What did Kimberly's life count for?

Sun poisoning...I have sun poisoning. It hurts so bad. Other than the fact that my skin is falling off and I've been incredibly sick the last few days, its not so bad. I've been taking it easy and watching the Harry Potter marathon that's been going on TV. Its been all things not wonderful. I wasn't feeling too well on Friday, which was when the Vail fireworks were. I was going to be one of the only ones not going, so my roommates stayed in with me. We watched the first Harry Potter, rented another movie, and played cards. It was really nice and meant a lot to me that they would stay back at our condo.

This weekend has been pretty laid back since I haven't really felt up to doing anything. We went to the outlets around here to go shopping. It was fun, but it wasnt the same as going with my Mummsy, and it made me miss her a lot. I've been feeling somewhat homesick since getting sick. I miss Jason. He's the best when I'm sick. And I really miss my dog. Everyone out here has a black lab or husky, so its constantly reminding me of home. I guess I kind of miss Chris too, but only when Fat Pets comes on TV and he's not around.

I miss Ledyard horribly at the moment. I've been talking to so many of my friends from home recently and they are all telling me about the things they've been doing. It just makes me sad because I love my town so much and I love being home. Just seeing pictures of everyone at home makes me miss them terribly. I mean, I am having an amazing time out here and meeting people who I'll be friends with for such a long time, but there's still a little part of me that would be ready to go home right now and see all my Ledyard peeps.

But this is an incredible opportunity. I've grown so much in my faith, and I've even been coming up with ideas for the Bible study I'll be leading with Carlee at Uconn in the fall. I'm having so much fun out here.

Today at church we went over Jonah 2, which is funny because we just finished going over Jonah in our family groups and now we're going over it in church. One point that was touched on that I thought was great was that God is directing the storms in our lives. How great is that to hear?! Just to know that God is in control of everything and is directing those hard times we go through gives me so much hope. It would be SO terrifying if anything else was directing those times, because we would have no hope of knowing that everything would be okay. Even when things get rough, God is still going to pick you up. You've just got to have faith that He will be there.

God allows us to spiral to the end so He can start a new beginning. For some people, as long as they feel they have room to solve their own problems, they will attempt to pick themselves back up on their own. Its when they hit rock bottom and learn that they need help, that they finally turn to God. Because of this, some of the best spiritual lessons are learned at the end of our rope.
Also, we may be helpless at times, but never hopeless. I think that's an important point. We are promised such an incredible future! I mean, we have placed our faith in the One who has so much power and has made such incredible promises to us. So even though at times it may seem impossible to pick ourselves back up, we still have so much hope.

We also talked about how an empty world for God's grace is a bad trade. For me, I know that there are so many times where I turn to anything but God. Its in those times that I'm not relying on God's grace to carry me through those moments. Instead, I turn to empty things that can not deliver me in my time of need. "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs."

This was just something the pastor said that really stuck with me, "Biblical peace isn't the absence of something, but the presence of someone."

Another thing that really stuck with me was 1 Peter 1: 3-5:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, soil, or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

So that was everything we went over in Church today.

A couple days ago, I did an activity with Monica and I thought it was pretty interesting. She told me to write down some things I would want people to say about me when I died...what I wanted my life to count for. These are some things that I came up with:

What did Kimberly's life count for?
- Was able to show her heart through her artwork
- Passionate mother, daughter, sister, friend, and wife
- Knew the Truth, the Word, and the Love that God has for her
- Lived for Him
- Was able to show her love for her friends and family and was there to support them
- Followed her dreams
- Passionate artist with a love for Picasso (during his blue period), Monet, and Matisse
- Was able to help people in need

Next, Monica told me to write down ways I would be able to achieve the list above

How to get there:
- Spend more time with God through prayer and reading the Bible
- Remember Joshua 1:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, and Psalm 34:4-5
-Treasure every moment, thing, and sight, because they are all gifts from God
- Remember that I do not have to go through anything alone because I have the King of the Universe with me at all times
- Remember that all people are beautiful since we are all made in God's image
- Never give up, even when things get hard, because God will pull me through everything as long as I have faith in Him.

Neither of these are my full lists, but I would love to share them with you if you want to call.

With that note, I leave you with some prayer requests:
-For my sun poisoning...that it gets better quickly, with minimal scarring and no complications
-For the Valley here. So many people that live here are just waiting for a friend to talk to. Please just pray that we can help meet their needs.
- For the project and staff. That we all maintain safe travels wherever we are going, successful in our goals and activities, able to build a welcoming community, able to grow in our faith, and able to reach out to those in need.
- For my job. That everything stays alright and I get the hours I need.
- For the Vail Church. That it is able to keep building a strong community, home, and safe haven for people in need.
- For my friends and family. That everything with them is going alright!
- For all my friends on summer projects or are away from home. That they are able to make friends, not feel any loneliness, and grow in all the ways God wants them to.
- For Jason and his family. That they are all doing alright and not missing me too much. :) And that Christine and her baby stay healthy during the rest of her pregnancy.

Thank you, friends!