...a word from Kathy

I 'm a long-time Southern girl.  Most often we celebrated the Christmas season in cotton sweaters and longed for cold weather.  But occasionally in December we got a snowy moment or two.  And what I remember most about a snowy morning was stepping outside and hearing absolutely NOTHING.  The silence of snow is a most beautiful thing.  In fact, not much else in my world creates silence.  But when presented with it, I suddenly realize my deep longing for it. Zechariah was a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem just before Jesus was born.  Let's read about him:   Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.  12   When Zechariah saw him, he  w as startled and was gripped with fear.  13   But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.  14  ...

Edwin Warner Park Nashville, TN I t is December 1st and a new day.  A new day traveling toward Christmas Day.  A new day for me in a new place.  And I desire for a new day in my heart and mind. December brings to mind hustling and bustling, decorations and gift buying.  However, the left-over turkey is still in the frig!  What is my hurry? Let us all S L O W  D O W N.   Slow down and think about what is to come, what has come.   Who is this Baby that Christians celebrate at Christmas?  This Baby is the God who according to Tim Keller, "wrote himself into the scripts of our lives." This God came to us in creation.  He came when we least expected Him and we wondered, how?  This God came to us as we were waiting for someone to save us. I'm thinking today of people looking for hope.  People looking for energy for tomorrow and food for today.  I'm putting myself in shoes of those looking for money to pay taxes and take long jou...

O ften, I get stuck in circle of thought.  This week I’m stuck on the words, “eyes of my heart.”  I’m struggling to understand this simple but complex phrase. Assisi, Italy I’ve used the term, open your eyes , but mostly in traffic situations when a driver may have frustrated me!!  Or when my husband is diligently searching our frig for an item and I casually walk up and pluck it from the shelf, open your eyes !  In kinder days, I open my eyes and catch a blue bird flying by.  Or I notice small flowers on the roadside, or the magnolias beginning to bloom.  My eyes are also open to see hurting people on the news and in my city.  I see division and anger.   As I try to live with open eyes, I'm not sure I live with the eyes of my heart.  I have even arrogantly asked God to open his eyes and heal our world, heal those I hold close, heal the pain and suffering and division.  These examples of my pleas to God have a commonality for they seek a...

B ack in my childhood days, we were wanderers.  I remember jumping on my bicycle to explore with the only rule being, "be home by suppertime."  Lord knows, how far we'd ride and certainly my mother never really knew how far and wide we'd go! I still have memories of those explored places, hidden bike routes, plum trees we borrowed from, and even pomegranate trees with fruit that confused us. Wandering and wondering were good for my childhood. I learned that exploration and curiosity can be helpful to understanding.  Now, I admit that there were a few times that my mama had to "teach me" some difficult lessons when my wanderings went sideways.  But I still learned, I still had a chance to see for myself. Such was the case for these men on the road to Emmaus. Certainly, after their last few days these guys must have been experiencing a wandering and a wondering existence.  For suddenly, life as they had expected and even anticipated had gone sideways. Now that...

P eter, Peter, Peter! Oh, to be as passionate as Peter! He would be the one you want at your next party.  He would be the one to give the emotional toast at a wedding.  He would be the one to encourage you, challenge you to go further.  He would be the star in the room.  We see in Matthew today a portion of his story. Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” 55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I s...

W ho doesn’t love a monogrammed set of cuff links, or napkins, or towels, or most anything?  We’re a culture of personalization.  The gift is more special if it’s inscribed with initials.  It takes forethought to give such a gift, planning so that the gift arrives in a timely manner.  It tells the recipient, “I’ve been thinking of you, planning to celebrate you. I’ve gone ahead of you, to prepare a special, custom-made gift.” And so today, we find ourselves in a garden where a similar gift is being prepared.   36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’ 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possi...

T he big day approaches and preparations are ongoing.  There is so much to do and so little time.  We want our guests to feel welcomed, adored and honored.  We’ve decided to ‘roll out the red carpet.’  Historically, the use of red carpet was to honor people, to show respect to kings, leaders, and most recently to movie stars and celebrities.  Participation in these events are invitation only and practically impossible to crash, i.e., attend when not uninvited. A common scene occurred back in 33 AD.  Simon a prominent Pharisee held a dinner party.  And the special guest that day was Jesus.  There was no fanfare with the arrival of Jesus, no red carpet. As he reclined at the table, an uninvited woman appeared beside him.  She crashed the event.  There was no attempt to remove this woman, and she went about her purpose for attending.  Her purpose was not for delicious food, or for the company, nor was it to hear Simon and Jesus discuss...

Faros Armenistis, Mykonos Greece T he 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness are a large part of the Easter story.  But if you’re like me, you may prefer to gloss over this part of the story and get to the happy ending.  However, the rush to the end of the story, the happy ending, may rob us of a life-renewing experience. My husband and I spent a large portion of our lives in the vast lands of Texas.  It was where I learned about the big sky, seeing complete horizons surrounding you.  In my nonprofit work, I spent a few hot days on south Texas ranches and in cattle barns.  One thing similar to all was the dust, the blowing winds of heat, the harshness, the unrelenting sun.  This is as close as I’ve come to experiencing wilderness.  And it’s a far cry from living 40 days and 40 nights in such a place.  And this picture I paint, does not show you my fully loaded, air-conditioned Suburban (if you live in Texas, you must drive a Suburban or so I learne...

I t is approximately five weeks before Easter Sunday and I'm beginning to think about our plans.  The who, what and where of Easter weekend is important, isn't it? What are my preparations? Am I preparing at all?  Do Easter baskets, and new Easter outfits count as preparations or perhaps lunch with the family on Easter Day?   Honestly, it seems that once again my thoughts are up side down.  This is not a season of bunnies, candy, and dying eggs but one of remembering, reflecting, and preparing for a deeper Easter experience. An experience of preparation .  Just before Jesus was led into forty days in the wilderness:  ...John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:  “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘ Prepare the way for the Lord ,  make straight paths for him .’  I wonder in these pre-Easter days; wha...