Dearest Kettles, I trust the Lord has blessed your earnest efforts to see the face and nature of Christ this December!  With commercialism at every turn throughout this season, I know it wasn’t easy to keep after Jesus.  God knows it’s not easy.  He knows your heart, too, sweet sister!  Chasing the Messiah is never a disappointment, because our hope does not disappoint—our hope delivers!
I can’t wait to share in the many wondrous gifts He’s delivered to you over the past several weeks!

As you ponder the treasures you might unwrap before your readers and fellow Kettles, here are some questions to consider and thoughts to explore. 
Share your heart; these are simply suggestions:

• What tools did you use in getting to know Christ better this month? (devotionals, study, prayer, Scripture…)
• Perhaps certain Scriptures that speak of His character spoke loudly to you…
• Did you learn something about yourself through learning more about Jesus?
• Did you find Him waiting to be found by you?
• Share some new ways you walked in the nature of Christ by following Him.

Be sure to join us for December’s meeting and link up December 29th!

I can’t think of a better focus for our devotion this month than seeking Jesus!

Just think—the entire month of December we’ll be starting our days with Christ instead of being swept up in the hubbub that often overshadows
the Holy day we’re celebrating.

That is exciting and I’m so glad we’ve one another to encourage along the way!
God is pleased to have us work together to not miss a moment of His glory.

Life is so radically transformed when we offer it to the Lord prior to taking off toward our own goals for each day. Truly, that’s the meat of this Kettle Club business…seeking God’s will as we give Him the first moments of our lives each time we begin a new day of struggles, opportunities, and interactions.

Know that our Father turns every struggle into a chance to do good.
Cling to the fact that God will send opportunities our way when we’re going His.
Believe He is building His kingdom through the interactions that stem from His will.

How cool is it that those threes statements begin with the letters K, B, and C? Kettle Club Business….guess God is trying to drive home a point today. Don’t you just want to know Him more and more and more, the more He reveals Himself? Well, join your fellow Kettles all December in doing just that!

Through devotional readings, prayer, Bible study, painting, conversation, meditation, Scriptural memorization—any way you wanna—get to know our Father a bit more through getting to know His Son better this month.
That’s the plan, ladies! I can’t wait to hear what God does with it!

Love and stuff,
Victoria

I feel a bit like Ty Pennington right now, ladies, with a tad less spiky hair…I hope.

Ty’s usually all excited about an extravagant home makeover for a deserving family, and though I’m not so much making anything over, I’m super psyched to simply be taking over as your hostess!  Sticking to the vision Kristen {our Cupcake-in-Chief} had for this group means so much to me and I can’t thank you all enough for the encouraging accountability you’re giving me already.

I seem to have misplaced my trusty megaphone, so you’ll just have to help me spread the Word that our Father is faithful to meet us when we make a point to come into His presence.

Today is the big link up day, so be sure to add your Kettle Club post to Mister Linky so that we know where to find you!  Our fellow Kettles are sure to be blessed by your efforts.  I simply cannot wait to share in the revelations our sweet Lord has undoubtedly lavished on each of you this month!  Anyone who would like to join in the discussion can check here for some ideas of how you might share this past month’s journey over at your site. I’ve shared several questions and topics you might want to explore, but don’t feel limited to them.  Share what God is placing on your heart!

Be sure to check back on Wednesday for December’s theme announcement!

If you’re new to the club, you can read more about our purpose here and you can join in the edifying fun anytime.  Participate whenever you can—God is always able to bless us and to bless others through us…and that is the very heart of the Kettle Club!

So take a button, share your heart, add your link, and be encouraged.

I’m speechless.

For the first time, that’s not just an expression I’m using. I hope the same is true for you, ladies. To think—I thought our goal this month was to wait quietly for the Lord to respond to us! I can’t wait to see how our heavenly Father bedazzled your understanding of silence.

These past few weeks we’ve purposed to come before God, silently, prior to our blogging and I know we’ve all been blessed and wowed by how He used our offering for His glory. I can’t wait to hear what your month has been like and the Lord can’t wait to shine through your dedication!

As you set out to share about your silent devotion over the past month, here are some questions and thoughts to consider exploring with your readers:

• Did you find silence came easily or did you have to work for it?
• Was there a specific place to which you retreated for your devotional time?
• Are there any tips or tricks to quieting your life or mind you can share?
• Perhaps you pondered a certain Scripture or repeated a favorite prayer…
• How did God reveal Himself to you through your efforts at silence?
• What did you find contributes to the “noise” in your life?
• After first being with the Lord, did your writing for that day change?
• Maybe it was more a change of demeanor or even a change of heart…
• Will you be seeking silence more after being quiet this month?
• What thoughts did you have to work harder to silence?
• Did you feel encouraged by having a group of sisters in this with you?

Don’t feel married to these topics; share your heart!

Be sure to come back on Monday the 30th to add your post to our link up!

*THIS POST WAS WRITTEN BY VICTORIA OF LET THE SON SHINE

As a young mother in a new town, I looked at my local book store’s Story Time hour as if it were my only source of sanity in a week otherwise filled with whining and tantrums of this sort or that…and then there were the kids to take care of, too. I had no idea who I was, or what I was good for, so Story Time was my thing. My kids were better behaved than the other little ones there, and I was always the youngest mom in the room.

I rocked.

Who cared that the other moms were on a first name basis and their kids played with each other? Who noticed that I sat silently chewing my inner cheek in absolute dread over the notion that someone might speak to me? Who really wanted to have to socialize with total strangers simply because they happened to be sharing a similar moment in life?

I did. Desperately.

I wanted to be where everybody—or at least somebody—knew my name.
Retreating into myself was the saddest sort of silence this side of losing a loved one.
All I longed for was to hear that I was not alone in my loneliness or in my life.

Somehow, in all my self-loathing glory, God saw fit to send me a beautiful gift in the form of a business card. The Lord had prompted another mother, enjoying the preciousness of Story Time with her kids, to invite me to a weekly brunch for mothers at a local church. It wasn’t her church, but it quickly became mine.

Each week hosted a new lesson from women who loved the Lord, but I was deaf to many of the words of wisdom offered. Submission? Shah—right. Not to mention the crazy concept of this thing they called “quiet time”. I mean, is this some sort of cruel joke on us younger moms? I barely remembered what quiet was, and these ladies wanted me to have extended periods of it. Daily. Too embarrassed by my lacking knowledge, I never asked anyone to explain. For years I just wondered and scoffed and went on my noisy way. {I’ve since learned the beauty of submission and the rewards of a heart rendered unto the Lord…but that’s a story for another time.}

God is still revealing my need for silence. I’m a total baby in the ways and wonders of a still heart in God’s powerful hands. Studying Scripture is wonderful, and fellowship with the King is divine, but being quiet before Him can’t be passed up. I am finding that our Father can say so much when we don’t say a thing. Oh, He can say whatever He wants, whenever, but in those times when we hush in humble homage and hope at His feet…in those moments, His voice is heard.

The Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf and the Lord of Lords is pleased with our quiet offering of body, mind, and spirit.

We need more of that…more than we need to do the dishes and more than we need that morning run, coffee, shower, or (if you’re like me) that extra snooze or ten. We even need it more than we need to get the day’s post up on our blogs, or to see what our friends are sharing on theirs! Gasp. I know. Me too.

I bet you desire to be pleasing to the Lord every bit as much as I do. What’s more important for friends to have in common than loving Jesus? We can step out of our comfort zones and into obedience together, as sisters in Christ! A place for us ladies to encourage one another in our efforts and share in our growth, The Kettle Club is meant to help us turn the obvious love for blogging we all share—whether reading, writing, or both—into a tool that works in our favor and brings us further into His.

In addition to our overall goal of meeting with the Lord prior to sharing our thoughts with the blogging world, this month’s Kettle Club focus will have us coming into that devotional time with a quiet heart. Vocal prayers are certainly not prohibited during the month; silence will be an addition to our prayer lives, not a substitution.

Whatever time you can be quiet in God’s Presence, do. Whether daily, weekly, or every two days-three hours-and four minutes, your gift is His desire. Day or night, He wants time with you…being heard by you in ways ears just can’t do.

Over the next several weeks, let’s bring our quieted spirits to the Mercy Seat as often as we can. Our efforts are never unnoticed by our Faithful Father, so take heart when quiet seems out of reach…nothing is too wonderful for our God!

Come back on Monday, November 30th for questions to ponder and thoughts to discuss. You will be able to link up to your own stories of battling the noisy life, and see how your fellow Kettles fared as well. I’m so thankful to have you on this journey with me!

In our silent obedience we will bring praise to our Father and He will hear our prayers.
Don’t take my word for it—take His!

“Silence is praise to you, Zion-dwelling God;
And also obedience.
You hear the prayer in it all.”
(Psalm 65:1, The Message)