Misc Archives - My Blog https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/category/misc/ My WordPress Blog Wed, 29 Nov 2023 21:59:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 227810254 Enduring Midlife Like a Champ https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2023/11/29/1771-2/ https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2023/11/29/1771-2/#respond Wed, 29 Nov 2023 21:59:27 +0000 https://kellytarr.com/?p=1771 One of the Tarr kids’ favorite pastimes is “hang riding” up the driveway. We have a long gravel driveway, and if it’s been a while since grading, crater-like divots develop, and it’s a real wild, bumpy ride. My kids call these divots speed bumps, and the faster I go over them, the better because one […]

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One of the Tarr kids’ favorite pastimes is “hang riding” up the driveway. We have a long gravel driveway, and if it’s been a while since grading, crater-like divots develop, and it’s a real wild, bumpy ride.

My kids call these divots speed bumps, and the faster I go over them, the better because one of them might get some air. At the bottom of the driveway, I roll down all the windows; they jump out of the car, assume positions on the runner boards, and grab a handle inside the vehicle.

Our wild, bumpy ride with whoops and shouts of, “Faster!” commences after everyone is ready.

 

Wait a Minute. I Wasn’t Ready!

Midlife usually arrives differently. No big announcement is made about what’s ahead or to ask if we’re ready.

Several months ago, one of my sisters-in-law sent me a picture, commenting, “Time moves fast and slow.”

She’s right. That chunky four-month-old in the picture is now six, and the almost ten-year-old has shed glasses for contacts and car keys.

The two-year-old who regularly had screaming fits made me wonder if I and the adorable curly head in the blue dress would make it to her third and fourth birthdays. She’s now eight-and-a-half.

The little years feel endlessly long until suddenly, they’re reading and writing–and driving– and they’re not so little anymore.

Of course, it’s not really all of a sudden.

So much life happened between that picture and now. So much that to think about it makes me both exhausted and wonder at the sheer grace of God to carry us through every step of the way.

If you and I were to sit across from one another, I want to tell you that these past six (+) years have been some of the hardest and that quitting almost everything has crossed my mind.

You might ask what I mean by that, and I would share some of what I mean because you need to hear it if you’re entering into or in the thick of midlife.

 

Read more over at Club31 Women.

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Do Not Be Conformed https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2023/10/16/do-not-be-conformed/ https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2023/10/16/do-not-be-conformed/#respond Mon, 16 Oct 2023 21:11:10 +0000 https://kellytarr.com/?p=1775   “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (ESV) Etched in my mind is RC Sproul’s voice saying, “Chili con carne,” quite forcefully as he taught what […]

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“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal
of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

Etched in my mind is RC Sproul’s voice saying, “Chili con carne,” quite forcefully as he taught what the word conform means. Where I’m from, Chili always has meat, and it flavors the soup to the point that I can’t discern between the various flavors of the other ingredients. Chili con carne is an example of what it means to be conformed, as Paul means: to be so much like the unbelieving culture around you that you’re indistinguishable as a Christian.

This verse in Romans often leads us to ask, “What does it mean not to be conformed to the world?” Does it mean we look different, sound different, and do entirely other things from unbelievers? Don’t get drunk, don’t cuss, don’t watch porn. Wouldn’t that be a transformation pleasing to God?

It’s easy to rush to think what this must look outwardly like and to overlook Paul’s instruction to be transformed by the renewal of our mind.

Read more at Club31 Women.

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The Beauty of a Meek Heart https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2021/11/22/1688-2/ https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2021/11/22/1688-2/#respond Mon, 22 Nov 2021 15:59:41 +0000 http://kellytarr.com/?p=1688 How many times in the last year and a half since this universal trial we’re all facing called COVID and global unrest has been upon us have you found yourself anxious, angry, scared, or fighting against it in your heart? Or, have you responded to it all with a tranquil heart—one that is at rest, trusting […]

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How many times in the last year and a half since this universal trial we’re all facing called COVID and global unrest has been upon us have you found yourself anxious, angry, scared, or fighting against it in your heart?

Or, have you responded to it all with a tranquil heart—one that is at rest, trusting that the Lord is at the helm, enabling you to live your life in peace, faithfully carrying out your everyday work?

I’ll bet that you were able to answer my question with, “Well…when it all started, I was more anxious, angry, and scared. But the Lord has helped me rest in Him, trusting Him with our health, our income, etc.”

Maybe you would even say that there have been times that you experience rest and other times you’re anxious and fearful.

As disciples of Christ, we are to imitate Him in every way, including in the oft-misunderstood characteristic of meekness.

God Cares Most About the Heart

How we respond to all of life is an outworking of what’s inside. Every circumstance the Lord brings our way presents an opportunity for us to steward our hearts and the situation well.

Our behavior is important! We are to have holy conduct, but it will flow out of a meek heart.

 

Continue reading at Club31 Women.

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Becoming Elisabeth Elliot: A Book Review https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2021/07/22/becoming-elisabeth-elliot-a-book-review/ https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2021/07/22/becoming-elisabeth-elliot-a-book-review/#respond Fri, 23 Jul 2021 01:48:00 +0000 http://kellytarr.com/?p=1663   I thought I knew Elisabeth Elliot well. I’ve read many of her books and have listened to her talks, enough to think I had a handle on her life experiences, her personality, her struggles, and even quirks. But I could not put down Ellen Vaughn’s biography, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot.    I know her so much […]

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I thought I knew Elisabeth Elliot well. I’ve read many of her books and have listened to her talks, enough to think I had a handle on her life experiences, her personality, her struggles, and even quirks. But I could not put down Ellen Vaughn’s biography, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot

 

I know her so much better now! And she’s endeared herself to me even more. My favorite part, hands down is how real Betty Elliot is shown to be (I think she may be Betty to me now).

 

I cracked up just about as much as I teared up. What a character she was! 

 

Pieces of Joni Eareckson Tada’s foreword stirred me: 

 

“The timing of this book couldn’t be better. We may not know it, but in an age of anti-heroes, our souls crave an authentic witness. We long to see a follower of Christ square off against sin and stand firm against the winds of adversity; one whose ironclad character cannot be dismantled. We want to see someone in whom living for Christ and dying for Him is indistinguishable. We crave a visceral story that has meat on it. A story that rises above the average. That soars and inspires…what you’ll read here shows clearly Elisabeth’s ordinariness, how she was subject to the same temptations and distractions that plague us all, and what she embraced, through Christ, to become extraordinary. I hope you’ll be convinced that the same grace which sustained a young Betty Elliott to become a captain in God’s army will in fact whisper to your soul, “Be like her.”

 

I was reminded of what drew me to her as a young believer at 15 or 16: she was “committed to living her life flat-out for Christ, holding nothing back…She was curious, intellectually honest, and unafraid…unafraid of the quest for Truth that might lead her to an inconvenient conclusion.” 

 

She had an “unyielding passion to win souls for Christ.” “She was determined not to do what was easy, but to wait for God’s leading, whatever it was.”

 

As I read, I couldn’t help but hear echoes of myself in her journal entries, which is what led to the tears. I’m no Elisabeth Elliot, but she would tell you that she was no hero, either. “I suppose the general opinion of missionary work says that it is intended to bring [people] to Christ. Only God knows if anything in my ‘missionary career’ has ever contributed anything at all to this end. But much in that ‘career’ has brought me to Christ.”

 

She was a woman who wrestled. “Sometimes she got tangled up in her thoughts. Was all of this any use to God?”

 

“I could almost say I’ve had enough of these Waodani, and wish God would take me away…I feel this…but I will do His will, not my own.”

 

“After Jim died…she wanted to collapse into a heap on the bedroom floor. But, she made it through each arduous day, one at a time, with a simple mantra: do the next thing.”

 

She was a woman resolved. “We must look clearly and unflinchingly at what happens and seek to understand it through the revelation of God in Christ…To be a follower of the Crucified means, sooner or later, a personal encounter with the cross. And the cross always entails loss…In her own encounter with the cross, Betty determinedly sought the path of obedience, regardless of how she felt.

 

When pain, disappointment, lack of fulfillment, derision, suffering, and death came, she did not flee the dark waves, sucked backwards by their relentless undertow. She met them straight on, diving toward the cresting surge, sparing herself nothing, considering the bracing, salty shock of the cold waters just part of the big story.”

 

She was a passionate woman, though outwardly reserved. “If she was cautious in her relationship with Jim Elliot, or reserved with others, she was not so with God. She threw herself open to Him, wholeheartedly, without restraint.”

 

She was a woman who desired more than anything to yield her whole self to Christ. “Oh, how I pray for conforming to the acceptable will of God. I do not want to miss one lesson. Yet I find that events do not change souls. It is a response to them which finally affects us.”

 

“…the takeaway from their lives is a reckless abandon for God. A willingness to cast off any illusions of self-protection, in order to burn for Christ. An absolutely liberating, astonishing, radical freedom that comes only when you have, in fact, spiritually died to your own wants, ambitions, will, desires, reputation, and everything else.”

 

And she was hard on herself. “She tortured herself further by reading 1 Corinthians 13. Love is not jealous… boastful… arrogant… rude… irritable… resentful. She sighed. ” I was all these today.” 

 

“Oh, truly, I am an unimprovable, helpless case. Help, Lord!”

 

Her earnest heart’s desire to love and obey God put to the test every day: “I long to be Home. I long to put off this mortal body, to be occupied wholly with things unseen. What a weight things seen are to me now—meals, clothes, my body, house cleaning, etc…I feel frustrated and useless. Cleaning, feeding all these people, caring for Valerie, making bread, etc., etc. Lord—is this what I am here for? Oh, when shall I be free from the body of this death? Help me to be loving Thee in these hours of occupation with things seen.”

 

I was encouraged as a writer by her own struggles with writing—

“…and I am supposed to be writing a book. I am not writing one. I sit and look at the typewriter, read, shuffle papers, contemplate, and very nearly want to quite the whole thing. Why must it be so painful?”

 

“I feel utterly inarticulate, incapable of writing or speaking a single syllable which will convey my meaning. God! Father of Spirits! Give life.”

 

“She could not wait for “inspiration, ” whatever that was. She could not see the whole. Writing was like cutting a jungle path, One step at A time. By sheer discipline, she returned to the typewriter, day after day. She stared out the window, contemplated her fingernails, had another cup of tea, and wrote one sentence at a time.” 

 

“But, howhow to put this on paper so as to disarm people into contemplating it for once, seriously? I have not any great creative imagination or ability, but I do believe that if I worked hard I might produce a little which would set forth a moment of truth now and then. How well I know my limitations, but let it not be an excuse for throwing in the sponge.”

 

So, whether you think you know Elisabeth Elliot well or not, I highly recommend reading Vaughn’s biography. It’s one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year. My heart has been stirred and at 40, I still want to “be like her.

 

 

Well done, Ellen Vaughn. I can’t wait for the next one.

 

 

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Be the Gray Hair (When Mentors Are Sparse) https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2021/07/20/be-the-gray-hair-when-mentors-are-sparse/ https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2021/07/20/be-the-gray-hair-when-mentors-are-sparse/#respond Tue, 20 Jul 2021 12:00:28 +0000 http://kellytarr.com/?p=1669   If you sat across from me right now, you’d probably smile and wonder why I, a woman who can count only one or two gray hairs on my head, feels the liberty to tell you to “be the gray hair” that you want. Admittedly, I lack gray hair (I hear it may be due […]

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If you sat across from me right now, you’d probably smile and wonder why I, a woman who can count only one or two gray hairs on my head, feels the liberty to tell you to “be the gray hair” that you want.

Admittedly, I lack gray hair (I hear it may be due to my voracious consumption of broccoli—it keeps you young, apparently). But, I don’t lack the desire to have women with gray hair speaking wisdom into my life.

They seem rare. Many women I talk with don’t have many older women in their lives that they can turn to for godly wisdom. Older women who are sold out to the Lord almost seem like a paradox, doesn’t it?

To read the entire article, hop over to Club 31 Women!

 

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Why I Don’t Believe Proverbs 22:6 is a Promise https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2021/02/04/why-i-dont-believe-proverbs-226-is-a-promise/ https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2021/02/04/why-i-dont-believe-proverbs-226-is-a-promise/#respond Thu, 04 Feb 2021 12:00:42 +0000 http://kellytarr.com/?p=1639 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Pr. 22:6). I don’t believe this verse is a promise. If I am faithful and do all the right things as a parent, my children may still reject the Lord. I believe that all […]

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“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Pr. 22:6).

I don’t believe this verse is a promise. If I am faithful and do all the right things as a parent, my children may still reject the Lord.

I believe that all of Scripture is divinely inspired and sufficient for all of life. And, the Proverbs are included! But the Proverbs are to be read as maxims for life, not commands. A proverb may be wise for one situation in life, but not another.

For example, “…the borrower is the slave of the lender” (Pro 22:7). Generally, it’s unwise to go into debt. However, a medical emergency would be a good reason to go into debt.

“Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.” This Proverb is communicating that a righteous way of life generally leads to a longer life than one who makes foolish decisions.

One who doesn’t smoke will generally live longer than someone who does, for example. Thus, gray hair in old age. But not every righteous person lives that long, and there are plenty of foolish, unrighteous people who also live long enough for their hair to turn gray.

John Piper says, “All Proverbs are true. But they are not always true in every situation.[1]

Lest you misunderstand me, I believe the Bible is clear that parents should teach and train their children in the ways of the Lord (Deut. 6:4-25, Pr. 1:8; 4:1; 22:6, Eph 6:4, Col 3:21), and that he blesses them for doing so (Pr. 23:13-14, Pr. 29:17).

Children Have Their Own Hearts

Each child that enters into this world has his own heart—which encompasses his mind, desires, and will. And, there is not one heart born into this world that is neutral. Before salvation, it is depraved (Ps. 51:5, Pr. 22:15). There is nothing in a child’s heart that would incline him to God of his own will because his will is bent on evil:

“as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

no one understands; no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Rom. 3:10-12).

The child requires God’s salvific work in his heart, a work which no parent can accomplish by their good and faithful parenting works. With their hearts, our children will think, desire, and do things that are completely out of our control.

Think about the two-year-old who you’ve taught not to throw food on the floor, yet does it again despite painful consequences. Your faithful training and discipline of him will not make him stop. He needs to choose to respond to your training. What about the thirteen-year-old, who, despite being taught from toddlerhood to be kind, just can’t be kind.

Is he this way because you’ve failed as a parent? Well sure, your parenting may have something to do with it. We all fail. But to attribute the choice of another person, regardless of their age, to your failure is to take on a false sense of responsibility.

Each person that comes into this world will be held accountable before God (Rom. 1:19-20). If someone else chooses to reject God, is it your fault? No. To believe that it’s your fault, or that it’s up to you, hints of both over-responsibility and pride.

The over-responsibility and pride come in a sneaky form, often together, and it sounds sort of like, “If I don’t help them, who else will?” or something similar. It may come out in the form of nagging or even enabling various behaviors. This hints at a lack of trust in the Lord to do a work in the heart of that person, and it has the potential to lead the other party to fall into the dangerous temptation and trap of a victim mentality that takes no personal responsibility for their actions (“You made me do this”). 

This way of living (not taking personal responsibility) is now prevalent in our culture but does not fit into Biblical Christianity. Every person is responsible for themselves before God.

This by no means removes the responsibility of a parent, and in fact, it should spur us on to be all the more diligent to live godly lives that enable us to faithfully live out and apply the gospel in our homes.

We will be held accountable before Him one day as to how we stewarded the lives He entrusted to us.

But it is important to remember God will call each person to account. Parents are called to steward, not to save.

No Room for Pride, Lots of Room for Hope

This is an incredibly hopeful word for all people, perhaps especially for the parents who feel like they’re failing or like they have failed. It is also one that leaves no room for parenting pride.

For the parent with a prodigal, may this comfort you. You may look back on your parenting and see many failures along the way. If you haven’t taken the time to repent of them, now is the time to do it. The Lord stands ready to forgive and to comfort.

But you need to understand that your failure isn’t the reason your child has rebelled. Remember, he was born with a depraved heart, bent toward evil. Only the Lord can bend the heart toward Himself, and your child’s story is not yet fully written. Bending may be happening now that isn’t visible to the eyes.

For the parents in the trenches with kids not-yet-saved (me!), may this be an encouragement to you to keep going.

And for those of you, who like me, were saved out of unbelieving families, may you rejoice. You are living evidence that God can save despite parental failures. His hand can reach down into the darkest pit, regardless of circumstances, and save. “There is no partiality with him” (Eph. 6:9).

Every parent can take comfort and rejoice in the reality that, “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:28-29).

Praise God!

 

[1] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-best-discoveries-begin-as-problems

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A Tribute to My Midwife: The Life and Legacy of Teresa Steen https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2020/12/16/1626-2/ https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2020/12/16/1626-2/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2020 13:00:27 +0000 http://kellytarr.com/?p=1626 “A woman never stops needing mothering on the journey to becoming whole and holy. This gift of mothering is the sacred, and often hidden work, of earthly saints. My mother was among these saints, and perhaps the most loved. For she not only mothered, she held sacred space for the transformation from maiden to mother […]

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With Tirza, our third born a few days after her birth in 2012.

“A woman never stops needing mothering on the journey to becoming whole and holy.

This gift of mothering is the sacred, and often hidden work, of earthly saints. My mother was among these saints, and perhaps the most loved.

For she not only mothered, she held sacred space for the transformation from maiden to mother for me, my sisters, my aunts, cousins, and thousands of women.

She shone the brightest when she was fulfilling her life’s work as midwife. She knew the fragility and beauty of suffering in childbirth and gave every ounce of her own life to the service of protecting, witnessing, and calling forth souls earth-side.

To have had a front row as witness to her calling will forever be one of my greatest treasures.”

I’m not sure I can add to the beautiful tribute that my midwife’s daughter wrote. This afternoon, we’ll gather together to celebrate her life and grieve her death.

Boy, do I have memories with Teresa. She was more than a midwife to me–she was a spiritual mother and friend. Her midwifery practice was her ministry. I’m confident that, had the Lord (and her husband!) allowed her, she wouldn’t bat an eye at the thought of delivering my grandchildren. She loved it.

I’m a very relational person, and I wanted to know and trust the person who was going to be caring for me in my most vulnerable moments of life on this earth. I would be looking to her for care, leadership, help, and the delivery of the most precious cargo. I would need her ministry for my heart just as much as for my body and baby.

There was an instant connection. She was a kindred spirit who loved the Lord and His Word, and we shared a fondness for Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Revive Our Hearts. We always had something to talk about, and it was always edifying.

Two years ago, a year and a half after she delivered our fifth baby, she had multiple heart attacks. As soon as I learned that she was able to have visitors at the hospital, I went to see her. How could I not go and minister to this woman who ministered to me in my most vulnerable, most difficult times of physical suffering?

Who knew that the physical suffering that she helped me through would be used of God to, in turn, bring comfort to her?

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer” (2 Corinthians 1:3-6).

I snuck a picture during as we watched the ROH conference. I knew I’d want to remember this moment.

When she moved over to rehab, it was when the annual Revive Our Hearts conference took place. She traveled to Indiana every year for it, and we’d talked about going together. Since it was out of the question, I asked if I could bring my computer and watch part of it with her. We sang together, learned together, and prayed together. So, though not in the way I’d expected, it was a desire fulfilled.

To know Teresa was to know a part of the Lord’s heart that He uniquely wired her to represent. She was probably the most laid-back woman I know, with one of the weightiest responsibilities I know. Her easy-going manner was an evident manifestation of her steadfast trust in the Lord. She knew her limits and she knew her limitless God.

She knew exactly when to get down to business, when to be firm (you know, in those intense moments of “I can’t!”), when to sit back and shoot the breeze, and when to gently comfort.

I vividly remember that during labor with my fourth, she was napping at the foot of my bed. My water broke, and someone had to wake her up. It was just so typical of her. I was doing fine, so she rested. She woke up and got right down to business. It was my easiest labor.

On Easter Sunday six years ago, she and her husband left their celebration and came to our house because I was 12 weeks pregnant and began spotting. She confirmed that there was no heartbeat, and comforted me with the truth of the Lord’s sovereignty.

She had a unique combination of gifts, and I experienced Paul’s words from 1 Thess. 2:7-8 through her,

“But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (1 Thess. 2:7-8).

One of the sweetest parts of our friendship was that it had a “pick up where we left off” aspect to it. When I was pregnant, she graced my life. But in seasons when I wasn’t, she was ministering to other women. I understood that and gladly received her back into my life when it was my turn to receive her ministry. It taught me a lot about friendship and ministry.

Teresa wanted to be with Jesus. And so, I’m confident that she’s standing alongside her sister who went before her, singing to Him, laughing, and enjoying Him.

She leaves behind quite a legacy. Every woman that she ministered to has unique gifts to offer other women. To have known Teresa is to have experienced the tender, patient heart of God that births new life through trials and suffering– without flinching at the mess of it all.

He is her treasure, realized.

 

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Practicing Confession https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2020/12/10/practicing-confession/ https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2020/12/10/practicing-confession/#respond Thu, 10 Dec 2020 19:00:49 +0000 http://kellytarr.com/?p=1622 I believe part of the answer is that we are often deceived into concealing our sin. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Fear, and ultimately pride, leads us to hang onto our self-perceived image. We want to be seen as having it all together, as respectable, dignified people. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ To confess that we are jealous, gluttonous, lustful, or […]

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I believe part of the answer is that we are often deceived into concealing our sin. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Fear, and ultimately pride, leads us to hang onto our self-perceived image. We want to be seen as having it all together, as respectable, dignified people. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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To confess that we are jealous, gluttonous, lustful, or angry is embarrassing and shameful. And if we’re honest, we believe that if we reveal those things, it might affect what others think of us.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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That’s raw. But isn’t it true?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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So, we confess our sin privately to God, but we forgo the act of obedience that is confessing it to other people (Please read James 5:16 and 1 John 1:9).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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God tells us to confess our sin to others, because by bringing our sin into the light, it allows for healing that keeping it concealed simply cannot accomplish. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When we speak what’s in our heart, we disclose who we really are to other people. Dependent sinners in need of a perfect God, grace, and forgiveness. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When we willingly confess our sin, we acknowledge this. We are confessing that we need Christ, and that there is nothing good in us. This is beautiful and it pleases the Lord. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And, it’s in this posture of humility that the Lord delights to come and do a beautiful redemptive work!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It isn’t easy. It takes courage. It might even require an all-out wrestle in the Spirit. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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But Christ-following women are courageous women, because our confidence is in Him, who began a good work in us, and will finish it (Php. 1:6).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This is an excerpt from one of my past newsletters. So much more needs to be said about this vital discipline. You can read the full-length letter titled, “Confession” when you sign up for my newsletter and access the archives.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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When Change is Hard https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2020/11/16/when-change-is-hard/ https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2020/11/16/when-change-is-hard/#respond Mon, 16 Nov 2020 14:51:16 +0000 http://kellytarr.com/?p=1614   Going through change can be hard, but we must be careful not to skips step to make those changes. “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the […]

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Going through change can be hard, but we must be careful not to skips step to make those changes.

“to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God
in true righteousness and holiness”
 (Ephesians 4:1722-24, ESV).

 

Several years ago, I was stuck in a habitual pattern of despair. I would sin and then spend days spiraling downward into a dark abyss. The ticker-tape in my mind was, “You’re a terrible person.”

It was miserable and I wanted to change. In fact, I wanted to change yesterday.

For me it was despair, but for another, it may any number of other things.

 

I’m over at Club31 Women today–read the rest here.

 

 

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For Your Heart, Right Now https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2020/03/16/for-your-heart-right-now/ https://sandbox.kellytarr.com/2020/03/16/for-your-heart-right-now/#respond Mon, 16 Mar 2020 19:24:16 +0000 http://kellytarr.com/?p=1594 I’m making this issue of my newsletter public, as I pray it will serve any who read it. If you want to subscribe, scroll to the end of this article. You’ll receive a link and password to access back issues. What an interesting week it’s been. I woke up Saturday morning unsure of how to […]

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I’m making this issue of my newsletter public, as I pray it will serve any who read it. If you want to subscribe, scroll to the end of this article. You’ll receive a link and password to access back issues.

What an interesting week it’s been. I woke up Saturday morning unsure of how to process it all because of how weird it all feels.

As I lay in bed earlier tonight trying to fall asleep, a memory was jogged (so here I am telling you about it!). Though details of the day are fuzzy, I still remember sitting in chapel my junior year of college when I saw a note passed to the President of our college as he spoke. After reading the note, he made the announcement that an airplane had just flown into the Pentagon.

It was September 11, 2001.

I went back to my dorm room and turned on the TV. I remember watching at least one of the planes hit one of the Twin Towers. I tried calling home repeatedly, but received nothing but a busy signal. My college was in Tennessee, but I was from Maryland. And my dad often worked downtown in DC. “Was he working downtown today?”

A little later that morning, I was in another dorm lobby with a group of underclassmen around me. They were asking all sorts of questions, and while I don’t remember what I said, I remember speaking of the Lord. It was a strange moment, as I realized that they were looking to me, though I wasn’t much older than them.

I gave them all that I knew to give them. Jesus. He was the anchor of my heart, and I knew that He needed to be theirs.

I still hadn’t heard anything from my family.

We’re living through a unique time in history in which every single one of us is sharing in the same life event. Not one of us is exempt! Though we might each be affected in different ways, it’s a pretty remarkable reality.

And, just like on 9/11, we all need the same thing: Jesus.

So, I find myself in the same place again nearly 20 years later, offering all that I know to offer—Him.

In addition to the US, some of you are in Canada, Italy, Singapore, Austria, Norway, Slovakia, Montenegro, and the UK. Each of these countries has been affected, and in varying degrees.

How are you doing? I’d really like to know. How can I pray for you? How can we pray for you?

I wonder how you’ve been processing all that’s occurring around the world right now regarding the Corona Virus? I wonder how you’ve personally been affected?

Our family has felt the effects to a small degree. Our church meets in a school, so our typical Sunday gathering looked different this week. My husband is a small business owner, and while he hasn’t felt the effects yet, he likely will soon. We home school, but all of the local schools are closed until at least April, and my husband and I have both had upcoming events cancelled that were scheduled into April.

I did buy toilet paper last weekend at Costco when I legitimately needed some, and didn’t have an inkling that by the end of the week store shelves would be empty.

But tonight, as I type this, I find myself a little shaky. These are very uncertain times. I have questions that have no answers yet. Earlier, I realized that over the weekend, I’ve asked my husband the same question multiple times, just in a different way. I noticed I was biting the inside of my lip. The Lord helped me to see anxiety creeping in.

It seems fitting that in the last two newsletters, we’ve been considering self-awareness, especially as it relates to loving others, because now is a great time to practice it.

Each of us are thinking different thoughts, experiencing different feelings, and have varying responses to the current situation. And they each influence how we relate to others. They really do.

Right now, we have both an invitation to know the Lord more deeply and an opportunity to lead others to Him. And I strongly suspect there will continue to be opportunity in the future season when all of this is behind us.

But how we steward these opportunities now, and in the future, will hinge on how we steward the invitation being offered to our own hearts, first. Do we see this season as an opportunity to know the Lord more?

One way to tangibly love one another in this time is to be aware of what’s happening in our hearts and minds, and to pay attention to what’s coming out of us. What are we consuming through our eyes and our ears? And how is it affecting us? Is it dulling our heart before the Lord? Or is it pushing us to compassionately, sacrificially serve others?

I know that most of us have kids home with us for several weeks now, and it may seem harder to get a few minutes alone with the Lord. But I really want to encourage you that now more than ever it needs to be a priority. Not only is there uncertainty about us, but as much as we all love our kids, having them with us 24/7 will require even more of us.

We need the Lord!

I mentioned last month that I hoped to have a printable ready for you to help guide you in this journey of whole self-awareness. I’ve prayerfully worked on it, and it’s available here, in a PDF file. I hope you’ll find it helpful. Now is an opportune time to start paying attention to your heart, mind, and body if you haven’t already.

Included with the PDF are instructions. Sister, I made this with you in mind, but it is out of my own journey that it was born. When it became like second nature, the Lord helped me to see that I had something to offer someone else. I do pray it helps you in this season. Please pass it on to someone else if you think it will serve them.

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