A Place for All Women

Archive for February, 2012

When Less is More

           There were advertisements, segments on talk shows, news stories, even live shots on opening day.  When the only bookstore in our city’s most prestigious shopping mall closed, a new exciting store quickly took its place.

           What would wealthy, educated Americans want more than access to the latest in literary arts?

           Containers, of course!

          The opening of The Container Store was about as big as the day the doors were unlocked at the new Nordstrom.  

          But then it makes perfect sense.  After a stop and shop at Nords, a person needs somewhere to put all the new purchases.

           I’m not knocking the new container store; it’s a pretty clever concept, I am however, making fun of our inherent need for such specialized nooks.  We’ve got a bunch of stuff and now we need more places to put it.  How many of those storage facilities have cropped up across the country?  They’re everywhere!  You can even get a look at what’s in some of them on “Storage Wars”, yet another reality show, this time allowing us to be voyeurs into the secret stash of a recently repossessed storage unit.  When you lose your stuff, because you had so much stuff you could no longer afford your stuff, that just might be…too much stuff. 

           Maybe I’m a little sensitive to the subject since I’m currently studying the New Testament book of James, and today’s lesson was on hoarding and self-indulgence.  I guess it could be a touch of Spring Fever since the daffodils are poking their little yellow heads up way ahead of schedule.  Or maybe it’s because we’ve accumulated so much stuff in the square footage God has given us, that we don’t have room for it all. 

          Clutter makes me crazy!

           What ever is causing this feeling; I wonder if The Container Store has a place for me to put it? 

          “In part, hoarding means withholding what we don’t even use from others who’d treasure it. All of us are accustomed to the saying “use it or lose it” but, the fact is, we’re going to lose it anyway.  We’re not taking one ounce of this stuff with us when we die.”

 ~Beth Moore

James: Mercy Triumphs/LifeWay Press*

 “Even if I pay all my bills and rightly pay every laborer I employ, is not my superfluous spending on myself when others need the basics for survival a contradiction of loving my neighbor as myself?”

 ~Melissa Moore Fitzpatrick

(Beth’s daughter)

James: Mercy Triumphs/LifeWay Press*

 Beth’s Advice: When we get something new, something has to go. 

 I’m WAY behind on that one.

 How about you? 🙂

© Copyright 2012, KeziahCarrie.  All Rights Reserved

Category:

Entertainment, Home, Inspirational, Truth, Women

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Who Needs Love?

300 Maple Street, USA.

Late summer.

Exactly 6:43 PM.

A roaring sound followed by a flash of light.

All communication cut off.

It’s an old episode of

The Twilight Zone.

At first, neighbors congregate, wanting to be close to each other, and looking for answers.  But fear and suspicion soon lead to accusations and before the show is over, they turn and attack each other.

 “The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” (Galatians 5:14-15)

We woke up one morning, several years ago; to find my husband being bashed on the front page of the paper and morning radio talk shows.  He hadn’t committed a crime, but he had said some things that didn’t sit well with people in power.

Co-workers and friends scattered, and a lynch mob mentality took over, as people called for his firing.

This past week a prominent person in our community was accused of doing something, that in an instant, took his freedom, cost him his job, and threatened the stability of his family.

In my husband’s situation, only one man had the courage to speak up and put things back in perspective.  He is a man who loves God more than he loves himself.  He is a man who knows what it means to love his neighbor as himself.  His support helped save my husband’s reputation.  My husband kept his job and has lived to give God the glory many times.

In this more recent case, when the man’s actions were reported to the public, some of the very people he had hurt were asking for prayer and compassion…not for themselves…but for him and his family.

          Who Needs Love?

Jesus showed us by example.

He loved the people who were broken, the people who had sinned, the people who had been slow to listen but quick to speak, the people who had made complete messes out of their lives, the people who were shamed, humiliated and ostracized.

When someone else’s sin seems worse than our own we tend to distance ourselves…shake our heads…point our fingers…and offer up our opinions.

But on this Valentine’s Day, if we live by the command that sums up the entire law, we may find those who need love the most, are the ones we think don’t deserve it.

In The Twilight Zone people from another planet caused the conflict between neighbors on Maple Street.

But in the real world, all it takes is someone who is different from us, to breed fear, suspicion and hate.

Jesus’s instructions were clear, love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Who Needs Love?

We all do!

Happy Valentine’s Day

© Copyright 2012, KeziahCarrie.  All Rights Reserved

Category:

Home, Inspirational, Love, Obedience, Truth

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Around the Web in 365 Days

“Sugar and spice and all things nice, that’s what little girls are made of.”

          Those  were the first words that came to my mind when I looked up the meaning of Keziah and was reminded the Hebrew name is synonymous with sweet-scented spice.

    “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ…” 

     The name Carrie, coincidentally, means joy.

     “Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart…”

     As I prepared to step out on faith and start writing for this website last year, I absolutely knew February 2nd would be the day!  So, I hopped out of bed, fired up the old desktop and prepared to publish. HOURS later and many mistakes behind me, frustrated to no end, and rapidly running out of time, the first post finally popped up around noon.  I felt I had surely earned the right to sit back and chill out.

     But…

     I was  late for an appointment.  And then before I could even make it a mile down the road, my cell phone rang with news that was… let’s say… NOT GOOD!

     Romans 7:21 says when you would do good, evil is present.

     But thank God…

     Isaiah 54:17 says no weapon formed against me will prosper.

     And so today, KeziahCarrie is a year old.

     My hope, one year ago, and my hope now is that I can inspire you, make you laugh, make you cry and help you realize living a Christian life is hard for all of us. It’s why Matthew 7:14 says, the gate is small and the way is narrow. I have often thought if the world really wants Reality TV, watch someone walking with God!  The blessings are big but the tests are tough!  And I don’t know about you, but just when I think I’m about to walk on the water, I divert my eyes for a second and down I go.

    I tell my children that sin is often a whole lot of fun;  that being bad is easy, and temptations come our way almost every day. But the reward we get from a relationship with our Messiah (reminder to self) is SO MUCH MORE!

     I pray I never write one word He has not approved; and I pray KC never has a reader who cannot benefit from what God allows to be written. I’m not always anxious to share my faults, even though I do keep finding them.  I figure, if God can use something I’ve experienced, failed at, made a mess of, or succeeded in, then the glory is all His.

          I thank Him for the opportunity to write and do not take the privilege for granted. It’s not about money, so you don’t have to weed your way through any advertisements to see what God might want to say to us. It’s not about numbers, although it is nice to see subscribers.  And, it’s not about awards, although I’m grateful that other writers have nominated KC for the Kreative Blogger, The Versatile Blogger
and The Candle Lighter Awards.

     If you haven’t already subscribed, we would love for you to join us. Nothing changes except an email telling you there’s a new story. I have little KC cards if you would like me to send you some of those. It’s fun to leave them in places where women go and hope they will log on to the web address and find  “A Place for All Women.” If you feel led, please tell your friends, family and co-workers about KeziahCarrie. I promise I’ll try my best to never write anything that might embarrass you or make you regret sharing the website. If you want to know more about the “why” click on the About KC link at the top of the page.

     Many blessings on your life this day, I look forward to our next year together as women.

     And for the few guys who have come along for the ride…

“Snips and snails and puppy dog tails, that’s what little boys are made of.”

     Until we meet again, Shalom!

     (Google it :-)) 

References: 2 Corinthians 2:15 & Proverbs 27:9

© Copyright 2012, KeziahCarrie.  All Rights Reserved

Category:

Faith, Hope, Inspirational, Truth, Women

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