And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, BLESSED and BROKE the loaves, and GAVE them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they ALL ate and were filled. Mark 6:41-42
Hey Friends and Family, here's an update on what I've been up to:
Please prayerfully consider partnering with me this year and feel free to email me at kaylamariesprague@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like more details in what I am doing and what your money is specifically going towards. Anything given above and beyond what I need for food and gas will be saved for a missions trip with the students in the youth ministry next year! :) MAIL: You can send support to Life Church 16111 S. Lone Elm Road Olathe, KS 66062 Make checks payable to LIFE CHURCH, but make sure to include a note specifying that it is for "MISSIONARY SUPPORT- Kayla Sprague" in anything that you send in. All donations are tax deductible. :) ONLINE: You can also give online at http://lifechurch.org/#/contact-directions/give by making an account and selecting MISSIONARY SUPPORT and then my name in the drop boxes. I am believing God for people to commit to giving monthly as well as some that can do a one time gift. I couldn't be in youth ministry full time right now without the family of people backing me up through prayer and finances. Thank you for being apart of what God is doing in and through me this year! For His Glory, Kayla Sprague
For most of my life I have literally dreaded “purity talks.” Either they were way too girly for my taste and caused an almost immediate gag reflex OR they left those in the room that have “messed up” or been violated in the past feeling dirty and condemned. This is never the intent of any speaker or pastor, but I think for so
long we have been conditioned to focus on controlling the FRUIT instead of dealing with the ROOT. This
past semester God has challenged my perspective on what true purity is. I've come to the conclusion that purity is really NOT about what you've done or what you don’t do… it’s
about WHO JESUS IS and what He has done for you. So whether you have never kissed a boy or you or you were looking at porn before you stumbled upon my blog, we all need have a inner desire to be FREE. What does it mean
to be pure? We all have our own preconceived ideas of what it means to be pure. Many
of these ideas are found when we compare ourselves to others that we perceive to
more pure, holy, and closer to God than we are. But what is the TRUTH?
“Our
righteousness is as filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6
This is our righteousness. On a good week. On a bad week. The truth is that there is no sin that is worse than another. Sin is
sin. We HAVE to stop comparing ourselves with others to measure our own worth. Comparison
is a trap to steal our identity and joy. The pride on a week where we think we have done "good" is the same as anything we did on a "bad" week. Whether it looks like premarital sex, bitterness, pride or gossip. It’s all sin. We’ve all done it. We are all selfish.
“For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God.” Romans 3:23
We cling so tightly to our darkness that it becomes part of our identity. Much like when you put food coloring in a glass of water. It slowly permeates through until it is completely MIXED. This "darkness" can represent your sin, past hurts, mindsets, or just about anything else that isn't from Jesus. It's not just about sex, but any impurity.
Whenever I think about purity my mind
immediately travels back to 7th grade when my youth pastor, Jared Scholz, spoke on the
original Greek definition of the word for pure: Containing no impurities, and NOT MIXED or alloyed with anything else, especially anything that would dilute
it. We are mixed with the things of this world, but we want to be pure! We have been told time and time again to "be transparent!" and "be pure!" We have signed abstinence commitments and put purity rings on our fingers.We continue to try to fight our sinful nature, but it is much like trying to scoop the red food coloring out of a glass of red water with your hands. Just like the water cannot make itself clear, we cannot make ourselves pure. It is impossible. We like to try with dos and don’ts, rules, and boundaries, but ON THEIR OWN they are only band aids that we put over festering wounds expecting that because we
cannot see it anymore that it must be better. The reality is that unless it is cleaned out it WILL get infected and continue to affect us long term. This is why unless we find true healing, the hurts of our past affect the way we view others and ourselves.
We all know the Sunday school answers... right? Jesus. Jesus saves. Jesus heals. Jesus love me, yes I know. But most of the time we do not really believe those memorized answers. How many times have you believed the lie that you are not good enough
for God to love you? Speak to you? Heal you? Or even save you? I definitely have. We are humans and by nature we are competitive and love to compare. This doesn't stop with comparing ourselves with each other, but also with the only One who was completely pure: Jesus Christ. We look at Jesus’ heart and life it is the only one who is without stain
and not mixed with any selfishness of this world. We can become ashamed and
embarrassed at our messes letting condemnation take over, but that’s NOT why Jesus became human at
all! In His perfection
He came to PENETRATE through our darkness.
“The light shines in
the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5
Just like light penetrates darkness there is something pretty phenomenal that happens when you continue to pour pure water into a glass of water mixed with food coloring and let it overflow. The color slowly is FLUSHED out and replaced with pure water. Through this picture the Lord started to reveal to me what He wants to do with the darkness in my own heart. He wants to penetrate it. He wants to flush it out. He wants to replace it with HIMSELF! Purity is not
something that can be achieved or earned, but begins with receiving. But receiving is
just the beginning of the process of purity. Why do I call it a
process? Because it takes time? Yes, but it's more than that. The nature of a process is that one thing has
to happen for another thing to start. It's not a magic formula on how you can wake up completely new, but a way to look at the way God makes us new.
1. We must RECEIVE so
that He can RENEW
“Do
not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind.” Romans 12:2
It doesn't have anything to do with us making ourselves pure or transforming our own mind, but has everything to do with being willing to receive Jesus into the darkest part of us. The area in our heart that we don't even want anyone to know about. The stuff we hide behind a mask so that we don't have to deal with. The things that we justify. We MUST receive Him in so that he can renew the way we see it. As He renews us we begin to see the darkness for what it really is. We begin to see it rightly and we no longer want to hold onto it.
2.We must RELEASE as He REPLACES
“If
we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Once we see the darkness from His perspective we WANT to release it. This is ONLY possible because He is going to replace it with himself! This is also true in the analogy of the glass of water with food coloring in it. The only reason that the water can release the food coloring is because it is being replaced with more clean water that is PUSHING out the impurities. That is what happens when we receive Him. He renews us and then replaces our hurt with himself which gives us the power to release it for good! Our focus is NOT on getting rid of our sin, it is on receiving Jesus and letting Him flush out anything else.
3. We must REJOICE as
He RESTORES
“Whom
the son sets free is free indeed!” John 8:36
It has always been about a person, and not a protocol. That person gave everything so that he could have relationship with us. As we rejoice in Who He is and what He has done for us, He will continue to restore us beyond anything that we could ever do on our own. We don't always feel healed, feel close, or feel free, but He is looking for a people that will not base their faith on feelings. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things we do not see. I can't say I completely understand it, but I do know that nothing else in this world makes anymore sense to me than the lives I have seen completely changed because of their relationship with Jesus. I think King David had something right. Even after he murdered, lied, and had sex with another man's wife, he fell on his face and cried out for mercy because he knew who God was and that He was the only one that could make him clean.
"Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Psalm 51:10-12
Purity... It's a process. It's not a destination. It's not a check list even though we like those. It's not a list of do's and don'ts. Purity comes from a relationship. A relationship that we have the invitation to build every single day, every single minute, and with every single thought. I know that today I will sin and tomorrow too, but there is confidence knowing that I know the One whose mercy is new every single morning.
He wants you to be free and He already paid the price. He wants you to be healed and He already took the beating. He wants you to be truly alive and he already beat death. He wants to talk to you and he already tore the veil. It's a daily choice to receive Him with open hands and a willing heart to follow.
"Therefore, just as you have received Him as Lord, so WALK IN HIM, rooted and grounded in Him, established in the faith just as you were taught, and abounding in thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6-7
As many of you know, I had a lot of problems with my back in the month of January. I popped a rib out of place somehow in worship… Don’t ask how! (I may have been jumping and dancing a little too crazy) Anyway, I am feeling a LOT better! Praise God! Tons of people have been faithfully praying for me and I believe that God is answering those prayers! I have also been going to the chiropractor, Dr. Parker, to keep everything in place. The Lord has taught me a lot about what it means to be aligned.
My flesh WILL be uncomfortable while I give up all control and invite the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do in my life. My back and my heart have a lot in common. No matter how IN PLACE and IN LINE my heart is one day the next day it will be OUT OF PLACE and OUT OF LINE. It’s very confusing to leave the chiropractor because my back usually feels worse right after I am adjusted. I asked Dr. Parker about it and he explained to me how when he sets my ribs and spine back IN place my muscles (FLESH) do not immediately follow. They are used to the prior spot and will actually end up trying to PULL my back OUT once again. The Holy Spirit really spoke to me in that moment on how it’s also true with my heart. I can invite Jesus to align my heart to His and then my FLESH (my thoughts, my feelings, my laziness, my pride, etc…) will PULL against it wanting comfort and things to be how they have always been. “There is no good in me apart from Him.” (Psalm 16:2) I NEED HIM TO ALIGN ME!
In life, it is tempting to try to align MYSELF, to try to fix myself, or to deal with my sin and pain on my own because I’m tired or just “don’t have time” to go to the Father. Just like I have been tempted to try to put my own back in place because I don’t want to drive and pay money to go to the chiropractor. It’s also easy to just run to PEOPLE with my pain and ask them to “give me advice” or in other words “pop my back real fast” … When I truly need to run to my Healer FIRST! A lot of times when I run to other things I end up making the problem worse!
It has been very humbling being limited physically and if I need so badly for my back to consistently adjusted and aligned, how much more does my heart need it? To be honest, it has been easy with how busy my schedule is here at Teen Mania to get frustrated on days when I cannot get out of bed because of the pain. I can feel offense rising in my heart towards the Lord because “I just want to be healed so that I can be more effective in ministry.” The very fact that my focus is on myself and not on my Creator is just the beginning of the problem. My eyes need to get off of myself! I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit’s role in my life to continue to be so patient with me and adjust things in my life and heart that need adjusting so that I can be aligned with His will.
“You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your RIGHT HAND supported me, and your GENTLENESS made me great.” (Psalm 18:35)
His right hand supports me. His gentleness is what makes me great. Since the chiropractor knows how the spine works and how to help, I am completely at peace when he is pushing and moving things. I trust him to do what is for my best. I want the same to be true of my trust in the Lord with my ENTIRE LIFE. That I KNOW that His ways are higher than my own. (Isaiah 55:9) I want to be completely at peace as He reveals things that at first are uncomfortable for me, but in the long run will prove to be for my best. I am so thankful that God can see the BIG PICTURE even when I can’t.
Basically, I am learning that it is a best place to be in the hands of the GREAT physician! He knows what we need before we ask! He sees the X-ray of what is UNDER what we can see on the surface. I'm very thankful for that.
“Behold, I
am doing a NEW thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive
it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the
desert.” Isaiah 43:19
I know it is a few weeks late, but I want to wish you
all a HAPPY NEW YEAR! I cannot believe that it is January 2013 already. I guess
that theory that as you get older life goes faster is coming true for me! ;) Again,
thank you to everyone who is partnering with me this year in support and prayer. I
cannot thank you enough for believing in the work the Lord is doing in and
through me at Teen Mania Ministries. I LOVE looking at my calendar everyday and praying for my big family!! I am
still praying that the Lord will bring 3 more sponsors in His timing (23rd,
27th, 29th). Let me know if that's something the Lord has placed on your heart to do. :)
Prayer and Support Family '12-'13
This is going to be a pretty power packed update… so
buckle up! You might want to take it in sections. This is probably what most
people call a “Newsletter” so we’ll go with that! Lots of links, pictures, and
updates. :)
One Thing Is Necessary...
There is so much that I could write about, but more than anything I just keep coming back to the story of Mary and Martha:
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but ONE THING IS NECESSARY. Mary as chosen the GOOD PORTION which will NOT be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42
There will ALWAYS be more things to do, but there is ALWAYS only ONE thing that is necessary: To sit at His feet. To leave behind the cares of this world, the importance of ministry, and the worries in our mind to simply behold Him. I have been like Martha for most of my life, but I want to learn how to be like Mary. I want to be able to see through the business of life and know what is most important. The fact that we have full access to Jesus is such a gift that should not be overlooked. So, as I update you on some of the other things that have been going on these past few months, know that it’s been a process of remembering the ONE thing that is necessary through it all.
Home
I was so blessed to spend Thanksgiving AND Christmas at home with the Sprague Tribe and loved every single day!
In case you missed it, I had
the opportunity to share with my Daddy at LifeChurch
one weekend while I was home. “The Legacy of the Kingdom” I pray the Lord
encourages and speaks to you. Don’t get too distracted by how alike our hand
motions and mannerisms are! Like father like daughter. ;) Here’s the link:
"As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk IN Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, ABOUNDING in thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6
I really do miss my family a lot. I talk to my mom almost
every other day and keep up with the Sprague life. Every time I am home I
am amazed at how fast everyone is growing up! Keep praying for their health and wisdom for my parents. Justus and Hannah are potty
trained and talking so much more! Allie is becoming more beautiful and FULL of
personality! Nicole is a part time intern at the church while a senior at
Olathe South. Levi beat my dad in Fantasy football and is continuing to
learn more songs on the Piano! OH HOW I MISS THEM! Levi's latest addition to his song collection:
Brazil
Two girls from Brazil that were translators on my trip were
able to come up for the onething conference over New Years which was such a
dream come true to see them again! They had never seen snow before so as we were
all praying against it, they were praying for it! I guess the Lord wanted to
answer their prayer more! It is really an amazing thing when you find people with the same vision and
passion for the Lord across the world. I love how uniting it is to follow
Jesus!
I know that it’s been awhile, but I wanted to share some
testimonies and pictures over video and thank everyone who was a part of mission
last summer. One of the girls, Vanessa, also wanted to share how much of an
impact us coming to her country was in her life and what their church is
continuing to do there. It is SO EXITING to see how the Lord continues to move in
mighty ways 6 months after our trip! Check it out:
My last blog post is a written version of what I shared in the video. :) Thank you everyone who made that trip possible! God
definitely exceeded anything I could have asked for or imagined.
"...It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."
Galatians 2:20
(There are more pictures in the slide show!)
Honor Academy I'm in my second year here at the Honor Academy and the Lord has been so faithful to continue to complete the work He began in my life. I am so blessed to be apart of the lives of interns while pouring into them and also be mentored by those on staff.
The morning prayer initiative, theWALL, that a few of my
friends and I have been heading up is going strong! It’s such a good reminder in
the morning why we are here in East Texas doing
what we are doing and WHO we are doing it for. Sometimes in life it is easy to
get caught up in the business not see the broken walls in our lives and our ministry. This morning we had over 60 interns that came together to invite Jesus to reign
over our ministry and our lives! I love being apart of what’s on God’s heart!
And they said
to me, “The remnant there in the
province
who had
survived the exile is in great TROUBLE and shame.
The
wall of
Jerusalem is BROKEN down, and it’s gates DESTORYED by fire.”
As
soon as
I heard these words I sat down and WEPT and mourned for days,
and I continued
FASTING and PRAYING before the God of heaven. And I said,
“Oh Lord God of
heaven, the GREAT and awesome God who keeps
covenant
and STEADFAST
love with those who love Him and keep His commandments,
let your ear be
attentive and your eyes open, to
hear the prayer of your servant
that I now pray
before you DAY and NIGHT for the people of Israel your servants,
confessing the
sins of
the people of Israel, which WE HAVE SINNED against You.”
Nehemiah
1:3-6
Keep praying that the Lord will stir young people’s hearts
to hunger and thirst for righteousness and to seek his face in the place of
prayer. I believe that if a culture of prayer and worship could erupt on this
campus that everything else will fall into line and our ministry would be what
we say it is in our mission statement: “…provoking a young generation to
passionately pursue Jesus and to take his life giving message to the ends of
the earth!” Forty new January interns
just arrived this week and I am praying that the Lord captures their hearts and
it is not about the rules, but about relationship with their Creator. Join me
in that prayer!
“I give you my word, if you are ready to believe that you
will receive whatever you ask for in prayer, it shall be done for you.” –Jesus
(Mark 11:24)
Global Expeditions Over Christmas break we sent over 120 students, in the Youth
Groups department alone, to Baja,
Mexico! In
total Global Expeditions sent close to 400 people who were reaching out by
building houses, running VBS, and sharing the LOVE of Jesus in Dallas,
Mexico, Panama, and South Africa! Here’s just one of
the many testimonies we got from teams that went over Christmas break:
“I love Global Expeditions.
Honestly, the best part of the trips to me is being both a goer and a mobilizer
at the same time! I love evangelizing, and equally I love ministering to the
students on the trip and being part of the Lord speaking truth into their
hearts, bringing change to their lives, and then overflowing His love to the
nationals. The Lord is soooo good!!
Many of the kids in my group
came to see how real the Lord is. Everyone
experienced His love and grace, and left a changed person with action steps to
keep this lifestyle back at home. Thank you, Groups (and Marketing if you read
this too) for being part of this!! Without you guys, my kids wouldn’t have
changed so much on this trip and would be in deeper sin and many of them deep
bitterness and disbelief in the Lord. Thank you guys!!! Continue to serve
faithfully, knowing that this group was only 11 of the thousands Global Expeditions
is sending out this year!!”-Kate McClain (Youth Leader)
Thank you for supporting me to serve here and in doing that
being a part of mobilizing these teens to GO into all the world and preach the
good news! Now we are gearing up for the summer missions trips! There are
already over 20 youth groups signed up and one of them being our very own
Vertical Student Ministries! It’s pretty cool for me to take what I’m learning
here and serve my home church. I LOVE it! I also love leading and enjoying life with my team
of interns in the Youth Groups
Department. They have such a passion for these youth pastors and a heart for
prayer! I love them all so much.
"Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe."
1 Timothy 4:12
Well, this has been the longest update ever! I hope you feel well informed about what's been going on in my life lately. :) My greatest desire is to bring Glory to my Creator and I pray that as you read this that He was lifted high through it. I appreciate you all. Continue to walk IN Him today. #ALLday #EVERYday
kayla.sprague@teenmania.org
PO BOX 2010 CPO#622
Garden Valley, TX 75117
Feel free to contact me with questions or things that I can keep in prayer!
For His Glory,
Kayla Marie
“If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own power. Your self-sufficiency, your selfishness and your intellectual pride will inhibit His coming to live in your heart because God cannot fill what is already full. It is as simple as that.”
