My Mother

I can not imagine my life without my mother. I know the importance of discipleship and mentoring in one's life, but for that mentor to also be my mother is priceless. Her wisdom is unmatched. Her willingness to listen, to share and to pray is humbling. I can confidently bare my heart, joys, and struggles with her because I know I will find safety, love, validation, and have I mentioned wisdom?!

Oh, yes, so blessed.

War

There is a battle within me. A battle I did not ask for or consciously engage in. The battle is over me, over my mind. One side tells me I am nothing, useless, insecure, unlovable, ugly, stupid, and I believe him so blindly. The other tells me I am worthy, an heir, loved beyond measure, and worth fighting for. The latter is harder to believe.

God has been turning over sin that has been hidden deep within my mind. On one hand, I am joyful as I know this can only occur as God invades the areas of my mind that had been dedicated to such sin. On the other hand, I was almost paralyzed as a sin buried so deep was brought to the forefront this morning. Paralyzed in the sense that I don't feel I can emotionally handle the spiritual growth occurring.

All I could do was fall to my knees, Kleenex in hand, and revoke the enemy. I prayed to my Almighty Savior to heal and to teach me how to recover.

I'm not sure I can do it alone. I am sure I don't have to. God will not give me more then I can handle.

Giving Opportunity

I received this email from a friend at Show Hope:

I wanted to share with you all a need at Maria’s. There are a lot of little toddlers who love cruising around in these walkers. We helped buy 3 new rides when we went in September and they loved them. If you would like to raise money to buy 1 or 2 of these they can buy them in China for $60 each. So perhaps you could ask the kids at church to bring change or maybe a class you are a part of could take up a collection. It doesn’t matter how you do it really. If you’d like to participate just let me know. We’ll collect the money (checks can be made out to Show Hope) and then let Mariah know how much money she has to buy more walkers!! How about if we say let’s try to have the money by Dec 1^st so they can get their new rides for Christmas!

No pressure at all. If you’d like to help out that’s great!!

Thanks!!

McKensey Kemmerer
Director of Finance
Show Hope
PO Box 647
Franklin, TN 37065

Why I love vacation

For a thinker like me, I always look forward to vacation for a little extra processing/quiet time.  One of my favorite parts of the week was waking up to a quiet condo (those Flakers sure like their sleep!), making coffee, grabbing my Bible, journal and computer (for sermons/articles) and resting with my Lord.  Through these quiet times and conversations with my best friend last week, I felt knocked over the head with God's goodness, faithfulness, provision, and timing.  I just feel like there has been so much going on lately, and I am beyond humbled at how God is leading and protecting us.  I really am excited to see what our future holds.

As much as I would love to lay on the beach everyday, I was ready to come home and continue living, loving, and trusting.

Almost there...

Next week is going to be awesome because I will have:

1. Quality time with my best friend
2. Peace and relaxation (the kind that only comes from the ocean)
3. A chance for some extra sleep
4. A break from obsessing over having a super clean house
5. A break from cooking, laundry, and cleaning
6. A mental break from my emotionally draining career
7. Time to reflect, read and think
8. A chance to beat my best friend in mini-golf
9. Quality time with extended family
10. VACATION!