The week began with cheers

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The week began with cheers and ended with jeers. But #Sunday came. The #resurrection was made sweeter – Jesus’ triumph over the grave made stronger – because of what Jesus endured in those seven days. None of us could have handled it.

If Jesus had come into this imperfect world and cruised through his 33 years without experiencing all human emotions – grief, sadness, dismay, joy, love…then recognizing Him as a Savior would be impossible. He was tempted in every way we have been, and resisted, yes, resisted every time because in his human weakness, He leaned into the Word. He was beaten and scourged for being who He was, and didn’t back down to please others.

Luke 19 gives an account of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The people thought He came to overturn the earthly rule for one better. They welcomed Jesus with praise. By the end of the week, when Jesus didn’t wear a crown of gold, but one of thorns, the people turned. They sought the temporal satisfaction of an earthly king that would feed their bellies, when Jesus came to feed their souls. How many times do we do the same thing in our own spiritual journey? They thought Jesus would free them from oppression; He did, but not in a manner they could touch or feel. Jesus brought eternal freedom. Do we live our lives for the eternal?

I wonder if Good Friday (#GoodFriday) was the only time there were tears in heaven. Did the legions of angelic warriors weep as they waited…they hoped for…that the Father would send them for Jesus? The order was never given. The victory was to be God’s and God’s alone. Sunday was coming.

Sunday is coming. While we wait, embrace holy week, and all that the week reminds us.

All the best,

KK

Yes or No

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Yes or No – two strong words that can direct the way we live our lives. Here we are at the end of January, and I haven’t bugged you about goals for the year. Yes, mine are written. But one thing that was considered as much as what I’d like to accomplish this year, is how I’d like to spend my time.

KHRAuthor

Time rolls forward. We’re either running with it or watching it pass. In the broadest terms, when an invitation comes or an opportunity arises, we are given a choice: yes or no. Saying yes to one thing is saying no to another. It could be argued that saying yes to one thing could also be saying “not now” to another.

Throughout your day, week, or month, making these yes or no decisions ultimately shapes your year. It also shapes who you are, but we’ll talk about that another day.

So, here we go into a week inwhich we all are given 168 hours. Let’s subtract 65 hours for sleeping and getting ready for work or school. And let’s take another 40 hours for work. That leaves 63 hours. Yes, there are many other responsibilities we have that take up our time. The point is that we have choices to make with what we do with time as it rolls forward.

Is your use of time rolling you forward to where you want to be, the people you want to be with, and the things you want to do?

All the best,

KK

Designs for Nora available on Amazon

Check out Karen’s latest novel, Designs for Nora, available on Amazon.

Character-building workout

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As you consider your physical workouts in 2026, consider adding a character-building workout. Sometimes, it takes a storm or struggle in life to build our character muscle. Whether we handle the struggle with grace and wisdom, or we fuss and fight our way through, something in us changes – our point of view, our demeanor, our heart. Will that change be a sharper edge that we approach life with? Or greater compassion?

The wisest among us take time on the other side of the struggle to consider what we’ve learned about ourselves and the world around us. It begins with “that’s not fair” and ends with “okay, life’s not fair, how will I now navigate what comes my way?”

Building character is not unlike building muscle. It takes the discipline of knowing when to keep our mouth shut and when to speak up. It takes changing our thinking to focus on the other guy and not ourselves. It takes living intentionally. Consider the consequences of living a selfish, dishonest existence. What is the result of living merely to satisfy yourself, your own needs and desires, with no regard for others?

The foundation for building character begins with core values. What do you believe to be true about living life, about how others should be treated, about the work you do? On those core values, you build your approach to life. Honesty, work ethic, and integrity are other building blocks of character.

As we look forward, I encourage you to choose a building block of your character to improve upon. This will be a very personal goal, but if you have a trusted friend, share it with them and ask for their help throughout the year to keep you accountable.

All the best,

KK

The week between

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The week between #Christmas and New Year’s is one of the best weeks of the year. For those who celebrate Christmas on the 24th or 25th, the hustle to prepare is done, and you’ve enjoyed the time with family and exchanging gifts. Oh, and the foodfest…can you say carb overload?

For many, #work is quiet, with a focus on wrapping up annual projects, cleaning out email inboxes, and setting up recurring meetings for 2026. A shout out to those who work in the shipping and delivering industry — you’ve not taken a breath since November. I hope this week brings you rest.

It’s too early to start 2026 health and wellness goals, which brings me back to the food. The refrigerator is full of #leftovers, a little bit of ham, some lasagna (our Christmas Eve meal), and a cream cheese appetizer we took to an after-Christmas party. Did I mention the Christmas cookies? They aren’t that big, so eating three with each lap of the kitchen is like eating one, right? Can I count that lap as exercise?

Let’s talk about the wonder of turning off the alarm clock…it’s the best. Sleep until you wake. It takes me a few days to relax enough to sleep later than 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. To completely relax and not worry about the fact that I HAVE to get up in seven or eight hours. I can get up when I get up. I’m not a napper, but our family joke is that I take my annual nap on Christmas Day. I was a little late on that this year, but I did, in fact, take a five-hour nap today. It was the kind of nap that made me wonder why I don’t do that more often. Oh, I know, because there are so many other things I like to do better.

Designs for Nora available on Amazon

Finally, I like to take this week to reflect, review the year we’re closing, and consider what’s next. In 2025, I earned my Master Gardener certification, completed a technology leadership course, and my second novel, Designs for Nora, was published. Big year. What will 2026 bring?

I have no idea what 2026 will hold. By January 11th, I’ll have a few goals written. There were many things in 2025 that I wasn’t expecting, both happy and sad. That’s something we know we can expect: the year will bring good days and bad days. Don’t let the nature of the days push and pull you through the year; have something you’re anchored to. Take this week, or even an hour sometime this week, to consider what you’ll do or learn in 2026.

We decide how our time is spent, or we wonder where it went.

All the best,

KK

Tis the season

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Tis the season for raw emotion. This year, we unexpectedly lost a member of our family. We added another empty chair to the table. This loss brings a heightened awareness to the other empty chairs at the table this year. My mother, my father, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law. To really poke at the rawness, we attended a funeral this week for an elder mentor and friend. Why does all this loss seem to be a bigger shadow during the holidays?

It’s recent. The hurt is still very new. The heart-ache is still fresh.

Our schedules slow down enough that we have few distractions giving us time to be still in our #grief. Sometimes even in our busyness of the season we simply feel the feelings and are forced to take a breath, and let the “leaking” happen. We cry, remember, cherish in our heart, and keep moving forward.

There’s really nothing I can share here to make it better for my reader who is in the midst of navigating a new path, other than, I’ll come sit with you (even if only virtually) and we’ll feel the feelings together.

One thing I’ve learned in the multiple funerals I’ve attended over several years, our #journey on this earth, in our physical existence is about community. Living, doing life with, laughing and crying with a community of people – some will be family by blood, others are family by choice. We’re in this together. We were created for community.

My other thought is in the spiritual. When the soul leaves and we are left with only the vessel it lived in, where does the soul go? Whatever your answer to this question, are you 100% sure? Of all the questions you answer in life, this one has eternal consequences. And makes a huge difference in how we navigate life.

If I’ve stirred some questions, message me, I’ll be glad to have a conversation with you. If you’ve read more than a few of my posts, you know what I believe.

In the meantime, for those who have more empty chairs this year, please know that there is a community around you sitting in grief, feeling the feelings.

All the best,

KK

Can’t never did anything

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Can’t never did anything. Those words are etched in my DNA. When I was young, if a task or assignment was difficult, I would whine to my mother, “I can’t.” Without fail, she would say to me, “Can’t never did anything.”

While she had probably just wanted me to quit whining and leave her alone, her words stuck. Every time we say “can’t” to something, we are eliminating the experience, opportunity, or adventure from the story of our lives. Just as when we say “can,” we’re adding to our lives.

Whether your answer is “can’t” or “can,” you’re making a choice. Use each in the appropriate amount of moderation. Too much of either, and you may find yourself on the wrong side of a mistake.

I like to learn new things. Some may say it’s too late for me to learn to tap dance, earn another degree, change careers, or crochet. To them I say, “can’t never did anything.”

I challenge you in the new year to choose something new to learn. Let me know what you decide.

All the best,

KK

Check out my latest novel, Designs for Nora. Available on Amazon.

How much loss can one woman take? Six years ago, Nora St. Claire’s husband, Seth, a police officer, was killed. Nora never expected to be a widow at 37. How can she start over? As she ventures into dating, another loss brings her teenage niece to live with her. When her niece’s estranged father shows up demanding visitation, Nora considers what it would mean to forgive the one person who brought tremendous pain to her family. Nora’s situation allows her to experience God’s renewing spirit in a way she never expected.

Daylight Saved

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I love how humans think by changing the time on clocks, we can control #daylight. Twice a year, we move the hands on the clock forward or back to “change” whether it’s light when we get up in the morning and dark when we get home from work.

I love this quote: “Timekeeping is also the invisible structure that makes modern infrastructure work.” From ancient Egypt, humans have attempted to track or measure time moving forward. The concept of daylight savings time was on and off again in the 1940s during the war. In 1966, the Unified Time Act was passed. I guess someone thought they needed an act of Congress to control daylight.

I hope you realize how ludicrous this sounds. We need more daylight, so let’s change the clocks? The thing we measure time with? That’s like saying, I’d like a bigger house, so let’s change the numbers on the tape measure.

Seasons, nature, brings us longer or shorter days. It’s the way the laws of nature were set in motion. There’s a time for planting, growing, harvesting, and resting. As we need longer light, we have in it when the days of spring and summer grow longer. When harvest is complete and winter comes, nature slows down or sleeps; why not humans? Ok, so sleeping away the winter isn’t a great idea, but there’s nothing wrong with slowing down, doing some re-grouping before spring comes again.

What are your thoughts?

KK

Let’s connect. If you haven’t already, please choose to follow KK’s Candor. To stay in touch with my writing adventures, you can find me on social media.

I failed miserably

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Thirty-eight days ago, I encouraged you to go on a 40-day journey in which you (and I) would draw closer to the Lord as we prepared for #Easter. Here we are on Good Friday, how’d you do?

The title of this post may be a little dramatic. I didn’t fail miserably, but I certainly wasn’t consistent with a new spiritual habit. Like the disciples in the garden, I couldn’t stay awake. I didn’t find time every day to be with the Lord in an intentional manner that would focus more closely on the history-making, life-giving sacrifice of Easter. But that’s ok.

If I were perfect, I wouldn’t need Easter. And I need it. I need the Sunday-morning empty tomb every day. It brings such great comfort in this mixed-up world to know the tomb was empty. The truth of Christ’s #resurrection is an everyday reminder that the #God of the universe … you know the One who created the heavens and the earth … lived a perfect life, never being distracted from His one purpose, took a beating no man should have survived, died a humiliating death, and three days later walked out of His own grave. That’s profound. He did it for me and you.

As this is being posted, we are at the hour of Christ’s death. The world turned dark. I wonder if even nature wept for its Creator. We know that there was an earthquake. But Sunday’s coming. In our darkest hours of life, we can remember that Sunday is coming. In the meantime, we hold on to God’s strength. God’s life-giving power.

God’s power over death when He walked out of His own grave is the same power we are offered to overcome the darkness that shadows our lives. We step out into His light, His hope, and breathe renewal.

I’ve confessed that I haven’t spent intentional time getting ready for Easter Sunday, but every day I’ve connected with our Savior in prayers that were sometimes simple. Every day, I stepped into His light and recognized where my strength comes from. Every day, He met me and accepted me for who I am, in all my imperfections. He doesn’t leave me there. We are encouraged to continuously flea from the temptations of this world. To not give in. To lean into our mighty God to overcome and walk with Him.

He will meet you as well. He already knows and loves you. Today, He’d like to walk with you because the tomb was empty on that first Easter.

Peace and blessings,

KK

Serving

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It’s interesting that when I thought about this topic, my first thought was “serving others.” Now, I’m wondering if #serving others is a farce. When we put ourselves forward to serve, the benefits that come back to us many times feel so much better than what we’ve done in our service.

A personal mantra of mine is “to make a difference.” It’s difficult for me to sit back and watch others serve. I typically jump in to help. Perhaps sometimes my help isn’t really needed, but is accepted, so my impact is small. That’s fine; sometimes, it’s the small gestures that mean the most to someone else. Other times, I’ve been the leader in service. While that role comes with a dual-opportunity to serve both the team and the recipients of our collective service, it still feels good to use my talents in a way that makes a difference.

Our #church is encouraging members to go on a short-term mission trip sometime in the next two years. One week of our lives submitted to the need of a ministry in our city, country, or abroad, to step out of our comfort zone and into someone else’s way of everyday life. One week to let the Holy Spirit empower and sustain us in eating different foods, doing different work, and living within the constraints of water limitations or other conveniences we take for granted.

What kind of #impact can one week have on those we go to serve? As workers, we will hopefully help move a project along that would otherwise take months to complete. We will be extra hands to help lift the load those we are serving carry every day. One word, one conversation, or one act of service will connect two individuals from different areas of our city or parts of the world, perhaps for eternity. By the time we leave, we will be different people. We will see the world through a different lens. We may approach situations in our own lives differently. And we will, through the Holy Spirit, have made an impact that will foster something wonderful for those we’ve served.

How can you serve or volunteer in 2025? It may not be a week in another country; perhaps it will be an hour or afternoon right where you live. Either way, you have encouragement to offer someone in need of hearing from you.

All the best,

KK

Let’s connect. If you haven’t already, please choose to follow KK’s Candor. To stay in touch with my writing adventures, you can find me on social media.

The 40-day Journey

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Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of a 40-day journey toward #Easter. This time each year commemorates Christ’s 40 days in the desert, during which He fasted and prayed and perfectly refuted Satan’s temptations.

The Lenten Rose blooms around Easter.

For the Christian, this season is solemn, one of reflection and sacrifice. Lent-observing believers add Lenten spiritual disciplines such as fasting, reading a daily devotional, or prayer to prepare their hearts and draw closer to God.

At the end of Lent, we celebrate Easter, the picture of eternal hope. An empty tomb, the fulfillment of the prophecies that Christ would be crucified, die, and overcome death through resurrection.

When I think about what can be accomplished in 40 days, I’m reminded that it is said it takes 21 days to build a habit. That’s only half of our #Lenten season. If we choose to take up a spiritual discipline such as dedicated prayer time or reading scripture, in the 40 days, that discipline should become a spiritual habit. Positive spiritual habits can change the trajectory of our spiritual journey and our closeness to God.

We are all invited on this journey toward Easter. Join me. Choose something, a devotional, and read scripture every day. The Gospel of John is a good place to start. If you haven’t already, load the Bible app on your device for convenience. Or you may choose to fast something that distracts you from your spiritual journey. If you choose to fast eating, be careful of health issues that may be impacted. I’m not talking about being “hangry”; I’m referring to my friends and loved ones who are diabetic. That being said, giving up something you love to have every day, like your morning coffee. The goal of fasting is to take those moments when we miss that thing we’ve given up to look to the Lord either for strength or simply to recognize Him as our provider.

My prayer for those reading this post is that you will end the 40-day journey on Easter at your local church celebrating Christ’s triumph over the grave, and just as important, that He went to His torturous death to bring salvation for you and me. [Check out this video about Easter]

Drop me a comment below. I’d love to hear about your Lenten journey.

All the best,
KK

Let’s connect. If you haven’t already, please choose to follow KK’s Candor. To stay in touch with my writing adventures, you can find me on social media, @KHRWriter.