Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — The quality of our relationships – our belonging – can make us or break us. Belonging is the third of the five core needs we teach about at Celebrate Kids, Inc. It’s dependent on our security and our identity and it helps us find our purpose which leads to our competence. When our relationships are based on trustworthiness, that shows up as healthy belonging. If we place our security in things, that shows up in our belonging, too. It won’t be as healthy because we haven’t prioritized people or found people worthy of our trust. If we try to meet our need for security in our popularity, position, or … [Read more...]
What Does Security Look Like? Here’s An Example from a Family in Flight
February 6, 2012 by · 3 Comments
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — What does security look like? Here’s one example: The dad took the seat across the aisle from his wife and young daughter. They settled in for the flight to Mobile, Alabama, and discussed an activity they’d do when spending time with her grandparents. After we took off, the girl fell asleep. She awoke when the pilot began our descent from 35,000 feet and pressure in her ears caused pain. The mother handled her daughter’s discomfort brilliantly. For the remaining 15 minutes of our flight, she leaned over to get even closer to her daughter. She maintained close content, often stroking her hair. She regularly had … [Read more...]
Old Skills Can Help With New Situations
January 30, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — The next time you’re in a situation where you don’t know exactly what to do, look back. Chances are good that you have an old skill that may be relevant. We all have old skills. We may forget about them because of lack of use, but they’re there. We don’t forget them. Just about them. I’m not sure how young I was when I first shoveled snow with my dad, but I was young. My parents had lightweight shovels specifically so Dave and I could help. Unless the Milwaukee snow was the light-and-fluffy variety, Dad had to follow us with his heavy-duty shovel in order to get down to the cement. As we grew, Dave and I … [Read more...]
What is The Purpose of Snow?
January 23, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — What’s the purpose of snow? Is it something to shovel or something to have fun with? Something to avoid? Something that makes road dangerous and interrupts your plans? All of the above? Your experiences matter. What’s your purpose? Your experiences matter. Growing up in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, I learned how to shovel snow at a young age. My dad didn’t purchase a snow blower until my brother and I were long gone. Snow was something to shovel. My family enjoyed going to various sledding hills when Dave and I were young. We built snow forts in our front and back yards and had vicious (but fun) snowball fights with … [Read more...]
The Gospel According to A Five Year Old at Christmas
December 22, 2011 by · 2 Comments
The five-year old son of friends drew this insightful picture (full picture below.) He showed it to his dad who asked him, “What does this mean?” The boy answered, “This is Jesus lying in the manger thinking about the cross, and this is Jesus on the cross thinking about the manger.” He gets it. I hope you do. Enough said. … [Read more...]
Inside Out
September 6, 2011 by · 2 Comments
When preparing to wash a load of clothes the other day, I followed directions and remembered to turn one of my tops inside out. When I did, it’s as if I heard God ask, “Kathy, what would people see if I turned you inside out?” I think the question was prompted by my concern about people’s obsession with their appearances. According to 1 Samuel 16:7, God looks at our heart. I had been asking God to help me examine, value, and prioritize what He does. Magazine covers trumpet the ease and value of plastic surgery. News broadcasts and television talk-shows are devoted to dieting and losing weight through surgical procedures. An entire television show, Extreme Makeover (the first of the "makeover" shows), is designed to give men … [Read more...]
Words We Say and Don’t Say Change Lives
July 25, 2011 by · 1 Comment
The words we say and the words we don’t say change lives. Take a moment and read that again. The words we say and the words we don’t say change lives. Do you agree? Who has spoken to you in this life-changing way? What did they say? Perhaps you stood across from the love of your life and heard, “I do.” Or, maybe you’ve heard, “We’re moving again,” “It’s a boy!,” or “You’ll never amount to anything!” Words have power. God can use them to change the direction of a life. What about words that were not spoken? Perhaps you haven’t heard something positive that you’d still like to hear. An apology? An “I love you,” “I’m here for you,” or, “You’re special to me.” Or, maybe like me, you … [Read more...]
Cultivating A Grateful Heart
June 27, 2011 by · 2 Comments
Bushes run the length of the back of my house. One spring, I should have trimmed them about six weeks before I did. I had a good excuse. I noticed a bird’s nest and knew the mother and soon-to-hatch-baby would be disturbed by the trim job. So, I waited. After I knew the baby had successfully hatched, I set out on a Saturday morning to trim the bushes. Halfway through the process, I spotted another nest. As I lifted it out, I was intrigued by the bird’s use of trash as it was woven with the grasses and twigs to form a sturdy home. I carefully wrapped the nest in saran wrap, placed it in a small plastic bag, and delivered it to home-schooling friends in church the next morning. Several days later I received a thank you email from … [Read more...]
Real Dad’s Wear Real Love
June 17, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
I recently taught at a convention where another presenter spoke on the importance of a dad blessing his children. I was instantly and deeply saddened when seeing about 80% of the large crowd raise their hands to indicate their dad had never blessed them. No wonder so many in the crowd were struggling with patterns of sin and dysfunction. My brother, Dave, and I were blessed with a dad who cared - through his presence and attendance at normal and important events, with his words of affirmation, and with the correction we often deserved. My dad changed jobs when I was in junior high, which turned out to be a good thing for me. The new company he worked for hired selected children of employees for the summers of their college years. It … [Read more...]
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