Prelude to a Miracle

Hey Bloggers!

Months ago, when this blog first began, I promised you 100% authenticity. I said I'd be completely honest with how things were going in life, in my struggles (once again) with panic, and where I was on the journey toward wholeness and restoration.

So, in that promise, I'll share what's going on today. On the way in to the office, I began to feel those incredibly difficult, yet familiar feelings. The mind racing, the feelings of helplessness, the overwhelming urge to run toward safety. I truly would not wish this experience on the worst of my enemies. Well, maybe on Bin Laden, but that's another story.

I'm at the office, trying desperately to practice all those relaxation techniques that you learn along the way through therapy, online message boards, and discussions with friends and family. Deep breathing, slowly in through the nose, out through the mouth. Tensing up your fists for a few seconds and releasing them. Teresa even suggested "checking in with your toes" to see how they're doing. (I guess to get your mind on something other than the panicky thoughts.) I'm honestly grateful that no one's really around. I'm busying myself with some mindless work that doesn't require a lot of thought. That's a really good thing right now, because I'm not really sure I could put 2 and 2 together! My prayer is to survive and make it the whole day and not have to run home.

But here's the problem. Every time I experience this again, I begin to beat myself up, because I feel as if I'm taking another tremendous leap backwards. Why does this continue to happen? Why can't I move beyond this? Where is the healing that came so many years ago when this happened in college? Why me again? Why this again?

I just read a quote that I'm going to hold on to for a while: "We have to pray with our eyes on God and not on the difficulties." God bless Oswald Chambers, "Uncle O", as my friend John calls him. I always find myself focusing on the problem...the difficulties instead of on how great and powerful my God is. For some reason, the phrase "prelude to a miracle" came to mind. I truly hope that this is what all these experiences have been the past several months, a prelude to MY miracle!

Continue Praying as I Continue Journeying,
Kara

The Song Remembers When

Hey Everyone!

Sorry that it's been a while since I've been on here. Work has been literally crazy, and I'll admit that I've just recently joined the network of millions of others who are connecting with one another on Facebook. (More on that in a bit.)

Several years ago, Trisha Yearwood recorded a song called "The Song Remembers When". The lyrics describe how a particular song triggers her to go back in time to when she was in a relationship and then think about all that comes with that, both the good times and the bad. Feel free to watch the video, then rejoin me as we look at some of the lyrics.

The first verse begins the story: "I was standin' at the counter. I was waitin' for the change. When I heard that old familiar music start. It was like a lighted match had been tossed into my soul . It was like a dam had broken in my heart. After taking ev'ry detour, gettin' lost and losin' track so that even if I wanted, I could not find my way back. After drivin' out the mem'ry of the way things might have been, after I'd forgotten all about us, the song remembers when.

(Bridge:)I guess somethin' must have happened, and we must have said goodbye, and my heart must have been broken, though I can't recall just why. The song remembers when. Well, for all the miles between us, and for all the time that's passed, you would think I haven't gotten very far. And I hope my hasty heart will forgive me just this once if I stop to wonder how on earth you are. But that's just a lot of water underneath a bridge I burned. And there's no use in backtrackin' around corners I have turned. Still I guess some things we bury are just bound to rise again, for even if the whole world has forgotten, the song remembers when. Yeah, and even if the whole world has forgotten, the song remembers when."

Whew! A lot of lyrics, I realize. This was a HUGE hit for Trisha, and it is one that I love. Do you have one of "those" songs? The song that ended your prom. The song you danced to at your wedding. I hadn't really given it a lot of thought for some time....until yesterday that is. Through the magic of Facebook, I had one of those "song remembers when" moments. I had a few friend requests sitting in my messages area. I clicked on and accepted all but one....THE one. This name that came out of nowhere. The one that sent all those memories flooding back, making me relive and recount so much that had gone on in my life over the past several years that he was a part of them....Darryl. The name I haven't spoken, talked to, or been a part of his life for several years now. Years with no contact will certainly drive the memories away, that is, until the song remembers.

I'm not about to bore any of you with details of who he is, what he meant to me, our past history together (and apart), but I wonder if you've had those moments? Is there a song, a scent, a location, a "whatever" in your past that drives you back to a moment in time that makes you think of the choices you've made (good and bad)? How is it that certain things are so ingrained in our memories, but I can't tell you what I had for dinner last night? (Ok, well it was really steamed veggies & rice, but you get my point!)

Talk about water under bridges burned....those memories flood back and remind me of where I was eight years ago or so when we first met. How different I am today. How much I've learned about boundaries, safe people, being trust worthy enough to earn access to another's heart...so many important life skills and lessons.

Do you think it's those hard times, those times when we get knocked down or have our hearts broken that we learn the most about ourselves? I think that must be the case. But, I think the important thing is that we DO learn them. Who said something about the definition of insanity being doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome? How many times in life does God allow us to learn a lesson, only to test us to make sure we've actually learned the lesson?

I suppose this might seem a bit like I'm rambling today, but isn't processing fabulous??!! Yes, my heart wonders "how on earth" he is. I guess through the magic of Facebook, some day I'll learn. But he'll meet a completely different Kara this time. This time, I know who I am. I know what I will accept in my life and what I won't. He'll meet a woman who, though far from perfect, is learning how to love herself more perfectly. A woman who, thanks to God and some awesome friends, including many of you who read this blog, is grateful for the years of wisdom and love showered upon her. A woman who now realizes that she doesn't NEED a man to fill her up and make her FEEL loved, appreciated or worthy. (YAYYYY!!!) A much more humbled woman and one who is not backtrackin' around too many corners these days.

So, even if the whole world has forgotten, yes, the song remembers when.

Love Ya'll to Pieces,

Kara

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

The Most Unusual of Places

For those singles out there....from one of my favorite Christian single writers (other than me, of course!)

"There is a gift I would like to receive this Christmas that I am certain will be deferred--perhaps not forever--but for now.

What WILL be there, as it has been for so many years is "the gift of singleness." I cannot say I will open this package with joy, but I will open it. I will open it because, at least for this year, it is His gift to me and I know He loves me.

Where is that anticipation we used to have that would give us sleepless nights leading up to Christmas? Where is the childlike faith we used to have that the next morning would bring blessings untold? What has happened to the conviction that "God is LOVE?!" We need only look to the manger. For the manger calls to us, saying:

"Lift your eyes you who mourn.
Look up downcast soul.
Day breaks where darkness ruled.
Life springs from desert streams.
Love has heard your cry.
Love has come at last."

There is a danger in being honest. There is a danger that the little window I have sheepishly opened might be thought the full view of my soul--the sum of who I am. It is not so. I feel deep sorrow but the Joy of the Lord has carved a deeper well in my soul. Joy to the WORLD--the Lord has come!! Rejoice--God cares!!

I confessed the longings of my heart. I admitted the pain my spirit has harbored at the long delayed joy of marriage. I confessed these not to explain to you who I am--I pray I am not so shallow--but to let you know that life is comprised of such moments and such emotions. I speak with such candor so that we who are human, we who have human emotions might not think ourselves odd.

• To be real is spiritual.
• To be broken and healed is spiritual.
• To confess and to confide is spiritual.
• And yes, to rejoice is spiritual for God is with us. Emmanuel!!

Christmas, the manger is evidence of God's grace and the grace of God is deeper than the darkest shadows of night, brighter than the strongest rays of day. It is greater than all that plagues us, richer than our poverty. It must be so or there would be every reason to fear walking through the valley of the shadow of death. There would be no cause for the confidence we speak if He were not--"with us."

The Father's grace is stronger than the currents of life that threaten to drag us down, more sure than the ground on which we stand. This must be, or our struggle to reach shore would be futile. It must be, or the rumble beneath us would seem more than foreboding, more than mere threat.
The grace of God is boundless, limitless, timeless, and extravagant. Grace does not falter due to the frailty of our faith and is not threatened by our honesty. Grace does not cease due to the persistence of sin. The extent of our need does not exhaust grace. The depth of our emptiness does not consume it.

Grace is ever held out to the prodigal, ever extended to those in need. It is ever available to we who fail, to we who even at our best--are not good enough. It is we, the sick, who need the chief physician, who crave His healing touch and so--our need will never deplete His grace.

What have I to say to those who despair?
What Have I to say to those in need?
What have I to say to those who have cried their last tear?

Look to the manger! You are not forgotten. The life of Christ confirms that no degradation is beneath God's love. There is no place that grace will not go to meet those in need. In the midst of our trials and failure, in the midst of our longings and hopes--God appeared. We need never fear that we are alone. While our arms were too short to reach Him and our prayers merely murmurs--Christ came down to let us know God cares and His manger is evidence of God With Us.

Because no humiliation is beneath God's love, His grace will find us where we hide. He will seek us out even in the places we are certain no one will find, the places we hope no one will find. He will search our hardening or hardened hearts to find that tender spot. He will meet us there and gently (because that is His way) touch us so that we will know we are not alone. He might appear in the form of a friend, a parent, a child, a songbird, or the quiet rustle of leaves. He might appear in the most unusual of places, as the most unusual of people, at the most inopportune time to let us know you are not alone. Would you have ever suspected He would come in the form of a helpless babe?

Between the children that we seek to be and the people we are--lies the place of becoming. For now we are here, in the 'tween time, malformed and awkward, striving to mature, striving to be who we are called to be--and failing. But with us is the grace of God. And this makes all the difference in the world. With us is the manger; that place of meeting--God and man.
The most unusual of places finds the God of the universe--among us.

Oh it would have been easy to say He does not care if we did not have the manger. The rustle of wrapping paper and crushed boxes will not be enough for the single who still craves marriage. No the one present longed for will not fit under this tree, and it is okay to mourn this. But put off mourning till tomorrow and rejoice in the gift of God to us. Let us celebrate what is worth more than husband wife or children--for the Lord has come.

"I love thee, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky, and stay by my side until morning is nigh."

Accepted And Loved

Hi Everyone and Merry Christmas!

I thought I'd share a bit about "Cardboard Testimonies". Several months ago, I posted a You Tube clip that brought me to tears in which a church had some of their members walking across the stage, holding a sign that showed the labels they've worn that the world had given them. You'd see things like "rejected. unlovable. unworthy. cancer patient. barren. ugly., etc." As the person stands holding their sign, they turn the sign around to show the name that God had given them. On this sign, you'd see things like "approved. lovable. worthy. cancer free. new mother. beautiful princess, etc."

The point being that satan tries to label us with all kinds of ugly lies. Scripture tells us that satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. If he can get us to wear labels that serve to cut us down, tear our lives apart and and force us to walk around in defeat, he's won. But the God that I serve gives each of us a name that serves to build up, encourage and edify. How I love Him so.

Those of you reading this blog know me well enough to know that I walked around my whole life buying into the labels that satan attacked me with. Things like "abused. not worth it. ugly. fat. rejected." I listened to the lies that satan perpetrated on me. I heard his whispers in the night: "you'll never have someone who'll love you. you'll never get married. you'll never be a mother. you'll never add up to anything. you'll never be worth it. no one will ever think you're special enough to love deeply and enough to spend their lives with you."

Those words crippled me for a long time. I lived my life for far too long accepting his lies for truth. I walked in defeat, accepted relationships in my life that were not safe, productive or loving. In the past, I said to many of my single friends that my plan was to "wait around until God brings the ONE man into my life who thinks I'm 'worth it', who approves of me 'as-is', and falls in love with me and chooses me to be his partner. THEN, I'm gonna lose all this weight, and won't he be the lucky one for it?" Ewww, just typing that gives me the chills! That's totally giving my personal responsibility away and looking for someone to "complete me". Ya'll, Renee Zelwegger did NOT have it right in Jerry Maguire. No man is meant to complete me. Nothing and no one, other than my Creator, is my "Completer".

It's been a pretty monumental year for me as I realized and recognize God as the source of my life. Everything I need--truly need--comes from Him. He pours his love and acceptance into me. Everything else is just overflow. The people in my life, my friends, my family, my job, my home, etc...they're just overflow. Wonderful and beautiful overflow.

This is how I know that NOW, finally now, I am ready to accept intimate love into my life. A year ago, I was dating someone, but I looked to him to make me FEEL better about myself, to make me FEEL loved. To make me FEEL accepted. To make me FEEL like I could open my heart and trust. To make me FEEL attractive and pretty. But that was SOOO unfair to him. That's not a man's job. That's MY job....to receive all those things--love, acceptance, trust--from God. Then, as I'm filled with HIM, I get to choose who deserves intimate access to my heart. That is what allows me to choose a safe, godly, protective, edifying man into my life, one I can walk alongside in ministry together (YES, Lord!!)...when (and only when) God says, "Yes". When that time comes, I now know that I will be able to praise Him for that person and for the things that he will ADD to my life. That wonderful man and all that encompasses him will be overflow!

Blogger's Note: that may have seemed as somewhat of an aside; however, the messages all play into the Labels that I've worn that have been placed around my neck and in my heart by satan. Now, on to the even better news!

This Sunday at Crossroads, Lowell used the message of the "Cardboard Testimonies" to share a message about Names and Labels. We were each given an index card in which we were asked to write down some of our very own labels. We were able to take them to the altar and lay them down and then pick up a card that had a response to those labels, the Names that God has given us. After crying through writing my labels down...ick, that was really hard....I went to the altar and picked up, of all things, "Accepted and Loved". Well, that just made me cry more!! What a beautiful message from God at Christmas! I am Accepted and Loved by my Lord.

May 2009 be the year that, with the Lord's help, the support and accountability of friends and the love of my family, this message of acceptance and love is truly lived out in my life. Lived out in abundant overflow.

Merry Christmas and Lots of Love,
Kara