Tag Archives: #amwriting

It’s like wearing clean underwear

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There are habits and characteristics we take on as adults that we probably don’t realize come from our parents. How many times have you said something to your child and had the immediate thought, “I just sounded like my mother?” My mother has always believed in a spotless house. She can find dust before the dust bunnies. I’m not sure her three daughters caught the “house-cleaning” gene. Don’t get me wrong, we all like a clean house, but we generally aren’t as obsessive about it unless visitors are coming. In addition to day to day straightening, once a month our home gets a good top to bottom vacuum, dust and bathroom clean-up. For me the big house-cleaning-white-tornado comes with visitors or our leaving town. It’s like wearing clean underwear. What if something happened while we were away and somebody had to go into the house?

house-cleaning

**Not my house

There have been times that I have been known to literally vacuum our way out the door. In addition to all the preparations there are in leaving for a short weekend trip or a full vacation, I feel it necessary to clean the house. And even if we leave at five in the morning, the beds are made before our departure.

Of all the quirks I could have inherited, this is a productive one and my husband is wonderfully patient with me about it. As I see it there are two good outcomes from this habit.

First, like I said, should something happen and someone need to come into our home while we are away, they will find order and cleanliness. This can only help with the matter that has brought them there.

Secondly, when we come home, we come home to a clean house. We can ease back into reality of work or school without having to do anything around the house. It’s like extending vacation-mode a little longer.

KK

Celebrating Freedom

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We the people…

We hold these truths…

Strong phrases that begin foundational statements and documents for our country. Upon these phrases are built the core values of our country. The freedoms we take for granted everyday were penned creative-inspirational-quotes-thoughts-part11-61under these phrases. The freedom to speak our opinions, the freedom to own guns and protect that which we work hard for and the freedoms to worship. With freedom comes both responsibility and opportunity. Yes, we have the opportunity to take full advantage of our freedoms. But we also have the responsibility to not let those freedoms harm or keep others from living their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. These behaviors must be chosen, they can not be legislated. They are convictions of the heart.

We live in the greatest country in the world, founded on Godly inspired truths. Our founding fathers were as fallible as our political leaders are now. But they stood on God’s word and built a country. Today as we celebrate our freedoms, we recognize they came at a cost to thousands of others. Moving forward, we the people need to determine the future by first examining our own hearts.

KK

Spring Will Come Early!

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Dateline: February 2, 2016

ground-hog-day

Just as the sun beam was creeping in the hole of Phil’s family home there came an obnoxious thumping. Phil’s mother ran through the tunnels of their fourth generation sub terrain home screaming for Phil to get up and find his scarf. “Today is the day!”

Every year it was the same for Phil, whose given name was Ralph after a big family fallout, but that’s a different story. Phil was the fourth generation groundhog who the handlers of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania came calling on to tell them his vision for the end of winter. Phil heard his mother, but rolled over. “Really mom, can those humans not look at a calendar?”

Pulling the covers back and nudging him up, his mother wrapped the scarf around his thick neck. “That’s not the point Phillip. This is our family legacy, like your father, your grandfather and your…” Rubbing his eyes and shaking himself awake Phil waddled toward the thumping sound. “Yea, I know and my great grandfather who came over on some big ship, half-starved when he arrived to a better life in America.”

“Phillip, stop that. Be proud of our family and go out there and tell these humans what you see.” With a smirk. “Or don’t see.”

As Phil poked his head out of the entry, a large gloved hand reached down and swooped him high for the thousands to see. The man was wearing a funny hat. Maybe I’ll get me one of those for next year.

The crowd grew silent as they watched the rodent sniff the platform. Would he stay a while and declare a short winter? Or would he see his shadow and scurry back into his hole? Phil gave the people a few minutes of suspense and strongly considered zipping back into his warm, safe cavern. But then something caught his eye. Something no one else would have noticed.

Across the park just outside the gathering of fans, who didn’t realize cheering his name would sway him, were three of the cutest female groundhogs Phil had ever laid eyes on. They were chippering amongst themselves. True motivation to stay out for a while and enjoy the scenery. Knowing the three lady friends were watching, Phil stood up on his hind legs and sent them a view of his abs of steel that only female groundhogs could appreciate.

The crowd went crazy the man with the tall hat grabbed the microphone and announced his interpretation of Phil’s prediction that spring would in fact come early this year! The band played and the people hugged. Phil took advantage of the distraction and scurried off the platform and hid.

Will Phil stay close and meet his three fans? Will his mother ever quit rehashing the groundhog story? Will spring really come early or arrive on March 20th as always? My friend, these are questions I will leave you to ponder.

KK

The children are our future

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This morning in our Sunday school class (or Sunday morning Bible study, whatever you call it) we discussed a passage from Mark 10 when Jesus rebukes his disciples as they attempted to keep the children from Him. There are certainly many layers to this passage to explore, but the one that we camped out on was the fact that children have a point of view on faith and Jesus that we should value and pay attention to. Our children do represent future believers in our churches, future parents passing their faith to another generation, future employees and supervisors who will have a broader spherechildren-7 of influence outside their home and churches. As parents we have an awesome responsibility to our children, to raise them to know the Lord personally and to carry their personal faith into adulthood. Allow me to take this responsibility a step further.

Not every believer is a parent. An individual who is a Christ follower may be an aunt or uncle, a teacher, a coach, or a friend of the family. These adults can have a HUGE impact in the life of a child. As I listened to the lesson this morning and I considered that many of the adults in the class were parents, I was grossly aware of the individuals who are not. But I know them to be investing in the lives of young people who God has brought into their lives.

I don’t often talk about my single parenting days, but during those eight years, the first eight years of my son’s life, I prayed for God to bring Godly men into his life. The prayer was answered in several ways – my brother who came to ball games and concerts; a friend from college who “happened” to be his Bible bowl coach and fifth grade teacher; a good friend who coached basketball and baseball; and the best of all, my husband and his step father who shows Christ to him every day.

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me,” and He drew them into His arms. The children we encounter every day or every week need us to invest in them, take an interest and pray for them. To the parents reading this, be encouraged to stay the course and finish the race of parenting strong. When you are tired ask for prayer. As your children grow and become more independent, this is when the real-life choices come. They need you just as much to guide them through the worldly issues they will encounter, as when they were young and you made all the choices for them.

To the non-parents reading this, find a young person and even if you don’t have a close relationship with them, pray for them. Seek ways to cheer them on to a Godly adulthood.

All the best,

KK

 

It’s not what you think

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khrichardsonAbout this time each year I attempt to inspire you to make goals for the New Year. Written goals are 10 times more likely to be accomplished than goals that are not written. Typically, I encourage goals for spiritual growth, financial soundness, and physical betterment. I still believe each of these areas is important, but this year, I’m re-thinking my goal-setting and accomplishing strategy.

What if I keep my three main categories, but only have one maybe two goals in each. Quality not quantity of goals. Each day, week, month, live intentionally to end up with a higher accomplishment rate. I’m not going to lose 15 pounds the first week of the year. But I can over a few months. It’s going to take being intentional each day to lower my sugar intake. It’s going to take being intentional each week to make time to exercise.

In December, I gave up talk radio in order to clear the clutter from my brain and allow my heart to experience the Christmas season. It worked. Not in the way I expected it to, but I found my spirit calm and my heart excited to celebrate the birth of Christ. The other thing I gained from this was control. Instead of absentmindedly turning the channel to talk radio or news, I chose to listen to uplifting and inspirational music. I controlled the messaging going into my brain. It’s important to keep up with news and the affairs of the world, but do it on YOUR terms.

Our days can get busy and life can get messy, take control where you can, be intentional in your living and focus each day on what is most important.

Take Care,
KK

P.S. — Want to help me with one of my goals? Share one of my posts that you most enjoy on your social media sites. Invite your friends and colleagues to follow.

 

 

Happy New Year!

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party hats and hornsI love that the first day of a new year is a holiday. Many wake up ready to throw away the old bad habits and jump into healthier living and better financial decisions. Gung ho! Not me. Yes, there are things I’d like to do and change in 2016, but today is a day of relaxing and family. It’s our last day or two of this holiday season. New Year’s day and (because of how it falls this year) the weekend that follows is a great way to ease into a new year. Take these few days to wrap up your holiday mindset. Make decisions about goals for 2016 and steps you will take to accomplish them. Look at your calendar and plan time to work on your goals. Is it exercise? Is it eating right? How will your meals change this first week/month of the year? Are you going to take a class? When will you be in class and when will you do homework?

Here’s to a well-paced goal-accomplishing 2016.

KK

 

Six Days or Six Thousand, Who Cares?

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There are dozens of theories about howhand of god the earth was created, evolved or banged together. I believe in creation through the power and spirit of one God. But even those who agree with me have thoughts about whether it was six literal 24-hour days or it took thousands of years. To this simple-minded, non-scientific girl, I say, who cares? The story of creation gives us more to discuss than how long it took.

First of all, God created the world and everything in it in a specific order. An order that provided for growth and sustainment. Think about it, the light and darkness came before the land and the water being separated. The land provided for the animals and plants, the water provided for the water creatures and the water that land dwellers would need.

Then came vegetation. All plants and trees needed to produce fruit and food was water, light and darkness.

Then came the sun and the moon. So what was the light and the darkness before we had planets to attribute? Who knows? Perhaps the light and darkness came from the control God had over his own power. Knowing our limited ability to comprehend Him, perhaps God is the pilot light of the sun, set it in space and let it be our reminder of the giver of life. Nonetheless, he gave us the sun and the moon as physical reminders of when we should wake and when we should rest.

He then gave life to the creatures of the sea, air and land. These creatures that would later sustain his favorite part of creation, man.

And 26 verses from nothing, God created his most sophisticated creature, man. Man was created in their image. God put him in charge of all he created. Man, imperfect, but God’s most trusted creation. And to create balance and order, he gave man a woman by which to partner and procreate. It was VERY good. Then he rested.

It is good from us to search the scriptures and have healthy debate. But in six days or 6,000, God gave more than our physical world.

  1. He taught us order. Do things in the right order for greater sustainment. There is peace and harmony in order.
  2. He taught us that nature was important enough to create first. Take notice and respect it.
  3. He gave us structure by which we schedule our life; day and night – seven days. Be productive and create for six days and then remember Him on the seventh. Rest in knowing that God is in charge of the big stuff like the universe AND the little stuff like caring enough to know the number of hairs on your head.

Your thoughts please,

KK

Give It Up For Advent

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Every year folks talk about how busy the Christmas season is. They declare that THIS will be the year they slow down and enjoy the true meaning of the season. Good intentions. I’m guilty of it too. Every year I begin December longing to truly feel that silent night, holy night. And while there will be moments late at night, or in church on Christmas Eve, I don’t feel like I experience what I long to have during the holiday. I’m not looking for movie-like Christmas miracles, just a little deeper peace; an expectancy throughout the season seeking the coming King.

Part of the problem is the noise and clutter in everyday life. What if we made intentional decisions every day to remove the noise we can control? What if each day until December 25th we live expectantly? starUnlike the shepherds and wise men, we have a date on the calendar. We know that we are going to celebrate the birth of Jesus. For believers, it is the birth of our King. The man who changed the course of history.

I don’t sacrifice for Lent. But this year, I’ve decided to sacrifice for Advent. I’m clearing some clutter and making way for the birth of the Savior. I’m giving up talk radio for Advent. No Dave Ramsey or Sean Hannity or NPR. My time with the radio on will be with music declaring the coming King.

The other decision I’ve made is to not get caught in the hurriedness. We will make choices about the most important activities and be in the moment; not worrying about rushing to the next thing.

How will you make this season special? Will you join me in living expectantly each day, choosing to prepare your heart and mind for the birth of the King?

Merry Christmas,

KK

 

Is everything important on the list?

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Fair_volleyball_wingsSunday evening it occurred to me that we would be going straight from Thanksgiving into Christmas. Like within a week. The first weekend in December my father and his wife are coming for their Christmas visit. Given that they will be staying with us and we will be hosting the entire family for a Christmas celebration I needed to make a list.

Actually, there are three lists. Groceries for Thanksgiving week, groceries for the week of their visit and the other “to dos” I want to make happen for it to be a wonderful time. By December 3rd my house will be completely decorated for the holiday and there will be cookies baked. That’s the goal that getting all the things on my list marked off will accomplish. Reviewing my plan and lists something was missing. Something was nagging at me that I needed to do. What was it?

The AHA moment hit when I laid my notebook and pencil down. As I let go of my plan, I realized I needed to be sure I took time to be grateful and enjoy the planning AND the doing. No matter how many things get marked off the list, my dad won’t care and my family won’t notice. It will be preparing my heart for the holiday and the time together that will be the most important thing to do.

Blessings,

KK

 

It Just ‘Aint Fittin’

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Yesterday was November 6th. I was in the car alone driving. Having full control of my radio button-pushing habit, I cruised to 106.9. Let me set the scene. It’s Friday, cloudy and balmy, and about 70 degrees. The sun was fighting to come out. And what to my listening ears should sound? Christmas music, of course.

I’m from Kentucky. Here it’s just as likely to be warm or mild as it could be snowing at Christmas. But I was raised on Irving colaBerlin and George Baily. At least get me past Thanksgiving and into a hint of cooler weather before you blast me with songs about kissing Santa Clause and jingle bells rockin’.

The whole thing was like when Coke attempted to whoo us with clear Coke. It just ain’t fittin’.

Happy Thanksgiving,

KK