I'm a Grandma!

I became a grandmother in September of last year, and my grandson Brody has entered into the world… I am woman who is still young as far as the age of a typical grandma is and am not of the retirement age. That makes it hard to be available… My heart aches to be able to be around him more, and at the same time my heart leaps with joy as I watch in amazement the incredible parents my daughter Kellie Ann and her husband Chase are!

I truly do stand in awe at the beauty of it all. I am blessed and I know it. I am soon to become a grandparent again with our daughter Tabby and her husband Gerald, they have been on quite a journey, they have been ready to be parents for many years, and God has then on the path of adoption! They have just been approved by the adoption agency, by going through all of the classes, home inspections and all of the many things they must do before they can become parents!

SO… it’s just a matter of time before we meet our next beautiful member of the family! With this adoption, Gerald and Tabby have left the gender, the race(s) the placement decision all up to God and we are excited to see who God chooses for them! I can hardly wait!! So fun!! Join us in prayers for this new child, join us in prayers for the birthmother as well, we know she must be frightened and we also know she will be choosing the parents and none of this will be easy for her either.

I pray that God reaches down into her heart and grants her His love and His peace as she makes her decision. I pray that the rest of her life she will feel the closeness of God… I will keep you posted on this as we progress and meet our newest grandchild!

QUESTIONS JESUS ASKS - Trees Walking... Shifts In Perspective Are Always Needed

OK, here's our passage for today...(and several more days)

Mark 8:22-26 "They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village."

There is so much in this passage of Scripture that I am going to come back to it over and over as God continues to open my eyes to it. I know that there is much to this passage that He has for me. Today it seems that God wants me to look at PERSPECTIVE right now, so that is what I am going to "focus my eyes on" today.

In verse 24, after Jesus has taken the blind man by the hand and taken him outside the village, spit on the mans eyes and put his hands on him, then after that Jesus asks him "Do you see anything?"

The mans response is "I SEE PEOPLE; THEY LOOK LIKE TREES WALKING AROUND."
How many times do you see people all around you not as people, but as objects? How is it that we are viewing them? What about your spouse, your friends, your boss, your co-worker, your team, your children?

Have you allowed yourself to become jaded to who they really are in Christ? What about yourself? How are you viewing yourself? Are you seeing yourself as someone that doesn't measure up? Or as someone who will never get it right? Someone who doesn't see the true passion and joy in this world any more?

Maybe it's your view on Christ? How do you see Him in your life? When was the last time you allowed Him to take you by the hand and remove you from the outside influences of life? To take you away so that you could begin to see Him, others and yourself with the absolute truths that are really there?

Allow God to take you by the hand TODAY, take some time to be with Him, to see HIM with new eyes, to see OTHERS with new eyes, and to see YOURSELF with new eyes! It's time for you to take the hand in hand walk with the Creator of the World and Restore Your Sight!

While doing so, ask God to give you new Perspectives in all the areas He wants you to have. Commit to placing your hand in His each and every day and take a "Perspective Stroll" with El Roi- The God of Seeing, The God who Sees You, The God who Opens Your Eyes!

Sight, Strolls and Seeing,
Kathryn Bonner

As a Life Purpose Coach it is my passion to see you live your life Awakened... no longer sleepwalking through your life! Connect with me for coaching... http://www.AwakeningsLifeCoaching.com - Email- KB@AwakeningsLifeCoaching.com

Prayers Rising...Rising... Rising...

Prayers for each of us as we continue our journey, as we each follow our God-given calling upon this earth. Prayers for each of you as you see God in action, praying that you become a witness in your very own faith story of the miracles of our God, how He moves you to tears, moves you to laughter, moves you to action, moves you... moves you physically, moves you spiritually and moves you emotionally.

Prayers for family, prayers for new life, for my soon to be here grandson, my very first grandchild, prayers for my daughter Kellie Ann as her delivery date is drawing nearer and nearer. Prayers of thanksgiving for my daughter Tabitha rising… rising… rising… Prayers of thanksgiving for my sons-in-law, Prayers of thanksgiving as my wedding anniversary nears and for all the years of love I have shared in my marriage.

Prayers for each of us here reading as we continue on in our very own prayers. Our Lord knows your needs, I am praying that we all find ourselves closer to our Maker with each passing day, that we cling to His love, that we surrender all.... that we walk away lighter each day, walk away brighter at the end of each day. I pray that we are filled with joy because we have helped another in need, knowing that we can make the world a better place each day for those in our circles.

Let us sleep with smiles on our lips, and dreams of love and peace and difference be ours. How I love each of you,how I praise God for each of you... I am blessed to be walking the path with each of you...
Love, Love, Love and Jesus.
AMEN :)
Love,
Kathryn

Heavenly JoAnne

I've been up since about 3:00am this morning, unable to sleep, I am thinking of dear sweet Joanne who is about to transition from this life on earth, to the next life in heaven. My husband Bruce and I were over at George and Joanne's until about 9:00pm last night. I've had her in my prayers, and the whole family, her kids, and grandkids were there and able to say their good-byes, so did I. I told her of how much I loved her. She has been a gift to me. I will miss her greatly.

The last post I wrote was talking about going on a God hunt. Boy, it's been a long hunt. I love the way blogging can really show us where we are, and where we have been on our journey. Sometimes I visit other blogs and am always inspired by the way they seem to be always consistant with the "every Monday Musing" or the every "Works for me Wednesday" postings. Sometimes I think maybe the consistancy can be truly boring, too predictable, if you will... I then think to myself, "Kathryn, why don't you write every Monday or Wednesday? Have a committed time frame to blog each week, that kind of dedication is good! Then I remind myself that "Kathryn, remember you are a busy author, writer, Life Coach, AND the wife of a pastor and things come up that can not be predicted..." Of course I could argue both points and be very persuasive in each debate because I believe both to be true... I digress though because that is not the topic of my writing for today...

Anyway, my God hunt has taken me many places over the course of months. I'll just share with you a few of my journeys that our Lord has taken me on, some have been exhilerating and some have been emotionally exhausting. (Remember I am a pastor's wife :)

The Lord has been doing another new work in me while on my latest "God hunt" over these last few months. Sometimes we think we have learned things well, and then something comes up to remind you that you still need God! Ha! How soon we forget of our dependancy upon Him, even though we talk about it all of the time, even though He instructs us to keep our eyes on Him at all times, even though His Word teaches us about where to place our faith, we can forget.

I have been doing some of the most lovely work over the last few months, which has connected me even closer to my Lord, My King. All praise to Him who loves us even when we are unworthy. My Lord has had me doing some incredible training to facilitate Life Plans! I have been doing Life Plans for the most wonderful women! I have completed my training and now have my certification to do Life Purpose Plans for women. It's a 2 day, One-on-One retreat, where together we go through your entire life. We assess your spiritual gifts, go through your Wheel of Life (which covers all of the areas of your life such as health, romance, career, calling, relationships, finacial health, etc...) and we discover your passions and purpose. We go through an amazing powerful surrender excercise, then begin the process of setting goals and plans in place for you to begin accomplishing your God-given dreams!

As we go through your life, we each always stand amazed at what the Lord reveals during our two days together. The process is absolutely beautiful, absolutely transformational, especially when we take the time to look at what we have been through over the course of years in our lives. Some of the places in our journey that we experienced the harshest, dryest desert times prove to have had some beautiful learning, and lovely leaning upon our Lord. Those places we have journeyed in the past have meaning and purpose for our futures. As we look beyond ourselves, we are able to see the ministry that our Lord is calling us to.

We must remember through the course of our lives that we ALWAYS stand in a place of CHOICE. Freedoms to choose to look for the silver lining, look for GOD, to stand in a place of totally trusting God in the midst of fear or pain. Choosing to love, even when someone might not be making the same choice, choosing to forgive even when it seems impossible... we always can choose Christ,

*** Shift in my writing**** It's 5:30 am and I just hung up the phone, I just got the call from dear sweet George Tomin, and his dear sweet wife Joanne joined our Lord, around 3:00 am this morning. (Just about the time I was awakened and thinking of her:) I love you Joanne. George and all of us will miss you greatly, we will see you again... love, love, love you!

I will write again later about Life Purpose Plans and post some lovely pictures indicating the true beauty of the process.... I must go and wake Bruce so that he can call George back...

Choose love, choose love every time, I am.

Love,
Kathryn

ALL THINGS Q - The Beginning of Q!!

I am going to begin posting on my blog on a regular basis the different topics of "All Things Q!" Originally I thought that I would post something Monday through Friday each day. But I began to think about my life and the reality of that, and Quite honestly that doesn't seem like something I would be able to completely commit to. However, I would like to commit to more blogging more often, which is something I am totally able to commit to. SO... Here's to All Things Q! I'm sure that by now you are wondering "What is "All things Q?"

"All things Q" really does pertain to my life, many aspects of it, and each topic that I will cover will have something to do with the five things Q. I will explain...

The five topics around Q that I will be writing on are the following... (drum roll please:)

1. QUOUGHTS = POWERFUL QUESTIONS THAT PROVOKE THOUGHT. As most of you know I am a Certified Life Purpose Coach, (http://www.kathrynbonner.com/) so, as a Coach I am always asking my clients some powerful questions in order to get them thinking, to get them to know who they are, what they really want out of their lives, to discover what their purpose is. To AWAKEN those God-given dreams that have been lying dormant within them. Many times when they ask me a question, I respond with a question in order for them to find the answers to their passion, and truth. So there will be days that my posts will cover QUOUGHTS! Be on the look out for "QUOUGHTS FOR THE DAY" you might like to begin pondering. It will be fun and inspirational!
2. QUESTS = The dictionary defines QUEST as The act or an instance of seeking or pursuing something; a search. An expedition undertaken in medieval romance by a knight in order to perform a prescribed feat: the quest for the Holy Grail. I personally love the adventure of any give QUEST given to us by our LORD - Because it takes FAITH to pursue, it takes strength of character, perseverance, hope and dedication. As a Life Purpose Coach, I myself and most of those that I coach are usually on a QUEST of some sort. Pursuing after the the things ahead of us, with an excitement, and sometimes with fear, but always with anticipation and expectation. Are you on a QUEST to write a book, to become a leader in your field of interest, to begin leading a study group, to begin your own business? The Quests are many when you multiply our lives! What is your QUEST? Let's begin our QUEST of discovery together, you never know what we will discover on the journey of the QUEST!! I look forward to the adventurous journey we will go on together!
3. QUERIES = As you know I am an author of the new book "Confessions of a Pastor's Wife; He Speaks Can You Hear Him?" Queries are what we authors send out to publishing houses in hopes of receiving a book contract in the mail. A Query is the QUESTION and the HOPE of every writer of becoming an author. So, I will QUERY some things from time to time on the blog. I hope that you authors, or those of you who HOPE to be an author find some joy and hope in this part of your journey.
4. QUOTES = They are inspirational and motivational remarks that you read, hear speakers say that cause us to make positive change in our lives. So I will be quoting various folks who had something wonderful to say that we simply should not miss out on. Be looking for THE QUOTE OF THE DAY...
5. QUESTIONS ASKED MY ME, COACH KATHRYN= I will pose some powerful questions to you as I would a client. Questions that hopefully will spur more thoughts, cause you to look deeply within yourself, cause you to draw closer to God, make change in your life where needed. I know that you will deeply enjoy the "QUESTION OF THE DAY" when it comes up! Here's to the questions marks of your life :)
6. QUESTIONS ASKED BY JESUS = All through out the Gospels Jesus is asking questions. Over the last few years I have been reading through the questions He asked and have been highlighting them in my Bible with a blue highlighter. I will begin the process of writing out the questions Jesus asked and answer them for myself. I LOVE the questions He has asked through out the pages of the WORD. Here are a couple to get you thinking... ** "What are you looking for?" ** "What do you want me to do for you?" ** "What is your opinion about the Messiah? ** "Do you want to be well?" ** "What are you thinking in your hearts?" Remember that I am no theologian, and my intention is not to get too "heady" - that's not my purpose of writing out the Questions that Jesus asked. This is more for you and I to come to a thoughtful, spiritual, meditative place. A place that I Quite frankly need more of. Thoughts that come from our own place of introspection, from our hearts, and the Holy Spirit that lives within each of us, to draw us closer to our Lord, commune with Him, soak in His Word.

I am looking forward to this section of "All things Q" more than any of them. The Questions of Christ will certainly be my most favorite area of "ALL THINGS Q!"

I know that you will enjoy this "Quest of Q" with me... :)

Oh yes... I almost forgot to say it... Happy Leap Year To You!!

Blessings to you,

Kathryn

More wonderful friends!

Tim & Melanie Barosh are on the left and Bruce (my wonderful husband) and I are on the right. Tim & Mel live in the Houston area. We've been friends since 1999. They came in town this weekend, and we are having lunch outside at the Cheesecake Factory. Mel & I love the Cheesecake Factory! It was wonderful hanging out with them. When we lived in Houston I hung out with Mel all the time. We used to work together, she's a stay home mom now with two little girls and is pregnant now with their son! They are working on three different names for the baby, Noah, Emerson and Cash. Tim has always been a Johnny Cash fan, and he thinks that would be a nice strong name for him. Bruce and I like it too! Mel's still not quite sure about it. Tim is the worship pastor at Crossbridge in Sugar Land. Check out Mel's blog and vote yes or no for the name. They are taking a poll... her blog is http://popsiclesontheporch.blogspot.com/
Bruce, my husband thinks that "Bruce" would sound nice... Bruce Barosh... hmmm... what do you think :)

This is my sweet girlfriend Jennifer! She is such a precious friend to me. I just love the way she loves God! She radiates her love for Him, and He just shines out of her. This is Jen and I eating outside at Kirby Lane. We love going to Kirby Lane, it's SO Austin! We are out on the patio, the weather was perfect! Jen is pregnant is this picture with her 3rd child. He's now born and precious! His name is Jude Echo Stone Frost! I love that name! Jude means "praise", and with Echo, it is "Repeated Praise!" They are praising the Lord for this sweet addition! Check out Jennifer's blog at: http://www.frostbrother.blogspot.com/ for the updates on her boys... God is good! I love it that he gave us girlfriends!

Be blessed,

Kathryn

Friends are such a lovely Gift from God!

My dear friend Bev! I have known her since my sophomore year in high school, where we were best friends! We went to MacArthur in San Antonio. She is such an incredible gal, a great mom and an amazing artist, married to a wonderful man. I love the way she has such a joy about her. She has always been an inspiration to me, always makes me laugh, and I can talk to her about anything. She knows me well, and loves me in spite of myself... that's a true gift from God, the gift of Bev!

Jeanette is on the left, I'm in the center, and Bev is on the right... I've always been really short, and they are obviously really tall... so it makes it rather comical (at least Bev and I have always thought so :)) Anyway both Jeanette and Bev are incredibly talented. Bev has been making glass beads and jewelry for some time now. Jeanette (whom I've now known for a little over 2 years) received a gift from her husband for Christmas last year. It was a kit with all the supplies necessary for making glass beads! Jeannette wanted to learn how to do it, and I thought... "Wow! I actually know someone who does this!" So... we took a trip to San Antonio a few months back and Bev taught Jeannette how to make glass beads. It was fascinating to watch how quickly she learned and how beautiful to connect friends! They are both so creative! God is the ultimate in creativity!

This is my Wednesday morning reunion, prayer, accountability group! We come together early each Wednesday morning at the What-a-burger! We share with each other our prayer needs, the things that our Lord has called us to do, our moments closest to Christ that week. I'm in the front in the pink baseball cap (with absolutely NO makeup!) and Jan is behind me. Fran is in the bright tye-dye shirt, and Nancy is behind her. I love these girls! What a blessing they are to me!

These are some of my favorite people on the planet! I have the honor and the privilege to have been working with this group of gals for the last several years! They are such wonderful friends! Each of them brings something of such beauty and value to my life! We are here celebrating Kati's birthday. Kati is in the black shirt, she's such a sweetie, and that's her little boy Kolton (who is truly a miracle baby!). Then in the red shirt is Suzi Q, she's such a great gal with a real depth! Then there is Tammie who is such a joy and absolutely cracks me up! Of course that's me on the far right. Life is wonderful with with all the beautiful friends in our lives!

I tried to post more pictures of other friends but it wouldn't let me :( that just means that this is to be continued... I give thanks to God for wonderful friends recognizing the gift from God that they are.

Kathryn

Trick or Treat!!?? I look pretty scary!!

Halloween has always been fun for me! Here I am looking pretty scary! I'm all hunched over like the hunch back, and wearing my beautiful smile with my big ol' rotten BillyBob Teeth!! Very Very Scary!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last few years though it just hasn't been the same since Bruce and I have become empty nester's. It seems like over the last four years or so there haven't been very many trick or treater's coming around either. I know that a lot of that is because of the fact that you "can't trust" people like you used to be able to. However, last night we had tons of kiddos coming out! It was so much fun!

Each year we loved getting our two daughters all dressed up for Halloween! They loved it too! It really is some of the best memories we hold onto! I would always get dressed up with them. Many times there would be several events to go to during that week. At the girls school, at the church and then trick or treating in the neighborhood. So the girls would switch into each other's costumes on the different days for the different events! Even though they were 2 years and 8 months apart, they were close to the same size, which made it easy for them to share clothing.

They would dress up as a witch, a princess, a rabbit coming out of a hat, Sheera Princess of power, a ghost, and angel, a moo cow with utters, oh, the list goes on and on! I would dress up as Marge Simpson with the big blue hair, a unicorn, mini-mouse, a flapper girl...

Last night was funny! My picture above tells it all! I was a "House Wife Gone Bad, VERY bad!" I took it on in full character too, I slumped my body over like the hunch back, and had my hair in rollers, and Bruce (my wonderful husband) got me some of those hideous BillyBob teeth to wear and WA LA! I was transformed in the this beauty you see here!

Anyway, the kiddos that came loved it, some of the little bitty ones didn't love it, and their parents just Hee Hawed with laughter! It was fun, but still not the same without our daughters. Oh how I love you Tabby and Kellie!

Once a mom, ALWAYS a mom! Missin' my girlies.
This post is in honor of you two! :)
Love you,
Mom

Our Daughter Kellie Ann Is Married!

It has been a while since I have posted on my blog! Not because I haven't wanted to, but because I have been so busy with work, church, my book, and ALL of the MANY details of our daughter Kellie Ann's wedding. Above is a picture of where she was married. You may find this rather comical, but the people in the photo are not my daughter and son-in-law! However, the photo is where she was married. At this point I do not have any photo's of them yet. The photographer won't have photo's to us for several weeks. I am ready for them NOW :) There fore I simply went to the website where they were married and borrowed a photo :) When I have actual photos I will upload them and share them.

It was a beautiful wedding, and we truly do love our son-in-law. What a blessing that is for us. We know that Chase will take such great care of Kellie Ann, that gives parents such peace. Chase and Kellie Ann have committed their marriage to Christ and that is HUGE! It's the best way to begin the biggest commitment of your life. We are proud of both of them, in so many ways. I give thanks unto our Lord God for uniting them in Holy Matrimony!

My husband (Kellie Ann's dad) married them and said so many profound things during the ceremony as he spoke to them and to the congregation. One of the things that struck me that he said was that "He watched Chase from the window as he opened up the car door for her, and picked up the tree branches from the front yard (we'd had a heavy storm that broke some of the branches from the trees). He said that when I saw him do those two things, not knowing that Bruce was watching him from the upstairs window, that he knew Chase would be a good provider, and that he was a hard worker, and that he took pride in things.

All of that is very true of Chase. He also talked about the patience that he exhibited with Kellie Ann, and how he taught her more about finances, and how he had bought her a puppy for Christmas several years back. We are blessed!

We have turned a corner of sorts, now that both of our daughters are married to wonderful guys. We are now through "raising" them, and will be in prayer for them until the day of our death, and until then, we can now be "friends" together. There is something truly glorious about this! Something to celebrate! They made it, they are full fledged adults! Wow, it's truly amazing, truly wonderful!

I pray that the Lord blesses both of you with abundance, joy, laughter, love, grace, forgiveness!

Kathryn

Struck by Lightning!

Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who is perfect in knowledge?
Job 37: 15-16

I am "struck" by this scripture passage above! Oh how God is so powerful, so amazing. He is truly in charge, I am not one who can question His power and authority, I simply need to know that He is the one in control of all things. There are things in this world that none of us can completely fathom. His wonders that are always above us, physically, mentally, spiritually, directionally.

The last several weeks have been a bit crazy for me. My computer got struck by lightning! Therefore, as you can see I have not written any posts. I have had to purchase a new computer, try to gather all of my previous items needed to function. This has been a very frustrating time for me. The new computer I have is a "Vista" and I hear mixed thoughts from people about Vista. Some really love it others really hate it. I am learning to adjust to it, and still have much to learn.

I am just now moving beyond the frustration of it all, and am now finally to a point where I am able to stand in awe of His abilities. Our God is always able to get our attention, one way or another. I believe that He was trying to get my attention. It was as if He was asking me the very questions in this Scripture. Posing it to me saying "Kathryn, Do you know how I, your God, control the clouds and make My lightning flash?" Pulling me in, asking me to recognize His amazing power, His creation. Causing me to have to break the routine of my days.

My husband Bruce and I have been watching the sky more lately. This summer we have had an unusual amount of rain and the sunsets have been grande! We have a wonderful bench on our front porch, and we sit out there in the mornings and evenings enjoying the peace. We have several dove families living all around us and enjoy another part of God's creation in listening to them every day, through out the day. Check out this link to hear the sound of the "Mourning Dove" http://www.learnbirdsongs.com/birdsong.php?id=7 . Many days they stand on the top of our chimney, and pipe their music into my house! Their beautiful sound will literally fill my home with their song!

We also have seen lots of wonderful "Lightning shows" in the night sky as we have sat out on our wonderful bench. His creation is so vast! His wonders, His creative intelligence, and knowledge put me in my respective place. I am so awed by His gloriousness. Oh my Lord, I am taken aback at how the clouds hang in the sky! How You pour out Your rain, cleansing us, cleansing the earth, providing us and Your earth with Your living water!

Yes, You are full of majestic wonders, and perfect in knowledge! Thank you for constantly revealing Yourself to me in the clouds, the lightning strikes, the thunder!

Let me always experience Your creative splendor even in the midst of my frustration.

Faces In Your Family Tree

THE FACES IN YOUR FAMILY TREE

There was a piece of paper lying around at the church, just in a pile of other papers. I picked it up because of the quote that caught my eye, it reads:

By the age of forty everyone has the face they deserve.
~ Oscar Wilde, author (1854-1900)

It is saying that our faces take on the outward expression of what we have lived and our attitude toward life. It shows up on our face in many ways.

The name of the lesson was Renovating The Heart - 'Facing' the Facts...

It went on to say that over time, our faces take on the outward expression of what is inside our hearts. Saying that if we continually wear a scowl, which is an indicator of how we feel inside, or if we have smile lines around our eyes, that is also the indicator of how we feel inside. Saying if we had lines of stress stamped on our foreheads, it might indicate that we have chosen to allow ourselves to be angry and stressed about life. What shape our mouths take on, if curve upward, it may mean we have chosen to face life with a positive attitude. All of which reflect our trust in the Lord or our lack of trust in the Lord.

It was good about citing things about genetics also, saying that genetic structure of our faces should be partially considered.

Next time you are at a family reunion, at July 4th celebration, at the mall, or any gather of folks, without being judgemental or mean spirited look at the faces of those over 40 and consider what thier facial structures tell you.

In the quote above Oscar Wilde is saying that our faces reflect the choices we have made over the years. That the choices come from our hearts.

Let's ask the Lord to be the "owner" of our hearts and minds allowing Him to be the reflection on our faces. Let us look in the mirror at our own faces. This is the face that the Lord God has given us. Let us allow Him to guide us in our choices, our views, our judgements, our thoughts, our perspectives, and how we function in the world around us.

Investigate my life, O god,

find out everything about me;

Cross-examine and test me,

get a clear picture of what I'm about.

Psalm 139:23

Thank God for Fathers

Today is Fathers Day and our oldest daughter Tabby (that's her on the right, she is a shining light!) and her husband Gerald came to visit. The wonderful thing about today was that she surprised her Dad! She didn't tell him she was coming. My husband is a pastor, and I am on the praise team at church. He comes and stands beside me and joins me in song each Sunday when he's able to through out the service.

Tabby had called me previous to her coming and let me know that she and Gerald would be coming to surprise Dad, and of course she swore me to secrecy! I kept looking for their arrival with anticipated glee for Bruce, and the joy that glee would bring her. They were running late because they missed an exit on there way in. However they did make it just before the service started. :) I see them and Bruce does not, I greet them both with joy and hugs and rush back up to my place on the stage.

Anyway, I am standing on the stage with the praise team, and Bruce comes and stands next to me. We are singing and praising God. Tabby and I are waiting for her Dad to notice that she is there. Then Bruce, as he is standing there with me scanning the congregation, he spots his daughter, and I see the smile come across his face, and the small tears well up in his eyes. How wonderful it is to see your child standing there looking at you with love so big it can be felt. Bruce whispers in my ear "Tabitha is here to surprise me on Father's Day!" We look at one another and smile. This moment was particularly sweet for him, and of course for me.

After church, we go to lunch, and she reminisced on many of the sweet things he did for her growing up. He is all smiles, thrilled that the little things really were the big things that she remembers to this day. Oh, how special the love between father and daughter.

I give such thanks to you God for the way you have joined our family together!

Blessings to all dads out there, you really do make a HUGE difference in the lives of your daughters. Thanks for all that you do to bring them up to be lovers of the Lord.

Kathryn

Beautiful Love!

Everyone wants to feel loved and special on their birthday. At the very least remembered. Your birthday holds something beautiful, holds something that each of us can understand. It's a day that we feel loved, and honored because we are "here" and we each hope that our friends and family are "glad" that we are here. When we are remembered by those that we love it brings joy to the soul. It causes us to know that for one day it is OK to make it "all about me." We know that all of the other 364 days can not be. So the 1 day that it can be, that it's OK to say, "this is my day, this is the day that you let me know you are SO glad that I am here!

Take a look at the photo above, (that's their dog Dayton too :)

I did not download this from some place on the web, this is an actual photo of the breakfast my sweet wonderful son-in-law Gerald cooked for my daughter, his wife, for breakfast on her birthday! Aren't they the cutest couple?!!! Am I a proud mom or what? :)

This was not something that cost a fortune, but was worth a fortune to her and to her heart! I am so thankful to have a son-in-law that loves my daughter this way! I praise God for this!

So for those of you celebrating your birthday... Happy Happy Birthday! It is YOUR day! Enjoy it fully!

Thanking God for you today,

Kathryn

Things That Make Me Smile

Our sweet daughter Kellie Ann is in town visiting. Take a look at this gorgeous girl here! We are planning her wedding and it's such fun. What a blessing to know that she has such a wonderful future husband who loves her so much. Our oldest daughter also has a wonderful husband. As a parent of girls, their dad and I have always prayed each day for the girls and their future husbands. We feel so blessed with both of our daughters choices in their husbands. Kellie Ann and Chase have been dating for five years and have been engaged for two years. The big day is September 22nd!

Her dad and I are enjoying her SO much over this weekend. We went to the movie Shrek III last night and it was absolutely halarious and really cute! We all found ourselves laughing all the way through it. I love the way Kellie Ann laughs. She is such a beauty!

Kellie Ann and I are about to head out the door to get her registered (at least register for the things that don't require her fiance to be there :) We are going to shop for bridesmaid gifts, table top decorations, and other wonderful things that make her wedding day special.

Thank you God for our little girls! They are especially wonderful as little ladies. What a true blessing they are in my life. Thank you God that they love You so. It just doesn't get much better than this....