Kara's Soft Words

This is funny lol!  It's taken me so long to post this because I was trying to narrow down my list of items :-p. I really wanted to pick things that represent various aspects of my life. So here's a little collage to address the first part. . . In the top left corner, we have journals, of course! I'm almost always writing *something* down but these 2 are a couple of my favorites.  Made by DaySpring, these journals have scriptures on the bottom of their pages. . . sure to inspire and encourage the writer.  I feel like they represent my {growing} love for writing and God at the same time. In the top right corner, we have A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George.  This book represents the fact that I love to read but more importantly, I appreciate reading books that will motivate me to grow.  This book challenged and encouraged me- from the very first chapter! Front and center is my Vertical Current hoodie!  I love this band! ...

{Random right? Just bear with me. . .} As you know, life is filled with a variety of experiences! We all are guaranteed to deal with highs and lows. One day, we may feel like we're on top of the world but the rug could be yanked from under our feet, on the next. I just want to encourage you to keep things in perspective. You've heard the phrase, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Yeah... okay *rolling eyes*. Personally, I very rarely buy regular lemonade.  HOWEVER, I will say-> Auntie Anne's old-fashioned lemonade is the bomb :-p. When I think of lemons, the first thing that comes to mind is the tartness of the fruit. The taste is powerful and not exactly pleasant. I bet your face is scrunched up- just thinking about it. We're able to add water and sugar in order to make a sweeter beverage and then it becomes something that we enjoy. You see the transition??? Something that we didn't like or weren't fond of (at first) can be...

     I see you.  I know you have dreams and goals but for one reason or another, you’re sitting on them.       What are you waiting for?  Do the stars have to be aligned perfectly? Does everyone need to be in your corner? Do you know whether you’ve saved “enough” money?  Is it the perfect time. . .      Wake up!  These things may never come. . . but you still  - no-> you ALREADY have the power to make a difference!  Napoleon Hill once said, “Do not wait; the time will never be just right. Start where you stand and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”      Remember to replace fear with faith! You may not realize it but fear can be the thief of many dreams. Often times, we allow our own words of doubt to stop us from accomplishing our goals. We focus more on  “what if” rather than the FACTS  that a...

*This is the discussion outline from the L.O.V.E. {Ladies of Virtue. . . Empowered!} Meeting entitled "I Know My Worth." To learn more about L.O.V.E., click here .* Ladies of Virtue. . . Empowered! I Know My Worth I. Intro- What is L.O.V.E.? 1. Lady - a woman or female of refinement and gentle manner 2. Virtue - strength; conformity to a standard of “right” ; moral excellence 3. Empower - to give authority or power; enable; to promote self-actualization It is my hope and prayer that through studying the Word and our discussions, we will be strengthened and encouraged to love God, ourselves and others more than we already do! II . How do you see yourself? A. What are strengths or qualities that you like? B. What are areas or traits that you could improve upon? C. Do you think. . . the way that you perceive yourself affects how people treat you? -> The consensus to this question was “YES!” -> Realize that people will feed you things/adjectiv...

I really want to complete this entire challenge but I was kind of struggling with this prompt. In one way or another, I feel that I've been able to get closure with everyone that I really wanted or [thought I] needed to. So I decided to offer my two cents on closure & forgiveness. I realize that every situation won't exactly end the way that you or I would prefer. If you're like me, you want things to be clear-cut. . . no lingering questions. The decisions are final! The situation is harmonious and the parties involved are all on the same page. Life's not always like that though. Sometimes friendships or relationships end and someone's left feeling hurt. Sometimes individuals just grow apart. People! Please don't limit yourself to the things that (you feel) people have done to you!  Look at each experience as an opportunity to grow! That might sound crazy but think about it.  What did this situation teach you? What are some things that you'l...

Recently, I was invited to participate in a Women's Department Service for the Straight Gate Church of Christ (1924 E. Clearfield Street ~ Philadelphia, PA)!  The theme was Gleaning from Seasoned Women. I felt a little out of place because I was the youngest participant on the platform but very much honored that I was included in this group of inspiring women. Anyway, I decided to focus on lessons that I've learned from the Women of God in my life. The most important thing I have learned is that we need to truly develop and maintain a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Here are some things that we should keep in mind if  we love Him. If We Really Love Him *We'll Be Sincere- Joshua 24:14a Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth. . . Not that we should try--> but we cannot play or trick God. He knows all! People are quick to say, "God knows my heart" - not realizing that that may be the reason why they could get into tro...

Generally speaking, I'd like to think that I am a happy person but I think the last time I felt extremely blissful was during my birthday weekend . I decided to go to my hometown/city of Philadelphia and spend time with my friends and family.  It just so happened that as my birthday got closer, the pieces simply fell into place. One of my cousins took time out of her hectic (that's an understatement) schedule to meet me for dinner in one of my favorite parts of the city.  We had a delicious dinner at Landmark Americana in University City .  (I definitely need to get back there!) I truly enjoyed the great food, company and conversation!  To know that she made time for me- before 2 gigs really touched my heart :-). The next day, I made my way across town where another cousin generously offered to let me and my girlfriends spend the night at his place instead of having to pay for a hotel room. Once my girls arrived, we got ready for the main event-> a con...

"M!"  I love this girl! I met her during my freshman year of college .  I remember having a conversation with her for the first time in either October or November of 2005 because she and some other girls were getting ready to bring a new organization to our campus. Strong Women of Today & Tomorrow promoted sisterhood, strength and leadership and sounded exciting! The girls started a Facebook group but were searching for Executive Board Members so that they could bring it to life at Hood.  I applied for the position of Secretary. During my interview, I felt like we all just clicked and a couple of days later, I was informed that I had been chosen as the secretary. As time went on, M, the other girls and I started to hang out more frequently. We all lived in the same dorm and would meet up to go shopping, watch basketball games at my cousin's school. . . whatever we could find to do together. I have always called her "The Sophisticated One." ...

I usually don't like questions like this because I don't like to sound like I'm bragging. However, I am extremely happy to be able to answer this question!  Without a doubt, I feel like my proudest accomplishment (so far) is Ladies of Virtue. . . Empowered aka L.O.V.E. !!!  Years ago, I probably would not have believed you if you told me that I would be doing something like this-> working to encourage women (young and older ) in their walk with God, leading discussions and bonding with so many ladies from a variety of backgrounds!  I am grateful for this opportunity and I don't take it for granted. You may already know that originally, my mother was told that she would not be able to have children and if she did happen to become pregnant, the baby would not be expected to survive the full pregnancy.  Thankfully, God proved the doctors wrong! While she dealt with some complications, she says that God gave her an extra miracle by not only blessing me to mak...

Aww man- I've known what I was going to write about for this post (for a while) lol. **My disclaimer is that the worst/most embarrassing things actually took place BEFORE the date occurred ;-).** ----------- Okay- I will admit now that sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me. My friends joke that I could be a P.I. (Private Investigator) because sometimes it's just easy for me to put pieces of information together/figure things out (even if they were intended to be secrets or riddles).  This quality is not always a good thing smh/lol. A few years ago, I was hanging out with a guy and we had been talking about different things we wanted to do- places we wanted to go. Some kind of way, he told me that he had plans for us to go somewhere in a couple of days. However, he didn't really give me information. Ladies- I think y'all can sympathize with me right here. We like to know where we're going and what we're doing so we can plan our outfits [and ma...

I have been looking forward to this post! I remember being in elementary school and looking up my name in a baby book. I was so excited to see "Kara" spelled with a "K" because most of the time, it's spelled with a "C." {Sad- I know. . . I get excited about the smallest things at times.} And I was amazed to learn that Kara is sometimes a shortened version of Katherine but once I read that, I ran with it! In the third grade, I was writing my name as Katherine Frison  on all of my assignments until my teachers expressed their confusion and frustration. Sorry Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Crooks and Mrs. Goodman ;) Anyway- whether you go by Kara or Katherine. . . the meaning is usually the same. PURE or pure-hearted I believe that (the meaning of) my name DOES fit me. To be pure-hearted means to be honest, sincere and without malice intent. Regardless of the situations that I face, if I claim to be a Christian, I need to be Christ-like. I believe ...

It took me a minute to think of an answer to this but I believe I have it!  Haha- this is a mess! Let me just say that I am so grateful for the progress that has been made in the world of technology. We're able to pause and rewind television shows. . . Record them and watch other shows at the same time because of amazing things such as the DVR . I like to record a variety of programs- a couple of reality shows, some dramatic series, music specials and so on. However, the one category that blesses my soul HAS to be animated movies! LOL! I don't know what it is. Maybe they remind me of being in daycare. We would watch movies like Cinderella and The Aristocats right before we all took a nap.  Whatever the reason is. . . I like to call these movies my personal lullaby . If I'm having trouble sleeping or just want to go to sleep faster, all I have to do is put on a movie (usually Despicable Me or the Princess and the Frog) and I'm guaranteed to be kn...

If you know me, you probably already know that I love making lists (lol)! So please believe me when I say narrowing my "list" down to 5 things is not exactly the easiest thing to do. We'll see how this turns out ;-). The Faith Factor -  It is extremely important to me that he and I understand that we need to love God more than we love each other . I believe that will give our relationship a firm foundation and cause us to focus on pleasing Him  more than we try to please ourselves. Stability/Security -  I'm not even going to entertain the idea of a relationship with someone that I don't trust. I have to know that this guy has my best interests at heart and will be consistent. Stability is priceless! I can't be flip flopping- every which way. . . If he's going to lead our family, I have to know that he is spiritually, physically and financially stable. I want to be able to feel safe with him. A Great Personality - I love to laugh! My sister tr...

I definitely wasn't looking forward to this post but here goes. When I was in college, I remember saying that I wanted to be married around the time that I was 23 or 24. (I think that's because my mom was 24 when she and Dad got married.) I talked about moving out of Maryland- whether it was back to Philly, or down south. . . I just imagined going elsewhere .  I always talked about going to grad school too. Right now, I am still in Maryland.  I haven't really focused on grad school because I'm trying to make serious progress on my loans from undergrad. Yeah. . . things aren't exactly the way I thought they would be. At face value, it's easy for people to feel disappointed if they haven't accomplished the things that they really thought they wanted to do. However- if we really look closely, we see that maybe our plans didn't occur so that we could have room for greater things . Rather than sit and pout about dreams that have faded or plans t...

This is an interesting quote but I don't believe that it's 100% true. I know that not every woman has the love life that they want. Some feel hopeless. They may become desperate and try to fill the "void" they believe is in their life with anything they can find or with people who seem to express the smallest amount of interest in them. Personally, I do understand the point of this statement. We all have the ability to frame our lives-> what we want to accomplish, where we want to go, etc.  And as with any process, it is very possible to redefine things as we see fit. Right now,  I am  enjoying my life.  It mainly consists of church, work, family/friends and L.O.V.E.   As busy as I am- sometimes I just like to do nothing haha!  I like being able to decide to jump up and go or just relax at home with a good book or movie. In general, I believe that we show others how to treat us. (Of course, some people will just do whatever they want but any...

I really am not sure where to start on this one. . . I guess we can go back to something that I said in yesterday's post . A lot of people feel like single people don't have a fulfilling life or that it lacks purpose.  I know I'm not making this up :-/.  I've seen enough tweets, statuses and comments to know that this is the case. I know for a fact that there are women who will stay in pointless relationships (situations where they're being disrespected, etc.) just because they "don't want to be alone." I don't know what it is that causes them to be unaware of their worth. Or maybe they know what they deserve and are simply disregarding it.  Either way, they are not being fair to themselves by remaining in a detrimental situation. Healthy relationships should inspire you and help you to grow- not make you always feel drained. I think people should realize that singles can have (healthy, clean) fun without a significant other. They can ha...

Wow. . . this is something.  I honestly think my biggest fear is settling .  The first thing I thought of was simply settling when it comes down to the guy that I would be with.  As I mentioned in Day 1's post , I don't want to be with someone. . . just for the sake of being 'in a relationship.' I would hope that he and I would be able to bring out the best in each other, support one another's endeavors and grow together. Recently, I've been thinking about how people- especially females are guilty of  voluntarily handicapping themselves  (yes- I made that up lol). In reality, they are in denial. It's like you hear what the person is telling you; you see what they're doing but you want to pretend that their words and actions have alternative meanings. "They don't really mean that. . .  They just don't know. . . They'll change. . ." I love the way that Trent Shelton addresses this: Something that I really try t...