Hi friend!

I’m Kim, and I’m so glad you’re here.

I thought I’d begin with a poem about where I’m from:

I am from mixtapes

from Sony walkmans and Tiffany's I Think We’re Alone Now.

I am from the maple trees

rooted, strong, limbs stretching to the skies.

I am from Lake Erie

whose waters invite me deeper into mystery.

I’m from Barbie and My Little Pony.

From the Ehms and the Knowles.

I’m from Sunday afternoon backroad driving and weekday dinner at Mark Pi’s Chinese buffet.

From “Listen to your Mother” and “Don’t forget to wear your boots.”

I’m from pot lucks, cookie exchanges, and stay-up-all-night lock-ins playing sardines and singing camp songs.

I’m from German Grandparents who came to America fleeing war,

Marzipan, and NYC pizza you can fold in half.

From the brass bell rung when Santa comes.

The Born To Be Wild leather jacket of my father

The china cabinet with three girls dancing and Delft plates.

In a spare bedroom closet was a box with a manuscript

typed by my grandfather, a story waiting to be told

a legacy of words and hopes.

I am from this tucked away manuscript,

writing my own story.

*Thanks to George Ella Lyon for this Where I’m From Poem inspiration.

Currently, my home and heart reside in Cole Camp, Missouri, where my husband Stephen, daughter Charlotte, son Isaac, and rescue-dog Lars live. Cole Camp is a town of 1,000. The best small town you could ask for. Our Mayberry and Stars Hollow. We have a park across the street from our home, festivals and events almost every weekend, and local shops and restaurants. This is a place where you are known.

My heart yearns for travel and meeting new people and places. I’ve been privileged to live in great cities such as Columbus, OH, Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, WI, as well as The Gambia, West Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer, where I learned the importance of greeting. I even hiked across Northern Spain one summer for 33 days along the ancient pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago. Yet my first home and deep sense of place belongs to Toledo, OH where I grew up in a suburb just outside the city.

Questions of vocation and who I am called to be and how I’m called to serve led me to study religion at Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH and attend seminary at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, OH.

I met my husband in seminary even though we both vowed never to marry another pastor.

My first call as a pastor led me to Sedalia, MO where I served for five years.

I’m not currently serving a church full time but I do supply preach and lead retreats for congregations. I write a monthly Growing Together column for Living Lutheran.

I’m looking for the extraordinary in the ordinary.

When I’m not at the park with my kids, attending church, out around town, or tending to our garden, you can find me with a pen and paper. Or a good book and a cup of coffee.

Where else you can find me

I love writing reflections, sharing pictures, and writing on my personal blog.

I love connecting on Instagram and Facebook. You can follow me @kknowlezeller.

My debut book I co-authored: The Beauty of Motherhood: Grace-Filled Devotions for the Early Years.