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Money

Kimberly Cooley — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 05:13:53 +0000

“Money don’t matter tonight; it sho’ didn’t matter yesterday. Just when you think you’ve got more than enough, that’s when it all ups and flies away….That’s when you find out that you’re better off making sure your soul’s alright. Cause money didn’t matter yesterday, and it sho’ don’t matter tonight.” – Prince

The Miracle Is In What’s Left

Kimberly Cooley — Sun, 16 May 2010 16:59:43 +0000

“No longer continue to grieve over what you’ve lost. Focus on what’s left and strengthen it so that it won’t die too.” – Pastor Terri Barnes

For Freedom Not For Beauty

Kimberly Cooley — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 03:26:53 +0000

For Freedom Not For Beauty

-Chrisette Michele

There’s a beauty that lives so deep inside each of us.

There’s a fickle eye that doesn’t believe anything it sees.

There’s a benefit in love that erases all doubt and believes good intentions.

There’s an ear that isn’t free enough to give the honest man the benefit of the doubt cluttered by lies not-mentioned.

Since when is creativity subject to criticism?

When is honesty subject to a jury of fears who wouldn’t believe rain if it fell, or sun if it shined?

Sometimes a flower grows when no ones watching.

Sometimes a bird sings and no one hears.

There’s a meadow no one runs on and a cloud no one names.

And what would the sky be with out the sun?

What would the earth be with out its rose?

They’d still be the sky and the Earth.

So perhaps there is a peace in becoming.

Perhaps the meaning is in the experience and not the sight.

Maybe a flower grows because it suffocates under ground.

Whether or not she is always noticed, beauty must become.

She doesn’t look for an eye.

She doesn’t listen for a voice.

She just becomes,

For Freedom Not For Beauty

-Chrisette Michele

Chosen, Now Choose

Kimberly Cooley — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 01:27:01 +0000

Good evening. You know it IS still alright to choose life… especially knowing that you have direct access to life more ABUNDANTLY! (John 10:10). A close friend of mine put it this way, “God not only gives you life, but He gives it to you abundantly.” All we have to do is make a choice between the life this world can lead us and the life that God can give us. Sounds simple, but in all honesty, it’s not that easy.

Living a life driven by things of this world is enticing because usually it requires little effort with seemingly great rewards. Living a life dedicated to God requires service, diligence, patience, tenacity…a whole new lifestyle, but the Eternal rewards are invaluable, resources are unlimited, and all that you have access to is freakin awesome. Not to mention the “just because you’re on my mind and I love you like that” bonuses that God tends to lay on you every now and then! You know like all green lights on the way home. Yeah those things

Remember, little effort, no life. A lot of effort, eternal life. Yes it takes an effort but YES, it’s also worth it!

Peace – Kimberly

Who Knows?

Kimberly Cooley — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:39:43 +0000

Good evening. I’ve been ‘stuck’ on a song for the last few days now for whatever reason. That song is John Legend’s “Everybody Knows.” The lyrics are dead on when it comes to love, relationships, and all everyone else that’s not involved in either of the two. Here are some of the lyrics:

I don’t care what the people say

they’re probably lonely anyway

baby, don’t fill up your head

with he said, she said

it seems like you just don’t know

the radio’s on, you’re tuning me out

I’m trying to speak, you’re turning me down

and I know one day you’ll see

nobody has it easy

I still can’t believe you found somebody new

but I wish you the best…I guess.

This song greatly resonates with the hurt after someone that you truly love has walked out of your life. The pain in unexplainable, but yet everyone has an explanation. Everyone has your best interest at heart and know exactly what you need to do next. Not true. The truth is that only 3 people are involved. The two that are in the relationship and the God that hopefully they both serve. Everyone ese….well they just don’t know.

It’s easy for someone to wipe a tear or to hold a hand, but there’s not much else that people can do for a truly broken heart. There’s (humanly) nothing that can’t be done about the pain of someone trying their best to explain their feelings to someone and the whole time being rejected at every word. And then having to be all spiritual and righteous and forgive them and wish them the best…THAT HURTS. This type of pain can’t be healed by man and unless someone’s really been in love, it can’t be felt by man either.

I think this is where many of us go wrong with moving forward with relationships. Sure we make committments to God; we vow to take care of ourselves, move forward with our lives. But we sometimes forget to do one thing – let God heal our hearts. We forget to submit our hearts to Him; we forget to submit ourselves to Him. We don’t ask Him to reveal to us our imperfections and what may be wrong within us. We don’t ask Him to teach us how to love and how to be open and give of ourselves freely. And above all, we don’t practice to perfect love by truly loving God first. It’s so much easier to just say, “I’m good” and walk away knowing that you really aren’t. It’s so much easier to say, “I’m not doing the relationship thing or I’m not trusting again.” “It’s all about me.” To that, I say, keep living.

Now, many will read this and see it as a very depressing post, but not really. Actually, it’s the reality of love. Everyone wants to shine light on the beauty of love and how great it is. But as with everything in this life, there is another side. This side. But don’t let that discourage you. All of the hurt I just wrote about has a purpose that we sometimes miss. You see, a hurting heart is a great indicator that your heart is still responsive, still repairable. It still feels, and most importantly, it still loves. See, when your heart gets to a point to where it’s hard and not so responsive, chances are is that you, yourself, have become numb. Numb to love, numb to life, numb to all that’s around you. Your heart’s become rock solid, immovable, unbreakable. Dead in a sense. Dead in spirit. Dead in emotion. Why live that way? Through the heartache, tears, pain…press right on into God’s arms. There’s healing there. Effective healing.

Life experiences have been tough, but in the midst of them, I decided that I wasn’t going to be afraid to take on a heart ache or two. As a matter of fact, I’ve taken a heart ache or two, but I’m still here. Still loving, still feeling, still living life, and still breathing. I’ve seen ‘numb’ people, and that’s not it. Bishop once said that “hurting people hurt people.” So real. So real.

Still Here

I’ve been scarred and battered,

my hopes the wind done scattered,

snow has friz me, sun has baked me,

looks like between ‘em

they done tried to make me

stop laughin’, stop lovin’, stop livin’–

but I don’t care!

I’m still here!

– by Langston Hughes

Peace – Kimberly

P.S. – This isn’t limited to just relationships. The pain is just as tough when a friend walks away too. Just sayin.

Real Is Reality

Kimberly Cooley — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:10:58 +0000

Good morning. Seriously be thankful for the people in your life that have been the same since day one – good or bad. Love on them and keep them close. Regardless of whatever situation life threw at your relationship, your relationship stood. Distance, disagreements, or mutual annoyance were and are minor when up against the bond. Kathy & Rox, you keep me going. You keep me loving and you love me, and when we do all of this, we keep growing.

Peace – Kimberly

Speed of Light

Kimberly Cooley — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:17:31 +0000

Good evening. During my commute this evening, a car in front of me was driving at a speed that I was comfortable with trailing but they were driving reckless at the same time. So, I passed him and later began to notice that he was dropping off significantly far behind me. I hadn’t sped up any; my car was on cruise so obviously he slowed down after I passed him.

As I continued my drive, I started to wonder if that’s the same thing we do in life. When something is behind us, we can be so focused on keeping it behind us that we endanger or detour where we’re going? And as soon as we lose the advantage, we become complacent and start to feel defeated. Are we simply running when we do this or are we convinced that we’re protecting ourselves by staying ahead? Regardless, many times what’s behind us isn’t trying to necessarily get ahead of us or reoccur in our lives, but WE force it to. Our past can stay in the past but only if we acknowledge it, release it, and move forward with forgetting it rather than running from it.

Many times, I believe, God will allow us to see what’s behind. Not to temp us into going back. Not to scare us into thinking we have to ‘run’, but to simply remind us that what we see is in our past solely because He delivered us from it. Whether it’s situations or relationships, don’t run. Don’t speed up. Keep moving at the pace you’re at in this season and enjoy the ride.

Peace – Kimberly

P.S. – Yes, I took this photo. Actually about a year ago.

Still

Kimberly Cooley — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:37:35 +0000

Good afternoon. Angela, a great friend of mine sings a song that says, “I prayed about it, and God still answers prayer.” And so He does!

Peace – Kimberly

Detached

Kimberly Cooley — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:35:40 +0000

Good evening. Pastor Terri Barnes said today that we can be physically present in a place, relationship, etc but still be detached. I personally think she could have ended her sermon right there.

Let me be transparent for a minute. ‘Detached’ is where I have been living lately. Some good, some bad. I’ll start with the bad cause I’m pretty sure that, by nature, that’s what most people want to hear. And for those in my same boat, maybe this is what they need to hear.

Have you ever been hurt so badly that though you forgave all wrong, you still put yourself in a place that you’re confident it won’t happen to you again? How can one be so confident of this you ask? Simple. You create a boundary and no one gets past that point. See. Simple. Well the disadvantage of doing so is that you limit fellowship; you limit interaction, and most importantly you MISS a whole wave of life itself. The chance to truly heal and reestablish and form new relationships come to a halt. You have yourself, and you have God, but you have no one to share the two with. There’s no chance of human touch because no one can get close to you. There’s no chance of sharing an experience because things of interest create questions, and questions require conversation and well you just don’t feel like talking. So, what gives? Detached.

The beautiful thing is that a new day is dawning. Get it right. Be open. Be free. If you need to make amends with someone, do it. If you need to come to terms with a situation that you have no control over, do it. If you need to forgive yourself and restore trust in yourself to take care of yourself, do it.

It’s seemingly easy to live a life of confinement and control, but its that much easier to live a life of love and freedom.

Peace – Kimberly

PS – This is how it feels to be free…

Throw What In?

Kimberly Cooley — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:50:23 +0000

Good morning. “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” – Romans. 8:18

In other words, DON’T quit. Sure there is suffering, but there’s also glory. We are heirs of God, it HAS to get better! It WILL get better. Just hang in there. Ok?

Peace – Kimberly