I've Moved!

I've moved my blog.

Come visit me at:
http://www.kimrhodes.wordpress.com/

Nothing against blogger, wordpress just seems to have a lot more options!
Please make this change on your blog and make sure to visit me at my new place!

Kim

Celebrating Fall

I was just getting a box of Paper

Wendy and I had just dropped off the kids at school and were heading to Office Max to pick up some supplies for the office. Upon checkout, a man named Michael asked if he could exchange our box of office max paper for the HP brand and said if we did that they are donating 20.00 per box to help fund cancer research. We said sure. It was the same cost and it was great to help out with a cause. We both know a someone who has had breast cancer. He offered to take the box to the van for us and that initiated a conversation.....

Do you know that the government does not fund cancer research?
He has personally sold 400 cases of paper at our store.
Office Max is donating $2 per pack of paper /20.00 per case to cancer research
There are over 700 stores in the US
Michael found out a year ago that he has a tumor inside of his eye.
He is heading to Boston this Saturday for another visit to check on the progress
He had a 1 in a million chance of having a tumor in his eye.
They can't remove it or he will die in 6 months
If it starts growing he will die in 2 months
If it shrinks too fast then it will go to another part of his body and he will die in 6 months
He said he believed in God but is not a religious person
He had a daughter that died at 16 and he has never been back to church since
He encouraged us to have our eyes dilated when we got eye exams
We told him we would be praying for him
We asked if we could pray for him and we decided not to since he seemed awkward about it

All of those points to say... Here is a guy who is passionate about life and is making a difference by working at office max. He believes in a God but I would not say he was a follower. He lives with the unknown everyday of he might just drop dead. Just another reminder that tragedy can really form your passions. Just another reminder that there are so many people in the world working to make this place a better place and not all of them are believers.

On another note. James Dobson was on the radio on the way home and the conversation/topic of airtime was why you don't need to watch R rated movies. This is just my opinion but are there not better world changing topics out there that we can address? Let the spirit guide you in what is good for your own life. There are people dying from hunger, disease, aids, malnourishment and we are spending time on the radio talking about how if a movie has one bad word or twelve... how to deal with that. Our communities need to grow up and start addressing real issues. Just my opinion... I know not everyone would agree with that......

Mcmanus

Today I listened to a talk by Erwin Mcmanus from last week. It was titled the call to an original life. It was good to do that today. Very challenging and affirming at the same time. Here are my notes on it...

Your life is a heroic tail waiting to be discovered.

So many times the language of a call only applies to speakers. Does everyone get to live an extraordinary life. Every one of us are being called out to live an original life. When you meet Jesus that call comes crashing into your soul and it’s a tragedy if you miss it.

The calls are never the same. And often the calling of God is formed on our life in the context of crisis and tragedy and hardships. (( how true is this.))

Daniel: A calling out of hardship. Ch 1 vs 1 – There was a moment of turmoil and war and the babs came and overcame the Israelites. This pagan king takes the artifacts that belong to God and pillage it. The king ordered young men who were Israelites to be filtered into their world. They were given new names and their world was in turmoil. They went from nobility to royalty and one day they would be kings and rulers. They had power and wealth and their intently was wrapped up in this nation. Then their lives were released and they were to give up their names and take new identities. This is where we discover calling coming. There are moments in life where everything goes bad and you wonder if God is even paying attention. But what God is doing is forming your character etc. and as you want to make progress forward God wants to make progress inward.

Deborah – a calling out of necessity. God called the one who was willing to go. Judges CH 4 – She was leading Israel at the time. And she held court. She was known as a person of leadership and wisdom. Deborah knew she could do it but it was not her moment. After asking someone else to go and fight they in turn said only if she came would he. So the point made here is that sometimes the call of God is formed out of necessity because the person who is supposed to go is not willing to go.

Esther – a calling out of opportunity. To look at your life and see what you are good at doing that only you can do. If Esther does not do this then God will raise someone else up. And who knows you have been given this position as such a time as this. God puts you at the right place at the right time so that you can have influence.

Anyway.. just some thougths on what I was challenged on. Not sure where I fall into this. Some of my calling has been out of hardships and others out of opportunity. More later

Cleaning out the closets

Ok so for the past month or so now I've been cleaning out the closets. I am sure you are wondering what I mean by that. Well yes I am actually cleaning out my bedroom closet. Getting rid of clothes I never wear etc. But I have also been cleaning out my life closet as well. The thing is, when you clean out your closets... some things need to go because you realize they look bad on you etc. but then you have to sort through some really good things as well and realize they are just not worth hanging on to. It's great stuff but it needs to find a new home in order for better stuff to come in. So that is where I have been. I've dealt with some old stuff lately that I needed to get rid of but I've also worked through some of the good things too and realized it's time for me to move some of that stuff out too. Maybe that has been why the lack of posts. It gets kind of scary when people read what you write and make assumptions by the way you happen to express yourself. Sometimes I think that happens with me. The whole assumptions thing. People think they know me because they look at me from a distance or they read some words floating out there on cyberspace but they don't know me. There are only a handful of people that truly know me. And at the end of the day that is what matters to me. So if I may... here are some very random closet cleaning thoughts. Take them for what they are worth. Some good, some bad, some stuff just moving on. Bottom line. These are my opinions on a life I'm living.

I've realized lately how insecure I can be. How I struggle with confidence in myself. Sometimes my lack of fighting back is because it's not worth my effort to make people feel like I am a person of control. Why is that so important to some people? Anyway, through some processing I've started to gain a backbone. I'm going to be more confident in what I say and how I express myself. I am a strong woman of God.

I just got back from the Catalyst conference last week. Still processing all of that stuff. It was great on a multitude of fronts. In ways I was so humbled to walk by the side of my husband who is an introvert by nature. I can't tell you how many people stopped us to say hello. I guess after 7 years of ministering to churches in a variety of venues... people start knowing who you are. To me it was such a joy to sit back and realize what our family does is worth it. We are impacting lives and we are having amazing opportunities to share our message with people. I don't say that in pride I say that out of a heart who is amazed that God truly can use the most ordinary people to impact this world. We are proof of that. Catalyst was also great because I was able to be challenged by a multitude of people. After hearing the message at Catalyst I left very disturbed in life. But that is a good thing.

If one more person asks if I am pregnant I'm not sure what I'll do. Yes it still happens and has happened twice in the last three weeks. I live under the assumption that it will keep happening. It makes for the most awkward situations. If I don't know the person then I'll just smile and when they say congrats I say thanks and if I happen to know them... well lets just say how awkward it is. Bottom line, my ab muscles are permanently separated and I tend to show a belly if I've eaten a big meal. As weird as it is to be asked if I'm expecting, it has started to remind me how thankful I am that I have a pot belly. It really is the best trade off in the entire world. How can I dwell on it when the reality is that it has brought me such a blessing in my life. I'll be forever grateful.

There are so many things I feel like I need to be doing.. the whole croc thing and then there are all these people that the Lord has layed on my heart to help. It's frustrating when your days are slammed and it seems you never get started on these desires. Dave recently reminded me that there is a season for everything. Just because God has prompted my heart to start thinking about certain things does not mean that I have to have them done tomorrow. I may not see those things play out in my life for months even years. All that to say, I've experienced much freedom in knowing that it's ok to wait on some of these things and I'm not failing myself or what I feel God is leading me to do because of that.

It's hard being a working mom, even if it's a part time working mom. But I would not trade it for the world. I love my girls but I for our family our relationship works so much better because I can get out and work at the things God is calling me to do. Being a mom is one of those things but getting to play a role in Kingdom work is one too. If I was not working at Wayfarer I know I'd be working for some other ministry out there. It's a big way I feel I contribute. I'm the lucky one. I've never struggled with my purpose or calling in life. Before kids or after. I am realizing what a hurdle that can be for other people at times and I'm thankful that it has not been one for me.

With that said, I wish I liked to cook or had time to cook. That is one thing I don't ever think I will get passionate about. I have friends that can cook... they could open their own place. That is just not me. It's amazing the stresses that can bring on when your husband walks through the door from work and asks whats for dinner and I just stare at him and say... "not sure! " I guess if you have to have one week spot in your marriage it's a good one to have.

Talking about marriage... Not my place to brag but I am so thankful for what I think is one of the best things about life. Dave and I have a wonderful marriage. I realize more and more how uncommon that is becoming. Our marriage is great because we work really hard at it. Well we don't work that hard at it so I guess we are the lucky ones. I am convinced that if two people truly decide to embrace life together. Embrace mission, passion and calling that your journey has this stronger adhesive. I think honestly it is because our driving force is more than going to work, having kids, eating dinner, and then do that all over again. I mean there has to be more right? Again just my opinion but Dave and I are not ones who fight for our personal agendas or make sure we one up each other. We are a team and we are living life with purpose. And we are not unique. I know so many others who do the same. And here is the deal. We still have our own identity's but the majority of our identity is found in us both as a team. I'm not a weak person because of that. I'm a better person.

Emma is calling for bed. So many more randoms to go... later when there is time.

Have any of this? If you want to help let me know!

Here is an email that I sent out to our friends and family today. If you can donate items or know of someone who can, please pass on the word.

Dave is heading to Peru in November with Compassion International. During his trip they will be visiting a Child Survival Program Center. He will be able to take and leave things like stuffed animals, rattles, receiving blankets, pajamas, baby clothing and other developmental toys for ages up to 3 years old. He will also be visiting with their school aged children and will be able to share with them jump ropes, soccer balls, side walk chalk, or anything that would be fun to interact with the kids. Our family is going to get together some of these items for him to take however we would love for him to take as much as he can when he goes. If by chance you have these things and you are in the process of needing to get rid of them, I just wanted you to know that our family would love to take them off of your hands.

We are really excited about this opportunity that Dave will have to be with Compassion and see first hand what God is doing through their organization. Chad Norris and Chris Brooks from Wayfarer will also be going. So between the three of them, we should have room to take some really needed items to children who really need them.

Thanks for letting me share this with you. If you have questions or are able to help feel free to email me at krhodes@engagegod.org. Please feel free to forward this through any networks you have.

Thanks!
The Rhodes Family

Lots to Update on but please take a look at this for now

Our friends, the Ivey's have started the adoption process in Haiti for a beautiful boy named Amos Dowensky. You can catch up on their journey here.


They received a video of Amos in Haiti receiving a package they sent him. It made me cry.... a lot. If you have time make sure you take a look and while you do, please pray for this family as they journey towards each other in this beautiful picture of redemption. Click here