by Kimberly | Oct 14, 2014 | glory and grace
Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him; the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. Oh how wonderful it is to have people who care about you! Psalm 41.1-2
Since last week’s wallet-stealing episode, we have seen God work in amazing ways.
The church we call home, Mount Vernon in Sandy Springs, GA, graciously rallied around us with prayers, concern, and we were given more than enough to make up for what was stolen.
That is the body of Christ friend. I am reminded again of the truth that God will provide for us in every way, taking care of everything when we have a need! He is all around us – all the time – orchestrating all events to bring Himself the most glory.
So, we are by no means poor, but this verse reminded me of how blessed people are who bless others – and blessings all around!
by Kimberly | Oct 14, 2014 | 31days, hymns
I love reflecting on our wedding day! We just celebrated 3 years last week so it is always good to think about the actual wedding ceremony.
One of my husband’s groomsmen is an exceptional guitarist. I asked him if he would play my bridal march because I wanted something simple and acoustic. I told him I wanted Fairest Lord Jesus played as I walked down the aisle. He arranged an amazing version and I love the song even more now.
We sang this hymn yesterday in church. As my husband and I were talking about it, he pointed out verse 2 and the abrupt change in the lyrics. The hymnwriter begins focusing on creation – but then does an about face to talk about Jesus.
The Agent of Creation!
When I was walking down the aisle, a dream every woman has…I knew every eye would be on me. But, no matter how my hair or dress or boots looked that day – my Bridegroom is much fairer.
Thanks Craig for helping others see that!
by Kimberly | Oct 13, 2014 | glory and grace, Kids r Readers 2, mothering, parenting
Today my little boy turns one. One. Seriously?
And I think to myself I’ve had one year to teach him – to love him – to pour into him. What is he going to remember?
I hope he will remember the love, the kisses, the midnight feedings, the giggles and tickles.
What I hope he will always remember is that fact that his mommy and daddy love Jesus. We want him to know the truth of the Gospel. How will we do this?
We will pray that with endurance we will talk about the Gospel and live the gospel out in front of him and his brother every day they are with us. How can we do that?
Teaching him (as little as he is): the authority of God and His Word – and the love of the Father.
1. Use a chalkboard in your dining room to learn a Bible verse a week.
2. Sing songs in the car that speak of God’s love.
3. Watch shows that teach good things – and then talk to them about how the Gospel intersects with that.
4. Pray with them every chance you get.
5. Read Gospel-centered books to them – and teach them about God while reading any book you can.
by Kimberly | Oct 13, 2014 | Bible, creatives, Uncategorized
When I first met my husband, I knew immediately of his love for integrity and his love for the Word. It was clearly evidenced in his life and speech and faithfulness to the ministry that God had called him to. It still is. He pursues integrity and fights the sin that so easily entangles.
Before we got married, on my first tour of the entire house which we would share, I walked in to his master bathroom and saw a printout of Ephesians 6: the Armor of God section. What? Single men don’t have Scripture on their walls that they are memorizing. He said he read it every morning to help engage his mind and prepare his mind and body for the battle against sin that would face him that day. I didn’t know any single men that did this – that took Scripture this seriously – that was just an added confirmation that I was right when I said “yes”!
Our first three years of marriage have been exciting, ever-changing, and hard at times too. One of the verses that have been such a comfort to me has been this one:
I love the truth that I hear and know to be a fact in this verses. That doesn’t mean that no harm will ever come to me or my family, because the Bible indeed says that we will face hardships in this life. But, God has promised He will protect me. I am safe in his hands. And my family is too.
As I head out of town this week, with our boys, I know I need to pray a shield of protect around this house, my husband’s car, his work place, our church where he will be some while I’m away, his mind, and his heart. I don’t only need to pray this while I’m away, but I need to pray for him daily that he would remember this truth and the truth found in Ephesians 6 – that God is his armor.
Gracewear Collection contacted me a few weeks back about their products. Their simple jewelry line whose primary purpose is to remind folks that God has given us an armor. We are shielded by faith! Their jewelry is simple and artistic. I love the shielded charm that I picked out. I love pearls and I loved the fact that I could wear it or hook it on something that I with me at all times. What woman doesn’t love jewelry. And this jewelry doesn’t scream hey – look at me. No. It is simple and pretty – creatively designed to not draw attention (1 Peter 3) but to remind of the truth it proclaims and to look pretty.
Christmas is coming up. And if you’ve already completed your Christmas shopping – then what about birthday, a housewarming gift, a wedding gift, a baby shower gift (because don’t we mommas worry about our babies?). There is always a reason for jewelry. You can use my referral link to shop and I get credit. How great is that?
Ladies – our trust isn’t in jewelry, but in the God who created all things for his glory – and we hope in Him to be our shield.
(This post is sponsored by Gracewear Collection, but all thoughts and comments are my own.)
by Kimberly | Oct 13, 2014 | Arkansas, food, The Charming South Kitchen
Another week is here. This one is a big and busy one for us.
We celebrate our little turning ONE! I can’t believe it! I feel like a lifetime has passed in the last year with so much happening in the life of our family.
And the littles and I are heading to Little Rock to follow-up with a nutrition study we were doing and see lots of friends and celebrate his birthday up there. We can’t wait.
Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
Funfetti Pancakes
Baked Breakfast Tacos
Oreo Brownies (for a women’s event on Thursday night)
Spaghetti Casserole (for my mister while we are away.
So, not much going on but plenty in our books. I’m making another cake for the birthday too, so will be sharing pictures of that.
by Kimberly | Oct 13, 2014 | Uncategorized
This little boy is so darn cute!
I love him. I love his little laughs. I love his crazy faces. I love how much he reminds me of his daddy. I love how he looks up to his big brother. I love how he does The Twist when Daniel Tiger comes on. I love how he is finally (mostly) sleeping through the night. I love how he speed walks. I love how how he has persevered and can finally drink his milk on his own, if we use the right sippy cup, and he’s in the mood to not be lazy.
So thankful that this boy is in our lives. He is Bubba to most everyone – BabyBach to some – and Sebastian and bubses to me.
I love you much little boy.
I pray that you will grow to look more like your Father in the next coming years, listen to our teaching, and grow in the knowledge of the Gospel. And stay just as cute as you are now!
Happiest of birthdays to you baby.
Love – Your Mommy
by Kimberly | Oct 13, 2014 | 31days, hymns
I do believe this modern hymn is one of the clearest pictures of the Gospel, EVER.
But how often to do we want to think about the suffering that the line afforded: here in the death of Christ I live.
Paul says in Philippians 3 that he wants to share in his sufferings – grow in them, pursue them, be like Christ so that he does suffer.
We don’t like suffering. But, without suffering we have no life.
by Kimberly | Oct 11, 2014 | mothering, parenting, Shepherding Children, Uncategorized
I will be the first to admit of multitasking while my boys are awake. If they are playing, I am on my phone, cooking dinner, cleaning, reading a book, etc. And I’m not hear to lay blame on anyone else who does that. Rest in grace, friend. Walk in grace. Live in grace. That’s what my husband tells me.
Here’s what I am learning: let there be kisses. and tickling. and book reading.
My older son who just turned two is just now loving to bring me a book (usually the Wheels on the Bus) and pat my legs which is asking me to put him on my lap so I can read to him. I first told him no, then immediately was so convicted by the Spirit that I’ve not told him no since. It devastated my heart that I would tell my sons no to something as fun as reading a book to them just because I wanted to do something else. So, even today, as he finished lunch, he ran and got a book, and we read and sang and played with cars at the table while his little brother tried to hold his sippy cup and ended up getting more milk on him than in his tummy. That’s life.
Much of this denial that I give my sons is based on two things:
1. I think what I have my schedule is more important. Blogging. Writing. Cleaning. Being entertained with social media. It all comes down to pride. I don’t want our family’s schedule to be dominated by the boys – but I do want there to be much more book reading, hand holding, tickle fests than instagram feed reading. What do I want to communicate: verbally and non-verbally to my boys? That they are important and time with them is something I cherish – or that things and strangers are more important? What you communicate in your actions also gives you the door to speak the Gospel into their lives every day.
2. I try to fill our days with too many things. We love to be out and about during the days that Daddy is working. We’ll either go to the park, the mall, the zoo, Bible study at church, the gym, the river, etc. Atlanta is full of fun activities for families – so we take advantage of many of them. But, then when we are home I have so much to get done. I’m not thinking about stopping going so much – I just will have to limit what I think has to be done. I’m reading Challies’ series on getting things done and it helps me to realize that I’m not God and won’t accomplish everything. And everything doesn’t have to be accomplished. Energy is a commodity too.
My boys won’t be little long. The days are sometimes long and I look forward to having breaks with friends or solo times for being in the word or just running errands. But, I love their laughs and hand-holding. My Mister said last night that we better relish the times that they are excited to see us when we pick them up – because that always won’t be the case. I know it won’t be forever and my boys will stop wanting to sit on my lap for reading sessions, or stop laughing when I tickle them, or they won’t want me to kiss them goodnight.
Until then, let there be kisses. Everything else will wait!
by Kimberly | Oct 10, 2014 | 31days, hymns
I’m so thankful for modern hymnwriters. I’m also thankful for those who can take an old hymn and set it to new melody – or just take the old melody and make it to where you want to sing it today. Usually that means different set of instruments or more emotion in the voice.
This song is fairly new to me, since we’ve been going to our new church here in the ATL area. It was written in the 1600s. That’s old. Well, old compared to most hymns. Most modern churches won’t sing it. But, I love it. This version is my husbands favorite of the song. While I love Fernando’s version with the incredible harmonies. The lyrics are so rich and have so much depth of the gospel in them.
And keeping with the personal pronoun theme, I love how the song ends – speaking of our time in Heaven:
This is my Friend, in Whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.
by Kimberly | Oct 10, 2014 | Uncategorized
This weekend I’ll be spending 36 hours kid-free with my Mister exploring our town and just hanging out with each other. I’m thrilled at the chance to do this. We’ve not done an away trip since last Christmas. Way too long – but so much has happened since then. While we absolutely adore our two littles, we know there is much value in getting significant alone time with each other – more than the occasional date night (which I love too).
For our relationship, we thrive when we have quality time together. With his new job and our season of life, this is not always possible. So, we value those free evenings and don’t try to fill our lives with too much “other” stuff. But, we know that we need to communicate well for our marriage to thrive.
He is my husband after all. We’ve now spent three years being married, and 8 months before that getting to know each other, building that relationship, building trust, building intimacy, having arguments and figuring out how to bounce back, seeking forgiveness and seeing what new way we can apply the gospel to our marriage. He is most definitely my best friend. If I have any news to tell – he is the first one. There is no one I would rather travel with. I so miss him when he’s gone or I’m gone.
That is how I’m beginning to realize that God is with us. Yes, I’ve been a Christian for 32 years now. Wow – that’s a long time – but oh, sanctification is a continual process and Jesus keeps getting sweeter.
I’ve read some Scriptures today that talk mostly about suffering – and we’ve definitely had our share of that in our marriage – but to me, the personal pronouns stood out to me. And lately, those little grammar wonders have been leaping off the page at me in my reading of the Word.
*God Himself will be with us as our God (Revelation 21)
*The surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3)
*That I may know the power of his resurrection (Philippians 3)
*The Spirit Himself intercedes for us (Romans 8)
*His ears are open to our prayers (1 Peter 3)
*That he might bring us to God (1 Peter 3)
Do you hear the personal relationship that is intended and required for the Gospel? We can’t be second-hand Christians. WE have to cultivate a personal relationship with the God who created everything. And you know what – He makes that possible. He sent Jesus. He gave us the Holy Spirit. He will be forever with us – so we can forever know and worship Him. He’s not going to send His assistant. He himself will be our God!
And that my friends, is good news.
