Kayla I. Shown-Dean's Blog, page 64

Lights

Bowling Ball!!!!!

If you haven’t added this song to your playlist yet, ladies, do so immediately. It’s a wonderful little ditty to celebrate Man Crush Monday–am I right, sis?

 

My Theme Word for 2015

My theme word for 2015 is reform.

What do you think of when you hear the word reform? Discipline? Self-inflicted pain? Torture?

I’m sure all those words come to mind…as well as reform school, perhaps, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that some of those words come to my mind as I dwell on the word I’ve chosen for this year. To be honest, I’m terrified to think of what lies beneath twenty-fifteen’s welcoming smile. While I want to smile and embrace the new year, I’m secretly hoping that 2015 isn’t just 2014’s uglier sister.

2014 was a tough year for me. If you all remember my posts, I spent the first few weeks of 2014 (and the last month of 2013) living in a friend’s converted garage with my little family while we waited for  our house to close. If that wasn’t bad enough, we found out only two weeks after we moved in that my husband’s job was in jeopardy. He lost it a few months later and spent seven months in the job search process. It was a terribly dark time, and my family is still recovering. However, last year I learned all about trust, about putting your trust in the wrong things, about false securities, and false witnesses. While it was a rough lesson, I’m glad I learned it.

But this post isn’t supposed to be about what I learned last year; it’s supposed to look forward with hope to the new year and explain my theme word of : reform.

When I think of reform, I visualize a lump of clay–maybe even colorful clay, like Play-Doh–just sitting there waiting to be molded. I remember when I started junior high, and we had counseling day. On counseling day, the guidance counselors made their rounds through all the eighth grade classes and helped the students lay out their class schedules from that point until graduation. I was so excited–finally I’d be able to have some control over my life, at least as far as the classes I took for the next four years. But when the counselor came to me and asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, I was speechless–I had no idea. I remember coming home that day stressed and overwhelmed by the plethora of options I had before me. But I remember my mother, shrugging it off as she said, “Just pick something. It’s not like it’s set in stone. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to re-invent yourself, even in adulthood.”

I believe I’ve come to yet another one of these crossroads. Once again, I’m the frightened little eighth-grader who doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up, the little girl who places her future in the hands of her magic eight-ball. But now, it’s time, I think, to reinvent myself again, to take back my future from fate and place it in the hands of the Almighty God. I need growth and change in all aspects of my life: physical, financial, spiritual, emotional, and the truth is, I know it’s probably going to be hard…very hard, and yes, it may even be torturous. But if 2014 taught me anything, its this: what is of value is worth fighting for.

 

Happy Birthday, Preston!

The Way to Begin

Last night, I stayed up late working on my New Year’s resolutions. I know, I know, it may appear that I’m a little late in the game for resolutions. However, at my house, I’m considered to be on holiday until I return to work on January 5th, so to me, my new year started today.

This year I resolved to begin with God…to me, there’s just no other way to begin.

 

DVD Giveaway: Review of movie, HERO

Advent Film Group surely hit one out of the park with their latest family feature, Hero. The movie centers on a hometown hero, Joe Finn and his relationship with his son, David. After achieving legendary status at home, little league baseball coach Joe decided to branch out and took a job coaching a team in another state. Joe took this new job in hopes that it would bring him the fame and fortune that he so desired, all the while justifying the choice of leaving his wife and son behind by saying that he was taking the job to better provide for them.  While Joe is chasing his dream, seven years pass before he returns home only to discover his wife in the last stages of terminal cancer. Upon his arrival, he receives her forgiveness as well as a stern reminder to take a more active role in his son’s life. The movie starts at her funeral and in the middle of David’s resentment.

As it so happens, David has been coaching a little league team, and he allows his father to assist him in coaching the team for their last game before David quits coaching. The only problem is David’s team, The Gappers, are pitiful players and haven’t won a game the whole season. At their first practice, Joe discovers that with all the new regulations for the sport, the game has been lost and replaced by a boring imposter, made evident by the lack of spectators and supporters during the team’s practices and games. In an effort to breathe life into the game, Joe decides to form his own league and challenge the county’s league to a game that would determine the fate of the county league’s current rule book, but in order to succeed he will need the help of all the players’ fathers.

While the film is religious in its nature, I will say that it isn’t obviously so. In fact, I can probably only think of two scriptures used in the movie off the top of my head, and they are very basic scriptures at that. The family values expressed in the film are, however, inherently Christian. You will also find no violence or questionable language in the film; therefore, it receives my stamp of approval for little ears.

Hero aims to turn the focus to lost American values by focusing on the fundamentals of family, scripture, and baseball. It subtly points out our failures as parents by examining the father-son relationship and the idols in our lives that often take precedence over our children. For some it may be fame and fortune, while for others, their circumstances may seem completely out of control, but the film teaches us that through compassion and forgiveness, we can hope to reunite and rebuild our families.

To purchase your copy of Hero please visit FamilyChristian.com.

OR

You can enter to win your own copy by completely the form below.

The Hero DVD Giveaway will begin on January 3rd, 2015 at midnight; all entries must be completed by January 17th, 2015 by 1:00a.m. (central time). 1 winner will be selected and announced on the site no later than one week from the giveaway closing date.

Entry-Form

Answers for Alex Update: 1/2/15

This week, I received some disheartening news from Alex’s mother.

Alex has been taken back into PICU.

His oxygen levels aren’t what they should be, and he’s gone into pneumonia. He had an MRI yesterday which didn’t show anything new; however, his doctor’s believe that Alex is suffering from inflammation, but they aren’t sure where or why.

Today they are going to start a new treatment with him that is usually given to patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and he will continue this treatment weekly for a month. At this time, Alex is sedated and unaware, but he still suffers with twitching in his face and right arm.

Since he was admitted on November 13, 2014, Alex hasn’t eaten anything. While they have changed in diet in recent days, he still remains on a feeding tube and has dropped down to 70lbs.

As I’ve stated before, Alex has a long road ahead of him to recovery, and he’s already been down this road for quite sometime, with today being his 50th day of hospitalization. Still, his doctors haven’t been able to come up with a solid diagnosis.

But we can help this family! Please keep them in your prayers and donate.

 

 

Design a New You for the New Year: Review of Kyle Idleman’s 40 Days of Lasting Change

I am a big fan of Kyle Idleman—for those of you who read, Not a Fan you get my pun here—so when I was asked by Family Christian to review a portion of his new book, 40 Days to Lasting Change, I readily accepted.

While I haven’t had time to read the entire book yet, it is on my to-do list; in fact, my husband and I intend to include this book in our Bible study time within the next month. I will say, however, that this is a book, like many of Idleman’s books, that one simply can’t just read—it’s more of a journey. While each day’s lesson is rather short, averaging four to six pages, these are not simple lessons that one can just skim over. Instead each is fraught with deep biblical principles that require personal reflection and contemplation. For this purpose, Idleman has also included a journaling prompt at the end of each daily session, so while the sessions are short, I would not advise cramming them into a short amount of time. Instead, you should allow yourself plenty of time for reflection and prayer after working through the day’s lesson.

I was asked to review days 20 and 21 which asks the reader to confront his or her sin head on. I skimmed through the rest of the book, and I honestly think I got some of the most difficult chapters in the book. However, these are probably some of the most beneficial chapters in the book because in order to change, you have to come face-to-face with your sin and accept the responsibility and the consequences that come along with your choice. Personally, I feel that this is a chapter that I would have to work up to instead of just diving in as I have done for the purpose of this review. While I did learn a lot from the session, I believe that once I read it again within the context of the rest of the book, I will gain so much more.

If you’ve read Idleman’s work before, you know you can expect the intensity and empowerment that comes with any Idleman title as he forces his readers to unearth long dead sins and sift through doubt, pain, and one’s own personal misgivings. I can assure you this will not be a relaxing, enjoyable read; that being said, it is one that is sure to change your life through the power of the Holy Spirit, and I personally can’t wait to read it cover-to-cover.

To order your copy of 40 Days to Lasting Change click here.

Or enter the giveaway for a change to win a free copy.

 

Entry-Form

The End of Christmas Day

Where Did You Go, Christmas?

So Christmas is over. I bet a lot of you, like me, are suffering from the let down. Your house, like mine, is probably a disaster with all the kids’ new toys everywhere and dishes to be done from the weekend’s festivities, and worst of all–the house is empty.

But the good news of Christmas, the joy, compassion, and love that we share and feel at Christmastime should last all year long. So this Musical Monday…I’m going to share this with you.