Define Yourself.

So, Jesus Christ is the most important thing in my life.

But on that list, far down, are politics.  And with what's going on in this country, I have a bit of a bone to pick.  First, with our president.

Now, I understand that this country is really divided over him (he only won with 53% of the vote, mind you.  That means 47% did not choose him as their president).  That means we aren't all going to agree.  I will say, straight, that I voted for John McCain and I don't regret it.  I did, and still do, think he's the best choice for this country.  Obviously, I didn't get what I wanted, and I have to settle for Obama.

That being said, I have a few points of contention.  One is the fact that he has, not once, taken responsibility for a single choice that he has made.  He's even trying to back out of taking responsibility for the omnibus spending plan, now.  Okay, if that was a elementary school child trying to avoid taking a nap, we'd understand.  But we're talking about the essential leader of the free world, who violently and forcefully rammed through a trillion dollar stimulus plan, using the world "catastrophe" 27 times in one speech to describe the disparity of the world if we did not pass it- and then took a 3-day vacation.  Something tells me the wheels of Air Force One don't quite touch the ground... he's not really living here with the rest of us.  He can't speak without a teleprompter.  He has hired numerous heads of cabinent with felonious tax problems, legal problems, ethics conflicts, and horrendous track records in their previous careers.

These people are running our country.

And now, we have a level 5, almost-pandemic outbreak of swine flu... and the head of our Department of Homeland Security (for those of you who are unaware of what they do, they are in charge of protecting this country from national and international threats... ie: securing the homeland) refuses to consider closing the border to prevent even further spread of a highly contagious airborne disease.  Because, in essence, she doesn't want to.

Yes, that makes a whole lot of sense.

Politics aside (as if that were possible), I have a second bone to pick.  Now, I'm not the biggest fan of banks in general.  BUT, I do understand the necessity of fiscal diversity for consumers, the need to have multiple choices for places to store your funds.  I get it.  But, I DO have a problem with the way the unions and ill-informed individuals have attempted to crucify Ken Lewis of Bank of America. 

First, back in January, the Obama-nation White House, and this joke of a Congress/Senate, come to Lewis and say "Hey, you're going to take this installment of tax payer money.  It's your patriotic duty (anytime BO says that, watch out) to take this money.  Oh- and by the way, I know we talked about this in December- you're going to take over Merrill Lynch.  We'll give you tax payer money for that too, but you don't really have a choice.  Learn to like it."  So, Ken Lewis goes through with the merger- to the chagrin of their shareholders, I'll admit that.  They didn't have all the information before they voted it through, and that was wrong.

But, fast-forward to early April 2009.  The bottom has almost totally fallen out of the financial markets, nasty bare-bones are exposed to this BoA-Merrill deal, and people are looking to get angry.  Not to be counted in the slightest is the fact that BoA posts a 1Q PROFIT in a recession... nope, that doesn't matter.  Worker unions who have pensions invested in BoA decide to jump on Lewis, and make him the scapegoat for all things related to the "r" word, and start calling for Lewis to resign.

Now, let's level.  Ken Lewis brought Bank of America through two successful mergers, one with Countrywide in late '08 and one with Merrill Lynch that was voted through in late '08 and early '09.  Successful.  They posted a profit.  They MADE MONEY in the first financial quarter of 2009.  Yet the unions, deciding they don't have enough to be angry about, get exhausted consumers riled up on lies and misrepresented truth and start to rally based on that anger.  The vote went before the common and preferred stockholders today at the Annual Meeting, and the verdict has been delivered that the role of Chairman & CEO has been split, leaving him the CEO and leaving BoA grasping for a stand-in for the role of Chairman (they can kiss Hugh McColl goodbye, he's already said he won't do it). 

Here's my issue- what in the WORLD do these unions, these every day misguided citizens, really think this is going to do?  Many Charlotte-based and statewide financial groups and panels have come out in SUPPORT of Ken Lewis, not limited to the Charlotte Chamber (all business professionals), the United Way, Habitat for Humanity, and the North Carolina Treasury Department.  In layman's terms: the people who know business in Charlotte.  What could one union (knowing that unions are largely responsible for the failure of a large number of public businesses since their inception in the mid-1900s, most recently the almost-demise of Ford Motor Co & almost successful ruin of GM Motors & Chrysler) *possibly* know about what's best for a publicly held company?  One only needs to google "UAW" to understand how these entities are such a tool against free enterprise and capitalism in today's economic world.

Bottom line:  They don't know anything relevant in this situation, and they should shut up and get out of the kitchen because they obviously cannot stand the heat.  And, there has been a large mistake made by ousting Ken Lewis from part of his job.  I sincerely stand behind him and will continue to do so.

I had to rant and purge myself of these feelings of irritation.   Mainly because I only carry one vote, and although I do my best during campaign season by volunteering, campaigning, and for those of you who know me- even wearing my political gear... I can only do so much.  Which brings me to my idea today: if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.  I'm very passionate about being a Conservative Republican.  I'm very proud of who and what I believe in.  So, you should decide what you stand for.

What do you get passionate about supporting?  Is it being Pro-life?  Is it being Pro-family, supporting the model of traditional marriage?  Maybe you're on the flip side of the issues from me.  I don't care what it is, but decide what you stand for it and stand for it, unconditionally.  With how rapidly this world is deteriorating, socially, financially, and even physically now- it's more important than ever to stand and fight for what you believe.

For me, it's God, Family, Country.  I'm unapologetically traditional, I love my family, I love this country, and I'll defend them to the end of me.  What about you?

Who are you, really?

Parting thought:

All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what was.  I accepted their answers, too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory.  I was naive.  I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer.  It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve realization everyone else appears to have been born with:  that I am nobody but myself - Ralph Ellison, "Battle Royal"

Talk soon.

*Pictures above used with permission from MC Photography*

I Thank God Every Day For...

Driving with the windows down, sunroof open, sister in the passenger seat & singing as loud as possible to Dave Barnes or Taylor Swift.  A beautiful Carolina day at the driving range, capped off with a dinner with my Dad.  Snuggling with my puppy and a great movie on a rainy Saturday night.  Family cookouts at my parents' houses, hanging outside on the patio for hours after we've finished a meal.  The smile that wrinkles the eyes of someone special in my life. 

These are the simple things that make me grateful for my life.  Just a few, honestly if I wrote them all we'd both be here for awhile!  But I want you to see that there are things in life that are positive, even in the midst of pain that can seem insurmountable.

I'll make no secret about the fact that I dislike our government, I dislike our President, our elected officials, and most of the people running this country.  I think this country is long overdue for the repercussions of some of the choices that we've made... making abortion legal, allowing stem cell research, and yes- even gay marriage.  I disagree with all of these things.  The stimulus plan?  The "budget" for the federal government?  Come on.  A two year old could make more sense than these people do.  The DOW plunging and peaking every other day, playing hacky-sack with the life savings of thousands of fiscally responsible American's 401k and retirement funds... an appeasement approach to foreign affairs (has never worked, will never work).  Hundreds of thousands of hard-working American workers told not to bother coming into work.

Yes, this is a difficult time.

But it is NOT the end of the world.

Do you have air in your lungs?  Do you have clean clothing that fits that lays upon your back?  Can you get up from an air-conditioned room and walk into ANOTHER room to your fridge for a snack?  How about going outside and going to church in public?  Maybe capping that off with a lunch at your favorite restaurant?  When you're home, you put pocket change into a secret stash?  Well, if you can do any of these things, you're in the top 1% of the world.  The WORLD.  Count yourself as absolutely blessed, but don't feel guilty for what you have.  Just be thankful.

In the midst of everything we struggle with these days- jobs, family, relationships, money, health... in the end, things aren't that bad.  Think about the things that you love to do with your time.  Do you volunteer?  Do you call up a friend and grab coffee?  Maybe you stretch your muscles and go for a nice, long run.  Well, as long as we can still do these simple things in life, we're going to be okay.

I want to challenge you.  Seriously, bare with me.  Go grab a sheet of paper and a pen.  And think about five things that you can do now that you really enjoy.  Just 5 things.  I'll share one of mine with you:  I can go to church and praise Jesus Christ without the fear of being imprisoned or killed.  That's a huge thing to me.  What are yours? - list them out, and the next time CNN or MSNBC tries to tell you that the world is ending, *pull out the list.* Read it out loud.  And be thankful that you can do those things.

It's the simple things in life that make me enjoy my time on this earth the most.  My family, my friends, my dog... I may not have much, but I have people that love me and a lot of huge blessings in my life.  I'm sure you do, too-

So go out and enjoy them.  Turn off the news, go grab a fresh breath of air from your doorstep, and cherish this day we've been given.  Because after all, sometimes all it takes is to look through the shadows to see the light.

Parting thought:

Count your blessings.  Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God intended for you with Grace, Strength, Courage, and Confidence - Og Mandino

Talk soon.

*Photo above used with permission from MC Photography*

This One's For The Girls

Sorry guys, today it's all about us ladies!

My entire life changed because of a bible verse in a homemade picture frame.  "Uh, yeah, okay, Kim!" you may think.  Well, I'm telling the truth- and I'm also going to explain why I say that.  About 3 years ago, my sister gave me a Christmas present that contained Psalm 45:11 "The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord."  I opened up that frame and I couldn't stop crying for almost 10 minutes.  It broke my heart, and the reason why is because I had been searching for years, through relationships, through circumstances, through events in my life- searching for who I was and how much I was worth.  I've been a Christian since I was 6, so it wasn't about not having been saved.  It was about not understanding what a walk, and relationship, with Jesus Christ means.

I have that framed bible verse in my room, still, 3 years later, and every day I look at it and re-read it.  What my sister started was the breaking and revitalizing of a life lived slightly off-kilter for just about 19 years.  I am a good kid, I was then- I've made a purity stand that I have kept for my entire life, so it isn't like I made terrible decisions.  But after I got that picture frame, I realized something: I was absolutely sick of being satisfied with my life.  I wanted more.  And you know what?  I went out and I got it.

I started by listening to the song "Beautiful" by Bethany Dillon, off of her self-titled "Bethany Dillon" cd.  If you have iTunes, go buy it.  It will be the best $0.99 you have ever spent.  Second, please please go buy "Do You Think I'm Beautiful" by Angela Thomas.  It was with this book, and the song written by Bethany Dillon after she read it, that helped to shake things up in my life.  I think that the book will show you exactly what God sees when he looks at you.  Those imperfections, those things we don't like- God loves.  It's written in a real, "Wow I really get this" kind of way, so there won't be an issues about it being over your head.  It is GREAT.

And last, I realized that a relationship with God is really easy, actually.  All you have to do is talk to him.  Some people call it praying, I think that's a formal word for it.  Prayer's nothing more than a conversation with God, so call it whatever you want- but try it.  When things are bad, most people will say they have said "if you're there, God, I just need"... and they'll fill in the blank.  So we both know you've done that.  But what about if you try praying when you don't need something?  What about if you've had a great day and you just want to share it? "Hey God, I got that contract I was really counting on at the last minute.  It's really great!  Just wanted to share."  It may sound crazy to you, but what's the difference between that and leaving a voicemail for a friend?  Eventually they call back, and when you build a walk with God, you'll feel him answer... no difference.  

Chat it up, and know one more thing:  Most relationships between a man and a woman are built on the man pursuing the woman... so let God pursue you.  You start the prayer, you indicate that you want to know Him- and he takes the rest out of your hands.  It's that easy.  Men love the wooing- whether or not they show that they do.  At least, the *right* ones do.  God's no difference (besides, who *created* that desire in men??) because he loves to do it too.  He sends you golden sunrises streaked with red, even with its own soundtrack of chirping birds for you to wake up to.  He sends you flowers every spring and summer- and even waters them for you!  He sends you warm breezes on summer nights to pick up your spirits, and beautiful foliage in the autumn that paints the mountains with its vivid colors.  He sends you sun to warm your skin and light your days, and the stars & moon to decorate the night.  All of this: because he loves you.

If he's doing all of this and you haven't really gotten to know him- can you IMAGINE what he'll do once you start to question who he is??

Just a heads up: it will totally change your life for the better!

I'm going to close by posing a question: When you look in the mirror... what do you see?  Other than the obvious (hair, two eyes, a nose, some small-ish ears...).  Truthfully, what do you see?  Some of us may see that scar from when we were kids that has blemished our chin for 20 + years.  Others may see the wrinkles as our eyes have squinted, in the same way, for our entire lives.  Some may see the nose bump, the chocolate freckles that dot our forehead... maybe the slightly crooked bottom teeth that twinkle when we smile.  Chances are, when you look into that reflective glass, you pick out your faults.

Aren't you glad that's not what Jesus does?

When he looks at you, he doesn't see faults.  He sees skin that has weathered many sunny days as we enjoyed beautiful parks, playing with children on a jungle gym.  He loves the way you have laugh lines beside your eyes- a direct result of laughing out loud more times than you could ever count.  His favorite is the way that nobody else has that little bump right under your eyes- and he knows how you got it because you were climbing a tree when you were younger and you accidentally slipped.

My point is that where you see bumps and scars, God sees beauty and possibility.  And while it's pretty easy for us to pick out our faults with our physical body- God cares a lot more about your spiritual body.  You know, the one that reacts when you have a bad day or an argument with someone... the one that responds to a broken heart or a hurtful glance.  And as women, at least to men, it seems as though this body is the one that we react out of most of the time.

I always joke that "as women, being emotional is our prerogative."  That's true, but not entirely.  God created us to be different.  And the best thing that we can do, knowing we were created as daughters of the King, Jesus Christ, is to embrace it and seek to know Him.  After all- he is definitely wanting to get to know Y-o-u!

Parting thought:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.  We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?" Actually, who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you.  We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.  It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us.   And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others - Maryanne Williamson

Talk soon.

Redeemed.

There's something about me that I hope you know by now: My faith is the most important thing in my life.

I don't mean it in a passe, "Oh yeah, God's my best friend, blah blah blah" kind of way like a lot of people seem to say these days.  I mean it in a real, "I can't live my life or take a breath of air without the love and real presence of Jesus Christ in me" kind of way.  And today, on Easter Sunday, I feel led to share with you what that relationship has meant to me over the past few years.

I've had skin cancer since I was 16, and I've even had lymph nodes removed.  My parents divorced before I was 9.  I've lost several people in my life, tragically.  There have been times when the storms of life left me gasping for air.  And through it all, I have praised Jesus Christ because he saved me again and again and again.  And the best thing is that my life's nowhere near over- so I'm going to get to keep praising Him. 

A lot of people have asked me how I can trust Him through everything that's happened.  And it's a very easy answer.  So many people blame God when their circumstances are just a result of their choices... for example, losing a job, getting sick, getting pregnant- these are direct results (about 99% of the time) of a choice we've made.  So when people ask me how I can trust God even though there's so much negative in the world, I look them straight in the eye and I tell them this:

Because he's suffering right beside me as I go through each trial.

Those days when your heart breaks and you can't stop crying because of the pain: his heart is breaking right beside you as you cry, knees on the floor.  When your anger gets the best of you and you can't stop thinking about how someone has wronged you: He's the quiet voice in your heart, reminding you they're just as imperfect as you are.  When life is holding a pressure hose at you and as soon as you manage to stand you're knocked over again: He's the quiet, steady hand that pulls you to your feet in the middle of the impact.

You may think that this sounds like I'm preaching.  I'm not.  I'm trying to share with you how real my relationship with Jesus Christ has become over the past several years.

It hasn't stopped my heart from breaking.  It hasn't stopped the nights when I wished I knew where the "off" button was to turn off the pressure hose so I could have a chance to breathe.  It hasn't stopped people from hurting me, from forgetting me.  It hasn't gotten me richer, prettier, more financially secure.  It didn't protect me from the painful, difficult lessons life has to teach us.

But it HAS given me a joy that the trials of life can't shake.  It HAS given me peace, so that even when the world seems to be crashing around me, I know that it will stop- or that He'll protect me as it falls.  It HAS given me the ability to love people where they are, even if they wrong me or if they hurt me- because I understand why they act the way they do.  It HAS given me a security to know that I have a heavenly father who loves me, even when I can't love myself.  I HAVE gotten, *finally* understood, what my worth is in Jesus Christ- and that my life is okay even if it only has me in it.  I CAN laugh even when life hurts.  I CAN enjoy each day as they come because I know He's in charge of my future.  I DO have security- the God who created the universe and knows every event before it comes to pass wants to be in control of my life... um, easy choice! (I let him!)

My life is constantly changing.  Each time a new trial presents itself, I have a conscious choice to make: Do I try to do this, or do I pass it to God?  The times when I have passed it to God, I have learned more about myself than any self-help book or psychologist could ever teach... and I've learned even more about how much He loves me.  It's an easy choice now, pretty much second nature.

And on a day like today, when I'm reminded of how very much Jesus Christ loves me and you because of the sacrifice he made on the cross at Calvary thousands of years ago, I can't keep quiet.  I have to shout it from the mountaintops (or from the computer screens) because, as David said in the Bible when his wife Bathsheba tried to tell him not to dance, "I will become even more undignified than this!" (2 Samuel 6:22) I'm going to share my faith with you because I won't keep it to myself.  He has redeemed both of us, just by giving his life for ours.

I hope in your heart, when you look at the Old Rugged Cross, that you see what I do, the sight that brings me to tears because of the love behind it:  Jesus Christ endured that death, the death of an innocent man in the most painful way possible, because he loves YOU.  He died for YOU.  Whether or not you believe in him, He gave his life to wipe away every single one of your sins,  past, present, or future.  

Will you let his death be in vain?  Don't let your life pass without at least asking a few questions, or reading a few passages of the Bible, to learn about who He was, and is, and is to come.  After all, He already loves you ;)

HE IS RISEN, INDEED! - Here's hoping you have the most blessed Easter of all.

Parting thought:

"Trust me, my child," he says.  "Trust me with a fuller abandon than you ever have before.  Trust me, as minute succeeds minute, every day of your life, for as long as you live.  And if you become conscious of anything hindering our relationship, do not hurt me by turning away from me.  Draw all the closer to me, allow me to hide you, to protect you, even from yourself.  Tell me your deepest cares, your every trouble.  Trust me to keep my hand upon you.  I will never leave you.  I will shape you, mold you, and protect you.  Do not fear, oh child of my love, do not fear.   I LOVE YOU." - Anonymous (but obviously, God).

Talk soon.

*Picture above taken with permission from MC Photography*

What's Really Important?

Most Sundays, as I'm getting ready for the week ahead, I seriously cannot account for where the time went during the weekend.  As adults, we spend all week looking forward to the weekend- thinking of all that we will- or won't- be doing... getting excited about the two solid blocks of 24 hour days where we get to choose exactly how we spend our time. But somehow, as those two days loom closer and closer in front of us... they come and go without time slowing down at all. It's almost like the anticipation of the weekend is the climb upward on the roller coaster- and the actual weekend is the downward part of the roller coaster ride. Almost a cruel trick :)

But with time swiftly passing, it always makes me think about how precious life truly is.  And about what's really important.  None of us never knows the exact way, or time, in life when we'll be called home, and I think that what REALLY matters in life- not material things, not accomplishments, not fancy titles- is how we live it.

How do you want to be remembered when you're gone?  I have always wanted to know that with each person I met, I touched their life in such a way that they have a great memory to remember me by.  I know in life, we don't really have control over anything except for how we handle the situations that we live through- and the biggest thing I've come to learn over the past several years of my life is that people don't pay attention so much to what you're going through as they do how you live through them.  Life has definitely been very difficult for me at times, I won't lie.  But over the past parts of my life where it's felt like life has socked me with one issue after another, I'd like to think I've handled it with the only thing that works- the strength and unshakeable faith of Jesus Christ.  And hopefully, as I've been blessed with the grace and courage that can endure fire and bring you out unscathed... that people notice.

One of the best compliments I've ever gotten was when an old friend told me, "There's something different about you. There's a light about you that I don't ever see in anyone else-" mainly because that light has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with Jesus Christ.  And I hope that as life tempts you, as life throws curveballs at you- and as life tests your mettle, that you remember one thing: With Jesus Christ, anything is possible.

Parting thought:

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; if I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain - Emily Dickinson.

Talk soon.

*Picture above taken with permission from MC Photography*