Lent, Lincoln and Roses. How are they related? “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or we can rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” Abraham Lincoln The Gift of Roses and Thorns A rose is such a beautiful sight. Their smell, their colors, give great delight. To see a rose is to see nature sing. The notes are beautiful and clear, like hearing the angels sing. Their colors can vary and have great meaning. To love, to... Read more
To Fear or Not to Fear? When Will Lent Be Over? During Sunday school last week, we were discussing Lent. One of the participants expressed that while she was practicing Lent, she had a fear that in her attempt to sacrifice, she would be on the receiving end of God’s ire. Her reasoning was the passages in the Bible that tell us to fear the Lord. We talked about several scriptures that mentioned fear. The fear of the Lord is... Read more
You’ve made your declaration for Lent with the best of intentions. Those intentions are a bit hard to keep. What Should you do now? Confession, I grew up in the belly of the South. Have you ever heard of the Bible Belt? I grew up in the super duper huge belt buckle Bible Belt. It was like the super big boss belt. The Baptist church that we attended was “THE” Baptist church. Honestly, Lent was never even discussed. I... Read more
Life is a quandary. Life can be a mess. There are days when you feel that all you can do is just catch a smidgen of rest. The day feels like you are trudging up a hill. The mud and muck make it so difficult to even make it a few steps up that hill. You see the mountain of debt that life has accumulated. Funds are low, you are not sure that you can make it. You just... Read more
The Gift of Hope Positive Pensées Kathy King “Never lose hope, one day you will thank yourself for not giving up.” Unknown Hope. What does that term mean? A feeling of trust. A feeling of expectation. A desire for a certain thing. The phrase, “Hope springs eternal” comes to mind. But when life gets really tough, do you keep hope in your mind? Do you pray? Do you meditate? Do you sit and ask for peace?... Read more
The Gift of the Courage to Continue Positive Pensées Kathy King “Success is not final; failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotes/famous-quotations-and-stories/ We sit, we dream, we dread, we pray. To live out the dream in our own special way. The thing about dreams coming true is the tenacity and will to see things through. The hard work, the discipline, the grit and desire. All have... Read more
The Gift of a Cool Breeze Positive Pensées Kathy King “The breeze of grace is always blowing; set your sail to catch that breeze.” Ramakrishna A gentle breeze that cools the day. The trees gently sway. The breeze is refreshing, like a balm for the soul. The wind and the leaves do a little waltz or even a quadrille. The picture of beauty and grace that nature reveals. Whether the wind be from the North, South, East, or West. ... Read more
“No one has ever become poor by giving.” Anne Frank Jólabókaflód is something that we had the pleasure to learn about a few years ago. Basically, the Icelandic folks give books to their loved ones and friends on Christmas Eve so that they can spend the evening simply engaged in the act of reading. The word means “Christmas book flood.” Pretty amazing, right? The practice started during World War II when restrictions were imposed on imported giftware. The restrictions on... Read more
The Gift of Something Has to Be Good Positive Pensées Kathy King “Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day.” Alice Morse Earle When life is giving you a bit of grief. Something has to be good even in grief. It’s been said that someone somewhere has it harder than you. So find that good thing even when it can’t be seen. Find the glimmer of hope, even if it is tiny. Focus on... Read more
The Gift of Pianissimo and Silence Positive Pensées Kathy King “Silence isn’t empty, it is full of answers.” Unknown It’s okay to be quiet. It’s okay to be Pianissimo. It’s okay to enjoy the silence, and let your mind unload. The silence is healing, it can make your soul replete. Pianissimo means to play very quietly. To give the loud melody or harmony a break. It is even possible to become Pianissimo and play even more quietly.... Read more
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