I love rain. Like love, love, love rain. A few years ago I was on Pinterest trying to find a rain meme to share and I discovered there is a word for someone who loves rain. Come to find out, I’m a Pluviophile. Sounds fancy, don’t it? I always knew I was fancy. My son and his friends even call me “Fancy” after that Reba song. How does it go?

“Here’s you one chance Fancy, don’t let me down”…………Thank GOD that God doesn’t give us only one chance. I don’t know about y’all, a few of us would be in trouble.

It’s been raining so much here lately. And yes, I love it, but without all this flooding. We’re about to float away over here in North Alabama. Roads washing away, peoples boat docks just breaking loose and floating on out into the wild blue yonder. But you know what, “stuff” can be replaced. Roads can be repaired. But what about these folks who have flooded their life? Their relationship with their family? Your future? Some of you don’t even have hope. You’ve let them float on out too.

But Jesus has covered you the entire time. An umbrella and a raincoat and cute rain boots might have been a bonus, but they weren’t a necessity. He covered us! Granted, our hairdo might have been ruined and our britches got wet, but I got a feeling ain’t none of that gonna matter in Heaven. I am hoping in Heaven my hair stays “did” just like I like it all the time. Man, that’s worth going for right there!! She’s a lot younger than I am, and I sure don’t wish for her to go to Heaven anytime soon, but when we DO go, I sure hope my hairdresser Rosie can bunk with me. Cause I can’t ever fix it like she does. Get home looking all good and then you fix it yourself and it looks like hammered doo. Real talk. Her and her magic hair brush she uses. Makes me mad. Perfect hair in Heaven. Put that on your list of reasons why you wanna go to Heaven.

James 1:6 says: “But he must ask in faith without ANY doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.” That’s good stuff, y’all. Especially if you’ve ever been knocked down in the ocean by a big wave. I must have been doubting on my last beach vacation, because I’m telling y’all I almost went to meet Jesus. We’re all out there having a big ole time, and in comes some waves that knocked us down. My husband is standing there (bc he was the only one left standing which means he was trusting in the Lord, not doubting), and he’s trying to save me and his partner at the same time. If you know any guys in law enforcement, you know that #bluelinefamily mess is serious biz. I remember thinking, you better help me, Lord, because he’s gonna save his partner first. I lost my hat. His partner lost his hat AND his sunglasses. And those waves just KEPT rolling in. Relentless. Kinda life life does us sometimes.

How many out there think they’re at the back of the line? Getting the scraps from everyone else? Remember how fun it was to be the “line leader” in elementary school? How important we felt? I think my mean little red headed self probably stuck my tongue out at some of them when I was the line leader. I was something else, let me tell you. Listen, if you think for one second that Jesus won’t bring you full circle and back to the front of that line, you’re bad wrong. We ALL got a line leader in us. The only way you’re stuck where you are is if you wanna be stuck. DANCE IN THE STORM YOU’VE CREATED! It ain’t gonna happen overnight. Might even take more than days and weeks. But He has had a plan for you since the moment you were born! TRUST that plan. Even when it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done and you feel like not only are you underwater, but you done drowned.

“Oh, well my Momma did drugs”. “I can’t pay my fines”. “My husband left me” (Lord help I got a whole book on that one I could write. Shew, Jesus get ahold of my tongue right now. “My family is poor and I don’t know no different”. “I wasn’t raised in church”. We could go on and on all day about all them odds stacked against you. But you know what? Every single good and bad experience in your life brought you to where you are today. You still breathing? Good. That means you ain’t too far gone.

Repeat after me: TELL THE DEVIL THAT HE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU OUT WHEN HE HAD THE CHANCE!!! Right now. Go outside and scream it into the air. Speak it into existence. Get better not better. Get powerful and not pitiful. Can y’all tell I been listening to some Kim Pothier #realtalkkim this week? That girl can PREACH!!!!

Psalms 83:15 “So pursue them with your tempest and TERRIFY them with your storm.”

Dance in that storm you’ve created. Chase after the good things, and be relentless when you grab a hold of something good. Sobriety. Prayer life. A healed relationship with your family. Your marriage. A Godly relationship.

Remember that song “I am woman hear me roar”? Roar, ladies. I have folks that tell me all the time, “Well, you just speak your mind”, and “What you see is what you get with Ms Kim”. 98% of the time that’s truth. But I had a preacher one time say “Being outspoken is not always a virtue”. Sitting in a little ole Church of Christ in Pikeville. Felt like I had a big ole spotlight on my head. Could have crawled under the pew. And I’ve carried that statement with me many times. Contrary to popular belief, I do turn on the filter every now and then. Folks either love me or hate me. And I’m good with that. Because I would fight a grizzly over the folks I love. And if just ONE person gets something out of something I say, that’s what it’s all about. #eachonereachone

The bible says every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess. Gonna answer for every word or deed. Now, folks, this scares me. My best friend tells me all the time that I’m mean for sport. Now, 9 times out of 10 when I play a mean joke, it’s just that. A joke. But I ain’t gonna lie and say some of them times I ain’t playing. I get mad. That mouth overloads my hind end sometimes. I’m gonna answer for that. Can I go ahead and ask that no one I know go to Heaven the same day or time I do? First off, it’s gonna take a while. Secondly, you know it always sounds 10x worse when someone else is telling something about you or what you did. I can just hear me now. “But, God, see, I was just mad then. I didn’t mean it”. I’m gonna hush now because just the thought is causing me anxiety.

Has anyone prayed today? Sit and think about that prayer for a second. Was it a prayer of hope or was it fear based. Too many times are prayers are fear based. Can you imagine what He could do for us if we reached down inside of ourselves and started preaching prayers of belief and certainty. Give Jesus and your prayers the attention that you’ve given those bad things in your life. I truly believe we can speak bad circumstances into existence. Think it but don’t speak it. Please. At least when you’re talking to God. Talk to Him with faith and grace and BELIEF.

Know what else the bible tells us? There is power in numbers. Where 2 or more gather in His name, there is love. Not hate, sorrow, jealousy or bitterness. Love. Grab a friend you know who is struggling and pray with them. Speak life into one another. I tell the ladies in the jail all the time these 2 things. Now, granted, these are just Ms Kim’s opinion:

1. If you can’t stay clean in this jail, there ain’t no hope once you get outside these doors.
2. If you can’t lift each other up in here and wish blessings on one another, you ain’t gonna have a Godly mindset when you leave here either.

Acts 27:15 “and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be driven along”.

I just had an “aha” moment and realized this verse is where that song “Jesus take the Wheel” came from. Well, what about that?…………..”Take it from my hands, save me from this road I’m on”. And He will. Now don’t get all technical on me and ask me “But HOW, Ms Kim”???? Cause I ain’t even gonna lie and say I know how. I just know that He can and does. I know because there are words in the bible that are written in RED. That means they came out of Jesus’ mouth. Good enough for me. Red, red, red. If it’s red, bank on it.

Ok, I kinda strayed away from the storm part. Matthew 5:45 says that He rains on the just and the unjust. It don’t say church deacons and nice people get the sunshine and that mean people and criminals get the rain. I daresay every one of us has taken part in unjust behavior in our life. Yet He still shines. And that be of good cheer business? He didn’t mean just when things are going your way. He means even in the storm. Rain blowing all over your face. And hair. Shoes soaking wet. Be of good cheer. GET UP AND START PRAISING YOURSELF OUT OF THIS PIT THAT YOU’RE IN!! Give the ones around you a little praise while you’re at it.

Proverbs 10:25

“When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the Righteous has an everlasting foundation”.

Everlasting. That’s what I’m talking about.

Later, y’all.