hi friends! we have a new site! http://kelleystagnaro.wix.com/thestag
see you there.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
No Greater Love.
The Way of Love
13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
tune
A quick, random post to break up the work day, haha. This CD is currently stuck in my car's stereo (literally), and is one of my favorites. May or may not have forced our intern to listen to this song over and over (sorry, erin!), Thought I'd share. Enjoy!
Sunday, June 16, 2013
One Year Ago.
One year ago, almost to date, I wrote my last blog entry. Last night I started looking back at the blog posts from the first year I started writing and was overwhelmed with God's faithfulness. That year of 2011 - 2012 (and first year of marriage) was a season of waiting and growth for me. I remember at the time feeling like life was at a stand-still and was uneasy with the unknown. If you look at my last blog post about job searching, you'll hear my frustration and confusion. But here's what I remember so clearly - He was telling me to wait on Him and on His timing and I knew he was using my lack of control of this situation (and many other circumstances) to begin preparing me for something.
Literally the date of my last post was the week Jacob and I moved to Grant Park and moved around the corner from Amelia. My business partner, but more importantly, now one of my dearest friends. She and I began sharing our backgrounds and experiences as if we'd been friends our entire lives and walked with one another through the hurt and healing we still needed from our pasts. The month of June 2012 was a month of dreaming for her and I as we felt the same calling in our lives. We prayed for the day God might provide the opportunity for us to serve women who were in "the life" of prostitution. 28 days after Jacob and I moved to the city God provided a way. Amelia and I had been working on incorporating a nonprofit organization that later became known as BeLoved ATL. June 28, 2012 we received our incorporation and began asking Him to reveal the next step. We quickly learned that His revealing only one step ahead rather than His entire plan brought us to a level of trust we had never experienced. Four months after being incorporated we received a donation to go on staff full-time, and a little over three months ago, He brought us a home and two residents!
I won't go into all of the details of BeLoved's story but I just kept looking at my past posts in tears. I had such little faith at the time. Yes, I waited, but I really doubted how tailor-made his plan for the next year of my life would be. I think back to the moments he challenged my faith and trust in Him. Oftentimes I failed, looking to Jacob to fulfill me or becoming depressed from my inability to provide for my family. I was hurting, and I wallowed in that. And yet, God brought joy and called me despite my weaknesses. Isn't that so like Him?
Being able to experience God through our girls has been, no doubt, the most humbling, challenging, and joyful time in my life. Some days I just cry in thanks, and sometimes from exhaustion. Some days I'm consumed by thoughts, still afraid that if I fail personally, I fail these girls, our organization, my teammates and even my husband. It's then that He challenges me to rest in Him and his promises. He is truly the only reason BeLoved exists and I pray each day that He receives the ultimate glory.
Last year, I also wrote a lot about Jacob and his time in Physical Therapy school. The stress, time commitment and challenges it brought to him personally and to us as a first-year married couple. I never thought I could look back and say this, but if I could recommend one thing to make you grow-up in general, grow in Christ and in character, I recommend getting married young and broke (haha, but seriously..) Obviously, no one prefers to live under constant stress, but now that we have weeks in a row where we aren't under that stress and are actually becoming comfortable in our lives, we start to lose the constant need to trust in God and miss it. Stolen cars, barely enough money to pay rent, starting nonprofit organizations instead of getting a paid job...haha.. Seriously, never thought I would say those words. But even so, God has done more than we could have asked and has shown us how temporal those materialistic things are. A lesson I had personally never really learned before now.
On the physical therapy side of things, I couldn't be more proud of Jake. He will be graduating August 3rd from PT school and has already received a position at Physiotherapy Midtown. Again, something we had prayed for despite being told he could never find a job in the city as a new grad. I think he's most excited that he can ride his bike down the Freedom Trail to work, which is pretty awesome. It's been three years in the making and he's finally almost done! Praise God!
The last thing I noticed from my posts one year ago was my tone and how hard I was on myself. Something I've learned through starting a business is the necessity of forgiving yourself and others for moments of error and moving forward, without judgement or grudges. I am typically quick(ish) to forgive others but continually become consumed with my faults and insecurities. I miss the joy God intends for me to experience daily. It's taken me many years to get to a place of surrender and forgiveness of myself, my selfishness, shame, and insecurities I've placed onto others. So, this past year I began meeting with a christian counselor. About 10 months ago, I began to experience a little gem known as panic attacks and was encouraged to seek help. Soon after, I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder and my counselor began working with me to dissect why I couldn't move forward but kept living through my failures, my past and allowed anxiety to consume me. How could I tell the girls of BeLoved to accept God's grace and not be consumed in worry if I couldn't grasp the concept myself?
love, the stagnaros
Literally the date of my last post was the week Jacob and I moved to Grant Park and moved around the corner from Amelia. My business partner, but more importantly, now one of my dearest friends. She and I began sharing our backgrounds and experiences as if we'd been friends our entire lives and walked with one another through the hurt and healing we still needed from our pasts. The month of June 2012 was a month of dreaming for her and I as we felt the same calling in our lives. We prayed for the day God might provide the opportunity for us to serve women who were in "the life" of prostitution. 28 days after Jacob and I moved to the city God provided a way. Amelia and I had been working on incorporating a nonprofit organization that later became known as BeLoved ATL. June 28, 2012 we received our incorporation and began asking Him to reveal the next step. We quickly learned that His revealing only one step ahead rather than His entire plan brought us to a level of trust we had never experienced. Four months after being incorporated we received a donation to go on staff full-time, and a little over three months ago, He brought us a home and two residents!
I won't go into all of the details of BeLoved's story but I just kept looking at my past posts in tears. I had such little faith at the time. Yes, I waited, but I really doubted how tailor-made his plan for the next year of my life would be. I think back to the moments he challenged my faith and trust in Him. Oftentimes I failed, looking to Jacob to fulfill me or becoming depressed from my inability to provide for my family. I was hurting, and I wallowed in that. And yet, God brought joy and called me despite my weaknesses. Isn't that so like Him?
Being able to experience God through our girls has been, no doubt, the most humbling, challenging, and joyful time in my life. Some days I just cry in thanks, and sometimes from exhaustion. Some days I'm consumed by thoughts, still afraid that if I fail personally, I fail these girls, our organization, my teammates and even my husband. It's then that He challenges me to rest in Him and his promises. He is truly the only reason BeLoved exists and I pray each day that He receives the ultimate glory.
Last year, I also wrote a lot about Jacob and his time in Physical Therapy school. The stress, time commitment and challenges it brought to him personally and to us as a first-year married couple. I never thought I could look back and say this, but if I could recommend one thing to make you grow-up in general, grow in Christ and in character, I recommend getting married young and broke (haha, but seriously..) Obviously, no one prefers to live under constant stress, but now that we have weeks in a row where we aren't under that stress and are actually becoming comfortable in our lives, we start to lose the constant need to trust in God and miss it. Stolen cars, barely enough money to pay rent, starting nonprofit organizations instead of getting a paid job...haha.. Seriously, never thought I would say those words. But even so, God has done more than we could have asked and has shown us how temporal those materialistic things are. A lesson I had personally never really learned before now.
On the physical therapy side of things, I couldn't be more proud of Jake. He will be graduating August 3rd from PT school and has already received a position at Physiotherapy Midtown. Again, something we had prayed for despite being told he could never find a job in the city as a new grad. I think he's most excited that he can ride his bike down the Freedom Trail to work, which is pretty awesome. It's been three years in the making and he's finally almost done! Praise God!
The last thing I noticed from my posts one year ago was my tone and how hard I was on myself. Something I've learned through starting a business is the necessity of forgiving yourself and others for moments of error and moving forward, without judgement or grudges. I am typically quick(ish) to forgive others but continually become consumed with my faults and insecurities. I miss the joy God intends for me to experience daily. It's taken me many years to get to a place of surrender and forgiveness of myself, my selfishness, shame, and insecurities I've placed onto others. So, this past year I began meeting with a christian counselor. About 10 months ago, I began to experience a little gem known as panic attacks and was encouraged to seek help. Soon after, I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder and my counselor began working with me to dissect why I couldn't move forward but kept living through my failures, my past and allowed anxiety to consume me. How could I tell the girls of BeLoved to accept God's grace and not be consumed in worry if I couldn't grasp the concept myself?
"Voices of accusation are not from Me..My Spirit convicts cleanly, without crushing words or shame..Since I dwell in you, you are fully equipped to be holy." (Jesus Calling, Sara Young).Learning the act of forgiveness has been a long process for me personally, but I can sense the Lord changing my heart with each day. I am choosing joy over anxiety (no panic attacks for 5 months now!) and am thankful to my team who has been such a source of encouragement during this season of healing. I know that my God is faithful and I'm prayerful that He will continue to transform each of our thoughts towards his grace - constantly reminding us that we are his children, His beloved.
love, the stagnaros
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ."
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
april, may and june!
Our spring in photographs. Birthdays, beach trips,one year anniversaries, crafts, new homes and all.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
waiting
The past
month has been a difficult and confusing but has also provided much joy and perspective.
Jacob and I have been blessed with finding a church – yes, I finally gave up
control and allowed him to lead our relationship. After months and months of “church
– hopping” I let Jacob have complete say in where we should visit that Sunday
and he told me about a church he’d wanted to go to since we started looking.
Obviously, I felt ashamed and guilty for my craving control having such a
selfish affect but am so happy and thankful for where he led us.
And this
story only gets crazier – the first day at this church we not only knew this is
where we would serve but an opportunity to rent a home in Grant Park was given
to us by one of the many friendly faces at the end of the sermon. The house is
beautiful, in our budget and we are surrounded by the church community and
other friends and family who live in Atlanta. God provided a home and a church all in one
month. I’m not sure if we had mentioned this before but we had exactly 29 days
to find a place to live before our lease was up when we were told about the
house and things were finalized only two weeks before our move. God’s timing is
perfect and way more spontaneous and daring then mine :)
On another
note, our confusion and difficulties were brought on by what seems like a never-ending
search in my finding a job. I know that after waiting an entire year I should
just settle for any type of job, even if I don’t necessarily like it, but I
feel so strongly that he wants me to wait and trust that He will provide a job
that is a great fit for me. I’ve watched all of my friends receive jobs and
have worked so hard in my current role and yet I feel as if I’ve failed.
I learned
that I did not receive the job I thought God has crafted just for me this past
week and was crushed. I posted this verse on twitter Friday morning and felt
every word of it: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those
crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18.
If you
noticed, I had prayed for complete trust in God in my last few posts and I am getting
to experience that now. After a few days of freaking out I can say it is now a strangely
calming place to be. When I first learned about the position being filled I
cried for God to save me. I also asked for him to transform my heart to
sincerely believe that my confidence and identity is not found in my ability to
find a job, but is found in Him alone. I’ve had the chance to begin looking
back on the past months and have seen how frantic I was to find a position, any
position, but at the time felt like I was trusting God completely. I wasn’t. Now
that I’m actually listening, I know he is telling me to just WAIT. I could end
up waiting 2 weeks or even another full year – it’s not up to me but I’m
waiting none the less.
I’m hopeful
that one day I will find peace and knowledge in understanding his perfect
timing and am thankful that he has provided what actually matters – a church
home, relationships, and a circumstance where literally all I can do is trust
Him and take my eyes off myself. All things Jake and I have
prayed for since being married. Thank you, Lord for your unfailing love and for
reminding me time and time again that your power is made perfect in
weakness.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Love, the
stagnaros
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