REMEMBERING MY MOM ON HER BIRTHDAY

My mom’s birthday was two days ago. She passed away twelve years ago, only two months into her sixty-fourth year. She had all seven of us kids by the time she was thirty and she worked extremely hard and long hours (usually, 14 hours a day) as a waitress most of her life.

(photo below: My grandmother, great grandmother, great, great grandmother, and my mom holding my oldest sister, Cyndie)

I remember staring at her as she laid in the hospital bed connected to life support and saying to my brothers and sisters, “Those are the feet --small, delicate, fragile and pained with corns and bunions-- that walked all those miles in all those restaurants. Those are the hands that carried all those heavy (40 lb) serving trays.” I couldn’t stop focusing on the fact that she gave her life for her family.

(photo on left: My mom at her baby shower)

Six years before she died, she became a Christian. She dedicated her life to the Lord and served people in greater need than herself. Self sacrificing and serving marked her entire life.

At her funeral service, her pastor created a mental picture for the huge crowd of family and friends who were in attendance. He imagined my mother in the presence of the Lord, sitting at His feet, with Jesus compassionately saying, “Lee, enter into MY rest.” When I told that story to my friend, she said, “Oh, that’s not how I picture it. I imagine Jesus holding her on his lap, with her head lying on His chest, saying, “My precious child, now, you can finally rest!”

(photo above: My sister Cyndie and my mom)

(photo above: Me, my mom, and my sister, Jill)

MICHAEL MEDVED WAS A GUEST ON MY SHOW

Last month, Michael Medved and his family were here in Hawaii on vacation. While on the Island, he was kind enough to be a guest on my TV show, Chatty Kathy. Watch parts 1-4: http://www.youtube.com/user/chattykaty

Michael is my favorite talk radio host. He's definitely the most intelligent and interesting. One of the things I like about him is his ability to communicate with people from every walk of life and with any educational background. He makes people feel comfortable. www.michaelmedved.com.

His wife is also very intelligent. She writes descriptively, speaks articulately and is a Psychologist. Oh yeah, and she loves to take beautiful pictures with her digital camera. Check out her blog: http://brightlightsearch.blogspot.com/

"Who, The Man?"

Yesterday afternoon, I was feeling down, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to paint. Most of my paintings are more about color, texture, and emotion, rather than a particular subject. That being said...several hours later, I ended up with the painting above and have no idea "Who, The Man" actually is.

The Discipline Of Disillusionment

Twenty years ago, my good friend, Shelain, gave me a copy of the daily devotional MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST, by Oswald Chambers. She said, "Kathy, let me read you my favorite selection, "The Discipline Of Disillusionment." It impacted me so much that over the years it has remained my favorite selection as well. Maybe you'll also adobt it as your favorite.

Excerpt from: MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST
By: Oswald Chambers
The Discipline Of Disillusionment:
Jesus did not commit Himself to them . . . , for He knew what was in man —John 2:24-25

Disillusionment means having no more misconceptions, false impressions, and false judgments in life; it means being free from these deceptions. However, though no longer deceived, our experience of disillusionment may actually leave us cynical and overly critical in our judgment of others. But the disillusionment that comes from God brings us to the point where we see people as they really are, yet without any cynicism or any stinging and bitter criticism. Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts, seeing each other as we really are; we are only true to our misconceived ideas of one another. According to our thinking, everything is either delightful and good, or it is evil, malicious, and cowardly.

Refusing to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering of human life. And this is how that suffering happens— if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; yet we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. There is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord's confidence in God, and in what God's grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone.

Worm Tumor

Yesterday, I watched an unbelievable video, which everyone should view...
http://media2.foxnews.com/112008/worm_tumor_700.wmv

I checked Snopes to see if the information on the video was factual. I didn't find info on that particular video, but I did find this:
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/insects/wormeye.asp