...a word from Kathy

🎶🎶"Hello, darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was  planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence"  T hese are the lyrics from a song written over several months in 1963 and 1964. "The Sounds of Silence", is a song by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. The song was written by Paul Simon and I haven't thought about this song in years...until today. Last week we were on the beach. Two days were cloudy, cold and rainy and two days were cloudy with sun. It was a silent time of reading, waves crashing, and squawking seagulls (as a lady nearby felt great joy in feeding these birds) but overall a time a silence. Today, as I sit outside before the rain arrives...it's silent again. I hear bees buzzing by and loud fluttering of hummingbirds frolicking but mostly silence. I notice the comfort of the silence...Hello silence, my ol...

W e have just returned from a 2-week family vacation.  It was a glorious time filled with beautiful beach, waves, pool time, food, arguments, apologies, and ice cream happy hour...you know, FAMILY. And family in quarantine is certainly a different dynamic!   One of our vacation traditions is the challenge of a 1000-piece puzzle.  It's always fun and entertaining during those rain showers.  Our puzzle each year is a bit different because the picture on the box of the puzzle is NOT the puzzle you are constructing.  The picture on the puzzle box is a precursor to your puzzle.  In other words, you must use your imagination to construct the new scene. I think these are so much fun but not everyone in my family shared my opinion. (The puzzle is a WASGIJ for those of you interested).  "Oh my gosh, Mom, next time buy a puzzle that we can SEE what it's supposed to look like" "I wish we had a picture to go by, we'll never finish this!" "If ...

I 've been silent.  But I've been pondering these days of sickness, unrest, demonstration, tears and anger.  Do you remember the days of "WWJD"- What would Jesus do?  I've been pondering those words too.  And I've come to this thought: I'm convinced that I've been Peter most of my life.  You recall Peter of the Bible,  31  Then Jesus told them,  “This very night you will all fall away on account of me,  for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd,      and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 33  Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” 34  “Truly I tell you,”   Jesus answered,  “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” 35  But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you,  I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.   Matthew 26 We know the rest of the story.  S...

Z oom has become a lifeline.  Zoom connects me to other faces and laughter and good conversations.  I've been Zooming quite a bit in these recent days.  And I'm thankful for the technology that allows us this opportunity. I zoomed in a different way this week, too.  I zoomed back to 2010.  I refocused on April, 2010 for it taught me, changed me and refocused my life.  I call that time, 'a second mercy'.  Here is an excerpt from my journal. April 13, 2010 Today I met my son.  How does one describe this first moment of introduction?  He is beautiful, he is a miracle, even in his sweet tears he is shouting: Mama, I’m alive.  Please love me and hold me.   His curly black hair, his deep brown eyes, and his already formed personality capture me.  My beautiful boy has been born.  We have been blessed with a son.  He is 20 years old.   This day, April 13, 2010 is a second birthday for our son, Nicholas.  On t...

Dateline-Tuscaloosa, Alabama-Monday, April 12 S ocial distancing and home quarantine came first.  Weeks went by and we learned to function without people around us.  We kept in touch by phone and by Zoom meetings.  Then yesterday happened.  Storms throughout the south wreaked havoc on our neighborhoods and homes.  The sheer power demonstrated was overwhelming.  Enormous trees uprooted or snapped like twigs. And now…there is complete silence and isolation as power and the internet are both off.  My phone is dying.  Social distancing just got worse. I sit in darkness, thinking.  I can literally feel my heartbeat and silence.  No electrical sounds echo through my house.  There is just me and my thoughts.  No distractions. Can I embrace this moment?  Am I so accustomed to noise and electronics that I have forgotten the power of silence?  What are the lessons of this time?  What is God trying to teach us? ...

H e promised in Jeremiah 31 (500 years before Christ) that someday he would do something new.  He would replace shadows with the reality of the Messiah.  And he would powerfully move into our lives and write his will on our hearts so that we are not constrained from the outside, but are willing from the inside to love him, trust him, and follow him. (Jon Piper, Joy to the World) Luke 2 begins the story of Jesus. Luke starts with Jesus' birth but doesn't stop with Jesus' birth; the Book of Luke shows us Jesus.  His words continue to show us who He is, to teach us... He grows He is baptized He is tempted He is rejected He calls friends to follow Him He sees pain and heals He hears concerns and listens He teaches love for enemies He teaches faith of the unexpected He teaches forgiveness for those we want to condemn He models love He calms the storms of life He reunites families He does the unexpected He shows up when we least expect it He feeds when th...

W hen Lent rolled around this year, I decided to give up sweets. In the past years, I've given up Diet Coke or lunch.  But never in my wildest dreams did I ever consider giving up people = social distancing!  The closest I've ever come to this phenomenon is when I was in the 8th grade.  I was diagnosed with Mono and Strep and I was distanced from my family.  I vividly remember my Mama serving my dinner on separate plates, dinnerware and even washing my dishing separately.  I felt so isolated and shunned.  I was a cast-out in my own home. I have a similar feeing these days for I am a 'people person'.  I thrive in connection, coffee dates, lunch, teaching, chatting, hugging, whispering in a movie, sharing popcorn and on and on!  People in my world make me a better person.  They challenge me and grow me.  Yet, here we are. It occurred to me this week that Jesus also experienced social distancing.  He truly has experienced th...