Feelings of Christmas

This has been a different season for sure. With Covid-19 still hanging around hardly anything looks the same. And that includes Christmas.

Usually I am writing down all the things that I want to do to experience the most during the Christmas season. My list would include things like...Fantasy of Trees, Dollywood, walking around Market Square, ice skating on Market Square, attending local Christmas plays or concerts, and my favorite of all time....visit New York to experience all things Christmas in the Big Apple!!

All those things have either been cancelled, or modified to meet Covid restrictions. And wearing masks and socially distancing changes the very purpose and nature of most these events. I am not complaining. I have enjoyed Dollywood with a mask and it’s fine. Just different! But New York...it’s just not gonna happen this year. Craig took me to New York for my first time ever the year we got married and we have been every year since then. Until now. (Sad face).

2013

I think one of the biggest lessons I have learned during all this is...things change!!

I change. You change. The world changes. It’s inevitable. The only One who doesn’t change is God!! He remains the same forever. His character and purposes are never altered. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Do you know what this means?!? This means that we have a God we can trust!! He doesn’t change with time and circumstances. God's unchanging nature applies to all of His attributes...His love, grace, mercy, holiness, faithfulness, justice and righteousness.

So this season I will focus on the One true unchangeable perfect gift! The gift “coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17)

Barnes Notes on the Bible commentary adds great perspective on James 1:17,"He is always the same, at all seasons of the year, and in all ages; there is no change in his character, his mode of being, his purposes and plans. What he was millions of ages before the worlds were made, he is now; what he is now, he will be countless millions of ages hence. We may be sure that whatever changes there may be in human affairs; whatever reverses we may undergo; whatever oceans we may cross, or whatever mountains we may climb, or in whatever worlds we may hereafter take up our abode, God is the same."

This, my friends, is the greatest gift one could possible seek to experience this Christmas. Better than any musical or play, better than ice skating in the middle of Market Square. Better than any trip to New York City!

If you haven’t experienced this gift for yourself, then know this...nothing has changed with God! From the very beginning of time He has provided a remedy for a sinful world. His son. A seed that would redeem what was broken, restore what was lost, and return His people to His original design and purpose. That gift Is still available today. A FREE gift for those who believe!

May this season be full of wonder and experiences of God’s unchangeable nature!

2020

So here is to enjoying things closer to home, loving those God has placed in your life, and living in light of the unchangeable gift!

Discipleship and Décor

[Homey and Cozy]

I have two loves.

Discipleship and Decorating.

I was a senior in college when I realized I had a heart to invest in women and see them grow in their walk with the Lord.

When I was a senior in college I had someone invest in me and believe in me. She would meet with me regularly to help me navigate my relationship with the Lord and teach me how to apply scripture to my life. It was then that I realized that there were probably other college girls out there that needed the same thing....someone to believe in them. So I started a Bible study on campus and started meeting one-on-one with them to help them navigate life and learn more about God and His plan for their life. I have had a passion for discipleship ever since.

It was years later that I realized I had a passion for creating cozy spaces. But along my life journey I went through a very difficult divorce that left me questioning everything about myself....my ability to lead women, my ability to parent two boys, my ability to contribute to this world. I was left totally empty and in despair. However, the Lord used a very rough time in my life to redeem His design for my life. He drew light out of the darkness and He breathed new life into my bones. He revealed Himself to me and showed me who "Kerry" was. And then He brought me a friend who would continue to nourish what He had started in my heart and help me flourish.

That friend is my husband today. His name is Craig. I call him Craigers! We have a blended life....boys, dogs, giftedness, talents, heart for God, and a knack for décor and creating spaces.

My two loves collided when we decided to open up a coffee shop/furniture store. The idea behind it was having a coffee shop to provide a space for discipleship to happen organically....by provide a cozy space for community. I could envision people sitting at tables or couches drinking coffee and having conversations. Something that is a lost art today.

We would also create a place people could walk around with a cup of Joe and take in all the sights, sounds and feels and shop for furniture to create cozy spaces in their own homes. A welcoming homey feel to shop and get inspiration as well as a way for Craig and I to display our creative side.

I can remember Craig saying when we were dreaming it up, "Imagine a place where when you walk in you feel an overwhelming welcome with the coffee aroma and the visual stimulating decor.  It will be a different experience every time and it keeps you coming back again and again because you never know what you will find or feel in this space."

Our creative juices were flowing and through God's guidance, Backroads Market and Designs (now Backroads Market) came into being.

[Courtesy of Backroads Market]

An extra perk that I wasn't anticipating is the sweet relationships that were built with the employees as well as the customers that frequented. Discipleship was happening organically and my heart was full.  

We are no longer owners of this sweet place, but the new owner (Melissa McCay) has carried on our vision and has become a very dear friend.

You will still find Craig and I on a Saturday morning walking around shopping and sipping on coffee. And during the week you will find me at Backroads Market several days a week sitting at a table sipping coffee and discipling women.

[Jordan and Kerry meeting at Backroads Market]

It is a place we will always cherish because it is a place God used to continue to teach both of us about how He created us. He revealed to us our ability to host and gather people, and our eye for making spaces cozy and comfortable, and most of all...our heart to see men and women come to know God and experience all He has created them to be.

The truth is...God has created each of us uniquely. You may not have a knack for decorating but God has put something in your heart that He longs to use to reveal His glory. You have something in you that He desires to use to create order out of chaos, to bring light out of darkness and to breathe life into the hearts of men and women. He has graciously given you the ability to contribute to building His Kingdom!

This is what I love to share with women when I meet with them...helping them see their place in this world and use all God has given them to make much of Him.

"Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men."

-Colossians 3:23

The biggest revelations for me is realizing that I can do both (discipleship and decorating) and still be doing the will of my Father. It is how He created me. So you will see both come to light in everything I do. I am always seeking out ways to display God's glory with my whole being.

Hold Fast to What You Have: God’s Sovereignty in Crazy Times

I am coming soon. hold fast to what you have,...

Revelation 3:11

These are crazy times. Who knew that the year 2020 was going to look like this?

The world has spun out of control. My OCD, ADD, PMS, claustrophobia, and hypochondria are ramped up to whole new level. And I blame COVID!!

If things get wacky in our family or in my life....or if I lose my mind and become crazy momma, I say, "I BLAME COVID!!!"

But the realty is...Satan is the true culprit. Sewing seeds of doubt and causing fear and anxiety to creep up is his main tactic.

The best way I know to combat doubt is to hold fast to truth by digging into God's Word!

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Hold fast - | krateò | - take hold of, prevail, to place under one's grasp. To cling to.

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Hold fast or cling to what you have.

In these crazy times I am choosing to HOLD FAST to God's sovereignty.

What does sovereignty mean?

It means that God is the supreme authority who has the right to do according to His own good pleasure. He is in control.

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like

grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,

and spreads them like a tent to live in.

-Isaiah 40:22

This particular verse can make it seem like we have a God who treats us like robots. But if you truly know God's nature, you understand His heart behind His sovereignty.

Here are three things we can know about God's nature.

God is Full of Wisdom

His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9) and His understanding is unsearchable (Isaiah 40:28).

We can't even comprehend the things of God. He orchestrates things in accordance with His good purpose. He is all-knowing and ever-present which means there is nothing that can be hidden from Him and there is not a silver of space that He is not fully present. Because He is also infinite, there is no bounds to His wisdom. It is limitless. Full wisdom.

God is Righteousness

He always does what is right. He will never act out of evil intentions (Psalm 145:17).

So why do bad things happen?

There is a one word answer to this question that no one likes to hear but it needs to be talked about. SIN.

What is sin?

Sin is turning away from God's design for your life and following the deep things of Satan. This is what happened in the garden when Adam and Eve chose to turn from what they knew to be true and followed Satan's temptation to "become like God" bringing sickness, disease, and death upon mankind.

Even then, in His righteousness, God's plan was never to harm us but to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

Which leads us to the third nature of God.

God is Good

Because the Lord is good He does not leave us without a Way back to Him.

From the very beginning He promised a Seed...a Redeemer...a Saviour...a Rescuer...and everything He does is orchestrated to restore us to His original design.

Through His son Jesus we can experience the abundant life He designed for us because He became sin for us. He made things right for those who choose to believe.

God is the one in control even from the very beginning and He has never left His sovereign throne. No purpose of God can be thwarted. He will accomplish His purpose no matter what. Man can not manipulate things to bring about God's purpose. Sickness and disease can not stop God from fulfilling His good purpose. Even Satan who is the ultimate manipulator who wages war and causes doubt and destruction CAN NOT thwart God's purpose.

Hallelujah!

Hold fast to God’s Sovereignty!

I personally need this truth more now than ever. Like I said, 2020 has ramped up my fear and anxiety because it has reminded me that I AM NOT IN CONTROL. I can't control whether I get COVID or not. I can't control what COVID will do to our nation. I can't control what COVID will do to our society. There are so many uncertainties out there.

But one thing we CAN be certain of...GOD IS SOVEREIGN and we can rest assured that we have a God who sits enthroned

above the circle of the earth who is wise, righteous, and good!

Are you worried about your kids safety? Hold fast to God's sovereignty!

Are you worried about the future? Hold fast to God's sovereignty!

Let go of the idea that you can control things, dig into the Word, and cling to truth.

Hold fast!