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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein do not represent my employer's view in any way. Linked and quoted content is Copyright of the respective Owner(s). I have no control over, nor am I responsible for, the content of any other sites, or any other products or services that may be offered through other sites. Worldview: We all have one. It's the set of lenses with which we choose to view life. In a nutshell we can zero in on our worldview by asking ourselves the following questions. How did the world and ourselves come to exist and for what purpose? What happens when we die? Who is God? (One who serves us, or one whom we serve?) What do we base our answers to these questions on? Want to hear more? WUBC Choose the message on 8/6/06 by Dave Brown. Greatness: What represents greatness? Who do you think of when you think of a great person? What qualities do they have? Do they rule over people or serve people? Who's definition of greatness matters? Jesus said in Matthew 20:26b-27 "Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest, and whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all." This certainly isn't meant to imply that a person in a high position of leadership cannot be great. In fact, all have an equal opportunity to be great, but what defines them as such? Those of genuine greatness are the hands of God, the arms of Jesus, the wings of angels, lifting hurting hearts, soothing the wounded souls, shining the light of God's love and singing a song of hope. If we believe, let's get our hands in the dirt and let Him do great things through us. Be doers of the Word, and not just hearers who deceive ourselves. It is a beautiful thing when God's people are obedient to His Word. IMHO, to think ourselves great is to equate ourselves with God, the only Great one. We can however, with a servant's heart, allow Him to do great things through us. (Credit to WUBC Assoc. Pastor Roger Patterson's message on Greatness. ) Listen to him online at WUBC Obedience: The law itself cannot forgive. It cannot cleanse the heart or keep it clean. The law makes us conscious of our transgressions. By viewing the law and comparing our lives, we understand the need for a pardon. Only the giver of the law can pardon our transgression. Read Isaiah 53 a foretelling of the great pardon. In receiving the great pardon, we can be released from the bondage of unrighteousness and in turn seek His righteousness with humility and love through sanctification, knowing that all good things come from God. Sanctification: This is the work of the Holy Spirit, in the believer, to make us aware of our sin and to draw us nearer to God and to give us the desire to conform to Him. But even as we (the believer) draw closer and conform more, we are still being made aware of how much is left to do in us, through the process of sanctification. It is important as believers, not to cling to sin under the grace of forgiveness. What is our attitude toward our own sin? Can we easily yield to that (our sin) which caused our Lord such great suffering? Does the believer have a handful of free tickets to sin because we are operating under grace? No. I believe our challenge, as believers, is to see what the Word says about (sin and the believer) and operate under that truth. Reading Ezek 18:24-28, Isa 59:2-3, James 4:8-10, Hebrews 10:26-29, Romans 6:16, 1Cor 10:13, 1John 2:4, 5:4, 5:18, 2Cor13:5, Gal 4:9, 1Peter 1:15-6, Rom 6:14, 16, 17, 18 & 22 etc.. will help us understand God's position on the believer and sin. Now, having said that, it is very important to understand that as believers, we live out the law by faith, because it is written on our hearts. The distinction would perhaps best be made by saying that (though we are still under the law - Matthew 5:17-20) our faith is in the One who came to fulfill it, that He may live in us and through us, that we may see Sin as He sees it, and focus on loving Him, heeding His words and conforming to Him. In prophesy of the new covenant... "I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them. I will remove their hearts of stone and give them tender hearts of love for God, so that they can obey my laws." Ez 11:19-20a. Where does that leave us? I believe it leaves believers in the process of sanctification, which is, allowing Him to examine us and purify us, through submission to Him. Happy New Year! 2007 is here. It's a good time to evaluate what we thought about 2006 and where we want to go from here. I'm choosing to view the future with optimism and not live in a spirit of fear. America has developed quite a reputation in our very recent history, but I submit that America has a bigger issue than whether or not we were right to invade Iraq, where our troops should be now and who's for and against us. There's no mistaking these are huge debatable issues, but I think an equally or more important issue is the deteriorating moral fabric of our nation and the consequences thereof. I cannot drive down the freeway with my children without cringing from what little eyes are seeing on billboards and graffiti. Much of the movies, television, music, media and the internet is shamefully appalling. Playing outside isn't even 100% safe. It's time not only to evaluate the big external issues but the big internal issues in our homes and in our nation. What choices are we making and what are we exposing our children and ourselves to? When I often consider the possibility that God has taken His protective hand off our nation, I am reminded of 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Isn't it time for our land to be healed? Perhaps in 2007 we can evaluate what part we can play in the hope of the future. God spelled it out, but we as a nation and as individuals have to turn back to Him. Some interesting facts about America: Columbus wrote in his diary that it was the Holy Spirit moving in his heart, according to the prophesies of the Old Testament, to take the gospel to the new world. His name means Christ Bearer. Contrary to some believing that Christians are aliens who have come here to intrude ourselves into this secular culture, the Pilgrims actually came here as a church relocation project. There was a small Separatist Church in a little town in England that was being persecuted by the authorities. They decided to leave the country so they could worship the bible in peace, first moving to Holland where religious liberty was allowed, and then onto the New World because the culture of the youth in Holland was negatively affecting their children. America was the new home for their church. When the colonies got together later, they together said they all came for the same reason, for the building up of the Kingdom of our Lord and for the ability to worship freely... Freedom of religion, not freedom from religion was the purpose. The Pilgrims built this country upon the teachings found in the scripture. Thomas Jefferson, who we are routinely told is the author of "Separation of Church and State" was the head of public education in Wash D.C. while he was the president. He actually insisted on 2 books being taught in the public schools, the Bible and Watt's Hymnal. The ACLU talks about separation of church and state, which is not found in the constitution of the United States, though it was found in the constitution of the Soviet Union. It in fact was originally stated in a letter from Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists, that they needn't fear the Govt interfering in their religious activities because the Govt had established a plan to keep the Fed Govt from interfering in the church. Though the ACLU would say the idea of a public institution being used for prayer is unconstitutional. Thomas Jefferson attended the largest congregation of Christians in America, every Sunday for 7 years, which met in the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress. Salt is meant to keep the body from utter destruction and decay. A problem in America is getting the salt out of the salt shaker. Many don't want to get involved because life is comfortable in the salt shaker. When we retreat and leave the playing field to others, hoping the unpleasantness will just go away, it doesn't. We also live in a time where America cannot decide what is evil and what is good. The Bible says "Woe to them that call good; evil and evil; good". Credit to Dr. James Kennedy's sermon entitled "Why Reclaiming America?" TruthsThatTransform What is Martyrdom? Education = Wealth? I was listening to a "CNN Presents" program recently with several guests including Rick Warren. Many of Rick's comments were very compelling, some of which I will share here. Comments paraphrased. *Of Martyrdom he said "It is not- I blow myself up to kill you. That's just pure murder. Martyrdom is when I lose my life to defend my faith." *Of Money he said "We are a selfish people, wanting what we what, when we want it, and we want it now, and will use many things to get it, business, education, religion, politics, etc... But our worth is not in the abundance of things we posess. Your value has nothing to do with your valuables and your net- worth and self- worth are not the same thing. Jesus said don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth. Money is to be used and not loved. It is a tool. If we love money, we use people to acquire it. Instead, love people and use money to do it." All true, and when he mentioned using education for selfish reasons I thought about how we tell our children in response to them saying they want to be wealthy when they grow up, to study hard and make good grades and get a good education so they can "have", when we should be saying to them, get a good education so you can make a difference in the world or "give". Analogy of a vine What is a branch without it's living vine? Let's look at a couple of examples of branches. Perhaps walking along the path after a windy season, we see a branch from an apple tree lying on the ground, leaves dead, wood brittle. We can make some assumptions about that branch: It is not alive, not fruitful, not attached to life, not partaking of the living waters. It is lifeless, dead and ineffective at producing fruit. On that same journey we may also see, as we walk past a house, a faux rose bush in a pot on the porch. What assumptions could be made about that faux plant? It looks beautiful on the outside and has been carefully crafted to have the appearance of an authentic rose bush. It is never watered, because it is a rose bush in appearance only, but at it's core isn't alive, nor does it bear authentic fruit. Though it looks alive, it is dead. On that same journey, you may pass a strawberry vine along a fence, alive and fruitful. What would you wonder? Perhaps where it is planted. Perhaps how it is tended and what it is fed to bear such lovely fruit. Perhaps you might wonder who will partake of the fruit and you might be tempted to partake yourself. You know that without the vine, the branch can do nothing and that the branch bears fruit not for itself at all but rather for others to partake of, lest it fall off in waste. The branch feeds off the vine daily and is fed and bears fruit. The Lord says "Abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches." Credit to WUBC "IT" 4/29/07 and John Chapter 15. TestimonialsKathy, thank you for making our house purchase so smooth and for always going the extra mile. I can't express how appreciative I am. You are simply phenomenal at what you do. Thanks Kathy for all of your hard work! We enjoyed working with you. Not only did you meet our expectations, but you exceeded them. With all of the things we had to do to get moved back from Hawaii & settled in Houston with a new baby, we knew we didn't have to worry about house hunting with your help. I had so much to think about and knowing you were looking our for us was so helpful. You really went above and beyond, and we are so grateful! - Amy & Chris P. (Buyers) I loved having Kathy Carrow as my agent. I had my home on the market previously with another agent and it didn’t receive one offer in three months because it wasn’t priced correctly. Kathy took the time to determine the appropriate listing price as well as advertising and holding an open house. Within the first few days of listing with her, I had three offers, one at listing price. I would recommend Kathy to anyone who is in the market to buy or sell their home in Houston. - Natalie W. (Seller) You exceeded my expectations. Buying my first home alone was very scary. With all of the requirements & paperwork to take care of, I really needed someone to be patient and guide me through the process. You really made me feel at ease and made the experience very enjoyable. You were always there to answer questions and took care of all of the details so efficiently. I will absolutely refer you to anyone that ever looks to purchase a home. I couldn't have gotten through it without you! You were excellent! - Lori F. (Buyer) Driving around one Saturday afternoon around 3p, my wife and I saw the house we wanted. We called Kathy immediately as we were on our way out to a previous engagement. Kathy did all the behind the scenes magic and by 9:30p that night, we had a signed contract. Kathy reacted quickly to make sure we got our new home. It was an amazingly smooth process. Kathy was not only fast and efficient, but communicated and educated us on every step of the process in a very easy to understand manner. Impeccable service and we would highly recommend Kathy to family, friends or anyone buying a home. - Brett & Tracy S. (Buyers) We were extremely pleased with your services. We found that you were always so sweet, very helpful, professional & caring. You always answered our emails promptly, reassured us, and patiently answered all of our questions. We felt very confident knowing that you were there for us. We also never felt pressured, which was appreciated greatly. We would definitely recommend your services to our friends. We would also use you again if we decided to sell our home, eventually. We found the checklist to be a great help. It made us aware of everything happening & helped us to stay on track. (I loved the fact that you were so organized, very specific & so knowledgeable. You're the best! -Dalya & Avraham C (Buyers) As always, Kathy is a dream to work with! She is great about explaining things to rookie sellers, (and not so rookie too) following through on all the little details & being very easy to get a hold of! I am thankful that such a great Realtor is on my side! Thank you for another great real estate experience!
-Necia B. (Seller) Kathy helped us purchase our new house which was a great experience, so of course we enlisted Kathy again to sell our townhouse. Not only did we have a contract on the house in 1 month, but we got $5000 over asking price and the townhouse sold for $19,000 more than any other townhouse in the complex of fourteen units. We always had a current stock of flyers out front & would see people tuning their radio to the "Talking House" station to take a listening tour before scheduling an appointment. Everything fell into place & we could not have asked for anything more! A great experience again! -Tracy & Brett S. (Sellers) Your tireless efforts making sure every detail of the home purchase and closing went smoothly for us, even from California, putting your personal health aside, so that we, as a newly married couple, could feel the pure joy of buying OUR first home together, you are truly an incredibly special person. -Mark & Samantha W. (Buyers) I hope you are feeling well and that your health is on the upswing! You are still in my prayers! And you are so sweet, helping me while you aren't feeling 100% was beyond the call of duty! You were my angel and my rock! Thanks again so much for all of your help, knowledge & encouragement! I really appreciate all the hard work you have done.
-Jill R. (Seller) We started working with Kathy in 2003. Initially Tina was looking for a condo for herself. After looking at a few of them, we realized that, if we were going to be together for a while, a condo might not be the best way to go. So we put the search off. Several months later, after we were engaged, we resumed the search for a townhome. This search seemed to take forever as we just couldn't make a decision. All the while Kathy remained optimistic and patient with us. After several more months of futility, we decided that we wanted stop looking because we weren't sure we were going to be staying in Houston for any length of time. After finding out that a job was going to keep us here for a few years, we decided that it was time to pick up the home search again. So we set out to find a house. The reason I bring up the story of all this is to illustrate how great Kathy was to work with. She was always available when we needed her. We were probably 2 of the more difficult clients for her to work with (They were never difficult!) and at no time did we feel pressured or uncomfortable. We were sure that she was getting sick of all of our indecision, (never) but the exact opposite was true. She remained confident, when we were feeling hopeless. We must have seen over 100 properties over the years and she stuck with us like we were her only clients. Kathy was absolutely dedicated to helping us find our perfect home, and most importantly, to feel at peace with the decision we made. We could go on and on about this entire experience. We honestly couldn't imagine purchasing a house without her. Aside from her patience, her real estate expertise proved invaluable to us as first time home buyers. In instances where we were unsure about any number of issues that arise in the whole process, she was quick with an answer that set us at ease. Whether it was repairs, financing, taxes, or inspections, Kathy had the answer. Kathy gave us 150% during the entire process and exceeded all of our expectations. This experience was a pleasure and we have Kathy to thank for it. Because we've had such a positive experience with Kathy, we've already referred a few friends to her over the years and will continue to do so. Dear Kathy, Sorry this took so long to get to you. We wanted to be sure we expressed our thanks to you properly. We were so lucky to have you as our agent. We had previously used someone else and found no comparison. You explained everything from beginning to end so that we would understand. You were always cheerful and pleasant to deal with. You had endless patience and a constant smile. We couldn't have asked for more. Thank you a million times. We are so happy in our home and we owe the thanks to you. May you have continued success and continued good health to be able to help others as you have helped us. There is nothing that we can think of that you didn't take care of. Thank you! Kathy, you made the whole process easy. It was very nice to get your views and expertise when it came to staging and arranging the house for the best possible look. You were on top of everything from the flyers to the negotiation. We had such a great experience with you when it came to buying the house that there was really no doubt in who to choose to help us sell it. You got us what we needed for the house in a time when nothing was selling, much less for what we needed. Thanks! And we will definitely refer friends to you as well as look for you to help us in the future.
-Lauren (Buyer)
"Kathy was great. She got our house sold in about 2 months and that was during the dead season. And it was the highest priced per square foot house on the market at the time. I think we single-handedly raised the comps for the neighborhood. She has some pretty neat marketing methods, too." -Kris (Buyer) Thank you and I appreciate your feedback. I am learning in the process and value your experience & knowledge on questions and answers. I have found to trust you and feel comfortable with your assistance vs. other Realtors. You have been one of the most trustworthy Realtors I have ever worked with. ...I will always keep you in mind in referring others to you. I hope to work with you again in a buying or selling another home.
Email me a Testimonial about your experience to KathyCarrow@Yahoo.com
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Kathy Carrow
Accredited Luxury Home Specialist
and "Talking House" Realtor
See Bio below ...
www.KathyCarrow.com
| Name | Kathy Carrow |
| Phone Office Toll Free Fax |
(713) 723-5432 - Direct (Best) |
| Office Address |
Keller Williams Houston Metropolitan Office 550 Post Oak Blvd. Suite 350 Houston TX 77027 |
| Website |
www.KathyCarrow.com KathyCarrow@KW.com |
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I got into Real Estate with a desire to inform and educate. I feel strongly that one should complete a home purchase or sale knowing that they were completely informed and taken care of. For that reason, I especially enjoy working with first and second time Homebuyers or Sellers who particularly need consultation and advice. My business is all about you and how I can make the buying or selling process as easy as possible for you. Looking for a Christian Realtor in Houston, Texas? While loyalty, honesty, analytical & problem solving skills, teamwork, keen negotiating techniques, technology, Internet, resources, networking, experience and a state-of-the-art marketing system make up framework of my business, I care about my clients and am committed to providing excellent service. Please take a moment to view my Client Feedback page. My desire is to help any buyer or seller in Houston complete a real estate transaction blissfully satisfied! Notable: License Designations and Affiliations: Completed over 260 hours of Real Estate specific certified training including the following: It's certainly fine to post those all of the designations, awards, etc... but, I know that what you really care about is not what all I'm involved in, have won and this and that, but more importantly, what I can do for you today, how I will listen to you, and whether or not your needs will be met. Hopefully my Testimonials will give you a glimpse into what your experience will be. What's important to me is that you walk away happy. Email or call me with any questions. I look forward to being your Realtor.
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