January 13, 2011

November 28, 2010

  • ON MISSION | To Singapore

     

    Ever heard the phrase “Be Careful What you Pray For” ?

    It’s always been amazing to me how God takes us at our word and is faithful to give us just what we ask for; especially if we are asking for something that will bring glory to His name. I love how he takes the imperfections of our hearts and the weaknesses of our humanity and does something bigger than we could ever imagine. Such is the case with me … with us {my family and I}.

    My husband has been working on his Master’s Degree in Spiritual Formation/Direction ~ a passion that God laid on his heart a short while after we returned to the States to heal from the death of our son. We left the mission field to be closer to the comforting arms of our family and friends ~ not sure we’d ever be able to return to foreign mission work. Certain, at that time, that we’d more than likely not be willing to go again; not to a land far away. Our life in ministry has too often been me (us) declaring and I’m sure, God laughing {you’d think we’d learn}. Then it seems he goes about softening our hearts to be in line with HIS will and not ours. Such is the case with our hearts over the last few months.

    Several months ago, while in the midst of his MA research project, my husband came across an ancient prayer. He brought a copy of it home, suggested I join him in praying it daily and then we sat back to watch what God would do with our open heart.  Here is the prayer …

     

    A Prayer of Surrender

     Jesus, I am a humble, lowly servant.

    Take me; all of me.

    Add anything, take anything away;

    at any cost, with any price.

    Make me yours completely … wholly.

    May I not be remembered for the way I wear my hair,

    or for the shape of my face, or for the people I know,

    or for the friends and crowds that I have addressed.

    May I be known for loving you,

    for carrying a dream,

    for building bridges to the hurt, to the broken,

    and to the lost in the world.

    Make me what you would be

    if you lived in person here where I do.

    Make everything accomplished through my simple life

    bring honor and glory to you.

    Take my human flaws and failures,

    and use them to remind those who know me

    that only you are God, and I will always be {Put Your Name Here}

    and … WHOLLY YOURS.

     

    Thus began God’s calling and softening and blessing and opening our eyes to the project that He would have us to join Him in.

    So …

    We are moving to Singapore … to be a part of something that is bigger than we are and bigger than we could ever imagine. We are doing it with a faithful God who for some reason is entrusting these weak and imperfect servants to partner with Him in His amazing project.

    This week we will travel to Singapore to get to know our new city, to meet the people there and to begin making preparations for our June 1 move. Can’t wait to share the journey that God is taking us on.

    Your prayers are greatly appreciated!

     

May 31, 2010

  • FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

      

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    I watched the flag pass by one day,
    It fluttered in the breeze.
    A young Service man saluted it,
    And then he stood at ease.

    I looked at him in uniform
    So young, so tall, so proud,
    With hair cut square and eyes alert
    He'd stand out in any crowd.

    I thought how many men like him
    Had fallen through the years.
    How many died on foreign soil
    How many mothers' tears?

    How many pilots' planes shot down?
    How many died at sea
    How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
    No, freedom isn't free.

    I heard the sound of Taps one night,
    When everything was still,
    I listened to the bugler play
    And felt a sudden chill.

    I wondered just how many times
    That Taps had meant "Amen,"
    When a flag had draped a coffin.
    Of a brother or a friend.

    I thought of all the children,
    Of the mothers and the wives,
    Of fathers, sons and husbands
    With interrupted lives.

    I thought about a graveyard
    At the bottom of the sea
    Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
    No, freedom isn't free.

    LCDR Kelly Strong, USCG - Copyright 1981

    ***************************

    This is a traveling WALL with the names of soldiers lost in wars from WWI to Present. It was in Dallas for the Memorial Day weekend and we were blessed to visit it.

    We found Dustin's name among the "Gold Dog Tags" made for those lost in the Global War on Terror. It is an honor to be among so many who have fought for our country but so hard on us to see his name in this context.

    Thanks to all who make this beautiful tribute a possibility!

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July 16, 2009

  • TURNING ASIDE | Sermon by BL Kendall

     

    Brandi doesn't get to do much preaching anymore but when he does, he's pretty amazing. If you'd like to listen to his most recent lesson, click on the title below.

    BK's Father's Day Sermon 

    TURNING ASIDE

    Hope you enjoy!

     

June 30, 2009

  • THE PUNISHMENT OF POTATO SOUP ...

     

    It had always been a challenge to raise our six children on a minister's salary but we were on an especially tight budget. We were only a few weeks away from our planned departure to the mission field of Russia. We were living in a teen-insy two bedroom house with the few belongings that we still owned and we were watching our pennies very tightly. Feeding our brood meant doing a lot of stretching of ingredients ... and eating meat only a few days a week. This night was a non-meat night ... potato soup night.

    To say that Dustin wasn't especially fond of potato soup would be an understatement. The rest of us enjoyed it though, so it was what was to be served for supper. We had a rule in the Kendall household ... at least three bites of anything set before you. Being finicky just wasn't an option  ... we ate what was placed before us ... with gratitude and without complaining.

    I had left the potato soup slowly simmering on the stove while I worked on things around the house. I still remember that smell ... that obnoxious, nose-scrunching, burning smell. I will spare you the details of what happened when I discovered my soup burning on the stove but suffice it to say, the culprit responsible was a 9-year-old little boy who didn't like potato soup. It turns out that he had walked non-chalantly by the stove, turned the fire all the way up and waited.

    It was Dustin's intention to deter us from eating potato soup that night. However, his mom (me), who had already discovered by this time in his short life that he was a certified PILL, had other ideas of how this should affect all of us (and him). Dad immediately called for pizza to feed the rest of our klan ... and mom set out Dustin's fare before him. Bless his heart, he ate burned potato soup every meal until that big 8-member family pot was gone.

    I know some of you are already considering turning me in to CPS for what I did to right Dustin's wrongs but I promise he really did survive. And ... I guarantee you that he never tried that tactic again when he didn't want to eat something. As a matter of fact, before he drew his last breath, he had willingly partaken of many bowls of potato soup as an adult.

    We all still laugh when we think of that day.

    Today would have been his 25th birthday so we are celebrating with his favorites ~  grilled steak, watermelon, hot bread ... and potato soup (un-burned). Not your normal way of serving potatoes with steak but it made us smile to do it that way today.

    Thank you all for your many notes and calls to remind us of how well we are loved and how Dustin is remembered. It means so much.  

     

June 29, 2009

  • WHERE VALOR RESTS ...

     

    Last year we received a beautiful book called Where Valor Rests that was produced by photographers in honor of those buried at Arlington National Cemetery. On page 64 of this book, there is a photograph of the section where Dustin is buried ... and his headstone is prominantly shown on the page.

    During our visit to Washington DC this past week, we visited that very place ... the place where we left our son's body to rest forever.  Being near his grave and seeing his name etched in stone makes his death feel so much more real ... and yet it's still hard for me to comprehend that he's not really here with us anymore. I wouldn't have thought that being there would move me to such emotion. After all, I know that he is not really there ... his spirit is in Paradise with the God that he served. Still, knowing that my baby boy's body lay just beneath that piece of ground made me feel connected to him somehow ... and ... sad too that though he was so close, he was beyond my reach. Our tears flowed freely the days we sat with him there.

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    Tomorrow would have been his 25th birthday. Birthdays are a pretty big deal in our family. Every Kendall birthday celebration always includes the honoree's favorite meal and desert, along with a day of leisure and royal treatment. Dustin's birthday favorites ... grilled steak (or ribs), watermelon, and cherry cheesecake. Tomorrow we will have a birthday celebration full of his favorite things. And ... as we have for the past 3 years, we plan to celebrate the life that he lived, recall with gratefulness the time that we had him ... and shed some tears for the time we are missing now.

    Cpl Dustin Lee Kendall to many ... just 'son' to us.

    Happy Birthday, Buddy. I wish you were here.

     

  • OUR NATION'S CAPITAL ...

     

    We just returned from several days in Washington DC and it was a precious time spent. Our primary reason for traveling there was to visit Dustin's gravesite. We haven't been in a long while ... and it was time ... but we wanted to take this trip to also soak in the awesome history of our country that shouts from every inch of that city.

    We spent each morning at the cemetery, then worked our way into the city for some sightseeing. I think we ended up walking an average of 5-7 miles a day and though we wanted to see it all, it was impossible. We only touched on a tiny portion of what DC has to offer but I stood in amazement of what we beheld.

    We carried our cameras everywhere and took over 700+ images that I will not ask you to view here ~ smile. I wish I could have captured in my photographs, the massiveness of the buildings and the majesty that they each held. Hope you don't mind me sharing a few as an overview of our time there.

    Arlington National Cemetery

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    Lincoln Memorial

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    Korean War Memorial

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    The Capital Building

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    The White House Garden

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    The Washington Monument

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    The National Mall ~ Smithsonian

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    The Smithsonian ~ American History Museum

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     Union Station

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    FDR Memorial

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    Walking Through the City

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    Doors of DC

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    We were also blessed to see some special friends while we were there .. unfortunately, we missed a few special friends as well. I'll be looking forward to getting back to DC quickly so I can hug their necks.

    We have a special place in our hearts for Rowan and his staff of instructors at IPS (Institute of Photographic Studies) ... they are the ones who gave BK, Jared and I our beginning in photographic instruction. We were excited to find out that they were in DC conducting a school while were there so we hung out with them at Union Station one afternoon and participated in their 'school project'. I'm embarassed to say, I didn't do as well as I would have liked. No matter how good you become or how much you think you know, there is always a desire to make your 'teacher' proud of what you do ... no pressure though! Anyway, we shared some yummy Chicago-style pizza with the crew and the students that night and were so blessed by their sweet, Godly spirits. They even invited us back the next morning to be the student's couple models. We should see the images soon but I figure if they can make this old, chunky couple look good, they are on their way to stardom. =0)

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    We continued our day with a precious friend from our Arkansas days. Todd and Jen are living in Philadelphia now, so Jen drove a long 3 hours down to DC to spend the afternoon with us. Unfortunately, Todd wasn't feeling well. It was a blessing to catch up on all the goings on of the last few years, to hear about Jen's victory over breast cancer and to share some time with her at the cemetery. They were our prayer warriors while we ministered to the church in Arkansas and Todd was one of Dustin's teachers in the college class so he had a special place in their hearts. It was a precious time that would have only been made better by more of it. I'm afraid I have no photo to share ... for ... the three of us, trapsing around DC with our cameras and not one of us remembered to take a picture of US. I'm using that as an excuse to get back together with her real soon.

    Our time in DC was a precious time spent ... some moments were sobering but many were joyful. That is how life is most of the time, I think. Sometimes the journey is rough but we must take the bad with the good to get to our destination. Prayerfully we see beautiful things along the way and we become stronger and wiser and better for having traveled it.

    We are on our journey ... thanks for sharing this part of it with us.

     

June 5, 2009

  • THE JOURNEY OF A GRIEVING HEART | Offering Comfort & Understanding

     

    As most of you know, we've been on an incredible journey for the last three years ... a grief journey.

    Our lives changed forever after Dustin's death. We embarked on a journey we never intended or desired to be on. Our journey has often been a difficult one but it has also been filled with amazing blessings along the way. God’s comfort has come in many shapes and sizes; in ways that we would never have imagined … and we've been strengthened.

    My photography has been part of my journey ... a passion that I believe was God-given and God-driven. It's been a wonderful blessing to offer others what has become so important to me ... memories ... frozen in time and I pray that it's been a blessing for those I've shared it with, as well.

    Another part of my journey has also been a compelling desire to help my fellow grievers ... and to help others understand the heart and mind of those who are grieving. This has come about in a website that I, along with my family, have just launched ... we call it The Journey of a Grieving Heart. This site is not about our grief … it is about sharing the journey of grief.

    It is intended to be a safe place where those who are grieving can share their hearts and hurts as they struggle through their dark places; a place to voice their deepest needs in the midst of their pain … and a place to share their insights, their victories and their blessings.

    This site is also intended for those who may not have experienced a deep loss of their own but are striving to minister to those who are. I pray that what is shared there will give insight and understanding as they walk beside them on their grief journey.

    I pray that you will take a look at the new website and become encouraged there. I also ask that you help us get the word out by forwarding the link to all you know who are struggling with grief ... and to those who are not. We all need more understanding of how we can help the hurting heart of a friend. It is our greatest desire, that this will be a wonderful place to gain that understanding.

    Join us at The Journey of a Grieving Heart ... and be sure to leave comments while you are there.

    Blessings to you all!

     

June 3, 2009

  • KK'S GOLD BELT ...

     

    Kayli has a new passion. She has been studying Tae Kwon Do for several months now. Her first intensive testing to earn her 'gold belt' was last week. As you can tell from her 'war' face, she takes what she does very seriously.

    Her testing took 3 hours and I was pretty impressed with my little darling by the time it was all said and done. She earned her GOLD BELT and hopes to earn some special green stripes of excellence in the next few weeks.

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June 2, 2009

  • HE STOOD ME UP ON A SOLID ROCK ...

     

    There are times when things feel a bit unsteady; when the earth quakes around your feet and everything in you wants to run away in panic ... even though there is nowhere to run. Your heart feels like it will beat out of your chest, your breathing quickens ... and your mind reels. You feel desperate to find a place where you can securely plant your feet but everywhere your feet land there seems to be a crack forming ... and you just might get sucked into one.

    I don't know about you but ... I'm not really all that fond of times like these.

    In truth, I don't even like roller coasters, or bungie jumping, or space needles. I don't like cliff diving, or sky diving, or that ride at Six Flags that takes you up in a little parachute and then drops you really fast. Nope ... I'm all about having my feet firmly on the ground ... steady ... secure; ducks in a row ... all planned out.

    My world has started quaking again lately -- without warning ... without my permission. I had started feeling secure in my little world but now that feeling of panic threatens to take over.

    When my world quakes ...  my heart hurts.

    When my world quakes ... I am filled with self-doubt.

    When my world quakes ...  my purpose is unclear.

    When my world quakes ...  I feel inadequate.

    When my world quakes ...  I feel vulnerable.

    How I wish my world would offer me all those things I desire. But ... when I depend on my world to be those things for me, it always fails me, for God did not intend me to feel secure in my world. He only intended for me to feel secure in Him.

    "For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock" Psalm 27:5 (NIV)

    "He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip" Psalm 40:2 (The Message)

    Having come from a long line of 'runners', when I feel unsteady, my natural instinct is to do just that; to run ... to feel fearful and hide. But God did not give me a spirit of timidity ... I am strong and secure. Not because of anything I have done, but because of what He has done and continues to do in me. When I am willing to hide in Him; to cry out to Him to keep me safe in the midst of my earthquakes, He sets me on a solid rock ... Himself ... and he holds me high above the destruction below me. He does not let me slip into the cracks. He alone is my refuge, my strong fortress to save me.

    Today, my world is quaking pretty strongly. Things are beyond my control but they are not beyond His.

    Therefore, I will trust in Him ... I will cry out to Him ... I will stand firmly on the Rock knowing I will not slip as long as He has me safe in the shelter of His tabernacle.