Asking God if He could play it again...

So this coming Monday marks 2 years that I have been married to my sweet husband, and today starts what I have deemed Anniversary Weekend Palooza, which really just means that this weekend will be spent going places and enjoying time with the man I love. I plan on doing a whole blog dedicated to October 3 and all that in entails, but I thought I would start the weekend off by sharing the song we chose almost 6 years ago to be "Our Song" (I have come to realize that it is fun to choose a different song to represent each season of life, but this is the one that started it all. I knew any boy who would sing along to T-Swift with me was a keeper!)

Heavy Heart

Today my heart is heavy. As most of you know I work in the construction field as a secretary. This isn't my dream job, but I have definitely met some interesting characters and had some experiences that I otherwise would not have had. Having said this, there is one worker in particular that for some reason has always had a soft spot in my heart. He is a little rough around the edges and most people don't care for him, but for some reason I like him. He is always friendly to me and I always feel like he looks out for me.

For a few weeks now, we have been talking about sharing our faith and discipling at Shoal Creek. Each time this subject has come up this man has popped in my head. I have prayed for opportunities to share with him and have even prayed for the right words to say, but each time I could have said something I felt like it wasn't the right time. Last week, he wasn't at work. This is highly unusual because this guy is at work, even when he isn't supposed to be. I was told he was in the hospital and they were doing some tests. The tests came back this weekend and he has lung cancer. In our field you don't work when you have cancer and I don't know when I will see this man again. I am confident that he is not a believer, but the one ray of hope I have is that this man's son also works with me. I am praying that I will get another chance to share with him and possibly even minister to him and his family during this time.

Please pray with me that Dennis will not only come to know Jesus, but that he might be healed. Also please keep me in your prayers as I seek to share and minister in this situation. Pray that God will give me wisdom and boldness in what I feel called to do.

Where my heart is...

So recently I have been struggling with where I am in life. Let me first begin by telling you a little about where Drew and I are specifically. First and foremost we have two very exciting things taking place. One we should be closing on our house before the end on the month. This purgatory of renting has not been my idea of fun, but I feel like God gave us this experience for a number of reasons. I feel like number one this season has taught me a little bit more in my journey of impatience, and has hopefully made me a more understanding person which will translate into making me a better person to rent from should Drew and I decide to have rental properties in the future. We really have had an easy time of it, with the lady who currently owns our house allowing us to make it our own. Secondly for those of you who are unaware, Drew and I recently moved our membership to Shoal Creek Baptist Church. This was not a decision we made lightly and I will say that it was a very hard decision to leave our former church. We loved so many of the people there and much of who we are spiritually was a result of growing up there. God gives us seasons in life, and we both knew that season was over. Although hesitant at first, I know God knew exactly what He was doing in sending us to Shoal Creek. I don't think either of us could have imagined what God had and continues to have in store for us here. In just a few months God is growing and working in both of our lives in ways I never could have imagined. For the first time in our married life we are in a "grownup" class and have taken a break from teaching the sweet little ones. Although I know that children's ministry is where my heart lies, I also feel like God wants me to take a step back from teaching Sunday School for a while so He can use other couples our age to help grow and strengthen our walk with Him. I am excited to be teaming up with my sweet friend Amy Hallagin once again to teach Preschool Choir in the evenings, though. This is the first time I have done a class with preschoolers, but not the first time I have worked with Amy, we make a good team and with the good Lord on our side I think we can handle it.

Having said all this I find myself in a very strange place. I don't know that I would call it a place of discontent, but rather a place of confusion. I don't really know where I am supposed to be. My heart wants to be at home working on my small craft business, which with God's blessing has been doing remarkably well,as well as at home cooking and cleaning for my hardworking husband. At the same time, it is hard to step out with something like this because some weeks may be great, and other weeks I may not sell a thing. I find myself sitting at my desk at work thinking about all the things I could be doing at home and wondering what I am doing with my life. I graduate in December (hopefully) and I am constantly bombarded with the question of what I am going to do with a Communications degree. I DON"T KNOW! I understand that God had me take that path for a reason, but that reason has yet to be revealed to me. In all honesty the driving force behind my college career was a promise I made to my grandfather that I would finish and finish strong.  Really there is no other reason, I chose Communications because it interested me and if I was going to study something for 4....5 years it might as well be something fun. Having said all that Communications, being a secretary-- neither one of those things makes me feel as fulfilled as it does when I have an opportunity to stay home and clean the house from top to bottom before Drew gets home. I love having a hot meal on the table for him and I get a tiny thrill in the pit of my stomach each time I see that someone has ordered something else from my little crafting business. That is where I want to be, but alas it seems like the whole world feels like you should be in the work place until you have kids. What about I love Lucy? She wasn't out wasting her life away pushing papers while Ricky sang La Bamba, no she was at home cleaning and getting into trouble with her BFF Ethel. My Ethel lives in Nashville now, but I am sure we would find a way to do something that would make Drew say "KIMBERLY, you got some splainin' to do!"

This is where I am, where my heart is, and a little of where I want to be. Prayers and words of wisdom are appreciated.

sisters from a different mister

Today is my BFF Jenna's birthday. Since about the 8th grade we have spent our birthdays together in some form or fashion. This year I visited her in Nashville and had an absolutely wonderful time. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures so I am forced to pull from the past and share these little doosies with you...

We have the papers to prove we are at least halfway intelligent. 

 

We are also slightly disturbed.

We have commonly been referred to as the Colgate twins.

We go on roadtrips and occasionally wear matching shirts.

This is just a small sampling of the hundreds (and I do mean hundreds) of pictures we have taken over the years. She wrote about me here last week, and it pretty much sums up our relationship and how precious she is. We know each other. She knows that sometimes I think without speaking, that sometimes I sound harsh even when that isn't my intention, she knows my insecurities and strives to help me overcome them, she listens to me talk about my struggles and then offers godly counsel, she knows about my past and will always be a part of my future. She is my girl and I will snatch a weave for her any day. HAHA!

 

Hey, hey it’s my birthday!!!

I always do a blog on my birthday and this year is no different. I decided to share 23 things about myself. Some things you probably already know and others you might be surprised to find out.

23. I love to make things like this…

22. These girls make me happy…

21. I choose to randomly quote movies in my everyday life especially from my favorite movie.It goes a little something like this…

 

20. I still love to play dress up…

19. I still believe in fairy tales…

18. Lemonade is my most favorite…

 

17. “The Office” is the perfect example of my sense of humor…

 

16. I refuse to use a porta potty no matter how bad I have to go.

15. I love a good book.

14. These people made me..and I love them dearly!

13. I love a good Disney movie…

12. This girl is my partner in crime…

 

11. I love me some Auburn football!

10. My affection for Mr. Rogers has lead to an affection for wearing old man sweaters.

9. I actually believe this is one of the most magical places on earth…

8. I thrive off of imagination and dreams…

7. I am an old soul and I love art like this…Hey Norman Rockwell, hey!

6. I love to write.

5. I have an affinity for beautiful trees,

4. WWII is my favorite war/period to study.

3. I love that I look like these two ladies!

2. I love a pretty dress…

1. This boy has my heart!

http://www.nexisphotography.com/slideshow/KimberlyDrewWedding/

It is just a building

There is an old white church on a country road not far from my house. This church is a place in which my pappa preached hundreds of sermons, a place where my grandma played the piano and taught me Sunday School. It is the building my parents first went to church in as babies, the building they pledged their love and lives to each other in; it is the place where both my grandparents, one set of great grandparents and an aunt are buried. To me this has always been a sacred place, a place where all could be right with the world and a place where God’s presence must surely be. Having said all that, this place that I have held so dear is now someone’s home.

I have long struggled with this fact and wonder how a place once meant to shepherd God’s flock could ultimately become a house of sin. I’ve wondered why the powers that be allowed this to happen, I have also wondered why those who now reside there would desecrate a place that they know the significance of. All these thoughts and musings have become a point of bitterness in my life.

Today I was presented with a situation in which I was forced to face those who have taken that place I love so much and have transformed it into a place I can barely stand to look at. Initially my flesh told me to either avoid the situation all together or tell this person what an awful thing they have done. I could have done these things and to tell you the truth I wanted to, but instead I chose to pray. I prayed that God would guard my tongue and allow me to be calm in the face of this situation. As I prayed, it was as if God spoke to me and said “Kimberly, you know that it is just a building. I haven’t been there for a very long time, and as much as you want them to be your grandparents aren’t there either. You need to let go.”

I must say it was a moment of clarity. A moment in which my bitterness melted away, and I felt truly convicted. While I still long for the glory days that building had and I long to see it returned to its former state as a house of worship, I understand that it is JUST a building. God’s hand has long been removed and my sin of anger is equal to those living in that place I once called sacred. I don’t tell you this to tell you how spiritual I am (because I frankly have a long way to go) nor do I tell you this to say that I even behaved in a manner that I should have. I still felt myself being short with this individual and got out of the situation as quickly as I could. I failed on so many levels, and I realize that.

I tell you this story to tell you that I realized something today. I have so idolized my grandparents and their life of service that I have made the places and things they were a part of, a sort of shrine to them. So much of who they were, made me who I am and has influenced many of the decisions I have made in life. I am thankful for who they were and that they made Christ the center of their lives, but all this time I think I have been missing the point. Rather trying to be more like them, I need to be more like HIM, the one who made them who they were. Rather than putting all my passion into preserving the earthly things they left behind I need to foster the spiritual things they taught me. I need to be sharing Christ with those around me, I need to be serving in the church through music and through teaching both children and youth. God clearly gave me a love for both of those things and I know that much of that comes from the love my grandparents had for those things as well. So while I am serving Christ I am also honoring those precious heroes of the faith as well.

Yes, today God opened my eyes to things I didn’t want to see. He showed me that things are just that—things. And while I need to hold on to some things my grandparents left behind, that place down the road isn’t one of them, because after all it is JUST a building.

Starting over…

So most of you know that a few months ago our house was broken into and I was devastated to find that my grandma’s spoon collection was one of the things stolen. At first I thought it was all over, but a few weeks after it happened some very precious friends gave me the inspiration to start over. During one of our famous game nights I walked over to see that each of my friends present had drawn me a spoon and taped it on my wall. Although a small gesture, this was something that not only touched my heart but also made me realize that I should start over.

My grandma was an inspirational woman of God. She taught me so much, and I feel like this process of moving on and starting over is something that she would have wanted. In some small way this is another way of carrying on her legacy and another story that I can share with my granddaughter one day in the same way that she shared with me.

I began the process a little backwards. I wanted to have a spoon rack first, but you would be amazed at how difficult these are to find. I have searched and searched and I had a hard time finding one that even resembled the one I had. The one above is what I ended up with. Anyway, as I said, I started without the spoon rack because a precious friend, Tracey Maggard, gave me some spoons that her grandmother had collected. The collection grew with a trip to Gatlinburg, and continued growing when BFF Jenna came back from Brazil. I even managed to find a Mexico spoon online that is almost identical to the one my grandma had. I actually bought a spoon at Disney World, but it is hiding somewhere in a bag that has yet to be discovered.

It is still a little sad to look over and see that the rack isn’t full and as pretty as the one I originally had, but eventually I will have each slot filled and lots of memories to go with them.