God of ALL Things

From Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Elliot

If you believe in a God who controls the big things, you have to believe in a God who controls the little things.
It is we, of course, to whom things look "little" or "big."

Amy Carmichael wrote:

There is no great with Thee, there is no small, 

For Thou art all, and fillest all in all.

The Return of the King

I love mornings when I wake up, early enough that I feel most of the world is not yet awake. That is how this morning was, I had not planned on it, but I woke up early and decided to go for a run while the sun was rising. During my run, I was listening to a sermon by Francis Chan, during which I was gripped by the excitement and expectation that comes with the imagery of my King returning! That thought is an exciting one for some, but for others it is absolutely frightening. Chan read from Matthew 24:36-51 which speaks of Christ's return, a blessed time for the faithful and wise servant, but for the wicked servant a horrible time. How will it be for you? We are to live our lives expectantly, like a bridegroom waiting with hopeful joy for his bride to appear. But there are some who are not ready, who just want to live their own life. Christ is going to come like a thief in the night, we should live expecting that, being ready for His return. Chan challenges us to look back over the past year and evaluate, was I ready for Christ to return? There are many moments when it would have been a completely inopportune moment for Christ to return! When I am sitting around being anxious and worried about all the work I have due next week in school or when I am stressing about all that needs to get done between now and June. That is me living life not expecting my Lord to return any moment, that is me fretting over things that will not last! I want to be found doing the work of the Lord. I want to live in light of Christ's return, using every moment I am alive to honor and glorify Him. I want to use the talents He has given me to serve others, and the breath in my lungs to praise Him and lift others up in prayer. I do not want to give the image that I can live this way all the time, because I am far from perfect, but I want to strive for that. How would life look different, if we chose how to spend our time each day with the expectation that this could be the day of Christ's return? Would I be anxious about my work? Would I worry about tomorrow at all??

Matthew 24:44 "Therefore you also must be ready, 

for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect"

Where do you want to be when Christ returns? 

source

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! As the title suggests, this blog is about the Almighty who grabbed ahold of my heart many years ago and continues to walk me through each and every day of life. The title is taken from Psalm 91:1 Which reads,

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High, 

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty

I hope this is a place people can come to gain some encouragement for life as I share stories, devotional thoughts, and pictures from this new journey I am beginning. Another hope I have for this blog is that it serves as a way to stay connected with family and friends in addition to being a place of encouragement. This is a very exciting time as I prepare to become Mrs. Paul Kavanek! Shortly after marrying my best friend in June, Paul and I will travel back to Nicaragua for the summer. We will be serving through Imagine Ministry in Los Brasiles, Nicaragua.  It will be a period of both excitement and growth as we learn to serve the Lord together, as one. I cannot wait for the new journey that we are about to embark upon! Below is a picture of Paul and I in Los Brasiles with a sweet family outside of their home. 

Los Brasiles, Nicaragua