Karmen Smith

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One thing to try if you’re dreading the holidays

by Karmen |

The best way to finish something is to start.

 

We could start with how many times I’ve started this post in my head, or we could start with the come-apart I had in the car on the day 14 days ago.  Thankfully no children were present, and only the passerby in the parking lot saw me screaming talking to myself.

 

If you’ve seen Summer School when the character,  Chainsaw, overwhelmed with stress grabs his head, while taking a test & SCREAMS at the top of his lungs, “AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! “Tention breaker.  Had to be done.”

 

Anyone in need of a tension breaker?

 

Yesterday my oldest son declared, “Tomorrow it will only 27 days until Christmas.” Which is precious and absolutely delightful because it is the most-wonderful-time-of-the-year except that it’s ONLY 27 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!! #forcryingoutloud

 

October was like two seconds, and now we are two days shy of wrapping November raging full throttle into the holiday season.

 

Ferris Bueller was right. “Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

 

Which brings me back to my last post- if you missed the video where I hid on my porch and trapped the cat in the bathroom  (who has since been hit by a car and gone on to kitty-cat heaven), you could watch it HERE. The video.  Not the cat.

 

In that post, I shared how we dove head first into foster care and discussed a bit about why I was stepping back from speaking events to tend better to the littles God had placed or allowed to visit our home.

 

A lot has changed since that post.  For the sake of privacy & without going into great detail, I can tell you we savored our months as a family of five but now are back to being a family of four.  It’s been eleven days since the little one that left us forever changed had to go.  We’ve been cherishing sweet memories, and are re-establishing a new normal.

 

Just yesterday at church I had someone say, “You’ve walked this road before.”  Speaking of years ago & our seasons of grief after we lost our son and then a daughter to preterm labor.

 

“Yes and no,” was my tearful reply.

 

Yes, we have experienced loss and sorrow before but none like this.

 

It’s different.

 

We, meaning our whole extended family, store family, church family loved hard and fell fast for the little one God sent our way that we were sure would be with us forever until he wasn’t.

 

Many have said, “Well, this is part of it.”  Meaning loving and losing is part of fostering.

 

To that, yes, it’s very much like standing in the road and then being surprised when you are hit by a car but can anyone ever be ready to be hit by a car?

 

A recent & frequently asked question,

 

“Now what?”

 

WE GIVE THANKS.

Thanksgiving was bittersweet.  We dressed as we do on Thanksgiving Day as Pilgrims, Indians and cowboy outlaws.

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We hooked the buggy and rode to the feast.

 

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We said the blessing,

 

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ate lots of food, played whiffle ball with family and friends, laughed a lot & then, we cried for the ones who were missing.

“In everything gives thanks” doesn’t happen by accident. When life knocks the breath out of you and our hearts break we have to CHOOSE thanksgiving sometimes even on Thanksgiving.

 

WE TRUST. 

We are trusting God to make it all matter.  My nephew told his mother the evening after he heard our news, “Some days are happy.  Some days are sad.  This day is a sad day.”

Romans 8:28 is one of our go-to verses.  We believe God works all things for good for those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purposes.  That doesn’t mean all things are good because there are many, many things in this life that are not good but God in His wonder, and amazing grace can use those things too.  He can and will use it for our good and His glory.

 

Other questions:

“Will you continue to foster?” Yes.

 

“How are your boys?”    They’re tough.  Kids really are resilient.  We talk, cry and remember.  They’re getting better each day.

 

Now, a question for you that challenged me recently,

 

“What do you do when you #PrayBig and the things you want to happen don’t?”

 

For many the holiday season is anything but jolly.  Do you wish you could skip Christmas, New Years and Valentines Day?  Maybe you have recently been dealt a hard hand. Perhaps you’ve experienced loss or disappointment.  Maybe this will be your first season without someone you love dearly.   Are you broke?  Have you been praying for the same thing for a long time and feel like it’s falling on deaf ears? Has your prayer been answered but not the way you wished it had been?

 

Today if you are lonely, tired, sad, weary, confused, downtrodden, & dreading the holidays…

 

My hope and challenge for you is this-

 

PRAY ANYWAY.

 

Pray through.

Pray hard.

Pray believing God hears you.

Pray knowing He cares.

Pray out loud or quietly into your pillow.

Pray in your car.

Pray His Word.

Pray with friends.

Pray in a text or on paper.

Pray often.

Pray sad.

Pray happy.

Pray with plenty.

Pray in need.

Pray for others & yourself.

Pray surrendered to His will.

 

#PrayBig

 

always and until Jesus comes.

much love,

karmen.png

 

 

 

P.S. Because y’all know I love a P.S. and because I want to say,

“Thank you. To the thousands who have watched this video I recorded the day after the court ruling.  I chose to record this unedited, unfiltered, no makeup on video because it’s real life.  To the many who have shared this video, to the hundreds of you who have taken the time to whisper a prayer for us, sent us messages and words of compassion–>We are eternally grateful for you!! By God’s grace, we choose joy and pray God blesses you for blessing us.”

 

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Filed Under: #iheart, blog, faith, family, foster care, Loss, prayer, Uncategorized Tagged With: #PrayBig, foster care, fostering, pray

I blogged.

by Karmen |

Well, kind of.

Does a video count as a blog?

A few quick things:

Yes, I still blog here.

Why two months since my last post?

 

We are now foster parents. A toddler joined our crazy crew mid-July, and we are head over hills in love with the little fella God hand-picked for us.  Our boys have adjusted very well with the exception of our  younger and his occasional bout of jealousy, and the early on declaration that he “doesn’t like sharing me.”  We are taking it one day at a time sweet Jesus.

 

All things FALL have had us on our toes at Fort Payne Feed & Garden since the first week of September.   Pumpkins, mums, pansies, & more because October is our favorite color.  If you haven’t been to see us yet, why?

 

Homeschool year five is well under way and no doubt, our BEST yet.  No, I can’t believe it’s been five years. Babies don’t keep.

 

We have two playing soccer.  No, they are not on the same team.  Nuff’ said.

 

We have been overwhelmed with gratitude with all the Lord has done through YOUR invitations for me to speak to your churches, women’s’ groups and fundraisers.  Is it true you know?  When you #PrayBig things happen.  So, so thankful.

 

Lastly, and heaviest on my heart.  I am committed.  Like grit-your-teeth, bare down until it’s done determined to finish the manuscript…the book, our story for God’s glory.  Writing is an act of obedience for me, and this story is one I believe will bless some, maybe many of you.  Why else would it have camped out on my soul for the last five years?  I had my first “official” scheduled writing session yesterday.  The warfare was INTENSE.  I cried and prayed most of the first hour.  The second hour was more focused and productive.

 

I believe this covers most of the high points for now.  The rest and a bit more are in the impromptu video below.

 

Soon I hope to share what God is teaching me about margin and breaking up with more.   Maybe we’ll talk a bit about the cowboy and my 20 year anniversary and why love notes on post-its and napkins are enough these days.  We will talk more about the 1.6 million dollar home Chic-fil-A donated for a faith-based recovery home in our hometown and how you can help.  And of course, we’ll talk about the boys, their shenanigans, and fall on the farm.

 

Until then, be present with your people.  Invite some friends over for supper and don’t mop or worry with a bouquet.  Go on a date and look at your spouse when they speak.  I bet your kids are funny and creative.  Do something.    Read a book together.  Go on a 24-hour camping trip.  Unplug and eat outside.  These aren’t lyrics in a country song or the script from a sappy commercial.  This stuff truly is the good stuff.

 

 

much love and with great gratitude,

karmen.png

 

 

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Filed Under: #bookproject, blog, boymom, family, HomeSchool

4 Things That May Interest You:

by Karmen |

#1-Tomorrow is the blog’s 4th birthday which is funny because four years ago I barely knew what a blog was and punctuation scared me, so I wrote in phrases.  (If you are a dreamer or thinking of pursuing something you know little about be encouraged.)

 

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My first post was all of 17 words which included the title, “O Happy Day” and a picture of a piglet.  The blog was born because I am forgetful and thought it would be a fun way to document our rapidly changing days.  The name, Blessings Beyond the Barnyard, was chosen because then, and now our blessings extend far beyond our barnyard.  Some of you followed along because we’re friends and friends support each other.  Then, you shared with your friends, and now there are a couple of thousand friends hanging out here because of you.  Although the length of my posts has changed the message then and today is the same, BIG things are on the horizon because of YOU!

 

 

#2-To THANK YOU I want to give you some stuff!

 

 

Tomorrow I’m giving away some of my NEW favorite things:

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#3-Goodies designed as reminders to #PrayBig prayers because we serve a GREAT BIG GOD who wants to hear from us! These goodies will be available SOON in our little feed store and online but until then you could WIN!

 

Ways to Enter:

Follow on Instagram

LIKE on Facebook

Subscribe on YouTube

Join our EMAIL list  —-> TOP RIGHT of this page

 

WINNER announced TOMORROW!!!!  And who know! Because I’m excited and elated at all that God is doing, I may choose a few of you!!!

 

 

#4-And hey Journalers,

 

 

I’m so proud of you!!!! I’ve heard from many of you, and you’re praying and drawing near to God through His Word & prayer, and I’m just so humbled to come alongside you to say, “KEEP GOING!”  Keep making Him priority.  Keep reading His Word. Keep journaling as you #PrayBig prayers.

 

 

Another word of thanks to those who took the time to comment and let us know your thoughts on the videos.  Our sweet friends, Chris & Gina, have been so gracious and diligent to share their time and videoing skills with us!   Our prayer is that the videos will be another tool to help encourage you as you journal your #PrayBig prayers.

 

Here is the video for week four of our journaling journey.

 

There’s lots more we need to catch up on and we will SOON because we’re working on something NEW and I can hardly wait to share it with YOU but until then…

 

SHARE BLOG LOVE <3

karmen

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: #iheart, #PrayBig Journal, blog, Everything Else, Fabulous Friends, giveaway Tagged With: blog birthday, GIVEAWAY

Time Matters

by Karmen |

In a right-now-world, some things take time said the woman who declared she was writing a book and still hasn’t two years later.

 

Let’s play a quick Q & A game for sanity sake, okay? I’ll pitch you a few questions, and you leave your answers in a comment.  Ready?

 

  1. How long is too long to put something off?
  2. How concerned are you with what others think of you?
  3. What keeps you from pursuing your dream?

 

I know, number three is a little heavy. Oh here’s another:

 

How often would something have to flow through your thought stream before you decided enough is enough? Or wait, is that question the same as the first?

 

For the love of sanity, enough is enough.

 

Let’s play pretend because apparently I haven’t had enough adult interaction today after teaching decimals to the tenth, building a volcano out of newspaper, feeding the people here three square meals from a scarce pantry because the grocery store outing is just (*&^*&^%*^$, wrangling dogs and boys from the pond, refereeing an afternoon play date with my nephews with elevated levels of aggressive testosterone, and last but not least, basketball practice just before finding melted Laffy Taffy in the dryer. #goodtimes.

 

I digress. Let’s get back to our virtual field trip. We’re at the local coffee shop because the smell of coffee is therapeutic.   There’s a little folk music in the background. You’re having something delicious, and I’m having a pitcher of white chocolate mocha because I need it.

 

Now, tell me…what dreams, hopes or giant wish keeps you up at night?   Think back to when you were a kid, and you dreamed of becoming a _______ when you grew up. If you’re still stuck, think about whatever it is, something you could do all day and lose track of time.  What is that thing that makes your heart beat fast.

 

Next, is your dream, hope or giant wish something you are pursuing? If yes, WOOHOO and three CHEERS for you!!! We celebrate your success and hope you are intentionally serving and encouraging others with your giftedness.  If not, why? This life is not a dress rehearsal. You’ve lived a life of regret long enough. GO! PURSUE all God has for YOU!

 

As for me…. Well because it’s only fair that we play by the same rules:

 

  1. How long is too long to put something off? I don’t know. What I am discovering is this- if God has assigned it- He’ll not be deterred. I know that I know, that I know, I am to share our story because each and every single time, (no lie) that I have tried to quit… He has used one of you to say, “Keep going. This space matters. Others need your story.”

 

  1. How concerned am I with what others think of me? Well, apparently a lot more concerned than I once thought. Maybe it’s my age? Maybe it’s that I’m home more and in the public less? Maybe it’s Satan being superb at what he does, but I type and delete. I place a comma and wonder if it’s supposed to be a semicolon or nothing at all. I record a podcast but don’t publish. I speak up and wish I’d listened more. I volunteer and feel overwhelmed. It’s a constant tug-o-war.

 

  1. What keeps me from pursuing my dream? I’m pretty sure I am seeking it, but at a much slower pace than I prefer or am accustomed. Others days I question if I’m doing anything right and then I remember or am reminded: my boys. They are the reason I left my job and came home. Not to write a book, or pursue speaking, publish a podcast or blog. I came home to teach them while they’re little because they’re only little for a little while. I begged God for these two rowdy rascals, and He was gracious enough to answer.  So I will continue to teach and train them and write when they are asleep. Speak when asked and am able.

 

Someone said recently, time matters.

 

I heard the same truth echoed on our new favorite show, Longmire (find it on Netflix-you won’t be sorry!), “Experience takes time. Don’t rush it.”

 

Neither of these statements lines up with the fast-paced-want-it-now-get-it-now-world that we are living. But they are nonetheless true.

Those who know me well know mornings aren’t my jam.   I’m a night owl by choice but last week the flea market beckoned me to arise early. Oh man! Am I glad I did!  I had walked out on the back porch to give the dogs a treat when the skylight caught my eye.  I scurried back into the house to grab my phone only to return to a shot much more majestic than before.  In mere seconds, the sky transformed from AMAZING to BREATHTAKING!

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The light shifted again and left me wondering how long before I see another sunrise like that one reiterating the truth~ some things take time:

 

Pursuing a dream

Finding a godly companion

Grief

Landing the right job

Discovering the ministry that fits your giftedness

Rearing children

Healing

Writing a book

Experience

 

My prayer for you dear friends is to be encouraged as we consider the weight of these words:

 

In a right now world, some things take time.

 

 

Let’s encourage one another to pursue wholeheartedly all that God intends for us, trust that the tug-o-war will be worth it and believe He is at work in the wait.

 

Keep going friends. I believe in you!

Much love,

karmen

P.S. Let me know if you see a book title in this post 🙂

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Filed Under: #bookproject, #iheart, blog, Everything Else, Fabulous Friends, Inspire Tagged With: believe He has a plan and a purpose for your life, encourage, encourage others, pursue all God has for you, some things take time, speaking, time matters

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