In Too Deep : Prints Available
Another incredible sunrise from Hunting Island. There is always something newhere because of the way the tides drag the trees back and forth creating a different foreground each and every time I come.
It is 5:15 in the morning as I sit here in the stillness with not a creature stirring in my house. I know for me, this is the time the Lord awakes me to start my day with Him when all is quiet and I don’t have anything else vying for my attention. I believe I have always been a morning person and almost never have to use an alarm clock to wake up because I am always up before 6am. I don’t think I really have a choice in the matter because even when I rarely stay up late, I am still up about the same time. So for me I know it is about putting God first and starting my day off right with Him. God first, that is the priority that should rule our lives!
And so it begins…………a new year, our families annual 21 day fast, and a new beginning. Well, if no one has told you yet, let me be the first to tell you Happy New Year! Yep, that’s right! Like it or not, it is 2013! Just like I told the lady at the bank the other day, “I just got used to putting 2012 as the year on everything”. Another year has zipped by too quickly! And so with the new year, my family has for the last 6 years participated in the annual 21 day fast with Jentezen Franklin’s church in Gainesville ga. I don’t think that it is coincidence that Jentezen has always done this fast at the beginning of the new year. If we want to start our day off right, we tend to spend the beginning of each day with the Lord to get our hearts and mind in the right place and to seek direction for our day. As Jentezen has said “Fasting is a discipline that helps to shift our priorities. It puts Him first and allows us to hear His plan, receive His direction and His blessings. If you want success in your life, in your marriage, in your workâputting God first is the key.” If Jesus could have come to this earth and done all He did without fasting & praying, why didn’t he? Jesus never did anything for show; there was always a purpose behind everything He did. And He knew the importance of prayer & fasting. And He is our example of how we should live, right? Can I encourage you to pray about fasting? Ask the Lord what He would want you to do & if you feel led to fast, figure out what it is He wants you to fast from(it is not always food) and what is your purpose for fasting. I will tell you, that it will be more difficult if it is your first time. I mean we are starving the flesh here and you WILL hear your flesh screaming loud and clear! But, can I tell you if you persevere, it will be some of the richest time you will spend with your Heavenly Father. If you decide to fast, check out www.jentezenfranklin.org for some incredible resources and insight to help you get started.
And lastly, this is a time for a new beginning! I know for my family and the other families involved, this is a time to carry out what I believe to be what He has called me to do. Namely, the opening of a Coffee Shop and Gallery. This is a new venture and new territory for all of us. “Taste and See Coffee Sop & Gallery” is the name of this venture and it will be in downtown Macon. We begin construction this week with a planned opening of mid to late spring. Sign up on my website at www.kevinreaves.com to stay updated on everything that is going on and pictures showing the progress of this new endeavor. And we appreciate all of your prayers in this matter.
So, as the new year rolls in, I pray that we are ready for what the Lord has in store for us in 2013. As I paraphrase what Pastor John said yesterday, we need to be ready for this year! For not only the blessings the Lord has for us, but also for the adversity some of us will surely face. (check out www.christchapelmaconga.org for sermon) And what better way to start off the new year with purpose and direction, than with fasting & prayer! It is not about “fasting & prayer”! It is about getting our hearts in the right place! It is about putting GOD FIRST! I promise you it will change your life! It changed mine! “And so it begins…….”
Blessings,
Kevin To God be the Glory!
Another tree that seems to somehow anchopr itself into the sand even though there is no life left in it. It will surely meet its fate very soon as the sea overpowers it and topples it to the ground sweeping it ‘out to sea’.