Kelli Trontel

Wow. Never did I think that I would lose both my dad and younger sister within five months. It seems like yesterday when I received the call about my dad [on June 15th] and was completely shocked to receive a call about Melissa [on November 14th]. The image above is the very last photo that I took of my sister…just this past August. Isn’t she beautiful?!

I wrote a blog about my sister last January- on her 30th birthday- you can read it here.

Melissa was a warrior and a lover of life. She knew how fragile life really is and rarely put anything off “until tomorrow.” Goodness, such a lesson that I want to learn and take seriously. Even though the odds were stacked up against her from the day she took her first breath on this earth- she lived each day to the fullest. The doctors even spoke death over her life at birth. However, this did not dictate the way Melissa would choose to live her life. There was no other option other than to live it. And to live it well. To endure whatever may come her way.

Melissa has finished her race and is now in the arms of Jesus. She has been reunited with our dad and her body has been made new. She is whole. She has received her healing!! My sisters and I were really believing that this year would be a BIG one for Melissa, but little did we know how big it really would be. She has seen the face of God and is in His presence! Pretty incredible.

I wanted to THANK YOU all for loving me [once again] through this season in life. These are the moments that you think you can never make it through, but I am. God is Faithful and He is Extravagant Love.

Melissa loved that I did a video blog for my dad….so I thought it was only appropriate [and an honor] to record a video for MY SISTER. I’ll be posting the video tomorrow….so be sure and check back!

I pray that you all have a very Merry Christmas and be intentional about all of your relationships. Life is short. So very short.

XOXO

I am so excited to help launch the latest fabulous project by Creature Comforts, the Gifted Magazine. Ez has become a sweet friend and I was honored to receive the call to contribute to this BIG IDEA.

My contribution was another fantastic collaboration with my dear friend, butterflyspArks!

We spent a few days here in Whitefish, Montana to create an early “Woodland Wonderland.” We could not have done this without some of our favorite etsy sellers! A BIG THANK YOU TO::

Red Velvet Art

OhMyDeer

Love, California

Monkeys On The Roof

The Fabled Needle

Jane Joss

LayerXLayer

My Adobe Cottage

Kitschy Galore

Slave of the Passions

Mema

Monkeys Always Look

Ez, I love everything that you dream up and create. You are a true artist and one that is constantly inspiring me. Thank you for this opportunity. It was an honor to collaborate with you!

**HURRY! Go and check out the festive projects, awesome freebies, delightful interviews, and a mega gift guide that will hopfully inspire and delight you throughout the Holidays!

XOXO

I’m super excited to announce a special giveaway hosted by Kat Davis from The Daily Verse! I signed up to receive her encouraging emails over 5 years ago….so it’s pretty exciting to be able to talk about something that has grown from an email subscription to a BOOK!! I love seeing ideas grow.

While I was in Nashville last week, I had the opportunity to spend a little bit of time with Kat and aside from taking some new headshots of her….she answered a few questions for me. I wanted you to get to know her and the story behind The Daily Verse.

THE GIVEAWAY::
For a chance to win your own DAILY VERSE book [and yes, I already bought mine!!!], sign your name below and tell me who/what encourages you in life. Giveaway is open until Wednesday.

ONE ON ONE with Kat::
WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME?
The actual title “The Daily Verse” didn’t become called that until I had been doing The Daily Verse for about 8 months or so; when I started it out, I didn’t “call” it anything – one of my friends encouraged me to call my commentary “Kat’s Korner” so that people would know that it was me offering the commentary. So I did that for a while and when I started working at ForeFront Records, a web-guru friend of mine named Josh Snyder insisted that I “buy a domain” – which at that point (remember, we’re talking 10+ years ago!) I didn’t even know what that meant – but I thought I’d keep it simple and just call it what it was/is “The Daily Verse” – and that’s how it got it’s name!

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH IT?
Just before graduating college, I had just come into a relationship with Christ. I grew up going to church, and I knew about Jesus, but I didn’t actually have a relationship with Him that I was aware of. Several months later, I had the opportunity to move to Nashville, and when I did I didn’t have any friends or family around me – so I spent a lot of time alone and in prayer. I would get up every morning and drive to work, and I’d sit out in the parking lot from 7:00am until 8:30am and do different Bible studies, etc. I started to get really passionate about the things I was learning about God and the Word and was just busting the seams to share what I was learning – so I picked 3 of my fellow intern-friends and started to send them a short “blurb” about what I was learning each day. My little blurbs started getting talked about with other people in the building, and before I knew it, I had 30+ people expecting to hear a “good Word” from my studies each morning. So, in hindsight, it totally happened without me intending to happen – but I’ve decided to stay a good steward of it, and just as it started, people just kind of spread the word about it via word-of-mouth and I’ve got several thousand subscribers to my daily email list. The nice thing about it is that it doubles as an accountability measure for me – in order to send out The Daily Verse everyday, I have to be in the Word – so it’s a nice thing for people to receive, but much like God’s character, I’m being blessed in the process, too!

DID YOU EVER THINK THAT YOUR EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS WOULD GROW AS MUCH AS THEY DID? AND EVEN BETTER….AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A BOOK?
I had no idea they’d grow as much as they have; I haven’t actually started doing any “intentional marketing” about The Daily Verse until this past year – once I decided to self-publish a book. And it’s kind of funny – I’ve always wanted to write a book, but have always said “I’m not sure what I’d write about.” A few years ago, my Mom said to me, “Well, Kat, don’t you have several years worth of content?” – and it hit me like a ton of bricks! I had my book already written – all I had to do was put it together! I’m so glad I did – and now I want to keep writing – perhaps Volume 2 is in the works!

WHEN/HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT THE DAILY VERSE WAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT YOU NEEDED TO BE DEVOTED TO FULL TIME? [was there a transition?] I send out my daily encouragements to my fellow intern-friends for about a month before I realized that people were actually looking forward to getting them, and if they didn’t, they felt they were missing something they enjoyed helping them start our their day. So, I’d say it was about a month before I realized that I’m going to “do this” – and I’ve always said to God, “If I’m supposed to stop doing this, I’m going to trust You to show me.” So far, He hasn’t pulled the plug, so I’m continuing to do it!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE VERSE? Wow that’s a hard question – I guess I’d have to say that it’s the first Scripture I learned after I came to know Christ; when I came to know Him, it was in the midst of a crisis in my life – and I asked my friend who had taught me about having a relationship with Jesus, “Is there anything in this book called the Bible that talks about asking for protection when you’re afraid someone is out to get you?” – and of course, there is plenty in the Bible about that – but the passage she led me to was Psalm 91 – so I’d have to quote that as my favorite, however some others that would vy for first place would be Jeremiah 29:11,12 and Isaiah 40:31.

WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? Ha ha – well, that question! A lot makes me smile; I’m a pretty intense, passionate person and I love to laugh and have fun. My love language is words of affirmation, so if anyone tells me something that is (geuninely) nice or complimentary, I can’t help but smile; my dog Molly Pigg makes me smile every time I see her or think about her; I love her like a child. My job makes me smile – I’m so honored to get to do what I do and work with the people I work with that I’m constantly amazed at how blessed I am – every time I think about it, I smile. My family and friends make me smile. Awkward moments make me smile…and I have a lot of them! Warm weather makes me smile and coming home from traveling always makes me smile – there’s no place like home! When I realize that something God has done through me has impacted someone, that REALLY makes me smile…that’s probably the big one right there.

…..Kat, THANK YOU so very much for your time. You have encouraged me more than you will ever know. It was an honor to photograph you and to hear more about your beautiful story. Congrats again on the book! XOXO

You can sign up for the DAILY VERSE here.
You can order the BOOK here.

*****CONGRATS TO SHAUNA for winning the DAILY VERSE*****
Thank you EVERYONE for joining in on the discussion of what INSPIRES you! All of your comments were beautiful and so meaningful. Thank you for sharing your hearts. XOXO

L O V E D.
This is exactly how Reed and I felt as we put closure to one season and celebrated the beginning of something NEW with our dear friends in Nashville, before we moved across the country.
I hate goodbyes. I am such a cry baby. And everyone knew it that evening. Along with the tears was plenty of laughter and for those that know me….REALLY KNOW ME……I love to laugh! The evening was perfect in every way.

T H A N K Y O U ‘ S
I just want to thank my dear friends Alison Hillenbrand and Heather Marvin for hosting such a wonderful get together and for making such wonderful desserts- you girls know how to throw a party! All of the [AMAZING] food was provided by Ralph Dumphy [the GM at Big River Brewery]- who just so happens to be the best boss that I had ever ever worked for!

P H O T O G R A P H E R S
Oh there were many of you and everyone pitched in to help document the evening. Thank you miss Sara Harper for documenting the details and for thinking about doing a video! I LOVED it! And to Amy Connor and David Molnar for taking all the photos that I wanted with EVERYONE there!

Such powerful words and prayers were spoken over us and I am beyond thankful for the honesty of our friends who shared, without reserve. This very evening confirmed all of my ranting about the importance of having a community of people in your life. People that know you. People that love you. People that support you. Goodness, it’s such a beautiful picture in life. An important one too!

I could say something about each and every person in the photos below, but this post could get SUPER LONG! It was an honor to live life with you….and those who weren’t able to make it out that night. You are family to us and we love you dearly.

XOXO,
kelli&reed