Things we learned in March

Holly and Kelly: March was a busy and somewhat slow month for us. Here's what we learned.

Sometimes, you have to say no: even if it's to an old friend who wants to re open the lines of communication. We had to say no; it wasn't even an option. It wasn't worth the risk of possibly things being ok for a while, then back to the same old stuff. You get to a point in your life where you are free to make those decisions, and we lived with the consequences of said choice for too long. We are both at points in our lives where we made peace with the situation and have moved on. Neither of us have heard from this friend since, which says to us our point exactly.

Priorities change: We've put our relationship with each other on the back burners, and are now going to be taking the time to spend time with each other in prayer and devotionals. Over the last few weeks we have done this, it has been astounding to hear about what God is doing in each of our lives. It's been extremely beneficial to the both of us!

Time away is essential: Even if it's just for a few days. The time we were able to spend in Florida was....amazing. Seeing the sunrise on the beach...it was just one of those moments that make you realize how much of a masterpiece artist God is. Neither one of us thought about obligations we had at home, whether at work, things to do in the house, whatever. Take some time to just get out of work for a while; you will be amazed at how much better you feel. 

 God is working: In Kentucky, people! Over the past few months, but more regularly this month, we've been visiting another church with Holly's bf and some friends of ours. We're NOT leaving our current church anytime soon, but it's been super amazing to see the body of Christ working elsewhere in Madison county. He's doing some great things in His body, people, and it has been a privilege to see that work come to life. Also, we had the opportunity to sing with a church from London in a combined service for Easter. It was a long day, but full of blessings to celebrate our risen Lord. (There's a link at the bottom of the page for your viewing pleasure. Buckle up though...it's an hour and ten minutes long...)

Basketball....nah: We suck at basketball. Really, REALLY, suck. There's a reason God called us to work at Grow Appalachia and to be a nurse and to NOT be professional basketball players. Thank God! 


Easter program
Basketball part 1
Basketball part 2 (Kelly's shame)

Let's go to church!

Kelly: This is something that has been stirring around us just recently actually. And first and foremost, apologies for the lack of posts. 2016 has been off to a GREAT start, but new found friends, work, and other things have gotten in the way. Anyway, like I said, it's only been recently that this has stirred in us a desire to blog about this, but it's something I'm sure every church has experienced. Some call them not regular goers, I call them "Creasters," or those who only attend church on Christmas, Easter, one or the other or both. And then there's me. I am a member of one church by definition, another church I regularly attend doesn't necessarily believe in "members," and the third I attend twice a month on Saturday nights. Yes. I regularly attend 3 churches. Now some of you I'm sure are asking....well, why?

Because I want to.

Seriously. That's it. While it is a requirement of Christians to attend church and fellowship regularly with other believers, for me, it's a choice. It really is that simple; I want to. My needs are met each time at each church I attend and I get something new and exciting out of each one. I have connections to each one that I care very much about. And this isn't to say I have no intention of leaving the church I have called home for nearly 7 and a half years, no. Not at all! But it's really awesome and moving to see how God's people are working across Madison County; it's pretty incredible. Lives are being changed for Him!!!!! That's what's important. I'm not telling you about my 3 church attendance to brag, not at all. But this fact has had me thinking about the other end of the spectrum; those who for whatever reason used to go to church and have stopped going or "church hop," as I call it. They find a church, things go really well, and then they leave and the cycle repeats over and over. I'm still not sure why that happens, honestly. I think part of the reason is that for some reason someone feels ostracized or "bullied" is another word I think seems fit, and instead of just letting folks get absorbed in their...ostracized...ness? (ok....) that we as the church should be asking what led them away from their previous church and how we can make them feel welcome. Sometimes that may not always work, and it's incredibly frustrating. I've witnessed folks from my home church, regular attendees and who were very plugged in members, just up and leave suddenly. They've never come back. I'm not entirely sure they've been invited back. Why not? Those are the kind of questions we should be asking. And it's something that part of my churches have been asking and wondering ourselves.

So if you're reading this and haven't been to church in a while, why not? What's stopping you? If you're one of those "church hoppers," why do you leave from church to church? If you want someone to talk to, talk to me. I'd be happy to discuss and answer any questions you have about church. Because let me tell you, if it's the stereotypical "Christians" you see on the media or have experienced firsthand that you're deterred from, it's ok. I am too.

 Holly: Here's my thing on church: If you go to church, and then leave because YOUR needs aren't being met, because YOU'RE not getting fed, then I think you've completely missed the point. It's not about you.  It's about God!

I believe that attending church, regularly, is not only crucial in a Christian walk, it's obedience to God. I believe that when we attend church, we are responding to His faithfulness to us.  We are giving back a portion of our time and spiritual gifts to Him- He doesn't give us those things just for us to keep to ourselves. Because of that, I think the other things (the ability to meet physical and emotional needs, elements of service to the community and congregation, and fellowship among members) are the results, or byproducts, if you will, of attending in the first place! And as for it being crucial: Man, it is so much easier for the enemy to attack us when we're just by ourselves. If we're surrounded with a network of strong, faithful believers who are investing in you, I think you're a much stronger adversary against the enemy. And let's face it; God designed us to be relational creatures. We're simply not made to go through life alone!

Sometimes,  and I've heard many conversations over the years, people leave church for just all the reasons we've mentioned. While I'm not going to sit here and tell you that you're wrong, I would just encourage those who might be in that boat to stop and think for a moment: God often puts us in situations that are outside of our comfort zone. God often uses difficult people or circumstances to teach us about grace and how we should react to those circumstances or treat those difficult people. Because, once again, it's not about you.

P.S. While writing this we've mused at just how much we miss this, this blogging thing, so we'll be back on a more frequent basis. God bless y'all! Thanks for reading! :)

Schtuff twin girls say, volume 8

A few special guests this time around...enjoy! (Warning: a minor and censored expletive below)

Holly: (to her computer) Why do you suck so much?

Kelly: Sis, did you just pour your water into the cat's bowl?
Holly: So? He likes it.
Kelly: Of course he does. He's a cat (I continue to ramble for a bit)
Holly: Kelly, your pizza isn't spinning.

Holly: What do you think cats pray for?
Kelly: Wiley probably prays for more food.

Kelly: Oh, you mean the 456? Don't they just throw up when they don't get their way?

Holly: How was your pumpkin spice latte? Hope it sucked.

Kelly: (while having girl's night). Can someone capable of adulting open the wine please?

Holly: by the way I'm texting boy right now. 

Kelly: (impersonating general Strax) BOY!!!!!

(Holly proceeds to bust out laughing)

(Kelly was explaining cat scratch fever)
Holly: Isn't there something like that that you can get from dogs?
Kelly: Rabies

Holly: I'm about to turn my computer on. Say a prayer for me.

Kelly: (talking to the parents). Yeah...we had to fire the maid. 
Dad: B****....(we lost it)  

 Kelly: I'm not irate. I promise (I wasn't.)
Dad: (in faux angry voice) WHAT DO YOU MEAN????!!!!!  

Bonus from church choir:
Holly: Alan (our church choir director), you were a music major. Didn't you have to learn how to play the piano?
Alan: Get out! (Followed by a series of laughter and defenses from other music majors and 'there's no way you could learn every instrument in 4 years.' And all were kidding.)
Alan: I was a music major. Don't you know how to play the BASSOON??? (more laughter)

Kelly: Look at this pile of nothing I have to do today.

Kelly: (enters the room with a pudding cup) It's the rise of the Pudding Brains!
(Holly dies laughing)

All things Halloween!

Holly and Kelly: Happy Halloween! If you are going out with your family/children trick or treating, please be safe and enjoy yourselves! Our parents are going to the block party back home...which will be interesting to hear about. Anyway, we had some fun this year. Yesterday, both of us had to work and we were allowed to dress up. It was a lot of fun; Holly went as the 12th Doctor and I went as a Hobbit. Also....me and a co worker had some fun with fake mustaches.

The Doctor will see you now. 

Took this when I got home. Furry Wiley too :)

This is probably why we're both still on the market :P

So like I said, we had a lot of fun yesterday. Today being the actual day, as per usual, we helped at an event at church called Hallelujah Harvest. It involves a lot of children packed into the fellowship hall at church with games, some food and a ridiculous amount of candy. It's amusing that a couple of weeks before the event everyone's always like "we need candy!" Yet there's always an abundance and we always have a ton left over, so we took some for us; that miniature hoard is now sitting at the kitchen table. And now Wiley is watching all the children around our neighborhood go trick or treating; we forgot :( Every year at Hallelujah Harvest, sis and I do a duo costume...makes sense, huh? A few years ago we did Holmes and Watson, and last year we did the 10th Doctor and Rose Tyler. Well, this year we were struggling to come up with something to do. Finally, at like 10:00 at night I was like "Holly, we should just dress up as each other." So she wore a set of my scrubs and I wore one of her Grow App shirts and threw one of her scarves on and we were opposite twins for Halloween. Now tell me, aren't I a clever girl? 

Honestly, we're not really into Halloween that much. We went to a Halloween party one year and had lots of fun, but we've never hosted one. It's just fun for us to dress up, be silly and get lots of candy. So in other words, we just act like big kids....which is what we do anyway. So there you have it. Have a good one, you all and remember to have fun and act like your kids too. 

Who knew twins were reversible? 

Adios to 2014: Looking ahead to 2015 and what's to come

Holly and Kelly: With the end of 2014 just 2 days away, we thought this would be a good time to wrap up our blogging for the year and look ahead to what the new year may or may not have in store for us. We decided to do this today because tomorrow we're packing up to head to Ohio, working, taking care of things before we ring in 2015 on the road. To start, 2014 was a great year for the two of us! We both experienced some firsts, went to a lot of concerts and met some awesome musicians who love the Lord, went to A Long Expected Party and bonded with fellow Ringers and bonded over why and how Tolkien's work has changed our lives for the better. Saw the end of an era with The Hobbit. Holly found a job that makes her happy (from Holly: finally) and as for me, even after thinking earlier this year I was going to lose my job found myself getting my act together and not only being a better nurse but just an all around better person. Having said that, here are a few goals we have laid out for 2015 and perhaps beyond:

Remember who we are and whose we are: A simple reminder that we are children of God and that God made us because He loves us so much! This point was in a sermon a few months ago and it has really stuck with us. It reminds us of what He has brought us through and that He will continue to provide our needs, no matter what they are. It reminds us to not worry about what may or may not happen but to really just trust in Him because He's going to take care of us!

"Let me get that." From another sermon that the youth pastor at our church gave. The youth group went on a mission trip earlier this summer, and this was their mentality and sort of motto in order to prevent burnout from a long week of hard work. For whenever we are feeling worn out and just tired, this simple phrase will hold with us to remember to always extend a helping hand, whether we're at work, church, home, wherever. This rolls into Romans 12:11-13, which starts out by saying never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. It's so easy to do that when you're doing something you love. It's easy for the two of us because we absolutely love our jobs. But even the best loved jobs have crappy days, and sometimes we really don't feel like being enthusiastic for Jesus. But we've found even the simplicity of just putting on a smile can go a long way. Give it a go.

Clean up song: I know some of you are thinking....ok, what? When we saw tobyMac last month, he was talking about when he was cleaning up the kitchen with his family he played one of his new singles as the "clean up song." We just looked at each other and were like...we need to do that. So before we clean up the kitchen or whatever, we pick a clean up song, usually a dancey one, and clean up while we sing, dance and whatnot. It's prevented a lot of arguing about who does what and it makes the mundane tasks more fun!

Eat at the table: I know this seems simple, but we rarely eat dinner at our dining room table. We did this while growing up as kids, and it helped us all reconnect with our days and just life in general. Granted, this won't be possible every night, but we're going to try and make it a regular habit.

So there you have it! We hope that 2014 has been great to you all and that you have some goals set for the new year to come. We'll close with a bit of this awesome song from for KING & COUNTRY and we hope these words encourage you. Thank you all for continuing to follow and read our blog! We can't wait for what 2015 has in store for us!

When I'm stuck out in the cold, let me be warm hearted
When the weight's too much to hold, let me be light hearted 
When all I have is not enough, I won't be broken hearted
'Cause you taught me how to love, to live, to learn, to live whole hearted. 

Family pic from Christmas! 

Introducing....Spout!

A spotlight on Christ. An outlet to plug in and share life. 

Holly and Kelly: Our church has a great youth program, starting as early as babies up to high school, in addition to an AWANA program that has garnered a huge amount of success. Our church also has a great variety of adult programs that meet throughout the week. We have Men's Sunday, Women's Sunday, Deacon Ordination Sunday and Youth Sunday. We have a Sunday School class for college students.

And that's it.

This is where we come in.

Starting in October, the two of us will be having a home-based small group for college students/young adults. The purpose is to have in-depth discussions based on Scripture and to fellowship with one another in other ways.  College is a crucial time, and while we want to have a Christ-centered focus, we also want to extend Christ's love and hospitality to those who choose to become a part of this group.  If a student wants to come over and hang out, has a question about a class or professor, is facing a faith challenge, or just needs a ride to Wal-Mart, we want to be there for them as much as possible during this time.  It is also a chance for us too, because we feel this responsibility, because let's face it, that's what it is, has been called upon us by God and we have decided to take the plunge and obey Christ. We have no idea what to expect, how many students will come, if any, and what sort of needs these students may have. But we're willing and ready to face whatever may come of it. We're excited, a little bit anxious, but have prayed and consoled with other Christians we trust and we feel this is a step in the right direction.

Maybe this is what following and obeying Christ is really about.

Now, a quick disclaimer: We are NOT, repeat, NOT leaving Berea Baptist.  We love our church and still value and cherish the relationships we have there.  We still love being in the choir and don't foresee that changing for a long time.  We have NO ill-will towards the church what. so. ever.  We simply see this need that the church possesses, and we feel that God has called us to try to meet that need.  We love the messages every week and are deeply encouraged and challenged. We can't predict the success of this upcoming endeavor- only God can.  And we're trusting Him to see this through.

So that's it. We appreciate your support in this decision we have made, and we are so thankful that it was at this church where we felt this need was started. The picture on the bottom is a tiny bloom, and we thought that was fitting. We want to help these young people grow, and in turn we will grow as well.

Somebody else's responsibility and not sure who's responsible for what and so what you're not coming back?

Holly: Yes, the title is a mouthful.  And we are erring a bit on the silly side, but it all boils down to one thing: accountability. I think we lack none nowadays.  Seriously.  No one is held accountable for their actions anymore, it seems.  Or lack of actions.

I'll give an example that is also a wee bit of a pet peeve: Something that really drives me crazy about churches is that we are often told "We should pray more" or "We should read the Bible more".  Well....great. I won't disagree with you.  But how? There's usually no follow-through, and we're left to our own devices, which usually turns into a never-ending mental battle of "doing it right" versus "doing it wrong".  As someone who has been a follower for a few years now, I am STILL struggling to find out what works for me.  Here's another example: when someone decides to leave a church or a small group (we ran into this back when we participated in BCM);  there was a bit of persuading to try to stay, and then after it was all said and done, that was it.  Basically all forms of contact were cut off.  ALL.  There was no "Hey, how are you doing?" after we left.  There was nothing.

If we really are the hands and feet of Jesus, if we are brothers and sisters in Christ, shouldn't we be looking out for one another...really looking out for one another?  As I mentioned in our small group discussion this morning, I would much rather have someone take me aside and tell me I was going down the wrong path, versus being left alone in the assumptions that everything was hunky-dory.  At what point do we stop saying "someone else will take care of it?" and just take up the gauntlet ourselves?  Now, I'm not saying I am an expert in this.  Trust me, I have A LOT to learn from all of this as well.  I've thought of several potentially difficult conversations that I should be having, most of them with myself.  I hope that we as Christians, or just decent human beings, if Jesus isn't a part of your life, take responsibility for our actions and how we truly, really, wholeheartedly, interact with each other.

Kelly: In light of recent events, our church will soon be discussing how to fill a vacancy that has since March been empty, and God has called some wonderful volunteers to attempt to fill this vacancy whilst a decision is being made. I know that sentence seemed like a lot of garbled gobble-dee-goop, but it hones in on what this post is about. Throughout the years I've been attending church, many programs, groups and once active and thriving ministries have fallen off the wayside because in my opinion there's no accountability. Some of thought "well, nobody cares about this anymore" or "the need is being met elsewhere in the church" or the most common one I've heard "well, a piece of it is covered so as a whole this area is being taken care of." Not necessarily heard by me, but by other members that I am close to and trust. It's quite sad, to be honest. When this meeting rolls around, I don't know if I'll have anything to say, but if I do, I hope it's from my heart and that I feel led by God to share. I think instead of asking "who's going to do something" let's maybe perhaps ask "what can we all do as a body of unity and a body of believers?" Having said that, I'm going to share a story.

When I was in college, Holly and I joined BCM. We went regularly for about 2 years and on and off for about a year. I went more often than Holly, as she was busy doing RA stuff, which was no big deal. So I came and went for a while, but my schedule was starting to become busy and I made the decision that I was going to have to devote more time for my nursing work and explore other means to grow in my faith. I presented my thoughts to several members at the time, and I guess there's no way to say it, but in a way I was shunned. I stopped receiving invites to attend when I could, no one checked in with me regularly, and then the time came for the end of the year party. I actually was invited to attend, and I did. It was like walking into a completely different atmosphere. At that point I realized this was not a place for me to grow in my faith and my walk with Christ. That warm, welcoming, open and accepting environment was gone and replaced with favoritism, unwelcoming and feeling lonely. Now please do not misunderstand me. I have quite a few very fond and powerful memories from my time that I spent and will cherish the friendships I had. I'm not saying don't ever do a college BCM program, because that's not what I'm saying at all. All I am saying is this; at what point should we stop asking "who" and start asking "what." Instead of chastising for forgetting your Bible, greet one another and genuinely say "I'm glad you're here. We're happy to help you in any way we can." (Bible chastising c/o church camp). I am so happy and blessed that I am currently in a small group where I feel safe to share my needs and know that I am going to have follow-up with it or them, and I do my best to do the same. It honestly takes a little bit of an extra effort to hold someone accountable, but to me it's worth it. I think it can make the difference between someone staying in a church/small group and someone leaving it.

Living life with no desire, not a flame but a fire.

Kelly: This morning, the two of us were presented with an opportunity to possibly fill a need in our church that several of us feel has not been met. For quite some time now, it's been under the assumption that this need has been "taken care of" and that others are doing something about it. In other words, there really isn't a clear direction. Anyway, more on that later, but that's what's been going on. What inspired this tidbit of possibly new direction was this morning at church. In today's day and age, we are all circling in our own orbits of day after day life, wondering how we're going to live for ourselves. Seriously, it's true. Even I myself am guilty of it. But how often do we think about those around us? I know that even in my line of work, when I walk out the door my mind is wondering of how I'm going to spend my next few days off.

It's no secret that we love helping people. I've dabbled into different volunteer opportunities for a while, but after a short amount of time found it wasn't my niche or the other volunteers were often gossiping about things not getting done or were sometimes judgmental towards those who came in. I witnessed this while at a food bank as a volunteer, and removed myself from there because it was a place I felt I did not or should not be mixed into. Hard to show the love of God when the majority are acting in ways that are the complete opposite of such. I have been praying for a while to find ways to use my time off in other ways other than myself; tired of being selfish let's just say. And then this opportunity came up. I don't know what kind of fruit this will produce; hopefully good but again, all in God's will and in His perfect plan. The title of today's post is derived from the words of a song by Matthew West titled "Do Something." Listen to it if you want a good encouraging message and a reminder of our duty as Christians. It's up to us; nobody else is going to take care of it. If not us then who? If not now then when?

Holly: I read a status on Facebook a while back from a young mother, claiming that she hated every single thing about being a parent, yet she loved her child (I really wish I was making this up).  Part of this rationale was that this person believed that we as humans were entitled to being selfish.  I could not disagree with this more.

I might get some flack for this statement, but I believe it to be true, completely regardless of whether or not you are a Christian: Life is not about you.  There.  I said it.  I think, as a Christian, or even as a decent human being, we ought to be seeking out ways to serve others, instead of attempting to fulfill our own desires.  Guys, I am far from a pristine example of this.  I still am learning, but it is only by the grace of God that I can keep trying.  Something that struck me especially from the sermon today (which we've heard before) is that we waste so much time on trivial, meaningless things.  We compartmentalize ourselves, turn ourselves into islands with our Netflix and our iPhones and we just completely miss the point.  Again, Guilty.  As.  Charged.  Things are just that....things.  Things don't last.  Period.  One of my favorite passages of Scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 4: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

As Kelly mentioned, we have an opportunity at our feet that, right now, we aren't sure of much.  It's still in the planning stages, but we are praying for God's will and direction, confirmation that this is what He wants to do.  He knows our hearts and our desires.  At least for me, one of the goals is that we will reach out to those in need, that we will open our homes and our hearts, and that we will bring them to Jesus.  That's the main goal: Jesus.  Because I still think life isn't about us.

If not us, then who?
If not me and you right now, it's time for us to do something!
If not now, then when?
Will we see an end to all this pain?
It's not enough to do nothing.  It's time for us to do something!
We are the salt of the earth, we are a city on a hill
We're never going to change the world by standing still

Spring (and change?) in the air

Holly: It goes without saying that spring is my favorite season.  Ahh, ok...scratch that.  I love fall.  But spring is a very, very close second.

Isn't that just beautiful????

One of the reasons I love spring is its transitions.  Think about it: We're in all this cold, dreary, snowy, wet crap, and then we're into warm breezes, blue skies, birds singing, flowers blooming, almost as if life is reawakening once again.  To me, this burst of new life and color is also symbolic of something else: change.

Change can be scary and unpleasant, and, to be frank, bring out the absolute worst in people.  I remember the summer before our senior year of high school.  I and Kelly and several other upper-class students met one afternoon, just prior to the start of our marching band season, and had a bomb dropped on us: our director had resigned and was leaving.  I was totally devastated; I had grown up with him, my entire marching band career had been with him, and now someone else was going to be taking over.  Of course, there was an array of mixed emotions, but one that surprised me was anger; students were angry that he was leaving.  I was shocked; of course, I was devastated, but he was doing what he believed was best for him and his family, and the school was unpredictable, at best; I couldn't resent him for that.  But many did.  And when the new director arrived, I'll admit, things just fell apart.  We weren't the same band we once were.  I didn't expect to be, of course, but I didn't expect what happened to happen either.  Some just weren't ready to accept...the change.

Tomorrow is Easter.  Our church choir has been practicing for months now and tomorrow we will share our music with the congregation and thank God for His son and for the new life found in Him.  We will worship together.  Inside, though, we will be terribly saddened: we are losing a major foundational member of our choir family (see this post here).  Tomorrow is his last "official" Sunday.  We all thank God for him and what has become of our choir family, and we are all preparing for this change.  I was telling Kelly after our dress rehearsal this morning that I sincerely hope we don't fall apart, much like our senior year of band.  But I know we won't.  We owe it to this ministry to give whoever God gives us to lead us EVERYTHING we are, even though it will never, ever be the same again.

Yes, change is in the air.  But I challenge you to see whatever changes you have coming in your life as spring, rather than something to be scared of.  Spring is new life, new color.  Easter is death overcome and a promise of new life!  Can you see why I love spring so much? :)

Kelly: I think of the verses in Ecclesiastes 3 in where it starts "to everything there is a season." And it's true. Sometimes we have to change either support a family, ourselves or to follow what one believes is God's calling. Holly and I have had to do all of the above, and at times it hasn't been easy. But I've found that when I trust God, really trust God, those changing seasons are a little easier to weather. I remember being that frustrated high school senior and hearing my peers vent their anger in the situation. They were mad he was leaving, but I couldn't be. My feelings weren't going to change the circumstances, and neither were theirs. 

Now that Easter is over and the singing and praising is done....well...no. The praising and singing is never done if you're a follower of Christ. It's a very noble and sincere cause when someone does something for His cause. I've known people who've given up everything to do what they feel He has called them to do, yet some are living for Him right from the comforts of their home. And that's been the cases in the two experiences we have mentioned in today's post. In my life I get reminders often that I am where God wants me to be. He changed me in so many ways to get me to where I am right now, and I praise Him for those changes. Yes some of them were bad, but I think that that has to happen sometimes, that way you learn to stretch those faith muscles. Yesterday was Easter, and what a blessed time it was. Quite an emotional day, but in a good way. During one of the songs at church, I was deeply moved quite suddenly. Sometimes, like Holly said yesterday, God just grabs me at random times....hard. I consider it a privilege that He does that to me, to all of His followers. Reminds me what He's brought me through and how good He is to me. 

Oh the blood of Jesus washes me

Oh the blood of Jesus shed for me

What a sacrifice!

That saved my life. 

Yes, the blood. It is my victory. 

"Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Kelly: I just read on Yahoo! that the main front runner for Westboro Baptist church passed away today. If you are not familiar with WBC, please spare yourself the images and their viewpoints. To sum them up in the Kelly Korb fashion, Westboro Baptist Church are a family based in Kansas who's websites displays "God Hates Fags." They picket at soldier's funerals, thank God for the death of soldiers and other individuals and preach in my opinion messages of sheer hate and intolerance. But yes, the main church leader has passed on. Without a doubt he has met Jesus face to face and has gotten what God will give him. I will be completely honest, when I first read the news I had mixed feelings. Anger, relief, pity, the lot. I'm ashamed to say at first I thought to myself that perhaps this guy got what he deserved. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought of this; it doesn't matter what I think or feel about this guy and this "church" and their views of others and the world. This guy claimed to follow Christ, as I do. He read his Bible, prayed with his family and went to church every Sunday. I do the same thing. So really, we are the same, but perhaps not. I think it's our understanding of God that makes us different.

I have ZERO tolerance for hate or disrespect of any kind, because the God and Jesus I know and have read about does too. I also know that God is a vengeful and jealous God and He hates sin and sinners...have you read the Old Testament? But here's me; I will flat out say that picketing the funerals of soldiers and saying God hates "fags" is wrong. Flat out wrong. The Bible says Jesus loves all of us, each and every one, right down to the hairs on our heads. I will not picket this guy's funeral or parade around Berea holding signs that say "God hates Westboro Baptist Church," because frankly God loves them too. But I will continue to spread the love of Christ in what I say and do to others, no matter who I meet. I will continue to show the world of the God that I know and love. I will pray for WBC not that they would be changed, but that they too would learn or re-learn of the same love that God has extended to the "fags," the soldiers they protest and to them.

Holly: I'll admit, the first thing I thought when I read of Mr. Phelps passing was something like "I imagine he and Jesus had a pretty interesting conversation."  Then again, I can't claim to speculate what our own encounters with Jesus at the end of our lives will be like.

Straight up, I do not agree with the views of Westboro Baptist Church.  I think it's even a bit of a stretch to call Westboro Baptist Church a "church".  I don't think Mr. Phelps was leading a church; I think he was leading a cult.  But that's just my opinion.  Some of the things he said were just downright frightening.  It's frightening to go on their website and see "God Hates Fags" as plain as day, plastered all over it.  That is NOT the love of Christ I've learned about.  That is NOT the love of Christ which drew me into a relationship with Him.

He and his church were notorious for picketing and protesting funerals of soldiers, celebrities, and others.  I've read numerous comments saying his own funeral be picketed.  But how does that make us any different from them? We're "fueling the fire", so to speak, and you and I both know that that doesn't solve anything.  The truth is that people, ALL people, are going to think, speak, believe, feel, differently than we are.  Perhaps that message never quite got through to WBC.  Maybe it did.  I'm not really sure.  On the flip side of all of this, my human, Christ-following, compassionate side comes out: Mr. Phelps was a father, a grandfather, a leader of a church, someone's friend.  This father, grandfather, leader of a church, someone's friend, has passed away.  Death is a sad thing, regardless of your immediate feelings.

Having said all of this, I will say that because of WBC, I will strive to further spread the love of God, the God who is a God of LOVE.  I will show love to my neighbor: my gay neighbor, my Hindu neighbor, my male neighbor, my black neighbor.  No exceptions.  I will pray for WBC, that they would come to know the God of love that I love.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love. -1 Corinthians 13:13

Empty pages and open books

Holly: I'm challenged by the message I heard today at church.  To sum it up in very, very basic terms, we as Christians are called to act.  Early on, we were asked that if we had our "book of Acts" written out, what would it look like? Would it be worth reading? (referring to the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament).  I believe mine would look something like this:

Chapter 1: Holly starts going to church with her family.  Gets baptized when she's 10 years old.
Chapter 2: Holly goes to a different church with her family.
Chapter 3: Holly goes to church on Sunday and youth group on Wednesday.  This continues for several years.
Chapter 4: Holly goes on a mission trip to Nicaragua, and her mind and eyes are opened, her heart is full, and her spirit and faith are renewed.
Chapter 5: Holly goes to church on Sunday and youth group on Wednesday.  Decides Berea College is THE place to be.
Chapter 6: Holly survives her first few weeks of college, but then realizes that something is just not quite right with her and God.  After a long October night, and a long conversation between her, her sister, and God, she decides to start over with God.
Chapter 7: In May of 2009, Holly and her sister rededicate their lives to Christ, in front of their new church family.
Chapter 8: The years pass.  Times are great, times are hard, and Holly's faith journey is an up and down tirade of events, lessons, truths, prayers, introductions to Lord of the Rings and other things and people that strengthen her faith, etc, etc, etc.  But through that, she has grown with a church family that loves her, built relationships with numerous individuals, tried many different avenues for quiet time, and has done a lot of journaling...among many other things.  She realizes she has such a long way to go, but also recognizes how far God has brought her.
Chapter 9: ???

And that's where I am now.  I know that I am called to act, but to be honest, I don't know where to go from here.  Every day is a step of faith that I must take, trusting that God will walk with me and give me the discernment to make godly decisions and act in accordance with Him.  I don't know what my future holds.  But I thank God that He does!

The title of this post is "Empty pages and open books".  I'm continuing to write my "Acts" on empty pages, because there are so many possibilities out there.  The bible says that with God, all things are possible.  Walking with God is an adventure, and when He extends his unrelenting grace at the start of every day, He is opening His books of possibilities and choices for us.

Kelly: I came up with the title of today's blog based off a song in which the first line of the chorus goes "I'm an empty page. I'm an open book." God is ultimately the author of our stories and He writes our story. In my experience, mine has been full of uncertainty, tremendous joys and successes as well as darkness and despair. If I could title my story, it would be called "But God..." In my college days in the gospel choir we sang in our director, who was full of life and the Spirit, would often say "BUT GOD!" when a student shared a struggle or when we all got together in prayer and prayed for whatever was laid on our hearts. My role as a chaplain in that choir often had that two word phrase resonating in my head not as doubt but as hope. The word "but" usually precedes the "bad news" or something that isn't quite certain. In this case, it was a simple reminder for me to just stop and think "look at what God is bringing me through and what He brought me through." But God.

My story holds no powerful revelations. God hasn't spoken to me through burning bushes. I've never led thousands of people out of slavery, brought a dead man back to life, or calmed a storm with my hands. But God, that SAME God has written me a story that is like no other. My personality is God and only God; the joy of the Lord creeping up when needed. The truth is, I don't know what the rest of my story holds, but I know who's holding the pen, or at least I'm doing my best to get to know Him more and more. So should someone ever read my story, I'm not sure if it would be "interesting" or if anyone would actually want to read it. But that's the beauty of knowing other brothers and sisters; their stories are all different because we all serve the same God and He's made all of our stories different. I have seen God work in wonderful and mysterious ways not only in my life but in those around me. I've turned away from God and wanted to hold onto friendships that weren't meant to be, wanted to hear from jobs on my time, and say yes or no to whatever I wanted. But God welcomed me back each and every time, no questions asked. Ya'll, I'm not a perfect person, far from it. But when you get a not perfect person who is matched up with the perfect God who made her very existence here possible, that equals the greatest acts of faith, hope and love that nothing can buy. That to me is a story worth reading.

God Moments: part 3

Kelly: Today's post is very different from our other ones with this title. In light of recent events, we felt it would be appropriate to share a very near and dear God moment we have both had the wonder of experiencing.

The Family That Became

In February of 2009, I, along with Holly, joined the church choir at Berea Baptist church. This process took a series of arm twistings by some friends of ours who were already in it. I remember we were eating dinner and these two friends came up to us and said "Holly and Kelly, you're coming to church choir with us." So we reluctantly came, joined, met some of the members and the rest is history. My oh my how 5 years seems to pass so very quickly. I walked into a church I had barely gone to, sat down, met some people and now am honored and so very blessed to be a part of this every other Tuesday (God's calling at my job keeps me away from time to time but it is all well and understood).

As I posted on my Facebook just recently, to be a part of something that not only changes other people's lives but continues to change mine Sunday after Sunday. It is a blessing, an honor and a privilege to worship God the most high with countless others who love Him too. That's it. I really don't have anything else to say. It's all been said before.

Holly: I remember not even 2 weeks after we had joined we went on a choir retreat to Gatlinburg.  As I was literally dragging my stuff up the street from my dorm to church, I was thinking something like: I must be out of my mind.  Here I am, I JUST joined this choir, and now I'm going to spend the weekend with all these crazy people, none of whom I really know save a few, on a bus for 3 hours there and back, in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, way up in the mountains, it's freezing, I have all this homework to do, I don't want to do this.

I wish I could travel back in time and smack myself across the face.  I'll save all the details, stories, testimonies, etc, but I will say that I will never, ever forget that weekend.  Ever.

I had no intention of staying with this choir for five years, but alas, God's intentions are greater than my own.  This choir is a part of my life now.  It's my family.  We're family.  We are all part of something that is more beautiful and bigger than we ever will be.  I can't speak for everyone, but it's made me better because of it.  I count myself incredibly blessed to be a part of this body of believers.  God has done amazing things with us, and I wouldn't change any part of it for the world.  I thank God every week for this ministry and I sincerely pray it continues to change lives as much as it has changed mine.

Easter 2013- combined program with First Baptist London

Easter 2013- we look sleepy :)

The retreat that started it all

Choir picnic (I believe this would have been spring 2009...?)

Corn Maze- fall 2010

What we are thankful for.

Kelly: In Sunday School this morning, at the end of our class, we were asked to write down some things that we are currently thankful for. This is what we both wrote (mine's short because we ran out of time). I have more and MANY more things that I am so thankful for, but this is just what I wrote down:

*God, *My Bible, *Family, *Friends, *my relationship with Christ, *church, *my job, *my co-workers, *my house, *my health, *my cats, *my car, *love, *food, *my church family, *open-mindedness, *cleanliness, *my phone, *my patients I care for, *hope in Christ, *joy, *being positive, *optimism, *perseverance, *healing, *grace.

Holly: I actually managed to write down 30 things, although there could have been so many more.  I just wrote these as they came to me.  Blessings are all around! Take the time to seek them out and enjoy them! :)

*God *my relationship with Christ *my relationship with Kelly *family, Mom and Dad *my friends *my job at UK *my job at Old Navy *Yoda and Wiley *my car *my apartment *the power of music *coffee *Berea Baptist Church *church choir *my Berea support network *H and K Chronicles *sharing life with people *the hard times in my life *the power of prayer *reading *Lord of the Rings *sleep *nature *clothes I love and feel good in *the Bible and how it speaks to me *love *joy *laughter *my personality and enthusiasm *our Europe trip in 2 years

30 Days of Writing: Your Family

Holly and Kelly: For today's post, we thought a combined one would be easier. We'll start off with our blood family; our parents and our older brother. We were born and raised in southeastern Ohio in the town of Athens. We lived in the same house our entire lives; never moved until we came to Kentucky to start college. That was in 2008, and we haven't left Kentucky since! Since last May, Holly and I have created our own little family in our own place since last May. It's been an incredible journey; developing the skills necessary to live with each other and maintain our sanity, as well as our budget. Prior to that, we had lived on campus as Berea students, and I think that REALLY helped us grow up and live within our means. Granted, it has not been easy, but the thought of being on our own doesn't terrify us anymore, and being away from home had a big role to play. Of course we missed mom and dad, but I think it's something every child should do for college...just my opinion. 

Anyway, our current apartment came with Wiley. His previous owner couldn't keep him because all of her family was allergic, and she was just going to take him to a shelter. We of course decided to keep him. A few weeks later we adopted Yoda. Yoda came from a former professor Holly and I both had. She was scared of everything for the first few days we had her, but she warmed up to us and has wormed her way into our hearts. We absolutely love our pet babies! But soon, we will be packing up our family and moving yet again. Not out of Berea, just across town. More space, costing a bit more, but we'll be with a dear friend of ours until she graduates in the summer. It's going to be a bit scary at first, but we are excited to see where this journey will take us !

And last but not least, Holly and I thought it would be important for us to mention another edition to our family: our church family. I first attended Berea Baptist in August of 2008. My friend Tim and I made the trek, and I fell in love instantly! I dragged Holly with me the following week, and she too fell in love. And we've been there ever since; we officially became members in May of 2009. We've since then joined the choir, fostered some wonderful relationships and have greatly improved our relationship with God. We are truly happy and blessed to have such a large family, both blood related and Christ related. Thank you all for being a wonderful family. We love you all!

Our wonderful parents! They raised us to love others, ourselves and so many more lessons! 

We of course can't forget miss Nala. :) 

Our first home! 

Wiley. He's a sweet boy :) 

Miss Yoda. She likes Tolkien too! 

Berea College from above...became our home away from home! :) Came here 5 years ago and haven't left yet!

Church choir family. This pic is so old, but captures us well.  We love them all dearly!  God has greatly blessed us with such a wonderful church family! :)

"God loves to do big things through little people with big hearts."

Holly: Those were the closing lines of yet another inspiring sermon I heard this past Sunday.  Throughout the 45-minute message a recurring theme played over and over in my head.....more like a question: What makes a hero?  I'm sure many of you are familiar with the story of Moses.  What many people don't know is prior to his divine calling he was a convicted felon (I myself did not remember this part of the story).  In addition to this he was far from a public speaker, stricken with a speech impediment.  During the burning bush scenario he even BEGS God to use someone else to save his people;.  Yet Moses was singlehandedly responsible for one of the greatest people revolutions in history.  God saw something in Moses that he didn't see in himself.  And let's not forget Paul (started out persecuting Christians but later became a huge part of the New Testament), Rahab (a prostitute), Jesus' mother Mary (a teenager!!!), Peter (kind of a big doof...denied Jesus several times but later is the leader of the church in Ephesus)...I don't really think I need to continue any further.

After church I was talking to Kevin (the pastor) and I told him that I couldn't help but think of The Hobbit/LoTR.  Think about it: in The Hobbit, you have Bilbo, who is very comfortable with his food, his life, his things, and out of seemingly nowhere Gandalf shows up and whisks him away on this quest with 13 grotesque, loud, boisterous burping and food-gorging dwarves in order to reclaim their lost homeland.  It drags Bilbo WAY out of his comfort zone and even has the dwarves questioning why Gandalf chose this home-loving little person for such a dangerous and unpredictable quest.  In LoTR, there's Frodo: a meek young hobbit who voluntarily sends himself into danger's horrendous arms, at the mercy of a powerful little golden ring and an evil eye watching him at all times.  Never mind Samwise Gamgee, who decides to go with him.  Also, Aragorn: for the better part of the series he's running away from his destiny, taking the form of a ranger from the north instead of the long-awaited king of Gondor.  But what you see recurring in these stories is heart.  Their hearts outweigh any danger they get themselves into, that despite their sizes, they wholeheartedly strive to do right and make right in the crazy worlds they live in.

Then there's me: I fold clothes at Old Navy.  I'm 22 years old, single, living with my sister and another with 2 cats, a Bachelor's degree, and little else.  But I speak with the utmost of confidence when I say that I have a BIG heart! I love people so much sometimes it hurts.  God sees something in me, in all of us, that we don't, and He knows what he's doing.  Gandalf saw something in Bilbo, and perhaps Aragorn and Frodo too.  My point in all of this is keep your heart in check, keep it full of love and life, and you never know where life will take you.  The Gandalf of your life could come knocking on your door whenever you least expect it.

Kelly: I instantly think of the movie Facing the Giants. One of the football players, David, is a kicker on the team and is a small guy. Throughout the movie he often doubts his performances, isn't very confident in himself and constantly wonders why he was even allowed to be on the team. His father, who can't walk and is wheelchair bound, often tries to tell him to trust God and helps him put things into perspective. But...well I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it; just watch the movie and see what happens because he definitely redeems himself. I see a lot of David in myself. I too am a very small person. God has richly blessed me with a lot of things, but one of them was not height and that's ok. I've been in nursing school for a number of years now and am about to finish.

Things are...to be honest sort of rough right now for me. Juggling 240 clinical hours to complete, working 15 hours a week, homework and other things have put me on edge a bit. Yesterday was a particularly hard day clinical wise (read my blog about it) and I won't lie and say that we've struggled a time or two to make ends meet. But hey, who hasn't? Yet I thank God for what I do have and all He has done and all He will do, even when I'm between a rock and a hard place. Then I think of the places I've been. This time 3 years ago I was in New Orleans on a mission trip. I met all sorts of wonderful people going through different walks of life who had hearts that were just on fire for God! And these were just ordinary people who felt that God was going to do mighty things with them. And that's where I stand. I don't see it yet, I don't know it yet, but God is going to do great things to me and to those who least expect it. For all I know I could wake up tomorrow and get hit by a bus, because to be honest we never know where this life will take us as Holly said. But if we keep our eyes fixed on God, our mind open to receive what comes our way and if we trust God to give him the "bad" things, then who knows? Faith as small as a mustard seed armed with a little bit of compassion, trust and love for others could go a long way.

Home

Holly: Throughout my life my perceptions of things have changed.  Chalk it up to growing up, I suppose.  One of these things that have changed is my concept of home.  What is "home"?  What does it mean to be "home"?  Is it a place, people, or something even more than that?

As many of you know, Kelly and I moved to Berea in May of this year.  We spent a lot of our time here, college-related time, and we felt like Berea was the place we were supposed to be.  Considering the large amount of our time here Berea felt more like our home than our grassroots of southeastern Ohio.  Now, PLEASE do not misunderstand me.  I love my hometown.  I love that I was able to grow up there, and I love my family and best friend more than anything.  But when I would go home for holidays or breaks or whatnot, things just felt so....foreign.  Different.  I felt out of place, like I had missed so much from Athens and from my folks and best friend.  It just wasn't the same place anymore.  I wasn't the same person.  Because I had grown so used to cozy Berea, my school, and my church, it was strange to be away from that, even though I had spent the first 18 years of my life in this place.  Now, when I say I'm going home, it means I'm going to my 2-bedroom apartment in Berea.

But home for me is a lot more than just a place.  When my parents come to visit, that's home.  When I talk to my best friend on the phone, that's home.  When my cats come downstairs when I come in the door from work, that's home.  Home is watching an episode of Sherlock in the living room with Kelly and exclaiming in excitement how I picked something up that I had never noticed before.  Home is a cup of the flavor of the day at BC&T.  Home is opening your window and sensing that fall "smell" and feeling the breeze blow into your space.  Home is singing as loud as you can to that song on the radio when you're stuck at a red light.  Home is hugging that one friend you haven't seen in ages.

Take time to notice the "home" in your life, whether it's a place or not.

Kelly: On our daily walk tonight, I was talking to Holly that a lot of college students move back to where they came from after they graduate. Our brother did this. I have lots of friends who did this/are doing this. I was talking to Holly that this didn't even cross my mind after I graduated. Then she said to me: "I already moved back home. I moved here." Didn't really think about it that way. I remember being a first year student wondering how I would get used to this place called Berea, Kentucky. Now I can't imagine being apart from it. To be honest though, my perspective on home is a bit different than Holly's. Sometimes I sit and ask God how He picked here for me to be. How did He get me to fall in love with a place like Berea? Then it hit me.

To me, home in many cases is more the people than a place or a thing. I think people largely make a home a home. And for me, my Berea home and my attraction to it is largely where I go to church every Sunday. I see it as a home despite the division and sometimes negativity that has been seen/heard/read in a survey. Despite the fact that I read a comment that basically said college students can either just deal with the changes or shove off, it's still a home to me. Because in a home, you notice there are flaws, yet you don't define it by the few flaws. Positive memories and faces trump any negative comment in my book. When I think of a home, I think of family. A family. People who love one another, encourage one another, support one another and pray for one another. They don't hold grudges, or judge, belittle, or put down...not that anybody in my immediately family or my close friends do that. But families don't do that, or at least they shouldn't. That's why I love my church; it treats me like a family. Every Sunday (and Tuesday night) I am welcomed with open arms and loved by so many.

I'll close with this: on the way out of church today I got a comment from my pastor today saying how much he appreciated how Holly and I have openly loved his family. I was stricken mute by my overwhelming joy that I totally forgot to say I only give such love because I myself have been given the exact same love by not only his family but so many others at BBC. I am blessed to have that church as my family. And my home.

Some days you're the gun...some days you're the smiley face on the wall...

Kelly:

In case you're wondering about the title of the blog...well, the above video describes it. I'm sure you've all heard the phrase (or something similar) "some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield." The title of today's blog post is that same analogy, except I added a Sherlockian twist. Today has definitely been one of those days. Today I am definitely the smiley face.

Yesterday our water heater sprung a leak. A pretty big leak. Catherine noticed it yesterday, so for all we know it could have been running and running for days...which is sort of a scary thought. Apologies...hard to type with hang nails on BOTH of your ring fingers. >.< Anyway, so after church I ran out and called our water company on the way home. The guy basically said it wasn't his problem and told us to call the landlord...which we did. While at the grocery store, our landlord called me and said he'd be there within the hour. Long story short so I can get to the point, some valve needs replaced and will be fixed on Wednesday. Hurrah!

Anyway, coming to the point of this post. Today at church there were a few eye-opening moments. The ending theme was about being wealthy. My pastor asked the congregation if we considered ourselves wealthy. Thinking to myself...I said no. No I really didn't. Then some things were said and my thinking changed. Perspective. That's what it's about. Really. Again...felt like the smiley face on the wall. To be honest, if you REALLY think about it, we are pretty wealthy. Now that I've left church I consider myself pretty wealthy all things considering. Even if we have to survive without hot water for a few days. We've got it pretty well made. I'm listening to this song right now called "Good to be Alive." The song speaks for itself.

I wanna live like there's no tomorrow 
Love like I'm on borrowed time 
It's good to be alive. 

Holly: Something to think about the next time you drive to work, go to your kitchen, or sit down with your family at dinner:

8% of the world's population owns a car.
1 billion people don't have access to clean water.
800 million people won't eat today.  300 million of those will be children.
In order to provide basic nutrition, water, and resources to those who don't already have them it would cost roughly $20 billion.  In the grand scheme of things that doesn't sound like much, but that amount is roughly what Americans spend on ice cream each year.

Talk about counting your blessings.  Definitely a smiley-face-in-the-wall moment for me.  Our culture is so skewed in terms of perspective: our gotta-have-it-all-right-this-very-second, bigger, better, best, I-have-more-stuff-than-you attitude is just really crappy, bottom line.  Even in my barely moved-into apartment I STILL feel like I have too much stuff.  And in the grand scheme of things, I do.  I know I do, and I try my best to downsize.  But over the years, especially in college, I've come to realize just how pointless stuff really is.

Every day I'm trying to thank God for the things I do have, and also thanking God for when people pull through.  Like today.  I'm trying to be thankful for the things that matter in my life: my friends, my family, my church, people I work with.   We just become so attached to our things, our money, that we completely lose sight of what's important.  That is such a dangerous cycle.  But I find that when I put my focus on God, everything else just falls into place.

Use things, not people.  Love people, not things.  

Happiness and Joy: trying to reclaim them both.

Kelly: Earlier today, Holly and I were driving to get our electric bill straightened out. Not to worry...just a wee bit of confusion, but all is well now. Anyway, while we were in the car, we started talking about church yesterday and the sermon. Though its entirety was quite excellent, there was one particular part about it that we talked about, which talked about reclaiming the joy in our lives. For me it required a bit of thinking: where is the joy in my life? What makes me happy?

So I started thinking about it. There are A LOT of things that make me happy, but the joy in life comes from having God in my life. This morning I woke up, still dead tired but I uttered half-asleep but half awake "God. Thank you that I woke up this morning to live another day." Simple. And despite hearing some rather frightening news, I've been ok. I got out of bed happier and was not grumpy today. At all. Not even a bit. Well...no. No I wasn't. And that was God. That was all God and nothing else. Now I'm not trying to preach, but it's really true. I think that finding joy in your life involves making choices. Some choices will be big, others just small and subtle. But if you really think about it, in my opinion it really isn't that hard. You can choose the minute you wake up what your attitude is going to be like. If you wake up grumpy and pissy, then you're going to be grumpy and pissy until either the day ends or you eventually snap out of it. Harsh truth, I know. I'm not trying to be harsh, just genuine. So anyway, there actually is a point to all of this. For me, I think about things or people that make me happy and focus on them. There's too much negativity in the world as it is, and I'm trying to not let the weight of it bring me down. So far I think it's working. And trust me, people DO notice. Sometimes not right away, but they do. I cannot tell you how many times people have told me that I am a joyful person. Someone once said Holly and I have "contagious" personalities...interpret that however you wish.

One of my favorite movies is "The Bucket List." If you have not seen it, please do. Anyway, one of the last spoken lines is actually a letter that was written. One of the lines read says this simple phrase: find the joy in your life. Simple? Yes, actually it is. Another favorite movie of mine is Amazing Grace. Again, definitely worth a look. One of my favorite parts in the entire movie is when William Wilberforce is sitting on the dewy grass in his backyard, despite the fact he has a busy day. Anyway, he's about to start a prayer when he is interrupted by his butler or cook. He asks if he's ok, and Wilberforce's response is this:
It's God. I have 10,000 engagements of state today but I would rather prefer to spend the day out here getting a wet arse, studying dandelions and marveling at...bloody spider's webs. His butler then replies "You found God?" Wilberforce replies "I think He found me." Joy. Joy from the simple things even if you have a crazy day ahead of you. My challenge for me is to let God find me so that I may get lost in the joy of life and the little things around me.

Holly: "My challenge for me is to let God find me so that I may get lost in the joy of life and the little things around me."  I could not have said that better myself.

It's suffice to say that Kelly and I have A LOT of apartment-related issues/things not getting taken care of.  Aka absolutely nothing to do with us and entirely out of our hands and control.  While on our short drive Kelly and I were debating on what we think the difference is between joy and happiness.  To me, happiness is sort of just a feeling.  Like I see stuff that makes me laugh, or a dog at work licks my arm...oh, that makes me happy.  But joy is more of a choice. I was saying that it's a choice...DESPITE all the ^%@#$%^& going on, I'm choosing to have joy because the joy of God is my strength.  I also gave us a new mindset challenge: to look at every day as if it is a miracle...because....if you really get down to the nitty-gritty of it, IT IS!!  Back at Berea when Kelly and I were in our gospel choir (we've blogged about it many times), our learless feader/phenomenal woman of God would always say that we have to look at each day as if it is precious, because somebody went to bed last night and didn't wake up to see the new day.  Somebody didn't wake up this morning.  Somebody didn't make it home from work this afternoon.  Some little kid didn't make it home from school.  That's just the sad reality of it.

Earlier today I learned that a dear friend, mentor, and mother figure of mine had a heart attack last night.  I had just spoken to her yesterday morning at church.  My heart stopped, and it made me realize that life is way too freaking short and precious to have a bad attitude all the time.  And it all comes back to joy.  And people do notice.  It sets you apart from everyone else.  You become a light in such a dark world, and people reach out for just a glimpse of that light.  Make sure to not burn it out!  

I have a challenge for you: Have joy.  Yes, I have absolutely no idea what is going on in your life, and I won't bore you with the details of mine.  But I urge you to look at each day, and thank God/whomever you thank.  Look to each sunrise and say "Thank you for a new day, a new start.  I'm still HERE!"  :)

We're still here.

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."  -Thorin Oakenshield, "The Hobbit"

Potpurri post #4

Kelly: For starters I have posted a picture of Yoda. She is smiling at you. Say hello back. Actually in all honesty the cat is probably plotting my demise. Today I'm going to talk about a lot of things, mostly about church. This morning when I woke up I really did not feel like going. If you know me this is a rarity because I  love going to church. But I was hurting and I knew I'd have to wear my new brace I got. I knew I'd get 600000 people coming up to me saying "what's wrong what's wrong" and to be honest I really didn't feel like dealing with that. Again. Just what I need is more attention on myself. But of course, I bit the bullet and just decided to go. I was always told if you don't feel like it, then just fake it. And of course, after only about  2.5 seconds of faking it I was into it.

The message at church today was titled "Remember the Light." This one today was probably one of my favorite sermons. I need to start keeping a list; I've got about 3-5 just blown out of the park sermons that I need to remember. This one was another one. I have had a pretty crappy end of the week. Long story short, I'm seeing an orthopedic surgeon sometime this upcoming week, probably Wednesday or Thursday. All weekend I have been thinking about what I need to do since this is now becoming a very real option. Finding another job, taking time off, and being prepared to be dependent on others. Which...is really hard for me to do because I'm the complete opposite. Ok, enough commercial break but anyway my pastor was telling a story about "being in the dark." And after the story was told, I suddenly remembered how I got to Berea. My dad didn't have a job, so naturally my sister and I made the financial cut. A year later he did get a job. Needless to say if we were to apply this year or any other year we probably would not get in anymore. And we would have missed this. ALL of this. All the blessings and people that I have grown to love and care for. And those who have had to put up with me. Once I started thinking about that I thought of those who have carried Holly and I through everything. It's a long list. But wow. Sometimes I really forget how blessed I am. Sometimes I really forget how awesome God is. I'll close with this: When you are in the dark, remember what you learned in the light. 


Holly: So...I really don't have much to say.  Which is a rarity for me too.  I have to agree with my sis on the church thing.  Normally I enjoy all the sermons, but these past few have just been over the top...wow!

During church today, in the back row I saw a familiar face.  It was one of my best friends from Berea, Tim.  He came through Berea during the week and met up with Kelly; apparently she knew he was coming to church and they didn't tell me about it! Losers.  Naah, just messing.  Anyway, it was a very nice surprise.  We had lunch and he filled us in about Ichthus (which, if you don't know what it is, I highly suggest you read up...an AMAZING God-filled weekend of rock out loud music, people loving on each other, and thought-provoking and challenging speakers!).  Very sad that we missed out, but we will be making it up there next year!  fo sho!

Something that I'm hopefully going to be starting soon in this blog is little posts called "Jesus and ER".  It's when I take an episode of ER and apply scripture and Christian themes to it, sort of to bring me closer to my faith.  I did it a couple times while in college and it really blew me away at how God can take something that I enjoy so much and have me thinking about how it ties in with things that are taught in scripture.  So be keeping an eye out for that, pretty excited!

Anyway, Wiley is lying on top of "The Hobbit"...which I need to keep reading.  Still on chapter 6.  Also, enjoy this video of Smokey, a kitty that purrs really loud.  :)


Be blessed! :)

Smokey the loud purring kitty

In ________ we trust?

Holly: Trust is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot.  What does it mean to "completely" trust someone?  Are we too trusting, and what does that make of us?

To say that I had trust issues as a teen is a pretty fair statement.  I mean, they weren't to the point that I couldn't even function in society, but more often than not I found myself wondering to myself about the hidden agendas of other people.  I suppose that being bullied was a contribution to that.  There were also some family issues going on that I'd rather not disclose.  Even as a kid though, I was very shy (believe it or not).  At times I was even called "too trusting" of other people, which, back then, was frowned upon.  Insert the terms "naive" or "gullible" here...

So where do I stand today?  I have to admit that I'm a little too cautious for my own good.  I always lock my car at work (and I work in the middle of nowhere) and we always make sure the apartment doors are locked (even when we're all home).  As Kevin said this morning in his sermon, we have become a society of suspicion...we are ALWAYS suspicious of what's going on around us.  I have warmed up around people now, much more so than when I was younger, but I am always exercising caution in unfamiliar places.

To play the faith and follower in Christ card, lately I've been struggling with trusting God too.  I suppose that being on your own and losing any and all forms of security (i.e. a regular, stable income, convenient food, and a place to live that you don't have to pay for) post-graduation from college will do that to you.  Just the other day I made another phone call to home asking for money.  I HATE worrying about money.  I really do.  That night I went to bed and wondered in my mind to God how we were going to make it through to our next pay day.  Yesterday I received the card from home and inside it was WAY more $$ than what I had asked for!  I asked God for a handful and He gave me an armful!

When will I learn to trust?  I'm still learning.  But today's sermon was a great reminder of such: I must trust God.  I have been praised in the past for always being strong in my faith and I intend to continue down that path.  It hasn't been easy.  But God is still proving faithful.  TRUST.

Kelly: Again I walked away deeply challenged. Like I posted on my facebook, I don't know what it has been about these past few weeks. Not that I'm saying the sermons in the past have been bad by any means...but these past few have been ESPECIALLY good!! Like Holly said, I used to have trust issues with people. Especially people who hurt me. Every now and then something strikes in me where I am caught thinking about "what if I did this/say that?" I never held grudges, but secretly distrusting others was in a way doing just that.

As it was said in church, you can't trust everybody. It's a sad truth. I remember growing up not even locking our house or the cars; we lived out in the middle of nowhere. It was something we never had to worry about. Then our house got broken into. Ever since then all the doors and windows locked, all the cars locked. And we live out in the middle of nowhere. I would be lying if I didn't say that when we were at home alone, I would watch an on-going car to make sure it didn't stop in the road. Much truth was said at church; our society trains us to be suspicious. Can't trust anybody.

Having said that, there are those I can always trust, no matter what. I will now use an example from Lord of the Rings. Yes, we recently became fans; I don't want to hear it!!!! We lived in the middle of nowhere! There was a scene in which Sam and Frodo were on their way to Mordor to destroy the ring, and they were led by Gullum...a hobbit-like creature. The ring, which he referred to as "The Precious," caused him to have a split personality and caused him to become a very disturbed individual. Smeagol, his friendlier personality, would often fight with Gullum. Anyway, because of a minor twisting of the truth, Frodo eventually left Sam and continued on with Gullum/Smeagol. However, Frodo eventually discovered Sam was right; Gullum wanted the ring for himself. It just amazed me how much the truth can be twisted by only a few words. And people believe it...ALL THE TIME. So it leaves with the question; who can we trust? I know my answer. Sometimes I don't always behave in a way that is pleasing to God, but I do my best. It's not easy. Just worth it.

In the meantime, what shall we do? What can we do about overcoming a distrusting world? The answer is simple; know yourself. Other than God, you know yourself better than anybody. Ask yourself; is this REALLY true? If you don't know, ask the source. It's better to put out the flames than continue to fuel them. Holly and I were talking about this last night. Second, find someone you can trust. If it isn't God, then I pray you will/do have someone you can trust. I will leave with this. Also, LOVE. In a song I know, one of the lines is "You can never love too strong." I find this to be very much true. If you can love others, then they will love you in return. If they love you, they can trust you. But you have to love and trust yourself too.


"Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  1 Corinthians 13:7