so I'm still in the Forge

Hello! I am still here in the Forge, and I'm alive, I promise! Though there have been times in the past few weeks were I wasn't sure if I was gonna make it (ask me about this later) I am still here and kickin. I get to go home for Thanksgiving next week and am so excited and eager to rest for a few days.

I thought I'd give a few highlights from the past few weeks that have been really influential for me (note. there are a TON of things I could put but am just picking a few that aren't too telling but give a good impression of what we are being taught).

The 24 of us got to spend an hour and a half with Dr. Howard Hendricks at DTS and it was incredible. Literally when he walked in I began to tear up because I know just from my limited perspective how influential he has been in people's lives. He loves to teach and he loves his students and that is so obvious. To see his love for teaching others to be followers of Jesus Christ is just really encouraging. He was made to do something and he does it well...

Being here and living very closely with 23 others who you do everything with helps to bring your faults to the surface very clearly and constantly. It is both a challenge and an encouragement to be honest about your sin and to let others love you in the midst of the things that aren't pretty about yourself. One of our speakers, John Hawkins, said this in regards to this issue:

“Confess and press. Move on, don’t brush over it. When God begins to purge you of things, God slowly begins to put your sin in front of you, even with other people. Trust that God can use you, even in your sin.”

The HOLIDAY CUPS came out at Starbucks... one of my favorite things of the holiday season!! This is Jenn and I on the day the holiday cup came out celebrating the beginning of the Christmas season!

Jenn, Ashley, and I at Southwestern on one of our seminary visits. Two of my three other roommates from junior year of college! I just love and miss my friends a lot... just so you all know you are loved. :)

hello mid-October. Where did you come from?

Well... It is has been a crazy few weeks since I last posted. Due to the nature of the Forge, many of the things we do are kept from us until they happen and then we want to keep them somewhat unknown to the public after they happen for the sake of future Forge classes.

I want to let some of you know about different things that have been happening. Yesterday on the phone my mom was asking me about the friends in my group... so I thought I'd dedicate a post to my "Forge Family"...
Upper Girls Apartment... (where I live with three other wonderful women)
(left to right) Emily. Me. Amanda. Melanie.

Emily is my literal room-mate. She is hilarious. She plays the guitar (like Bethany Dillon) and we make up songs constantly. For instance, last night we had a campfire behind our apartments where we debuted our numerous songs... the newest is "Hapax Legomena"... along with "Arnold Palmer" and "Carlo and Geneva". We sing life, love and other mysteries... (shout out to Point of Grace).

Amanda is from California. She is taking a break after her junior year of college and is looking to move to the great state of Texas. She is a singer and has even been on television singing before. She is introverted, loves people, and is fashionable. She loves coffee and pursuing relationships with others. She's a hard worker...

Melanie is a graduate of Dallas Baptist University. She is one of the goofiest people I've ever met, and balanced with her desire for deep friendships makes her a stellar friend. She is very responsible which is such a blessing to have in a housemate. I enjoy one-on-one time with Melanie as we have found ourselves on many occasions making Sonic happy hour runs. :)

Pine Cove Staff Lake Day. (we aren't staff but get to hang out with them.)
It was raining so we played Rockband. Melanie is on left playing guitar. I am singing vocals. Katie Murphy (my adopted Forge family, since she is married to someone on Pine Cove full-time staff) is next in the background, followed by Jessica (in the Forge).

Katie is actually my roommate Emily's older sister and a kindergarten teacher in Tyler. We became good friends my last summer working (2008) and have been able to continue our friendship since we've been here. Her home is a haven for me to just be able to leave our close quarters in the Forge apartments.

Jessica is a fellow Aggie. We had a few classes together in college and even went to Panama together with Pine Cove in 2008. Her birthday was yesterday and we went paddle boating.
All the Forge Women.
(left to right on backs) Amanda, Lindsey, Melanie, Ashton, Emily. (left to right standing) Christina, Jessica, PaToya, Grace, Me. (on the ground) Tamara.

Forge Class of 2010. my "Forge Family"...
(front, left to right) Christina, Emily, Me, Ashton, Lindsey, Jessica, Amanda, PaToya. (second, left to right) Casey, Blake, Brooks, Clay, Jason, Michael, Grant, Grace, Melanie, Tamara. (third, left to right) Mitchell, Jon, Jake, Bryce, Jim, Matt.

I would love to talk about what we've been doing... I don't know how much of it I should just put up for the world to see so I will resort to sharing random bits of information. If you have any specific questions, shoot them this way. A verse that has been very encouraging to me today,

"If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:6-7

Grace and peace be yours in abundance!

Forge!

It has been 2.5 weeks since I arrived here in Tyler, Texas to begin the Forge. It feels like it has been months, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. These 23 other people are quickly becoming dear friends to me. People always ask how it's going and I can honestly say wonderfully... I am having fun, learning a TON already and just trying to take in every moment.

Class began this past Monday with Bible Survey as well as Inductive Bible Study. Tuesday we had our first guest speaker whose insight was incredible. This morning we had Nehemiah where we study the practical aspects of leadership followed by leadership theory. I loved theory class mainly because I love being challenged in my thoughts and forced to really understand why I think what I think and how that is lived out in my life. For instance, think on this: "Are leaders made?" or "Are leaders born?" ... Interesting... think on that for a bit...

In typical Kimberly fashion, I took "first day of school" pictures. The following are of me and some of my friends/roommates (excluding the male).

note the sweet plastic name tag with "Kimberly"... this is legit in the Pine Cove world.
This is Emily. She is my literal "room"mate. We have incredible conversations and laugh a lot. She is taking a break in the middle of college. She can also play guitar which proves to be quite fun as she will play and I will make up songs which are very catchy, such as the new hit "Good ole t-shirt Day"... ask and I'll sing it sometime.
This is Melanie. She is a recent graduate from Dallas Baptist and super hilarious. Ridiculously outgoing and also a very good friend... a great combo.
This is Amanda. She shares a room with Melanie and had never even been to Texas prior to coming to the Forge. She is from California but fits in like she has lived in Texas her whole life. She makes us proud.
This is Mitch. He jumped in and wanted a first day picture as well. He is also in the middle of college but is hilarious and really fun to be around.

These are just a few of my friends... they are all incredible and different in their own specific ways, making this experience all the more awesome.

they call me Auntie Kimbo

Emily Kay Redwine.
Born Monday, August 31st in the early evening.

My mother woke me up in the middle of the night Sunday night telling me she was going to Dallas because Melissa was headed to the hospital. I waited all day Monday for a wonderful message that Emily was here and was good to go (no health concerns or anything). And boy were they right... I was privileged to take my grandparents down to Dallas on Tuesday for the day to see her and Melissa & Brady at the hospital.

(I now claim full aunt rights to take thousands of pictures and post them unashamedly.)





with mom.


family together.


BFFE AE AE AE... (best friends forever, and ever, and ever, and ever...)

Papaw, Melissa, Emily, Vicki...great grandparents!

with my mother... now "Gigi"

"hey girl hey!"

with doting father, Brady

"this is the life..."

Lake City, CO

This past week I was able to go on a family vacation with my parents, Zach, my grandparents, great aunt and uncle and one set of aunt/uncle and cousin. It was a wonderful trip full of adventures, reading, laughter, and family. Here's the group:
One of my favorite stories is of our family rock skipping competition. For many reasons, I am a horrid rock skipper. Here is how it went down:

Round 1: Who can have the most skips.
Zach- 2 awesome skips.
Dad- One solid skip.
Kimbo- kerplunk.

Round 2: Whose skips are the longest.
Zach- It went what seemed like 100 meters.
Dad- It went. That's all that matters.
Kimbo- kerplunk.

Round 3: Who can have the most creative rock skip.
Zach- Something with lots of skips and long distances.
Dad- Some really creative idea. Not a lot of follow through.
Kimbo- "On the count of three I'm gonna make this small pebble land in the water about 15 times larger than it is in my hand." (slip a massive rock under my jacket, and turn so they don't pick up on my slyness) "One, two, three!" (I threw that massive boulder out and BOOYAH! Small pebble grew about 15 times larger and KERPLUNKS!)

Kimbo wins creative round... some things never change. :)

Now I will attempt to give you a glimpse of the trip through photos.
All of the men and I hiked up Handies Peak on Tuesday. It was my first fourteener (mountain over 14,000 ft. high). It was an experience... beautiful, daunting, and painful, but I am so glad I was able to experience hiking a fourteener. Zach and I after about a mile or so in. The hike was about 4 miles up and back... 8 total for those not good at math. :)
Overlooking the top.
Zach, me and Dad on top.
This is the entire group (or "the Fellowship" as I liked to refer to us on our journey) on top... after we all summited together with my grandfather. It was epic. (totally Lord of the Rings-esque)And this is my favorite little friend, the marmot. I love the little furry creatures! If I could have slipped it under my jacket, I would've.
This is a quaint little church from the cute town.
Here I am kayaking in the lake. That was fun too... I love water, and mountains, and being in water in the mountains!

It was a wonderful trip. Very few things are better than Colorado in the summer. Thanks Dad for taking us and planning this wonderful trip! :)

So long 22 years... hello 23!

I just thought I'd throw this little post together that photographically reminisces the 22nd year of my life.
Last year's birthday rap at the Pine Cove Towers.
In Panama last late July/early August for the final of three years.
Living in Guanajuato, Mexico for September 2008! with Teryn...
Seeing the incredible Machu Picchu in October 2008.
Chilling with a butterfly at an estancia in Argentina in November...
Seeing one of my best friends get engaged in April!!
Graduating from Texas A&M University! Whoop!!!
Moving home and having Dexter and my parents for roommates!
Visiting Zach as he worked at Pine Cove for the first summer as I took a break from working at camp for the first time after working there for 5 summers. That's weird.

Well, that's a glimpse of the last year of my life. Busy? Yes. Challenging? Yes. Awesome? Yes.

happenings.

Well, July is almost over and I have yet to post. Apologies.
Well Melissa is now 8 months pregnant and I got to take some pregnancy pictures of her and Brady last weekend. Here are two of them. It was fun... late August I will become "Aunt Kimbo." So that's exciting!
I went to Dallas this past Tuesday for the Coldplay concert. INCREDIBLE! Totally worth the late driving. Zach and I went and met Kristen and Evan in Dallas... "Fix You" by Coldplay is easily one of my favorite songs and it was awesome to see it live.
Today we (family plus some extended family) are headed to Lake City, Colorado for the next week. I turn 23 tomorrow. Weird! But hey... one more year under my belt. I guess that would be the "belt of life?"

a project here, a project there...

So as I was cleaning out my room I found ALL the letters, notes, stuff that I have accumulated over the years from camp as "Funky Chick'n". Now these letters are quite funny considering the age I worked with, 2nd-5th graders. So I decided I was going to make a little collage and put it up in my room.

I needed a large frame, so to Hobby Lobby I went where I found this lovely piece for $13 on clearance. This frame on clearance was still cheaper than a frame of the same size on half price, so obviously I chose this frame.

Here is the progression...

A bag with all the letters and things...
The frame with the finished collage behind it...
The painted frame and collage on my wall.

Is June halfway over already!?

Truly... this astonishes me. Where is the time going? Well I have been in Wichita Falls now for almost a month.. almost. I have had a garage sale with my mom and got back from Sr. High camp with FBC late last Friday night.

Sr. High camp was awesome. If being in a "camp" setting wasn't fun enough for me as I am obviously missing out on what a typical summer would look like at camp, it was so refreshing to be with high school students and see them learn and just be honest about where they are in life. It is so hard for me to believe that I've been out of high school for 5 years sometimes. But in summation, it was not only refreshing but really encouraging... I just love camps. :)

Sunday I went to Dallas so that I could hang out with friends and then go to a concert on Monday night, mewithoutYou... why are they so good? I don't know, but I just love their concerts so much. That was also a good time... I got to see a lot of friends in a 36hr period and I am just grateful for the friends I have in Dallas.

Today was back to babysitting. The girls were on vacation this past week and had gotten "wrapped" by their friends... by that I mean their whole sidewalk leading to their house was covered in peanut butter, tapioca pudding and jelly piles. WHAT!? Have you ever heard of such a thing? I haven't... but now I have seen and helped clean it up...

Wichita Falls... my new (?) home

It's official, according to Wells Fargo and the USPS that I live in Wichita Falls. So I guess that means it is official. I have been here for almost two weeks, where I helped Zach get ready for Pine Cove and saw him graduate high school (pictures to come). As well as found a job...

I am babysitting every week day for a few hours for a two girls, 9 and 12 years old. They are fun and I enjoy hanging out with them! Stories to come from this I am sure...

Random other things:

• Bought a road bike last week which comes in in the next few days... gonna start cycling and perhaps do the Hotter'n Hell 100... we shall see.
  
• Going to Colorado next week for First Baptist's Sr. High Camp. Pray for that... I am excited and eager to hang out with those peeps.
  
• Christy Nockel's new c.d. is awesome... former wife in the Watermark duo that I LOVED in high school. Her husband is now a producer and let's just say they put out good stuff...

"A Mighty Fortress" ... an excerpt, check it out:

A mighty fortress is our God
A sacred refuge is Your Name
Your Kingdom is unshakable
With You forever we will reign

Our God is, jealous for His own
None could comprehend, His love and His mercy
Our God is exalted on His throne
High above the heavens
Forever He’s worthy...

shalom,
kimbo

since a month has almost passed...

I have not been so great at blogging lately. But this past month or so has had quite a few awesome happenings that I will list below:

1. GRADUATING from TEXAS A&M! Whoop! That happened last Friday and is probably the thing that got me to write a blog. I loved celebrating with the family that was here and am just glad to have finished. These past 5 years have been life-changing in every way... that's another post.
   
2. I saw a few friends and family: Paige who came in from Greece and Courtney (C-Rob) who was in from all the places she is as well as cousin Bethy who was in Wichita Falls from California for Mother's Day. Those were all good times to see friends and family.
   
3. Been hired, trained, began, and quit working at The Home Depot. My final day is this Saturday. It's one of those things I'm glad to check off the list of things to do but
   
4. Decided to move home to Wichita Falls where I will live for the next 3 months... so this past weekend my parents, with the help of multiple cars, began toting all the things that have accumulated in my house here back to Wichita Falls.
   
5. Been to my final Home Group with some of my favorite people... love them.
   
6. Enjoyed the newest album from one of my favorite bands, mewithoutYou. It's good stuff.
   

So many small things and big things have happened these past few weeks... and it's been amazing and hard and exciting and sad... this Sunday I make the drive from College Station to Wichita Falls... the culmination of moving away from College Station, perhaps to never live here again.

Life is changing... and it's gonna be a crazy ride.

Best Friends & Marriage

Goodness. You think sometimes that the things you think about and talk about when you're 13, 14, 22 years old, just won't happen or that they are so far in the future. One of those things that I had talked about for a long time happened this past weekend. My lifelong best friend is officially in love and getting married. (tears coming...)
You know I have notes from junior high talking about boys. I can remember specific conversations in high school about our FH's (future husbands for the non-high school lingo crowd). I can remember lots of tears and just a bunch of, let's just say JUNK for lack of a better word, that has happened in the last 22 years.

I was telling someone the other day how if I lost my memory and needed to recount my life, I would probably choose Miss (soon to be Mrs.) Cassidy Clark to rewrite my life story. For one, her memory is sick (as in, freaking awesome)! Two, she knows all the stuff about your life you try to keep away from general knowledge. She knows my humor better than most people in the world.

There have been times in life when I've wondered why God had truly BLESSED me so much with friendships. To have a friend who has literally walked through so much of life with me is beyond asking for. What is more... we are still friends... after all those years... still friends.

I was able to take pictures of the engagement, which is always super fun.
So here is to the beautiful Miss Cassidy Clark & Mr. Ryan Watson.
On January 16th, 2010 at 6PM I may be weeping but know that it will be some of the most joyous tears I have ever had. God is so good.