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The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. (Psalm 37:23, NLT)

I believe everything good, no matter how great or how small, all good things come by no accident or by luck, but directly from God. (James 1:17)

As many of you know, we are currently traveling. Due to a family situation, we had to buy airline tickets at last minute. As a result, we weren't able to assign our seats where we could sit together. Our seats were strung out from the front of the plane to the back of it. We were told we would have to pay extra in order to sit together.

We checked our bags and asked for seats together but the agent wasn't able to assign seats. She told us if we want to sit together we would have to speak with the gate agent. We didn't want to wait because the closer to flight time generally means fewer arrangements can be made and or changed.

Thankfully, the gate agent was able to seat us together.

When we boarded the plane, I was blessed to see, we had been given a free upgrade to business class on a very new, very comfortable plane.

This may not seem like much of a big deal to some but for me, given our current circumstance, it was just God's way of confirming...I am in every. single. little. detail.

Father, You are a good God and only good things come from You. Thank You for our free upgrade but most of all, thank You for
confirming what was spoken over us in that we would experience many, many great and mighty things both in the seemingly small as well as the overwhelmingly big matters we are walking out this week. Thank You for being my unfailing perfect Father. I love You LORD.

I Will Show You

‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV)

Next week, we had planned to write a series of blog posts entitled, "Full Return" in celebration of our upcoming anniversary at Key Tov Blog and to kick off our free drawing.

We had an amazing surprise for our readers. Full Return was to document our trip wherein we would fly from Hawaii to Minnesota, rent an rv, go exploring, then fly back to Hawaii, Full Return. Taking you, our faithful readers, along with us every step of the way. Our heart's desire is to always tell about God's wonderful goodness and this is the perfect opportunity to show the phenomenal wonders of God's beautiful creation.

In light of recent events in our personal lives, we prayed and asked God what He would have us do. We considered canceling the series due to the path set before us but canceling just didn't reconcile with our hearts.

We believe God wants us to press on with the series but add this week's travel as well.

So instead of Full Return starting next week, God is supernaturally enabling us to begin the series today. As a result, your likes/shares/posts/comments results in your name being entered into our free drawing starting today up to May 31st, 2013.

Please note: To insure your name is entered into our free drawing, please insure we acknowledge your likes/shares/posts/comments with a thank you via social media. If we do not thank you, please bring it to our attention so we can get all your entries in the drawing.

Since I am in the air and on the road, the team at Totally Totes has so graciously agreed to keep a record of the names for our free drawing. If you do not get a thank you from me acknowledging your entry, please "like" Totally Totes at www.facebook.com/totallytotesmissouri and confirm your name is entered.

Instead of flying from Hawaii to Minnesota, our Full Return series will include flying from Hawaii to my hometown in Oklahoma, spending enough time with family and friends to get my accent back, then driving to Minnesota to walk out Full Return to completion.

It has been spoken over us, we receive and we believe God will be showing us many great and mighty things during this trip, of which we will be sharing with you.

One of the most beautiful things we've witnessed thus far is the outpouring of love encouragement, support, and most importantly, prayers from you, our family, and our friends. At times like this, encouragement, support, and prayers are no small thing. Please know we truly appreciate every one of you. When one of you tell us you are praying for us, we stand confident in knowing we are covered in prayer. When one of you tell us to contact you if we need anything, we know it isn't just something nice to say but a promise that we stand on. There is nothing better than true friends who step up in a time of need without us having to ask.

We laid down in peace last night as we slept and we are walking in His perfect peace that passes all understanding. The only way that is made possible is by and through your prayers and God's unfailing mercy, grace, and love. Thank you for all your calls, emails, texts, prayers, and your outpouring of love.

E Como Mai as we take this journey together expectedly awaiting His great and mighty things!




Also please note, we are aware most of our readers already have, "Breaking the Cycle of Offense" by Dr. Larry Ollison, in their library. If you win the drawing and already have this book, you may choose any book by Dr. Larry Ollison for the same price. You may check out all Dr. Ollison's books at www.faithman.org.

Just a reminder, Totally Totes has teamed up with Key Tov Blog during our anniversary celebration and the winner will also receive one of their great totes. You may check out their selection at www.facebook.com/totallytotesmissouri

Every. Single. Little. Detail.

The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. (Psalm 37:23, NLT)

Many years ago, I'd say close to sixteen years ago, Mike bought me a pair of diamond studded earrings. Gracie's ears are pierced and the only earrings that don't break her out are earrings set in gold, so she has been wearing the earrings Mike bought me.

About a month ago, she came and told me she had lost the back of one of the earrings. Thankfully, she didn't lose the earring, just the back. I told her it wasn't a problem because we could just buy another back. I expected to be able to replace the back for approximately thirty dollars or so.

I went to three or four jewelry stores and not one store was able to fit the earring. One solution was to have the posts completely redone.  I was really bummed because I really like these earrings, they are very special to me but I didn't want to go to the expense of having them completely redone which would be over a hundred dollars. I put the earrings away until I could decide whether or not to have the work done..

Today, my family experienced the sudden, unexpected, tragic death of a very dear loved one. Of which I won't go into detail in order to protect our privacy. 

Once I learned what had happened, I started packing to go be with my family. As I was standing at my washer, putting clothes in the dryer…I was overwhelmed with grief. I stood there and cried and cried asking God how I was going to walk through this and help my family walk through this. Feeling so weak, I half prayed and half wailed out to Him in overwhelming grief, I said, "I know you are ever present with me in times of trouble when something big like this happens so I draw on Your strength right now in the name of Jesus." 

I wiped my eyes, about to finish loading the dryer, and on the very tip of the inside of the dyer…was the back to my earring. God very clearly spoke to my heart and said, "I am not only in the big things, I am in your every…single...little...detail."

The only way I can explain how I found the back of my earring on the lip of my dryer, after weeks and weeks of doing all the laundry, on the morning of such tragic news, at the moment I was about to fall over in disbelief and grief…is, He truly is in every single little detail of my life.  

Thank You Father, Thank You...for never leaving or forsaking me. Thank You for always being so faithful to be ever present in time of need. You are my Rock and my fortress. I safely hide in You. Thank You for your mercy and grace in my time of need. Thank You for ordering my every step and thank You for showing me, You truly are in every single little detail of my life. I love You Lord.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Psalm 46:1

Psalm 37:23

Lord I come, I confess

Bowing here I find my rest

Without You I fall apart

You're the one that guides my heart

Chorus:

Lord, I need You, oh I need You

Every hour I need You

My one defense, my righteousness

Oh God, how I need You

Verse 2:

Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more

Where grace is found is where You are

And where You are Lord I am free

Holiness is Christ in me

Yes where You are Lord I am free

Holiness is Christ in me

Bridge:

So teach my song to rise to You

When temptation comes my way

And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You

Jesus You're my hope and stay

And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You

Jesus You're my hope and stay

Chris Tomlin

Toddler Assignment

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26, NLT)

Today was our homeschool co-op day. At some time during our co-op days, I am assigned to the toddler class. Surprisingly, I have enjoyed their class above all other ages. 

Our co-op has the cutest toddlers. Each of them have big brown eyes, long thick eyelashes, and adorable little toddler voices.

I enjoy watching them interact during free time and chatting with them during snack. We carry on quite the intelligent conversations. I like washing their little hands and chubby cheeks. There is nothing cuter than the tiny little hands of a toddler. 

But most of all, I enjoy their story time. They take turns bringing me book after book, after book…after book. It seems they have nothing more important to do than to sit and listen to my voice.

They never tire of listening to me. I like to watch their little faces as I purposely "mess up" their stories and wait for them to correct me. Today I was reading about Winnie the Poo but kept calling him Mickey Mouse. While reading a story about red shoes, I kept calling them blue boots. It's a little game we play with one another and they love to keep me lined out.

During story time, they are my captive audience. They all sit at my feet and hang on my every word. Their huge brown eyes stare up at me and their infectious laughter fills my heart.

They have so much faith in me. When we go up and down stairs, they don't say a word as their little hands reach for mine to keep them safe. When one of them are thirsty, they don't hesitate to ask me for a drink. Nearing the end of our day as they get tired, they crawl up in my lap just like they belong there.

Today I got tears in my eyes as I stopped for a moment during story time. For just an instant, I saw into our Father's heart. I stared at them staring at me. All those big brown eyes on me, just waiting for me to say something. I love these little guys. My heart is so tender towards them. How much more is our Heavenly Father's heart tender toward us?

I thought, "Lord, how precious and beautiful these little ones are, all your own creation. I don't wonder why the Kingdom belongs to such as these." (Proverbs 22:2, Luke 18:16) 

I believe He spoke to my heart saying, "You are all my children."  (Galatians 3:26)

No matter our age, we are all precious to Him and He loves us! (John 3:16) We can always count on Him, He is always faithful! (1 John 1:9) We can always "crawl up" to Him when we are tired. (Matthew 11:28)

Listen closely, He calls you His child!

Loving, faithful Father, thank You for Your grace. Thank You for giving us a look into Your heart. Thank You for these precious children You have entrusted to us. We submit our spirit to Your Holy Spirit and welcome You to quicken us to always remember, our children belong to You and to treat them as such. Lord, we bless You, honor and adore You. We thank You for Your Son, Jesus. Please continue to empower us to understand, how wide, how long, how wide, how high, and how deep Your love is, in the name of Jesus and all for Your glory! (Ephesians 3:18, John 14:13)

Happy 2nd Anniversary FREE Drawing is Coming Soon!

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the Heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is Your kingdom. We adore You as the One who is over all things. (1 Chronicles 29:11, NLT)

As you know, we are gearing up to celebrate our 2nd anniversary! Below are the details for our free drawing.

Key Tov Blog has teamed up with Totally Totes (facebook.com/totallytotesmissouri) in order to bless a faithful reader with a free special gift. Tucked away inside one of their great totes will be one of the most life changing books I've ever read, "Breaking the Cycle of Offense" by Dr. Larry Ollison (www.faithman.org)

For every "share", "like", "retweet", and comment at Key Tov Blog we receive during our series, "Full Return", (May 9, 2013 to May 30, 2013) we will enter your name into our free drawing. To insure your name has been entered, we will comment on each share/like/retweet/comment. If we do not comment, please contact us by making a comment on at Key Tov Blog and we will insure your entry is added. On June 15th, we will draw a winner in celebration of our 2nd anniversary! 

Thank you for joining us during our series, "Full Return". We pray you are blessed as we take you along with us on this journey!

UPDATE:

The winner of our drawing has received her wonderful gifts!
A tote from Totally Totes and a signed copy of Dr. Larry Ollison's, "Breaking the Cycle of Offense". Mucho mahalos for your participation in our free drawing!

You may find more great products from Totally Totes at www.facebook.com/totallytotesmissouri
You may find more great products from Dr. Larry Ollison at www.faithman.org

Happy 2nd Anniversary Key Tov Blog!

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the Heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is Your kingdom. We adore You as the One who is over all things. (1 Chronicles 29:11, NLT)

It's May and we have a very exciting series coming up soon!

Key Tov Blog's 2nd anniversary is quickly approaching! Mahalo nui loa to all of you who pray for us, support, and encourage us as we continue to tell of God's wonderful goodness and life in excessive abundance that has been given to us by King Jesus!

We like to celebrate early, and we have some very exciting things in store for you! Can you tell, we are very excited!!! Ok, enough of the overemphasis! That was the last one. See?

Starting late next week, we will be running a series entitled, "Full Return" which will be a show and tell about God's amazing creations and majesty. 

The series will run for approximately a month. Once the series is complete, we will celebrate our anniversary with another free drawing much the same way we did last year for our 1st anniversary!

Key Tov Blog has teamed up with Totally Totes (facebook.com/totallytotesmissouri) in order to bless a faithful reader with a free special gift. Tucked away inside one of their great totes will be one of the most life changing books I've ever read, "Breaking the Cycle of Offense" by Dr. Larry Ollison (www.faithman.org)

Please be watching for details for the free drawing and check out the above links to become familiar with the free prizes.

I want to take time to personally thank my amazing spiritual momma. She helped me brainstorm for ideas for the series and also named this series. I won't publicly publish her name in order to protect her privacy but do want to acknowledge her because she truly is a power packed force ahead of me pulling me along this amazing path God has placed before me. She titled this series, "Full Return", because God is about full return, to the full, to the overflowing, pressed down, shaken together and running over! We praise Him for His blessings that chase us down and overtake us! Thanks Muddah!

*I almost made it….almost* !

Too Much

Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning! (Lamentations 3:23, NLT)

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Too much of a good thing"?

Last week, my girls experienced too much of a good thing. We met with friends at the beach. They ran, laughed, played in the sand and surf, and boogie boarded.

When we were leaving the beach, Gracie had somewhat of a minor melt down. I thought that very odd because my girls are generally always very happy at the beach. Mikea was dragging behind slowly. Gracie was complaining because she had to carry out what she had carried in. Something just didn't add up. 

The rest of the day passed without much improvement. Both my girls were increasingly cranky until bedtime. The next morning, they were extremely hot to the touch, had chills, were nauseated, and had severe headaches. Both my girls were very sick, sicker than I had ever seen them. They couldn't eat and I had to force them to take fluids. They were very lethargic and slept 12 to 15 hours per day.

Mike, previously an army man and formerly a firefighter, explained they had sun poisoning. Sun poisoning? I didn't understand how that could be. We've lived in Hawaii over 14 years, I've always been extremely cautious with them in the sun insuring they always wear sun screen, uv shirts, reminding them to drink water, and not staying in the sun too long. 

As watchful as I was and with all my precautions, my girls still got burned.

I was reminded, all of us have been burned at one time or another. No matter how watchful we have been or how many precautions we've taken, if we've lived very long...we've still been burned by someone. Maybe we have been burned by a boy/girlfriend, spouse, pastor, family member, teacher, or our best friend. We've been burned by people in and out of the "church".

However, I have a good report! There is one who never burns us, "Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning!" (Lamentations 3:23, NLT)

Just as there are steps to recover from being burned by the sun, there are steps to recover from being burned by people in our lives.

• Forgive (Luke 6:37)
• Pray (Matthew 5:44)
• Forget (Isaiah 43:18)
• Press on (Philippians 3:14)

Thank God that He never burns us! (Psalm 100:5, John 10:10, John 3:16, Isaiah 5:20)

And an added bonus is to make another run through Dr. Larry Ollison's life changing book, "Breaking the Cycle of Offense". You can find it at www.faithman.org.

What have you done about your burns?

Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank You for always being faithful. You are faithful and gracious in all Your ways! Thank You for Your powerful healing love. We apply Your unfailing love right now, by faith, and allow it to permeate our every cell bringing wholeness and peace. Thank You for enabling us to forgive those who have burned us and for teaching us Your ways of forgiveness bringing healing upon ourselves. We determine to forget the former things and we press on to the new. We press on to the new in and with You! Thank You for making our path straight and ordering our steps! We love You Lord!