by Kimberly | Jun 6, 2010 | Uncategorized
I haven’t done a real personal blog in a while, so this is what you readers (hi very few people) get when I have been awake for 90 minutes and its not even 530am yet. My Dad always said that if you sleep till the sun comes up you’ve wasted half the day.
Much has been on my mind this week; it hasn’t really had time to stop. When I awake in the middle of the night, country music starts playing (I’ve been in the car a lot this week). When I go to sleep, my brain is still in full gear and my stomach usually empty or not feeling well – take your pick (would rather take the empty).
Ok – enough random…Reason of post…
I’ve been in Raleigh 2 months. For the 2.7 years before then (and probably even longer, maybe since Thailand) – life seemed in a holding pattern. Yes, I moved to Louisville, got a great job, worked with fabulous people, had amazing friends, lost 60 lbs, started running, etc. But…what was my life pointed toward? I really think for a lot of life, my life was pointed to myself. I tried to get involved in ministry that I was excited about – but none ever seemed to come to fruition. Sure, I had a few times to speak, write, disciple – but my life wasn’t pointed in that direction. I spent much of the last 3 years focused on me: getting out of debt, losing weight, honing skills, etc.
Now that I am in Raleigh – my life looks totally different. I am busy A LOT. My boss constantly tells me it is about balance. Maybe in July it can be about balance (definitely not June). Thursdays are my day off and they are usually full (researching and hanging with friends and doing a longer run – or sleeping past 6am). Monday -Wednesday night is usually full of ministry things. This weekend that is almost over was definitely full with a drive to the mountains for a half, then to Knoxville to talk about writing, then driving back (an 8 hour drive is not a wise idea for someone just having done a half – sore hip!). Today is a full day at church and with friends. (Sleep would have been nice to get either night.) Next weekend – looking forward to being in town, running a 5k, and seeing what might come up, not having a lot on the agenda once I leave the office on Friday.
Anyway…title of this post…
Ambition: the act of soliciting for votes (literal). “Desire to achieve a particular end” Thank you Merriem Webster.
I’ve been thinking much about this term this week. Is my life pointed in any direction? Do I have ambition and if so, what is the object of my ambition. Am I passionate enough about the things in my life so that when people look at my life they would see those things? And if so – what are they?
Am I more than just a foodie? Am I more than just a person who cares about exercise and eating right? Do I care for more than Gator football (praise God we are approaching football season)? Do I love to travel? Do I love people? Do I care for more things than my job? If you were to tape all of my conversations during the week (emails, texts, chats, coffee times)…what would you hear that I am passionate/ambitious for?
God gives us many things in life to be passionate about. He gives us hobbies and things that bring us much joy. My thought is – do I point them all back to Him for his glory? Do I use food to bless people? Do I hang out with people to love on them and be loved? Do I travel and thank God for the beauty and the incredibleness of the world He has given (sunset in Winston last night, Blue Ridge mtns, storm clouds, DC flowers and history, Alaska whales and mountains and islands, Sentosa Island in SE Asia, the Atlantic ocean, airports, my cute little PT cruiser, the Black Sea in southern Russia, Red Square and all of its history and ornate design, Boca Grande’s birds, Salt run in St. Augustine, southern GA red clay, lighthouses, surf, sand between my toes, intricate design on flowers, the quite and amazingness of NE Ga, the Appalachians, the Rockies, Chicago covered in snow, the splendor or seeing a sunset from the sky, the darkness of flying over the pond at night in a plane so high above it, lightning from the safety of a metal plane, the pinkish orange sky that appears in the morning, hurricanes, tornadoes, black thunderclouds…I could go on).
Back in seminary days…I remember having a class with Dr. Reid. We sang a song almost every Friday morning (Michelle on guitar, April on the egg) – Give me one pure and holy passion, give me one magnificent obsession, give me one glorious ambition for me life…to know and follow hard after you. To know and follow hard after you, to grow as your disciple in your truth, this world is empty pale and poor, compared to knowing you my Lord, lead me on, and I will run after you, lead me on and I will run after you.
April stood up one day and said this. Is it? Is this world empty pale and poor?
Ambition. Run hard. I think of a Helen Keller quote I read today:
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
by Kimberly | Jun 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
Seminary was a grand time. I loved the relationships God allowed me to build during those 3.5 years. It is neat now to see how God is using so many of those friends around the country and in the world for His glory.
Abbey Cooler is one of them. We had many classes together in the education ministries at Southeastern. She is now a wife and mom and writer in Georgia. one thing I love about Abbey is her strength in the Word to guide her daily tasks and how she looks at her world.
A few weeks back, she posted this helpful bullet list (really to help you on your own study on modesty. I thought it would be an encouragement to you – especially those who are parents or those who work with girls or women – since this struggle with the flesh will continue until we stand in front of Jesus.
Press on in godliness.
What the WORLD says about beauty and modesty:
You have to be a certain size
You have to wear a certain type of clothes
It is ok to wear tight, short or skimpy
Dress older when you are younger
Dress younger when you are older
What the Bible says about modesty:
Modesty: the need to cover our bodies. Characterized by reserve and freedom from excess
Modesty in the Old Testament
Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21)
Noah (Genesis 9:21-25)
Isaiah (Isaiah 3:16)
Hosea (Hosea 2:5)
Modesty in the New Testament
Paul talks about modesty ( 1 Corinthians 12:23, 1 Timothy 2:9)
Proper dress of believers
Boundaries
Regulated by relationship with Christ
1 Corinthians
Body is Temple of God
Your responsibility
What you are internally is shown externally
How can I look “cool” and still be modest:
Wear your own size.
You are at the point in your life when you are growing or getting ready for a growth spurt
It is ok, if you have to go up a size. You look better if your clothes fit (KD note: What Not to Wear hosts say this all the time, so even fashion experts agree with Abbey)
Don’t compare yourself to others
Find your own style
Wear what makes you feel confident and comfortable
Remember you are God’s workmanship
by Kimberly | May 26, 2010 | Uncategorized, Women
Carolyn McCulley has been a blessing to me through her writing, speaking, and the few times I have been blessed to hang out with her. She cares deeply about Christ, the church, missions, and women. She cares about the gospel being lived out well by the women she is in contact with. That is why you can hear and feel her heartbeat in her latest book, Radical Womanhood.
I love hearing Carolyn’s story of God’s grace on her life. Saved much later than most, in her 30s, she saw great evidences of God’s grace in her life as He shaped, and continually shapes, her to be a Radical Woman. This book was written to help others who find themselves in the culture that displays very different standards for men and women when compared to God’s Word.
As a friend and I have read this book together over the past 2 months, we both said that it was very helpful to us. This would not be a book we would give to new Christians though, especially young women because of its depth. More so, I see this book as a crucial tool to give to women in our churches to see how their ideologies and performance-based theories of worth are not founded in Scripture – yet they are founded in the lies of Satan. If you did want to walk through it as a new believer, or even one who doesn’t know Christ, this would be excellent to go through with a friend. My friend and I were able to discuss it over sushi or pizza and salads. Made for interesting dinner conversation and I was thankful for the push!
This book has enough history in it to give one an overview of the three movements within Feminism. McCulley shows you the depth of which these movements have permeated every part of our society: our home, the work place, and the church. When reading through some of the tougher chapters, such as “The Mommy Wars” – one almost reads in defeat because of the overwhelming sin and destructive thoughts that permeate the area of birth control, Planned Parenthood, etc.
At the end of the chapters, Carolyn brings each of the matters a little closer to home with real life snippets of women who have been molded and shaped in these areas by the grace of God and for His glory.
Just some thoughts that I underlined:
“Sin also separates us from one another. We need to be redeemed from the consequences of sin – God’s righteous judgment and wrath – to experience true freedom.” (p 45)
“Every time my married friends spoke to me about their trials and temptations, I had the choice to influence them with the Bible’s perspective or with the latest self-help theories. We do not need the authority of personal experience to counsel one another because the Bible is sufficient for this task. But, we do need to know the Word.” (p 75)
“However, even among a large number of Christians today, the home is not as important as it once was, nor it is viewed as a place of ministry and outreach.” (p 104). Carolyn goes into this concept more in depth, especially for single women, in her book Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye?.
Thoughts on Margaret Sanger (founder of modern-day birth control movement) – THINK about this – whether you are married or not: “Margaret Sanger was the founder of the modern birth control movement and a vocal proponent of eugenics – the theory of race improvement that was the cornerstone of Nazi Germany. Sanger believed that all evils stemmed from large families, especially large families of those she deemed as unfit. As she wrote in her 1920 book Woman and the New Race, “The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.” (p 128) This will and should make you weep for the gospel and the coming of Christ.
“Without the cross, we are doomed. There is no hope for mercy to triumph over judgment unless it be at the foot of the cross.” (p 131)
Read, learn, engage the culture around you with the Truth of the Cross and the Word.
by Kimberly | May 26, 2010 | Uncategorized, Women
Relevant Magazine is a cutting edge, all about culture with a Christian view online/published magazine. Anywhere from politics to music to movies to personal attitude – all of these are discussed in this magazine.
Each week I get an email with what is new, this week’s definitely made me want to read it. Ed Gungor is an author, pastor, father, husband. He wrote an article for this edition of Relevant entitled “Does Modesty Really Matter”. I will attempt to respond to two things in this article.
Here’s where I agree:
“The apostle Paul wrote that Christ-followers should “dress modestly, with decency and propriety” (1 Timothy 2:9). Inherent in Christian thought is the notion of “modesty” (for both men and women), which implies a kind of reserve about how one dresses, along with a humility that willingly owns the fact that our actions and choices do affect others. Whether we like it or not, we can dress and carry ourselves in ways that illicit inappropriate and lustful reactions in others. But this opens up a proverbial can of worms—when is it, “I lusted and it’s your fault,” and when is it, “I need to be responsible for the fact that I am a lustful person”? The “who-is-culpable?” question is full of subjectivity and complexity.”
I have had many people over the years use the “I can’t help it if men stare at me and lust” excuse. You are right – you can’t help what the other person does. I love it though here where Pastor Gungor uses modesty also in the sense of the attitude/body positioning/eye winking mode. Two other books I’ve read recently, Carolyn McCulley’s Radical Womanhood Mary Kassian’s Girls Gone Wise both speak on this topic and would be worth your read. For women, especially, not only do the clothes matter but the heart matters as well.
Here is where I didn’t agree:
Fashions come and go. Skirt hems go up and down; clothing gets tighter in some seasons and baggy in others; sometimes necklines plummet to depths that leave little to the imagination—somewhere in the milieu of the fashion waterworld, believers need space to think through what they believe modesty, decency and propriety are. But you need to be honest about what constitutes inappropriateness within your particular cultural context. This is an issue that demands careful reflection in the heart and honest discussion with the community one is called to be a part of. (That being said, don’t necessarily let prudish church people tell you where the center on this issue is. In the fear of sin, church folk tend to overprotect and over-sanitize their views on just about everything.)
Bottom line? I think you can get away with being as fashionable as you want, as long as your heart is clear and clean and you don’t have patterns of complaints from those you love and trust. If your heart is clear and clean, you can confidently tell the occasional accuser who makes the “you-make-me-lust” accusation to go look in the mirror for the source of his or her inappropriate desires.
I just won’t go that far. If what is fashionable is a halter top and a mini skirt – whether you have a good attitude about it or not – is not appropriate. If Madonna’s or Lady Gaga’s style is what is fashionable, or even Miley Cyrus or anyone else we watch on TV or see on stage, than I don’t believe we as believers, as women of God, seeking to build up the body of Christ and make God famous – can wear this – no matter what our conscience says.
Hear the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to the young pastor, Timothy: “Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.”
Not that I don’t want to be fashionable, but if it comes down to being fashionable or “proper for women who profess godliness” – I hope I always turn to the latter.
Thoughts?
by Kimberly | May 25, 2010 | Uncategorized
I love thin crust pizza. I love whole wheat crust. I love non-greasy pizza and ones with delicious toppings. And I love salads.
The Brixx
salad was simple and delicious: greens, goat cheese (I could eat this by the log), pistachios and croutons. Their housemade balsamic – man I would love the recipe for that. Fresh cracked pepper – fococcia (didn’t like that bc it was cold). Hmmm.
We shared a 10 inch whole wheat crust 1/2 pizza. The crust was perfectly thin and not too crispy so that it busted in your hands. BBQ chicken was the waitress’s favorite recommendation and is usually a favorite of mine. It was good – just nothing special. The other half was pear and gorgonzola. Subtle, slightly sweet, love the walnuts on it. Sauteed onions were simply delicious. Good choice.
Brixx. Would go again. Not the world’s best pizza. But, good for a chain. Salad was good. Can I honestly get a recipe for that dressing?
by Kimberly | May 25, 2010 | chocolate, Uncategorized
I serve in the college ministry here at my church – and what goes better with college students than brownies. As I told my roommate tonight, I explained that even though I have so many brownie recipes, I always try a new one. This one will make the top 5.
8 oz unsweet chocolate
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground coffee granules
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Mix eggs through vanilla. Add in cooled chocolate. Mix dry. Combine and pour into a foiled/sprayed 9×13 pan. Top with walnuts. Bake for about 33 minutes. Cool, remove, cut. Enjoy with a glass of milk or ice cream.
