Author Archives: Kimberly

Kimberly is a part-time working mommy raising three beautiful daughters with the help of her husband and lots of prayer. She is a coffee drinkin’, chocolate eatin’, Jesus lovin’ gal, and she delights in keeping watch each day to see how God will reveal something extraordinary in the midst of her ordinary. You can take a peek at the things she is learning over at her blog, A Planting of the Lord.

More Holy than Holey

Laundry 4-22-10The laundry. How it seems to mock me. The endless piles of dirty clothes in baskets throughout my home. The mountains of clean laundry, piled on chairs or in corners, waiting for me to get my act together enough to put them away. The random socks I find strewn all over my daughters’ bedrooms. I won’t lie. Although I adore my family, I do not adore doing their laundry.

How thankful I am that the Lord does not get tired of washing me! Washing away my sin, that is. 1 John 1:9 tells me that if I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive me my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.

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Getting Back What I Lost

open mailboxA faint glint of something blue caught my eye as I backed out of my driveway. Someone had put something in my mailbox and left it cracked open just a smidgen. My curiosity was piqued. Junk mail certainly does not sparkle.

Joy erupted in my heart when I discovered what the mystery glimmer was. Someone had put an earring I had lost inside my mailbox. And not just any earring. It was one of my favorites- delicate, dangly blue ones handmade by a dear friend. I had been heartbroken the day I lost one of them.

I smiled and thanked the Lord for returning it to me, for caring about even the smallest of details in my life.

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A Scoop of Joy

shortbread 5

My five-year-old daughter sat at our kitchen table “cooking.” With contentment etched all over her face, she poured uncooked rice from bowl to bowl using brightly colored spoons and measuring cups. Her imaginary culinary treat for the day? Chocolate cake!

She explained each ingredient to me as she carefully measured and poured. And when her cake was almost finished, she added one last scoop saying, “Don’t forget the joy.” I looked up from what I was doing and asked her to repeat what she had said. “Don’t forget the joy,” she replied, her tone very matter of fact.

I stood there surprised and a bit convicted. 

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The Blessing of…Great Legs?

LeipzigI should have been happy as I rode in the passenger seat of my minivan. Beautiful day passing by outside my window. Handsome husband chatting it up beside me. Three little girls riding peacefully behind me. An all around lovely day.

And yet, I was anything but happy. My problem? I had the image of a model from the cover of a magazine stuck in my head- seemingly perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect legs. Although I am well aware so many of those pictures are airbrushed, discouragement still set in.

“Lord, would it have hurt to make me a bit more attractive?”

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Simply Beautiful

Backyard Hair Cutphoto © 2010 sean hobson | more info (via: Wylio)

I held my breath as I waited for the sound.

The violent crunch of the lawnmower let me know another flowerbed had met with an abrupt end. I expected to feel sadness as the blades ripped through the patch of purple flowers in our backyard. Instead, an odd sense of relief washed over me. I did not have to worry about keeping them up any more.

When we first moved into our home, I was thrilled with the amazing landscaping. Flowerbed after flowerbed . Neatly trimmed bushes. Brick pavers and loads of fresh mulch.

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A Different Definition of Clean

Playroomphoto © 2008 Kajsa Bergman Fällén | more info (via: Wylio)

“Is your room clean?”

My daughter answered my question with an enthusiastic, “Yes, mam.” I smiled and responded that perhaps we should go take a look at her room together. It only took one look to realize we had different definitions of the word clean.

Indeed, all of her stuffed animals were off of the floor. No clothes were carelessly flung here, there, and yonder. And, yes, even the bed was semi-neatly made. So imagine her surprise when I actually had an issue with the tiny scraps of paper and broken bits of toys and crayons all over her bedroom floor.

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Keeping Up Appearances

“You have such an incredible forehead.”

I smiled at the peculiar statement. The woman applying my make-up for a high school play continued to gush about the smoothness of my forehead. Thanking her, I explained my skin had not always been the “perfect canvas” she was praising. Strong medication had been the key to calming down a complexion once overrun by acne.

Still pleased with actually getting a compliment on my skin, I told my mother and my grandmother all about the forehead conversation. I admit I was more than a little surprised when my grandmother scolded me. She felt I should have taken the compliment and that I most certainly should not have confessed my lovely complexion was thanks to medication.

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All Dressed Up

What fun it is as a little girl to dress up in mommy’s clothes: Clomping around the house in her shoes. Putting on mommy’s necklaces and make-up. I remember how I loved to go to my great-grandmother’s house and put on her sparkly clip-on earrings. I felt so grown-up and beautiful.

But lately, I have noticed my daughters have been putting on more than just my clothes and jewelry. They have been wearing some of my unlovely attitudes. They have been trying on some of my not so pretty tones of voice. Yuck. Is that really what I want my daughters dressing up in?

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