Kathiey's World

As you know, I have written two books. I started writing when my ex walked out after a 37-year marriage. I was devastated and completely lost in my newfound reality. My first book is all about the initial pain and confusion. My second book is filled with logistics on how to proceed through the divorce process, and my third will be about Joy. I remember that even in my deep depression during the early separation and divorce days, I was seeking joy.  I am not really sure if I realized it at the time, but I was.  My goal, other than just breathing during this most difficult time in my life, was to seek God's beauty even in the pain.  In seeking and finding God's beauty, the byproduct would be joy.    Here is a poem I wrote early in the painful process... I think in finding God's beauty and finding joy you find hope.  I believe they all go hand in hand.  If we search past the pain to seek hope, then we can have joy in our lives. As I begin to write about ...

 I love this quote by Carlos Santana on healing and joy. I agree that no matter how much you have been hurt, you can heal if you hold onto joy.  It may take an effort, but the joy that is deep in your heart will slowly heal any wounds. God Bless! KathieyV

The post below was written back in 2018 while Hurricane Florence was making landfall off the coast of NC.  Much has happened in the world since that time.  Much of life has been very good, but there are things that are the opposite happening every day.  There is crime, illness, the Covid pandemic, and now a war in Ukraine.  I think the below post has relevance in all situations in our lives, and I felt like sharing it again. The Fear of Florence 2018 When you think about it, life can be scary.  Hurricane Florence visited North Carolina this week.  On the coast, there was and still is massive flooding.   Countless homes have been destroyed by falling trees and floodwaters.  Looters have hit the streets in many cities devastated by the storm.  Many have died. As I sit here typing, we are still getting storm bands caused by Florence.  We are under a flash flood warning in our county.  It is loudly thundering and pouring rain outside, ...

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love;  for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. Psalm 59:16 In the morning,  Lord , you hear my voice; in the morning,  I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3 When There Seems to be Nothing There is God When you are happy God is there. When you feel lonely  God is there. When you are joyful God is there. When your heart is broken God is there. Where there is hope God is there. When you don't know which road to take God is there. Every step you take God is there. He is our one constant in this life. Thank you, God! KathieyV

"I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. In all my ways I acknowledge Him and He directs my paths."  (Proverbs 3:5-6) I love to travel.  I enjoy the adventure.  I delight in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, the trails in the mountains, and feeling the cool breeze during a bike ride on the beach.  I have a seven-year-old grandson, and we like to go on adventures.  We have been to museums, the zoo, the park, the ocean and there are many other excursions that I am planning.  My dog Brodie and I love to go on walking adventures together. It would be exciting if all of life's journeys would take us to exotic beaches, towering snowcapped mountains, and beautiful cathedrals.  Wouldn't that be great?  Yes, we can make some of these things happen, and I hope to. But, sometimes life's journeys are less than joyous.  Many life events cause significant pain and are devastating.   In these times we ...

I have just recently finished the book "The Help"  When I found out there was a movie I could not wait to see it. There were many times during the movie I found myself angry at the injustice and other times touched by the tenderness. The love in the quote repeatedly spoken by Abilene to the little girl in her care touched my heart. "You is kind. You is smart. You is important"  Words we all need to hear when we are little and continue to understand as we age.  They are words of encouragement, support, and love.  In our humanness, we sometimes fail to encourage others with words they may desperately need to hear.  Sometimes we fail to give the hugs, the support, the time.  We get caught up in life and its problems, its busyness.  In the times when we feel alone, when we feel unimportant, or feel downright stupid, we need to remember that is not how God feels.  To God we are essential. "God loves each of us as if there were only one of u...

We had a guest speaker in church yesterday. His name is Jason Petty, and he is a Christian rapper from Calif. He spoke briefly, it was more like reading or sharing of a poem or a story. Here is what I took from what he shared with us. "You can't see past the explosions" in your life.  For me, that meant we tend to focus on life's difficulties.  We tend to look at our past and the what if's.  In the now we tend to focus on the potential "explosions," to come thus wasting the good times worrying about the future. I think the speaker was trying to tell us to focus on the present, the now, the moment, so that we can enjoy life.  So that is what I did.  I went home and enjoyed the moment. Making ginger bread cookies with my family... I enjoyed running the tobacco trail and then I enjoyed cooking a nice dinner for my family I enjoyed Caleb.. I enjoyed Stephanie, Josh, Caleb, Brodie.  I enjoyed speaking with Erica on the phone.   ...

It's interesting that there are times in our lives that we feel we have it all figured out.  We know just what we need and are confident that our hopes are the right ones and in line with God's will for our lives.  These self-proclaimed hopes as far as we can see at the moment will never change.  Well, I have found that not to be the case.  Our situations, our experiences, our joys, and our pains may lead us to other hopes and dreams.  A dear friend of mine had a hope chest.  We were teens at the time, and I can remember her chest filled with sheets, towels, tablecloths and other household items leading up to her envisioned and hoped for marriage.  Her hopes sounded perfect to me.  I now wanted a hope chest because I had a dream of marriage and a lovely home, with happy kids, and endless friends.  What would I have put in my hope chest in my teen years?  I would have put things in the chest for my home.  I also had n...

Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a foggy mirror. But someday we will see clearly. We will see face to face. What I know now is not complete. But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:12 It was spring break for my grandson Caleb.  We decided to go to a museum every day for three days.  The first museum had a special exhibit that contained challenging mazes and puzzles.  I know that I am not the best at making my way through mazes, but we decided to give it a go.   I enjoyed the first maze.  This maze was geared to the younger kids in the crowd.  What I liked about it was that I could look over the barriers and quickly plot my course for an easy exit.  Yes, I saw clearly, and it felt good. Having made it through the first maze Caleb and I were feeling overconfident, so we decided to try the more difficult of the available mazes. This maze was one with hi...