Running to the Darkness

Ringing Out the Old and in the New Year!

 My dad watched them celebrate the New Year in Austraila and we saw it on the news replay!

I used to make a bunch of New Year's Resolutions every New Year. Sometimes it was most frustrating and shaming because it seemed that I was most unsuccessful. So I no longer make them but prefer to pray instead.

Today I prefer to review the year some things I have enjoyed. Gary and I began the year 2008 in Kentucky with family! And then early in January we traveled to Deer Valley to speak at a pastors' retreat. We shared some inspiring services and some great snowmobiling for the very first time! They had more snow there then they had had in many years! What fun it was to climb to the top of Tincup Pass! Fascinating!

I remember the adventure that I began with God and the girls on Monday morning, Beth Moore's Stepping Up! It was a study of the Psalms of Ascent and it was began on our faces before God. It seemed that the entire year was a lesson in humility! The theme continued all year much to my surprise but it really has been a growing year. Life looks differently from a prostrate position. That perspective has been stretching and valuable.

A tirp to India in February was as always an inspiring and awesome experience with a great team of ladies who encouraged and prayed with women a half a world away. It was great to see my friend and mentor, Prati Stephens whose love and encouragement was much needed and very timely.

Gary  and I were honored to go to the National Strategic Event for the Willow Creek Leadership Summit in Orlando. It is always encouraging and inspiring as they shared the theme and inspiration for the Summit and concluded with a song,  God of This City.

What a treat in April when Indian Creek hosted Prati Stephens who traveled to the USA for the first time alone specifically to share with the women of Indian Creek in a luncheon, Women Made for More. Over 80 women were inspired by her message that we are created for a purpose1

May was one of the most difficult months I have ever lived! Personally, we were challenged as a family more than we have been since our daughter, Megan died.

June brought a trip to Indiana for an annual international conference and then July brought a long anticipated trip to Hawaii, the only state Gary had not visited. We didn't realize how grieved we were until we escaped to Paradise to celebrate our 29th anniversary. We had an incredible trip. Kristen and Josh and Josh's mom, Billie accompanied us and we returned refreshed and revived!

July brought a surprise as I broke my ankle and missed a trip to Mexico to celebrate the wedding of a dear friend, Melody Cepeda. But Gary and Kristen went anyway and I celebra!ted through them. August and September and October were spent rehabilitating with a whole new perspective and attitude of gratitude!

September brought incrediblly amazing things at  Indian creek as we began to dream about multi-site locations and how God was going to expand His Kingdom throughout Olathe and beyond! God always promises to do more than we can think, hope or imagine! We have seen it before at Indian Creek and we are excited about what is yet to come!

Indian Creek  began Sunday night services and to dream and plan about an new site! August brought a long anticipated dream realized by Kristen and Josh as they became homeowners and moved from their residence at our home which we had thoroughly enjoyed for nearly a year! They refinished our bathroom downstairs as a thank you and then began to paint their own home.

The CMA conference was a great and inspiring time when Gary shared passionately his heart for the Kingdom of God and advancing it.

October and November brought new experiences of weddings and funerals: beginnings and endings. Life is continually coming at us with new experiences, losses and love! In a world of change and instablity I am thankful for a God who never changes and on whom we can depend! I am thankful for a God who can do more than we can think, hope and dream!

I'm Going to be a Grandma!

Baby, Baby!!

Jeremy and Jesi are  parents!

Gary and I are excited to be GRANDparents! Sometime around August 14 this year! 

 

Cousin Jonathan who became a father this year is excited that his daughter, Annalee will have a cousin to play with and grow up with.

   I am going to be taking lessons from little sister, Brigette who has mastered the GRANDma role in just three short months!

In awe of what God does to knit together a little one in a mother's womb in just nine months!

We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made! A masterpiece!

Wii are in a Rock Band!

Everybody is a Rock Star!

The Green Family  shared their Christmas present, a Wii, complete with the Rock Band set! And everybody got into the act!

Even Gary drummed up the energy and got in on the fun!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! There Is No Place Like Grandma's!

What a full time of fun and family this Christmas has been! A record for the Kendall Klan! After spending nearly the entire month with Gary's mom and dad in our home, Gary's brother and most of their family was able to come up for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! What a treat! We had such a good time! However it did end abruptly when the eve of Christmas Day found Gary and Brian spending their entire night and next day in the bathroom!

Brad and I escorted Paul and Ruthie to the airport early in the morning, leaving most of the family at our house in bed. Finally, about 2:00 p.m. Brad and Kristel drugged Brian enough to get him out to the car to head back to Oklahoma City. A great time but a not so great ending.

Over the hills and through the woods to Grandma's house we go! Finally, we decided in spite of Gary's illness we to make the planned trek to Kentucky to celebrate with my parents, brother, three sisters and their families! So about 3:30 p.m. on Friday Jesi met us at our house and we headed to Cerner to pick up Jeremy who had to work that day. Jeremy and Jesi rode in one car while Gary and I trailed them. Gary spent the entire 11 hour drive in the backseat with severe stomach cramps. The good news was except for the wind smacking the car continually, it could not have been a more pleasant drive! Jeremy and I drove the entire way without getting the least bit sleepy! Perhaps we were running on adrenalin! When we pulled into the driveway and entered the house my sister and Dad were waiting up to be certain that we arrived safely at 2:30 a.m. Eastern time!

This afternoon it was present time! First Luke placed the Angel on top of the Christmas tree in memory of missing the presence of Megan who has beat us all to heaven! As we took the family picture we were all aware that life changes things as Kristen and Josh weren't present to take their places and Alysa was working in New York with barely enough time off to celebrate at home in Indiana. We certainly know we must treasure every opportunity and each one each time we get to gather! But life has blessed us with two new additions: Andrienne and Annalee.

Traditionally, we headed downstairs where the cousins exchanged gifts, nine plus two spouses, two significant others and one baby! When they finished Jeremy had one more present for his Granny! He stood next to her and told her that there would be one more Kendall kid to add to the mix next Christmas! Her mouth dropped open while everyone else in the room squealed with delight! Congratulations were extended all around and my sister, Brigette who became a grandmother this year had a gift already ready to present to me that had a tag that read, Do not open until you know that you are going to be a granny!

Then they all had to hear the story about how Jeremy and Jesi announced the news to us on Monday night before Christmas when we exchanged presents as a family. Jeremy and Jesi gave me a gift to open at the end of our exchanges. I opened it and it was a little green quilt. I was so impressed that they remembered that I loved quilts and then I turned the quilt over and the front was embroidered with There is no place like Grandma's.I was thinking of my own mom being Jeremy's grandmother and thought that that was sweet. And then it dawned on me! That this quilt for me and that they were telling me that I was going to be a grandma! I squealed with surprise and delight! Looking up I realized that they were not only taking pictures of my surprise but had recorded the entire presentation and response! They have promised to post it on Facebook.

What an incredible Christmas the announcement of a baby makes!

Merry Christmas!!

  It's Christmas this month! I really love the month of December and so enjoying celebrating all month long!

 

One of the culminating events for me is Christmas Eve service@theCreek. When Indian Creek was still hosting worship services in the schools we were not afforded the ability to host Christmas Eve services. So Gary and I and the kids traveled to Kentucky in time to celebrate with my family, the Barkers. Our brother-in-law traditionally attended the Midnight Mass at the Catholic church so we went along one year. We fell in love with celebrating the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve.  Gary said, As soon as we have our own facility we have got to host a Christmas Eve service! And so, as soon as we built the first phase we began to encourage everyone to invite their friends and family to share a special time together and it became my favorite service of the entire year!

 

I love seeing everyone so excited and anticipating the next day! People tend to bring their family and friends who are visiting for the season and it is a great time to love on one another and celebrate the birth of Christ on the very eve of Christmas! And last night was no different! Lester J. rocked the house on Carole of the Bells with the rest of the band! Brandon Estelle and his new wife, Tracy sang on the team with Dee and Pat! Dee and Hayley sang Happy Birthday, Jesus and Kathleen danced a couple of times with Ericka, Lester's niece! Gary delivered what someone quoted on twitter as the greatest Christmas Eve message they had ever heard, Redeeming Relationships.. Several people found their way back to God! What a Merry Christmas!

 

Over the years our traditions have changed but I am so glad for the love of Christ that remains constant and the love of family and friends who demonstrate His love with one another!

 

For many years our tradition was to hop in the car as soon as the last service was over (we had an 11:00 p.m. service for many years) we hopped in the car and traveled all night long to get to Kentucky on Christmas by noon to celebrate with family. Now that our children are adults they have own families that they want to spend Christmas with so we flex and flow to work to get everyone together.

This year Gary's mom and dad, with whom I only remember sharing one Christmas Day with (the first year we were married in Satanta, KS) are in Olathe to spend nearly the entire month with us. What a joy that has been! And an unexpected delight was that Gary's brother, his wife and two sons were able to travel up from Oklahoma City in time for Christmas Eve services! So Brad and Gary and their parents are spending the first Christmas Day together in about 20+ years!

 

 

So we will travel to Kentucky tomorrow with Jeremy and Jesi to get to catch Christmas with our Kentucky family and Indiana cousins! Wow! The bigger the family, the longer the Christmas lasts!

Kendall Christmas

   

We love to celebrate Christmas with the reading of the FIRST Christmas from Luke!  Gary read it this year and we are so glad that his mom and dad are here to share the time with us. The exchange of gifts is a part of our tradition as well. We are very accustomed to celebrating early. With Christmas Eve services tomorrow night and Luke headed out of town on Christmas Eve day we selected to exchange our gifts last night. What a fun time we had together, laughing and loving on each other!

Everyone enjoyed being together!  It is amazing how difficult it can be to gather everyone when we are in the same town. But it is well worth the effort.

Kristen suggested that we take time and turns and enjoy each person as they open each gift.

So we did and really loved it! My, how they have grown up! We had a great time opening gifts and exclaiming over each one, enjoying the response by each individual! What fun!

Tomorrow Gary's brother, Brad and his family are coming from Oklahoma City for a surprise Merry Christmas! Gary and Brad and their parents haven't shared a Christmas together in more than 20 years! It will be good to have them all here! They are coming just in time for Christmas@theCreek 5:00 Christmas Eve service and will share Christmas Day with us as well.

Paul and Ruthie head home to Oregon on December 26th so Brad and Kristel will head south while Gary and I, as well as Jeremy and Jesi, travel east to Kentucky to share Christmas with the Barkers. Luke will join us there, while Kristen and Josh entertain Buckeyes in their new home in Olathe. We are looking forward to stretching Christmas into the New Year!

Black and White

It was a cold day but not as cold as originally predicted. The ground was still packed with snow from the previous day. The black hearse was a stark contrast of reality against the snowy background. Black against white. Death against life.

No one should have to bury their loved one in the dead of winter in the snowy cold ground. But life. . . and death go on. And it seems that there is no sense of fairness. Why do two teenage kids lose their mother and their father before they are old enough to drive? Why?

God, I don't know.

I just know that it feels so wrong. God, how do you feel? I can't imagine how You let us go on in this life when everything is so far from Paradise and we are so far from You.

Where do we get the desire to long for our loved ones? To yearn for their presence among us? Where do we get that longing and that yearning? Could it be from our Heavenly Father who longs to rescue us from ourselves? Could it be from the One from Whom we were created?

Thank You for transcending heaven and hell to be with us.

God With Us. . .Immanuel, , , Merry Christmas.

    

Snow laden roads, a perfect time for Christmas Shopping!

Tuesday night Gary and I hurried out to our car in the snowladen parking lot! We were eager to get home and pick up his mom and Kristen for our first Christmas shopping! Gary who wasn't normally excited about shopping (it is next to going to the dentist in his book, though he really likes our dentist!) was even anticipating being with his three of his favorite women: Kristen, his mom and me!

 

However when we got to the car, I stuck the key in the ignition and to my surprise it would not budge! The chamber was locked! Then I did what I always do when I have car problems, I called my dad who is in Kentucky. My dad is a race car driver, mechanic, lover of cars and was the fixer of everything broken during my years at home. Anyway he advised me to heat up my key and then insert it because moisture may have frozen in the chamber and caused it to lock up. Unfortunately, that did not work so we resorted to prayer to which the ignition did not respond either. So we called AAA for a tow truck. Ufortunately that meant that someone had to wait around so that they could be with the car when they came. Kristen could see the evening of shopping evaporating before her eyes but her daddy saved the night by encouraging us girls to go ahead and he would stay and take care of the car.

We really didn't need a second encouragement. Kristen volunteered bravely to drive us in her car and we were off. It was quite adventurous as there were not many others on the road. And when we arrived at the mall we were delighted to find the promenades mostly empty of the throngs of frantic shoppers! We were glad to take full advantage of a bad weather situation to shop as if we owned the place. So we traversed from store to store at a leisurely but good pace. What a fun time we had with one another and the joy of selecting things that we thought would delight our loved ones! We even helped each other buy gifts for us--what else would a girl do!

Jesus Saves Christmas--Whisper His Name

What an encouragement our services  were on Sunday! Pastor Jim's message encouraged me to remember who I really am, to play and to enjoy the season. However it was the song presented powerfully by the Holy Spirit through Angie Stevenson, Whisper His Name, that moved me greatly! Here is a you tube version, but it is not even close to the power and spirit that was delivered on Sunday!

It has been a tough season for me. Grief has plagued me! I have suffered many losses this year and my heart is sore from the ache. Although we celebrated with 18 couples this year in marriages at Indian Creek, I lost track of the number of funerals and said, Goodbye to some precious people. This time of unprecedented financial crisis and family crisis has left people scared, broken and hurting! I have heard too many tragic stories and financial predicaments! How can we help them all? If ever there was a time I needed to whisper His name it is this season!

As we were singing on Sunday I could feel God encouraging us through the calling out of Jesus' name together! I could picture Him running to me just like I ran to my chldren when they called out my name!

Psalm 34:18, The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. . .

I was encouraged when I called out His name and He ran to me! May you be encouraged as well!