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In Acts, Chapter 9, the Bible reveals how the Apostle Paul was blinded by a light from heaven as he was in route to Damascus to continue his pursuit and persecution of the Christians.  Paul heard the voice of Jesus, who said, “Saul, Saul, why are your persecuting me?” Saul, now blinded, cried out, “Who are you, Lord?” and Jesus replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

Jesus commanded Paul to go to Damascus and await instruction on what to do next.  Paul continued to Damascus with the help of three men traveling with him, because he was now blind, he needed to be led to the city.  After a period of time, Paul’s sight was restored in more ways than one.  He had been confronted by Jesus.  The very one Paul believed to be a false prophet, and had committed his life to killing the remaining remnant of his following, had personally introduced himself in a dramatic and painful way. Paul’s sight was eventually restored and his eyes were opened with a whole new vision in life.  A vision he knew would cost him his life.  But once you truly meet this man named Jesus, and he reveals himself to you, your life is never the same.  This life changing moment of revelation is often referred to as a “Road to Damascus Experience”.

For Kim Norton, her “Road to Damascus Experience” happened in the fall of 1999, after she had already dedicated her life to Christ, graduated from a Christian college, and was married with two children.  Kim had a love for music and a natural, God given, talent for singing, which is what she had focused on in college.  Kim had two daughters, Rebecca and Leah.  They were both struggling with health problems. Rebecca had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a result of a stroke she had as an infant, and Leah was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, which is similar to a high functioning form of autism.  To make matters worse, Kim, herself, had just been diagnosed with Systematic Lupus.

Kim, being a Christian, was worried and concerned about how she was ever going to teach her children about Jesus, so they would understand and remember.  She would end up crying out to God for an answer to all of her questions.  Kim was at the end of her rope.  The world seemed to be closing in on her fast.  She didn’t have any answers and seemed unequipped to effectively teach the Gospel to her children, who had special needs.

It is funny how God sometimes gives us what we need to overcome, before we even have anything to overcome.  God spoke to Kim when she cried out, telling her to use her talent for singing and writing music to teach them His word.  His answer was perfect and it changed the course of Kim Norton’s life forever, but it was a part of God’s plan for Kim all along.  God had begun calling Kim for this purpose when she was only seven years old.

“I became a Christian at a very early age.  I grew up in the church and when I was seven years old, I asked Christ into my heart at a Bible camp for kids in Cass, Arkansas”, Kim discloses.  “It was July 1^st of 1978, when I accepted Christ.  That date is real important to me.  I taught my children to write down and remember their salvation testimony in their Bibles, either in the front or the back.  Somewhere that they will see it and remember it, so they will know the date they were saved and who was there.”

After Kim had given her life to Christ at Bible camp, she went forward at Sunday services to publicly proclaim Christ as her Savior and to be baptized.  It was a special day for Kim and her family, in more ways than one.  “My mother always took me to church, but my father didn’t go, even though I had asked him to several times. He would always decline”, Kim remembers.  “The day I was baptized, I asked my father to go with us.  He came to church and sat up in the balcony.”

“God used my getting baptized to pierce his heart.  He went forward on that day, giving his heart to Christ. He hadn’t been to church in nearly twenty years up until that day, and he has walked with God ever since.”

Kim also continued to walk with the Lord.  As time went on, became more and more interested in music, and service to the Lord.  “I started singing when I was seven or eight”, Kim explains.  “I realized very quickly that God was opening up doors for me to be able to sing.  By the time I was sixteen, I was singing professionally at conventions and different things.  It was at age sixteen that God called me into full time ministry.”

“I really thought that meant tour buses and recording contracts, but God had a different plan”, Kim confesses.  “It has taken me several years to accept that, but at sixteen, with whatever wisdom I had at that age, I made the decision to spend my life serving him.”

After high school she would go on to college.  Kim Norton’s college selection would introduce her to someone who would influence her forever.

“I attended college at Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana”, Kim reveals.  “Anderson University is actually a Church of God Liberal Arts college.  I had grown up in a Southern Baptist Church, but I chose Anderson College, because of their Music Business program, and also because of the Gaithers, Sandi Patti, and because there were few other influential people there.”

“I studied songwriting with Gloria Gaither at Anderson College.  She was tough”, Kim reveals reticently. “Gloria has a tremendously high standard of excellence.  She takes the art of songwriting very seriously, and if you look at her lyrics you can see that.”

“She was teaching us the craft of songwriting, so she just didn’t go easy on any of us”, Kim explains. “Before I took her class, I would have probably just slopped some words on a page and think that I had written a song, but it wasn’t until I had gone through her coarse that I realized songwriting is a real art form.  A lot goes into a song and crafting the lyrics.”

“At the time, I was scared of her the entire semester because it was hard”, Kim confesses. “I look back on it now and I am glad that I had that experience.”

After college, Kim married a business analyst, named Patrick Norton, who she had met while attending Anderson University.  She continued to pursue a career in music and was performing on a regional level around Arkansas.  She had been called into a congregational setting to serve as the Director of Worship Arts, where she served for eight years.  It was during these eight years, that Kim became the mother of two daughters, Rebecca and Leah.

Life seemed to be going as planned until Kim, and her family, began to receive one piece of bad news after another.

Rebecca had been born prematurely at 34 weeks, weighing only 3 pounds and 15 ounces. As a result, it was later discovered that Rebecca had suffered a stroke, something that later caused her to be diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Leah, Kim’s second daughter, after a series of events, was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, as stated, which is like a form of high functioning autism.  To make matters worse, Kim, herself, was eventually diagnosed as having Systematic Lupus.

In 1999, Kim Norton went to God with her struggles and fears.  “I wanted my kids to know the Bible”, Kim proclaims.  “We were struggling with some very basic things at the time. I didn’t know what their educational level would be.  I remember crying out to God, asking him, “How am I going to get your word into my kids?”

Kim was about to experience the meaning of Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

“He just spoke to my heart, very quietly and peacefully, saying, “Sing it into her!” Kim humbly reveals.  “I had already become aware Rebecca was musical, as she would sing the ESPN Baseball Tonight theme song.  Music seemed to really draw her out of herself, bringing her into our world.”

What Kim did next was what started her new ministry and mission in life.  The Kingdom Kidz Club was about to be born as a result of her longing to teach her daughters the Bible. “I got my Bible out and I found a verse.  I wrote a song about that verse and included it in the song.  We call it the Bible address, which is the book, chapter, and verse.  I put it in the song because I wanted my daughter, Rebecca, to remember where to find the scripture if she was ever able to read

 

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