Back in NC

I'm back in NC now. I drove home from Charleston, SC yesterday with my mother. We had a really great drive back and a great visit with family and friends in Charleston. As I was walking up the driveway from getting the mail I looked up at the sky to the stars. They were so clear last night. So bright too! I stood there in awe of what God has created. I'm so thankful I can see them here. I'm even more thankful that while I was in China, I couldn't see them. It helped me to be more appreciative of moments like last night when they're so bright and clear. There were moments when I was in China that I was "without" some things or things weren't the way that I had always known them to be, but God gave me perspective. He taught me through that. He taught me to be thankful for the little things in life because you never know when they're going to be gone. To look at each day as something new and exciting. Some things that I'm thankful/grateful for now that I may have missed before China:

1. the stars in the sky
2. a heated home (whenever and however much I want it)
3. provided toilet paper and napkins
4. soap in the bathrooms
5. people who understand what I'm saying and I can understand them
6. relatively clean air to breathe
7. grass to sit in and walk on
8. an abundance and trees and flowers all around me
9. ice
10. freezer space
11. carpet
12. right to privacy
13. shower curtains

And there are many others, but this may have to revisited. It's never a bad idea to write down what I'm thankful for.

Waiting

The big question that people have been asking me lately is "So what are you doing next?" This is a huge question. I feel like people are expecting some huge answer. Something remarkable and inspiring. But I don't have one. At least not one they're expecting. The answer I do have is always the same though:

The Lord is telling me to "WAIT".

So wait I am.

One of the things I know for sure about the Lord is that He's faithful. He has led me faithfully in my walk with Him. He has always shown me which way I needed to go, whether that be a nudging in my heart, His spoken Word or just what I thought was a thought of mine, all the while knowing that He leads me even when I don't know it.

And while I have days that I struggle internally with the fact that I don't have a job, for the most part I'm content with where I am. I know He is faithful. I know that when it's time for me to move He'll tell me when and where. So I wait for Him to tell me and don't move until that moment comes. But for now I'm really enjoying the time He's given me with family and friends and time to think about everything He's done and taught me in the past year and a half.

And on that note, I think I'm going to start going through and telling you what it was that God did and what He taught me. You should hear about all of that and join with me in praising Him and thanking Him for it. I want you to see the big God that I know and just how amazing He is!

 

Mom and I headed out to Folly Beach yesterday. We walked on the sand and listened to the waves crashing. I hadn't been out there in at least two years. It was such a beautiful day and so quiet. A nice little place of rest and relaxation.

Merry Christmas

Day after Christmas. Wow, this year was so different than what we all expected. But, hey, still great! I talked with people that I love and spent great time with my family, just us five. It really has been wonderful. Oh and did I mention that we've been eating well?!

Each day reminds me that everything good in my life is from the Lord. Everything! What a time to be thankful! What are you thankful for?

I'm thankful for even sickness because it made us all stop and just rest and relax TOGETHER. We talked a lot and watched movies and laughed and there was nothing pressing that we had to get to. I'm thankful that I have such a wonderful family that are so fun to be around. I'm thankful for the Lord's provision in ways that I don't even know. What a good God we serve!

Christmas/Sick

Almost everyone in my house is sick. My dad's been sick since Sunday, Chris and Mom since Tuesday. I have a cold and an easily irritable stomach. But nothing I can't handle after living in China, right? :) Yeah it's sad, they're in bed sick and not feeling well. We weren't able to go to Charleston yesterday and not today either.

So what were we to do about Christmas dinner? I went out yesterday and bought all the fixin's for it. We're having everything we would normally have only Jenn and I are cooking it rather than my mom and all the aunts. It should be interesting. It'll be fun for sure. I'm actually excited to be in charge of such an important meal. I just hope everyone will be able to eat it and enjoy it.

Yesterday I was super busy with cooking as well. Making an Italian Cream Cake, Snowball cookies, chocolate marshmallows, and the cornbread to be able to make the cornbread dressing for today. It was a busy day but a fun one.

We opened all of our gifts last night as a family. We had a new member for the first time ever! My sister's fiance, Alex, joined us. Jenn read Luke 2 for us. It's our tradition every Christmas Eve before we open a gift. We decided she would do it since it was her last time living in the house and being single for Christmas. We had a great time laughing and opening gifts and being shocked at what we got from each other. It was really nice.

I couldn't believe it but my brother and sister bought me a new bicycle! I am so excited! It looks just like the one I had in China, which made me so happy. I'm just going to cruise around all over the neighborhood on it. Now that I think about it I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in the neighborhood, other than my dad, who would be a riding a bike. And I got lots of great cooking stuff for more recipes to come! Who's excited?!?!?!

 

Cooking up some goodies for Christmas. Oh they're so yummy!

From one to the other

I went from having no work to having a lot all of a sudden. I started substitute teaching yesterday. I was a 1st grade aid and then a 6th grade Bible teacher. Today I helped the 4th grade make gingerbread houses, was a librarian for the afternoon and told the 5th grade about my experiences with Muslims.

I was really thankful to be able to share about my experiences with Muslims. The biggest thing their teacher wanted them to learn was not to judge all Muslims by a few. I tried to reiterate that one as well. Because it's not true, they aren't all the same, just like Christians aren't all the same. Every Muslim that I've ever met has been so sweet and caring and very hospitable and giving. Look for the good in people and you'll sometimes find things you weren't expecting.

Can I also say one more thing?

Sunday morning I didn't go to church. I spent the morning with God at home and on a walk with my dog. As I'm walking back home there were many, many cars that drove past me (most likely on their way to church themselves-all dressed up and about that time in the morning). I waved and smiled to each one and out of about 16 cars there were two that waved back. Now, most mornings when I pass people going to work or taking their kids to school, I wave and they wave and smile right back. They even initiate a lot of times. What's sad to me is that on a Sunday morning when people are driving to church to worship God they seem to be less happy than on a weekday when driving to work.

This is similar to what waiters and waitresses say about working Sundays. They hate working Sunday afternoon lunches. People who attend church are known (for the most part) to be stingy with tips and instead leave a tract or a nice note. Point is, they don't leave a tip. Man we're not giving good impressions...all around.

I'm supposed to be the light in the darkness. To love me enemies and love those who hate me. Be a step above. My life is different. I know the one true God. But how many times do I look just like or even worse than the people who don't know the Lord?

My relationship

I skipped church this morning. For the last four nights I haven't been sleeping too well. And I've been waking up every morning at 4:15. So not getting too much sleep. I woke up this morning at 4:00 again and so tired. So instead of going to church I took the morning with God. He and I took my dog on a walk. It was so nice to just walk with the Lord and talk with Him and have a relaxing morning. I love this relationship!

Freedom

So I had lost my passport until yesterday. This whole month that I've been back in the States I was worried that someone else was traveling around the world as Kathryn Kimbrell. I had looked through my entire room and all of my bags from China (I just unpacked them all on Thursday). I still couldn't find it. I called the airports I traveled through on my trip back and they didn't have it either. Oh my gosh! What to do? So yesterday I asked a good friend and my dad to pray that the Lord would help me know where to look for it and would help me to find it. Not even 30 minutes later I found it in a pile of old mail in the kitchen. Praise the Lord! He is good and helped me to find it.

It's funny because I felt so restricted without it. I felt so closed into this country. You know me; I like to be able to get up and travel anywhere! Now I feel so free to be able to travel and to see and go and do! The Lord knows me so well and knows what I need.

In Charleston

Well, here I am in Charleston visiting family. My brother, Chris, and I drove down on Sunday night with a little stop in Columbia along the way. It was a long drive but a fun one. We'll be here in Thursday just visiting Pop-Pop and Aunt Teresa while trying to be slick in buying Christmas gifts when no one is around. Oh...and we're catching up on our sleep. Yea!!!!!