...a word from Kathy

" A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement. She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!” The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied, “Well, I made a difference to that one!” - adapted from the Star Thrower by Loren C. Eiseley T here are many nights that I fall into bed and begin reviewing my day. I play the day over in my head and think of what I accomplished, of how I spent the day. I try and think if there were any starfish that I helped throw...

I want to confess some things: I’m preachy I write and talk as though I have all the answers I’m fully spoiled in my lifestyle My words come easy but often my lifestyle does not reflect them I like my independence and not having to rely on anyone else I like the comforts of my life, especially air conditioning (some of you over 50 women will totally get this one!) I become upset when I don’t get my way I get angry when my car is in the shop and I’m inconvenienced I’m selfish I don’t love unconditionally Yesterday, I got to church with many of these feelings and shortcomings swirling around inside me. Saturday, I ‘lost’ my car for 2 weeks as my son was borrowing it and he’s lives out of state. I am dependent on sharing now. I strongly dislike not having my car. It’s a major issue, don’t you think? And for some reason, I had also been thinking about a mission trip I took last summer to the Appalachian area in Kentucky. It was a week of difficult living from our housing, to the wea...

T here’s nothing like a good hug…arms around you, holding you, enveloping you in a warm embrace of love. My 4 th of July celebration started with hugs in my sister’s home. Nephews, cousins, sisters, brothers, in-laws or in-loves as we call them! The offering and giving of hugs is sweet. Hugs of welcome, of hello, of I’ve missed you, or I treasure you in my life. This holiday the one hug I treasured most was the hug from my mama. For you see, she’s a ‘bent over’ woman. Her aging process has affected her body. She can’t hug too well anymore. But as I knelt in front of her wheelchair and hugged her, I whispered, “put your arms around me, mama. I need your hug today.” She lifted her sweet arms then and haltingly put them around me and there we stayed for several minutes. Oh, the sweetness of that hug…the whispers we shared of I love you, I treasure you, the little moans of love. This bent over woman of mine needed the hug too. On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the ...