Free By Design » Change

Don’t Tell Me Otherwise

kmcooley — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:48:52 +0000

Good evening. “Open rebuke is better than love thats hidden. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; the kisses of an enemy are lavish & deceitful.” – Prov 27:5-6

In order to genuinely love, both parties must be able to handle the truth. It’s quite easy to always tailor make responses, reactions, and personalities, but when emotions erupt, so does the truth. Its better to let it all fly now than to let it build up and come crashing down. If you love me, tell me the truth. Because if I love you, I’ll take it.

Peace – Kimberly

Peas In A Divine Pod

kmcooley — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:06:57 +0000

Good evening. Last weekend, a powerful message was ministered at a church I fellowship with when I’m in Georgia, The Church At Chapel Hill (CCH). Their current series is titled, “If Not Us, Who? If Not Now, When?” This particular message was on “Assignment.” Although the entire message kept you locked in, one particular part literally made me stop and rewind the podcast. Pastor Jeremiah touched on the American Dream being the American Scheme. In other words, he talked about how desiring to meet the world’s standards of success distracts us from what’s really important – our assignment to win souls to Christ and reach the lost. I could not agree more. Landing a 6 figure job, driving a BMW, living in a lavish house, with a dog, and a privacy fence from here to Heaven means nothing if you don’t share about God in every chance that you get. It means nothing if you don’t care enough for a single person on this earth to be concerned about their salvation. We have gotten so far out of touch with compassion and ministry and so focused on meeting the world’s standards…sadly even in the church. You better believe me when I say, “spiritual elitism does exist.” Living like this doesn’t benefit the Kingdom of God. It benefits our ego.

Yesterday I heard another amazing sermon that ironically though divinely piggy backs the message from CCH. My pastor, Terri, encouraged us to be relentless in our faith. The sermon resonated with me on so many levels.

The definition of relentless is: Unyielding in severity or strictness; Steady and persistent.
Matthew 11:12 reads, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

I told you these two message were divinely connected. :p

At what point do we (Christians) get as aggressive and as relentless about what we believe in our faith as we do in accomplishing the American Dream? When do we get so fed up with people living in darkness that we sacrifice all that we have to reach them even if it means our reputation, public image, or financial comfort? When do we become so transparent that unbelievers can’t help but to see that you’re human yet connect with your compassion and love?

What are you working for? What are you working towards? Those questions apply to me as well so don’t please don’t get it twisted. I’m not there. Striving to be, but not there.

I’ll end with this. Pastor Jeremiah read a quote that essentially said that our most glorious purpose on this earth is to contribute to the glorification of God until the end of time (paraphrase). Well, let’s do just that…

W.I.N. Ministries Mission Statement:

We purpose to win souls for Christ; By profound proclamation; intense explanation, and practical application of the Word of God; Operating under, in and through, the Holy Spirit.

Further, we purpose to engage in consistent and frequent worship of our God to edify the saints, to reclaim the backsliders and to rescue the lost.

Church At Chapel Hill Mission:

The mission of The Church at Chapel Hill is to Worship the Lord, Reach all people, and Equip to serve.

If Not Us, Who? If Not Now, When?

Peace – Kimberly
Sent from my Cellular South BlackBerry® Smartphone

Integrity

kmcooley — Sat, 15 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000

Good afternoon. Too often we tend to hold onto what we should let go of, and too often it’s people. We have to, at some point, realize that everybody that claims to support and love us, don’t. We have to discern faithfulness and loyalty vs. agenda. We have to feel between love and deceit.

Unfortunately, becoming aware of the truth can be emotionally exhausting, but living a life in integrity filled with character and free of uncertain influences is more than encouraging.

Peace – Kimberly

Going Green

kmcooley — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 03:31:08 +0000

Good evening. Being consumed by what we don’t have is only a result of ungratefulness for what we do have. If you’re looking for greener grass, water the ground on which you stand. The very fact that you are tending to it just may be what it’s been lacking to flourish. Happiness isn’t always found in new adventures. Sometimes it simply just requires change at home. You dig?

Peace – Kimberly

Content

kmcooley — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 03:09:08 +0000

Good evening. God wants character that can have lengthy stays in lonely places.” – Pastor Michael Exum

When these words were spoken today, I was literally done. Pastor Exum spoke what I haven’t shared with anyone, ever. For a little while now, I’ve been struggling with relationships. Relationships, period. If someone wasn’t annoying me, they were boring me. If I reached out to someone, they pulled back in the opposite direction. Just problems with relationships all the way around. At some point, and though I can’t say when, I realized that I was indeed lonely. Lonely in a sense of being physically around people but not connecting with anyone on any level. I mean, I’ve shut down and shut out people before, but this was different. Countless of times in prayer, I’ve asked God, “What is it? What am I doing wrong?” Well, today, the answer was confirmed in more ways than I can count. – its not what I’m doing but rather it’s what God is doing in me.

Sometimes God just needs to get us alone. Sometimes, he just needs to get us in a place of no influence and little to no “noise” even if it means standing at the door alone in a crowed place or driving the distance without a single phone conversation. Regardless, the human loneliness is spiritually worth it.

Now, I know in Genesis 2, The Bible says, its not good for man to be alone. But I also know that there is clarity and insight and creativity comes with being alone, so there’s a balance. Besides…most humans don’t want to know half of the things about you that God already does!

Peace – Kimberly

Play The Role

kmcooley — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:28:13 +0000

Good evening. When life goes left field, never expect what’s around you to change. Instead, focus on how you, yourself can handle what changes. Introspect; start at home. You never know. You just may prove to be quite the trend setter for doing better!

“Never allow a negative situation to influence you, but rather you influence a negative situation, positively.” – Bishop A. Barnes

Peace – Kimberly

Forthcoming

kmcooley — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:54:59 +0000

Good evening. I wanted to write something from my head, but God put this on my heart.

Happy New Year!

Philippians 3:7-14

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ?the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

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And The Rush Is?

kmcooley — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:50:32 +0000

Good evening. When we make personal commitments, why do we try to rush to get results. Anxiety is what landed us in certain situations in the first place. Slow it down; take your time. Rushing only fulfills the need to prove to the world that you’ve changed when the only person that needs assurance is you.

For once, take care of you. If you’ve set a goal, don’t rush to complete it, rush to get yourself on track to complete it. If you’ve made commitments where relationships are concerned, forget about finding that perfect person, and rush to bring to surface the perfect person in you.

*See, the Bible speaks of pouring old wine into new wine skin. It won’t work.* Real change works inside out and takes time. Overnight transformation is nothing more than hiding what’s on the inside, and can cost you forever.

*Matthew 9:17 (NIV)

“Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Peace – Kimberly

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Noise

kmcooley — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:05:00 +0000

Good evening. A few people have been a little "hot" with me because I've been a little distant and not nearly as sociable as I can be at times. Not to mention, a few things changed in my life that I didn't immediately share. Well, guys, this distance did not come without purpose. Let me explain.

Its good to have people around and friends on the phone and all of that, but there are times we just need to hit "mute." No disrespect for what I'm about to say, but it's truth and it's heart. I appreciate the people in my life, but when it comes to seeking divine direction, I can't afford to miss it; we can't afford to miss it.

Every minute on the minute our ears are on alert for whatever is audible, but there is a distinctive difference on how we process it. We hear noise, but we listen to sound. Makes sense? If not, noise is defined as: "randomness: the quality of lacking any predictable order or plan." In other words, noise is typically associated with chaos. Sound is closely knitted to stability and consistency, thus enticing us to actually listen. Got it? Good.

Sometimes we have to eliminate the noise in our heads, as Coach B. would put it, and listen to what God is gently speaking. Not to say we don't appreciate people that provide guidance and advice, but when it comes to divine order, we simply can't afford to miss what He is saying. We just NEED TO BE QUIET. That's it.

Peace – Kimberly

Sent from my Cellular South BlackBerry® Smartphone

Untitled Within Reason

kmcooley — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:07:00 +0000

Good evening. June 3rd will be my 2 year blogging anniversary. I’ve thought about doing several things to comemerate it, but then I thought…why not just keep it simple and give you guys a little more of me.

Speaking of simplicity, if there is anything that has grown within me over the last 2 years (more specifically over the last year) it would be the desire TO keep it simple. I’m finding more and more that I care less to be in a crowd and am finding more comfort in spending time alone. This became evident to me when I found myself lonely while sitting dead center of a lot of people. While conversations were good and company was pleasant I just wasn’t interested anymore. I didn’t care to be among the publicly elite; I didn’t care to be the almighty mediator as I’m often called. I only cared to get back in my car and take my 1.5 hour commute home in silence. Simply put, I was boring them and they were annoying me.

Surprisingly enough and though this moment occurred several months ago, it wasn’t until mid-March at Lenny’s Sub Shop with a colleague turned friend that I actually acknowledged and verbally spoke my issue, “I’d lost me.”

Now, earlier I mentioned that this past year has triggered more of a change in me than anything. Why? I’ll tell you. Last June , I was cruising down the Mississippi River on the Tunica Queen river boat when my phone rang. Ironically everyone on the boat that night had little to no cell service, but my phone rang. It was my mom. The only person that has ever pushed me to be great and taught me how to love, be loved, and just “live” had died. That person was also only the second man that I’d ever call “father”. When my dad died in 96, Anthony Barnes picked up the ball and ran with it. He was my best friend and though we had our intense moments, we knew what we meant to each other’s life. A lot happened that night, and a huge chunk of my happiness was left on that boat even after I got off.

After this, I made a commitment to myself to reassess “me” and for the first time, I considered what was good and right for Kimberly. If that meant cutting some ties (emotionally) and risk being alone, I didn’t care. What I did care about was rediscovering who I was at my core and move forward in faith, love, and hope.

In constant redundancy, I say again that life is just too short not to live it. It’s too short to be confined to a comfort zone; it’s too short to stay dead center and away from the edge. Sometimes, we just have to jump and believe that we will be just fine. Sometimes, we just have to be silent and disconnect from the world and trust that it will be there when we get back. All the bad that has happened, all the negativity that surrounds us…in the end, it all brings us to a much better place in life where we rediscover ourselves. It brings us into a much deeper level of spiritual maturity, and it never fails to bring us back to where we belong…in a place of freedom, in a place of peace. It brings us face to face with the conviction that we were wonderfully made and , at His hands, “Free By Design”.

“…how much do you cherish the people around you – the people closest to you? i mean think about it, you go through life each day passing thousands or millions of people and only those that are meant to be in your life are the ones that you encounter, or bump into, or are introduced to…regardless of the situation or season”

from my first blog post – 06/03/07

Peace – Kimberly

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone