Author Archives: K H Richardson

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About K H Richardson

I am a long-time creative sort who by day is a communications strategist and in every free moment writes fiction or blogs!

A Guy and his dog

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A couple of weeks ago I was driving on I-64E near the Gene Snyder.  When I describe to you what I saw remember I was traveling 65 miles an hour (or so) and was trying to not miss my exit.  As I made my approach to the exit there was a hitchhiker with a small dog.  The man had a beard and a full size pack as if he had everything he owned in the pack or was just prepared for a long journey.  Ok, so we’ve all seen hitchhikers or backpackers, but what struck me as unusual was the small dog he had on a leash with him.

Then just today I was the exit at I-64 and Hurstbourne lane.  A man was there with a red and black back pack and a dog on a leash.  It was not the same man or the same dog.  While waiting for the light to change I observed a woman in an SUV stop.  That’s right, she didn’t just hand him some odd change or a dollar, she pulled off the road, got out of her car and asked him if his dog had been fed.  She then proceeded to open the back of her car and pull out a opened bag of dog food and bowl.  She poured some food in.  While the dog was wagging its tail, it didn’t seem too hungry; even when she pulled out the milk bones.  She gave him some extra dog food for later.

Our light turned green and we had to leave the scene.  It just made me wonder about the man and his dog and even the woman.   Driving past them, I couldn’t help but remember the other man I’d seen.   Two men probably homeless each with a companion, a dog.  I wondered about the woman who stopped to help one of the dogs.

Tonight as we said our bedtime prayer, we prayed for these people who God created for a purpose and that He would take care of them.

What are your thoughts?

All the best,

KK

Are you wearing that?

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Apparently, people have forgotten how to dress appropriately.  We were raised that you dress for the occasion.  For example, going out to dinner a play, the orchestra or fine dining restaurant meant a dress or skirt, blouse or sweater and dress shoes.  Going to church meant dressing up, because in the words of my mother, “if you can’t dress up for God, who can you?”  Holidays at a relative’s house meant wearing our dress cloths as well.  After college when I began interviewing for jobs there were very specific rules for what to wear to a first interview, second interview.  As well, there were rules about what NOT to wear.

Dressing appropriately does not mean you have to be uncomfortable, it simply means you need to dress for the occasion in an appropriate way according to what you will be doing and the people with whom you will be.  Failure to teach our children this is as atrocious as not teaching them table manners or to respect authority.

What happened to taking pride in how we look?  What happened to taking time to plan our outfit for a special occasion or outing?

Recently, on a Saturday evening we went to the ballet at the Kentucky Center for the Arts.  My husband wore slacks, collared shirt and jacket.  I wore black dress slacks and a dressy sweater.   There was a group of girls sitting two rows in front of us all dressed in skirts and sweaters.  It was obvious that their ballet instructor had brought them and had “coached” them on behavior and what they should expect.  In contrast, I saw a woman with her two daughters wearing dingy sneakers, Capri pants and t-shirts.

Before you call me a snob for pointing out that the mother and daughters were not dressed appropriately, read on.  Do you think they were comfortable among others who were dressed up?  It does not take a lot of money to dress up a little more than Capri pants and sneakers — even to put them in Walmart brand dress cloths.

I’ve heard preachers explain from the pulpit while wearing cargo pants and sandals that “ties just weren’t them.”   That’s fine, but could you at least wear long pants and a collared shirt?  You want to present yourself as a credible source of information.  I’m not sure I can take someone in cut-offs seriously when he is trying to lead me to salvation.  Tell the congregation (especially those checking church out for the first time) that you are a believable.  Isn’t worship time our gift of ourselves to God?  Why wouldn’t we want to look our best?

Ok, while I’m on the subject let’s talk about the “baggy pant syndrome” that so many of our teens are lost in.  We were in the park watching some kids play ball while on the other basketball court older boys were playing a shirts and skins pick-up game.  The whole time he was playing this one guy was struggling to run, be ready for the ball, shoot and hold his pants up.  I was scared that I was going to learn more about this boy than I needed to know.  Besides how fun was that for him to not just be able to run and enjoy the game? 

Let me encourage you to take a look at yourself.  You are a precious child of God, a special person.  Take pride in looking your best and presenting yourself appropriately.  If you are a parent, teach your children what it means to dress and present themselves with pride and confidence.  How we wear our cloths says a lot about how we feel about ourselves.

What do you think?

All the best,

KK

P.S. — I also believe appropriate dress for a day off at home or running errands is sweats, no make-up and hair in a pony tail. 

Take Ten

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I don’t travel long or far without a book to read in my car, bag or purse.  It may be a novel I’m reading for fun, a how-to book on writing or editing techniques or a business trend book.  Many times I have a variety of all three going at once.  Having these books handy means that if stuck in traffic I can get a page read, or by chance I’m early for an appointment, a chapter could be consumed, or if I’m at ball practice watching Cole, I might get a little reading done.  These opportunities give me minutes that I use to take in a story or information.  Why then, didn’t I mention the Bible?

Before we state the obvious, think of the books of the Bible in terms of the stories they tell.  Family histories, trials, triumphs, love, drama and a happy ending – the same kinds of stories we pull off the shelves in the fiction section.  The Bible provides the “how to” and “self-help” for any situation or season of life.  And yet, it’s not in our quick read pile.

Why not pick up the inspired word of God for a verse, chapter or book?   The Bible comes in all shapes and sizes.  It can be taken anywhere.  Yet, we leave by the bed, on a shelf or in the car only to carry into church on Sunday morning.

The one, five or ten minutes in traffic or waiting on others when we pull out our other reading materials, we could use to connect with God’s word and the people He used to teach us.  I certainly am not saying to exclude a good fiction or informational book from your reading.  I’m encouraging you to keep the Bible in your regular reading pile.  Treat it like the life handbook and great literature that it is.

Let me know how it goes.

All the best,
KK

Step outside your own perspective –

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From inside my house looking out I can see snow, lots and lots of snow.  Looking to our front yard I can’t see the landscaping wall.  It’s all blended in with nearly seven inches of snow.  The street and sidewalks are covered.  Looking out our window, it’s obvious that there is too much snow to go anywhere.  But I did.

I drove two blocks down to the main entrance of our neighborhood and the site was much different.  The road at the end of our street was clear.  It has a few wet spots, but for the most part is it was dry and easily passable.

Sometimes our perspective on things keeps us stuck where we are.  If I judged whether or not to go out based on what my yard and what the neighborhood looked like, I would be at home for the next month.  But a trusted source told me it was ok to venture out, in fact, once at the end of my street, things were better than they were in front of my house.  I would never had known or experienced the difference had I not left my driveway.

Have you limited your options because of your perspective?  Have you not trusted someone to help you pull out of your comfort zone to something better?

We have all done it – in our jobs, in our relationships (or fear of relationships), in our life experiences.  We have stayed inside our safe, warm homes thinking there was snow and ice everywhere, and not trusted those who have gone before us.

Sometimes at work if I’m trying to work out a problem or detail on a project I will sit on the other side of my desk in the visitor’s chair.  Changing my point of view, changing my perspective many times brings new ideas or fresh answers.

Be encouraged today to step out and explore a little, change your scenery and you might change your mind and heart about some things.  Let me know how it goes.

All the best,

KK

Welcome to the Creation

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On a cloudy rainy day, you might have a headache.  During the winter months when our days are shorter, you might feel blah.  On a night when the moon is full and its rays light the darkness, you might feel more restless.  On sunny afternoon you may struggle to stay inside.  You are drawn out of doors for a walk or to relax in the sun.  When you see the first blooms of spring, does something inside you feel hopeful?

These are pretty rudimentary examples, but I encourage you to think about your connection to God’s creation.  We don’t live outside of the creation, we are part of it.

I’ve been thinking recently about the connection humans have with the creation.  Too many times we don’t consider that we are part of it, the earth and world.  Man was created just like the earth, sky, light and darkness.  God reached down and formed Adam from the dust of the ground – from the earth, He created Adam.  Think about it.  Ponder for a moment that our Creator took His creation a step further.

After the seas and the sky, animals and even the garden, God created a man and breathed into Him from the same breath that put air in our atmosphere.  Why don’t we consider more often our connection to the creation?

All the best,
KK

It’s not too late to set the goal

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Those close to me know that my thing isn’t New Year’s resolutions, its setting goals.  Your goals don’t have to be decided on January first; too much hype.  On New Year’s Day we are all excited about the new year and we think about ALL the things we think we can accomplish or change in the next 364 days.  We are off work and we aren’t thinking right about how many hours in the day there are.  However, goals should be written by the end of the first week of January.  This will allow for the hype and excitement of the new year to settle down a little bit and you can think of your goals in the reality of going back to work and school.

So, here we are at the end of the first week.  What do you want to change or accomplish in 2010? You may not want to change anything, simply grow in an area of your life.  I am a true believer of being a life-long learner.  Among other things, I always add a goal that will provide for me an opportunity to learn.  Maybe you would like to learn to sew or ballroom dance.  Whatever it is, even if you are not sure how you will accomplish it, write it down.

After you have made your list of potential goals, review your list and choose the top four things that you believe to be specific, measurable and possible.  Writing your goals down makes them real.  Picture the accomplishment as you write.

Generally, after I’ve written my goals, I use January to develop my plan.  I never rush in to get started.  Pace yourself so you don’t fizzle out.  Eighty percent of New Year’s resolutions (goals) have been forgotten by February first.  You’ve got your written goals, take time in January to find out how to accomplish them.  How will you fit into your normal routine this goal or the activities that will lead to its accomplishment?  Will you need to take a class?  Do you need to find a book on a subject?  If your goal is to exercise more, find the activity or activities that you enjoy that will help you accomplish that goal.  What exercise can you do when it’s cold and you are stuck inside?  What exercise can you do outside when the weather is warmer?  Take a week or so and really figure out how you will accomplish the goal.

THEN by the last week of January or early February start working toward that goal.  By waiting and getting the information you need you will incorporate the goal into your regular weekly schedule.  Having a new activity or a revitalized old activity or goal will give newness to February (a typically dreary month).

Around July fourth, pull out your written goals and review them.  Are these still goals you want to accomplish?  Has one risen above the rest and is taking more time?  Use July as a reboot to your desire to accomplish something in the year.  My birthday is in May, that’s when I review things.

I have written my goals for years.  I have several categories:  physical, spiritual, financial and personal.  Some years I accomplish one thing in one category.  That’s more than I might have had I not written anything down.  There have been years when I simply transferred goals from one year to the next after reviewing and renewing my interest in them.  Other years, I’ve accomplished more than 90% of what I had written.  Whether the goal is accomplished or moved into the next year, by writing them down, the awareness of the goal becomes real.

I could go on and explain to you how to look at your goal and break it down into smaller pieces and set benchmarks, but you can ask Steve Covey about all that.  Today, I encourage you to write it down, figure out how to get it done, and go after it!

Achieving goals isn’t rocket science, it’s about dedication and a little discipline and sometimes being uncomfortable for your own betterment.

Last year it wasn’t my own accomplishment that I was in awe, it was that of my older sister.  She gave up smoking.  She had smoked the better part of her adult life and admitted that it was an addictive behavior.    I don’t exactly know what made her decide that it was time, but she made the decision and committed herself to the effort.  It wasn’t easy.  She struggled.  We celebrated milestones with her of 30, 60 and 90 days.  Then it was 100 days.  After that in our minds, she was a non-smoker.  Along the way she shared with me some of the challenges both emotional and physical in giving up the habit.  She struggled when she walked past someone smoking.  She missed the activity of smoking.  But she stayed the course.  Yes, she gained some weight, so she started walking in the evenings and cycling.

Her goal of giving up one bad habit led her to choose a healthier activity.  Gail, I am so very proud of you.

One of my goals last year was to have something published.  I didn’t.  But during the course of the year and working to improve my writing, I found the NANOWRIMO (www.nanowrimo.org)  world wide challenge to write 50,000 words (or a novel) in one month.  I took the challenge with the support of my husband and son.  In 28 days, I wrote 50,798 words!  And I finished a rough draft of my first novel.  I wrote on average 1,700 words a day.  Yes, I gave up some TV time and spent a few lunch hours writing.  But I did something that others only talk about and something I’ve wanted to do all my life.  It was a big deal to me.  But it wasn’t what I started out to do.  If I hadn’t been focused on the goal of bettering my writing, I would not have come across the NANOWRIMO challenge. 

You may journey toward one goal only to find yourself accomplishing something else.  That’s great too.  Do you get my point here?  Be encouraged to not just float through life saying “someday I will…” and never get around to it.  We can blame work or busyness on not accomplishing goals.  Take charge of your time; carve out time to do something that will better you or your life.

Let me know how it goes.

All the best,
KK

…and the soul felt its worth

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One of my favorite Christmas songs is Oh Holy Night.  And my favorite phrase is “…and the soul felt its worth.”  The soul felt its worth.  It doesn’t say, your soul or my soul, it’s the soul; a universal statement that tells us that as a collection of souls — believers then, now and in the future experienced the purpose of Jesus.  The purpose of Jesus was at His birth and through his life to give us worth.

What is our worth?  What is your worth?  What is my worth? Can we really measure our worth?  What I do know is that if you were the only one on earth that needed saving, Jesus would still have come, ministered, and died.  That is your worth and mine. Do you know this in your mind?

Let’s talk about your heart and soul.  How do we move the knowledge of Jesus to the truth in our heart?  Consider how Jesus came to us.  He wasn’t born into an earthly family of affluence.  He understood what it was to see his parents struggle to make “ends meet.”  He watched his father work endless hours to provide and when he was old enough, he joined his earthly father in his earthly work.  He wasn’t born into a royal family, because he left his throne in heaven.  It was never His purpose to reign on earth by our means.   I remind you of this because Jesus truly understood and experienced our total human experience.  He didn’t just observe and learn; He felt it.  He lived it.  He knew hunger and physical need.  He knew rejection from those he loved.  He knew temptation straight from the devil himself.  He had no home and lived simply on the day to day provision of His heavenly father.

Jesus knew His worth and purpose and on that silent night with little fanfare and only the animals in a barn, God showed believers then, today and forever their worth.

Does your soul felt its worth? Be encouraged at his moment to not click another button before you take some time, close your eyes picture the birth and life of Christ and know He did it for you.  You have that much worth in the eyes of the God of all creation.

Merry Christmas,
KK

Our house – Our home

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I love my house.  No, I love my home.  The most special thing about it is that for the past 12 years it has sheltered me, my dog and for the last 9 years, my son from the world.  We live in a little cape cod in an older neighborhood.  There are big trees and sidewalks along our street.  Our home has been a place I’ve escaped to during some of life’s greatest sadness and it has been the place of some of my greatest joys.  My son took his first steps in the front yard.  The swing set/club house that was in the back yard provided the setting for hours and hours of pretend adventures for my son.  My father built the deck out back and there have been hundreds of hours of laughter and fun with friends and family out there.  The deck is also a place that I laid under the stars and prayed for God’s direction.

But I love my husband and son more.  You see just over a year ago, I married a man who I am sure was at the head of his class in Prince Charming U.  Actually, he is so much more than romantic; he is a faithful man who cherishes me like a husband should.  He loves my son and is a mentor to him.  With this marriage we have quickly realized that the little cape cod is just a little too little for our family.  So, it’s time to put it on the market.  We did so a couple of months ago.  While I will miss this home, I pray that it will bring the next owners the same sanctuary it brought us.

Yesterday, we spent the day getting ready for today’s showing.  I was blessed to have been in every part of my house.  With my IPOD on and singing obnoxiously, I danced and dusted experienced the joy of my little home – the bright colors, the wood floors.  I chased dust bunnies out and opened the windows to let fresh air in.  The entire time enjoying my home and thinking about those who will come next.

Moving will be very emotional for me no matter how excited I am about a new home.  I have great security in these walls and under this roof.  God has blessed me richly here and I have no doubt that He has plan for our new home.

When I think about days that have joy, yesterday was one of them;  just experiencing our little home for all it is – 1,000 square feet of home with a million square feet of heart.

All the best,
KK

Joshua did it and we can too…

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The water of the Jordan was at flood stage.  Not being a very wide river, at flood stage it raged.  The leaders, the priests who were carrying the ark, the sacred ark. were told to go to the waters edge and then take one more step.  That step of faith that was not made out of being rational, but out of their faith in God to protect or teach.  In this situation, God taught the Iseralites about His mighty strength.  His strength to stop the flood waters to make a way for His people to pass.

The priests were told to go and stand in the water, so it was more than one step, it was several.  I wonder what the priests on the front of the ark thought when they took the very first steps into the raging waters.  Did the waters slow to allow them to keep their footing?  Or did God allow them to feel a little unstable at first and then as the water was held back they stabled themselves?  Did the two guys in the back think as they followed?

What would you have done?  Would your palms have been sweaty?  Could you feel the ark slip a little?  Feel the cool water as you first step in, steady, ok, still standing…

We have the waters of challenge every day.  Sometimes they are at flood stage and stay awhile only to crest just below our chin.  It’s the Lord who carries us through those floods.  While it may not feel like it, it is God who holds the water just enough so as to protect us through the flood.

There are those who have gone before us and are on the other side of whatever flood stage river you are trying to cross right now.  Are you on the waters edge and afraid to take the next step toward the promise, the life, the blessing God has for you?  With every step God is there to teach, to hold and to love you.  Yes, you will feel the waters try to knock you down.  Yes, you will feel the slippery steps.  But the steps of faith, the steps toward God while may seem shaky are still steps toward the God who voiced those waters into being.

That’s what I’m counting on.  Not the flooded river, or the slimy rocks, or my ability to navigate across, lead me dear God.

Be encouraged today that while God can do anything, we can do something – a single step of faith into the waters of the world.

All the best,
KK

It’s Fall, go shopping – in your basement?

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Driving home this evening I glanced at the dashboard in my car only to learn that at 6:30 this evening it was only 56 degrees.  I turned up the heat in the car.  Guess my blood hasn’t thickened for cooler weather.  Anyway, I came home and decided to see what fall clothes I had stored.

When I pulled back the sheet that covers my rack in the basement, I was reacquainted with some of my favorites from last fall.  Adding them back into my closet and taking my summer wears out made me feel like I have new clothes to choose from.  I will feel like I have some new looks going on.  And by the time I want to buy new clothes, they will all be on SALE!!!

I do this with my purses too.  And if you ask my 9 year old son I don’t need any new purses, I have an abundance of purses.  But seriously, if I’m thinking about a new purse but either don’t have the funds or can’t find something I like, I go down to the basement where I store my purses and “shop”.   I can usually find an old favorite that I will carry for a while.   No, I’m not one of those women who changes purses every day.  Oh, and obviously I am not a slave to fashion changing my wardrobe every year.  But I do cull through to pull out aging items and add new pieces along the way.

If you are like me, you hate to see summer go.  It’s going.  Embrace and go find something “new” from last year to build back into your wardrobe. 

Let me know how it goes.

All the best,
KK