a place for people to share experiences and stories of where God has showed up in BIG ways as I share how he has also done that for me! A way for others to be reminded and encouraged that God cares about the little things!

So my question to you is this: What is YOUR "Kickdrumtree"?

The small to everyone else, but big to you type of thing God uses to speak to you. To remind you of his love for you when ever you catch a glimpse? If you haven't thought about it, I would encourage you too! It's a beautiful thing!

I challenge you this week to find God in the small things. I believe with all of my heart that there is no such things as coincidences, just irregular opportunities for God to speak to you! :)

I pray they become less irregular to you this week!