An Inteview of Me by DM

I was surfing some blogs yesterday (this post is meant for Tuesday), and came across an interview on one of my regular blog "waves." This interview was unique in that, 1) you requested to be interviewed, and 2) that after answering the questions, you allow others to request to be interviewed. If this sounds like something you would like to do, here are the rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post containing your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.


DM of Heart to Heart blog has taken on the task of interviewing me. Or maybe I should say, I've taken on the task of being interviewed by him. These are some tough questions! His questions are in blue to identify them more easily.

DM Tell me more about your mother...tell me a story that illustrates what kind of person she was...how do you see yourself like her/ different than her?

SK Well actually, DM, this may be one of the easier questions for me to answer. Though it will be the most difficult for me to answer emotionally. She's only been gone two years now. I think the best way to describe my mother would be to say she was a fighter and a survivor. My mother had rheumatic fever as a child, so her heart health was compromised from a very young age. Her family endured poverty, she was the victim of sexual and physical abuse (though things like that weren't talked about when she was a child.) She had my sister and myself by the time she was 19, so she survived a young motherhood. She became a high rise iron worker at a time when women didn't do that kind of work (she was one of the very first women in our area to ever become one- despite the fact that she was very petite. Only 5 foot 2 at her tallest.) She survived what should have been a fatal attack by her second husband (not my father) At the risk of getting gory on you, he hit her over the head 15 times with a hammer and punctured one of her lungs. She overcame the 2 month coma that resulted from that, she also overcame the complete amnesia she suffered. She had to learn EVERYTHING over again, including that she had two children, how to talk, and how to walk, she obviously overcame the projected prognosis of being "a vegetable" for the rest of her life. Later in her 30's she was diagnosed with cancer and overcame that. She had a gastric bypass to finally rid herself of a decades long obesity problem, but only caused her to end up malnourished. Because of this she had it reversed two years later. I tell you all this to show just how much of a fighter and survivor my mother was. At the time of her passing, she had just been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. All these ailments she suffered and fought against, she did it all it seemed by sheer will power alone. And that was how she dealt with life too. No one could tell my mom that she couldn't do something. How am I like her? Well aside from the fact that we look alot alike (except that I'm MUCH taller), I would say that I am a survivor too. I have been through many hardships and struggles, and yet I've come out the other side. The way we're different? While she used the power of her will to accomplish what she did, I call on the power of the Lord. I know I wouldn't be who I am today without His merciful intercession. Ok, on to the next question, before I get any more weepy eyed.

DM You obviously love to write. What is the best experience you've had as a writer, and what is the worst?

SK Now where did you get that impression?? :) Ok, seriously though, the best and worst experiences I have had as a writer are, strangely enough, one and the same. They are writing my post "The Best Blessing". It is the best because I was able to show God's divine love to others through my suffering, but it was the worst, because it caused me to relive, if only for a moment that EXTREME pain that I was in, at that time of my life. And it caused one of my periods of darkness to overtake me. I suffer from depression, and while I have hope in my Lord at all times, it is during these times when I must literally cling to Him for my sanity's sake.

DM Tell me who are the 5 most influencial people in your life spiritually? (Hint, it could even be an author)


SK Well I know that all Scripture is God breathed, but the apostle Paul, is one of the most influential, because he too, had a thorn in his flesh, and yet he was able to be such a spiritual influence to the beginning churches. That is my wish, to be a spiritual fire for others. My husband would have to be second. We walk this walk together, so he helps me, and I help him. My pastor is also a huge influence. He is always willing to answer questions, no matter whether they pertain to the sermon or not. His willingness to be open and transparent has been a guiding force in my life since I became a believer. My friend Hannah, is also a VERY strong influence. She has much more experience in studying the bible, so when I get stuck, I call on her. She's always willing to lend a helping hand. And she has no problem letting me know when I've stumbled a little. And she does it all with love. I don't know if there is a 5th one, unless all the like minded believers I come into contact with on a daily basis, that help me along in my spiritual walk, can be counted as one.

UPDATE: Readers please see my comment as to why Jesus was not listed in this original list. (Obviously, He is the biggest influence on me spiritually.)

DM This is a parenting question. I know your oldest is currently only 14...but pretend you've made it to her 18th birthday and she is heading off for college in just a couple of days. What final words in a letter would you like to pass on to her before she moves out?


SK Now, why'd you have to go and ask something like that? Don't you know, moms revel in their denial that their kids are growing up. I don't want to think about her leaving home! You can't make me, you cant! You can't! I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I will waterlog my laptop. As Scarlett used to say..."I won't think about it now. I'll think about it tomorrow..."

DM You mention in one of your blogs, you are now a stay at home mom, what are the positive and negative aspects of that decision? If another Christian woman were to come along side of you currently and ask..."Is there anything I can do to help make your job as a stay at home wife/mother any easier, what would you say to them?

SK Show me how to minister to my children by doing this. I know how to clean house, I know how to cook, but help me to understand how this is all a ministry to my children. Especially right now, when they show no gratitude for it. They don't understand that it is a sacrifice to give up outside contact. It is a sacrifice to be responsible for all the household chores. It is a sacrifice to give up the independence that having your own income brings. It is a sacrifice period. Help me to see that though they don't see it, it is still a ministry to them. And help me everyday, to see my way to be grateful for the opportunity to make this sacrifice. Because I want that more than anything. Not for them to be grateful, but for me to be grateful, especially since I chose this option of my own free will.

Thank you DM for such thought provoking questions. That was fun! Blessings to you and yours.


There is no "MORE" to this post. Isn't this enough??? :)