Welcome

Why a blog from me, someone who has never been a writer, someone who has never been articulate or had a solid grasp of the grammar world. Because God told me to write. Several years ago a life storm invaded my family. God kept telling me to write it all down. I argued, but He would not let up. This went on every day for a couple of weeks until one day out of frustration, (I'd like to say it was out of obedience), I picked up a pen and paper and wrote for 7 hours straight! Do you think maybe I needed therapy and God knew it?

I've been writing ever since and have learned to love it! I started out sharing my stories with friends and family. I've now been published in a Nashville church paper, Our Daily Journey (a devotional site of RBC Ministries), PCCWeb Daily Devotional, Ruby for Women Ezine Magazine, and I am a contributor in the book Alabaster Jars, Life in Abundance Collection 2.

Why Ponderings? During this life storm, God led me to a pond in the woods behind my home. There He met me each time, teaching new lessons, reminding me of old ones, showing His presence and allowing me to feel His love through the surroundings of that pond. I found myself returning over and over to ponder, pray and praise. A healing of my heart took place and out of the experience came my first book, Ponderings From the Pond, then a second book, Ponderings From My Porch, and now a third book is in the works along with a memoir about my storm.

Why am I making myself so vulnerable? Because God has done so much that I cannot keep quiet. I have to share. Jesus's last words to his desciples were, "Go,tell." We are his disciples too and this is just one of my ways of telling.

I'm no scholar but I have heard God's voice in my spirit, experience His love daily, and have a desire for others to experience this also. I would love to share with all who visit and I would love to hear from you. If my sharing gets just one to ponder, to be quiet with the Father, to see and hear from Him or to be reminded of something from Him, then this is worth my vulnerability.

As you visit me, sometimes we will be at the pond, sometimes we will move to the front porch, and sometimes we will just be here, there, and yonder. Thank you for coming and please feel free to come back anytime, you are always welcome here.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

*****EXCITING NEWS*****

My first book, Ya Know What I'm Say'n, has been released.


Ponderings

Ponderings

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Wild Thing

My mane has been a wild thing.  When I was young, it was big, it was unruly, it was wild, it was scary, it was a beast.
            I had long hair when I was little.  I also used to love to chew gum at this time.  I would have gum in my mouth so much that sometimes I would forget to spit it out at night before going to bed. Bad thing!  The next morning somehow that piece of wet, gooey gum went from my mouth right into my hair-ugh!  We would try freezing the gum with an ice cube and then try to peel it off.  This would work some, but we would always have to cut a little out.  My long hair used to get so tangled that when I was in one of my younger grades, my mom sat me on a little red stool in the kitchen saying I needed a trim.  I got suspicious when I felt the cold scissors on the back of my neck.  You know the famous line…”oh what a tangled web we weave?”  My mother probably could have been heard saying this about my hair.  “Oh what a tangled mess I weave, braid, pick and brush.”  That is probably why when I looked in the mirror after my “trim”, I saw that I had gone from waist length hair to a pixie.  I was a tad bit sad, but I was a little girl, so I got over it pretty quickly. 
            I grew and so did my hair.  As a teen-ager, I had a love-hate relationship with this thick, frizzy mane of mine.  I could fix it beautifully but one step out in the Oklahoma wind and it was all gone.  I quickly learned the Oklahoma hair doo that was so popular, buns and braids.  But my hair was so heavy this would give me a headache. 
            I longed to have straight, shiny, sleek, smooth hair that when wind blown, afterwards would lie back down in place.  All my friends had this perfect hair.  I used to plead with the Lord, “Why can’t I have that kind of hair?”
            Hairdressers used to tell me all the time that lots of women paid big money to get the body and curls I naturally had.  These women would tease their hair and I had to tame mine down.  I would have given money to have their problem.
            Then came high school in the late 70’s-1980.  I bet you can guess, yep, I had the Farrah Fawcett doo.  I loved this hair style but all those feathers were hard to keep up with.  The right side would flip up, the left side curl down.  I had a tower of feathers on top of my head.  To keep all those feathers in place, I used LOTS of hairspray.  No man could have run his fingers through my hair at the time, and yet, I still got me a man!
             Swimming in the summer?  You gotta be kidding, with my hair?  I would work so hard to make it look perfect.  If I got it wet, it curled and kinked, and bangs would shrink five inches.

I learned to swim without getting my hair wet.  I know, it was pitiful.
            As a mature adult now, I’ve learned having certain hair products, weapons and a great hairdresser who just happens to have curly hair herself, is the key.  Shampoo +Conditioner, Infusium 23, blow dryer, hot rollers, hot iron, several kinds of brushes, comb, and a pick, and I’m ready to go.  It’s not as bad as it sounds.  I can have it done in 20 minutes, which is not bad for a 15 hour day.
            Remember Paul’s thorn in his side?  Mine was on top of my head.  Paul’s was chronic and debilitating.  Mine, if it was debilitating, was only because of my own insecurities. That was the root of my problem.  It was not so much about my hair but about my own insecurities and maybe just a touch of. . .ok, ok, a lot of vanity issues.  As I grew older and learned to lean on Jesus more and more, my insecurities started to diminish.  When I became stronger in the Lord, more focused on Him instead of myself, the beast on my head started to tame down. 
            Yes, I have the right tools to use on my hair now.  But more importantly I have the tools God has given me in His Word to be more at peace, at ease, and comfortable in my own skin, and hair.
            One of God’s tools is scripture.  They tell me He is in control, so I don’t need to worry and fret.  He is always with me, I am never alone.  He will qualify me for whatever He calls me to do.  He forgives so I never have to brood over past sins.  He gives me the power to forgive when I need to.  He gives me boldness when I need it.  He always loves me, I never have to feel unloved.  He empowers me, gives me peace beyond understanding and love I can hardly fathom. He gave me this crown of tresses and I have learned to be grateful and thankful for it. I'm even told when these tresses turn gray, it will be a crown of glory!            
            If my hair became an uncontrollable wild thing again, it would be ok. There are always hats.  What’s in my heart is much more important than what is on top of my head.  I want to be a wild thing for Jesus.  I want to be wildly loving for Jesus.  I want to be wildly serving for Him.  I want to be on fire for Him. I may not look wild on the outside but inside is a different story.  That kind of wild thing does not need to be tamed.

Just a footnote. . .If you're in the Bowling Green area and you just need to have your hair tamed, colored, highlighted, curled, straightened, cut, trimmed, or have an updo, hairdo, or whatever, I have the perfect place for you. . .come here. . .  there are mane tamers here and they are awesome!           
It's like a sanctuary, a place to tame the wild and beastly head of hair. 
And if you want to look beastly, they'll even put feathers in your hair :)

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Kristin. I had a good laugh now imagining your hair issues. Excellent analogy.
God bless
Tracy

Lisa said...

I had so much fun reading this! And I can totally relate because my hair is the same way. In fact, I was just thinking this morning that I think I'm going to get it cut in a pixie-type cut again!

Anonymous said...

Girl, you make me LAUGH!!! I love the way you intertwined humor in with a very important spiritual lesson!! And I must say, as I've had the privilege of riding on this "writing" journey you've been on these past few years, your writing has gotten increasingly better. God is turning you into quite the writer!!! Who knew!!! (He did!)

Anonymous said...

The grass is always greener...someone else's hair is always better.

Unknown said...

I have very thick hair and have often wished for thinner, straighter hair. We often want what we don't have. I love the image of being wild on the inside. I want to have a heart that's wild for Jesus.

My Mad World said...

Loved this post!!

Isn't it nice that God helps tame everything? He is in control and we just have to learn to let it go, to see and love ourselves like the Lord does!!

Love this!! Glad your hair is tamable now. lol

Cora said...

I loved this, Kristin!!!! It brought back memories of the 60's for me. It was a time period when every single strand of hair had to be in place. We wore thin, see through scarves to keep the wind from wrecking things. And we NEVER swam or did anything to muss it up. What you wore wasn't near as important as your hair.

I always fussed and fumed about it, even as an adult. But the biggie came when I lost it all to chemo. Bald and as smooth as a baby's bottom!!!!! It's all relative, girls! When it starts growing in and you look like a marine, it is time to rejoice, believe me. Moral of the story? Don't complain about your hair until you've had NONE!

Brenda Susan said...

Great and entertaining post! I had the opposite problem and still do. "Flat head" is my ongoing battle. Super thin and just enough natural wave to look droopy. I could never figure out why God would give flat hair to a face that really needs some lift around it! I permed for many years, now just use lots of mouse and hairspray.
I know God doesn't make mistakes but...?? LOL!
Thanx for your great encouragement about my writing! means a lot!

Anonymous said...

Great post! We all have insecurities that began years ago, but God loves us just the same whether its wild hair, red hair, or gray hair! Thanks for sharing.

Lisa Maria said...

'I want to be a wild thing for Jesus' I loved this statement.. we usually say we don't care if other people think we're crazy..we're crazy for Jesus!

Who hasn't had insecurities of one form or another? I've certainly had my share.. in fact sometimes, in my weak moments, I still battle a few. Ultimately though, as I've walked closer with Jesus, its become all about Him and less about me... just as you've said. I've become secure in my Heavenly Father's love and in my husband's love for me.. it hasn't seemed as important how others see me. (I even left the house without makeup the other day.. something I'd NEVER EVER do)

Praise God! Don't you love how He keeps taking us higher and higher.. the little things just seem so unimportant as you climb!

I said it before.. you have the heart of a poet!

Love & Hugs!

Maryellen said...

I can attest to the mane/wild thing! However, it wasn't as bad as Kris thought...just took some time, and she was patient with me as I washed, dried, styled, and coaxed the mane to some semblance of what she and/or her hairstylist could do.
My hair is the complete opposite...short, thin, silky, and I, too, have to spend time making it "more" than what it is to create a style at all! We all have our "thorns" in our flesh and mine is my weight, which I struggle with every day and have for most of my life. I do know that it doesn't matter to God nor will it matter in heaven!
I can truly attest to Kris's heart being on fire and see that she is a wild thing for Jesus. I'm thankful and blessed she is my neighbor, my friend, my forever sister.

Shellye said...

Great post, Kris! Love the picture at the top. I'm pretty sure that's what I looked like when I got up this morning. I have a wild untamed mess on my head too; doesn't help that it's been colored every color in God's rainbow, either. LOL. Luckily, He loves us through our vanity and insecurity. :-) Thanks for sharing.

PS - I agree - a good hairstylist is worth their weight in GOLD!

Kristin Bridgman said...

I wonder if God smiles ( or rolls his eyes) when he sees how important our hair is to us, when he sees us teasing it, spraying, styling, cutting, perming, straightening, coloring, etc.? I think our hair is part of our femininity but the real femininity, I believe, is in our spirit, our character, in how we conduct ourselves.

I hope I can remember that and be brave like Cora if I ever lose all mine!

And I'll be forever grateful for Maryellen who washed and dried and styled my hair more than once when my arm was broken and I could not use it at all. She did a WONDERFUL job! :)

Here's to being A Wild Thing for Jesus! :)

Jean said...

Such a great post! It is not what is on our outsides, but our insides that make us love Jesus! I keep my hair short, so much easier to deal with !

Unknown said...

LOVED how you took the analogy of wild hair and wrote about how you want to be wildly on fire and in love with Jesus! ME TOO, my friend, ME TOO!

Denise said...

Ha ha! Great post Kristin! I almost thought you were talking about me. :) I hate to say I am still way too concerned and neurotic about my hair, and I am often ashamed of how I let it determine the way I feel in the morning.....vanity for sure! I have had lots of talks with God for forgiveness and focusing on inner beauty rather than outside appearances. :)
Denise