Kim Blackaby

Kim Blackaby -- [adjective]: Extremely extreme! 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Enjoyed Movie

Robb and I had a chill out night the other day and rented a hilarious movie!!! Before I recommend it let me offer this little disclaimer... there is Strong language in it. We were not quite expecting that but were so taken in my the otherwise interesting story line that we did not let that deter us. Are you on the edge of your seats wondering "What movie???" We rented Little Miss Sunshine. It is a great movie about a messed up family and how they make it through life in spite of a variety of crappy situations. We laughed hard throughout the movie!! There are many unexpected turns to the movie and just when you think you have the writers plot figured out it takes a twist. If you can stand the "f" word used frequently, you will enjoy this movie. It is one of the funnest movies I have seen in a long time.
I think I loved it because my own family's life experiences were often odd and challenging- albeit not nearly as odd as this- nothing seemed to come easily for us. However, my family never allowed the disappointments of life to put an end to whatever we were trying to do. I think that is something a lot of families miss in today's life. Resiliency. I see soo many trying to make things perfect for their children/family. If everything is not perfect they break down and stomp out of life- quitting. I love that this family keeps going in the midst of many obstacles and hope that one day when we have a family that we can teach our kids to not expect perfection out of life and to know how to keep going when things are not how we imagine them or want them to go. It is kind of like teaching kids how to learn and not just giving them the facts.

Moments of Shock in a Backwards Town

Odd is how the day ended but it started out with the potential of complete boredom. Today I took 2 students from my high school to the Academic Decathlon. This was an all day competition at a local small university. On my way there I was pretty frustrated with having to spend a Saturday basically working. I was anticipating a day of boredom- the activities of the day were watching students take tests on a variety of subjects. I came prepared with work. Little did I know what awaited. At the university there was a room on the 2nd floor that was filled with a variety of stuffed animals of all kinds. As one kid put it, "There is a stuffed zoo upstairs." The representatives of the school were quite proud. I was disgusted!! There had to be over a hundred different animals including zebras, lions, elephant tusks, skins of all kinds, etc. What happened to conservation? Can we say poaching? I was truly shocked by the display of animals. Each had a plaque of when and where the animal was killed. What kind of education is being presented here? 2nd oddness/ disturbing moment.. Robb came up for lunch and because I was able to leave while the students were actually testing, we went and walked around the small town center and went into an antique store. About half way in the store Robb tells me to look up. Low and behold there is a huge Nazi flag hanging from the ceiling. We were both soo rattled. Definitely not what you expect to see.. In fact I do not think I have ever seen one in real life. What would posses someone to do this? While walking out of the store i kept thinking " should I go and rant and rave to someone?" I did not do this... we just left quickly. Weird stuff!!

Discipline

Over the past couple of weeks I have been feeling pressed to get more disciplined in my life. The past three years were full of discipline. Every minute as an RD and student was pretty much consumed with something that I was doing or needed to do. I feel like after we left Cleveland/ Lee.. I went in a time of not wanting to do anything that "should" be done. I anything that looked like discipline was avoided. In December and the beginning of this month, I have come to the realization that this time is over. I need to start being more disciplined and intentional in my life. This includes exercise on a regular basis, reading and just thinking more about spiritual growth as well as personal and professional growth, being more financially responsible and looking for ways to help build our ministry. I am looking forward to seeing how these changes affect my life and others for the good. I am looking forward to the blogs being a place of reflection as I journey back to being a thoughtful person.