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My husband and I were eating lunch today and heard a news report on TV about a study done by Verizon about kindness rankings by state. It caught our attention because we are Kentucky residents and the report stated, "Kentucky ranked # 1 in the kindness report". My heart leapt a little because too many times our ranking for this survey or that has us coming in the negative. I am a born and bred Kentuckian. I did live in Florida for a time as a child, but when I was old enough to choose my home, I chose Kentucky.
Jump to the bottom of the page to view Verizon Report
My husband is originally from Michigan, which is a beautiful state with many unique places to see and a vast array of historical sites. I love the great lakes and parks on the lakes. However, Al, my husband states, "Kentucky is God's Country". This is not a diminishing of any other place or state, just something God has planted in our hearts for Kentucky.
Above are pictures of horses at a nearby horse farm. I love seeing the beautiful horses!
Prayer
As a matter of fact we have been praying for God to do great and wonderful things in Kentucky as well as our country. We live in the state capital, Frankfort, and have been praying for God to move mightily here. We want to see more businesses come in with a family friendly focus and be able to see the Kingdom of God manifest here. Our prayers are for spiritual awakening and unity for all our churches. We want to see the lost come to know and accept Christ as Lord and savior and a revitalization in our land.
We believe God can do anything and if we pray, we might just see all the amazing things He has planted in our hearts. We would like to see places developed for families to gather, new restaurants which will employ people and in time allow the employees to own the restaurants. We would love to start new businesses, or come along side those who do and see them flourish.
Dreaming
My husband and I went canoeing on The Elkhorn Creek over the weekend and we dreamed a little about having a cottage on the creek and using it for weekend get always, special events and for retreats for Pastors and their families. Wouldn't that be a Grande Idea to have a beautiful cottage to share with others?
The word tells us we have not because we ask not. If our motives are pure, we we need to do is to ask God and see if he is in agreement with our request. He has so much planned for us which are bigger than anything we could imagine. We hesitate to ask. Well, we are asking now. We have a heart love for where He has placed us and a heart knitted to the Father. We believe and sometimes that is enough. (Only Believe).
Kingdom Building
So much could be done here. There is so much potential for beauty, kindness, care, fellowship, jobs, and the list could go on and on.
Sometimes things are right in front of us and we do not see them until God decides to reveal them or maybe it is when we are ready to see. If we are distracted, sometimes we are just oblivious to the obvious things right in front of us.
We have had many heart wrenching events as a country over the past few years and my heart cries out for Purity and Peace. I am so very weary of the tone our Country has taken. I want to walk in peace and abide in Christ and look away from the darkness which tries to encompass us.
Heaven On Earth
I believe we all have a part in God's story and if we focus on Him and what He is doing so much can be impacted around us. Think about what you see as Heaven on earth if it were possible. How would that look on a day to day basis?
Matthew 6:33
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
We recently went on vacation to Destin, Florida where we met a man who told us Destin does not have any crime. They don't need a police department and they only have a sheriff if need be."
I have to say, "I was totally astonished". But then again, I have heard accounts of city's being totally transformed." Would you like to see transformation where you live? What could you envision it would look like?
One thing I know, "When there is an abundance of Light, the darkness has to flee." We need to gather and turn up the lamps in our lives." If enough of us did that, darkness would be pushed back.
I would love to see ALL the states, tie for Kindness and many other wonderful Kingdom principles. But for now, I am excited my home state is leading the nation in Kindness. It encourages me to keep hoping and praying for what God shows me from His heart.
I would encourage you in two ways, Pray for your state, town and country and if you have a prompting from the Lord, come to Kentucky to join in what God is doing here. My hopes and dreams are to see Frankfort grow and to see Christian developers, business owners, families, and companies come here and help us in the work God is calling us to do. The city is ripe positive change.
We would like to see knew churches come who carry God's heart. We have about 40% of our population who are unchurched or not walking in Christianity. We have a wide open mission field ready for the picking!
What does the future look like for our children? Prayer is a great place to start!
Family Friendly Places
Yesterday we went to the local water park with our daughter. We arrived when it opened and there was a long line. When we left, they had closed it due to it being filled to capacity. So people who showed up in the afternoon were turned away.
A few years ago this particular park was completely renovated and I had heard it was difficult to get into due to the limited capacity. Hearing that was a deterrent to making an attempt to go. I was thankful we were one of the families who got in, but sad for others who didn't.
We have one public pool and the only other alternative is the YMCA, but you have to have a membership to go there. I spoke to a lady who was in line with us, yesterday and she came from another county because they didn't offer a water park feature where she lived.
We had another park with a pool but they closed it a few years ago. How sad, there is definitely a need. We see needs go unaddressed and then duplication of places which end up not making it. Sometimes I wonder what happened to common sense and looking at services from a need basis. Why restrict and do away with services which are running over with people and then put in services which are duplicated and keep going out?
We NEED more family friendly places to Gather! I would love to a park built here with a water feature, beautiful plant life, walking path, children's playground, pool and ball fields where more families can gather. The city's which have these are helping families prosper and grow.
Calling Godly Leadership and Community Development
I would love to see new Godly leadership move in. People with vision and direction from the Lord. My husband and I are average folks with a meager income, we are not called to political office or have resources to move financially on these big dreams, but I know there are those out there who are. We want to partner in prayer with those who do. Agape Prayer Center.
If you are reading this, I would encourage you to pray on how you can be a part of bringing in your gifts and talents to us, or your own city. I would love to see folks focused on walking out God's desires and moving away from focusing on financial gain. If we walk out what God Calls us to do, there will be blessings which are financial in many situations, but pursuing the things of God rather than man is a greater pathway to follow. Greed and self-seeking do not bring contentment. Abiding in Christ and walking His path.
Peter listened to Jesus and Walked on Water. The same is possible for all of us.
Frankfort, Kentucky
We are a city on the Kentucky River with farm land, businesses, schools, churches, a university, safe neighborhoods, building opportunities and ripe for God to move. There is a rich history here and much which can be done to build upon the foundation our founding fathers started. I pray before God takes me home, I can see some of the Beautiful things He has placed in my heart for our town.
This picture was taken in front of our state capital this past spring. We have one of the most beautiful capitals in the U.S.
Invitation
We would love to have you visit us! I am including some pictures of places in our state. One we are very proud of is THE ARK. People come to see it from around the world and it is a pretty amazing site to take in. When you see it, it's pretty overwhelming to think, such a boat could be built by a man and his family using simple tools so many thousands of years ago. The feel of the park is very peaceful and God honoring, too.
The Ark in Williamstown, KY
Kentucky
We have many wonderful places and things to see in our state.
Here is a list of just a few:
Kentucky Horse Park
Churchill Downs-The Kentucky Derby
Fort Harrodsburg
Land of the Lakes
Newport Aquarium
Mammoth Cave
Kentucky Down Under
Children's Science Museum
Kentucky History Museum
Louisville Zoo
Kentucky Kingdom
The Ark
45 state parks
Kentucky Center for Performing Arts
Louisville Slugger Museum
These are just a few.
Newport Aquarium
Historic Church
Kindness is one of the Fruit of the Spirit. I would love to see more of them here as well as other states!
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