by Kendra | Aug 21, 2015 | Blog Posts
The reason we’ve found ourselves in the position we’re in today as a society is because we’ve been bullied and forced into silence for fear of offending others. We value others and don’t want to cause a divide, so we’ve stuck our heads in the ground and tried to ignore it.
But guess what? While we’ve had our heads buried in the sand, a few fearless people have been kicking up the sand around us, and we are now exposed. We look around and find that the entire landscape around us has changed.
We’re at a crossroads in America right now. Each one of us has a choice: stand up for our beliefs with confidence, and speak the truth in love and without personal attacks, or do nothing and let others decide our fates for us. We can take action now to shape the world our children and future generations will be living in, or we can leave their precious lives in the hands of those who do speak out and take action.
Speak now, or forever hold your peace!
I’ve found that although speaking out is scary, good things happen! Jumping off the high-dive is exhilarating—the only terrifying part is climbing the ladder, walking out to the end of the diving board, and teetering on the edge trying to build up the nerve to take the plunge. I choose to jump with everything I’ve got (no graceful, calculated dives for me, I just jump—there’s less room for error). I will not turn around and go back down the ladder like a ‘fraidy cat!
What’s the point of going through the anxiety of making it all the way to the edge of the board, with everyone watching, and then not taking that final, invigorating and thrilling leap?
If you’d like an array of simple daily action steps you can take to make a difference in America, you’ll find them in my book, Exploring the Faith of America’s Presidents.
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by Kendra | Mar 16, 2015 | Blog Posts, Divorcing Your Divorce
Procrastination is the Thief of Time. It makes easy things hard and hard things harder. The next thing you know, that easy thing has turned into a huge burden.
How many times do you say, “I don’t have time” or “There’s not enough time in the day to get everything done”? In my case, I say these things, uh, every day. 🙁
Today I realized that TIME is not the problem, I’m the problem. The truth is that there’s always enough time if we don’t befriend the thief, Procrastination. He seduces us with momentary pleasure and blinds us to the PAIN we’ll suffer when we needlessly delay. He lies to us about the ultimate COST to us in the future when we put something off. Procrastination cozies up to you and whispers in your ear, “You can do that tomorrow, no problem.”
Tomorrow rolls around and you put it off one more day. Then you do it again, and again, and again, and the next thing you know it’s two months later and you completely forgot exactly what it was you were supposed to do. Or, you wait until the last minute and you have to drop everything else, be totally stressed out, and operate on little sleep. It’s hard to do anything, or do it correctly, when you’re irritated and sleep-deprived. Procrastination drives some people to drink or overeat. It can make one less than pleasant to be around.
One day you’re carrying around a marble in the palm of your hand. All you have to do is take 1 minute to put the thing away in its place. It’s quite simple, but you don’t do it. Then you wake up one day and find you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.
Before we procrastinate, count the cost. Procrastination is a liar and a thief. Just Do It!!!
Or, as we southerners like to say, “Git ’em done!”
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by Kendra | Mar 12, 2015 | Blog Posts, Divorcing Your Divorce
“My life would be perfect if I just had .”
If you’re like me you’ve already filled in that blank, and you’re tired of waiting. Let’s face it, waiting can be excruciating. We want what we want, and we want it NOW!!!
Here’s what I was thinking about this morning. God plants desires in our hearts, which He—and only He—will fulfill.
Because I’ve got an innate desire to control and make sense of my circumstances and the world around me, I tend to get carried away with filling in the details. I clutter God’s perfect plan with my details and then find them suddenly wiped away, like a cosmic eraser across my life, leaving me feeling helpless and hopeless.
The Good News is that God’s plans are written in indelible ink! They’re engraved on the palm of His Hand. God’s plans never change. It’s only the misguided details that I came up with that change.
The antidote to the worry of waiting is to wait expectantly: Wait to see what God will do, while believing that He has plans to prosper you and not to harm you.
The future might not look like you think it will look, but rest assured that’s because it will be much better, far beyond your wildest dreams! You may be asking for a simple stone, a pebble would make you happy, but God not only is going to provide you with bread instead, but with a ten-course meal served at the most lavish banquet, the likes of which you can’t even fathom.
I have an image of children at home on a sunny summer day, searching and searching for a pebble they will never find.
Why get frustrated and waste their time trying to find it, when they could be outside playing, laughing, running through the grass barefoot, eating ice cream and riding bicycles? Dad will be home with their surprise, but He’s not home just yet. Let’s have fun and don’t worry about. Dad always comes through!
“Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Jesus is in the boat right next to you, in the midst of the storm, and He will instantly stop the emotional storm raging inside you in an instant if you let Him. There’s no need to panic.
The harder we try to control an outcome, the more we interfere with God’s plans. Step out of the way and let Him work!
The more the children call Dad and interrupt him at work, the longer it will take him to get his work finished and come home with their surprise.
When Abraham and Sarah took matters into their own hands when they thought they couldn’t possibly have a child in their old age, they caused a disaster from which mankind is still suffering the consequences. Once they stepped back and let God work, the seemingly impossible happened: Sarah gave birth to Isaac, and from his lineage was born The Savior!
What good does it do to be anxious and worried over something we can’t change?
Go outside and play!!! The house is clean and ready, the table is set, it’s time to enjoy the gorgeous summer afternoon!
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by Kendra | Feb 16, 2015 | Blog Posts, Features
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by Kendra | Nov 30, 2014 | Blog Posts, Divorcing Your Divorce
You can say that again!
This weekend I’ve been struggling with two sick dogs who could have cancer at the worst, liver disease and an immobilizing lipoma at best. I’ve been beside myself worrying about them, especially since my beloved cat of 12 years, Dollie, passed away a few weeks ago.
I can’t take losing my precious dogs.
I’ve been researching home-cooked dog food, since neither of my dogs are eating. If they do eat, they sometimes get sick to their stomachs. I ran across a wonderful statement from a vet that said that as a dog owner, I need to take care of myself and enjoy the good moments with my dogs, which will in turn will relax them and make them feel better, and they need that for their improvement and well-being.
My stress and worry and depression was making it harder on them.
After making myself crazy reading for hours about recommended diets and supplements and trying to understand what was happening, I finally went to the store, bought some organic/preservative-free ingredients, and came home and tried yet another meal that they may or may not eat. I was so stressed out by the time I got home, I could do nothing more than acknowledge that I was doing all I could do. I had to quit spending hours on end worrying and researching and trying to control a situation that is largely out of my control.
To my absolute joy and relief, they ate!
Now, we’ve already had a couple set backs, but we’ve taken a few steps forward too, so I’m thanking God for those little victories!
I can choose to focus on the problems and the depression, and make things worse for my dogs and me, or I can do what I can do, let go, let God, and enjoy my sweet dogs right now.
Today I’m choosing to live in the here and now and not worry about tomorrow, or the next day, or the next week, or month or year for that matter. No sense in stressing over tomorrow—it’s not here.
God gives me all that I need to get through right now, and, despite the turmoil, I’ve got so many blessing to be thankful for.
I will focus on God’s Blessings and thank Him for another day! I hope that you will too!
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by Kendra | Oct 10, 2014 | Author Cafe, Blog Posts
Crossing Into the Mystic
Today’s culture is obsessed with the paranormal. The truth is, it’s not just “today’s culture” that’s fascinated with the supernatural. All cultures throughout time have been drawn to the unseen world. It’s all around us. I’m particularly intrigued with the Civil War era, and I have been for as long as I can remember. I’ve grown up in the South and can’t stay away from the old cotton plantations and antebellum mansions. Stepping across the threshold of a historic home for me is crossing into another world. I guess with my wild imagination, I feel such a connection with the people who lived and died right there. I get lost in the stories of their lives and long to travel back in time and experience life as they experienced (just for a day or two, mind you).
It’s no wonder that Crossing Into the Mystic, the first book in the The Crossings Trilogy by D.L. Koontz, drew me in like a magnet. For the record, before you think that I’ve gone off the paranormal deep-end, (more…)
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