The hate stops here.

You have a choice. 

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them and answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"  "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.

Sometimes we forget that to love someone is a choice.  I'm not talking, of course, about marriage and dating and all that.  I'm talking about real, sometimes difficult, though always worth it, Christ-like love.  The verb, not the emotion.  We get very caught up in our opinions, our feelings.  I think this, and I believe that.  Social media has turned into a town hall for soapboxes.  So eager are we that everyone knows what our position is, that we forget entirely about our posture. 

As Pastor Thad Norvel writes, "Orthodox Christian belief insists the Gospel is necessary because of God’s position on our broken ways of living (sin). But the heart of the good news is God’s posture toward us as we continue to break things, including ourselves....Right position without the posture of God revealed in Jesus is not the Gospel." 

And what does the posture of God look like, of course?  It looks like this...

Jesus' words are called commandments for good reason.  They don't come easily to us all the time, they are not as innate as we would like them to be.  But if we don't start working on better posture, collectively, as a society, your position isn't going to matter.

Neighbors are everywhere.  They come in all shapes and sizes and colors.  For those as broken-hearted as I am about the murder of Deputy Darren Goforth this weekend--a murder that occurred in our neighborhood, that was cowardly and hateful and too close for comfort--you have a choice.

My choice is to love.

The hate stops here.

XOXO.....Kelly

My body isn't the point.

It all started when I found a picture of myself from our honeymoon in Cancun.  Well, no.  Let's be honest.  It all started several trips ago to Sonic/Menchies/Bahama Bucks/McDonald's after which I came to realize that the ol' waistline ain't what she used to be.  Finding the photo of me in a bikini was really just the stamp on the envelope. 

Beauty is fleeting.  And in case your mirror hasn't proved it yet, it also says so in the Bible.   "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" Proverbs 31:30.  I fear the Lord all right.  And the cosmetics section at Ulta....

On the radio the other morning the announcer talked about God's love, how it is unchanging. Where do we find God's love?  In our wallets?  No, our finances change.  In our appearance?  No, our bodies change.  The evidence of God's love for us is in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on a cross for our salvation.

And there it was.  For the first time I made a connection between Christ's body and my own.  For the first time I saw the significance of God in human form.  Jesus' body failed him.  It bled and tore just like any other, his lungs no longer capable of air, his heart no longer able to beat.  But the power of God's love for us overcame that broken body.  His Son, made whole, rose again.  The message for us is this....

Our bodies are not the point. 

When God is working inside of you, what you look like doesn't matter.  I know that the world says it does.  The world is what put Jesus on the cross in the first place.  What makes you human is not what makes you Loved.  What makes God divine is. 

Maybe you need to hear this message, like I did, because it's the end of a long summer and the last time you went to an exercise class was June 10.  Or maybe because your kids are getting ready to start school and need a little reminder of their own self worth.  Whichever the case...

"....The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  1 Samuel 16:7

Amen.

Mexico 2003

XOXO....Kelly

The Roof

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  John 14:27

This is the story of our roof, a story of God's glory once again saving me from the wreck I so easily make myself into....

About two and a half years ago, Kevin became increasingly troubled by the condition of our roof.  Though we were not having any problems with it, no leaking, it did look pretty worn and several shingles were missing.  Wanting to stay ahead of any sort of catastrophe, Kevin asked that I get some estimates for replacing the roof.  Parker was a baby at the time, my grandmother has just moved away from us, my sister was pregnant....there was a lot going on.  But he was insistent (and I'm a very patient and obedient wife) so call for estimates I did.  All. Over. Town.  Do you have any idea how many roofing companies there are in Houston?  Of the 9 people I called, only 3 companies actually responded and/or showed up with an estimate.  Of the 3 estimates, all 3 companies used the same products and yet their costs were $2000 apart.

By this point I'd had it.  I was tired, overwhelmed, resenting the expense.  We were arguing.  I had no idea what to do.  So I did the best thing I know to do when I find myself in the middle of such a situation....I prayed the situation away.  I have faith that God cares about the big and small in my life, so I prayed that we would know (1) when to replace the roof, (2) that the money we needed would be there and (3) that I would know which company to use.  When Kevin got home from work the next day and asked how the roof stuff was going I said, "Oh, I prayed about it."

"That's your plan?" He asked.

"Yes," I replied.

He said, "Okay." 

I said, "Okay." 

We moved on.

This spring we finally replaced the roof.  I walked out the backdoor one morning and a gutter was hanging off the house and a little voice inside me said, "Now."  I called a roofer that a friend of ours used a few months prior.  He lives in the neighborhood, came over that afternoon with an estimate and the roof was replaced by the end of the week.  As roof replacements go, it was about as easy as they come.

What I've learned from our roof....there are things we must endure and search for peace in later.  The loss of a job, the passing of a loved one, a broken relationship.  And then there are the things we need to find peace with first, before we can move on.  When this whole thing started my attitude was in worse shape than our roof.  All I could think of was how much money it would cost and how much trouble home maintenance is.  My prayer was as much a prayer for peace as it was for a sign.  But God transformed my heart, changed my attitude and made me ready.  I felt thankful for our home and His providence instead of stressed over repairs and finances.   

As the hymn goes...."Oh, what peace we often forfeit; Oh, what needless pain we bear; All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."

The Lord is not a genie, a magical wish granter.  But He does care about the big and the small in your life.  Each answer is different, but His desire the same....peace.  Not as you might expect it.  Not as the world says you should have it.  But as He knows you need it.

Pray boldly, friends.  Pray specifically.  And pray for peace.

XOXO....Kelly