New Blog site!

I will be leaving this blog open, but I am planning on updating mostly on WordPress. The layout and CSS is easier for me.

Here is the new link:    kennethahopkins.wordpress.com

Please keep reading! I love sharing our stories!

Steering Through Chaos: Review

To begin, let me make a disclaimer. This book was intended for pastors, and I am certainly not one, nor do I desire to be.  I plan on planting churches with my husband and I feel like this book was just as influential and inspirational for me as it would be for any church leader.

My overall view of this book is very impressed and refreshed. I really love Wilson's writing voice. He reads very honestly and openly and it is evident that he wrote this out of love and concern for his fellows workers. Wilson also does a great job providing wisdom from years of experience in several different leadership positions. The layout of the chapters in both the table of contents and the actual material in the book was very interesting and appreciated. I am, after all, a lover of personal stories, which were included by Wilson and others in each section of the book.

Wilson focuses on vision throughout Steering Through Chaos, although only 3 of the 10 chapters are directly labeled as a "vision chapter." He also includes a chapter on the need and importance of corporate prayer, something largely ignored by the average church-goer or lay person outside of prayers during weekly services. He writes, "The goal of corporate prayer is creating an environment in which believers can genuinely pursue God with one heart, one mind, and one voice." That in itself needs to be part of the vision of any church!

Steering Through Chaos does not ignore the challenges, mental and physical stress, and burnout that pastors and leaders will go through. Wilson speaks candidly about his own struggles in being a pastor leading his flock through change. I found that to be some of my favorites part of his work because I heard both the heartbreak and the triumph in each story. That inspired me and gave me a new insight into what my husband may go through in the future.

I feel that any person who is currently working with a church or will be working in one soon needs to read this book, no matter that person's role. This book contains vast quantities of ideas, support, and strategies to get any leader through a time of change. I am very glad I took the time to check out this material and will definitely read future works from Scott Wilson.

Constance Maria Vasquez (Contentious Woman)

That is the name of our new Garmin Nuvi 255W. Welcome to the family, Constance.

We are eating potstickers tonight. For those not in the know, they're like the dumplings you get at Chinese buffets and dip in that salty sauce. Ours are pork and I'm pretty excited. Hopefully I'll be able to find some wrappers soon so that we can make them from scratch!

Ours pigs were getting along fine for about a week, then Zucchini started being all dominant-crazy again and she's rumblestrutting like crazy. She needs to get over herself soon.

I'm getting a little excited about having to go to the SBC in Florida this summer. Theme parks, good restaurants, a Lifeway the size of a football field, and the possibility of hearing cool people speak. Who needs to vote on anything, anyway?

Anniversaries

Today marks the one year anniversary of the halfway mark of my student teaching. I had just finished third grade and moved all the way across the school to an outside mobile unit to teach fifth. I can hardly even describe how much that whole experience meant to me. Those fifth graders and their teacher impacted me way more than I ever thought they did. Case in point, I just picked an Iditarod musher to follow for this year's race. It's because of the fifth graders that I even know so much about the Iditarod!

I miss something about those kids or that classroom every single day. Something will always remind me of it. Contrary to some mean people's advice, I gave them my KY address and told them my myspace name. I have kept in touch with some of them, but here lately they've stopped talking to me as much. It's sad, but I'm letting them go.

I think I miss them so much because I miss teaching kids like that. I miss having my own elementary classroom and making real lesson plans and activities. I cannot WAIT to get back into teaching!

Hello March!

Meet my new bestest friend.

Les bought this for me for my birthday knowing full well what a serious God-complex I have, but I have it under control! We haven't been without clean clothes or food this entire time I've had it, thank you very much.

I CANNOT believe it is already March, and that we have only about three-ish months until we've been married a whole year! I simultaneously feel like we've been married forever and not long at all. I have to say, though, that this has been the best adventure I've ever been on in my whole life. It was just time for us to get married and I'm so glad we did. It's been really fun to share a house (and all my stuff) with my best friend.

I've also been thinking about linking a Flickr account to this blog so that I can share our 365/2010 picture project. I tried taking one picture a day for a year for the first time about two years ago. Thirty-three pictures in, my computer died a horrible death, so that project ended. When we got a new camera this past Christmas, we decided to try it again! It's all on Facebook right now... see it here! We're pretty proud, even though it's a little boring and full of food and guinea pigs!

We are also gearing up to move. I'm finishing my North Carolina teaching application and Les is supposedly starting the Southeastern application. At least he better be, since I really want to live at Flaherty Farms in a 2-bedroom small floor plan apartment! I'm getting really nervous about going through the whole education interview process and meeting principals, but I know if God is calling us there, He'll be able to give us both a job.

February List

Books for January: 6
The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker (Red, Black, White)
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Joy in the Morning by Betty Smith

Books for February: 3
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

Working On...
Steering Through Chaos by Scott Wilson
I am actually reading this as a supporting project for Scott Wilson. I'll be blogging about my reactions to the book and a review here in about two weeks!

Books for the year: 9

Hooray!

I Love Books!

Since so many people tell me I read way too much and way too fast (I'm looking at my husband specifically), I've decided to keep track of my reading this year! Here's the list from January, and what I've finished so far in February:

Books for January: 6
The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker (Red, Black, White)
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Joy in the Morning by Betty Smith

February
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

Working On...
The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

Books for the year: 8