Mid-days With Lauree

We have something called the Prayer Center over at KCBI.org where you can leave a prayer request or you can pray for others in this KCBI community and that's exactly what this podcast is about!Today, Lauree prays a familiar prayer for one of our friends who been single for sometime and has a big date coming up this next week.

We hear it all the time, "Choose Joy". But can we actually choose joy? Pastor Josh Howerton says there's two ways to choose joy, but only one will be everlasting.

A Cat? Sure. A Dog? Maybe. A massive croissant that got mistaken for Iguana? Seriously?? You have got to hear this entire story!

If you've felt overwhelmed as of recent, take heart in the encouragement of this story God's bigger plan.

Some days, you can't escape the tired feeling. You may even feel like waving the white flag on the day completely, but what if instead of quitting, we chose rest?

Doug was at home the other night, dozing off to sleep on the couch...till this happened.

I know this is a little off the wall, but I truly believe I can hear God better when my room is clean.

Has there ever been a moment you've tried to teach God something?I know you probably think this question is silly and you'd be right, it is. God is the creator of the universe, what could I ever teach him? Well let me share with you my moment of immaturity where I tried to do just that.I was 17 years old and was with my youth group teaching English to kids from the Czech Republic and the first night of camp I noticed a girl started praying in her native language of Czech. I remember thinking it was beautiful, but I got worried thinking God wouldn't understand this girl because I couldn't understand her. So in my ignorance, I took a shot at translating her prayer so God could understand her when in reality I made God out to be too small. God understood her perfectly, not because God excelled in some foreign language class (lets be clear, he would), but because God was and will always be so much bigger than whatever expectations we could have of him. I'm so thankful for that.

You may have heard the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has been halted for the moment due to some unforeseen side effects. Maybe you've received the one time vaccine and you're wondering what you should be looking out for. Here is the latest insight!

Big Blue, better known as the University of Kentucky, had a BIG ooops moment that left some student heartbroken and others downright confused!

What would you do, within moral and legal parameters, for 10 million dollars?

It's kinda vulnerable to admit that you struggle with anger. I did that today. Because it's been a struggle for me. And I believe that as a community when we share areas of our own weakness we can encourage and exhort others to pursue more Christlikeness together. So I admitted that I've struggled with anger this past year.A friend once told me that anger is a secondary response. When we are offended, betrayed, hurt, or sad that's the initial feeling and then it goes to anger. It's been going there pretty quick lately. I'm not proud of that. Here’s what angers gets us, it damages trust. It causes anxiety, it leads to loneliness and it damages self-esteem. You won't have to look far in the book of Proverbs to find so many examples of instruction what to do with our anger. But it was the encouragement of Ecclesiastes 7:9 today that gave me a challenge and rebuke: Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,for anger resides in the lap of fools.I don't want to be a fool. I certainly don't want to be an angry fool.

If you're a procrastinator like Lauree, than tax season typically makes you a little nervous. If you fall under that umbrella, fear not, because the tax deadline has been pushed back!

You've probably heard of Beethoven, the classic composer and pianist. In his older years, he used to play this broken harpsicord until tears would stream down his face. It wasn't from this music sounding bad, though it did. You see, Beethoven couldn't hear how out of tune the instrument was because he was deaf. He cried because he could hear how to the music was supposed to sound. Maybe you feel like that broken instrument: worthless, inadequate, insignificant. But what does the master, God, do when the instrument is broken? Does he just replace it with a new one? The master musician fixes what we can't and hears the music the way it's supposed to be played. He hears a masterpiece.

When you hear the word "doubting", what is the first thing you associate it with? Probably the Bible character, Thomas. But here is why we think Thomas should be remember for more than his doubt and why that would be good news for you and me!

We bet there is no chance you can predict how this story ends! Take a listen for yourself!

Have you ever heard of the idea of 'Reverse Shopping'? If not, it may just help you rid your closets of the clutter you've been meaning to get rid of!

This might not be as "BREAKING NEWS" as it is for Lauree but here's why you should be excited:You are no longer limited to only the 3 fl. oz.  of liquid to carry on to the flight in your purse or bag. In the case of sunscreen it's not considered a medically important treatment that can go with you on-board. Which means the next time you are going through security and that giant tub of sunscreen is pulled out of your purse and plopped onto the conveyor belt...the TSA needs to let it pass!And if that's not exciting enough, let's get excited for protecting our skin!! Three Cheers for sunscreen!! Hip Hip Hooray!Lauree doesn't even care that she's really going hard letting her Dork flag fly...she's been dosing up with all sorts of sunscreens, even has a new bottle next to her driver seat in her car to put on your hands when she's driving home in the Texas sunshine.  She's had one too many risks of skin cancer, plus your skin will thank you for caring for it -so get out there, take some trips and don't forget that

We think you'll be encouraged by this 16-year-old's act of bravery to speak up in moment of fear and anxiety!

I know this is kind of strange, but the act of looking at yourself in the mirror makes me sad. I know firsthand and through conversations with friends the dialogue that takes place in that meeting with the mirror and, a lot of the time, that inner conversation is pretty ugly and harsh. Here is a story of a woman who struggled with her own negative inner voice and how she was able to break that cycle with the power of a rubber band.