ann kiemel

Friday, May 11

it's 6 a.m.
i'm at a coffee shop by jan and tom's
in sacramento.

new day. new possibilities.
fresh hope. promises of sunrises.
how could we go on without these?!

pray for jan.
she's very discouraged.
is anyone the same after cancer?
even when you are in remission?

fly to washington d.c. next week for
chuck colson's memorial service.
we live...and then, at God's destined moment,
cross over to eternity.
i hope my life has counted in some way like
chuck's did on me.

the sky is clear.
the sun is up.
people are passing
on the sidewalk in front of this window.
life starts early every day. when i ran ten
miles a day, i left at 5:30 a.m. for my ten-mile
run, and was bathed and in my office before
half the world was even awake. i liked that.
but i'm really not an early-morning person.

today, i pray you will feel the breeze on your face.
that you will see God every where you look.
that His peace will fill you. every crack and crevice
of your souls. that you will smile easily at all who pass
your way. that absolutely NO one will look into your faces
and not see the love of God.

find joy. in little things.
like a child skipping by. back-pack in tow.
innocence in every smile.

don't think anyone is below or above you.
you are exactly where God has you, and He
NEVER values one of us more than another.

and know i truly love you.
some, sight unseen. i love you because
you are. and, like me, imperfect every day,
but knowing Christ's vast love covers it all.
take my hand, and never forget that we are
all running this glorious, hard Race together.
and that's how we make it. each helping the
other. i love you all. look for the miracles.
they are coming!!!

5 comments:

Jody MoreenMay 11, 2012 at 9:50 PM
Oh how I love your writing, weaved with ribbons of Hope and Promise and Miracles on the Horizon-you made me SMILE and look Up into the face of Jesus today, Ann. Our Author of JOY and New tommorrows!
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AnonymousMay 12, 2012 at 12:31 AM
hi ann. i met you when i was in high school back in the 80's. read your books. heard you speak once. baked you chocolate chip cookies. you sent me a postcard about it which i still have after all these years. a treasure.

i was happy to find you again recently. then sad to hear your sister was fighting cancer. she has been in my prayers. now i am happy to hear she is in remission, a place i've been hanging out myself. please tell her cheers to her health, and love from me.

just wanted to say hi and tell you that. and that your life has counted to me like chuck's did on you. thank you. love, joulesevans
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pegMay 12, 2012 at 11:03 AM
Ann, My twin told me this morning of your life events....I had read your books years ago and heard you speak once....you did make an impact on my life. The simplicity of your message...loving the people in your world one person at a time. I too married a farmer... I know the stress of debt...seeing the one you love work so hard...the grief of watching my son in destructive behaviors....May our great God of the universe give you hope. Hope for answered prayers, hope for an easier journey through each day,hope for the hopeless. Hugs and more hugs my sweet sister in Christ....Peg de Reus.
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UnknownMay 13, 2012 at 7:40 PM
Hi Ann, No, one is never the same after cancer. It irrevocably changes one's life from what it was before. It makes one absolutely an completely aware of mortality and how fragile life really is. Cancer is never completely "cured" . . . it goes into hiding . . . and keeps one wondering when/if it will reappear. Every little ache and pain, bruise and lump, becomes a reminder of what cancer has done. I'm still going through my cancer journey (Stage IIIb breast cancer) . . . and I know I will never be the same. I don't WANT to be the same. May God be glorified in what HE is doing through my body.
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Ann passed away on March 1, 2014.
A few words about our dear friend:

Ann Kiemel began her ministry as an ordinary girl who was determined to reach her neighborhood for Jesus. She penned her first book, I’m Out to Change My World, while still in her twenties. Millions of readers were moved by her simple faith and her desire to share Jesus in everyday, divine appointments. Despite the lack of any formal publicity, her first book became a bestseller through word-of-mouth.
Ann went on to Author several best-selling books, speaking in coliseums across the country and appearing as a guest speaker on Christian television programs such as the 700 Club, PTL, TBN, and Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power. Ann has been featured numerous times on Dr. Dobson’s Focus on the Family radio broadcasts, most recently as an expert on single parenting.

Although Ann shared the stage with some of the most well-known and influential Authors and Speakers in the world, she is remembered most by her humble presentation. Quietly seated on a stool in the middle of a large platform, she would begin…“Hi, I’m Ann. I am one simple woman in the world. I have never shaken hands with the President. I cry. Sometimes I am insecure. I am only one, but I have come tonight to tell you I am one… and Jesus and I and love are out to change the world.” Thousands of attentive fans sat on the edge of their seats, hanging onto her every word, laughing and crying together as Ann declared her love for a personal Lord…One who walked with her and talked with her on lonely days. She ran marathons, singing simple little songs to fellow runners with one overwhelming hope in mind – to win others to Jesus by building bridges to them. Her rare vulnerability and genuine faith in brighter tomorrows inspired others to dream big and believe that with God, they too, could make a difference in their world.

Some people consider Ann Kiemel to be one of the most authentic voices in the Christian community. Others refer to her as a best-selling Author of seventeen books, many of which have been passed on as inspirational classics over the past three decades. Bottom line: Ann was a gifted Author and Speaker who had a pure heart and a vision for what an extraordinary God can do in the lives of ordinary people.

After many years as a successful Speaker and Author, God answered Ann’s yearning for a husband at the age of thirty-five. Several years and many miscarriages later, Ann became the mother of four adopted sons, revolutionizing the way that many viewed open adoption. Soon thereafter, Ann realized that she had become addicted to pain medication. She entered a thirty-day secular rehab program and discovered that her addiction ran even deeper - she had become addicted to the praise and approval of others. She recounts the loneliness, pain, and ultimate deliverance in her seventeenth book, Seduced by Success – No Longer Addicted to Praise, Pills and Performance.

After offering her inadequacies to the Lord and praying for wholeness, Ann had found her way back to her first love. The heart of her ministry had changed, and Jesus was now the star. Her husband, Will Anderson, would battle cancer for eighteen months, and Ann would become a single mother of four priceless treasures. She held a deep conviction that she, alone, needed to be fully present with her children. With this is mind, she quietly walked away from the stage.

In the fall of 2008, Ann’s youngest last son left home. At the same time, a renewed interest in Ann’s ministry began to develop. Hundreds of thousands of loyal readers began searching for her, longing to hear how God had been working in her life, wanting her message to be heard by the next generation. In response to the interest of her fans, a simple blog was created. People from all over the world began chiming in, supporting one of their favorite best-selling Authors from the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Many of her books are available for purchase on Amazon.com and other places.

Ann was the mother of four boys and lived on the West coast in close proximity to her children and her twin sister, Jan.

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Friday, May 11

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