Kristin McLendon

Monday, March 28, 2016

Scotland.

In 2005, I (Kristin) walked into Rev. Bills office and asked him to pray with me for a male influence on our youth group. Four days later he introduced me to Robert McLendon and said, “here is your man, now ask him to go to Costa Rica with you.” Little did we know how prophetic that statement would be and the journey the Lord would have for us. We have now been married for over 8 years and have led many mission trips both together and a part. From Honduras, to Mississippi, to Costa Rica, to Scotland. One thing that has happened is we have both been to Scotland, but never together. Now on this wild journey called the life that we live, in 2016, the Lord is taking us to Scotland, together.

We can not even begin to explain how wild of a ride this has been or the emotions that go into this calling the Lord has placed on us. From those beginning days in 2005, to Robert being in grad school, to Jude being born, to Kristin in grad school, to the Lord opening the door for us to be in full time ministry together, January 1, 2015. To being ordained together on July 19, 2015. We get to spend our days together ushering students into the fullness that God has for them. We are so thankful to Jesus when we couldn’t see what this would look like, He knew all along, and of course it is even better than we could ever imagine.

Scotland is a beautiful piece of this journey. While Costa Rica has captured my (Kristin) heart the past few years, God has made it obvious that we are to step out of our comfort zones and take our students on a not so easy ride. While the Lord stretches them, we are expecting to be stretched just as much, if not more.

We will take a team of 22 to the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, June 1-15. We will be working along side our RiverStone sent missionaries to invest into the lives of children and teenagers on the Isle. We will be partnering with YWAM while we are over there as well. Our greatest desire is to be a blessing to the missionaries-that we would not be a burden, but bring them life, joy, and refreshment in the Lord. We will be doing street evangelism and this will be stretching for all of us-and our greatest desire is that our flesh will die and they will know that Jesus is the One that sent us. Please pray that we will have the spirit of boldness and that we would truly walk out the words of the Great Commission. Please pray for us as we lead this team. It is different than any other team that we have led before. Please pray for unity of the team. The Lord has laid John 17 specifically on our hearts for this team-that we would be One, so that the world may know who sent us. Please pray this would be true of us.

We are writing to you to today to ask you to please join us in praying for these things and of course anything else the Lord lays on your heart. We are trusting for an army of prayer warriors to rise up around us. We thank you in advance for partnering with us.

Secondly, this trip is a huge step of faith. It is more expensive than anything we have ever done, but we are firmly believing that what God calls us to, He will provide. We are believing that our students will see God during this trip as Jehovah Jireh - the God that provides - and He will unlock something deep within their hearts as He does. Cost for this trip is $2500 per person. Would you please pray about partnering with us financially? If you feel led to contribute you may CLICK HERE for the direct link and choose: McLendon Family.

We are so thankful for each of you and the love you pour out to our family. Thank you for being our army.

Love, Robert, Kristin, and Jude

Follow the journey: http://youthinscotland.blogspot.com

Labels: faith, family, mission, Scotland

Thursday, March 24, 2016

The Journey of and after Pneumonia

**Disclaimer--I started this blog post while I was still down for the count. It was beyond good for my heart to go back and finish this, leaving in the not so fun details, but finish it out with testimony of the Lord's healing! Amen and Amen!**

Many people have asked me what exactly happened to me. For document sake, I thought this might be a good place to journal it all out. It is also a safe place to journal it out and for my heart to trust in the Lord and know He is in control.

I am one that tells others to journal their prayers so that

they may have a record of the way God answers them.

Here is my journal. Here are my prayers.

This is my journey through and back from pneumonia.

What started out as a beautiful weekend on January 29th-I had a great

9 mile/marathon training run. Felt great and was

eagerly anticipating the next week where I knew training was

about to be rubber hitting the road-and I was excited about it.

We picked up Jude from school and had

a great family day!

The next morning-January 30th-I woke up EARLY for a 5k run with Dorie

with a little twinge in my chest-but hey-I can still run a 5k!

By night time I was running a fever and the room was spinning.

Kristin. Down.

Sunday am fever even higher.

Monday even higher-so we call the dr, but they couldn't see me till Wednesday.

Tuesday evening-in the E.R. with a 105 fever.

x-rays, lots of blood drawn, three bags of fluids and two bags of antibiotics later

it's declared I was septic, with low blood pressure, high pulse

and pneumonia...and I was being admitted.

Two days into being admitted, lab results came back and

the stuff I had coughed up for them showed a rare bacteria-not so much

normal for normal pneumonia, so they switched the antibiotic I was on.

On Saturday, when apparently my coloring started to return, they let me return home with

instructions to be on bedrest for ten days.

On Wednesday I was starting to feel better, but also took my last dose of antibiotics.

On Thursday I could not move off the couch again and this continued through the

weekend. Sunday night my fever spiked back up again to 102.1

and needless to say I found myself back at the dr on Monday.

The results: I still had crackling in my lungs = pneumonia.

The antibiotic they treated the bacteria with in the hospital

was specific to that bacteria/not pneumonia.
Round three of antibiotics was begun.

Round three of antibiotics seemed to do the trick, as my fever never returned.
We are incredibly thankful for the community that rallied around us,
prayed us through this season, and kept us fed!

The words THANK YOU do not even begin to seem big enough!

Now, a month or so later--I fully believe the Lord has healed me.
I was told that it would probably be months before I started to
feel all the way like myself again, and I would definitely
have that pesky cough for months.
I am excited to say that I am back to running and feel great.
I do not know why I was
taken down this crazy road, but what I do know is that once I was back
on my feet, the recovery back has been quick. I give Him all the glory.

"It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

to declare your steadfast love in the morning,

and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp,

to the melody of the lyre.

For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;

at the works of your hands I sing for joy."

Psalm 92

Labels: family, pneumonia

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Let's have a cup of coffee, shall we?

It's been awhile since I've sat down and typed out a few words in this space. I have a few reasons. Most of which consist of 15-20 page Seminary papers. Details right? But I miss this little space of mine. It has a homey feel to it and to write without a midnight deadline is just well, nice.

So how have you been? What I would love to do right now is sit down and have a cup of coffee with you and ask you my #1 question, How is your heart? How has life been lately?

What has Jesus been telling you lately?

For me, I would tell you life is good. Seminary is well, Seminary. Not what I thought it would be back in the days that I called it C.E.M.E.T.E.R.Y. and that pigs would be flying if I attended...but good. Finishing up a practicum this week, then a week off, and then diving in deep to two more classes for Spring Semester.

Jude-well he is almost FIVE.YEARS.OLD. When did that happen? Seriously. I can hardly handle it. And he's almost as tall as me. I mean, it doesn't take much, but seriously? At FIVE?

So tell me about you? I have more to write about, but I want to hear from you.

It's been awhile... let me know how you are doing and what I can pray for!

**All photo's are from The Focused Lily Photography and can not be reproduced.

Labels: coffee date, family, family photo shoot, Jude Robert

Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas from the McLendons!

Maybe, just maybe by my third year of Seminary I will figure out how to manage Christmas card ordering season ... and finals. So far I am 0 and 2. Please keep sending them to us. We love them, we love you, and promise to return to the Christmas card circuit one day!

When I imagined a Christmas Card amongst coming up for air from finals, I imagined it arriving in your mailbox looking a little something like this:

Inside would give you a snapshot of our 2015 and giving glory to our sweet Jesus:

I would write you a short letter and would tell you that 2015 was a year that we saw Jesus fulfill the greatest desires of our heart. Robert and I became full time partners in ministry as Robert joined me as a Youth Pastor at RiverStone Church. In July, we were ordained, surrounded by our family and friends. Starting in ministry together in 2005, and seeing this fulfilled in 2015, we are truly thankful to the One who knows the perfect plan for our lives and a church that believes in us.

In September after a two week residency in Wilmore Kentucky for me, we decided to take a last minute vacation, and set sail to the Bahamas. It was the most beautiful time away just the three of us and truly a blessing from the Lord. Jude spent 8 hours straight on the water slide at our day at sea as we would casually look up from our chairs to make sure he was okay every once in awhile!

Jude is the most wonderful gift to us. He is our almost five year old, passionate about life, full of energy, all boy that is ready to take on the world for Jesus. He joined the Atlanta Track Club this year and ran his first timed race/mile in 10:20. I have to keep training just to keep up.

We are giving thanks tonight on this very Merry Christmas. Jesus deserves all of our praise, for He is worthy. Praying that you are resting tonight in the Peace that is Jesus Christ the Lord.

Labels: Christmas, family

Saturday, February 21, 2015

The almost four year old

The almost four year old is independent.

He wants to wash his own hair.

Bathe his own body.

Pick out his own clothes.

The almost four year old can *almost* brush his own teeth.

Can ride his scooter and asks to do so as a Transformer

in February.

The almost four year old can

Dream big dreams.

Pray real prayers...

and believes God for them with every ounce of his being.

The almost four year old

pauses long enough to say

"mama will you snuggle with me."

Loves big squeeze hugs.

Loves to tickle, loves hide & go seek.

Loves fruit, veggies, and eggs.

And pancake picnics.

Pictures taken on a random Tuesday in February-courtesy of Emily Cathryn Smith.

Labels: birthday, family, Jude Robert, life

Monday, January 26, 2015

McLendon Christmas Letter: Now that it is almost February...

Well...Robert wrote a Christmas letter this year and we failed to get it in the mail. It is too good not to share, so we are posting it here. For all to enjoy. So, now that it is almost February we are going to officially say good bye to 2014 and say hello to 2015.

Does anyone else wonder where January just went?

I hope this season meets you with merriment and diminished anxiety (whatever that means). Once again, we decided it was best to send you an update on our family through the written word rather than a picture-perfect portrait of our family sitting in wonderment at how organized we are. We would have done that, but we really couldn’t find one or pose for one long enough for the needed millisecond of camera flash.

Kristin is still taking on the world one student at a time as the RiverStone Student Pastor. She loves what she does when she’s not drowning in kids. She took a lovely group of students to Costa Rica this year to work with an orphanage and a local impoverished community near the orphanage. She is really good at hitting teenagers over the head with selfless reality. The kids are really no problem for her at all. She is having a blast with her students. Kristin fulfilled one bucket list item this year – she ran from the top of Mount Hood in Oregon, through Portland, and to the coast of Oregon. She did it with several friends and had a great time. They finished the relay in 34 hours! What is currently killing her is her recent decision to go to Grad School!!! She just finished up her first semester at Asbury Theological Seminary where she is getting her Master’s Degree in Intercultural Studies with a focus in Church Planting – this really means she is studying missionary processes both domestic and international. As much as it pains me to say, her school seems to be harder than mine.

Robert has also had an interesting year. In January of 2014 he started a counseling internship working with individuals who were court-ordered to go to counseling for anger/violence problems and alcohol/drug abuse problems. Whatever you picture in your mind when you read that is probably pretty accurate. He encountered lots or rewarding and heartbreaking moments over the past year. This internship was long and had some late hours, so Kristin was single mother for most of the year. Robert also continued to work at RiverStone as the Missions Coordinator helping missionaries and mission teams get their finances in order and counseling leaving and returning missionaries through transitions. Robert also went back to Scotland this past summer to work with kids and host a summer camp – And his dad went with him. Robert did take time off during the summer to drive a 15-passenger van from the top of Mount Hood to the coast of Oregon. He drove 34 consecutive hours and stayed awake for 42 consecutive hours (needless to say, Kristin had more fun than Robert did). With all the busy-ness, Robert looked at life a lot like Forest Gump looked at running across the country. “When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate. When I had to go, you know, I went.” Robert finished his internship on December 12th, and started working with Kristin at RiverStone as a Student Pastor January 1st. A dream come true for the McLendons!

Jude has been a beautiful behavioral challenge this year. I’m sure after reading this letter you can probably deduce that he has been acting out because he has been the only child of a working single mother this year. Jude’s energy level equals that of the sun. He is either “all systems go” or asleep. It is not fair to say he has been all bad this year. We have shared so many sweet times with our boy. We took a road trip to Asheville, NC, Lynchburg, VA, and Charlotte, NC with Jude in October. He had a blast, and we had sweet family time. 4-6 hour car rides are not really his thing, but he managed.

Top 10 Lessons Life Taught Us this Year

10. If you take your dad to Scotland, don’t let him buy a kilt.

9. Kristin can run longer than most people can drive.

8. Oregon has traffic jams at 3am.

7. Jude can go through a “hungry-tired-angry-wired-happy-snuggly-screaming” cycle in 90 seconds.

6. Three-year-olds are the worst.

5. Three-year-olds are the best.

4. Kristin’s bucket list will probably kill Robert.

3. If a 3-year old wants to walk the dog, you have to walk the 3-year old while he walks the dog.

2. Don’t promise a 3 year-old movies for a 5-hour car ride if the portable DVD player doesn’t work.

1. Only the McLendons can get photo bombed by a man in a kilt while picking out a Christmas Tree!

Happy 2015 friends!

**Disclaimer: Letter was written by Robert**

Labels: Christmas, family, life

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Christmas Cards. A Blubbering Mess. Adoption.

I am a mail junkie. There you go. Confession just from the very beginning let's get it out there. It's the first thing I do upon arriving home every afternoon. If I am home when the mail lady comes--I go straight out to check it. Some (like the hubs) may call it an addiction. I say it's like getting a mini gift each day. You just never know what you are going to get. I love good mail days.

I love December which makes mail days that much more exciting. It may be the fact that I grew up an Air Force Brat which meant I grew up in a family that mailed Christmas cards and letters each year and we received letters and cards from around the world with updates from friends that my family made from those 18+ years in the service. I still love visiting my parents house at Christmas time and seeing those familiar faces that were a part of my childhood. It's a beautiful thing.

On Monday I opened up our first Christmas card & letter and came completely undone. To be honest I've never had those emotions before over a Christmas card or letter, but inside this letter contained pictures of kids I have grown to love and have a deep place in my heart for. You want to see me come undone---send me a letter from Costa Rica with 16 beautiful faces smiling back at me. Undone, sobbing, blubbering mess.

I was able to pull myself back together knowing that I will see them again come late May. I'm so thankful that my very first mission trip almost 12 years ago sent me to the beautiful country of Costa Rica and now for three years in a row I just keep getting to go back to these beautiful faces. To love on them and hug them. Who knows one day God may open the door for one (or two or three...) to become permanent fixtures in our family, but for now I'll take what I can get and that is a yearly trip to Costa Rica.

So there you go--there's my mail addiction. There's my heart for 16 beautiful Costa Rican children. And here is what is on my heart today that I want to share with you and what I personally would like to do something about. A family that I have come to know and love dearly in our church is raising funds to finalize their adoption of their sweet Elijah. You can read their complete and beautiful story by clicking here...really go read it. Please.

So what would I like to do about it? I wish I had $7000, but I don't. But I do have an etsy shop. I open it from time to time and God uses it to provide for mission trips to Scotland for the hubs and to Costa Rica for me...and/or wherever else in the world Jesus calls us to from year to year. He uses it to provide when my little fam of three just needs a little bit of extra finances (like Christmas time!) and I'm so thankful for the way He has just used it and blessed it. I've opened it up again this year for the holidays and I would like to use it to bless the Koeppen family. A minimum of 20% of all proceeds from my Etsy Shop this season will go towards their fundraising efforts.

I know you are presented with lots of things to give to during this season--but I would like to ask that you would pray about giving towards this sweet family. What a sweet Christmas present this would be to officially make Elijah a Koeppen. Whether you choose to do so through my Etsy Shop or give directly to them--either way is beautiful. Read their story, pray for them.

Adoption. It's a beautiful thing isn't it?
Only 174 days till I can wrap my arms around those 16 babies that have my heart....

Labels: adoption, Christmas, Etsy, family

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Why I almost quit writing... [a very honest post]

I almost didn't write yesterdays blog post because well-my Fresh Start was for April 1st and as you can now see I didn't write it till April 8th. I looked back in my journal at April 1st in my Secret Place with the Lord and this is what I wrote, "Jesus. Not only is it a new week, it is a new month. I love when the first falls on a Monday. There is a freshness to it. A fresh start. A newness. A do-over. Jesus, that is exactly what I am asking for today. I just feel like I can take a deep breath in you. Whisper your name and say let's do this." (As I type that out of my journal I feel like I am letting you see a piece of my heart--please be gentle with it.). I drank deep of this with the Lord and so wanted to share all of this with you...

The reason I didn't write it for a week is because my Fresh Start got further and further away with each new day last week (and do y'all follow Robert on twitter? If you do you can see what happened after I posted yesterdays blog post! Y'all-for real!!! Sometimes all you can do is laugh!). The reason I did write it is because it was a promise from the Lord that I feel like He whispered to my heart that I felt like some of you could relate to and I was being disobedient by not sharing it.

With that, here comes a very honest post--back in the fall I felt the prompting from the Lord to jump in with the Nester and do a 31 day blogging series and what the Lord gave me was Isaiah 32:18. I didn't make it all the way through the 31 days because life hit, but it did stir something in me. So much so a couple of months ago I spent time rearranging our blog and changing the name of it from "The McLendon Whereabouts" to "The McLendons" with the subtitle of "and their journey to an Isaiah 32:18 home."

I did a lot of rearranging of things on the blog--but never once wrote a blogpost once I did it. The reality of it was I felt like I had to have it all together before I did so. The same with last week. I had a fresh start on Monday and lost it all on Tuesday. The lie that entered into my mind was that I no longer had something to offer or to write about. I know that is not true, but it's the fear of man that enters in--that we have to present ourselves as if we have it all together. I'll just throw it out there--I do not have it all together at all. Most of the time I feel like I am the full time wife, full time mother, full time youth pastor that isn't doing any of these things well. Or at any given time, doing one of the three things well while the other two are being neglected. And the one that doesn't even make it onto the list--house wife--I'm completely horrible in this area. My house gets a good cleaning when we have company over and let's just say it's time for company to come over to kick my butt into gear (I said this was a completely honest post right--it's going to take everything in me to hit publish on this post and then I'm going to have to walk away and not come back to my computer and hit delete!!).

The beautiful thing is I know my little family is unique. We are a family in full time ministry. We are a family in full time grad school. We are a family in full time two year old BOY toddlerhood. I feel like we are the opposite of the "normal" (or whatever normal is suppose to be) family. In the midst of this absolute craziness I do believe the Lord has set me on a journey of discovering what it means to have an Isaiah 32:18 home. "My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places." I almost quit writing because my journey is not pretty. I don't have it all together....and somewhere along the way I started to believe the lie that I have to have it all together before I could write. So here we go. I really do want to write again. It's good for me. I am a writer. I know I am. (Thank you Dorie for reminding me that I am.) The noon deadline every Tuesday for five years in Richmond Hill for my Hill Topper article almost drove me crazy, but now that it is gone, I miss it.

It's not going to be pretty--but I'm on a journey--1. to offer my family an Isaiah 32:18 home. 2. to write again. I hope you'll join me....

**Side Note/Disclaimer--Not every post is going to be about Isaiah 32:18 as it was in the 31 day blogging series--I'm just simply going to start sharing our journey again and hope you'll extend grace, yet find encouragement in the beautiful calling we have on our family.

Labels: family, Isaiah 32:18, life

Friday, January 13, 2012

InstaFRIDAY & an Update!

I'm still here, I promise!

I've been enjoying a little down time

with my family!

I'm linking up for InstaFriday!

A fun way to share our mobile pictures from the week

(do you have the app? If so, follow me there: kamclendon)

I also thought it'd be a fun way to

catch you up on our little family!

Christmas was spent

in Richmond Hill/Savannah

with my family and went by

way too fast!

Baby's first Christmas was everything I'd dreamed it would be!

Lots of snuggles with Nana and Grand Dad.

Lots of playing with cousin Aniston.

Lots & lots of new toys!

Road trip for the day down to St. Simons Island with Nana and baby Jude!

The ocean air is good for the heart!

Caught up with old friends and

had coffee dates into the wee hours of the night!

Highlights and a hair cut!

Flying (appropriately) with Grand Dad!

Christmas break can be exhausting!

Visit with Granny!

Four generations strong!

Back in Marietta to bring in the new year.

The hubs was playing football, so Jude and I took a stroll in the park!

We quietly welcomed in 2012....

then on January 2nd I headed to the Georgia Dome

for the Passion Conference with my High School Seniors!

45,000 18-25 year olds.....incredible.

{Not to mention I got to see some of my favorite people...

Heidi Ho & the Sheehan Family!}

And did you know that there are currently 27 million people enslaved in the world?

That's more than ever before. This generation took a stand and raised over 3 million dollars during the conference to go towards stopping modern day slavery.

{take a moment and read!}

Here's my baby. He turned 10 months old while I was at the conference. G-Nan spent the week with him and they got lots of snuggles! I drove back and forth each day and got about 15 minutes each morning with my little man (not to mention about 3 hours of sleep each night). I was grateful I was still the first face he saw in the morning...even if it was just for a moment!

We got new couches for Christmas!

Here they are on delivery day (and not a happy baby!)

We LOVE them!

Hubs bought me a Kindle for Christmas. I've spent every little extra moment I could find reading! I'm currently reading "7" by Jen Hatmaker. More on this over the weekend (and a giveaway, so stay tuned!)

Baby got sick (AGAIN) while I was at the conference. Thankfully he's better---but now the hubs is sick! Can. not. win.

Here's our pretty living room. We completely moved things around and I love it! We took out the coffee table and there's LOTS of play room for Master Jude!

So there's our update via Instagrams!I hope to have the shop back up in the next week.Lots of new things coming and I'm excited!
Do you have big plans for the weekend?We're excited to have absolutely nothing planned.We've had snow flurries already this morning,so we are staying in and staying warm!
Happy Friday Friends!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Labels: family, InstaFriday, life

Monday, August 1, 2011

First Official Family Photo Shoot

We recently had our first official family photo shoot. We love the Marietta Square...so what better

place to have our first shoot! Jude wasn't too sure about this photo shoot, but we still got some awesome shots! Thanks Molly! (And yes I'm sharing all 27 pictures with you because I love them all! And my favorite is the last one! :)