1 on 1 with Lori. Argyle & Apricots

It is that time again where we introduce to you someone really spacial to us. Why I say special, very, you asking.. simply because she inspires us.

Well, it was an honer that she took some time of her busy life to sit with us and talk about her blog and her life... lets just dig into it.

Now that you are here, make sure right after you read this post to go to check her blog. I assure you will be inspired just like we are. Argyle & Apricots

How would you introduce yourself to others? But also how you introduce your self to God? How you introduce your husband?
My name is Lori Zimbardi, I am a wife and a mother of two beautiful girls. I work Sandals Church in Riverside, CA. I love to write. I think I am funny, though my husband does not and it is a debate we have frequently in our home. If I did not work for my church, I would spend my time writing stories of people that have experienced God’s redemption.

Well, God knows me pretty well. He has been in and out of the principals office of life with me many time so not much of an introduction is necessary but I would introduce myself as someone who loves and serves him and desperately needs him.

My husband’s name is Danny and he is the most magnificent husband and father. He works for a 4party logistics company and travels weekly to Northern California on business. He is not funny.

If you can summaries your life in one word, what would it be and why?
Redeemed. I made a lot of mistakes and chose to ignore God for many years. I look back and see the orchestrated intent for my life made by my choices and God’s redemption. It’s amazing.

Why did you start blogging and how you find time for it?
I was against it at first. My husband started blogging and I felt like it was an incredible invasion of privacy. Sadly enough I thought that about the Internet too. Somehow he wore me down and I figured it was a great way for our kid’s grandparents to see what they were up to. I then realized after a year or so that my posts were all focused on how hard motherhood was and how tired I was so I gave it up fearing that I had just shared with the world what a horrible mom I had become. After a few months I missed it. I started again with a new format. I work part time so I have 2 days off week that I try to spend writing.

How you came up with your Motto? “Why Argyle & Apricots”
It reminds me of an innocent time in my life, before the tough years of disobedience. A friend in high school called me Argyle because I had an affinity for the pattern. In college another friend liked the way I said apricots and that became my nickname. Argyle & Apricots represents a simpler time. Who I was before I let this world get a hold of me. And who doesn’t love argyle?

What is the current book you are reading?
A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller. I am reading it for work but it is an amazing book that I highly recommend.

You talk about pure joy as a complete joy? What does it means to have a complete joy?
I mean complete joy in the sense that I don’t have to worry about anything, God has it all under control. The second line of Psalm 23 is “I shall not want”. W Phillip Keller states that “the idea of I shall not want is being utterly contented in the Good Shepherd’s care and consequently not craving or desiring anything more” I am not referring to material things but being under “God’s Care, entrusting ourselves to Christ’s control”. Complete joy is a” utterly contented, a deep quiet settled peace”.

Explain " redeemed yet incomplete" ?
God has redeemed me but, certainly, is not done with me yet. I have an excitement to see what God is going to do with decisions I have made and how he will continue to refine and grow me.

Tell us about you work with Sandals Church?
I have been with Sandals for a little over a year and a half. I spent the first year as a next steps coordinator, placing people into small groups. The past 6 months I have been working with our Care Team. We try our best to help those in need in our church. With the current economy and a lot of bad decisions made when the economy was booming, we have a great number of people that are losing their jobs and homes. We try and help get them back on track. We use the parable of the Good Samaritan as our basis for what we do in Care.

How about your love to Poetry, How you developed such passion?
I always thought only old ladies with cats like poetry so I hid that side of me for a long time. I love rhymes. I love Dr. Seuss. One of my favorite things to do is to rewrite the Psalms so that the verses rhyme. It is a great way for me to keep my mind on studying the bible since I go over and over them trying to find a way to make them rhyme but keep the integrity of the verse and not loose any meaning.

Well,, we only scratched the surface, make sure to come back to read the second part of our interview with Lori...