One of the most meaningful keepsakes in my shadow box is a card that accompanied flowers delivered to me on the last day of school back in 1980. It was my third year of teaching second graders and Paul was one of my students. His parents purchased the flowers as a thank you gift. The card reads, “Thank you for investing in our son, Paul. You have made a difference and we are grateful.” Thanking someone is a beautiful thing. Thankfulness lifts an exhausted soul. Gratitude is like oxygen to the lungs and clouds under tired feet. Gratitude can clear cobwebs from overwhelmed brains and calluses from hardened hearts. Thankfulness restores and heals. Paul’s parents went out of their way to notice my efforts and Paul’s progress … [Read more...]
Help Prevent Bullying: Overcome Being Overwhelmed
October 24, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
With many concerned parents and grandparents, I recently attended a community seminar about bullying. As you know if you saw my Facebook post, I was extremely disappointed that the panel members discussed coping with bullying rather than preventing it. Although it’s great to give parents suggestions for helping their children deal with bullies, why wasn’t preventing bullying included in the teaching? I also recently attended a seminar about a Christian worldview. The information was detailed, passionately delivered, compelling, and fascinating. During the four hours, my feelings vacillated among being concerned, fearful, angry, exhilarated, and overwhelmed. Listening and working to process it all was exhausting. I realized, anew, … [Read more...]
Dr. Kathy on Pure Passion TV – “Trauma of Child Sexual Abuse”
October 20, 2011 by · 1 Comment
This interview was done a few years ago but was just made available on Cross.Tv. I hope you find it helpful. Pure Passion TV - "Trauma of Child Sexual Abuse": … [Read more...]
Helping People to Decide
October 17, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Maybe one of the most challenging aspects of decision making is that we can’t control what others do and we sometimes get splashed by their mud. Do you know what I mean? Have you ever stood on a corner and helplessly watched a car go through a large puddle, splashing you and everyone else, when the puddle could have been safely avoided? I have. The driver laughed as he drove on. A friend and I joke that we’d like to print window decals and bumper stickers that simply state, “Just ask me!” It’s our private way of acknowledging things we disagree with and decisions we think are actually rather ridiculous. Would you buy and display the same stickers? What are proper responses when we recognize others are making unwise … [Read more...]
Making “New” Decisions
October 13, 2011 by · 1 Comment
I’m a person of habit. People who know me well are laughing right now. It’s an understatement, actually.At some restaurants, I don’t need to open the menu. I know what to order. Some of you think that’s sick, but it works for me. It wouldn’t work for you. That’s okay. I’ll take the same roads to the same place over and over again. Why try another way when I know what works? Not long ago, construction loomed ahead of my friend, Nancy, and me while we drove to the fitness center. We quickly turned to the right and made a left up ahead, making it to the center even though we went a different way. Guess what? It was a better way and we’ve used it ever since, even though the construction is long over. Sometimes I have to be … [Read more...]
People Have Purpose
October 10, 2011 by · 1 Comment
People Have Purpose Walking into the apartment, all I saw were walls covered in clothes. It was weird. They didn’t belong there.The apartment’s tiny closet didn’t have much room. So the first missionary who arrived made space for her clothes. She hung them over pictures, took pictures down and used nails for her hangers, and had even placed some outfits between a wall and a chair. She made an apartment into a closet and left the closet space for me.***In my office, almost staring down at me, is a black-and-white picture of my grandfather as a young man. Dressed in a fancy double-breasted, pin-striped suit, he’s standing at a podium giving an important speech. I like to think that I inherited at least some of my word-smart, … [Read more...]
Purpose is Powerful
October 6, 2011 by · 1 Comment
Purpose is Powerful In 2010, I spoke at and learned a lot from two Wellness conferences at Scott & White Hospital in Temple, TX. The experience was fabulous.We learned that lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in men and women. The most common cause of overall death in men and women is cardiovascular disease. This led to one theme of our day: most disease is preventable. Then why are so many people sick and dying? A second theme was that we should make movement mandatory. This is so much easier to receive than “you must exercise!” As the fitness specialist said, some people think exercise is a double four-letter word, but we can all move more. … [Read more...]
“Pull With Your Back” – A Lesson in Security
October 3, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
“Pull with your back.” My initial reaction was disbelief. I heard myself wonder, “What?” but I was pretty sure I had just thought it and not actually asked it. Linda, my fitness trainer, repeated herself: “Pull with your back.” I’m not even very picture smart, but I laughed as I saw and imagined large hands coming out of my back to grab the handles. I told Linda what I had seen and she laughed, too. Because the piece of equipment we were using was designed to strengthen back muscles, Linda wanted me using those muscles, rather than my arms. You know what I discovered? Because of the trust I had in Linda, I knew it must be possible to actually pull with back muscles, even though my hands were on the handles and it … [Read more...]
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