About Us

Kristin is a Southern Georgia belle, who graduated from UGA as a veterinarian May 2010. Carter grew up in NC, went on to seminary, became an ordained pastor, and has completed his doctorate of ministry. After retiring from full-time ministry, Carter is thoroughly enjoying being a financial advisor (and volunteering on the ministry side of things). After about a month of emailing, asking questions, and going through the steps of eharmony.com, we were full of excitement and became very eager to meet one another face to face. October 25, 2009, we met and enjoyed every minute together. We had no doubt God was going to strengthen our relationship with Him as well as with one another. Carter proposed August 9, 2010 on the boat in the middle of Lake Wylie at sunset. Kristin said "Yes" after some happy tears. We got married April 2, 2011 and what an amazing beautiful day that was! God has continued to bless us throughout our marriage. On May 18, 2017, our family grew when God gave us our son, Micah. We look forward to see what He has in store for us each and every day. We are super blessed to be serving the Lord wherever we are. God is constantly surprising us with new callings!

First Semester Flew By!


I cannot thank God enough for an awesome first semester of teaching.  I’ve said it before: I didn’t see myself walking in the shoes of a professor.  God obviously had another plan, and I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed 99.99% of the teaching process...preparing, mentoring, and teaching.

Not only did I have the privilege of teaching many students, but they also opened my eyes to new things. Starting on our first day together back in August and all the way through the last day of the semester, they taught and reminded me of many things. Patience.  Encouraging one another. Deep breaths do really help. Positive attitudes. How important it is to love and support these students (and other staff). Thinking before you speak.  Someone is always watching you. How influential it can be to let God shine through you. The list goes on...

As I have received unexpected emails, evaluations, and verbals full of kind words that touched my heart in a special way, I thank God.  I have told many of these students in response to their amazing messages and compliments that I can’t take the credit for an amazing semester. I have to give God the credit for working through me, but boy, am I thankful He continues to do so! I strive everyday to glorify Him...and that includes when I'm in the classroom (or lab), too!    

Being super confused occupationally since veterinary school, God has used many of students (as well as my teaching mentors) to emphasize that I am right where I am supposed to be for now.  I cannot believe Christmas break is already here!!!!!!!  Merry Christmas!

As I embarked on this new opportunity of teaching, I have appreciated all of you who have surrounded me with prayers.

Education Continues


We have been praying for almost a year now about Carter continuing to further his education in ministry.  God has been clearly saying “Yes, Go for it,” but we didn’t have a clear answer on the timing of Carter trying to pursue this call.  He just started a new job.  We just moved to Pawleys.  Both of us have new occupational responsibilities….and the list goes on and on.  Since we have moved to the coast, we have been crazy busy.  However, to make a long story short, we both strongly believed God was nudging us, yes us (being a pastor’s wife is a full time job in itself), to partake in this possibility….BEFORE we try to have a family. Don’t get us wrong, if we found out today that we were going to be “mommy and daddy,” we would be ecstatic. We are truly enjoying our marriage and “just the two of us” right now.  God is fully in control of this area of our life, just like every other area though. 

Carter applied to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte about a month ago with hopes to accomplish a dream of his by completing a Doctor of Ministry program.  We found out yesterday that he has been accepted.  Woo hoo!!!!!! This program is 3 years long and will require Carter to be in Charlotte for 2 weeks each year (so 6 weeks away total over these next 3 years). In between having to be present at GCTS, Carter will have a ton of reading, papers, and projects to complete. Instead of traveling to conferences here and there throughout the year for his “continuing education,” these 2 weeks will take the place of those required “learning” hours. The first residency for “Pastor Skills: The Pastor as Preacher, Caregiver, and Person” begins at the end of January 2013. The session of PIPC has been super supportive of this new adventure for Carter.  I have no doubt that the rest of our PIPC congregation will join us in this exciting phase of our lives as the news starts trickling out.  

We will be praying as we continue to go down this path God has paved for us. We would be forever grateful if you would join us in prayer.  Our biggest prayer now is wrapped around how we are going to be able to afford this learning experience.  However, we confidently know God will provide.  GCTS recommended getting the church to help with these finances.  On that note, our session has set up a fund for people to confidentially donate to “Carter’s Doctor of Ministry Fund.”  If you feel led to donate to this endeavor, please send a check (written payable to “PIPC” and write “Carter’s DMIN Fund” in the memo line) to: 
Pawleys Island Presbyterian Church
9967 Ocean Highway 
Pawleys Island, SC 29585. 

ANY donation will be greatly appreciated and tax deductible as well.  Please contact either one of us if you have any questions. Thanks for joining along side of us in prayer!

All for His Kingdom,
Carter and Kris

The Heart Of Friendship


My closest friends know how much I love the verse Proverbs 17:17, which reads: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”  I have been praying alot lately in regards to if I truly love my friends at all times?  Do you? Even through the tough times?  Frustrations? Disagreements? Different beliefs?  It’s easy when all is terrific, but it’s difficult at other times, isn’t it? Regardless of what’s going on, I want to so badly share His love with all of my friends.  I’ve been challenged with this recently. How do you respond when a friend claims to be a Christian, yet most of their actions say otherwise?  Or those that want to be Christ-like, but they aren’t going to church, aren’t digging into scripture, and definitely aren’t trying to live scripturally? Do you communicate in love with those friends?  Or do you let ‘it’ slide and pretend everything is “okay,” even though it’s not? I strive to follow Ephesians 4:2-3 by being “ completely humble, gentle, patient, and bearing with one another in love. I pray that I make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Boy oh boy, walking the walk and talking the talk isn’t always easy! Being a child of His is probably the most difficult life task at times. Yes, we are called to love each other, to forgive one another, to hold each other accountable...and the list goes on.
Some of us are separated by distance now, or are married, or have kids, or are drowning in work (or all of the above), and we don’t talk/see each other as much as we’d like. How cool is it to catch up right where we left off the times we can visit, talk on the phone, or exchange emails? I don’t say it enough, but thank you to those of you, who have been honest with me, no matter what.  Thank you for being there. Thank you for the memories of laughter and awesome fellowship.  Thanks for the listening ear or shoulder to cry on. I am so blessed! I thank God every day for placing you in my life, whether it be for a reason, season, or lifetime.  " ... A sweet friendship refreshes the soul." Proverbs 27:9b (MSG)  I do pray that I continue to be the friend God calls me to be and that our friendship brings Him glory. Oh how I cherish each and every one of you!  Praising Him for placing you in our lives!  What a blessing you are to both Carter and me!!! 

Say Cheese

Here are the pictures that I promised in yesterday's blog entry.  We love how pictures capture great memories!  We love all of you!  Happy October!



Awesome Weather and Beautiful Environment


Aunt Rene and Dad's Visit

Golf Fun

N.A. Sister, Tracey and Kris at Beth Moore Conference

PIPC Sister, Tina and Kris in Charleston for Beth Moore

Special Moment with Renee Swope


The Robinsons and Stroker came to visit

Catalyst 2012


Great Dinner out with Carter, Carole (Vet School Sister),
Bob, and the kiddos.



Enjoying Brookgreen Gardens

Born part-fish


Full Of Joy


Hello and blessings to all!  How is October already here?  We have been super busy but are happy to say that we are full of joy, alive, and well.  We continue to thank God on so many levels for calling us to Pawleys Island.  We are thoroughly enjoying this awesome weather here!  Gorgeous environment!  Friendly folks almost everywhere!  Carter and I are truly growing in our walk with Our Father each and every day, through challenges and praises!

Despite the busyness of teaching, I have had a couple opportunities to participate in some Women Ministry conferences!  Wow!  So glad I have continued to take the time to grow personally.  I could type long stories about each conference, but will try to keep it short.  Attending Beth Moore’s “Living Proof” Conference in Charleston back in August with a dear friend of mine from North Augusta is difficult to describe in words.  I can easily say that it was very obvious God didn’t only want us both there, but He wanted us there together.  Worshipping and studying Genesis with 9,000 plus other women was amazing.  We were challenged to 1-Become more honest versions of ourselves, 2-Know that we can’t walk in our full birthright as part fraud, 3-We’ve got to stick a “with” back in the way we work people, 4-It’s time to go face down and face up with Our Protector, Our God, 5-Children of faith can’t wrestle with people without wrestling with God, 6-God can use a crippling defeat to bring about our greatest victory, 7-God can bring a shocking peace to our fiercest wars, 8-We’ve grasped the blessing when we keep trying to give it away by sharing our blessings with others...Powerful!  Challenging!  Refreshing! (What a fun surprise it was to run into a vet school buddy here!)

Many of you were praying right along side me for several months in regards to the Women’s Revival “Just Give Me Jesus” that God brought Anne Graham Lotz to Augusta for in September.  I was unable to make it back to North Augusta for this, but it was super awesome to watch via simulcast.  I felt like I was there!  Singing! Tears!  Prayers!  Another growth moment! One of my favorite quotes from that Friday night was: "I can't out live Him and I can't live without Him!"  A song I couldn’t quit singing was "My Jesus, My Savior, there is none like You..."

Most days I post a summarized devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministries on facebook.  Two of my favorite women from this ministry are Renee Swope and Lysa TerKeurst.  Renee hosted a day conference up in Myrtle Beach last month.  Talk about another woman, who doesn’t hesitate to let God use her through writing and speaking!  Boy was it a day full of what I like to call God winks.  I almost didn’t go because I ended up at the last minute making the trip by myself.  Once again, it was so obvious I was supposed to be there.  I got to meet her, too...what a special moment!  I left repeating many of God’s promises I was reminded of that day.  I was challenged to continue to strive to live like God’s word is true, to walk beyond my circumstances, to make daily decisions to come to the cross, and to believe the truth that God is good, loves me, and cares for me. Another amazing day of worship through scripture and music!

I had the opportunity to join Carter at one of his favorite leadership conferences again...Catalyst.  This year’s main topic was “MAKE.”  Speakers (ie. Andy Stanley, Francis Chan, Perry Noble, Craig Groeschel, Christine Caine, and more) shared various   overwhelming advice on how to make history, make disciples, make a strong leadership church team, make a difference, how we are made in His image, etc.  To be honest, we love this conference and are always glad we attend it, but boy oh boy did we leave very overwhelmed.  So many terrific ideas from such wise leaders.  We’ve been in deep prayer on how to try to incorporate some of these thoughts into the church.  It was great to meet up with some North Augusta buds from Fairview as well as a sister from vet school while we were in Atlanta for this very short, filled, and busy visit.

Speaking of PIPC, Carter’s job still hasn’t slowed down.  No church honeymoon adjustment period this go round.  Wink.  We constantly thank God for continuing to remind us that He called us here for many reasons, some already known and many still unknown.  I have been so proud of Carter as he keeps leaning on the Lord, his faith, and scripture throughout this journey.  Side note: I’m just a wee-bit biased, but I have loved watching Carter grow through his preaching and leadership. God is doing awesome things at PIPC!

My new teaching adventure: I knew I would “like” teaching.  However, I never expected to enjoy and love it as much as I do.  I can’t thank God enough for not only closing doors, but opening this door and helping me be still and quiet long enough to see that I was supposed to step forward in faith and out of my comfort zone.  I pray that I am a loving, inspiring, encouraging, supportive, and caring professor, who can help these students succeed in and out of the classroom.  Love being excited about going to work!

There is so much more to share, but this entry has gotten long enough.  Thanks to all of you, who have continued to pray alongside of us, who have continued to check in, and who have continued to be there for us no matter what.  Your love, support, and prayers mean so much to us! Love ya'll!

P.S. Pictures to come...(I'll have to get some off of Carter's computer.)

Prayer Requests and Praises:
  1. The Holsclaws (Joy came home for about 2 weeks, but has been back in the hospital since.  What a roller coaster ride this has been for all of us!)
  2. PIPC is in week 7 of our 29-week “The Story” study.  Praise: God is clearly at work!
  3. Praise on the clarity of Kristin’s job...God obviously thought she should be a professor at this phase of the game.
  4. Still striving to be the children He wants us to be.
  5. Praising Him for showering us with more blessings than we can count.
  6. Not that we’ve “dropped” any of our past awesome mentors (You know who you are---SMILE!), but we have both been blessed with terrific local mentors here now.  To us, having mentors is an important aspect of ‘our walk.’  It’s been neat to see how God answered these prayers...after months of praying.
  7. Praising Him for allowing Kristin to continue to be involved in Make A Wish here.
  8. Prayers that we (including all of you) continue to share our “God stories and experiences” because you never know when it’s going to be shared with that special person God purposely placed in our paths.  
  9. Thanking Him for some family time lately...time with the Robinsons, Rene, and Dad (which was an awesome surprise)!



Full of Thanks


“...Give thanks to Him and praise His name.” (Psalm 100: 4b)

I have seen this question pop up as facebook posts, in devotionals, and in Christian bookstores a lot these days: “What if you woke up tomorrow and had only what you thanked Him for yesterday?” Does that question make you stop in your tracks like it does me?  Or do you still let the busyness of life continue on without focusing on God?  Over the last couple years, I have become more and more aware of God at work in my life, and I stop to thank Him for what He does for me, Carter, our family, and our friends. I can’t help but think of the book of Psalm when I think about thanking Our Father.  It’s full of verses about giving Him thanks.  Psalm 106:1 reads “Praise the Lord.  Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”  Or check out Psalm 107:8, “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind…”  

What blessings has God showered upon you today that you are thankful for?

Who are you following?


As I was driving to church Sunday morning, I was singing at the top of my lungs “Friend of Sinners” by Casting Crowns.  Next thing I knew, I was braking in the middle of the road (no stop sign around).  A gaggle of geese were crossing the road (gaggle=flock of geese on the ground, not in flight).  There was an obvious goose leader...the leader crossed the road with about 10 geese following behind.  Then, the same lead goose went back and got the rest of the crew of about 15 more geese.  Then they all crossed together.  They all safely made it across the road and into the church yard.  

As I was reflecting on this incident, I thought, “Who/what are we following?”  A boss?  Sunday school leader?  Pastor? Coach? Your spouse? A teacher? Job? Sports? God? A friend? The bible says it who knows how many times...we are supposed to follow Him.  Follow His lead!  Follow Him with all of our heart!  Whole heartedly! Are you following Him?   What about His word?  Are you willing to pick up your cross daily to follow Him?

I challenge us all to take time to figure out what gets in our way of trusting and following Him first and foremost at all times.

His Plan


I would be lying if I said that I’ve not been frustrated and a little disappointed in the area of “getting a job” lately.  During my quiet times, I’ve been focusing on verses in regards to God’s plan for me.  We’ve all heard of Jeremiah 29:11… “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  I’ll be the first to say that I believe that, but it’s challenging to truly be patient, to 100% believe His word whole heartedly, and to trust Him in what feels like the “waiting game.”  Most of us have experienced this waiting game not once, but many times throughout our lives in various ways.

During our move to Pawleys, I couldn’t believe all of the job possibilities that were being shared with me.  One clinic sounded super promising on the phone...until the face to face interview.  Talk about RED FLAGS that put a pit in my stomach.  Could I have accepted that job...yes, it was offered to me, but in my heart, I knew I shouldn’t.  And, I didn’t. I continued making calls to clinics…  I explored things totally not veterinary related… To make a long story short, these words came out of my mouth many times a day: “I want my job to be where YOU want me, where you will be glorified, Father!  My desire is to please you, not everybody else.  I am committed to YOU in knowing YOU have established plans for me (Proverbs 16:3) and have a special path paved out just for me.”  It was awesome how God would speak to me and cover me with waves of comfort and peace EVERY time I shared this with Him.

Like in my email signature, one of my favorite verses is Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Lysa Terkeurest had a devotional online today about this verse.  I summarized her Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion like this on my facebook wall earlier:  “We all get disappointed from time to time. Sometimes things stink, and disappointments come up that make us doubt God really does work for our good, like today's key verse reminds us. Let’s rejoice in what is and what will be, than wallow in what isn't. After all, disappointment only stings as long as we let it.” About a week ago, I was back to the mind set of “rejoice in what is and what will be.”  Enjoyed reading Lysa’s message on this today. It's awesome what happens when we "let go and let God." It's amazing what happens when we accept the fact that we just need to "be still and know that He is God" (Psalm 46:10), and He is in control. 

When I take my eyes off of me and more on Him, it’s neat how He responds.  Yes, I figured I’m supposed to be in a clinic.  However, He has a different plan.  “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lords’s purpose that prevails”  (Proverbs 19:21).  So we can define His purpose for pages on end.  To me, in short, His purpose for me is to love Him, to share His love with others, to glorify Him in ALL that I do, to trust and obey, …  Shall I go on?  These are all desires of my heart, too!  I want nothing more than to be able to fulfill His purpose for me.  Psalm 20:4 says  “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”  

Well, guess what?  Last Thursday, I accepted a job that a dear friend helped open the door for me!!!!!  A job with super flexible hours.  A job that pulls out an interest I have had off and on since I was a little girl.  A job that won’t take away from still being a wife and being able to focus on my marriage.  A job that still allows me to volunteer when I want to in other areas of our community.  A job that will allow Carter and me to have our Fri/Sat weekends together. (Remember, Carter works on Sundays.)  I could go on, but I won’t keep you hanging any longer.  I have accepted an Adjunct Science Teaching position at Horry Georgetown Techincal College.  I am super excited and can’t wait!  I pray that I can be that loving, enthusiastic,  “want to see my students succeed” professor, who has a positive impact on these students.  That opens the door for me to say THANK YOU to those of you, teachers and professors, who have played such a huge role on where I am today because of your teaching nature.  

I am so blessed to have the relationship I do with God, where I didn’t ignore His leading, where I could hear Him say “not yet,” where He helped point out the red flags in other job areas, where I could trust His redirection, where He reminds me that He is the only One to please, and the list goes on.  Thanks to all of you who have been praying along side of us on my job situation!!!!!  We all know that our plans aren’t always His...It’s mighty awesome when His plans become ours though!!!!!  Nothing is better than that!

Almost August


Can you believe August is only a day away??  We can’t!  Time has flown by!!!!!  Even though we haven’t posted in a while, I have to say, things are still crazy, but we continue to keep our eyes on Him.  We continue to thank Him for all of the many blessings He showers upon us each and every day.  
Do you ever take the time to thank God for things like air conditioning?  We’ve had two interesting episodes this past month with our AC.  One being a flood; talk about a mess.  Luckily, my awesome handy husband was able to fix that after calling a friend for advice.  The other being this weekend...it broke.  We never think about sitting in our homes sweating or not sleeping because it’s so stinkin’ hot!  Do you?  We’ve definitely been praying for those less fortunate.
We’ve loved having some great friends of ours here in Pawleys off and on this summer.  We cherish these relationships.  Not to mention, there’s no better place to hang with our buddies than on the beach, right?  
Many of you have been praying with us for the Holsclaws (Our senior pastor and his family).  Please keep praying.  Joy is still in the hospital.  It’s been a crazy, long, challenging 5 weeks now for the Holsclaws, Carter and me, and the rest of our church family.  What a roller coaster ride!  We are confident that God is in control and that His will will be done.
Surprisingly, we were able to join some of the youth in the mountains for a couple days.  Our hearts will always be with the young children and youth in the church.  We feel strongly that one of the many jobs of believers is to teach the younger generation.  They are the ones who will be leading the church one day…  (So many people don’t want to think about that, but it’s true.)  Proverbs 22:6 says it best, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.”  We loved getting to know these youth better.  Many of you already know, but when we are teaching youth, we challenge them.  We like for them to share their thoughts, to pray, to read scripture, and to ask questions.  
On the subject of youth, the PIPC youth asked us to come teach their Sunday School class this past Sunday.  (The director is away on a much needed vacation.)  Once again, we thoroughly enjoyed our discussion.  Teaching them about daily quiet time and strengthening our relationship with Our Father was awesome!  
For now, that’s our latest update.  I’m sure I’m leaving things out, but I just wanted ya’ll to know we haven’t fallen off the face of the earth.  (Wink...Many of you have asked.)  We cherish our prayer warriors and thank you for checking in from time to time as well as your emails/calls asking how you can be praying for us.
Prayer Requests:
  1. **Frank, Gail, Abigail, and Joy (The Holsclaws).
  2. **Our PIPC church family as we prepare for our upcoming 31-week study.  We started our 40 days of prayer Sunday, which will lead up to our starting date.  
  3. **Clarity on Kristin’s job possibilities/opportunities.
  4. **We still strive to be the children He has designed us and wants us to be.
We are so blessed to have all of you in our lives, who have continued to pray for us, pray with us, have stayed in touch with us, and have continued to support and encourage us.  We love you!

Broken Shells


Do you like to pick up sea shells while walking on the beach?  I do.  It’s relaxing to me...listening to the ocean, strolling, feeling like it’s just God and me out there.  Not to mention, it’s a great way to get sun on your back. Wink.  Do you pick up any and all shells you come across?  Or just certain ones?  Do you pick up even the broken ones? I can’t tell you how many broken shells I have picked up but then end up throwing them back down in the sand.  
Aren’t we blessed that God picks us up, loves us, and accepts us just the way we are? Isaiah 43:4 says we are precious and honored in His sight, and...He loves us!  Isn’t it even neater that He loves us so much that He won’t leave us broken, like the way He found us? (I can’t help but think of a project we just did the other day with all different kinds of shells...yes, even the broken ones.) Ephesians 2 reminds us that we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Jesus Christ!  According to Isaiah 62:3, we are a crown of splendor in His hand, a royal diadem in the hand of Our God!  Do you let Him change you?  Do you let Him mold you into the person He wants you to be? “We are the clay; He is the potter” Isaiah 64: 8.  
So many thoughts came to mind as I walk the shoreline praising our Amazing Creator!
While discussing this, the song that came to Carter’s mind was “Beautiful Things” by Gungor.  See the lyrics below.
This is a HUGE shell I found while strolling the beach with a friend.  I could only see about 2 inches of it.  Reached for it, tugged at it, rocking it back and forth in the sand until it came loose.  Couldn't believe it was a full conch shell, critter-free!  (The pencil is for size-comparison.)
“Beautiful Things”
All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all
Chorus:
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You
Repeat Chorus 2x
You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new
You are making me new
Chorus 2x
You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

Listen to "Beautiful Things" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uumI-PdeZzY

All About Him


A couple weekends ago, we were out enjoying the beach for a few hours.  Two days in a row, we spotted dolphins.  Those who know me well know that I have a compassion, interest, and fascination with these beautiful creatures of His.  I got super excited. We strolled at the ocean shore and followed them for a while. Watched them for a long time.  As we looked around, so many folks were in their own little worlds that they totally missed the pod of dolphins.  It was fun pointing the dolphins out to people we walked passed.  Their reactions were priceless, especially the kids.
The next night, we went out to take a walk on the beach.  Seeing the full moon shining on the water was gorgeous.  As we were walking, we were reflecting on our previous dolphin observations.  Some questions that came to our minds were “Do we get that excited to follow Our Father, His word, His guidance?”  “How often are we in our own little world that we miss His voice, what He is trying to show us, and/or how is He leading us?” “Do we share Him and His love with all of the people we come in contact with as well as shine His light on a daily basis?”  

New Beginning


This should have been posted before the “His timing” post.  Oops.  SMILE.  Hope you enjoy reading what God is up to in our lives!
June 23, 2012: A barbecue with family and friends on the marsh was a fantastic time of fellowship.  It was neat to have some family, some of our North Augusta buddies, and some of our new-forming Pawleys Island friends all in one spot.  Fun, fun, fun time!

June 24, 2012...a super special day!  Carter’s installation service for Pawleys Island Presbyterian Church Associate Pastor took place...and boy did it!  It’s rare I don’t know what to say (wink), but this service was beyond words!  Having some of our best friends here to share in this celebration was awesome.  We fought tears as Bob Fuller (a mentor of Carter’s, our pastor from Fairview, and a friend to both of us) delivered an amazing message.  What a challenging sermon Bob preached : we must decrease so that Christ may increase.  So neat to have him be a part of this next stage of our journey within the church.  Seeing the constant support from Fairview, from our family and friends, and from our new PIPC family has been overwhelming.  Again, beyond words.  Listening to the heart-felt advice given to Carter by Bob as well as Rhett (a new pastor friend of ours) put tears in our eyes and even bigger smiles on our faces.  Loved hearing how they stressed not only advice in regards to working for Him in the church, but also the importance of being a godly spouse and one day a father.  I can’t leave out the music...PIPC choir, handbells, Pawleys flute choir...WOW!  The reception following the service with a delicious meal, laughter, and fellowship was fantastic as well!  What a celebration all for His glory!  
After Carter's Installation Service
What a weekend! Memories made!  Cherished times! Thank you to all who played a role in this special time for us as well as those of you who joined us, whether it was in person or through prayers.

God's Timing


“Want to go back in the ocean one more time before we leave,” Carter asked Kristin.
“Sure. Let me finish this chapter,” Kristin replied.
“Sounds great,” Carter happily commented.
Kristin continued reading The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks while Carter continued to dig into his Servolution book.  A shadow quickly went over Kristin’s kindle, and then, SPLAT!!!!!!  She wanted to scream, but all she could do was laugh.  A bird pooped on her right arm.  Gross!  Hilarious!  Off to the ocean we went...before we finished our chapters.  We couldn’t help but say, “Guess God had a different plan and timing in mind!”  (We all have a gazillion stories that can fall under this category, don’t we?)  We randomly laughed all throughout the rest of the day, replaying this bird incident over and over again in our heads.  Have you ever heard people say, “God has a sense of humor?”
On a more serious note, this past week, I can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard some of our new PIPC family members say “Ya’ll coming when you did was definitely His timing.”  For that matter, Carter and I have both said on multiple occasions... “It’s God’s timing.”  To make a long story short, we have hit the ground running here at PIPC.  Never what any of us expected, but hey, we have held on and will continue to hold on as we ride this crazy coaster.  
Frank, our senior pastor, and Gail have two daughters...both handicap.  Abigail is 41, and Joy is 40; however, they are basically like one year old girls.  Joy was admitted into ICU a week ago and has remained in critical condition.  Talk about a challenge for all of us...Frank and Gail, Joy, us, our congregation, and the doctors and nurses treating Joy. Joy can’t communicate and doesn’t understand what is happening.  They had to sedate her to keep her from pulling her respirator off, taking IVs out, pulling the feeding tube, etc.  The trick with sedation and lack of communication is that it’s very difficult to see if she is responding, hurting, etc...whether it be improvements or steps backwards.  Please lift the Holsclaws up in prayers.  
Well, talk about a twist to our slow adjustment and transition to PIPC.  Thank goodness we are here now though…  Carter has stepped up and taken on many duties on Frank’s calendar: keeping the church running, office work, bulletins, staff stuff, meetings, last minute funeral arrangements and service, last minute sermon, and the list goes on.  And he has been so happy and willing to do so.  I have been so proud of him!  With as exhausted as we have been, we can’t help but thank God for giving us the strength, courage, energy, and guidance we’ve needed.  What a blessing it has been to be able to trust and lean on Our Rock!  
What an honor it has been to be there by Frank and Gail’s side at the hospital.  Think about it...pastors (and their wives) are constantly praying for the congregation, for the staff, making visitations to hospitals, and more.  We have been able to switch these duties around and dedicate our time to the Holsclaws for a change.
It’s been a blessing to pray along side of our PIPC congregation for the Holsclaws.  This is a church full of excited servants and prayer warriors.  At the last minute this past Wednesday, we decided to cancel our “Movie night” and make it “Prayer Time” instead.  A church-wide email was sent out only a couple hours before...and over 125 people came to this prayer service.  Amazing!  Awesome!  ‎"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20.  Our God is greater, our God is stronger. God You are higher than any other. Our God is Healer, awesome and power. Our God, Our God…
Joy’s vital signs (heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure) are back in the normal range.  Her cardiologist is super hopeful.  Her pulmonary specialist not so much.  Roller coaster of emotions...yet we are all super full of hope and faith.  We know God’s will will be done.  We got the “baby steps of improvement” update today...the best news we’ve had in over a week!
We appreciate all of your prayers and can’t thank you enough.  We are constantly thanking God for leading us here when He did, for placing ya’ll in our lives, for His love for us and wanting a relationship with us, and for giving us one another.
Once again...It’s totally God’s timing that I forgot to actually “post” this until now.   (Have had it typed up for a few days now.) The latest update on Joy: She is off the respirator and is breathing on her own!!!!!  Thanks be to God!!!  Frank and Gail have finally taken a deep breath and is cherishing their sweet Joy looking at them.  Keep praying until Joy is safely and healthily back at home.

His Team

We still can’t get used to being able to go to the beach whenever we have the time.  Loving it!  (Even if it’s only for an hour or two.)  After a walk and some reading, we went into the ocean for a bit.  Kristin was floating over waves on a boogie board.  We look to our left and there was this HUGE dark spot.  It was moving towards us.  We looked up in the sky thinking it was a cloud.  Ummm...nope.  No cloud in the sky.  Next thing we know, fish started jumping like crazy.  Yes, out of this dark spot.  There’s no telling how many fish were in this school.  Was the neatest thing ever!  Away they swam right in front of us.  Wish you could have seen it.  
At first, when we were chatting, one of us said it’s a “team” of fish, but meant “school.”  Then, like most of our conversations, God became the topic. We related this team of fish to our team of Christian friends and family.  We were talking about how these fish don’t travel alone and how we as Christians aren’t supposed to go on our walk with God alone either.  We are supposed to fellowship with one another, hold each other accountable, and dig deeper into His word together.  Special thanks to our mentors, family, and friends who have been a huge part of His team and run His bases with us.

Continuing To Thank Him


Carter and I continue to praise and thank Our Father through this transitional stage.  We are constantly seeing His hands at work through our lives as well as the lives of others.  Recently, we have explored the zoo, taken walks on the beach, floated over/swam through/and been knocked over by the ocean waves, watched kids dig sand holes and build huge sand art as well as castles, read and dug into scripture together, witness a baby’s baptism at church last Sunday, worked on transforming our place into a home, and our list goes on.  Kristin has been studying some of God’s attributes, and we’ve had some awesome discussions lately about them.  These last couple days, Kristin keeps focusing on God as our Creator.  He created the heavens and the earth; His outstretched arm made the people and animals on this earth. God created us, you and me...just the way He did so that we will glorify Him.  The skies, the ocean, babies, you, me...all proclaim the works of His hands.  
We kept watching a kid on the beach one day.  He dug and dug...until he fit down in his gigantic sand hole that he made over several hours.  You could barely see the tip of his head when he was down in the hole.  He was at the perfect spot until the tide eventually came in.  The hole was filled.  The next day, the beach was clean, hole-free and made anew.  Carter and I were relating this to how as children of God, we confess our sins, and God is so gracious, forgiving, and merciful to wash our sins away to make us clean again.
There are so many more discussions we’ve had through all this: Training up a child, the beauty of His art, why is it so hard to confess our sins sometimes, don’t understand why most people do not take mentoring seriously, how can you not believe in God when you see His beauty through the sunset/sunrise, the ocean, the creatures and people He’s created, etc.
We thank Him for creating the world, the animals, you, and us.  We thank Him for being the builder of everything!  What an awesome Creator He is!

Too Good Not To Share

I was scrolling through my Kindle the other day, and I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about the books and bible studies I’ve enjoyed reading over the last year or so.  In my opinion, these are too good not to share.  If you choose to read one, I hope you enjoy it atleast as much as I did.  I pray that you will be blessed as you take the time to flip through the pages and complete the book and/or the study.  I still reflect often and try to put what all God is teaching me through books, studies, and everyday life into action.
Praying the Attributes of God by Rosemary Jensen
TrueWoman101: God’s Divine Design for Womanhood (Bible Study) by Mary Kassian and Nancy Demoss
You Lost Me by David Kinnaman
Bad Girls of the Bible (Bible Study) by Liz Curtis Higgs
NIV Couple’s Devotional Bible 
A Confident Heart (Bible Study) by Renee Swope
Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Night Light: A Devotional for Couples by James and Shirley Dobson
Most Important Year in a Woman’s Life/The Most Important Year in a Man’s Life by Wolgemuths and DeVries

What A Wonderful Whirlwind

This is only my second blog post.  I am still trying to figure out how to make it "public" so I can share my posts with all of you.  The first one is just a repeat of the "April Update" I emailed out to some of you.

The morning of May 21, 2012...it was bittersweet as we drove away from Pinewood Ct and headed towards Pawleys Island.  When I looked in the rearview mirror after pulling out of the driveway, tears rested in my eyes yet a huge smile on my face as we continued to go where God was calling us.  The excitement outweighed all of the other mixed emotions by far.  What a neat drive we had to our new place. The weather held out! (Was supposed to be a down pour.)  The pastures we passed were full of cows, horses, donkeys, and goats, which I loved watching these messengers of God.  Awesome time catching up with friends on the phone.  Also, I had some cherished quiet time in prayer, conversation, and silence listening to God.

We arrived safely in Pawleys.  God answered prayers in regards to getting last minute help to unload our super full uhaul.  Once again, it was special to see all the support we have already from our church family here!  Talk about welcoming!  Not only was our place cleaned, but we also arrived to a basket full of goodies and yummies in our fridge!  The letters and emails we've received have put even bigger smiles on our faces.

Even though we were leaving our new place a total wreck, we chose to take this "off from work" time to visit our family.  We cherished every minute as we travelled and visited family and friends.  Blessed as we had safe travels to Charlotte, Newnan, Atlanta (The Braves Won!!!!), Cumming, Gainesville, back to Charlotte, Ellerbe, and our return to Pawleys.  We truly enjoyed this time with those we love so dearly.
(I have posted pictures on Facebook from our adventures.)

After being back in Pawleys a couple days and much hard work, boxes are practically unpacked and we can see our floor!  It's starting to feel and look like home.  We've made time for a little exploring of the area as well as taking walks on the beach.  What another beautiful place God has called us to!!!!!!  We couldn't be happier to be here.

Thank you to those of you who lifted up prayers to our last requests (from my email update back in April)!  1-Our departure from North Augusta couldn't have gone better!  Some tears were shed, but support was shown even more.  Holding on to a few upset middle school girls as we sang our last song in Morning Watch May 20 as well as hearing Bob's special words to "dissolve the pastoral relationship"are memories we will keep in our hearts forever. 2-We had renters move into both our NC condo as well as our North Augusta home!!!!!!!!!  Whew!  Praising Him! 3-We still strive to be the children He has designed us and wants us to be!

If you feel led to join us in praying for our newer requests, we'd appreciate it.  1-We're praying for a continual smooth adjustment period (which we have had thus far).  2- Carter starts at PIPC June 17 and is preaching that day.  3-I continue to talk to some vets around here, with hopes of a part time position.  I am trying to remain open minded (ie. I've heard there's a position at the technical college in teaching some science courses.)  I'm praying for His guidance and clarity as I meet new professional folks and keep hearing about various occupational possibilities.

We love you all!  We thank God for each and every one of you and for the way you've touched our lives.  Big group hug.

From The Beach With Love,
Kris and Carter


 

Robinsons On The Move


Our Update from April 17

To be perfectly honest, I could begin and end this with a short and sweet sentence by saying, "God is constantly at work and continues to shower us with blessings!"  Done.  The end.  Ha...just kidding, I won’t do that to you.  
We have news!!!!!!  Guess what?  No, we aren’t pregnant.  Even though we can’t wait until that day comes, we aren’t in a hurry.  We are loving marriage, just the two of us for now.  We couldn't believe we were already celebrating our first anniversary a couple weeks ago!  Our news: (This is a short summary but next time we talk, we can chat more.)  We have accepted a new church call to Pawleys Island, South Carolina.  What a journey we have been on! At the beginning of all this, I was praying for His help to prepare my heart as we headed to Texas. (Carter interviewed with places from TX up to Virginia, all along the SE coast.)  We knew back in Nov/Dec that God was calling us elsewhere, away from Fairview.  We just weren’t sure where or when that “elsewhere” would become clear.  Ya’ll, I have NEVER seen God so clearly at work before!  Talk about adding to my testimony!  Going through this church search as a couple has been amazing and a definite learning experience for both of us. Carter will be the associate pastor at PIPC...with totally different responsibilities and challenges.  Leaving Fairview is going to be full of mixed emotions, but saying “Yes” to God and going where He is leading us is what we are called to do as Christians.  We have had to keep this a secret until last night because he had to announce it to our Session before everyone else.  Boy is it nice to have that weight lifted off our shoulders now.  Great to have finally let the cat out of the bag!
Despite the questions, doubts, and challenges I’ve faced in the veterinary world thus far, I can’t thank God enough for reminding me and giving me confidence that I am right where He wants me right now.  No telling what His plans are for me occupationally, but I am very open-minded about whatever He sends my way.  I have updated my resume as well as CV.  There seems to be a wide range of possibilities ahead: teaching, research, rescue, zoo, aquarium, and what I have dreamed of for as long as I can remember...marine animal work!!!!!!!!!!  We shall see.  Since volunteering and ministering with my husband are still high on my priority list, I am looking for a part time job of some sort.  It’s funny how I always thought I’d be busting my tail in a veterinary clinic working 14+ hours a day, but hey, God’s plan seems to be much better!  Always works that way doesn’t it?
Well, I could type for days, but in closing, please join us in prayer: 
  1. As we continue to tell our youth and church family here that we are answering God’s call and moving elsewhere, 
  2. The selling or renting of a condo in NC as well as our current house here in North Augusta,
  3. And whatever else is laid on your heart as we continue to trust Him and try our best to represent Him as His children.