ann kiemel

Friday, August 31

i have a very bossy friend.
and the problem is, she's very smart.
she never forgets anything, and watches
me as i stumble along in life. i mean, she
has something to say about the way i keep
track of my finances. about my addiction past.
the way i wear my hair. or all the little things i
need to work on. i have learned to be very
still and quiet. to listen, and keep saying,

"i'm sorry. i'm so sorry.
well, will you forgive me?"

"yes, i know i should have handled that situation
better. i fell short that day, for sure."

it is one of the most painful relationships i've ever
had and one of the very best. i can never measure up. never
high enough. her mission is perfection, i think. yet, how
many people who love us really tell us the whole truth as
they see it?

i feel as if i am in the military, and she owns me.
and it is taking all the patience she has to put up
with me. and when i miss something, i have to
figuratively be punished. you know, 100 push-ups
or two miles around the track.

i'm not sure how long this schooling is going to last,
but obviously, God put her in my path to try and shape me.
i truly love her, and she loves me. i am just realizing what
a great disappointment i've probably been to so many people.
my brain moves too fast,and i'm always switching from one
subject to another. i have a few gifts, but in most things, i am
genuinely, mentally challenged. probably it is this way for
all of us. we are each given a couple great strengths, and
the rest requires humility and hard work to cope with.

my friend and i are on opposite ends of a continuum.
i mean, completely different. yet i know she is helping God.
the way He desires me to be. and i am trying
to hang on to the love pieces so the judging won't hurt so much.

if you, too, have a friend like mine,
decide to be thankful. to try and embrace the truth,
and let the other stuff fall away. husbands and wives have
some of this grief, i know, but i think it is easier to hear the truth
from a good friend. marriage has enough struggles of its own.

well, i just want you to know i am
doing my best to be a better person every day.
and when i slip, there is always someoone right there,
besides God, who lets me know. smile. sigh. let's just
keep running this glorious Race, willing for God to bring
into our lives whatever He sees we need.

8 comments:

ShellyAugust 31, 2012 at 5:27 AM
As iron sharpens iron...what a loving friend you are to her, Ann.
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Mary-jeAugust 31, 2012 at 6:30 AM
I have a friend like yours. As well as being bossy, she is a bit hyperactive. Her name is My Conscience.
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Arlene GAugust 31, 2012 at 6:37 AM
It is always humbling to have your faults pointed out and not many of us enjoy it, but self examination is something that is really lacking in most Christians lives today. I am learning that not all criticism is bad for you!! Thanks for the reminder today!
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Karen DeborahAugust 31, 2012 at 12:14 PM
Actually I get a big red flag on this. No one needs to say I'm sorry that often. on overbearing and domineering friend is not always a friend. She needs to lighten up on you. I think you are a treasure the way you ARE!!! Spend less time with her Ann. No one needs to be beat up often.
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Lynn SeveranceAugust 31, 2012 at 9:49 PM
Ann, I pray that this friend also tells you of the gifts that you have and the gift you are to her. If not - then what kind of well rounded friend would always be criticizing and demanding perfection.

Jesus never demands perfection of us. He offers love and acceptance, forgiveness when we mess up and a warmth when reprimanding us. A true friend - one who follows Him - does the same.

I felt sad reading this post. I felt sad that you have put this friend in such a place of identifying you. If what she ever says matches up with what Jesus says of you - then accept it as a means He is using. If not, then softly tell her that she best work on her own log in the eye! THAT is Scriptural.

What does your support group say about such a friend - isn't this also bordering on being co-dependent, Ann? I say that out of concern for your well being. Keep the friend but work on boundaries where you are equal in being yoked in your friendship.

Caring hugs - Lynn
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JodySeptember 1, 2012 at 5:16 AM
This comment has been removed by the author.
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SheilaSeptember 25, 2012 at 8:03 PM
I too am a recovering addict (pills) as well as a recovering food addict. I am careful with whom I surround myself with. My mother was always very accusatory and she still is so I limit my time with her. What happens at times is people in our lives can become "the accusor." We too when we are pointing out others faults can become "the accusor." So please limit your time with her and remember the only person to whom to owe apology to is not her but the Lord. Our walk is one of repentance, but not to others as they point out our faults.

be encouraged my dear sister in the Lord!

Blessings, Sheila in WI
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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, August 31

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