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EDITOR LETTER L EXINGTON,
I
MY HEART
t was a year ago this month that I visited Lexington for the first time. I didn't realize that when I left Kentucky then - that a part of my heart would stay there. I've been trying to get that part of me back and I haven't been able to all this time. Maybe you're reading Angelic Magazine for the first time or maybe you've been a part of our story for a while. Maybe you don't know the backstory for why Angelic Magazine has a Lexington version or maybe you know me personally as you read these words and can almost hear my voice saying this to you. Lexington has my heart and if you're reading this I want you to know that I'm committed, Angelic Magazine is committed to telling your story. It was a year ago that Lexington changed my heart. --
Jesse Anaya
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNDSEY SMYTH MODEL
:
ALLISON HARVEY
LOCATION
:
LEXINGTON
,
KY
ANGELICTESTIMONY
ALLISON HARVEY L E XING TO N, K Y
"HE HAS WIPED MY TEARS AND GIVEN ME RADICAL HOPE IN THE DARKEST OF TIMES, HE HAS GIVEN ME FREE HEARING AIDES SO THAT I COULD HEAR AGAIN, AND HE HAS BEEN CLOSER THAN A FRIEND." An estimated 7.4 billion individuals live on this when I was in need, He has wiped my tears and given planet, and somehow, no two people have the same fingerprints, no two people share the same DNA and no two people have the same stories. According to NASA, there is an uncountable amount of stars in the sky that are constantly spinning and growing and exploding, and yet there is still zero sound in space. Likewise, scientists admit to only knowing 5% of the possible information about our world’s oceans. But somehow, before we were even conceived, the Lord, with His vast, mysterious creation, thought about each of us. He knew what our names would be, how many hairs would be on our heads, and knew about all of the mucky sin in which we would become entangled. He created the stars and the moons and the depths of the oceans, but still found it fit that Allison Harvey needed to exist. And He feels the same way about you, too. Words fail me when it comes to describing the greatness of our God. He is the biggest big and yet the closest thing, and writing this “testimony” about the One I love should be the easiest task, but yet here I am, struggling to convey my feelings. I asked the Lord, “What is my testimony? How do I explain my story?” The more I prayed, the more I realized I was asking the wrong questions. How could I possibly put Jesus in a box by saying the only thing He ever did for me was save me? Yes, the Lord has brought me through some crazy things. I survived a rare strain of E. coli that shut down my kidneys and put me in a 10-day coma between my freshman and sophomore years of college. And ever since, that has been me. Coma-girl. When people ask for my testimony that is the script I read. But, He has done innumerable more things than that. He has created job opportunities out of thin air, He instructed strangers to hand me envelopes of money
me radical hope in the darkest of times, He has given me free hearing aides so that I could hear again, and He has been closer than a friend. However, to talk about my Jesus as if healing me from E. coli was the only thing He had ever done for me would be the greatest disservice of all time. It would be like describing a mountain as a molehill. My God is so much greater, and so much more loving to me than just saving me. The best part about it is that our “testimonies” are continuously being written. Every good and perfect thing is from Him. He unceasingly expresses His love towards us. And the best part is, because He is big and because He is loving, He can do God-sized things. He is a God that gives us friends from seemingly thin air, that are closer than family. He is a God who provides exceedingly more financially than we could ever ask of Him. He is a God that moves relational mountains on our behalves, and redeems broken friendships. He is so big, so kind, so present. Therefore, my encouragement to you is this: we serve a colossal God. And He is so much greater and deserves way more credit for the things in your life He has done outside of the moment you became a son or daughter. I challenge you to consider your testimony as fluid, continuously changing and taking different shapes. I hope you see that your identity is not found in what happened to you but rather what He continues to do in you. And I pray that you, brothers and sisters, understand to your core that Jesus wants more for you to share than just a “moment” where you decided you needed Him. Your testimony is meant to point at Him, and what He is doing, and not you and what happened to you. Jesus is with you every moment, of every hour, of every day, and His greatness in your life is the greatest testimony ever known!
"WE PROVIDE BICYCLES
FREE OF CHARGE TO INDIVIDUALS WHO CANNOT AFFORD AN AUTOMOBILE OR OTHER FORM OF TRANSPORTATION. " 1. WHAT IS E TERNALLY GEARED? Eternally Geared is a ministry, which exists to fulfill our eternal purpose to love others in Jesus’ name with the power of bicycles. We provide bicycles free of charge to individuals who cannot afford an automobile or other form of transportation. We regularly serve a community trying to return to a fulfilling lifestyle, but who remain in the transition stage where parts of their past still affect their ability to make gains restarting careers, financial security and overall stability. We get to help provide part of the bridge getting them back on their feet! 2. HOW
IS JESUS REFLECTED ORGANIZATION/MINISTRY?
IN
YOUR
Jesus is most reflected in our ministry through the act of living out the mission to love those in His name, seeing a need and meeting it. We want each of our bike recipients to know Eternally Geared only plays a part in getting them a bike, and Jesus is the true provider. We also encourage our bike recipients to build community within our organization through taking prayer requests, providing follow-up bicycle maintenance, and connecting them to Christian community and bible studies. 3. HOW CAN THE COMMUNITY OF LEXINGTON GET INVOLVED? Our most immediate ways for the community to become involved in our ministry include volunteering with us for bicycle repair! We are always looking for people who want to come to the shop, get their hands dirty and crank out quality bicycles to give to our nominees! We also
MINISTRY LEXINGTON, K
KY
have some additional marketing, advertising and financial needs as well, where they can become involved. They can visit www.eternallygeared.com for more information!
PHOTO BY ALLISON MAGGARD
4. WHAT IS THE LONG-TERM VISION FOR E TERNALLY GEARED? Though our immediate vision focuses mainly on giving away bicycles, we have God-sized dreams to also become a provider of jobs within our community! We want to help train bicycle maintenance and other technical skills, which could help someone land a sustainable job, get back on their feet and build their life back! We also have long-term goals of opening a bike shop in Haiti, providing bicycles for the community but also heavily focusing on job provision there as well. We are excited for where God is leading! 5. WHAT CAN PEOPLE BE PRAYING ABOUT FOR YOUR MINISTRY? We ask for you to pray for our leadership, that we may continue to remain completely reliant and dependent on God’s leading. He has already provided more than we could ever have imagined! We also request prayer for financial needs to be met to help sustain and grow the ministry. As we continue working in this area, we are becoming more and more aware of how big the need is! We know God will come through and provide vision, design and resources for our ministry to fulfill our eternal purpose.
ABRAHAM MWINDA ANGELICMUSIC
"BEFORE I GRABBED THE MIC THAT NIGHT I MET A STRANGER AND AFTER THE SHOWCASE ENDED AND I WALKED TO MY CAR, I LEFT KNOWING I HAD MADE A FRIEND. "
I
was reciting in my head what I was about to say to the crowd. The showcase was minutes away from starting and I could picture myself grabbing the mic and annunciating everything perfectly. Premeditating and planning is a habit I have but on this day God had his own plans. Angelic Magazine’s first ever singer/songwriter showcase was being held inside the Roastery Coffee shop in downtown Lexington on May 14th, 2016 when I heard someone say, “Ask Jesse.” I looked in the direction of where my name was said and this guy was sitting in a chair looking up at me. He asked, “Did you have to sign up to play tonight?” I could tell he wanted to perform but didn't know that every musician performing that night was handselected and we had been promoting this showcase for months. The night’s musician lineup was already in place and the showcase was minutes away from me grabbing the mic to address the crowd as I envisioned just moments before. So, I told him, “Yeah, we’ve been planning this showcase for months.” I had no idea who he was or what his story was but I felt compelled to ask him, “Do you play music?” He nodded. The processing in my head was happening quickly and I felt a nudge to ask him something else. I said, “Well, do you have a guitar with you?” And as cool as can be, he looked at me in the eyes and said, “I always have my guitar with me.” He had confidence. I told him, “Are you serious about wanting to perform tonight? Because if you are, you can go third in the musician lineup tonight.” I’m not certain what got into me. Months of planning and preparing, that habit I have, were diverted by a prompting from within. I believe it was God. He performed his self-written music acoustically that night on a whim. After the showcase I got to talk to him more in depth, I wanted to know who he was. What was his story? He told me he was from Nairobi and came to Lexington, KY through a refugee program. Abraham Mwinda. A guy who I wasn’t planning to meet, showed me something that night. He showed me to be sensitive to God's voice because He can make our plans better. Before I grabbed the mic that night I met a stranger and after the showcase ended and I walked to my car, I left knowing I had made a friend. Abraham told me he was going to give up singing music and that one day his guitar had broke. He was finished. But on that same day, a man he knew asked him to meet up at guitar center not knowing that Abraham’s guitar had broke. The man said he felt nudged, urged to buy Abraham a guitar, and on the day Abraham thought his making of music was over it became the same day God blessed him with a $1400 guitar. I asked Abraham what his goal with music is? And he told me “To change the world.” He told me he can’t quit making music or singing now, because he now knows music is his duty for God. If you get a chance to listen to Abraham’s music and see him perform live, you will be blessed by it. And perhaps God will nudge, prompt you in some way to be a part ofAbraham’s story of music as he seeks to change the world in Jesus’ name.
MARLON YONEL
ANGELICTESTIMONY
LEX, KY - AGE: 28
PHOTO B Y MEGAN JONES
"I KNOW MY EARTHLY FATHER IS NOT EQUIPPED TO LOVE ME, BUT MY HEAVENLY FATHER IS. "
M y life hasn’t been easy. If I were to say even following Jesus made everything easy, I would be lying to you. But if
there has been anything my life has taught me, it is that God is a Father and He is dependable. My earthly father didn’t care much for me, or any of my siblings. He never played with us as kids, he didn’t take care of us. For most of my childhood he was distant, and when he returned he used us for his own pursuits and when things turned for the worst, he disowned us and left again. I love my father. I love him because he is family, and for the majority of my life I’ve felt that’s all I had. But after all of the things he has done, I know I cannot turn to him expecting anything good in return. I was born and raised in Haiti by my mother who did everything she could to take care of me, and my two brothers. I was one year old when my father was taken to prison for dealing drugs, leaving her to care for us without any income. They say when it rains it pours, and literally that is so true. There were times it would rain into our small tin roofed home and everything in our house would be wet. Welcome to Haiti. Years later, my dad returned unexpectedly. At first I was excited to see him because I wanted my family together. But as time passed, it became more and more clear, he was not a true father. He later kidnapped me, and my brothers from my mom, taking us to the Bahamas out of anger towards her. I was 11 at the time. It was a year and a half before I spoke with her again, but even trying to contact her just brought more anger and abuse from my father. My stepmother soon began spreading lies that Colombians had kidnapped my siblings and me, and because of this news my mom, who was still in Haiti, began worrying herself into a state of depression and soon she essentially lost her mind. My mom died shortly after. We had gone back to Haiti to see her, and I remember her frail, weak body. It was said a voodoo spell had been placed on her, and eventually took her. I woke up every day being mad and angry and hurt. There was nothing I could have done, but I couldn’t handle it anymore. One morning, my uncle took her to a voodoo priest to heal @ weMturned W I toNinDHaiti. AG her. Culturally, this was the answer It isn’t truth, but so many there try to combine Christianity with
with Voodoo. It’s hard to find truth amongst the evil when it’s so thick. I feel my mom died through voodoo. I became so angry when I heard, especially knowing it was my step mom and father who had contributed to her death. I pondered on whether I could have changed anything. If I had tried to pray, or if I gone to see her before she passed; these thoughts stick with me at times, even today. Following her death, the years brought more and more stress as we stayed with my father. He continued dealing drugs, which brought danger to our family. One evening my father was shot in our home. My entire family witnessed it, and I have never been so scared. I remember running to my bedroom and laying flat on the floor, just waiting to see if the man would come for me too. I was 17. Things only worsened from there. My father healed physically from the gunshot wound, but his destructive behavior and lifestyle continued to consume our lives as his children. My brother became involved in drug trafficking, and I knew I would be next. I became fearful of what my life would look like if I stayed there. I had to get out. Two years later, a relationship brought me to the States. I was here when I heard my brother had been arrested. I came to the States to escape that life, but had left him behind. I prayed to God that I would declare myself a Christian, and devote myself completely to Him if He would only show grace to my brother, and not send Him to prison. I later received word my brother, because of certain circumstances, would only be serving 6 months in rehab. No prison sentence. I was baptized the following weekend. November 4th, 2012 my life changed. God had made clear His protection and provision. He had saved me by bringing me here, and had shown grace on my brother keeping Him from prison. He had rescued us both. Before she passed, I never felt loved by anyone other than my mom. She was the one I could depend on in my life. Yet, now being a Christian and knowing God, I realize what people mean when they say ‘God is my Father.’ He treats us as we should be treated, and he loves us unconditionally. I know my earthly father is not equipped to love me, but my heavenly R Father A Mis. God continues to show me His love, helping me redeem my past and live my life for Him.
I’VE OFTEN PRAYED JESUS, TAKE MY FREE WILL AWAY.
"ON THE SURFACE, MY OWN STORY IS ONE OF A GIRL WHO ONCE RAN FAR IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF EVERYTHING TO DO WITH JESUS , DENYING HIM FOR A LONG WHILE BEFORE RETURNING HOME"
I
once prayed for the life I now have. I once prayed and cried and begged for strong godly community, for godly connections and godly provision. I asked God to write my story, and make it a story worth sharing. And finally, for the first time I feel I’m on the path I’ve been chosen for. I’m on the path I’ve been created for. I am writing the story I know God has destined for me to write, by relinquishing control and allowing Him to truly put pen to paper for me. This road has been layered in challenges amongst the blessings; obstacles amongst the open doors. It hasn’t been easy, but the trials are proving fruitful. For this, I am thankful. However, it’s interesting, in the midst of the blessings are so many lessons. I’m never done learning or growing or changing. God is the only true and pure constant to have ever existed, so I strive to all change in myself, becoming more and more like Him. Like all lessons and times of growth, that’s where the hiccups come. That’s where the uphill battles present themselves. For I am so eager to be in perfect rhythmic step with the Father, yet still leave so many things to my own devises. How does such a paradox exist? An individual wrapped in humanity, sin and free will, chasing after a flawless Creator. I’ve often prayed ‘Jesus, take my free will away. I’m no good with it! No good can come from my lacking. No good can come from the humanity I bring to every conversation and situation. Isn’t my free will just hindering Your will?’ Unfortunately I’m pretty sure this isn’t what God meant by denying ourselves or having a humble heart. No matter what we do, we cannot escape our humanity. The problem with God taking away our free will, ridding us of our decision making brain activity and plundering us into a life of legalism and strict rule is this is not even close to His character. My free will is what alleviates me from legalism and opens me towards relationship. True relationship. Real and deep relationship with God. Ironically, my free will does not hinder, but is a part of His
B Y ANDREA MARLOWE perfect will. So many paradigms and so many conflicting thoughts surround these words, even for me as I write them. Yet, there is foundational truth in that my free will is what shows so much of God’s love for me. Though God is a hater of sin, He is a lover of freedom. I’m learning God loves us far too much to rid us of our flawed existence to make us mere robots. For this, I am thankful. Additionally, I see in the midst of our sin, humanity and mistakes, which follow accordingly, God remains in control. Through His redemptive character, God controls everything. He knows our mess-ups aren’t the end of us. He knows He exists beyond and above and surrounding all the areas we lack. On the surface, my own story is one of a girl who once ran far in the opposite direction of everything to do with Jesus, denying Him for a long while before returning home. To God, my story is one of a girl who once tried to run far away, while being closely followed by the Spirit for protection, provision and guidance through everything; and finally led home through redemption and grace. When we reach the end of ourselves, we relinquish control but not at the expense of freedom. We actually gain freedom through allowing God to redeem all of the complications our humanity allows. Perhaps rather than beg for my humanity and free will to be done away with, instead I need to have as much hope and faith in myself as God does. He clearly believes in me, even when there is nothing worth believing. He clearly has faith in me when there is no part of me to be found faithful. He clearly has hope in me when I have no hope in myself. He sees each of us as holy and redeemed because He knows just how capable He is of getting us there. Our potential is not dependent, nor determined by our human free-willed spirits, but rather by Him as a perfect Father. He is event reliant on Himself, as I should be. For this, I am thankful.
S TARRING IN YOUR OWN ROMANTIC COMEDY B Y LAUREN PRATHER
"I REALIZED THAT LIFE DOESN’T WORK WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF THE HOLLYWOOD ROMANTIC COMEDY. IT’S A LITTLE LESS PREDICTABLE AND A LITTLE MORE UNREFINED. I GAVE UP HOPE OF EVER HAVING THAT DEFINING MOMENT WHERE EVERYTHING CHANGED AND SOMEONE SAW ME FOR WHO I REALLY WAS. " very once in a while it's nice to sit back, take a little time, and watch a seriously cheesy romantic comedy. The characters, the situations, and the jokes can all be really predictable, but somehow I find comfort in knowing the “cheese” that is about to appear on the television screen. My favorite scene in any typical rom com is the makeover scene. The one where the smart, witty girl who is never noticed yet always taken advantage of gets help from someone who has taken pity on her. They take off the glasses, remove the layers of confining clothing, stacks of books in her arms, and voila! Instant babe. When I was a teenager I dreamed of somehow finding myself in this situation. As I became an adult, I realized that life doesn’t work within the parameters of the Hollywood romantic comedy. It’s a little less predictable and a little more unrefined. I gave up hope of ever having that defining moment where everything changed and someone saw me for who I really was. Are you ready for the cheesy romantic comedy part? Jesus. That’s who saw me for who I really was. I didn’t even need to have a huge makeover scene for Him to see me that way. At a time in my life when I was too busy running from Him, trying to do everything my way, He never lost faith in the person He made me to be. He still chose to pursue me even when I denied Him with every word that I spoke, and every course I chose in life. Even now that I have surrendered my life to Him, He still pursues me. He still shows me He loves me on a daily basis and in the strangest, funniest ways sometimes. Jesus is the one who gave me my favorite scene and made over my heart and still continues to do so. He gave me my own cheesy love story and reconnected me with a former acquaintance who is now my husband. When we were engaged many people gave us advice about marriage. The most common guidance was “Never stop dating your spouse.” What if we never stopped dating Jesus? And always thought about new and exciting ways to make Him happy and to give us opportunities for growth? To never become stagnant in our relationship and actively pursue His love for the rest of our lives. Instead of having Him chase after me my whole life, I want to walk with Him. Or even run headfirst into the plan He has for me. “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 Make my heart desire only You Lord, and direct my steps to take me there.
E
I
KATIE'S S TORY
was 21 years old, going to church on Sundays to make up for a weekend of mistakes. Sitting on the cold, hard pew, I put my hand on my chest, and felt my pounding heart. Why are you doing this to yourself? If you don’t stop living this way, you’re going to die.
My reckless behavior shocked me. I wasn’t the wild, party type. I just wasn’t. Yet after a few toxic relationships my freshman year of college, I began believing lies about who I really was. The worse I felt about myself, the more out-of-control I acted. The more out-of-control I acted, the guiltier I felt about my choices, and the more out-of-control I acted the next time. The cycle felt impossible to break. I thought what I did determined who I was. I was the sum of my mistakes: if I made bad choices, I was a bad person. If I could make better choices, then I’d be a better person. I was determined to cancel out my bad behavior with good behavior. When I was 23, I met my husband, Anthony. He was wild and reckless earlier than me, and a relationship with God changed his life. But his faith was different than mine. I knew faith in Christ got you to heaven, but I had no idea Christ cared about my here and now. I had no idea God saw me through the lens of Jesus Christ. Anthony helped me understand: It’s not what I do, it’s who I am. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 God didn’t see me as bad or good, but as His child-His hurting child. He didn't despise my lack of selfcontrol, He wanted me to know He made me on purpose and for a purpose. My faith in Christ made me a new creation. To God, it wasn’t what I did; it’s who I was that mattered most. I was His child; He loved me because I was His. I began
PICTURED, LANE OF ROSES FOUNDER, KATIE HUMPHRESS & DIRECTOR OF LANE OF ROSES , REBEKAH P ERRYMAN.
to believe: It’s not what I do, it’s who I am. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 I make mistakes, but I am not a mistake. My volunteer work didn’t make me a better person. My heart mattered more than my behavior. Once my heart was whole, my behavior changed too--not because I was trying harder, but because I felt secure in my identity. The same is true for you. It’s not what you do, it’s who you are. You make mistakes, but you are not a mistake. Through faith in Christ, you’re a new creation: This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17
LAN E O F RO S E S . C O M
W
REBEKAH'S S TORY
hen I was 15 years old I began a journey. I chose a path that eventually led me to an eating disorder. I was 17 the day my secret was exposed by my doctor. In that moment I remember feeling relieved, for someone had finally noticed. However, I was pretty stubborn. Too stubborn to listen, to obey. I had made my decision. And in my head it was much easier to live the rest of my life this way, than to change. I continued to live the next year and a half in complete bondage. There were moments where I tried to change my ways, but human effort can only take you so far. It wasn’t until much later I realized I could never escape this on my own. But I didn’t want an escape. I knew what was right, but nothing inside of me desired to do the right thing when it came to my body. I started down this path rather innocently. I wanted to continue to fly for cheerleading, but my height kept getting in the way. So at 105 lbs I started a diet. I began to count calories and restrict myself from all things sweet. I dropped five pounds far too easily and I fell in love with the way it made me feel. And so began, my addiction to losing weight. I had finally found the one thing that was only for me and I jumped in without hesitation. I was so tainted by the lies of the enemy. I thought I was in control, but the whole time my actions were mere responses to the lies I believed. So I did what I had to do, to be the way I thought I needed to be. I starved myself, over-exercised, under-ate, tried to throw up, and used laxatives. I thought I had it all under control, but in reality I was a lost, insecure girl trapped by the choices I continued to make. I finally reached a point at the end of high school where I
was silently screaming for help. I would try to convince myself I was no longer suffering from an eating disorder in hopes that the “fake it til you make it” strategy might work. It didn’t! College meant a new beginning, a place I could start over. I prayed all summer. I prayed for new friends and that God would place in me a desire to want to get better. Despite my current state, I somehow knew the only way I could heal was to invite the Holy Spirit in. During my summer of prayer I felt like God was telling me to go through sorority recruitment. I had never considered joining a sorority before and didn’t think it was for me. But I couldn't shake the feeling. I went into recruitment thinking I would go in and be light and minister to all these girls and be such a great Christian. Yuk, I can’t believe I actually thought that. But I so did, and I was so wrong! You see, my sorority was God’s way of answering so many of my prayers. I tell people all the time I found a community of Believers, in what I thought, was the least likely of places. God used those girls to show me how much He loved me and wanted me for me. They were my hope when I couldn’t hope anymore. My light when all I could see was the darkness. They gave me their best so I could be my best. They were true friends. They were love. My freshman year was full of growth and freedom. God used the following four years to heal me from the scars of my eating disorder. Yes I said four years! It was long and hard. I had to rely on God and the community He gave me through all of it. I committed to honesty when it came to my struggles. My friends kept me accountable and prayed for me constantly. I knew hiding was no longer the answer. God worked a miracle in me. I shouldn’t be okay. I never went to rehab. Never saw a counselor until much later in life. But I am forever free from the bondage of an eating disorder all because I gave my life completely over to the Lord. I spent many years entangled and trapped by the choices I had made, but the Devil doesn’t get to have my story anymore. God does! And so, I have found a new purpose. For years my identity was wrapped up in all the struggles that came with my Eating Disorder. I was not okay with who I was, but now I am secure in who God made me to be. And I want every woman to know she was made on purpose and for a purpose. God made you exactly who you are for a reason. You are beautiful and you are loved.
Dear Jesus, In the past couple of weeks there has been an extreme amount of tragedy. The events that have taken place have been unfathomable. However, I am not sure I have allowed myself to think too much about the events…because, well, if I think about them then I have to feel. I tend to be a very empathetic person, so much that I become very emotional when I put myself in the shoes of others. In this case, feeling would mean that I am allowing myself to go there, to place myself in the shoes of mothers who have lost their children. My babies mean the world to me, and to lose them at all, especially the way these people have lost their lives…I just can’t. Jesus, I wonder what you are thinking up there. I wonder what you would say to these families to comfort them. What would you say to the unbelievers, the ones who are questioning how you could let this happen? How do we explain it to the unbelievers? I am convinced we can do better. We allow our actions to show hate and judgment instead of love and compassion. Jesus, help us to do better at spreading judgment-free love. Let us always remember that you told us in Matthew 22:37-39 “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ That brings me to something else, Jesus. I am so thankful that you love me unconditionally. I am not perfect and struggle daily with the ugliness of sin. Sometimes when I lose my patience, I yell too much; you know this because you can probably hear me way up there. I’m sorry, Jesus. I know that isn’t how you would have me show love to my two beautiful kids. Being a mommy is the most challenging, rewarding, stressful, beautiful, exhausting thing that I have ever done. Thank you for allowing me to raise these kids. Help me remember at the end of the day that it’s okay if I don’t get everything done. Help others to be understanding when they come to my house and it isn’t as clean as their home might be. Help us to extend grace to one another. Help us to stop long enough to breathe and enjoy each phase of our children’s lives. At the end of the day, I pray that my kids know that they are beautifully and wonderfully made by a perfect God—and that perfect God is the only one who can love them perfectly but that mommy and daddy love them so darn much too! Jesus, help me to be kind and gentle in mommy-hood. Every day as I scroll through my newsfeed I am alarmed at the number of articles or posts I see judging another momma for the choices she has made. We are all just moms trying to make the best decisions for our children. Jesus, help us to stop the shaming and condemnation. Let us come together and love one another as moms. As our children grow up and face life’s challenges, we are going to need each other to keep our sanity! Let us not forget this. Jesus, help us to lean on you as we raise our kids. You tell us in Proverbs 22:6 “Direct your children onto the right path and when they are older, they will not leave it.” I can’t do this without you, Jesus. On the days when I am struggling and about to come unglued, let me call upon your name as there is so much power in your name. Show me how to raise our children to have a heart for you. Jesus, do a work in my heart. Open up my heart and mind to receive your plan for my life. Don’t let a day go by that we don’t talk. Thank you for walking beside me and carrying me when I get too tired. Thank you for always loving me right where I am and welcoming me back with open arms when I have veered off the path. I love you, Jesus.
Dear Jesus by kimberly jones
"JESUS,
DO A WORK IN MY HEART. OPEN UP MY HEART AND MIND TO RECEIVE YOUR PLAN FOR MY LIFE. DON’T LET A DAY GO BY THAT WE DON’T TALK. THANK YOU FOR WALKING BESIDE ME AND CARRYING ME"
MODELS
:
ANGEL KIESLICH
&KIMBERLY
JONES
PHOTOGRAPHER
&
:
KATHERINE HAGER
KELLY CARTER
MAKEUP HAIR
:
:
NICHOLE DURBIN
LAUREN PRATHER
DRESSES BY KIMBERLY PHILIPS