...a word from Kathy

I found myself walking down a dark hallway, beautiful candles were burning, and light music was playing.  The smells were of lavender and gardenia.  As I followed my guide down this hallway there was only the quiet slap of my slippers and our whispered voices.  "Here we are...please take a moment to get comfortable and I will return to begin your facial."  Oh, the beautiful spa life...this was  a special day of relaxation and fun with my girlfriend.  I had anticipated this for several weeks and finally the time had arrived.  We were about 10 minutes into this experience when my itty-bitty brain committee came awake and begin to speak words into my head.... " you realize, that with a facial ALL your makeup comes off!  You realize you really don't know these people you are with?  You realize you don't look really great without your makeup?  You realize people won't really like you if they see the real you?"   Ugh, I really despise...

I  was asked this week, "Mrs. Kathy, what comes after Easter?  I mean, the Santa celebration is well over, the New Year has passed, the Easter bunny has hopped off and we've celebrated Jesus so what's next."  Indeed, I thought, what is next? This student's words strike me today and they strike me hard.  "We've celebrated Jesus so what's next?"  This brings so many questions to my mind....have I celebrated Jesus?  And why is this question in the past tense?  Shouldn't I/we be in the process of always celebrating Jesus?  Of course, yes, is the answer to this pondering.  But I daresay that my week since Easter Sunday has been less than a full celebration of who this Messiah truly is....the I AM. So I asked myself today, what difference does Easter make in my life?  Really, what day-to-day difference does it make?  The disciples found themselves in a similar situation as they gathered eight days after their Jesus had been killed ...

A nother Easter Sunday is here!  Hallelujah, He is risen!  We have hope and a future!  As I sit here this morning, I'm having to force myself to stay in this moment and repeat the words, Hallelujah He is risen.  For in my life this Easter weekend there is much beautiful distraction...my family is in town, there are pictures to be made, food to be cooked, stories to be told, laughter to consume me, dresses and shirts to iron and dishes to wash.  These beautiful distractions of life give me great pleasure and joy but as this Easter Day wears on I can sense that the chorus of Hallelujah may become more faint.  Let it not be so, Lord. The story of Easter morning from Luke 24 is one I never tire of reading.  There is so much drama and joy and unexpectedness.  The women walking to the tomb to anoint His body with spices and perfumes, the stone rolled away, the shock, the two men in clothes that gleamed like lightening, the women returning to the d...

W hen I was a little girl one of the great joys of Thanksgiving morning was watching the Macy's Day Parade.  I can remember waking up and immediately running to tune in and watch it with my parents (on one our three tv channels)!  I watched the dancing, the crazy balloons, the characters of all sorts! Of course, at the same time there was cooking to be done so we watched and cooked and prepared for the big family celebration to come.  But always, always the kitchen action stopped as the parade neared its end for we all had anticipated the main event...Santa Claus!  As a little girl it thrilled me to see him arrive for it meant that soon, very soon Christmas was coming.  And for a child there was no greater joy. I've realized that after being in the desert of Lent for 40 days I am ready for a parade!  And, it strikes me that we have that opportunity this week.  This parade also has a great cast of characters and it too has a main event at its end. ...

D o you take long road trips?  There is really nothing quite like a road trip.  It offers us great opportunity to see the countryside and all sorts of local sites.  It also is quite an opportunity for family bonding or something like bonding!  I can remember long ago road trips with my parents.  My mama's family is from Thomasville, Georgia and we would take an annual trip to visit.  Now living in Jackson, Mississippi this created a nice long drive for our family.  For years, we stopped at the same restaurant for breakfast as my dad insisted we leave before sunrise.  I still remember it after 40 years; you could play the jukebox from your booth!  This was a very high-tech situation!  And I remember my sister losing her shoes because either she or our brother threw them out the window at some point on the trip - this was not a happy outcome.  But I REALLY remember that my daddy would smoke his pipe while we were driving along...."i...

(Cross post from Forthfaithful.blogspot.com) Dear Diary:  today finds me at my favorite place...the beach.  Yes, I am at the water and thank you for meeting me here.  I'm bundled up and sitting in my beach chair.  The wind is whistling about and rustling my papers, tangling my hair and it is glorious.  The beach is empty except for me and my guy.  The waves are unceasing but the water is calm.  It is 68º with nary a cloud in sight. And I feel tears rolling down my cheeks.  I am so joyful in this place. It is the place of creation... where water meets land in a divine way.  It is His place and He's let it be a part of my spirit.   I am pondering Lent today.  We have walked a Lent journey for 4 weeks.  I'm wondering what I have learned.  Has anything changed in me?  Has what I "gave up for Lent" made a difference in my life?  Has it drawn me closer to knowing God?  And honestly, I'm a bit tired of writ...

(Cross post from Fortyfaithful.blogspot.com) O ne of the great joys of my life was living in Corpus Christi, Texas.  We lived there 12 years and experienced great joy and friendship.  We were blessed beyond measure.  Our lives were transformed.  Corpus Christi is gifted geographically and sits right on the Gulf of Mexico and one of its most beautiful spots is aptly named Ocean Drive.  Ocean Drive holds many, many memories for me.  One of the dearest though is the memory of sitting at the waters edge.  On many occasions I would phone a friend and ask her, "Can you meet me at the water?"  That one phrase told her all she needed to know and she would come.  There were days when the waves were so large that my car would easily be sprayed with the surf and there were days when all was calm and flat.  I learned that for my soul it really didn't matter which waves I experienced as it was ALL about the water...The moving, life-giving water. W...