Getting our Spring Blog Party on with Lynnette!

I've been sharing a lot about my friend Dinah, who went home to heaven last week. My heart has surely been heavy, but I'm taking a little break from the heavy to join in Lynnette's Blog Party. I love that beautiful, fun, dancing through the trials and joys of this life Lynnette! And, this party is extra fun, because there are some amazing giveaways for those who participate. I could use a little spring after a long, cold Ohio winter...and laughter does a heart good like medicine. Besides, Dinah loved a good party!

If you've never visited before, my name is Kelly Gerken. I began blogging in the summer of 2008, to share about the way God has made beauty from ashes in the life of my family and to share the ministry He has given us. This blog has evolved into a hodge podge of our ministry, family life, posts that encourage women in their walk with Jesus, posts that offer hope for grieving hearts, and whatever else God lays on my heart to share in the wee hours of the morning while my family sleeps. I'm so glad you stopped by and hope you enjoy your visit today. Looking forward to getting to know some of you as we hop around the blogosphere!

This is me...not looking so springy...but certainly looking forward to spring.

These are my people, the boys who fill my house with laughter, guitar music, and lots of golf balls in every corner. This picture is a couple years old, but I love it.

This is our band, One Way. I love singing with these guys. Especially with that hottie with the guitar!

Lynnette listed some fun questions to answer about ourselves...so here goes...

How would people describe your personality? (If they could only use ONE word.) Are they right?

Hmmmm....not sure about this one.

My friend Tracy would say that I'm "real"....the same person no matter where I am. I like that, and hope it's true. Although, I know when I fall short.

I sometimes feel like I'm a "mess", but Holly has reminded me that I am a "beautiful mess".

I like the word "grace"..although in my clumsiness, I am far from graceful. Can you be full of grace and not graceful?

I don't know....for those who know me...what would you say?



Who is your favorite blogger? Why?

I love so many bloggers, and have come to consider you all dear friends. If I had to choose one blogger, I would have to say Angie Smith...because hers was the first blog I ever read. I connected with her story of her precious daughter Audrey and her love for Jesus. I fell in love with her gift of writing and sharing her tender heart.


What is your comfort food/drink?

Oh boy....If you've been around here long, you know I love me some Doritos and Pepsi. My heart also skips a beat for bread and all kinds of sweets! I've been known to indulge in some pizza as well. Currently, I'm trying to stop looking to food for comfort...a weakness of mine...and cling to Jesus instead.


Be brave – tell us something very random and weird about yourself.

I've never mowed the lawn and don't plan to.
I've never had a cup of coffee.
I prefer a booth to a table, at a restaurant, and almost never eat Mexican food when eating out. Even though I love Mexican food, when I cook it at home.
I also have a terrible time choosing what to eat when eating out, wanting to make it count. Actually decisions in general are not my favorite thing.


Do you have a strong desire to do something you’ve never done? What is it?

I would love to publish a book, and I'm working on it! I would also love to be able to continue speaking and sharing our ministry and the beauty of God's sufficient grace during times of grief with others....maybe someday being able to travel other places to do so. We'll see what happens. It's always an adventure with the Lord!


Movies: Action, Drama, Romantic Comedy, Documentary, Comedy? What are your favorite genres?

Probably Romantic Comedy....I am a sappy romantic and I love to laugh. I also really love inspirational underdog stories...like Rocky, Rudy, Blindside, The Legend of Bagger Vance. I have watched Rudy probably more than twenty times (it's one of my oldest son's favorites), and I still cry every time he runs on to the field, as the music swells in the background and the crowd chants his name.

I'm also kind of a sap. I love the Notebook and Coal Miner's Daughter...watch them whenever they are on.

Books: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Romance, Biographies, True Stories, Self-Help, Devotional/Study? What are your favorite types of reading material?

Love, love, love to read...and a little tidbit: I was just recently chatting with a friend about Kindles and Nooks. While they seem like nifty gadgets, my old school heart is not ready to let go of the experience of holding a book in my hands, smelling it's smell, turning it's pages. There's nothing like it!

Most of the time I read Christian Non-fiction books, Devotionals and True Stories. I'm currently reading Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh Demoss and One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.

For Fiction indulgence I loved the Left Behind Books and anything by Karen Kingsbury....especially the Baxter series!



Music: Funk, Rock, Country, Jazz, Classical, Film Score, Blues, Classic Rock, Crooner, Alternative, Heavy Metal, Techno? What are your favorite types?

Christian contemporary...also our band, One Way likes to perform old hymns by adding our own flair. I  love to listen to my boys playing guitar. With three guitar players in the house, there is almost always some music playing.

I enjoy folk style music...and sometimes blues, some country, some classic....Oh, lots of different types.



Name one weakness of yours (confession is good for the soul).

Disorganization and poor time management...they sort of go hand in hand.

If you could live anywhere at all (and take all your loved ones with you), where would you go?

Georgia - It's beautiful, in the south, great weather, and I hear they have some pretty fancy golf courses there. ;) I would love to live on a golf course. Not because I'm fancy, but because my family loves to golf...and I think golf courses are some of the most beautiful places on earth.


Strange Talent? Can you juggle basketballs, put your legs behind your head or perform some other strange feat?

I can fold my tongue like a taco and make a pretty mean fishy face. (Special talents passed on by my mother.)

What’s something you consider yourself to be good at? (Don’t worry, it’s not bragging, it’s acknowledging a God given gift).

I love to write. Love words.

I also enjoy singing.

My boys say I make the best chili...on earth. And, I've heard my peanut butter pie is pretty good.


What is one of your favorite things to catch a whiff of?

Dinah's warm apple pie
My mom's lilac bush
Baby Max's cheeks
The smell of the breeze at the golf course with a hint of fresh cut grass mixed in
The smell of a new book


O.K....that was more than one, but I am not really much of a rule follower! You may have heard, we like grace here! =)

When you leave a social gathering, do you wish: You would have talked more or You would have talked less?

I always wish I would have talked less.

What are your favorite animals?

Love my dogs Rex and Jesse


Are you a hopeless romantic?

Oh, my yes! I love a good love story. My favorite is my own!


What movie or book character can you most relate to?

Not a movie character, but...Sometimes I feel like Lucille Ball (I Love Lucy) because I'm always messing up and finding myself in hilarious mishaps.

Sometimes June Carter....standing beside my guitar-picking man singing about Jesus.

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Well that was a fun change of pace. I'm looking forward to meeting some of you as we hop around. Thanks so much for stopping by! To learn more about our family's story of God's amazing grace, please click here. To learn more about Sufficient Grace Ministries, our ministry for grieving families and also with a mission to encourage women, please click here.

Have a beautiful, blessed day!