Coffee Talks.

One of my favorite things about winter is sitting down to a lovely cup of coffee, or hot chocolate, and sharing soul and life giving conversations with my sisters and friends. There is just something about the warmth of coffee that warms your soul.

So, I want to sit down with you, reader, and share my heart over a cup of coffee. Go make yourself a cup, turn on your favorite coffeehouse tunes (I'm listening to Jon Foreman),then continue to read. I am making myself a hot cup, as my hands are frozen from the -10 degree cold plaguing my city.

How are you, my friend? Don't answer this question as you would on a daily basis. I want you to really think and do some digging and then answer to yourself, how are you? How is your soul? How is your heart? Are you living or just meerly surviving?

I believe that so many times we forget to really consider how we are doing, on the inside. We have gotten so good at pretending that everything is okay, that life is all rainbows and puppy dogs, and ignoring what is aching, stirring, or burdened on your heart. Are you hurting? Are you frustrated? Are you apathetic? Are you tired? Are you at peace? Are you happy? What is going on inside of your heart and mind...think about it.

Be honest with yourself. I have had to face the reality of my brokenness time and time again, and you know what? Its okay. It is okay to not be okay. It is okay to be broken. It is okay to admit your weakness. If you need to cry, go ahead and cry, let the tears fall until there is nothing left. Tears are healing for the soul. Weakness is strength.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says, "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me...for when I am weak, then I am strong."

Allow me to share with you a little bit of the weaknesses and wounds I have faced in my shory 20 years. My father left my family when I was 7 years old, and died of cancer 5 years ago. I have had to deal with the issuse and fears of rejection and abandonment ever since. I used to be self-abusive, bulimic, and extremely depressed. I have realized that most of my live has been spent lived in fear...fear of rejection, fear of not being liked, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of being powerless, just constant fear. These things have scarred my heart.

I have admitted to myself that my condition is not okay. But it does not end there, I have opened my heart and life to Someone who has become my everything and healed my wounds. He has washed me in His blood, His love, and given me hope and life. There is no wound deep enough for healing, no fear strong enough for peace, no chian strong enough to break; Jesus can make you whole. He has made me whole. He took my brokeness and He made me whole. I am not afraid to admit when my heart needs help, cause I know that I can lean on the strength of my Father.

I invite you to take a look at what had wounded your heart. Cry. Talk to a friend. Talk to God, even if you have never done that in the past, He hears you and wants to hear what is on your heart. Journal. One of my favorite ways to get everything I'm feeling processed is by dumping it all out onto paper until there is nothing left to write. And finally, open your heart to the healing process that Jesus paid the price to give you. You have value. You are loved.

My friend, I have enjoyed this chat over coffee. Now go and find out how you really are, and I will do the same. Don't just merely survive, learn how to live.

Kasey.