What Are You Living For?

Something to think about...

Blessings in Disguise

We may not always understand why we have to bear crosses in this life - but what if they are meant as blessings in disguise? It is always during the times of greatest struggle, that I cling to the Lord the most.



22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;
they shot at him with hostility.
24 But his bow remained steady,
his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 because of your father’s God, who helps you,
because of the Almighty,who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
blessings of the deep springs below,
blessings of the breast and womb.
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than the bounty of the age-old hills.
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
Genesis 49:22-26


God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty.
Peter Marshall

May God pour out His richest blessings on you today and may you feel his love through the process,
Kymber

God's Provision

**Warning - LONG post ahead**

Thus far in my journey as a new nurse, I have been spending most of my time waiting. I have two new adventures ready to begin, but it has been an extremely slow process to say the least! I am trying not get too anxious about it, and am instead using the time God has given me to rest up for the busyness that is sure to come.

After a LOT of soul searching, I decided to reexamine what was MOST important to me. I needed to come to a conclusion in what direction this new phase of my life would take.

I have always been very old-school when it comes to my marriage and family. I want my husband and family to know that they come first in my heart and in my priorities. When I was in nursing school, I tried to do my best to make things as normal as possible for my husband. I tried to make sure he had homecooked meals waiting for him - breakfast, lunch and dinner. It wasn't always easy, and there often wasn't a good variety, but he knew he could count on me to take care of him and his needs.

Since I have been home these past few months without school obligations to bog me down, it has been so great to have things back to normal again! I forgot how much fun it was to sit and watch a movie with my husband or to spend my Sunday afternoons baking a large family dinner and cuddling up to watch football with him. I suddenly realized what it would mean to me to have to give that up again.

When you become a new graduate nurse, straight out of school and wet behind the ears, not many people are willing to give you a chance. It is obviously easier to hire someone who knows what they are doing and has experience working as a nurse. Graduate nurses usually have to take shift hours that others don't want - just to get their foot in the door of a facility. I really struggled with this because after school was over, I was EXHAUSTED and needed time to reflect and consider my life and what was truly important to me at my age. Yes, I want to serve the Lord with ALL my heart and soul. Yes, I am willing to step outside of my comfort zone to do so. (Frankly, I have been outside of my comfort zone since I STARTED this journey - so why stop now ~smile~) Yes, I want more than ANYTHING to do God's will. As I put in job applications, I kept ALL of my options open - so that I would be certain without a DOUBT as to the direction the Lord wanted me to go in.

That being said, in my prayers, there where certain considerations I asked the Lord for. I prayed that the Lord would use me for HIS service. I know that this journey was God's doing - every step of the way was guided by Him. I prayed that He would show me the way He wanted me to go, and I also prayed that He would help me to put my priorities in order. I thanked Him for my husband and for my family. I humbly asked the Lord to help me find a job taylored around the needs of my family. I know that the Lord gave me the desire to be home - taking care of my "nest" and that even though I believe He has a job for me to do, I know He never expects me to give up on my desire to "be there" for my family. I believe now, that the Lord has provided me the opportunity to enjoy the best of both worlds and I am so grateful!

Let me tell you how the Lord has blessed me. I am SO excited to share this with you because it shows God's hand in EVERY aspect of my journey and His awesome answer to prayer!

Backing up in time a little bit, let me share a little bit of history with you. When I first arrived here in Georgia, I took a job at a nursing home as an nurse's aide. The facility was lovely on the outside, but evil on the inside. The staff was HORRIBLE to the residents who lived there and at the time - just having moved to a new state and desperately missing family and friends, I regret to admit that I wasn't strong enough emotionally to "take on" what it would require for me to work there. I have such regrets about walking away from that place! No - the resident's were not abused physically or anything like that, I couldn't have watched that and not reported it, but having come from a wonderful facility in Washington State, where the residents were well cared for and loved, it was a sharp contrast and I couldn't bear it. I would come home from work every night and cry in anguish for the resident's who lived there. I have such guilt for keeping quiet about it and not reporting some of the things I witnessed. I wish I was stronger during that time! It haunts me that I wasn't. I truly did my best for my residents while I was there, but I was exhausting myself and tried to take on too much - and I felt like I failed everytime I went home at night! It is a long story - one I will save for another day.

The pain I felt over this horrible facility, caused me to actually run away from healthcare for a time. I convinced myself that I was justified in doing so and prayed that the Lord would find me something ELSE to do that would bring glory to Him. I was RUNNING from His Will, just as Jonah had run from Ninevah and ended up in the belly of the whale.

I applied for nanny jobs and the Lord gave me a job working with a family of three children. I worked for this family for a year, and also worked for four other families in my neighborhood. Remember - I had convinced myself that God wanted me to get out of healthcare and do something else with my life- unbeknownst to me I believe my new middle name was Jonah at that time :)

Sometimes God gives you the desire of your heart to prove to you that it really wasn't what you wanted after all :)

I absolutely LOVED all of the children I nannied for, but my heart was restless - God was calling me back to healthcare and the pull on my heart was tremendous. I would go to bed thinking about it, and wake up thinking about it - I couldn't get it off my mind. I wasn't happy and I knew I needed to make a change. I applied to another facility, was hired as an aide, got back into school to continue pursuing nursing, and now we are back to the present time - a new graduate nurse, looking for work, filling out applications in ALL areas of healthcare, to see where the Lord wanted me to serve.

Hopefully you are still reading this, and I haven't totally bored you to tears, because the BEST part of the story is about to be revealed - God's ultimate answer to my prayer - He STARTED me on this journey long ago, He has been there ALL the way through, and He has used EVERY LITTLE DETAIL of my life, bringing me full circle to the point where I am right now...

I applied absolutely everywhere I could think of to apply including a school district where I had done my clinicals during nursing school - at these clinicals we were required to follow a school nurse. She happened to be a beautiful Christian and I struck up a friendship with her. After my clinicals there were finished, she told me that I could use her as a reference because she thought I would be a natural for the job. Well, LONG story short, I applied to this school district, I got the interview, and GUESS WHAT I was able to present to my interviewer as my references....not ONLY was I able to use my school nurse "friend" as a reference, but I was able to use ALL of the families who I had worked for as a nanny! As a result of this, I GOT THE JOB!!! It is very unheard of for a graduate nurse to get a school nurse position but because of my experience working with children, and my excellent references, they were willing to give me a chance!

As I called the families to ask if I could use them for a reference, It became crystal clear to me that the Lord's hand was in ALL of this. EVERYTHING happens for a reason - and the Lord had used my time (even though I was running from Him like Jonah) to bring Him Glory! As the scripture verse says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:27-29
I know this to be true - I am a prime example of this - even though I ran from God's ultimate plan for my life - He used that time to bring me to the place I am right now. The proud owner of a job perfect for me and for my family! My days will be filled working with children, and I will be home every evening to spend time with my husband. I can enjoy my weekends at home with him, and have the whole summer and holidays free to work my schedule around my family, my home and my husband - which is my greatest heart's desire!

BUT - my story isn't finished yet - because my heart was still yearning to continue to work with the elderly. I have such a heart for them and knew that the Lord wanted me to continue working with them. I was able to get my old job back - I had to quit working there when I was in school because my grades were suffering and I needed to devote all of my energy to my schoolwork, but I always had full intention of returning there when I finished. The Lord allowed me to go back there - this time as a nurse. I will be working PRN (as needed) so I will be able to make my own schedule - around my husband and families needs. I can work as much or as little as I want to - I have complete control over my life again and I couldn't be happier!
I have been completing the Orientation process, and will start both positions on Monday. It will be hard for the next month as I get used to both jobs, I will be working more than I want to at first, because I need to go through the training process. After the training is finished, I will be able to plan my own schedule, but for the next month, I am going to be surviving on VERY little sleep. My schedule will consist of going to the new school nurse position from 8:30-2:30, then leaving there and going straight to my nursing home job - and working from 3:00pm - 11:30pm. I will then turn around and do it all over again the next morning - and so on, for one month until my training is complete!

Please pray for me - that the Lord will give me the mental and physical strength to do both jobs well, and that I am able to prepare enough meals this weekend so that my husband can easily warm up home cooked meals for himself every night. Remember - HE is my top priority and I don't want him to suffer during this time of adjustment.

Thanks for reading this LONG post - I will keep you updated on all aspects of this new journey I am on, and I promise to make my posts shorter :)
Blessings on your day today,
Kymber

Been a Long Time

I have truly neglected my blog for months! My life has been INSANELY busy, and I have put most everything on hold. Just a quick update:
- I finished nursing school in June
- I took my State Boards Exam in July
- I PASSED and am now official a Licensed Practical Nurse!!!
- I got a job immediately - working PRN (as needed) at a nursing home. I worked two weeks of orientation and am now flying solo (yikes!)
- I am STILL looking for a job that will give me a full time position. The PRN position may only yield about 1 shift per week (if I am lucky).
- I have TWO job interviews tomorrow! One is for a fulltime position, it is second shift (2:00pm-10:oopm - which isn't really what I want, but if it gets my foot in the door, I am okay with it, until a daytime shift comes available). The second job interview is for another PRN position. Who knows? Maybe I can just piecemeal a schedule together! If I take the PRN postion, I know of one other place where I can get PRN (which means I will be working at three places) maybe I can then totally avoid working the weekends, so I can still spend my Sundays with the Lord at church, and my hubby watching football (our favorite thing to do together).

So as you can see - my mind has been on Job searching! I can't wait to have my life back again! I have been devoting about 3-4 hours a day to filling out applications. I am also going through all of my school books and materials, organizing them and then putting them AWAY in a large rubber maid container so that I can finally be at peace and move on with my life!

In other news - my dear daughter is about to have my second granddaughter any minute now! We will be flying to San Diego to meet her in a couple of weeks. I was hoping to be with my daughter when she gave birth, but as you know, it is close to impossible to plan that sort of thing, SO - this is the next best thing. I will be able to spend 10 glorious days with them, and I can't wait to bury my face in my new granddaughters sweet little neck and give her sweet Nana 'loves and kisses'!

I have so many things I want to share - but I am off to walk my dog and pray to my Lord and get my mind and heart ready for church

Here is a wonderful skit I heard when I attended a Women of Faith conference here in Atlanta. Such an inspirational event! This skit is about women and the impact we have on those around us. Our role as women may often go unnoticed by everyone, but GOD has given us a role we can be proud of - we have been given such a GIFT - and we all need to recognize how special that gift really is!
Blessings on your day today,
Kymber

Christ has Risen! He has Risen Indeed!

Crazy Quarter Schedule

I am finally DONE with my third quarter of nursing school and decided to put down in writing what my schedule was like - just so that I could remember how crazy it was. There was no way I could have found the time to blog during the quarter - I was literally bogged down with work every single moment of the day. In order to stay on top of all of the work I had to do, it was necessary for me to get up every morning at 3:00am! I am an early riser so it didn't bother me too much - but by the end of the day - I was EXHAUSTED! I apologize in advance for boring anyone - I am sure this is only interesting to me, but I really want to remember what Nursing School was like - I only wish I was able to blog about my daily events - it has been an amazing experience from start to finish and I am ALMOST done! I am so close to graduation- I only have 10 more weeks left and I will graduate June 16th. My dream to become a nurse is finally just around the corner! All of my struggles will become just a memory to me. I have met some of the most wonderful people this year - my classmates. We have seen so much together. It truly has been such an amazing experience!

This quarter we studied Obstetrics and Pediatrics.

Here is what my schedule was like:

We had 8 clinical Obstetric days at the hospital - and we had assessments that we had to do for each of the sites that we were at - for example:

We had to do an assessement on a vaginal delivery and on a neonate (newborn)

We had to do an assessment on a cesarean delivery and on a neonate

We had to do a postpartum assessment AND we also had to do a 26 page assessment on any one of these patients

So that is a total of 6 assessments due for Obstetrics!

We spent 5 clinical Leadership days at a nursing home - (we had a 26 page assessment that we had to do on a resident of our choice)

We had 1 clinical Growth and Development observation day at a day care center (we had to write a paper on our observations about a child and answer questions regarding their development - 5 pages)

We spent 3 clinical days at a day care for medically fragile children (we had to write a paper about a child that we observed. A lot of these children were born premature so we had to write about what there developmental delays were and what a normal development for this age group should be - 4 pages)

We spent 3 clinical days following a school nurse (for me it was at a high school) thankfully we didn't have to do any paper work for this rotation.

We had to organize and participate in a school Blood Drive

We had to organize and participate in a Pediatric Health Fair

We had to write a Resume and Cover Letter and participate in a mock Panel Interview. It felt like it was real because we had to dress up in our business attire and sit before our instructors and 6 of our classmates. Everyone was graded on their performance - by the instructor AND by our classmates! It was very unnerving!

We had to participate in a Group Panel Discussion and give a presentation - each person had to speak for no less than 8 minutes. My speech was about Organ Donation - complete with a power point presentation

We had 3-5 papers due every week on various subjects pertaining to Leadership. These papers took FOREVER to write!

We had 6 Homework assignments due for OB, and online quizzes every other week.

We had 4 homework assignments due for Pediatrics.

We had 3 exams for OB and 3 for Pediatrics. We had 2 finals for OB, 2 for Pediatrics, and 2 for Leadership

WHEW! I can happily say that I survived this quarter and I received 4 A's and 2 B's ! I worked so hard for those grades and even though it is STILL hard for this type A personality to get B's - I will take it because I am moving forward every day toward my goal!

I am heading off to Miami tomorrow with my sweet husband for an extended weekend - I can't wait to lay out in the sun and do NOTHING. I probably should be reading ahead - because school starts back up on Monday - but I have decided to just relax and enjoy my few days off before the stress starts up again.

If you are still with me - thank you for your continued prayers and support - this has been such a crazy adventure and even though I have enjoyed it immensely, I can't wait to be done with it so I can get back to my life again. I look forward to the days when I can work in my yard, and in my home, and do some sewing projects. I look forward to having time to share my life on my blog again.

This is just a moment in time and then it will be over - so I am enjoying it while it is here.

I HAVE started crocheting a baby blanket for my new grandchild who will be born sometime this fall - it feels so good to be doing this again - I forgot how relaxing it is to just sit and crochet and reflect on the new arrival!

Blessings to all of you,

Kymber

All We Need is You, Lord

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 58:6-14

“Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
Mother Teresa
Blessings on your day,
Kymber

What Love Really Means

This song really speaks to my soul - there are so many people out in this world who are broken by life and have never felt love or acceptance. We can all make a difference by showing love to these forgotten, hurting people. Help show the love of the Father - reach out to someone today!
"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread"
Mother Theresa



“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:40
Blessings,
Kymber

Reflections

This post will probably be all over the place so I am preparing you now -
I was awakened this morning from a sound sleep by a cry out from my daughter who is living far from me in another state. She has been struggling with great difficulties for the past three years and she and her husband have been desperately trying to get on their feet. As a mother it is so hard to watch your kids flounder! You want the best for them and the best for your grandchildren. I have just found out that I will be a grandmother again - she is expecting baby number two. While this information fills me with joy at the prospect of having another grandchild in my life to love, I fear for her and her family. I am overjoyed that my daughter is trying to turn to the Lord for direction for her life and I know that He will keep her in His tender loving care. They are facing great difficulties right now and yet - I know that she will be all right. God will provide - as He always does. In HIS perfect timing! We must just continue to pray hard that that direction will be made clear - SOON please Lord!

As a mother, you always want the best for your children - and as I struggle with worry and fear for my daughter, I know that God must feel the same way about me when I am following the path that I choose for myself - instead of listening to HIS voice and following HIS will for me, I choose to stumble along blindly opening doors for myself that God never meant for me to open - yet walking PAST the door that leads to Gods perfect plan. I know that God never wrings His hands with worry over me - He just simply holds me in His loving care and gently guides me toward that door that He wants me to open for my life. How long Lord - must YOU wait before your children get a clue? How long Lord must THIS mother wait - loving her daughter gently from afar - watching her stumble and bump into walls searching for that door that will bring her perfect peace?
How you must ACHE for your children Lord!! How I ACHE for mine! You Lord, who are the epitome of the word LOVE - You have put love in our hearts for our children and sometimes I am overcome with it. How much more YOU love us Lord and must ache when we turn to OUR ways instead of yours!

Lord Jesus, thank you for loving us and being our gentle Shepherd. Help us Lord as we struggle to know Your Will for our lives. Have patience with your lost sheep Lord. Open our eyes to Your wisdom and direction and please continue to keep us safely in Your tender loving care. We love you Lord! Help ME to cling to Your promises and please take away all worry from my heart. Help me Lord to take to heart the words of Matthew 6:25. Have patience with me! I cling to Your promises Lord - please grant me Your peace! In Your precious Holy name I pray - AMEN!


“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:25-34

NIV

Rearview Mirror Reflections

I've always thought that you can see the hand of God best in the rear view mirror. Looking back, it's easier to understand why He placed us in the home that He did; why He brought certain people and circumstances into and out of our lives; why He permitted difficulties and pain; why He took us to different places and put us in various jobs and careers.
In my own life, I get a lot of clarity (though not PERFECT clarity - that's heaven's joy!) about the wise and loving ways of God as I reflect on the ways He has managed my journey by "the works of His hands" (Ps.92:4). With the psalmist, it makes me glad and strikes a note of joy in my heart to see how often God has assisted, directed, and managed the outcomes so faithfully (Ps. 111).
Looking ahead, though, is not always so clear. Have you ever had that lost feeling when the road ahead seems twisted, foggy, and scary? As you move into the next year, stop and look in the rearview mirror of the year gone by, and joyfully realize that God meant it when He said, "'I will never leave you not forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear'" (Heb. 13:5-6).
With the promise of God's presence nd help in mind, you can move ahead into 2011 with utmost confidence.
Joe Stowell
Our Daily Bread

God's guidance in the past gives courage for the future.


Praise the LORD.
I will extol the LORD with all my heart
in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

Great are the works of the LORD;
they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and compassionate.
He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.

He has shown his people the power of his works,
giving them the lands of other nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
They are established for ever and ever,
enacted in faithfulness and uprightness.
He provided redemption for his people;
he ordained his covenant forever—
holy and awesome is his name.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
To him belongs eternal praise.
Psalm 111

Blessings,
Kymber