Kara Annette McAbee
Tar Heel Born & Bred
1971 - ?
(**Confession---this blog post has yet to be edited. I've got a burden to share these words right now, so I'm posting without editing....anything spelled incorrectly, poor grammar, etc. will be corrected when I get back to it tomorrow! I hope you'll overlook anything like that, and just hear my heart. Thanks. Kara)
A lot of life goes on between the dash. Laughter. Tears. Joy. Sorrows. Giggling and cooing. Toddling around. First words. First loves. First heartbreaks. Good decisions. Poor decisions. Regrets. Health battles. Losing loved ones. Grief. Friends. Loves lost. Rejections.
I suppose that it's up to each of us how we choose to live our own dash. Will we become world famous leaders, poets, mine workers, secretaries, mommies, friends, lovers, athletes, etc.?
I've spent many a year, and I would suspect that most of us do, wasting the time that my dash represents. In recent weeks, however, I've decided to take better stock of how I'm using my dash. In my favorite poem, "Desiderata", there's a line that says we should "take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth."
In the Bible, there was another person who reflected back on the folly of his youth and much of his life, King Solomon. Solomon, as you may recall, was the son of King David. He was wealthy beyond compare. He had multiple wives and concubines. Servants galore. Palaces. Gold. Silver. Livestock. Land. All the things that money (and wars) could afford a king.
Yet Solomon, reknown for his wisdom recorded in Proverbs searched over his vast kingdom and all that he had amassed, and in the book of Ecclesiastes, he records the following:
"Smoke, nothing but smoke. There's nothing to anything—it's all smoke. What's there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone? One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes—it's business as usual for old planet earth. The sun comes up and the sun goes down, then does it again, and again—the same old round. The wind blows south, the wind blows north. Around and around and around it blows, blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind. Everything's boring, utterly boring—no one can find any meaning in it. Boring to the eye, boring to the ear. What was will be again, what happened will happen again. There's nothing new on this earth. Year after year it's the same old thing. Does someone call out, "Hey, this is new"? Don't get excited—it's the same old story. Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. And the things that will happen tomorrow? Nobody'll remember them either. Don't count on being remembered." (The Message)
Sounds like Solomon had a serious case of the "poor pitiful me's". (Luckily they make medicines for people with these kinds of moods now!) Solomon is basically saying that, despite all he had accomplished through the course of his life, it was all pretty much meaningless. What he was failing to take into consideration was the power and the joy in a life fulfilled by allowing God to bring you to a full awakening of all we are meant to be in Him. Serving others, giving back to others, encouraging them, listening to them, providing counsel, etc. when you are not operating out of the overflow of the Holy Spirit is nothing but smoke. Our efforts are in vain, and we are not effective in our attempts to minister to those around us. If we are to be light to this hurting world, we must take seriously our own individual spiritual growth and development.How do we do this?
I believe the secret is found in cultivating a lifestyle of worship. Worship is something we've distorted and shrunk to fit into our "one size fits all" society. Most people would define worship as singing in church to a particular style of music. After all, it carries the name "praise and worship", so that must be it, right? Well, yes and no. Of course, singing is a part of worship, as long as it is done in spirit and truth, with the right motives. It's certainly not about "flipping on a switch" on Sunday morning, checking in at church with all our friends, saying a prayer, dropping some money in the offering plate and then running out at 11:58 to get to the buffet line before the Baptists do.
Worship is, and should be, a lifestyle. It's what I do. It's who I am. It consumes me. When I wake up in the morning, I'm already conversing with God, because He wakes me with a song already in my mind. I welcome the morning by saying "good morning" to Him, and I begin to ask Him to be with me throughout the day. My morning devotions, prayer and quiet time alone with Him are the sweetest parts of my day. I never say "Amen" during a prayer, because I don't believe that prayer should ever stop. He's the dearest, most trusted friend I have, or ever will have, so why would I need to put an end to it? As I'm driving, I'm singing, thanking Him for His creation, asking Him to bless the person who almost totalled my car (yes, that was yesterday), etc. At work, I'm working for Him, even though I'm in a secular job. I know that what I'm doing is blessing Him because I'm focusing on being a blessing to my co-workers and the people I work for.
A lifestyle of worship is not difficult. It's simply a matter of being present. Present in the moment so that you can recognize the people who God places in your path. Present so that you can give back to Him, and present so that He can constantly be refilling your earthly vessel. Then, out of the overflow, we can give to others. It's really that simple.
In looking back over the course of my life, I pray that I will be able to come to a different conclusion than did Solomon. I pray that my dash will be far from smoke. I hope that I've been able (and will continue to be able) to make an eternal difference in the lives of many of the people I've met along this journey home.
Making Heaven a Bit More Crowded,
Kara
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Random Thoughts Along the Way
Just a collection of thoughts from the past few days:
1. What a glorious day Easter Resurrection Sunday was! We were blessed with gorgeous sunny skies, soft white puffy clouds, and birds chirping. Then again, we also had pollen so thick you could write a book on the hood of my car!
2. I sang in the praise & worship team @ Trinity this Sunday. It's the first time I've done that in over 10 years. I grew up singing in church, but when I went to Crossroads, didn't have the nerve to audition and really didn't have the confidence that I was "good enough". Wow, what institutions can do to a person's self-confidence.
3. We had our Easter egg hunt Sunday morning on the lawn of the church. Girls in their pretty dresses and boys dressed up--I LOVE it!! Such fun!
4. It was also the weekend of the NCAA Final Four. I supposed I'd be remiss to not comment on it. So, let's see: Carolina had one of those dreaded "rebuilding" years that no one wants to have. I'm excited for next year--amazing new recruits coming in. Hopefully, we'll stay healthy!
5. Why were so many Carolina fans opposed to playing in the NIT? Granted, it's not the "big dance", but at least we were able to continue to play post-season. I think for our team, we really needed those additional games. They began to play as a team and have pride in themselves. They made it to the finals of the NIT and played well. Though it was a frustrating season, true fans know the meaning of loyalty and allegiance to their team. As our alma mater says, "Tar Heel Born. Tar Heel Bred. When I Die? Tar Heel Dead!" That's me!!
6. Wow, do Duke fans ever take seriously when Carolina fans beat up on them!! Can we say complete lack of a sense of humor? They enjoy dishing it out, but can't seem to take it. (MY personal opinion, of course. This is MY blog and I can post whatever I think!) Many of my friends, several of whom are on Facebook, and I enjoy the banter back and forth between opposing fans. It's fun. It's tradition. It's the ABC and ABD crowd (of which I'm a proud member)! I have to tell you that as I was posting a few comments back and forth with them, a few people jumped into the conversation (which is, I suppose, one of the problems with Facebook) and managed to question both my sportsmanship AND my Christianity! Apparently, umbrage was taken at my comment that Coach K bought the refs during the WVU game.
REALLY, even I don't take it that seriously! Friends, let me just say this. If a game with a little round ball causes you to question someone's faith, YOU TAKE IT WAAAAY TOO SERIOUSLY!! Banter between friends is one thing, but suggesting someone doesn't display sportsmanship or a Christ-like character is a wee bit over the top. I'm just sayin......
7. Special Olympics Spring Games are slated for April 28th (for high school & adults) and April 29th (for elementary & middle schoolers). Come join us at the Cabarrus Arena around 9 a.m. for two fabulous days of real heroes, sportsmanship, and winning spirits! You'll be so glad you did!
8. POLLEN must be sent from satan!!
9. I'm not nearly as insecure as I once was.
10. I love my Kindle (thanks Mom & Dad)!! Just found the first book I wanted to order that's not available in a Kindle version, so I'm hoping my note to the publisher will help! (Women, Food & God in case you're wondering.)
11. I'm blessed!! Between family, friends, church, relationship with Christ, work, my own home where I can play music as loud as I want to, food on the table, a car to take me where I need to go, and the ability to wake up to a new morning with a fresh batch of His mercies just for me, what more could a person want?
12. New relationships that spring up and begin to develop in the most beautifully innocent of ways.....dreams of what might be.....a poet's soul that speaks to mine....He knows my needs, my every thoughts, even my wants.
1. What a glorious day Easter Resurrection Sunday was! We were blessed with gorgeous sunny skies, soft white puffy clouds, and birds chirping. Then again, we also had pollen so thick you could write a book on the hood of my car!
2. I sang in the praise & worship team @ Trinity this Sunday. It's the first time I've done that in over 10 years. I grew up singing in church, but when I went to Crossroads, didn't have the nerve to audition and really didn't have the confidence that I was "good enough". Wow, what institutions can do to a person's self-confidence.
3. We had our Easter egg hunt Sunday morning on the lawn of the church. Girls in their pretty dresses and boys dressed up--I LOVE it!! Such fun!
4. It was also the weekend of the NCAA Final Four. I supposed I'd be remiss to not comment on it. So, let's see: Carolina had one of those dreaded "rebuilding" years that no one wants to have. I'm excited for next year--amazing new recruits coming in. Hopefully, we'll stay healthy!
5. Why were so many Carolina fans opposed to playing in the NIT? Granted, it's not the "big dance", but at least we were able to continue to play post-season. I think for our team, we really needed those additional games. They began to play as a team and have pride in themselves. They made it to the finals of the NIT and played well. Though it was a frustrating season, true fans know the meaning of loyalty and allegiance to their team. As our alma mater says, "Tar Heel Born. Tar Heel Bred. When I Die? Tar Heel Dead!" That's me!!
6. Wow, do Duke fans ever take seriously when Carolina fans beat up on them!! Can we say complete lack of a sense of humor? They enjoy dishing it out, but can't seem to take it. (MY personal opinion, of course. This is MY blog and I can post whatever I think!) Many of my friends, several of whom are on Facebook, and I enjoy the banter back and forth between opposing fans. It's fun. It's tradition. It's the ABC and ABD crowd (of which I'm a proud member)! I have to tell you that as I was posting a few comments back and forth with them, a few people jumped into the conversation (which is, I suppose, one of the problems with Facebook) and managed to question both my sportsmanship AND my Christianity! Apparently, umbrage was taken at my comment that Coach K bought the refs during the WVU game.
REALLY, even I don't take it that seriously! Friends, let me just say this. If a game with a little round ball causes you to question someone's faith, YOU TAKE IT WAAAAY TOO SERIOUSLY!! Banter between friends is one thing, but suggesting someone doesn't display sportsmanship or a Christ-like character is a wee bit over the top. I'm just sayin......
7. Special Olympics Spring Games are slated for April 28th (for high school & adults) and April 29th (for elementary & middle schoolers). Come join us at the Cabarrus Arena around 9 a.m. for two fabulous days of real heroes, sportsmanship, and winning spirits! You'll be so glad you did!
8. POLLEN must be sent from satan!!
9. I'm not nearly as insecure as I once was.
10. I love my Kindle (thanks Mom & Dad)!! Just found the first book I wanted to order that's not available in a Kindle version, so I'm hoping my note to the publisher will help! (Women, Food & God in case you're wondering.)
11. I'm blessed!! Between family, friends, church, relationship with Christ, work, my own home where I can play music as loud as I want to, food on the table, a car to take me where I need to go, and the ability to wake up to a new morning with a fresh batch of His mercies just for me, what more could a person want?
12. New relationships that spring up and begin to develop in the most beautifully innocent of ways.....dreams of what might be.....a poet's soul that speaks to mine....He knows my needs, my every thoughts, even my wants.
13. Maybe the saddest thing I've learned over the past few days---this is the last season of my beloved "24". What on earth am I gonna do without my Jack Bauer? No more Kiefer on Monday nights...I honestly don't know what I'll do! Sure, I own all 8 seasons on DVD and could just start watching them over again, but it's just not the same. (And don't tell me to just listen to all the Bank of America commercials to hear his voice....again, not the same.) The mourning has already begun. I'm just trying to decide if I want Jack to end the series happy and in love, or torn apart over the assassination of his beloved (that way, I still have a chance!). Decisions. Decisions.
14. Sending prayers out to my cousin, Christy McAbee. She fell over the weekend and severely injured her back. Many weeks of rehab, and prayerfully, no surgery.
15. Music is God's gift to me. He speaks to me
through the poets He shares His thoughts with. 16. I think I've thought enough. I think I need a nap!
Do Good Things,
Kara
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