Just Trying to Be a Blessing!: Reflections of Life’S Ordinary, Revealing the Extraordinary

Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

God Takes Us As We Are

He Will Be With Me Always!

Another Baby is Born

God Grieves Over Each of His Children…

Flowers from Heaven

Sometimes You Just Have to Step Aside and Let Someone Else Get the Blessing!

Whether Life Hands You Lightning or Rainbows, Just Have a Picnic

I Will Keep on Pushing Towards the Prize…

What a Mighty God I Serve!

A Touch from God’s Own Hands

Looking for Opportunities to Minister

If You are Going to Survive as a Christian, You Must Be Accountable

My GPS Got Me Here,

But Now I Can’t Find My Car!

God’s Ways are Best for Me

Servanthood…

a Humbling Experience…

Should I Call 911?

I Have it on Speed Dial!

I Was Never a Good Girl Scout, But I am Always Prepared!

My Mansion Will Be

Ready for Me When I Arrive

Do What You Say You are

Going to Do or Don’t Say It!

If We All Do Our Little Part, Big Things Get Done

My Tracks Left Behind…

Things May Not Always Be as They Appear…

Judge Not, Lest You Be Judged!

What Does Dumpster Diving, Snowflakes and Lightening Got to Do With It?

About the Author

For my husband, Jim, who encourages me to follow my passions and supports me every step of the way. I love you sweetheart. Thanks for believing in me!

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…

Mark 10:45 (NKJV)

Acknowledgements

I would like to give a special thanks to Hazel Kempton, Courtney Coyle, and Mike Walsh who previewed my writings and offered their honest advice while correcting my sentence structures!

I especially thank Jim for allowing me to share some of his most embarrassing moments for the glory of God. His sense of humor drew me towards him when we met and continues to keep me laughing every day. I am grateful for my husband who not only keeps me laughing but is also able to laugh at himself. What you see is what you get around here!

Many thanks also to my family and friends who have allowed me to be me even when I’m annoying. We have laughed, cried, played, and grown up, out and old together! Without them, I would have nothing to write about!

Preface

Since you are going to be spending time reading my book, I thought it might be nice to introduce myself. I would really love it if this could be interactive and you could talk too, but for now, it is going to be all one-sided I am afraid. I am a 50 year old woman, baby of the family of three other siblings, mother of four—two of his, two of mine, wife to Jim, and grandma to four of the most awesome grandchildren with another on the way. I love life, family and God. Being raised in a small town where we lived in the same house most of my life, I attended the same school system from K-12, so I know all of my classmates very well. After spending so many years with them growing up, class reunions are a hoot! No matter how much time spans between gatherings, we all seem to be able to pick right up where we left off and catch up! I never realized how much a small town country girl I was until I moved to the big city for several years and went back home for a reunion. It is funny how your perspective changes! What is that old saying? You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl!

Being married the first time at the young age of 18, I went from being a Walsh to an Edwards for another 22 years—18 of those being married to my first husband. I never dreamed I would have another name down the road, but divorce has a funny way of changing things. I am not proud of that but life happens and some things we just cannot control. For the last almost 10 years, I have happily been married to Jim Kempton and plan on this being my final last name!

Having three last names gets a bit confusing at times. Last month, I was trying to cash a check in a local chain store and when they took my social security number for the check, they said there was a problem. I did not understand what the problem might be but they asked me for my maiden name and I told them Walsh. She shook her head and said, No. What? Yes it is, I thought to myself! Then she asked, Have you had another name? So there I stood, explaining why I should have said Edwards while she looked at me like I had three heads. Once I explained my situation however, she let me cash my check. Apparently the last time I wrote a check in that store I was an Edwards. So now when someone asks for my maiden name, I stammer, wondering which name they really want!

Although I may stammer over what name I might need to use, one thing in life I am sure of… I have always just wanted to be a blessing. I want to be that person that everyone wants to be around because I am encouraging, optimistic and fun! I do not want to be someone that after I have entered the room, everyone is sad and even teary eyed because I just spewed negativity or even my life story to a crowd! I have been through incredible trials in my life but I always want to reflect on the positives that came as a result instead of on the negative details of the pain and suffering I endured.

I’ve spent a lifetime trying to find my purpose and follow my passion. I think you can probably relate to that on some level as this seems to be a common struggle. I have been a Christian for 28 years and most of that time, I have wanted to write a book and share God’s goodness with everyone that comes my way. It has literally taken those 28 years for God to get me to sit down long enough to write though, I am sad to say.

The fact that I suffer with Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.) makes it a real challenge to sit and focus for any amount of time. I am typically going in many directions on any given day with enough plans to fill a full week for one day. I flit from thing to thing and by the end of the day, I may have accomplished my goals or maybe not. It’s not fun but it’s how God made me so I go with it.

Last fall, I began finding my high energy levels leaving me. In the past, I have been told perhaps I needed to be medicated because I never sat still for any period of time. I was always in motion onto my next great adventure. However, when I started slowing down, I began writing.

Finally! I can hear God saying!

I know, God! I tried several times, but it just never came. But this past fall it finally did. God was blessing me with words to share and preparing me for the days ahead by giving me this time to reflect and get my life priorities in order.

Little did I know that my dwindling energy levels were actually going to take me to a place of non-activity for about four months this year. It got so bad, all I was doing was going to doctor appointments and tests and then running back home for a nap, as that was all I could accomplish in a day. I couldn’t even enjoy an hour browsing the aisles of one of my favorite stores as it was more than my body was capable of doing at the time.

I was never diagnosed for a cause and may never know what happened other than it was a time God needed me to be still; but one day I woke up and was miraculously back to normal. All of the meds I was on were instantly no longer needed and I had a new lease on life. I can say I was literally HIGH on life as I now knew what it was to not have my health and energy that I was accustomed to having all those years. I now understand the blessing and grace I have been given through this life experience.

During my time of quiet, I was faced with fears of Is this cancer? Is this going to be what takes me out of this world? Secretly, if it were a tumor, I was hoping for a 30 pound benign tumor in my abdomen that would be removed and instantly I would have my teenage figure back again! Truthfully, I was scared. Not that I was scared to die—I look forward to heaven someday. However, I was concerned that if I got there now, I knew I had not yet done everything God had intended for me to do while on this earth. I vowed if I made it out of this one, I would work hard to finish my book and get moving on telling the world the message I was intended to share a long time ago.

God hasn’t taken me through the tough life lessons I’ve been through to just keep the wisdom gained all to myself; rather, I think He has a plan. I hope it is a plan that will bless you and encourage your walk in Christ.

That being said, I want to tell you ahead of time that, Yes, these stories in my book are all true and actually did happen. I may have changed some names though to protect the innocent! I was telling my mother-in-law a story the other day and she actually asked me, Did that really happen? She does not know me real well but the more she is getting to know me, I think she is beginning to see that these kinds of things really do happen to me. Now that she’s taken the time to help me edit my book, I think she agrees I could not make this stuff up if I tried!

Over the years, I have often been known to say, I’m just trying to be a blessing. Those who know me well can usually finish my sentence as I am just getting out the first three words. Often, I am in trouble when I am using it and it seems to break the tension when I bat my eyes and sheepishly say, I’m just trying to be a blessing! But I truly do mean it—most of the time! I have good intentions, but sometimes they just do not work out as I planned! Nonetheless, it is usually good for a laugh and for refocusing on my original intentions.

Sometimes, I think I hit the mark on being a blessing, but often, I find myself lacking and really not the person I strive to be. One day, I drove my husband, Jim, to the doctor’s office because he had hurt his knee playing hockey and it just was not getting any better. For him to agree to get it checked out, I knew he must be in great pain. As we were sitting in the office waiting for him to be called back, it seemed like every time he sat down, the receptionist opened her little window, called his name, and asked him to come to the counter for something else.

I was trying to be helpful because it was painful for him to get up and down so I was running to the window, giving her our insurance card, picking up forms he needed to fill out and then running them over to him to sign. About the third time back and forth, I was looking at the clipboard and forgot that since Jim had hurt his knee, his leg was stretched out in front of him. Not paying attention, I ran right into the side of his injured leg. You can only imagine the scene as he was now writhing in pain trying not to wail out for the whole office to hear! The man across from us said, I can’t believe she just ran into your leg! Unbelievable! I can’t believe it! He may have gone on to say it a few more times, but the truth was, yes, I ran into Jim’s injured leg! And all I was trying to do was be a blessing!

At the time, Jim was not laughing, but later we have enjoyed a good laugh as I really did have good intentions but I think that day I failed to be a blessing!