A New Creation

Hey Bloggers!

I have a confession of sorts to make! I have a guilty pleasure that I watch on television that I just can't seem to get enough of. It's a show on CMT called "Gone Country". Have you seen it?

The premise of the reality show is that six celebrities from genres other than country music (actors, athletes, former pop stars, and this year a former Miss USA)move to Nashville, work with country song writers, perform for the fans in Nashville, and compete to see who has the best opportunity to "Go Country". At the end of the season, the person who wins gets the chance to go into the studio with John Rich of Big & Rich fame to record a country record. Wow, I just dated myself there....they get the opportunity to record a country CD!!

What is so fascinating to me about this show is what happens on the first episode of each season. Sitting in John's mansion (which is my vision for what my mansion will look like in Heaven someday), all the participants are at his dining room table chowing down on a huge BBQ dinner. John asks each person very candidly why they wanted to participate in this competition and why they want to "go country". The answers are often heart-warming, sometimes heart-breaking, but always have something to do with making a new start, to becoming a new creation.

This season, Tara Connor, a former Miss USA is one of the contestants. You may recall that she had a drinking problem during her reign and ended up in rehab during her stint wearing the crown. While John asked her why she was there, she began to tear up as she described a life that began to spin out of control at the age of 14 when her parents divorced. She began turning to alcohol to help soothe the pain and ease her fears. Now most people know her as the "rehab beauty queen" and think that she is a messed up drunk. The sad thing in that? She's only 22 years old and already feels labeled. She wants to use this opportunity to share her story, tell people who she really is and get a new start in life.

I certainly believe the goals the contestants set for themselves are commendable. I enjoy watching their attempts at re-starting and re-claiming their careers in a new outlet. But I must admit I'm struck by all the striving, stress and pressure they place on themselves to just "be".

It reminds me of Paul's second letter to the church in Corinth. This translation is from The Message, and I just LOVE it!! I honestly think if all these contestants were to have a personal relationship with Christ, they may just be able to cease the striving to become a new creation, because they'd realize they already area! Might they be searching for God when they think they're searching for fame?

"Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you."

Just thought you'd want to know,

K

Longing for a Hand to Hold?

Hello Everyone,

First let me say, IF you received an email from me earlier today asking you to visit and read my post about the day, this one isn't it! Scroll down to the next one, "Proud to Be an American." That's the one I referenced.

However, since you're here, you might as well watch this video that I'm posting. I was having a conversation several days ago in which I mentioned that one of the things I really missed in not being in a relationship was having a hand to hold. There's an intimate connection in just holding someone's hand...a strength, a calming assurance, knowledge that someone is by your side. I really do miss that right now.

I heard this song on the radio today, and it sent me flying to You Tube to check whether there was a video for it, so I hope you enjoy this. (It's by a group called Tenth Avenue North and is called "By Your Side".)

Holding on to HIS Hand,
K

"Proud to be an American"

"If a man is to be called a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say, 'Here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well'."

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It's such a beautiful day today. As my yard in Concord, NC is blanketed with snow, the sun is shining, the air is brisk, and the skies are a beautiful shade of Carolina blue. What began as a typical January day in the Piedmont of North Carolina belies the fact that today is a day unlike any other our nation has witnessed. For today, a promise was kept. A dream was realized. A legacy was honored.

Just a few short hours ago, the 44th President of the United States was inaugurated. Barack Obama is no longer President-Elect Obama, the first African American elected to be President, the one who promised Change. As of noon today, he simply became Mr. President.

Most of you know how passionate I am about politics and the system that our forefathers worked so diligently to design to stand the test of the ages. It is a system that allows each citizen of the United States to participate in. Countless young men and women have shed their blood, given the greatest sacrifice, to ensure the continuation of the notion that a government of the people, by the people and for the people would endure.

No doubt, our history has been tainted by the scourge of slavery, the sting of racism, the abuse of power and money, and we have all fallen short in our responsibility to rise to the greater common good that exists in us all as Americans to defend our Constitution. But, I am encouraged by the notion that millions of people all across this nation, young and old, black and white, Asian and Hispanic, liberal and conservative, gay and straight, male and female, Tar Heels and Blue Devils can all look inside ourselves and realize that in reality, it's the little things that divide us--at our core, we all desire the same things.

We want a country we can be proud of--both in what it stands for, what it fights for, and what it inspires in us. We want a leader who uses wisdom to make decisions that will affect not only our families, but his own. We want those we elect to represent us, regardless of whether there is a D or an R by their name on the ballot, to remember that it is each of us who placed them in office. We want them to vote their conscience and realize that the greater good in our local, state and federal governments will always balance against partisanship and ideology.

I encourage each of you who reads this post today to take a moment to pray for President Obama and Vice President Biden, the newly appointed members of the Cabinet, our Senators and members of the House of Representatives. Pray for our nation as we begin the long process of economic recovery and building toward a stronger tomorrow. Pray for our troops who serve in the far reaches of the planet, daily laying their lives on the line in freedom's cause. Pray for each of us as well, that we might stand alongside our President and support him in the causes that we agree with him on, and work to fight for the causes in which we disagree. Most of all, pray for the future of our nation.

President Lincoln once called the United States the "last best hope for earth". Our democracy, so young by all standards, will continue to strengthen with the resolve of the American people. Change has come, yes it has. Just yesterday, we honored Martin Luther King and the fight for civil rights that he helped to champion. Today, his dream has been realized. Barack Obama was never a streetsweeper, but let each of us join him in the cause of leading our nation so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say, "Here lives a great President who did his job well."


May God Richly Bless America,
Kara

PS...I couldn't resist adding this picture.

Yep, that's my President playing b-ball with my Heels!!

"Yet...."

"I believe in the sun even if it isn't shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe in God even when He is silent."

What do YOU believe in? I found this while looking for some quotes about faith. There's a difference in what we believe in and what we know. For instance, I believe the Tar Heels are going to win the National Championship this year. But I know they'll lose a few games along the way. I believe that someday, I'll get married and be a mom. But I know there will be many a lonely night between now and then. I believe that Tim Patrick is a Penn State fan. But I know that it's only because he's a bit deluded and getting older by the day. (I also know that I'm joking...Tim's really only getting older.)

The Bible tells us that for now, we only know in part. We're not complete...yet. But, one day, we will see Him face-t0-face and our completion will be settled. For now, it's enough to believe in my spirit and to know in my heart that He will bring about all that He's promised.

Last night, I watched T.D. Jakes deliver a message called "Yet". His point was that we all walk through rough patches and we stumble along the way, but it's because we're not complete....yet.

Have you ever thought about how encouraging the word "yet" can be? When we look at the problems and struggles in life, we can get really down and depressed:

"I'm not married."

"I'm not out of debt."

"My children aren't saved."

"I'm not wearing that size 4 pair of jeans I bought."

"I'm not feeling any better."

Those are really self-defeating and self-fulfilling prophecies in many ways. However, look what happens when we operate out of our "yet":

"I'm not married....yet."

"I'm not out of debt...yet."

"My children aren't saved...yet."

"I'm not wearing that size 4 pair of jeans....yet....well maybe never, but an 8 wouldn't be bad either!!"

"I'm not feeling any better....yet."

When we live out of the "yet", we are able to tell satan that we're not going to buy into his lies and his schemes. He may have us down and disappointed, but we haven't received our victory...YET!! Can you imagine what he must have thought as Jesus lay in the tomb for three days? Don't you just know that he was revelling in victory, thinking he had finally trumped God and defeated the Son of Man? BUT!! God wasn't finished with mankind....YET!! That wonderful Sunday morning set into motion the path of freedom and healing and ultimate restoration for each of us if we would only receive it.

I may not be married. I may not be a mom. I may not have a career in the calling that God has created me for. I may not be the best friend to my friends, and I may not be the best daughter in the world. I may not look the way I want to. I may not be able to approach a scale without trepidation. I may not be able to run a marathon (have I ever told anyone that's my dream some day?). I may not be a published author. I may not be a lot of things.

Yet.

Did You Know??

Did You Know? from Amybeth on Vimeo.

Boy, oh Boy, Did I Ever Need That!!

Good Morning Everyone!

I'm revelling in my post-"24" returns joy! As one of my friends said last night, "Once you go Jack, you'll never go back!" If you don't watch the most awesome show on television, you should start!! "24" is action-packed and intense, but it is without question one of the best written shows out there. (Not to mention, Kiefer Sutherland ain't too bad on the eyes!)

I thought I'd share the quote that was on my desk calendar today, and just let you know that it really spoke to my heart this morning.

"There's a rhythm to life. What we do has eternal consequences, and you've got to have faith that whatever job you're given, it matters."

I really needed to read that this morning, and it was such a gift to me. You see, just yesterday, my buddy Tim and I were talking about his trip to Nashville to the Children's Pastors Conference (CPC). We talked about the presenters, the worship, the vendors, etc. and we definitely talked about my favorite, Go Fish. They've just come out with a fabulous new VBS curriculum based on their music and getting kids back into the Bible.

If I were still at Crossroads, developing the FAM JAM program (we got rid of VBS in order to bring families together) was in my job description. Tim and I worked closely to produce and develop and bring it to fruition in years past. In watching the video promo for the Go Fish curriculum, I got a little weepy because I realized that I wouldn't be able to make this happen at Crossroads for the first time in several years. It just broke my heart to see the kids worshiping and excited and really getting back into the Bible.

I was sharing that with Tim and he said something to me that will stick with me for some time. He said, "Kara, you have to remember that God DID place a call on your life to minister to children. You felt it, responded to it, and you walked in it in a really fine way. Regardless of what other people may say about whether you are or aren't called to minister to children, you were and you know it. The tears were there to remind you that the call is still there, even if you've had to step outside the calling for a time. But somewhere down the road, the opportunity will present itself again. All you have to do is be ready to answer, use your time wisely in the meantime and build a few tents." (For those of you who may not know what that means, go check out the life of Paul while he was ministering and spreading the Good News.)

I've really wrestled with why God would bring me to a place of ministering to children, which is my ultimate dream and desire in a "work setting", only to pull me out of that place in such dramatic fashion. I've questioned if the call was real. I've doubted my abilities and my purpose this past year. Those of you who've read the blog from the beginning must be well-aware of that by now! But the good news is that His mercies are new every morning, and God PROMISES that He knows the plans that He has for me and and that those plans to give me HOPE and to give me a FUTURE.

Hmmm... so if He knows my future, that means He knows where He's leading me. I guess that also means that HE knows when and if I'll go back into ministry. (Kinda like He knows when and if I'll get married. When and if I'll be a mom. When and if I'll ever be a size 4. When and if the Tar Heels are gonna win the National Championship again. When and if Jack Bauer's ever going to retire to Concord and meet a young woman named Kar....oh never mind.)

Enjoy your job and where He has you, as I'm enjoying mine.
Kara