UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

I have been thinking a lot lately about my father.... He was the perfect example of "unconditional love".... did he have a degree? no, did he have any formal training? no He was from the old school of "God wants me to preach and I am going to do it".....

Long before you were required to have a degree to preach, my father answered God's call. Now, those that knew my dad would think him and unlikely candidate to preach. He was an athlete, a rebel-rouser, and religion was part of his life growing up, but he wasn't grounded in it. Then he met my mom..... she was raised in a Bible Believing, Bible thumping , Running the aisles type of home. Was she grounded? no... as a matter of fact, much to her parents dismay, she wore makeup, attended dances, and as a matter of fact, she and dad were jitterbug king and queen all throughout high school.... They married, and dad worked as a Railroad apprentice, then moved into the pipefitting and plumbing business.

When dad was in his late 20's early 30's he hit the altar.... that's where the legacy begins.

He accepted the call to preach and he and mom sang.

Now this was before my time, so all I knew growing up was his unconditional love for people.

It didn't matter who you were or where you were with your life, my dad cared about you. He didn 't shove his religion down your throat, he lived it daily. Was he perfect? no...lol He had quite the stubborn streak. He may not like what you were doing, and he would tell you about it in a heartbeat, but never would he turn his back on you...

Have I ever seen my dad angry? of course I have... one instance stands out in my mind when I was a child....

I was probably 9 or 10, we lived in Marion, OH, and my best friend and I were walking around the block. Her house was on one corner and mine was on another corner. There was an alley that ran between it.

We noticed a man walking towards us with a long raincoat on. He stared at us and as we neared, he opened his coat and exposed himself to us. Now you have to realize at that age I didn't know what could happen, I just knew it wasn't right. He motioned for us to come near, but you should have seen the dust scattering as we ran as fast as we could.... Brenda's house was first, and I had to run around the block to the alley to get away from him.... I was screaming and crying as I hit the back porch, he was coming around the corner at me, but took off when he saw me get on the porch. My mom came running out to see what was wrong... Dad was coming down the steps inside when he heard me telling mom what happened... I have never seen my dad so livid... he tore out of that house at a dead run to find the guy that threatened his little girl... the police came, calmed my dad down, and said they had been looking for him. He was caught a few days later, but not before he had raped and killed another little girl.... It was a long time before my dad calmed down.

Me, I was fine.....until I got older and realized what could have happened....

Yes, I've seen my dad upset and angry, but not once in my life have I seen my dad not love me.

He loved his church people and was a true shepherd....

Seems like nowadays, preachers are more interested in getting their words right, typing their sermons out word for word so they sound just right, and not leaving any room for the spirit to work in a service... Have they gotten so much "book learning" that they haven't learned how to listen to the spirit? Give me a spirit filled, God hearing, shepherd any day over a flowery speech giving, articulate orator any day of the week.....

Now, I'm not saying you can't be spirit filled, God hearing, if you have a degree..... We just need to get back to the basics of soul-saving.... sell out to God, remove self, and let the spirit control...

I miss dad, he was one-of-a-kind..... and if you want to know what he was like, visit with my 3 nephews...they all have a part of him that can be seen.

Enough for now....

In His Love,

K

Be Not Afraid, For I Am With You

Well, the journey has begun in earnest now. Part of my family knows what I am doing. For those of you that wonder what I mean, it is very scary to step out against opposition, but I have the assurance that His Grace is sufficient for me. I am ready to face the battle.
I am not out to hurt anyone, especially my family. It concerns me that my brother and I have just gotten close again after a long time, and I love him and respect him for his life and especially for giving me 3 awesome nephews and a wonderful sister-in-law. I don't want to lose the closeness that we share. And my mom..... wow... what a change in our relationship.
Susan, Micah, and I got to stay with her this past year and it was wonderful. She loves Susan and Micah, and asks about them all the time.
I just know that I need to follow my Lord in what He is asking me to do. Whatever changes it brings in my life are ones that He will hold my hand through.
Something that I have noticed about the gay community is that they seem to think they are exempt form living a holy life. They live one way through the week and go to church on Sundays and act another way.... (by-the-way, this is not just the gay community....) It seems they have been lulled into a false sense of "saved" just because they have been so mistreated by the mainstream church. They have the attitude that "Poor me... I've been so mistreated.. I will go to heaven because God won't turn His back on me...." HOGWASH..... :)
I don't care who you are, what you are,(I hate labels), or where you are from, you are not exempt from living a holy life, acceptable by Christ, and only in and through Him are you safe.... it's time for someone to step out and let them know this.... MCC is ruining the struggling gay... their teachings are so far off base it makes me sick..., they want to exclude any songs or scripture referring to "blood" or change the scriptures to be any gender you want Him to be so as not to offend anyone....?????? What's with that???? that is so scary when you start changing the words in the Bible to suit your feelings. What a false sense of hope.... I want to reach out, in love and truth and spread the word that God is God, He doesn't expect us to live one way that is different from what He expects His other followers to live.
I want to address the Christian walk. Not the "gay" christian, or the "straight" christian, but the One and Only Way and that is by the blood of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
OK I am off of my soapbox now... LOL Have an awesome day......
In His Love,
Kris

Exactly What Did You Mean By That?

We have all had people tell us or ask us, "what are you going to be when you grow up"?
My family is still wondering...... I have had numerous carreers, whatever it took to raise my 3 children. Fast Food Manager, Hardware (my favorite), an EMT in ER/Trauma, and now pursuing a carreer that has been pounding in my spirit since my teenage years...
My family has a rich history in ministerial work, but being a woman, and then add a diverse lifestyle on top of that, has you being told "You can't do that". Sorry, it took me 35 years to realize God didn;t say that, man did. So I begin a hard journey in Christian Ministry, against the odds, against family beliefs, and on my own. If I am wrong, then it is up to God to tell me that in the end. My spirit leaps within me when I follow what He is telling me to do.
I know there are those out there that will ridicule and "preach at" me, so be it, bring it on... If you are attacking me, then you are leaving everyone else alone.
I am so in love with life and my Lord. He is so Awesome, and never lets you down. If you are going through a hard time, hang on, He is there.