overflowing fullness....meet Kierra

 in 2009 I met one of the most incredible people I had ever met. 

kierra. 

she was at a first a co-worker, and now a dear friends

she had this radiance that overwhelmed me. 

when I was with her, I laughed harder than I ever had. 

she was a gift from God, in a season that I needed some encouragement

for the next year, kierra began writing a book

she took her journal entries

with all the treasures Abba was teaching her

and prayed life into them. 

along the way myself, kierra and another lovely friend, Diana, all went through the book

we soaked in it, helped her edit it, wrestled through all that we were learning

we would leave work at lunch, and go outside, and laugh and cry through the pages

 it was without a doubt a most extraordinary experience.   

{our tahoe girls trip- we had just all read Donald Miller's "1000 Miles in a Million Years" and were inspired to do crazy things. 2 seconds after this pic we plunged into the frigid water!}

i wanted to share with you kierra's book, because it has transformed the way i relate to our father. 

but I wanted you to "meet" Kierra first, so that you too can see the depth of her heart and passion! So here is an interview I did with her! 

1) How and where did this journey begin of wanting to go deeper into the heart of God?
I was serving as a missionary in Kenya, and while I was living my dream in many ways, I was also struggling with my deep desire for a husband to walk life with. I just didn’t see any potential Prince Charmings coming down the dirt paths of the village I lived in, and I was struggling to trust God to provide for this longing of my heart. I found myself frustrated, crying out to Him, “Lord, why is it that after walking with you for over 20 years, I still struggle to trust you with certain areas of my life? I long to trust you with all my heart; to trust that you care about this desire of my heart and are able and willing to fill it, but that’s just not my reality right now. What’s getting in the way?”

I heard His gentle reply, “Beloved, the problem is that you don’t fully know or believe my heart for you. In order to trust Me with complete confidence, you must first understand My heart for you.” And then He proceeded to share nine life changing truths about His heart with me:

“Beloved, my heart longs for you to experience abundant, overflowing life.”

“I desire for my joy to be in you and for your joy to be complete.”

“I delight in and am delighted by you.”

“I will never withhold any good thing from you.”

“I take pleasure in giving you the desires of your heart.”

“I love lavishing my generosity on you.”

“I long to overflow your cup.”

“I am committed to your wholeness.”

“I desire for you to be radiant with my love and glory.”

Tears came to my eyes as I heard these words straight from my loving Father. The season that followed was an exhilarating journey of mining the depths of each of these statements. I dug into the scriptures, asked questions, listened to His Spirit, and began to fall madly in love with the most generous, passionate, and beautiful heart I’ve ever known. This book is a compilation of what I discovered on that journey.

2) What was one profound experience you had while writing the book? (Maybe some way God confirmed to you what he was teaching you, or a tender moment you had with him?)  

God had been speaking to me about His desire for me to experience His love each day instead of just knowing it in my head. One day He illustrated how to do this so clearly and it changed me forever. I was enrolled in massage school and was about to take my first mid-term by performing a 60-minute massage on our T.A. I was so excited to love this daughter of God through touch and prayed that she would supernaturally feel the love of God through the massage. I prayed that she would feel and encounter the love of her Creator, and throughout the massage I did everything I could to allow the love of God to flow through my hands. But to my great disappointment, I could tell by the look on her face after the massage that she totally missed it. She gave me my grade, told me the two moves I forgot to do, and left the room unaffected.

I was bummed as I drove home, but then heard the Father begin to speak to me. “Kierra, this is how you live so many days. I am pouring out extravagant amounts of love onto you, but you are so preoccupied with other things during the day that you totally miss it. Your mind is so focused on your to-do-list and daily logistics that you aren’t present to receive and enjoy the love I’m lavishing on you. If you want to live in a daily experience of my love, then let yourself enjoy and notice it throughout the day. Don’t be too busy to enjoy it. Keep your heart open and expectant throughout the day; keep your eyes locked on mine, make time to listen to the words of love I’m whispering to you, and leave time for romance, deep talks, and quality time. Walk through your day in a posture of reception and I will fill you with more love than you know what to do with.”

That experience changed the ways I approached and lived my days. Suddenly, receiving His overflowing love throughout the day became so much more important than what I accomplished. And slowly, I began to walk in a daily experience of His extravagant love.


3) What was the main thing in your thinking that changed in the way you view God as a result of this process?

Every part of my heart and mind, and every cell in my body has become convinced of His constant goodness. He is so good – beyond what we will ever be able to comprehend on earth. Every one of His thoughts towards me, every intention towards me, every one of His workings in my life is 100% good. He is always looking out for my best. He is always FOR ME. And I can ALWAYS trust Him. I knew that He was good before, but after writing this book, His goodness became the biggest reality I live in. It’s more real to me than the circumstances surround me and what I see in the natural. I can bank my life on His goodness, and that has made this journey become such a joyful, peaceful adventure with Him.

4) In the devotional, you share your heart about the ways that you waited for Michael, your husband. What advice would you give to women who desire to be married, but who are still in that waiting process?
I know the discouragement, pain, and confusion of that waiting process, and now I also know the joy and wonder of watching God provide for that desire in ways beyond my wildest dreams. Let me first encourage you by saying that God is faithful and He cares more about the desires of your heart than you will ever know. During the waiting time, be honest with Him about your emotions and questions. Build intimacy with Him as you share the depths of your heart with Him. And then take time to listen to the depths of His heart as well. Let Him speak to you about the desire of His heart for you in this area. So often we come crying and talking to God, but don’t take the time to listen to what He wants to say back. But He wants to speak to you, to share the goodness of His heart for you, and to give you words of life and hope. He may also have specific instructions for you to begin to prepare for your spouse. As I waited for my husband and dove into the depths of God’s heart for me, the Lord began to tell me specific things He wanted me to do to prepare for my husband. Some were practical things like learning to cook certain meals, and others were heart things like learning to truly treasure each person in front of me for who they were. He told me how special His son was to Him and that He wouldn’t bring him to me until I was ready to love and treasure him like God does, without any judgment or criticism. So for nine months before meeting Michael, God taught me the art of treasuring each of His children. God is so good and so committed to your best. He will bring you together in His perfect timing and you will find joy in the journey of waiting and preparing as you continue to get to know His overflowing heart for you.

honestly, buying this book will be $15 WELL spent my friends:) 

and actually i've been thinking it would be fun, if whoever wanted to buy it, maybe we could go through a little study together and talk about it? let me know if you do end up purchasing the book, and we'll see what we can do! 

to read more about Kierra or purchase her book, check out her blog called

Overflowing Fullness

blessings sweet friends:) may you learn to LIVE in God's FULLNESS today!

love Katie