Leslie Kelly

Hello! I am so glad you’ve stopped by. If you happened to stop by my house on any given day, I would insist you have a homemade goodie, let me fix you a cup of tea and join me in the garden for a chat. We would sit out in the sunshine and share our journey together. And we would pray. O how we would pray.

Before we got too far, I would tell you how I arrived in this place of joy and hope where I find myself now. I would tell you about the day my daughter told me she was gay. And then the day 3 years later that my other daughter told me the same thing. Yes, I have two that are gay.* What is the likelihood of that? I am still astounded. And I would listen to your story too. And we would share sorrow over these lifestyle choices that break our hearts.  

But then I would want to encourage you by telling you how God has used this pain as His greatest blessing in my life, and paved the pathway to His Heart with it. And how joy and hope has replaced fear. How thankfulness brought peace where anxiety resided. And how I fell head over heels in love with my Savior, and have learned to embrace my children* right where they are, because my hope is in Him, and This Hope never disappoints. My greatest desire is to walk in those deep places with you. To help encourage you with the hope that I have been given. To point you straight to the Lover of Your Soul, and help you navigate these deep waters where you feel like you might drown. 

So grab a cup of tea, (or coffee, or “pop” if you prefer) and settle in. Visit as often as you like. I hope you’ll come by often and that you will feel free to contact me: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. And know that I am praying for you. I don’t know you yet, or what you are going through right now, but I know The One who does. And He loves you, and has been preparing you throughout your whole life for this adventure with Him. So hold on tight. Tighter than you’ve ever needed to before. Its gonna be a bumpy ride. But you will live, I promise. And you will come out on the other side knowing Him in ways you never dreamt possible, if you are willing. He Is. Are you?

Loving true scrap 5!! I had a request to post my pumpkin roll recipe. So here it is:
 

 Leslie’s Pumpkin Roll

Virginia's Life, Such As It Is!: Gourmet with Dana: Orange Sunshine State Cake

Lots of good stuff happening here! But for now, just wanted to share a New Word, for a New Year!

Last year, God led me to a scrapbooker, Ali Edwards, who has inspired many by her "One Little Word" challenge. It has been a way for her followers to focus on one trait, thought or character change for the year. It has been life changing for many, and so helpful for me, in the midst of everything that has happened this past year. My "One Little Word" for 2012 was HOPE. And I want to stay there. I learned that Hope in Christ was the only way I could exist; That I could be fully present and fully alive.

I realized that I had placed my hope in all sorts of other things, especially people. And that did not work, especially when those people were human, flawed (like me) and not able to meet my expectations; nor were they designed to!! So I had a paradigm shift. I learned to place my hope in God alone. After all, he designed it all, including me, so he would know how it all fits together. And because of that, I don't have to. I just have to trust, and place my hope in Him. He knows what I need, and what will make me fall on my knees, rest, and just live in joy. I don't get it all the time, but having that one little word in the forefront of my mind helped me so much.

So this year, God gave me a new word.

What is that new word???

HALF.

Half? Why half?

Well, I have so much stuff. SOOOOOOO MUCH. Too much. Way too much. And there are so many with not enough. So I am going to try to pear down. Not  buy. Use what I have, and give away lots. Sell some. Give more. So I can have time to enjoy what is most precious to me. People. And if I have so much stuff to maintain, pick up or move around just to store it, I don't have time to do what I really want to to: Bless people. Be a mentor. Be a friend. Mother. Cook great food. And if I always feel like I don't have time to do stuff, then maybe I don't need so much stuff to do it with. Maybe it would be better to just live without it. Or make due with what I have. Or pay someone else to do some things. I am trying to figure it out. But I am excited to do it, because God is in it. He has a plan. And I can't wait to see what this year brings. My hearts desire is to have half as much stuff to have twice as much of Him by the end of this year.

Will I mess up? sure I will. But I will forget what is behind, and strain forward for the high calling of Jesus Christ. After all, I can do all things through Christ who is my strength. My hope. My joy. And if I have joy in him, isn't that enough?