So it's been a while since I wrote a blog. I thought it was befitting to do so. It is the eleventh month of the year. As I reflect on everything I have endured in 2013, I can say that I am grateful for all the lessons I have learned. This year there have been many triumphs and victories. My husband and I had the opportunity to venture into another area of Kimberly Gunn Music with The Love & Soul Experience- a monthly productional event in which we invite local and independent artists as well as businesses to promote and market their gifts/services in one setting. In the eight months God has allowed us to put on this event, it has been a tremendous blessing not only to us but our community, our church (in our quest to help erradicate the church debt), the artists and businesses involved, and to the Kingdom of God. There have been so many testimonies and praise reports of marriage reconciliations, spiritual depression and bondages lifted, etc. as a result of Love & Soul that we are grateful to God that He would use us to give the body of Christ in the Savannah area something fresh, relevant, and something to look forward to.
In addition to the Love & Soul Experience, we've also had the opportunity to launch our new travel service called The Love & Soul Travel Experience. It's a full traveling service in which we provide the opportunity for people to travel anywhere in the world at an affordable price. Traveling and enjoying life has been one of key components that have allowed my husband and I to enjoy a healthy and loving marriage. And because we have received many calls, text messages, and emails from people who desire to travel or come to Love & Soul, we decided to start this traveling service to meet their needs. Again we have seen God's hand in the midst of this business endeavor and how He is using us to be a blessing to others.
Contrastly, this year has also been a year of defeats. As I lay writing now, every breath I take is precious because I struggle with asthma. I struggled with asthma since a little girl. It has always been a struggle for me. There were many times throughout my childhood and adult life that I have been hospitalized due to respiratory issues. Doctors say that there's only 50% breathing passage coming through my nostrils and when there's an acute cold it's worse. That's been the case most recently because I have encountered several asthma attacks. As a psalmist and gospel artist it is taxing because in order to minister effectively, it is important to breath correctly and properly. Yet in spite of, I believe Jehovah Rophe is a Healer.
As I have seen success in business ventures, I have also seen defeat in business relationships. When God gives you a vision/dream it sometimes come with a price. I am reminded of the story of Joseph when God had given him a dream. In his desire to include the people who were the closest to him, who he thought knew his heart and that he could confide in, he made a hasty decision to share his dream with them; inner most thoughts. And though he expected his brothers to celebrate the dream with him and even support him in it, Joseph would learn a hard lifelong lesson that you can't trust everyone with the dream that God has given you. I can imagine that in those lonely moments in the pit and in God's loving sovereignty that Joesph understood that everyone isn't for you- only in God's timing that all things will be reveal. Like Joseph, in the last couple of months I have learned this challenging life lesson. I have gone through feelings of hurt, unforgiveness, bitterness, self-reflection, repentance, and forgiveness. And in those moments when I needed it the most, God's overwhelming love consumes me and brings to my rememberance who I am in Him. He constantly reminds me that He brought me out of the pits of life before, He'll bring me out again.
I am a work in progress. I have learned to trust God and trust the seeds that I sow. There will be a great harvest to reap in God's timing; season. Consistency and remaining focus is the key. I pray that as you read, that you will be inspired to remain consistent in whatever God has given you to do. Regardless of the pits of life, God will always use your pit to remind you of the promise He has made to you when He sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for you. It is there when you will begin to realize that God's love can overtake any sickness, obstacle, challenge, or trial you encounter. Just trust God!
"There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No not one...no not one!"
In addition to the Love & Soul Experience, we've also had the opportunity to launch our new travel service called The Love & Soul Travel Experience. It's a full traveling service in which we provide the opportunity for people to travel anywhere in the world at an affordable price. Traveling and enjoying life has been one of key components that have allowed my husband and I to enjoy a healthy and loving marriage. And because we have received many calls, text messages, and emails from people who desire to travel or come to Love & Soul, we decided to start this traveling service to meet their needs. Again we have seen God's hand in the midst of this business endeavor and how He is using us to be a blessing to others.
Contrastly, this year has also been a year of defeats. As I lay writing now, every breath I take is precious because I struggle with asthma. I struggled with asthma since a little girl. It has always been a struggle for me. There were many times throughout my childhood and adult life that I have been hospitalized due to respiratory issues. Doctors say that there's only 50% breathing passage coming through my nostrils and when there's an acute cold it's worse. That's been the case most recently because I have encountered several asthma attacks. As a psalmist and gospel artist it is taxing because in order to minister effectively, it is important to breath correctly and properly. Yet in spite of, I believe Jehovah Rophe is a Healer.
As I have seen success in business ventures, I have also seen defeat in business relationships. When God gives you a vision/dream it sometimes come with a price. I am reminded of the story of Joseph when God had given him a dream. In his desire to include the people who were the closest to him, who he thought knew his heart and that he could confide in, he made a hasty decision to share his dream with them; inner most thoughts. And though he expected his brothers to celebrate the dream with him and even support him in it, Joseph would learn a hard lifelong lesson that you can't trust everyone with the dream that God has given you. I can imagine that in those lonely moments in the pit and in God's loving sovereignty that Joesph understood that everyone isn't for you- only in God's timing that all things will be reveal. Like Joseph, in the last couple of months I have learned this challenging life lesson. I have gone through feelings of hurt, unforgiveness, bitterness, self-reflection, repentance, and forgiveness. And in those moments when I needed it the most, God's overwhelming love consumes me and brings to my rememberance who I am in Him. He constantly reminds me that He brought me out of the pits of life before, He'll bring me out again.
I am a work in progress. I have learned to trust God and trust the seeds that I sow. There will be a great harvest to reap in God's timing; season. Consistency and remaining focus is the key. I pray that as you read, that you will be inspired to remain consistent in whatever God has given you to do. Regardless of the pits of life, God will always use your pit to remind you of the promise He has made to you when He sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for you. It is there when you will begin to realize that God's love can overtake any sickness, obstacle, challenge, or trial you encounter. Just trust God!
"There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No not one...no not one!"