Supernaturally Planted

You’ve Been Supernaturally Planted

I live in International Falls, MN. People have said to me “why would you want to live in that ‘God forsaken’ part of the world? After all, our slogan is the “Ice Box of the Nation.” Can you imagine being in one of the coldest parts of the lower 48? Funny thing is I love to tell people when they ask that I love where I have been planted! 


One year when the Weather Channel was here reporting on our Ice Box Days festivities (the Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run, etc.) one of the camera men caught me going in to our early church service (yes, before 8:00 AM in January) and briefly asked me how I liked being out on such cold mornings to go to church. I can't remember how cold it was but enough that most folks would shudder at the temperature. I said something to the effect that I loved it and that we are a hearty group of people up here because we endure the cold even to go to church on an early Sunday morning. How funny when I got a call from a lady that was originally from here (but now residing in the warm and sunny Florida Keys) who said she saw me on television at church! Although, I can honestly share with you that I did not always have that positive of an attitude. Having been here now for over 40 years there have been a wide range of emotions affiliated with the reality that this is home. Some are great, but the reality of my children and their children leaving the area makes it not so great. In some ways it is the end of the world (well the United States that is) as Canada is right across the bordering Rainy River.

My first twenty years of life were filled with many short-lived stops along the way and no, I was definitely not a military brat. From being born in Connecticut, to Columbus, Ohio, (living in various apartments for my first ten years of life) then New York City (Manhattan Island) for five years. It was then…four more years of bopping around the country which brought me up to Minnesota. Yes, Minnesota. When I am asked how I ended up here I always say that it is just too long a story to go into! Ultimately, I have come to know without a shadow of a doubt that it was the providential hand of God that brought me here. After all, I met God in the "Ice Box of the Nation"! And I have grown quite partial to my little neck of the woods (literally speaking.) Funny thing is there sure are a lot of people I know who would rather not be here. It is usually weather related—too cold, too rainy, to smelly, etc. Yes, it is frustrating at times that you have to drive for almost two hours (four hours of drive time round trip) to find something more than a Kmart to do your shopping and spring may come early but count on at least one snow shower in May!

What I would like you to know is that even with its lack of amenities, God has given me an incredible love for where I live, my community and the people who live here. Think about this. I'm sure you find it so easy and comfortable to pray for friends and loved ones. Now, let me stretch you a bit. Can you honestly pray for a place you do not love? Or how about a place you hate or feel trapped in? Maybe, you do not like the politics in your community or it seems like the area is drying up. We certainly have justification to give up, do we not? But why not do the uncomfortable thing by stepping out and praying for everything that is 'wrong' with where you live? You know that it probably will not warm up if it is the weather you dislike or there may never be a “Target” (or whatever your favorite place to shop is) in the area. But, God can help you focus less on how cold it is which might divert your attention (so to speak) when you pray and ask God for His kingdom to come and His will to be done in your area as it is in heaven!

This is a fun way of looking at Matthew 5:14 from the Message:

"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.”

The Irish Worship group BlueTree says it well in this music video, God of This City. You see, we--because we know Jesus as Lord and Savior--have been called out of the darkness and been brought into God’s marvelous light, through Jesus Christ and His shed blood for you and me.

Here is what it says about who we are as God's chosen people:

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

Friend, there is a city, town or community that needs the reality and saving knowledge of Christ. We are the brightly shining light God is using to expose the darkness and introduce to the Savior, those who are in need.

If you feel as though you live in a “God forsaken” environment, I would like to challenge you to start to pray—to pray for God’s visitation in your area. If love is what stops you, why don’t you ask God to give you a love for or deepen your love for your area and its people. A great place to start is with prayer walking. Do you frequently walk? Maybe for your daily exercise routine you are out and about your neighborhood hoofing it up and down streets, roads, etc. Try praying for various families you might walk by on your daily regimen. You might even be able to have access to a map of your community and you could even start to log the areas you have extended ‘prayer covering’ over.. As you are walking, ask the Lord to burden your heart for the people in the coverage area you take in. You might walk by someone’s home that you do not particularly care for or feel that they do not care for you. Well, ask the Lord for an open heart toward that one, that family or business and I guarantee that you are going to change. Something is going to well up within you and you are going to develop a love for your community because you have started to pray for the life blood of your area, its people.

Is your area suffering from this economic downturn? If possible get to your down town business area and start praying for the Lord’s blessings and prosperity over the businesses in your community. I like to include in my prayer time the words Jesus used in teaching us how to pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Praying God’s will on Earth as it is in Heaven is a powerful prayer and that is what we need to be about doing! Maybe where you have been planted is specifically for this very time. You have been called to pray and walk on the hardened ground of unbelief, pride and independence. You will be amazed how your heart will turn as you exercise the loving act of prayer for your location. Do not give up! You will begin to see how God is always up to something, and it is always good!

Lord, thank you for teaching me how to pray for the area I live in and giving me hope to see that You care very much for this place. If you desire that no man should perish then how can I believe the lie that I live in a God-forsaken area? I am asking you to break my heart with the things that break Yours. Let me see the people, places and businesses with Your eyes because there is always hope there. It is pretty exciting to see things begin to change when we expend time and energy praying for our communities. And don't let me stop there. Continue to burden me with prayer for my state, country and beyond and thank You for the change that can happen when we just pray in Your name!

You Changed Your Name!

What's in a Name?

Now that I have changed my name to Kimberly Dawn, I am forever being asked why. I thought of how we can spend hours deciding what to name our children, our pets and whatever else that we care about, even our car. We pour over the meanings especially when we name our children. We want them to have a name that has a really cool meaning or sometimes we just like the sound of it, or the name is elegant and dignified.

My little mother (she is only five feet tall to my five foot eight) reminds me frequently of how she picked my name. My given name is Kimberly. Apparently my father was not too convinced, but mom hung in there. Being a bit of a trend setter in her day, she always did things a bit out of the ordinary. I would call her creative. I am not so sure that I understand being named after a diamond mine in South Africa but...far be it from me to argue with the one who fought hard to give me that name. (After all, it is better than Kimberly Clark, the Kleenex manufacturer.)

At fifteen years of age, I ran away from home for the second and final time. I needed an alias to go by, so I gave myself the name of Dawn. I liked it because of the beautiful morning sky. Since then I have used Dawn as my first name. When finally reunited with my mom after three years, my mother was not very happy to find out that I had changed my name but had to resign herself to the fact I was now Dawn. I have a couple of those Biblical name cards and the one for Dawn says "The Break of Day" and has the Scripture from Psalm 18:2 "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer." (which I love.) Mom, on the other hand, loved to tell people (when I would introduce her), "Her real name is Kimberly!" That really used to bug me something fierce.

I have watched my mother climb into her 80's and struggle with her health since her late 70's, and I began to asked the Lord to show me what part I could play in her coming to Christ and have peace in her heart (after all, I pray diligently for her salvation.)  The Lord spoke to my heart a couple of years back and said to just love, serve and bless her. Okay, Lord, show me how because You know how strong willed and independent this little woman is. Unfortunately, as she is aging she is also losing her vision from macular degeneration and because of that she has been forced to give up much of her independence. For those of you who know what I'm talking about, that can be very trying for the one going through it and some other issues that are a bit humiliating for her to contend with. Hey, life can get difficult as we age!


One summer (mom tries to stays with us in the summer months when she is feeling well enough) on the first day she was here she injured her leg exercising her "I don't need any help" attitude. She fell off a counter and gouged her leg up terribly and we ended up in the ER. This became a very unique opportunity for me to do 'hands on' care for 'Miss Independent'. I had to change her dressing twice a day throughout most of the summer. It took four months for this wound to heal! But, in the process, I was able to care for her tenderly with that thing we all love and that is human touch. At one point I even asked her if I could anoint her with oil and pray for her healing and amazingly she said yes! When I was done, she had tears in her eyes and could not explain why. God is indeed up to something, don't you think?


It was fall and my program was beginning it's fifth year and I like to do something new each new year to keep things fresh. So I asked the guys what they would think if I changed my on air name to Kimberly Dawn. (It was such a God thing that I would even go there.)  They liked the newness of it and said go for it. This was a real blessing to my mom and she periodically asks if I am still going by that name and I am always so pleased to tell her "Of course!" The funny thing is that I am actually enjoying being called by that name, as well, although I do not expect those that only know me as Dawn to change how they address me unless they want to. A little side note - my boss and former boss always teased me by calling me Kimberly Dawn now and again. Here is what Kimberly means - "From the Royal Meadow." Nice, huh? And the Scripture is also delightful from Psalm 119:73 (NASB) "Your hands made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments." I just know this is softening my mom's heart and I am believing that God is making a way into her heart where there seems to be no way!


Please pray with me that God will continue to show me ways that I can be Jesus to her and that she will come to know the One Who will never leave her or forsake her and Who will love her with His everlasting love. I am believing the Holy Spirit is wooing her and that it will not be long now for her to take her rightful place in God's Kingdom. And I thank God for bringing me to a place where I would want to be obedient even to the point of going back to a name I did not care for!

National Day of Prayer ~ May 7, 2009

A reminder from our 16th president had to say:

By the President of the United States of America. (this was taken from Dutch Sheet's website at dutchsheets.org)

A Proclamation.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.

And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

Can we still say we are a Christian nation? It could be that we need to repent of our "independence" and admit our need of the Almighty God before we drift into an abyss of darkness upon going our own way. As it says in Isaiah 53:6 (NASB) (an inditement that we have always drifted from the truth) "all of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way..." But because of the incredible love of the Father for His wayward children, desirous that no man should parish, "...But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." Father protect us from our own wayward desires for apart from you we can do nothing!

God gives a distinct warning to Solomon as he finished the house of the Lord just as God had instructed him to do (Solomon's palace as well), he then visits Solomon in the night with a specific warning and proclamation:

II Chronicles 7:13-15 (NASB)

"If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people.
And My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place."

We love our freedom and the country that provides for that freedom of expression to be lived out but our obligation as His redeemed is to remain faithful and true to the One who gave it to us.

Pressing on toward the goal!

Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

I did something I have since regretted--I had acrylic nails put on. I have always wanted to have nice nails but the reality is I do not. They are weak, brittle and I absolutely hate to wear rubber gloves when doing dishes.

Back in November I needed to have some professional pictures taken and this gave me a good excuse to get acrylics. Now I don't just mean the 'Lee Press Ons', no, these are the 'spendy' ones. Wow, they are great and oh, they look so nice. Finally, I have these lovely nails and they are amazingly durable too. I only had to tend to them once a week, usually on a Saturday night before bed. I was quite surprised at how long they lasted too. Now to justify the cost I gave up my weekly white chocolate mocha coffee treat for the next couple of months. There is some maintenance that is required to keep the nails looking really great but that would cost another month or so of my coffee treats so I opted to file them down myself and then just paint them.

As it goes with time, they were filed down to the point where they could be gently picked off and I was horrified at what I found underneath the exterior. My poor nail base was not only paper thin but shredded to bits and they looked horrible. What a sad discovery that I may have ruined my real nails for a fleeting couple of months with acrylics.

Ah, lessons for life, you gotta love it!

To what extent do we go about attempting to make ourselves look great on the outside? After all there are tons of beauty magazines filled with all the details on what it takes for us to 'look great' and after all, isn't this how the world tends to measure our success. Yet when I think of the time, energy and money it takes to look great on the outside I wonder what we have neglected or covered up on the inside? It is possible that masked by the lovely exterior is bitterness, resentment, jealousy and or unforgiveness? It could also be just the lack of growing in our spiritual maturity, still needing the milk like an infant.

This reminds me of the Pharisees who were so adept at looking great on the outside but their insides proved their hypocrisy. They wore their lovely robes, prayer shawls and their phylacteries, while saying all their prayers on the street corners. Looking great on the outside but listen to these strong words from Jesus in Matthew 23

Six times Jesus begins by saying "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites..."

• ...you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men; for you do not enter in yourselves...
• ...you devour widows' houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers;
• ...have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness;
• ...you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
• ...you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

These are such strong words regarding those who looked so holy on the outside but were full of evil on the inside. They refused to tend to the things on the inside while they looked 'right' on the exterior.

Now don't get me wrong. There really is nothing wrong with taking care of yourself and looking as great as you can provided you are not neglecting taking care of the stuff on the inside.

David said in Psalm 139:23,24:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
and see if there be any hurtful way in me,
and lead me in the everlasting way."

I sure love David's willingness to make himself vulnerable and open before God, asking Him to point out the crud that was sticking to his ribs. (A thought came to me that maybe plaque is all the crud that we refuse to deal with. Just a thought!) His desire was for God to lead and direct him. He certainly made many mistakes but his heart was such that he seemed to be teachable.

There are so many things that take up our time and keep us just too busy to clean the inside of the house or tent as Paul referred to it. I do believe that we need to inventory on a regular basis to assure that we have properly dealt with the things that build up the plaque. And it does take a certain amount of quality time to do so. So as an exercise, see how much time you spend on your exterior, the things that help you look your best. (Please know that God wants great representation.) Is that which is on the inside a balanced representation for our exterior? I believe that is what God desires. If we don't live it, then what is reflected means nothing. I don't know about you but I sure desire to have a balanced life that reflects an interior filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Abba Father, I am so humbled to be Your work in progress. This growing into maturity takes time and can be difficult. I want David's heart because he was willing to be exposed out of his love for You. It is not pleasant to see the plaque that is within but thank You for helping me to deal with whatever crud is in there, that keeps me from reflecting You. It is Your kindness that leads me to repentance and Your Holy Spirit that teaches me along the way. Keep me teachable and growing in Your way of everlasting. Amen.

Running the Race

Who’s to know if Paul was an athlete (unlikely?) or a wanna be or had he been an observer to the Roman Olympics? When you read the descriptions of this man we don’t really find our mind wandering to pictures of a buff, athletic form of a man. On the contrary, we read stuff like that he was a tent maker (Acts 18:3). So he sat and sewed tents and people who sit a lot...well you get my drift. No real physical prep going on there. He was raised at the feet of the famous Jewish teacher, Gamaliel which meant hours of pouring over the Pentateuch, learning all of the Scriptures. Paul was particularly known for his knowledge and obedience of the Mosaic law. I see a picture of a man who did much reading and reciting. Now you can recite on the run but...highly improbable in his day with no ipods and such with the recorded Word drumming in his ear either. In 1 Corinthians 2:1,3 we see mentioned that Paul's inadequacies include not being an excellent orator and being weakened in his flesh. So how interesting it is that he draws a spiritual parallel of the life of faith to one of a physical race. 

Let's look at a few verses from 1 Corinthians 9

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?" :24

The exhortation is to run in such a way as you would as if you were in a competition. He has compared this journey to a marathon! Life can surely be a long one at that. Then he continues on to tell us that we have to exercise self-control throughout this marathon.

"Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable." :25

Wow, now he is really hitting home. Oh how I struggle with the speaking before thinking it through thing. Or the doing before praying thing. Yet I know that this is where the Lord completely shows me that I can save many steps by checking in with Him first! Okay, I am seeing the picture here. (How we need our coach!) Now on to the prize thing. We are not running this race to add a trophy or another trophy to our display case. No, this one is a forever, in full living color kind of a trophy that is too big for my little pea-sized brain to imagine. For an eternity with my Father is just too big to put to words, but this is it, this is the goal. And I just can't afford to get sidetracked with the minuscule issues of life (that see overwhelmingly large at the time) that the enemy of my soul uses to pull me off course. You know, sidetracked by disappointments (in myself or others), relationship issues or every little stinky thing that comes along to persuade me to stop for just a while till I get this thing ironed out. (That one just cost me three miles!)

Now Paul gets into the ring and he really puts purpose to each swing, jab and punch:

"I run is such a way as not without aim, I box in such a way as not beating the air;" :26

So I can then ask myself, why am I doing this anyway? What is it all about that I should go through all the rigorous training, denying and pushing myself beyond my capabilities anyway? Have I really got the end in mind? This is a good time to reflect and make sure I fully comprehend what it is all about. And is it really all about me and my goals anyway? Or is there a bigger picture here than me getting to the finish line. I think we all would adamantly agree that it is! I was brought to the Scripture in 2 Peter 3:9 that tells us that God desires that no man would perish and that all would come to repentance. I know that I repeat this a lot but here we go again. We get saved and on our way but then it is about those out there who also need to know the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ before it is too late. The hurting out there need to know that there is a God who is big enough to heal their pain and wipe their tears and bring peace to their calamity. To bring salvation to their souls!

So here we go with the last verse that is going to really drive it home as I wrap my brain around the fact that Paul was a spiritual athlete!

"but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." :27

True confession time. I have failed miserably at times when it comes to doing the right thing. Whether it's denying my appetite or exercising, I am not a very disciplined person. I want to be but...being human and on this side of glory I will be prone to fail at making my goals. I am however a bit better than I was if that counts for anything. But this is the verse that really bites. "...so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." Ouch! In consideration of being a Christian life coach, you know, you attempt to tell others how to walk the walk and then you model the way...and my biggest fear is in failing to be the example. However, there is a viable solution to "down time". We do not have to be caught in the devils snare dwelling on thoughts that tell us that we will never be good enough to serve the King because we keep messing up!

Bob Carlisle sings a song called "We Fall Down" that really brings this struggle to light. I hope you will take the opportunity to listen at the link here and let me know how you receive what he sings. Friends, we are going to stumble and it may throw us off course for a time (hopefully not too long) but the thing is we must get back up and continue on pursuing the race set before us. My life verse really solidifies the entire message here. 

I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead; I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13,14

 And that's it. I am not disqualified if I press on. When I see the winners of those marathon races as they hit the finish ribbons, they ain't very pretty and they look like they are in mega pain to boot but they made it. I too will get weary and worn but...it is going to be well worth it at the end when I hear my Abba say "Well done!"

Friend, whatever you do, don't loose heart. Let's keep pressing on, you see over there, up ahead, we are getting closer!

Father, I see that it is all for You that I am even alive. Thank you for loving me and making a way for me to be reconcile to You through Your Son, Jesus. I just ask that You help me up when I stumble and my knees are pretty scuffed up from tripping but I will not give up. You have called me to dance for You and I am going to give You my best. Use me Lord as You see fit for I am excited to see that the fields are white unto harvest and that Your return is very soon. Let me be part of the the homecoming in Jesus' Name!