...a word from Kathy

T he slow-down of summer is before us.  In my youth, I can well remember languid summer days.  I would wake up after my parents had left for work and eagerly anticipate a day of friends, food and pool time.  Unfortunately, there were days that a 'to do' list was awaiting me and that was not to my liking.  Wash, vacuum, dust, help with dinner, practice the piano, etc.  Ugh, I wanted a totally free existence; one where I could follow my every whim.  I guess I'm saying I wanted to follow me.   Yes, certainly, that is it.  I wanted to follow my whims, my ideas and my desires.  I, in no way, wanted to follow my mom and her instructions for those summer months. Here I find myself entering another series of summer months many years later.  There is a part of me that looks to long, lazy summer days in which I follow only my whims.  But a stronger part of me has decided to create a different summer.  ...

Cross posted from Fortyfaithful.blogspot.com T he big day has come and gone.  Baby chicks, Easter eggs, chocolate, and the Easter festivities have once again passed.  It's on to graduations, vacations and summer days.  The 40 days of Lent are over and Easter is over, isn't it?  Are you different this Monday after Easter Sunday? This next thought may shock some of you but I've often speculated that the formal church is too focused on the cross of Christ. That's a disturbing sentence, I know, but hear me out!  In our Christian culture, we are taught early in life about Jesus and his work on the cross.  His beautiful and complete grace that covers our sin and selfishness and gives those who believe in Him eternal life.  That is a Truth; for without His death we would be without hope, without life.  However... ...is that where many of us stop?  Do we stop our lives at Jesus' death on the cross?  Oh, we celebrate Easter Sunday in our ...

Cross posted from Fortyfaithful.blogspot.com K ale, Left-over fried chicken, coconut and Greek olives...you have 30 minutes to turn this into a wonderful entree for our judges.  Time starts NOW.  This is the  Chopped  kitchen which airs on the Food Network.  I'm obsessed with this show.  I love to cook and I look to eat and I love watching the chefs try and make something delicious out of ridiculous ingredients. There are dozens of cooking shows on TV that teach us about new techniques and new foods as though we've become bored with our everyday food.  We don't just want daily food anymore, we want new food, something different, less calories/fat/sugar, etc.  Yes, more please.  Food is not just a daily necessity for us; it has become a hobby.  It's a planned event and for some it's a beautiful memory of home, family and a time of connection.  But today, I don't want to go down memory lane (I could...easily...because no ...

I t was so busy.  So very many details swirled around us for weeks and months, so many decisions, so much excitement and so much stress!  But the day arrived and I stood in the bridal suite watching my daughter with her closest friends.  They laughed, danced, had makeup and hair stylists surrounding them.  We all dressed in our finery and danced some more...yes, I confess, me too!  Then we shooed the girls out so the bride could dress.  As I helped her into her beautiful gown time seemed to slow down and memories flooded through me.  Her hair bows, her beautiful little girl dresses, her first bike ride, the way she liked to swirl in a full skirt, the way she looked at me...oh, the way she looked at me.  Those are priceless memories.  Soon, the bridal party was allowed back into the room and they gasped and praised this beautiful bride.  And yes...she is incredibly beautiful inside and out.  Moments passed so quickly and befor...

Cross posted from Fortyfaithful.blogspot.com T here have been times in my life when words failed me.  The day my children were born - I simply had no words.  The day we took our son to rehab - I simply had no words.  The morning my mother died (who celebrates her birthday in heaven tomorrow!) - I simply had no words.  The day my son celebrated five years in recovery - I simply had no words.  Last weekend, as my daughter wed the man of her dreams - I simply had no words.  Please don't misunderstand me as I had plenty of thoughts swirling around inside me in all these instances.  I had memories, I had unabounding love, I had despair, I had deep, deep pain, I had joy, I had hope.  But I had no words.  They were simply stuck somewhere inside me. What I've described above is one very, simple life of a human with everyday joy, stress and strain. But the men and women living and working around Jesus, were they any different from me and you? ...

Cross posted from my Lent Blog site... Fortyfaithful.blogspot.com I t was summer and our son, Nick who was 9, had just returned from a two-week camp in Texas.  It was his dad's job to clean out the trunk that held all the clothes, gear, uneaten food, ants and nastiness only a little boy can bring home from a camp experience!  The process was moving along fairly well as Ray dug through the trunk when he came to a layer of clothes that seemed to have never been worn.  They lay there in perfect foldedness  (a new Hayes word).   As he removed them, he came to other basic items one of which was the soap dish. (Now, these were the days before the creation of body wash.... one simply used bar soap).  Ray took out the soap dish and opened it.... there lay a perfectly, NEVER used beautiful bar of soap emblazoned with the word, D-O-V-E!  This precious boy of ours had been away for two weeks yet his one bar of soap had never been touched! When questio...

Cross posted from:  Fortyfaithful.blogspot.com One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place.  When he finished, one of his disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." (Luke 11:1, NIV) Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.  For the next forty days, we are called to "reflect," to "inspect," and ultimately to "resurrect" on Easter Sunday. While some observe this season by ceasing to do something as a representation of "sacrifice," Lent is often taken as an opportunity to adopt a new practice, or renew an old one.  For the next several weeks, we have chosen to consider the practice of  prayer . We will share our questions about prayer, our "successes and failures" in prayer, and what we have come to understand about prayer up to this point in our lives. What we won't be able to share is  "all the answers,"  because we definitely don't have them!  We are just t...