What's up guys,
I am so excited to report to you that I am married now!! The
last few weeks have been a blur, and I missed writing to you last week, but I
thought it was okay since I was on my honeymoon with my beautiful Bride. J Our Wedding was the
most meaningful “Kairos” moment of my life, with the exception of being
introduced to Jesus, and the day went above and beyond all that we could ask or
imagine. We were very grateful and humbled by all your prayers, comments, and
encouragement, and to be surrounded by all of friends and family on our big
day. I was actually very nervous standing in front of all those people, but as
soon as the doors popped open and I saw my beautiful Miss coming to me I was
ready to rock and roll. We had a video made, which was good for me because I
have had trouble remembering all the little details, and we will be sharing it
on our Facebook Pages as soon as it is complete. The biggest thing for both of
us was all the love poured into our big day by so many people who gave so much
of themselves to make it a blessing to all of us. My Staff Katered the
Rehearsal Dinner and it was a huge success. The food was off the chain, and
Chef Bob and his crew did an outstanding job at our reception. I’ve never
received so many glorious comments about the food. I would also like to give a
shout out to Steve Longenecker, My Pastor, Mentor, Friend, and so much more for
giving us a beautiful ceremony that many people said was the most special one
they have ever attended. We spent the first part of last week in Seaside,
Florida and the last part of the week in North Alabama at a place called
Gorham’s Bluff. We thoroughly enjoyed our week and I loved having a whole week
to enjoy spending time loving on my Wife. It was incredible. I’m sure I’ll have
more details to come!
Next week is Mothers Day! I want to let you know that Kairos
will be hosting our Annual Mothers Day Lunch, which is always a huge success!
This is really the only Sunday that I enjoy opening the Kafe to honor all the
Momma’s out there! The Seating starts at 12:20 and goes on until 2:30. We would
prefer that you make reservations, but if you forget just come on anyways! I am
working on the menu tonight and I will get it out to you in a separate e-mail
tomorrow. Forgive me for being late. I have been busy getting myself married to
the most beautiful woman on the planet, and loving on her J All your favorite
delicious goodness will be on the menu though! And I am so excited to be
cooking in my kitchen at Kairos Kafe! I hope to see you this week, and as long as they last we have some
leftover wedding favors for you guys in the Kafe. We gave out the salt &
pepper shakers that were taken from Kairos Kafe Gardendale as gifts. If it hadn’t
been for that experience Haley and I would have never met each other, so we
thought that was a neat favor. There are many left though that I want you guys
to have, so come and see me this week!
This week, in lieu of my thoughts I want to share with you
guys a previous blog entry. It was written on the eve of my 40th
Birthday, and Haley and I read it together the day after our wedding. We
thought it was amazing. And I think you will appreciate it. As you read though
be reminded that I am still 40 years old, but at the time I didn’t have my
sights on marriage, but somehow Jesus made all these good things happen...
Suddenly! Be encouraged by His Plan, and God Bless you as you follow Him this
week!
“Monday, July 2, 2012
Mixed Emotions…Come-Aparts… Jeremiah29:11
I really feel compelled to write today. I’m not even sure
why and I guess I really don’t have to have a reason. It amazes me that when
something is bugging me or eating at me how writing is like therapy for my
soul. I know many of you read my newsletter each week and I appreciate all the
feedback. Today however, I don’t really want to write about delicious food and
all the reasons I love being a Chef…Today is the eve of my 40th Birthday… It’s
weird because in my mind I had a plan or an idea about what life would be like
when this monumental occasion came to pass… I would already be married… with a
bunch of little Joneses running around … married to the woman of my
dreams…running a thriving restaurant … participating in some kind of awesome
ministry...etc.
Isn’t it interesting though that life doesn’t always turn
out the way we planned it… this past week I saw a Facebook post with a picture
of the Time Machine from the 80’s Classic “Back to the Future”. The date that
Marty McFly entered in was this past week in 2012… funny though, if you watch
the movie and see all the predictions for 2012 none of them were very accurate.
It echoed my own thoughts and feelings about how life should be when I turned
40…
Very Inaccurate.
This past week has been pretty hellish for me. I always
dreamed of running a restaurant, and although I love Kairos and all the
positive things happening over the past five years it has also been the hardest
thing I have ever tackled in my life. I have witnessed many miracles along the
way of “building relationships around food” but the obstacles have been
incredible. There have been many times
that I would have given up and thrown in the towel if it had not been for all
the people who invested their time and money in this dream of mine. It has been
a very humbling and rewarding experience, but somehow, in my mind, I wonder if
it will ever get an easier.
For some reason finances make me wacky. I trust Jesus in
just about every other area of my life, but for some reason with money and
finances I must honestly say that I do not. For instance, I know that God will
protect me. I have no qualms about this. I am able to walk through any Maximum
Security Prison without fear and encourage those guys. Even when it seems
threatening I am able to laugh it off because I know that Jesus sent me there
for a reason, and I know He won’t let any harm come to me. Maybe I know that
because I lived there once and he proved himself to me in that area of life. So
I know that he has my back. A few years ago I was hit by a drunk driver who was
traveling at over 100 mph. I walked away from one of the most horrible things I
had ever witnessed with not even a scratch… If I am sick, or have anything
going wrong in my body I have no problem talking to Jesus about it and time and
again He either heals the problem or shows me what to do. Everytime.
I have had people tell me “James you should write your
Testimony…” Testimony?? Which one? If I tried to write down each and every time
that Jesus has worked a miracle in my life I could write from now until my 80th
birthday and never run out of words…
But then there are all these other areas of my life where I
don’t trust him… Finances…Relationships…Business… Don’t get me wrong I WANT to,
but time and again I find myself frozen…unable to act… defeated.
I had one of those weeks this week where everything that
could go wrong seemed to go wrong. Starting our second location was supposed to
be a glorious time… everything would be wonderful… a dream restaurant… instead
it seemed as if everything was turned upside down and the dream turned into a
nightmare… finances not adding up…Staff not working out… customer expectations
for the Gardendale Location not being met…etc. When I came in on Saturday the
temperature in the Dining Room read 88 degrees… all this from an brand new unit
that we spent thousands of dollars to install…it was under warranty, but still,
they couldn’t get out in time for us to open Saturday night…then on Sunday
(which was supposed to be the first day of a much needed Vacation) I had
customers who needed food…so of course I put my plans off for one day to take
care of their needs… But when I went in to cook their food the oven wouldn’t
heat up… what else can happen??? Oh my, I have learned not to say that, but
somehow I did anyways…
After getting the oven fiasco figured out I bent down in a
cooler to take out some gallons of Kairos Southern Sweet Tea and all at once I
pulled a muscle or something in my back and felt the shots of some very
excruciating pain coursing through my body and bringing me to my knees… What
now? I couldn’t call anybody to help…I’m the only one there and all my Staff
are off on Vacation…it was crazy…my mind was teetering… and then through all of
that I hear the simple words “Praise me.” What?? Dear Lord Jesus I love you but
that is the last thing I want to do when things are falling apart!! When I
don’t know what to do. When I don’t have anywhere to turn. The last thing I
want to do is praise you… but there he was saying it again…
What to do? I gritted my teeth, and through the pain in my
body I began to praise Him, and to thank Him for all the wonderful gifts He has
placed in my life. For Kairos, even though things were a mess, for my Staff,
even though we have a lot of challenges and areas that need change, for my
family, even though most times they drive me crazy…
And right there, in the middle of all that, Jesus showed up
and I was able to feel His Presence in a way that I have never felt before… it
was incredible. And I think I learned something about facing trials and
struggles… the reason it is so hard for me is because when I am frustrated or
disappointed I run from Him instead of running to Him… in the end no matter
what is going on He wants me to be broken before Him, and when I am broken His
Presence can fill my life in ways that I cannot even begin to imagine…
So all that brings me back to today, to the eve of my 40th
birthday… my life is not perfect. As a matter of fact it is very messy… I could
smile and pretend like I’ve got it all together but if I did that I would be
lying… I am not married, even though one of my greatest desires is to have a
family. My heart has been ripped out and broken so many times it’s a wonder
that I even still believe that is possible for me… but somehow I do… not
because of me, but because of Him. Jeremiah 29:11 states that He has a plan for
my life that is good and that His plans will be worked out in the life of James
K Jones. It may not all go according to my plans, but somehow this week I had
it nailed down for me that if I give up my own fantasies of what life should be
like then will be able to walk in His Plan, which is always far superior to my
own plans.
Thank you Jesus for your Amazing Grace. Teach me to be
addicted to your Grace. Thank you for making something out of the mess that is
my life. I love you and I will follow you until the day that this life is over.”
James K Jones
My beautiful Wife and I are starting a blog to share
everything we are learning together in this new journey. It will be written
from a His and Her perspective! Our first entry will be in by the end of the
week! Let us know what you think! http://jamesandhaleyjones.blogspot.com/
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