tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167864785910729262024-02-18T20:04:17.999-08:00The Nitty GrittyKerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816786478591072926.post-42923842938411181912009-08-20T21:32:00.000-07:002009-08-20T21:37:43.612-07:00Isaiah 66:1-2"Thus says the Lord: 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool, what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word."Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816786478591072926.post-91539725915755909482009-08-20T20:05:00.000-07:002009-08-20T21:31:26.963-07:00"The Great Sin" part two hmmm and part three (this will be another long one) ;)"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." Proverbs 1:7<br /><br />What action did Adam and Eve partake in disobedience to the Lord? They ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil--the only tree in the entire garden that God told them to avoid eating from. Why did they choose to disobey God? Because they wanted to be like God (Genesis 3:4-6) in His omniscience. I would venture to go one step further and say that they wanted to BE God.<br /><br />From the very beginning it is clear that humankind has struggled with wanting to be like God--with wanting to be God. To some degree the "great sin" of pride is present in every human. What does the Lord say about pride?<br /><br />"When pride comes, then comes disgrace..." Prov.11:2<br /><br />"The Lord tears down the house of the proud..." Prov.15:25<br /><br />"Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured He will not go unpunished." Prov.16:5<br /><br />"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Prov.29:23<br /><br />"YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME." (emphasis mine) Exodus 20:3<br /><br />Pridefully raising ourselves up to be our own self-sufficient gods clearly presents distinct consequences. We will be punished. We will be brought low. <br /><br />Check out CS Lewis' thoughts:<br />"Any of us may at any moment be in this death-trap [of being eaten up with pride]. Luckily we have a test. Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good--above all, that we are better than someone else--I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil. The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether....Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call 'humble' nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what YOU said to HIM. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all." p.127-128<br /><br /> We have great reason to be humble.<br /><br />"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood if his cross." Colossians 1:15-20<br /><br />I don't understand all of that but I know that THAT is the Lord and that I cannot compete with Him!<br /><br />"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ...For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:4-9<br /><br />We can't even save ourselves. <br /><br />We have no reason to be proud. But we have great reason to be humble. We receive wonderful blessings when we embrace who God is and thus humbly recognize who we are:<br /><br />"...to the humble he gives favor." Prov.3:34<br /><br />"...with the humble is wisdom." Prov.11:2<br /><br />"...humility comes before honor." Prov.15:33<br /><br />"...He adorns the humble with salvation." Ps.149:4<br /><br />"...God gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5<br /> <br />That's just to name a few! Favor, honor, wisdom, salvation...that's amazing!<br /><br />One more quote from Mr.Lewis:<br />"If one would like to acquire humility...the first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed." p.128<br /><br />I hope my random train of thought made sense to you. It did in my head!Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816786478591072926.post-29516977306659705582009-08-19T14:31:00.000-07:002009-08-19T14:56:34.780-07:00"The Great Sin"Apparently I am enjoying quoting people these days. So here is another one for you from CS Lewis' Mere Christianity in his chapter called "The Great Sin"<br /><br />"There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others. The vice I am talking of is Pride....<br /><br />Pride is essentially competitive...Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone....<br /><br />For pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense." p.121-128<br /><br /><br />There's more to come on this topic. Check back again soon! ;)Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816786478591072926.post-45145415988506035562009-08-12T11:20:00.000-07:002009-08-12T12:58:15.424-07:00Harry Truman's commitmentFrom the biography called "Truman" by David McCullough<br /><br />"He [Truman] worried about possible entrapment with women, an old device for destroying politicians. Once, responding to a call for a meeting in a room at the Baltimore Hotel, he asked Edgar Hinde to go along, just in case. When they knocked at the room, Hinde remembered, a blond woman in a negligée opened the door. Harry spun on his heels and ran back down the hall, disappearing around the corner. Hinde thought it was a fear verging on the abnormal. <br /> 'I've been around Legion conventions with him. He'd have his room there, and naturally, everybody would kind of gravitate to his room. If some fellow brought a woman in there, or his wife even, I've seen him pick up his hat and coat and take off out of there and that'd be the last you'd see of him until those women left. He just didn't want any women around his room in a hotel....he had a phobia about it.'<br /> 'Three things ruin a man,' Harry would tell a reporter long afterward. 'Power, money, and women.'<br /> 'I never wanted power,' he said. 'I never had any money, and the only woman in my life is up at the house right now.'" p.181<br /><br />Although his motives were mainly for the protection of his political career, what a great picture of fleeing temptation and taking action to prevent anything shady from happening. Way to go, Harry.Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816786478591072926.post-12560944188001974012009-07-01T19:08:00.000-07:002009-07-02T05:10:51.332-07:00This is long but interesting to meAn address by Abraham Lincoln called <span style="font-style:italic;"></span>The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions<span style="font-style:italic;"></span><br />January 27, 1838<br /><br />"In the great journal of things happening under the sun, we the American People, find our account running, under date of the 19th century of the Christian era. We find ourselves in the peaceful possession, of the fairest portion of the earth, as regards extent of territory, fertility of soil, and salubrity of climate. We find ourselves under the government of a system of political institutions, conducing more essentially to the ends of civil and religious liberty, than any of which the history of former times tells us. We, when mounting the stage of existence, found ourselves the legal inheritors of these fundamental blessings. We toiled not in the acquirement or establishment of them--they are a legacy bequeathed us, by a once hardy, brave, and patriotic, but now lamented and departed race of ancestors. Theirs was the task (and nobly they performed it) to possess themselves, and through themselves,us, of this goodly land; and to uprear upon its hills and its valleys, a political edifice of liberty and equal rights; 'tis ours only, to transmit these, the former unprofaned by the foot of an invader...This task of gratitude to our fathers, justice to ourselves, duty to posterity, and love for our species in general, all imperatively require us faithfully to perform. <br /><br />How then shall we perform it? At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.<br /><br />At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up among us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher...I hope I am over wary; but if I am not, there is, even now something of ill-omen amongst us. I mean the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country; the growing disposition to substitute wild and furious passions, in lieu of the sober judgments of Courts, and the worse than savage mobs, for the executive ministers of justice . This disposition is awfully fearful in any community; and that it now exists in ours, though grating to our feelings to admit, it would be a violation of the truth, and an insult to our intelligence, to deny....<br /><br />I know the American People are much attached to their Government;--I know they would suffer much for it's sake;--I know they would endure evils long and patiently, before they would ever think of exchanging it for another. Yet, notwithstanding all this, if the laws be continually despised and disregarded, if their rights to be secure in their persons and their property, are held by no better tenure than the caprice of a mob, the alienation of their affections of the Government is the natural consequence; and to that, sooner or later, it must come. Here then is one point at which danger may be expected.<br /><br />The question recurs 'how shall we fortify against it?' The answer is simple. Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor;--let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap--let it be taught in schools, in seminaries and in colleges;--let it be written in primers, spelling books, and in almanacs;--let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.<br /><br />While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom...."Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816786478591072926.post-54822176879440939212009-01-28T19:33:00.000-08:002009-01-28T19:35:43.120-08:00Random ThoughtToday I was praising the Lord that He put shells on pecans. They fall from the tree; it rains; it snows; it freezes...buuuutttt the pecans are protected by their shells. They are still delicious! That's my thought for today.<br /><br />I do have other posts written, but I keep forgetting to put them on the computer. <br /><br />Have a great week!Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816786478591072926.post-72291198610465437992009-01-14T19:24:00.000-08:002009-01-14T19:31:01.052-08:00Squashed!<span style="font-weight:bold;">Entry written in July 2008<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />I am, as Kert lovingly calls me, a “country bumpkin.” I grew up on a farm in beautiful, small town east Texas where my parents still reside. A forest of tall, green pine trees flanks the left side of our house. We (my brother, sister, and I) spent hours playing house, cops and robbers, and hide ‘n seek in those “woods”. Surrounding the rest of the house are acres and acres of pasture, which my family (aka my dad) cultivated to bale and sell hay to the local dairymen. We have a large front yard with a slight grade to it. We spent many cool evenings spinning in circles as fast as we could and then running down the slope in a “straight” line. We also enjoyed seeing how many lightning bugs we could capture in a jar and inevitably murdering as we attempted to take their lights.<br /><br />We also had a BIG backyard. My mom always had the biggest, most beautiful blue hydrangeas lining the back of the house. In addition to that, she had flowerbeds of rose bushes of every color blooming around the patio. Stepping off the patio to the left was where my dad designed and built the most amazing fort in the world! It stood about 12 feet tall. It had a big, railed platform up high, a sandbox underneath, complete with 2 swings and a steep slide. Oh the days of playing restaurant up there or cops and robbers with a shootout. I broke my arm trying to run down the slide; my mom broke her tailbone sliding down the slide; and I’m sure we had cats sacrificed off the side of the slide (good thing they could land on their feet!). Across from the good ol’ “fort” was our thriving pecan tree with the wooden bench swing underneath. My parents used a good amount of time talkin’ under that tree. <br /><br />All of these memories are special and fun to recall. However, right now the recollection that means so much to me begins just past the pecan tree with the swing, past the two clothes lines filled with dangling towels and clean underwear, and through the shade of the two sweet-gum trees. I am talking about our garden. We always had a garden. I can’t remember not having a garden. My grandparents also always had a garden. With Daddy tilling the sandy east Texas soil to create rows, Momma giving us kids the seeds and the plan, and us kids dropping the seeds into the ground, the garden continuously brought our family into close quarters of hard work. We would all wait with great anticipation for the first fruits of our labor to appear. I remember anxiously watching the tomato plants. I would see a small green raisin-of-a-tomato pop up and I absolutely could not wait for it to have a hiiiiint of red so that I had an excuse to pick one! I also remember feeling like a grown-up when I was entrusted with a knife to cut okra off the stem. I recall memories of my brother, sister, and I picking good ol’ Kentucky Wonder green beans, delicious cucumbers, peas (and tons more!). I remember digging up potatoes (what a surprise!) and I remember running over tall rows of corn with our recreation vehicle (a golf-cart—ha!) because we wanted to drive “blind”. But I also have memories of sitting in lawn chairs with my family, grandparents, aunts, and uncles shelling purple-hull peas, beans, and shucking corn. I loved hulling purple hulls because my fingers would turn purple, and for some reason I enjoyed pulling all the little hairs out of the corn. While the kiddos did those tedious tasks, the women usually were cleaning, cooking, bagging, and also canning the goodies, and the men were—hmmm....doing something! I think they were helping us kids. Talk about a sweet time. We always had literally freezers full of vegetables, and we were generous in giving to our friends and neighbors.<br /><br />All that to say, I love having a garden. There is something nostalgic about it. On top of the nostalgia, though, is the ability to provide our own food and use it to provide for our neighbors. Kert and I knew we wanted to plant a small garden at our house. As a result, last year I had composted all year long to build up some good fertilizer/soil to spread in the garden. Boy was I totally bewildered when it came time to till up the soil. It was almost solid rock and clay!!!! I had never seen dirt like this before. I grew up with sandy soil! It was heart-wrenching! I seriously thought, “There is no way anything good will come of this God-forsaken dirt!” Yet Kert and I did not give up. I did some research and off we went. We dumped and tilled bags of sand into our garden to break it up and then we tilled in our rich, sweet smellin’ compost. Once Kert got our rows into place, we began planting. As we planted, Kert and I prayed our hearts out that the Lord would use the garden to establish relationships with the neighbors around us. It was definitely going to be the Lord to make anything grow in that dirt and we wanted to use it for Him! Well, that garden was A-mazing! We had mostly squash and zucchini coming out of our eyeballs! I made an incalculable amount of zucchini bread and handed that off. We literally gave vegetables to our neighbors every week. With the Lord’s help, in Kert’s words, we “hooked them up fat” with vegetables. We made great connections with our neighbors and other people in our neighborhood. Hallelujah! That was this time last year. <br /><br />Well, March 2008 came along and we began planning our garden for this year. We had some fairly good compost and we were ready to go. We planted our garden in early April (a hair later than we had hoped) and again prayed that the Lord would bless it so that we could again use it to bless our neighbors. Everything was growing well until I guess 2 or 3 weeks ago. All of sudden everything started getting droopy. Our natural response was to water everything more; however, that didn’t make a difference. I noticed a family of ants moved in around our corn and were partaking in its sweetness and then I noticed a few bugs around our squash. One other thing that is of note: we have tons of okra. Kert and I don’t like okra. We planted one row, which we call “Richardson row” because Tim and Kara like okra. For some reason, we have okra plants popping up EVERYWHERE!!!! We planted eggplant—no eggplants.....okra has overtaken that row. We planted some herbs on one row—no herbs......okra has overtaken that row. We planted cucumbers—3 cuke plants.....and the rest—you guessed it! MORE OKRA!!! <br /><br />So that has baffled us and bummed us! Sorry back to the story.....<br />A few weeks ago we started having drooping issues with our squash. As I mentioned earlier, I noticed a few bugs crawling on its stems. No big deal, just a couple of bugs. We sprayed some safe pest control on them one time. Let me tell you.....those bugs have greatly and quickly multiplied. This morning I went out to the garden to water and was heartbroken to find that the oval-shaped creepy, crawly bugs had overtaken our squash and zucchini plants. They are everywhere and have literally sucked the life from the plants. My spirit was absolutely crushed. Why did these bug-invested plants hit me so hard? I am serious when I say that my spirit was greatly troubled all morning by this experience. As a result of the way I was feeling, I pursued the Lord in His Word. What I heard the Lord saying was that I was that squash plant. There were just a couple of pests in the beginning—no big deal. I just let them go. Yet in no time, their number became great and the life of the plant began to dissipate. In the same way, I have had a couple of “small” sins pop up—no big deal. I just let them go. But in no time at all, I look at the mirror of my heart and I see aggravation, apathy, hardness of heart, and many other ridiculous sins staring back at me. Yes I sprayed them a little with the sin control (God’s Word), but I did not regularly meet with the Lord to keep the pest of sin under control. <br /><br />So now the plant is dead.....<br /><br />What is next for the consumed squash plants in my garden? I have to pull them out of the ground and throw them in the trash. Since squash is still in season and has a couple more months of growth left, I can start over. After I dispose of the dead squash plants and treat the soil, I still have enough of the season left to plant new seed and grow more squash. <br />What does that explain about me? Because I am afflicted with sin, am I ripped out and tossed away? By no means! I praise God for my living, loving Savior Jesus Christ, who has set me free from sin and death <span style="font-style:italic;">(Romans 8)<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span>. Because of Jesus, I am a new creation, a new plant. I was once overtaken by sin and destined for death, but Jesus stepped in and took my sin and shame; he tossed out the bugs. And the Lord planted a new seed, I became a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come <span style="font-style:italic;">(2 Cor. 5:17)<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span>. I could totally have been given over to my evil desires, but I have Jesus <span style="font-style:italic;">(Eph. 4:17-24)<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span>. I must put off—throw away my old self and put on my new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. <br /><br />I also cannot neglect the gentle reminder that John provides me in<span style="font-style:italic;"> John 15<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span> where Jesus says, <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">“ I (Jesus) am the vine and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”</span><br /><br />Oh Lord, may my heart be softened to seek, listen, and abide in You. Protect me; prune me. May I consistently cultivate a heart that produces good fruit that is a sweet aroma to You!Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816786478591072926.post-59811466042651687742008-11-23T10:24:00.000-08:002008-11-28T19:07:01.334-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJctLMPAzY6GRsnGWuh-pdTEQV3McYae2Lh5aQf-gbCRWtXVDtSo-kdAPpo0HLoxjVA41lClvykiQpelyrq3kABxpm9FojGd16tIs2IGgFAUVMi3FyaXX_moAsWpiaX0jKkufqSy2lrcM/s1600-h/small+k%26k.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: undefinedpx; height: undefinedpx;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJctLMPAzY6GRsnGWuh-pdTEQV3McYae2Lh5aQf-gbCRWtXVDtSo-kdAPpo0HLoxjVA41lClvykiQpelyrq3kABxpm9FojGd16tIs2IGgFAUVMi3FyaXX_moAsWpiaX0jKkufqSy2lrcM/s320/small+k%26k.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271921862737559218" /></a><br />Date written: September 29, 2008<br /><br /><em>“If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Matthew 5:40-42</em><br /><br />A couple of days ago a group of friends, Kert and I were out of town and visiting our uncle’s hardware/lumber store. As we were getting out of the car, a man approached Kert. In my friend Kelsey’s words, “We are out of town and out of the car for two minutes, and of course who finds Kert.” A skinny, suntanned man in his late forties approaches my husband, and we immediately know what is about to ensue...this man (we’ll call him James) begins telling Kert his story--a story I am sure of impeccable hardship that has left him and his wife penniless. If James only knew how often my husband got “hit-up” for charitable donations. I wish I could say that we rarely run into this kind of situation, but that’s not the case at all.<br /><br />My husband Kert is a worship pastor at a medium-sized church located in an interesting part of town. He frequently has men and women come into his office needing money for gas, money for their electric bill, money for food—you name it. He has given many rides to people who need to get somewhere. And he’s heard every reason and/or excuse for his or her financial situation. We as a family have also had our share of experiences with the needy. Somehow they see my husband and feel like he can help them. This is interesting to me because we are by no means a wealthy family. We both drive well-loved used cars; we are not into jewelry or the latest fashions. In fact, I think the last time we actually spent more than twenty bucks at a clothing store was—wow, I can’t even remember! It had to have been over three years ago. So why do they feel like my husband can help them? What do they see in my young, cargo-shorts-wearing, sole-patched chin husband?<br /> I’m sure you’ve guessed where this is going.<br /><br /><em>“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.....” Matthew 5:14</em><br /><br />My husband has said, “Do they see GULLIBLE written on my forehead? Do I look like an idiot?” I strongly disagree. I truly believe that Kert shines forth the radiance of Christ. I see in Kert the truth of Psalm 34:5 which says, <br /><em>Those who look to him (the Lord) are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.</em>He powerfully exudes the <em>“inexpressible and glorious joy”</em> that 1 Peter 1:9 talks about and people feel like he has answers and that he can help them. Praise the Lord he is bold and while occasionally he feels like he can’t help the person, he definitely tells them about Jesus, our awesome Savior who has saved him and can save them. <br /><br />NOTE: I am studying the Word to understand what our response should be to those who communicate that they have needs. Kert and I have seen that only a small minority of those who actually approach us seem legitimate and honest. I have come to call our experiences the “heartbreak of generosity.” <br />Heartbreak of generosity: Giving to the needy and learning/feeling that you have been taken advantage of.<br />So wait patiently and in the future I will share what I have learned about the heartbreak of generosity and our response to it. Until then, it is better to err on the side of mercy than on the side of judgment because <em>“mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).”</em>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816786478591072926.post-78309850410933353302008-11-12T16:40:00.001-08:002008-11-12T17:13:51.217-08:00The Nitty Gritty<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZ9o2Vq7E1_kVHI0E1veyFHpUogwuIE1braKU7soedYCv9RrOxmYrmcgQzYJLGLcr0FxMU2-3z5KZw6VzAqSFcT8LBF3Xk6DHAmEDV1JefX6BTydp1xFWySZ__jFPwTXm-LDSNJYIsKg/s1600-h/MV5BMjE2ODQ3ODE5MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNjMwMTY3._V1._CR82,0,320,320_SS80_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 80px; height: 80px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZ9o2Vq7E1_kVHI0E1veyFHpUogwuIE1braKU7soedYCv9RrOxmYrmcgQzYJLGLcr0FxMU2-3z5KZw6VzAqSFcT8LBF3Xk6DHAmEDV1JefX6BTydp1xFWySZ__jFPwTXm-LDSNJYIsKg/s320/MV5BMjE2ODQ3ODE5MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNjMwMTY3._V1._CR82,0,320,320_SS80_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267943833596089410" /></a><br />You may be asking yourself...."The Nitty Gritty, that's an interesting choice for a blog name. Where did that come from?" If that indeed is your question, this is the post for you to read. <br /><br />To fully understand the title of my blog, you must embark on a journey to find the movie called <span style="font-style:italic;">Nacho Libre</span>. However, before you begin this search, it is crucial that you know the following:<br />--In order to enjoy the movie, you must be goofy, silly, and have time to waste watching a ridiculous film. (created by the makers of Napoleon Dynamite if that tells you anything)<br />If you fit that criteria, you can rent it in the old comedies section at the movie rental store, buy it for $4.00 at Wal-Mart, check out www.nacholibre.com, or just ask me or any of my friends if you can borrow it. We are all addicted to it.<br /><br />There is a segment of the movie where Nacho, a young, strapping friar of an orphanage is trying to get to know the orphanage's newest teacher Sister Encarnacion (not sure how to spell that). She is a beautiful, young, wise woman. During this exchange Nacho begins by saying, "Let's get down to the nitty gritty. Who is this Encarnacion?" She responds by saying with a very thick hispanic accent, "Well, my favorite color is light tan; my favorite animal is poopies; I love serving the Lord...." <br /><br />It's just funny. You have to see it to enjoy it. So hopefully you will check it out. Until then...."Get that CORN outta my FACE" and "take it easy."<br />KPKerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816786478591072926.post-43624516127958040262008-11-06T14:24:00.000-08:002008-11-06T14:25:31.935-08:00Hmmm...Lessons of LoveAugust 4, 2008<br /><br />1 Peter 4:8<br />Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.<br /><br />John 3:16<br />For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son...<br /><br /> Love. That’s one ginormous four-letter word. It is a word with strength and power, and it changes things. I remember the first time my husband and I said that word to one another. <br /> My husband and I both share a love for baseball. We spent many evenings cruising over to Bee Creek Park to watch little leaguers play; we would play catch with one another, have a little batting practice in the cages, or we would just sit in his truck sniffing the sweet cut-grass, stirred-dirt, cheesy nachos, hamburger-hotdog smell of the baseball park. Ahhh....we still enjoy that smell! It was a comfortably cool but typically humid evening on January 31, 2003 in College Station, Texas. We had been sitting in my husband’s truck at the ball field. I don’t remember what all we talked about, but I do remember the feeling of “wow, this is a strong emotion. I hope against all hope that he feels the same way.” Sure enough, praise the Lord, he did feel the same way!<br /> Hearing and saying the phrase “I love you” changed my view on a couple of things. Feeling love—knowing love—gave me a tiny insight into the love the Lord has for me. I remember going to church a few days after our sweet exchange and having one of the most amazing and overwhelming times of worship I have ever had in my entire life. It all began during the song portion of the church service. The congregation was singing a song that minutely referenced God’s love and I was hit with a tidal wave of emotion. I knew love! I had a small taste of what it meant to love someone unconditionally and to have him love me unconditionally in return. All I could do the entire service was weep. Weeping with a joyful expression on my face must have made me look like a goof! I could not do anything but weep in the presence of my Lord. My husband loves me a whole, whole lot, but the Lord’s love for me is much bigger, much deeper. I could not grasp how vast His love is.....I still can’t.... That was my first lesson from the Lord on love. <br /> My second lesson from the Lord concerning love has come as a result of sin. This is the intention of my blog entry. <br />It has been amazing to observe the effects of sin—notably in the past week. Someone sinned against the Lord in a way that left me hurt, broken, and on the bumpy roller coaster ride to bitterness. I love this person dearly and was heartbroken to hear the confession that this person gave me. Talk about blind sighted! The past week I have seriously been a soldier fighting in a war on the frontlines of my mind. I have struggled with my thoughts—celebrating victoriously at times but also falling to the ground wounded by entertaining thoughts of hostility. I have wept over someone else’s sin like never before; I have poured my heart out like a broken dam during a flood, and I am grateful. My gratefulness is the purpose of this discussion. It is not to make my good friend feel guilt, but it is my prayer that this points us to the Lord and his outrageous, gracious, loving-kindness. <br />As I have walked through the past week, the Lord has spoken to me about bitterness, forgiveness, and restoration. I will begin with a passage of Scripture from Romans 7:22-25.<br />For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work with my members. What a wretched man (woman) I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!<br />As I pondered this person’s sin and asked the many “why” questions, the Lord used this verse to turn the mirror upon my face. As I stood before Him, the reflection staring back at me was not Christ-like. I was hurt by this situation, but what a wretched woman I am too! I struggle with sin just as my friend did and does. Not only that, the Lord used this passage to encourage me. I saw my reflection being marred with scars of resentment toward my precious friend. But I could have victory. Yes, I was fighting in a war against my flesh—notably thoughts of hostility and bitterness—but THANKS be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord that I wasn’t abruptly defeated! I could fight like a good soldier of the Lord. It is only with His Word in my mind and heart that I’ve been able to get “over” this in such a short time. The Lord speaking to me through the Psalms, especially, has brought me great comfort and strength.<br />What does this have to do with love? I love my dear friend so very much, and I cannot imagine my life without their sweet friendship and encouragement. My response to our conflict was huge! But why did they intentionally hurt me? How could I trust this person again? The Lord brought several things to mind. Numero uno: my friend did not intentionally hurt me. They simply sinned. Sin never affects just the sinner. It always has further reaching consequences, and it just so happens that those consequences came my direction. My cherished friend struggled and fell and it affected the ones that they loved. (It is of note that my friend felt deep conviction and followed it up with sincere confession and repentance.)<br />I have found it humbling and interesting to experience such a dilemma. I now have first-hand experience with the Scripture that says “love covers over a multitude of sins.” This experience has been difficult yet easy at the same time. What makes it hard is the sin nature fighting for retaliation and telling lies to my mind. But it becomes easy once I give it to the Lord. My heart was filled with anger but the Lord alone has dispelled the anger and given me compassion, mercy, and above all, love. Although walking through this situation was a great time of reflection and growth, it was nonetheless a tough time. I can only imagine what the Lord had to have felt when the Israelites sinned. Psalm 78 gives a good recap on the things God did for Israel and how Israel sinfully responded because “they forgot what He had done” (Ps. 78:10-11); they did not believe Him or trust in His deliverance (vs.22); they did not believe His “wonders” (vs. 32); “their hearts were not loyal to Him” (vs.37); and they grieved the Lord (vs. 40). God continued to feed them and protect them, but then the Lord rejected Israel for a time. Psalms 79-80 discuss the hardships Israel faced and how they beckoned the Lord for help. <br /><br />Psalm 80:3,7,19<br />Restore us, O God, make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.<br />After all the Israelites, the Lord’s chosen people, did in defiance to the Lord , the Lord still came to their aid. The Israelites angered and grieved the Lord. And though the Lord rejected them in order to “[give] them over to their stubborn hearts”, he never completely left them. Psalm 81:13-14 says that if they would just listen and follow the Lord, the Lord would “quickly” subdue their enemies. He is literally right there waiting to jump in once they humbly and truthfully repent and call to him. What unfailing love that is! <br />A-mazing! In this example, we see that the Lord still responds and saves despite his grief and despite their sin. <br /> Furthermore, as I ponder the Lord’s love, I see 1 Peter 4:8 personified through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God so loved the world that he sent Jesus for us (John 3:16). “Greater love has no one than this” that Christ laid down his life for us (John 15:13). Not only does the Lord love us despite our sin and the grief that it causes Him; He loves us so much that He made a way for us to have freedom from the bondage of sin. Even more, He did that by sending his own beloved Son to experience life, pain, and death. That’s some ridiculous, awesome LOVE!<br /> So what does this mean to me? It means that I know how painful it felt to have been sinned against, but I do that to the Lord everyday. How can the Lord still love me? His love is unlike any other—it is unconditional, unimaginably great, full of mercy, compassion, patience, and forgiveness. I love and have forgiven my dear friend only because the Lord has loved and forgiven me. Because Jesus died and rose again to rescue me from sin and death, I can have victory over sin. The enemy of anger, bitterness, and hate no longer overtakes me. I can love a heart-full of genuine love even when I am hurt. What sincere freedom and joy there is when true forgiveness takes place! Hallelujah.<br /> 1 Corinthians 13:4-7<br />Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816786478591072926.post-59148619027228018852008-11-06T14:18:00.000-08:002008-11-06T14:24:34.853-08:00I am a blogger--what???I am finally writing a blog. With this new responsibility, I must provide a small disclaimer. #1 I may sometimes be a deep-thinker and communicate that way. #2 I may sometimes just have a picture or two of my sweet family to post. #3 I may just relay a funny joke that I heard. #4 I may sometimes write waaay too much. #5 I have a collection of thoughts that date back months ago. So even though I am posting them now, they may be quite old.<br /><br />All of that to say, i come into this with no expectations. As I share my thoughts, I would love to hear any thoughts that you may have.<br /><br />Peace<br />KPKerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04321972622972271830noreply@blogger.com0