Tired, weary and full of joy!

September 20, 2025September 22, 2025 / Kelly Bea / Leave a comment

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” Psalm 46:1 NLT

“…Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” Nehemiah 8:10 NLT

What started 31 months ago was about to end. We were just 18 short days away. I was sitting on the back row with my sweet daddy, listening intently. I felt the shift and knew the ending wasn’t coming in 18 days after all.

Six months just got added to our wait. Surprisingly, I was not as torn up as I thought I would be. Really, what is six more months when you have been waiting for thirty one. That my friends is what God can do when you give it all to Him.

When the bottom fell out 31 months ago I was a dejected human. I let the enemy take hold of me for a bit. BUT GOD! He was there waiting for me and when I took hold of Him my zest for life came back. I have total faith in Him. He is bigger than the mess, bigger than the enemy and He is taking all this and turning it for His good.

That verse in Nehemiah says the joy of the Lord is my strength. I let God’s joy be my source of strength, not my circumstances. That is what that verse means! When you are down let God fill you up. Depend on Him not the circumstances of life. Put your full faith and trust in God alone.

God is our refuge and strength at all times, but especially in times of trouble. Through this trial He has been a refuge for me. He has given me strength when I didn’t think I could handle another hit. He has made me strong and fierce. Every single time I have had to do something for this trial I have felt Him. He has given me so much strength.

Yes, I have grown tired and some days I am weary, but nothing can steal my joy! It comes from the Lord ALONE, not my circumstances. God’s power is omnipotent (ALL POWERFUL). The enemy’s power is limited and he can’t steal what he hasn’t given you!

There is a saying that says your day will go the way the corners of your mouth are turned. Are you smiling or frowning through life? Are you going through life with a positive attitude or a negative one? Where is your focus?

I wake up and can’t wait to walk out of my bedroom and see the sun rising through my front door. I grab a cup of coffee, my Bible and go watch it rise the rest of the way. It brings me joy! My little 9 mile drive to work can take over 20 minutes somedays, because I creep along my country road watching wildlife and being mesmerized.

Try going through a day with wonder and awe of all that is around you. Look up and tell God “thank you I love it”. Go to park, leave your phone in your car and go sit in the grass. Listen to the birds sing. Gaze at the clouds. Soak up the sun. Dance in the rain. Soak up God’s creation with childlike wonder. It will perk you right up.

I can now say that I am grateful for this trial because through it I have grown so close to God! He is my number 1 always and forever. I start my day with Him. I go to Him during my day. I end my day with Him. I do everything with Him in mind.

As a young teen I always looked up to my Mema and Mother Russell. They were such amazing Godly women. It was always one of them that would pray at family gatherings. They could quote scripture and turn right to what they were looking for in their Bibles. They were kind to everyone. They were forgiving and compassionate. I wanted to be them when I grew up. For the first time in my life I can proudly say I am making progress at being like them.

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:29 NIV

He gives strength to the weary. When we become exhausted from the battles of life God gives us strength. When we are at our weakest, God can sustain us! God has compassion for us and He wants us to lean on Him. He wants to be our source of strength.

He increases the power of the weak. God does not leave us vulnerable, He instead empowers us and give us divine strength to face our battles. He wants us to trust in Him during the difficulties of life. God’s power is limitless! He wants us to trust in Him at ALL times.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIV

This verse reminds me to focus on doing good. Through this difficult trial I have felt God redirect me from worrying over all the “what ifs” to focusing on the reason He brought us back to Kentucky. He did not bring me here to get lost in worry, anxiousness, depression and sadness. He brought me here to do good for our community, bring others to know him and live life to the fullest.

I find joy in serving my community! Today we served 341 meals to our community. It brings me delight to prepare and serve lunch to our community. Today I also dropped off a bag full of Period Packs for one of our teachers at the high school. Tomorrow our Food Pantry will be open all day. I will bring fresh eggs and watermelon from the farm and add them to the boxes.

Those things bring the JOY and those things are where God wants me to focus. He is working on the trial and He will let me know if He needs something from me.

We reap a harvest when we do not give up! Always focus on God and His will for your life. Focus on doing good and loving others well. Strive to make a positive impact on those you encounter. Be persistent in focusing on God and telling the enemy to get away from you! Our reward will be will be awesome!

My goal is to get to the end of fully lived life and have God say to me: “My joyful warrior you did good! You lived big, you served well and you left nothing in your tank”!

100 Days

June 20, 2025June 20, 2025 / Kelly Bea / Leave a comment

For the past couple of months I randomly saw this book, Resilient Hope by Christine Caine pop up on Facebook. A few days ago I was placing an Amazon order and there it was again— so I bought it.

It came this afternoon. I grabbed the book and went to sit on the porch. I was reading the back cover & noticed it was a 100 day devotional.

My 1st thought was to start it on July 1st. My 2nd thought was what is 100 days from today?

Sunday, September 28, 2025 is 100 days from today! I laughed and say out loud “I see you there God”!

When I talk to God I’m always asking him to show me the way, point me in the right direction or give me a sign.

This book coming today. Me actually taking it outside to look at it before throwing it in my pile of books I need to read. All God!

100 days from today Kevin and I will go to bed and wake up to a long awaited trial date. 100 days from today this hard fought battle will be coming to an end. 100 days from now God will be showing off. Just 100 more days!

I have 100 more days to grow my enduring faith in God! To have resilient hope that He is turning all things for His good! Thank you God I love it!

The introduction of this book had me in the first paragraph. Christine loves the Olympics and so do I. She is telling a story about an Olympian with great endurance and even brings up Hebrews 12. A passage I have loved since I was teen. A passage that took on new meaning when we began this battle.

Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.”

Endurance- the ability or strength to continue despite fatigue, stress or other adverse conditions.

Faith-complete trust in someone (God)

Enduring faith is what I have in God. He is in the middle of all this and He is working. I need only to pray and praise.

Day 1 is called Marvelous Faith. It’s about the centurion in Luke 7 that Jesus was marveled by his faith. I want to get to heaven someday and Jesus say “this one has faith like that centurion”.

I want Him to be able to say she fearlessly stood up to the giant because she knew I was standing with her!

Choose Your Life

February 15, 2025February 15, 2025 / Kelly Bea / Leave a comment

Picture it–Gatlinburg in January! A spectacular cabin in the stunning snowy mountains. A cabin full of God’s girls connecting, growing and loving on each other. This cabin, the coziness and the views only drew us closer to God.

That is where I meet this beautiful soul. Jill has this light about her. She was quiet, but also had this spark that was ready burst out of her. She reminded me of myself at my first retreat. We have to take a step back, take it all in and slowly come out of our shell.

I know for myself Big Life taught me how to live like a child again. Fearlessly stepping into each day and soaking up all God had available. Being grateful for the little things and living without fear of what others think of you.

Back to Jill, God was taking her story and blowing it up! It’s a redemption story that she was holding close to the vest, but God had other plans. He knew she was ready to illuminate the world with her spark. A spark that shines bright for living life with Jesus and free of addiction.

You see Jill has been sober for a year and she loves her some Jesus! Jesus nudged her into sharing her story. Last week she was telling us how God is showing off. Multiple people have reached out to her about how she inspired them and they are now on a journey to sobriety.

There was this one little sentence she said that completely blew my mind! Seriously, I read it multiple times and wrote it on a sticky note. She said they decided to choose their life over alcohol! Such a simple statement yet it hit me so hard.

What are you choosing over your life?!?! That statement wouldn’t leave my mind. Its why I am writing this right now. What worldly things do we put above living our lives the way God intended. We have this one life that God has given us.

Are we living it wisely? Are we fully living? Are we walking with Him or are we distracted? Seriously consider where you spend most of your time. Are you scrolling social media? Are you addicted to working? Are you devoted to alcohol? Are you consumed with your next snack? Are you thinking about your next high? Are you glued to a TV or computer screen?

Take a moment to do a inventory of where you spend your time. Are you living life to the full or does something have a hold on you? Are you living little because of an addiction or are you walking in alignment with God fully living?

If am being totally honest I would say that my two biggest distractions from living are getting stuck binge watching a tv show or mindlessly scrolling. This tends to be worse during these cold and yucky winter months. Still its no excuse for wasting my life watching TV and scrolling on my phone. I checked myself and was shocked to see my screen time daily average. Have you checked that setting on your phone recently? Maybe you should. It might light a fire to stop wasting life and get out there and live life. Ask yourself do you want to watch other people live or get busy living your life!

I am choosing to end some TV subscriptions today. I am removing some apps from my phone as well. In their place I am going to be outside more. I am going to sit on my porch and soak up the sunshine and nature. I am going to date my husband. I am going to connect more with my family and friends. I am going to go for walks and talk to God more. I am going to sit with Him and my Bible. I am going to following His promptings to better living.

Ask yourself what you are choosing over living? Pay attention to the first thing(s) that pops in your head when you honestly ask yourself that question! Lets make some changes and get busy living this one life God has granted us.

Oh my WORD!

November 6, 2024November 14, 2024 / Kelly Bea / 1 Comment

I want to tell you a story about how a single word can change the trajectory of your life.

2019 was the year of Hurricane Dorrian and Notre Dame burning. For me, it was a year of change.

My oldest son had moved out and my youngest son had one foot out the door. Those two amazing humans have been my purpose since I became a mama in 1998.

For the first time in my life I had a career not just a job. I went from working a job in the school system on my boys schedule to government contract work. Life was shifting, but it was good. Still something just felt off and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

During my drive to work I had started listening to a podcast called, Big Life Daily Devotional and this peppy speaker seemed to be fueled by Jesus and caffeine.

She had me taking notes and reaching for my Bible. That’s when I began to realize it was God that was missing from my life. Being that we were between churches my Bible had gotten put down and that led to spending less and less time with God.

Pamela Crim, the Big Life Podcast Host, had begun talking about a mentoring program she offered. I laughed and said, “I don’t need a mentor,” but that voice in my head started giving me a nudge. Maybe I did.

In February 2020 I joined Big Life Mentoring. One of the things we are encouraged to do is pick a word for the year. Pamela actually does a workshop to help us come up with our word. The first thing we do is pray! Next we ask ourselves a few questions. One of them being what do you want for the year ahead. From that you begin to look for words that stick out and so on.

I went through the steps of finding my word. Through prayer and answering those questions it was clear to me that I needed to return to God. My relationship with Him needed to be repaired. In order to fully live the life He has for me I needed to bring him back to the forefront and keep him there. Which is why I chose RESTORE!

1 Peter 5:10 says “In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation”

I wasn’t going to church like I should have. I wasn’t spending time in the word or in prayer. I was not my happy go lucky self and I couldn’t figure out why. I was lost and searching in 2019.

Through finding Big Life Daily Devotional, God was already restoring me, but it wasn’t until I dove into mentoring that I realized what was missing was my relationship with Him.

Throughout 2020 when the world was falling apart, I got my spark back. I found a church online that I loved. I was reading my Bible and spending time in prayer with Him. I was truly happy and living my best life.

I signed up for my first marathon and stuck to my training program. Running became another way for me to spend time with God. I would go to the greenway at the nature preserve, put in my Christian music and just go. I loved being out in nature, soaking up the sun (or the rain) and just spending time with him. I was actually running faster than I ever had.

My husband and I found we enjoyed being empty nesters. We totally took advantage at working from home together and creating fun ways to date while the world was shutdown.

I joined an accountability group through Big Life. These girls became my prayer partners, my workout sisters and cheer squad.

I even got brave enough to go on a Big Life Retreat with 41 strangers. One of the best decisions of my life. I ended up going on a 2nd retreat a few months later. It took me to beautiful Northern California. My first time visiting the state. I absolutely loved the ocean, the giant trees and vineyards. Exploring Glass Beach was one of the coolest experiences. I have now been on 11 retreats and am signed up to do two more!

God restored me in spite of all that was going wrong! He helped me see my purpose. He showed me that when I put Him first, life is just better, even in the hard.

As 2020 was coming to end God was continuing His work in mine and my husband, Kevin’s life. Little did we know He was restoring us in preparation for something big!

The here and now

September 22, 2021September 22, 2021 / Kelly Bea / Leave a comment

Holly Balls! Life went from a sprint to a marathon since arriving in Kentucky. We were going 90 to nothing trying to get everything done. We were excited, but overwhelmed with how fast everything was happening. On September 3rd we closed on our house in Alabama and drove to Clay, Kentucky and everything changed. We didn’t have a home, jobs or any of the little comforts were were use to. Even our sweet dogs lost the freedom of coming and going as they please–no doggy door and fenced backyard here. Even though we unpacked a few boxes and took over part of my mother-in-law’s house it still felt like we were just visiting the first week or so. Time seems to fly by, too. Why is it when you are at work 8 hours is an eternity and when you are home you blink and its supper time!

I thought we would get up here and the next part of our plan would be revealed to us. I thought God would show us what’s next–how can we use this farm for our future. So far its been crickets. I don’t like crickets. I don’t like the unknown. I am a planner and I am not sure what I am supposed to be planning for. I continue to pray and talk to Kevin about all our dreams. We wonder if our dreams will align with God’s plan. What’s He got in store for us? What does the future hold for us over at the farm?

This is our third week in Kentucky and I was really starting to feel uneasy. Uneasy about the unknown, the future and why God is being silent. He laughs at me I am sure! Why? Because He is never silent. If we are talking to Him, He is talking to us. Sometimes we are only listening for the answer we want instead of the one He is giving us. 😉

For the 3rd Sunday since we being in Kentucky I got up, listened to church and planned my week out in my digital planner. I decided no more being lazy its time to get my tail up at 5:45 and get back to my morning routine that always seemed to help me live my best life.

That is just what I did, too! Monday morning at the lovely hour of 5:45 AM my alarm went off and I rolled out of bed and started my day. By 6 I was on live chat with my 6AM Hottie Kim chatting away. After a few minutes catching up we did our workout and I was done just in time for live devotion with Pamela. No one else in the house was up yet. I grabbed my headphones, iPad and a cup of coffee and joined live devotion just in time for our morning routine and Big Life Devotional.

Little did I know God was about to talk to me loud and clear through Pamela! He knew I was in a quiet place focused on her words–words that He gave her. He knew I would be really listening. Monday’s Big Life Devotion was titled “The Roundabout Way” and she read to us from Exodus 13: 17-18. Its about Pharaoh letting the people go and God NOT taking them on the main road, which was the shortest route, but leading them on a roundabout way. He took them the long way around to avoid a battle. He knew they weren’t ready for that battle. Pamela mentioned that God had a purpose in this, just as He has a purpose for everything He does in our lives. We need to trust Him and His route for our lives.

LIGHT BULB MOMENT!!!

We are exactly where we are supposed to be on our journey! A movie of our journey played in my head! How six months ago we never would of brought up moving to Kentucky, that night in May when everything changed and we decided to try and get to Kentucky by May 2022. How God changed our timeline and got us here in three months. Just in time to be available for Betty as she battles this cancer. Every morning Kevin makes breakfast and every evening I make supper. She is eating better than she has in months. Our sweet little dogs just love to sit and snuggle with her. Lollie loves playing ball with her. Kevin was able to take his mom to her first chemo treatment. We are here with her every step of the way. She might want a break from us. 😀

But that movie playing in my head showed me much more than just being available for Betty. We have been here for so much in this short. During this time I have been waiting for God to reveal what’s next I was living it! I was so busy looking for what’s next I almost missed the here and now. I have been able to go to Nadya’s soccer games and cheer on the Lady Tigers. Nadya asked me to go with her for her senior pictures and we had the best time. Her pictures are going to be amazing. We have also got to spend lots of time with Emmy and Sadie. We have had time with my parents, Faye, Linda, Lori, Jason, Joy, Margaret and Rodney. I have got to see 2nd cousins I normally never get to see. Kevin’s had friends stop by and see him. My uncle Rodney is building our house. Thank you God, I love it. You are so so sweet! I trust the journey you have us on and your timing.