This is a quote and a text from Sophy in May, when I had not heard from her for a while and was concerned… “I have a new story for you: when in DC a few weeks ago I woke up with what I thought was a heart...
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Leave a little sparkle wherever you go. Shoot for the stars. Don’t let your light fade. Be brilliant. Have a blast. Go out with a BANG!!!! (c) Leslie Kelley, 2023.
It all started with my adult daughter’s comment that if my husband and I should leave this world at the same time, then she didn’t have a clue as to where we banked, who our doctors were or where important papers might be hiding. Since my daughter lived in...
Actor Dean Winters… You may not recognize his name but you most likely would recognize his face—he’s the “Mayhem” guy in Allstate Insurance’s TV commercials. He’s the one person we do not want to encounter!!! Beneath the surface of those Allstate commercials is a man who has endured his...
I always find it interesting to learn more about favorite traditional hymns. “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” is such a hymn. Thomas Obadiah Chisolm was born in Franklin, KY in 1866. He became a teacher at age 16 and at age 27 became a Christian. In 1893 he was associate...
I love to make these to take to just about anything, or simply to enjoy at home with family! This recipe is full of the goodness of eggs and Vitamin C of lemons. The sugar can be reduced by using Truvia or another sweetener, but I found that Truvia...
It is no wonder that we are all just a little bit on the wonky side of “keep on, keepin’ on” which is an expression sweet Miss Lillian used to say about being 100. In other words, it was totally beyond her understanding as to why she was still...
I was talking with a friend the other day, who had inadvertently hurt me. (Hurts are usually inadvertent: Who would choose a friend who would deliberately hurt you?) He said, “I don’t take responsibility for hurting you. If your hurt button got pushed, it has nothing to do with...
I’m sure you have had fun picking strawberries and blackberries. Maybe in your own strawberry patch or finding a blackberry patch beside a farmer’s dirt road. Where is nothing better than blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. YUM! Summer vacation was always a trip to see our grandparents in...
I’d like to talk with you about energy and equity. You might be lucky enough to not think twice about paying your electricity bill every month. But low-income families in the U.S. can spend up to half of their incomes on household energy! This energy burden/energy poverty means that...
For a whole year and a half, I have tried to attract birds to my garden. I put up a birdbath, and grieved when no bird came to drink. I put up a bird feeder, and watched the squirrels hang upside down, feeding at leisure on what had promised...
“June is bustin’ out all over.” This is one of my favorite songs from the musical Oklahoma. The magnolia and mimosa trees are blooming. The birds sing early each morning. A beautiful time to enjoy all the blessings of summer. Yes, it is hot! A glass of sweet ice tea...
I don’t know where it came from or how old it is; it has just “always been.”. “It” is a wooden wash stick that belonged to my mother and now belongs to me. You can tell from the photo how old and worn it is, As far back as...
Easter. Rebirth. Resurrection. Spring. It is also the time when we celebrate the Resurrection. Or, if you’re like me, puzzle over it, filled with questions and doubt: did Jesus resurrect bodily, or was it a mystical return from the dead? Had he fully died? Maybe he went into a...
February has a special connection to our hearts. There is Valentine’s Day and Heart Month. We share our love with family and friends on this very special day each year. One more way to share our love with others is to keep a healthy heart. There is research that...
Every month, as I sit down to write my blog, I think, “This will be my last post. It’s time to stop. Too many people are creating, publishing, screaming for recognition, for me to add one more word.” (As if anyone is actually reading my posts, itself perhaps an...
December is a month of anticipation. Taking time to light Advent candles brings quiet reflection. The word Advent means arrival. The advent wreath is a circle representing unending love of Christ and eternal life. Each candle gives us a special meaning throughout each week of December. The First candle...
For many years (40? 50?) no holiday celebration in our family has been complete without the family favorite: Polish Baked Mushrooms. (see below) Not only is it rich with eggs and heavy cream and butter (and everything’s good with butter and cream), but filled with protein and fat. You’d...
This is a great side dish or snack during the winter. It’s also easy to double or halve the recipe depending on what you need. Ingredients: 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon grated ginger 1 tablespoon orange or lemon zest 1 cinnamon stick 3 black peppercorns 1/2...
This Autumn has been particularly beautiful. I have taken some lovely drives through the Great Smoky Mountains and surrounding state forests and seen God’s painted wonders. The days have been filled with amazing blue skies and warm temperatures. Just the right time for gentle walks through the local parks...
Amos 3:6- 8 Does the trumpet sound the alarm in the city without frightening the people? Does disaster come to a city unless the Eternal One has permitted it? The answer to all is the same. No! The eternal Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his...
I was recently watching a television series and one of the episodes was about the July 20, 1969 moon landing. Millions of people were glued to their television as Neal Armstrong stepped down upon the moon surface and said” That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for...
Today I saw a fox pattering along the edge of the forest, nose down, intent on its journey to catch mice in the horse pasture a quarter mile up the road. The birds are twittering, a single crow cawing, and, high above, a vulture sways on the wind looking...
Sixteen years ago I prayed to God to bring me a Relationship, the companion of my heart. I was lonely. I wanted a man to share my life. I thought a man would heal the ache in my soul. Instead I got a horse. A horse? I...
During a Summer like this, I like to keep refreshing drinks in the fridge so I can have a little something sweet without a lot of effort. Lemonade is a perfect Summer drink for almost any occasion. I also tend to think of it as a “happy” drink to...
This has been an unusual summer. Covid-19 has kept us at home with family and many pets. I have spent each day looking out at my backyard watching birds, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, neighborhood cats, and an occasional skunk bring me pleasure each day. Cardinals mate for life. It is...
Wow! In spite, of it all, God is good! God is great & the foretold days in which we live are truly blessed by the LORD our God—our Father-in-heaven! So here I sit in Fort Davis, Texas, 14-years after the Divine Encounter and journey-to-heaven, looking out the windows upon...
July 2020 has certainly been an unforgettable month. Due to corona virus-19 July 4th parades, firework displays, large gathering for picnics, symphony concerts, and more events were canceled. Beaches were closed . Even the famous Coney Island Hot Dog Festival was reduced to 5 people eating in 2 groups,...
This is a story of how lovingly our needs are met. It’s also about an angel, but mostly about how Spirit, the Guiding Principle, the Universe, God, whatever you choose to call this incomprehensible Mystery, works invisibly to heal our pain. The solutions are not what we’d impose if...
May is a month to celebrate the wonders of Spring. M – many blessings for the spring rains and warm sunshine. A – Abundance of new baby creatures. My back yard has seen new bunnies and squirrels scampering about. Y – Young people excited about riding their new bicycles...
Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation. Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt. St....
Dear Janine, If there is one benefit to this coronavirus isolation, it’s giving us the luxury of time. It’s not boring. To quote Cicero, “ If you have a garden and a library, you have everything.” But when, like me, you live alone, the hours are long, especially on...
Spring brings us signs of new beginnings, new hope. This Spring of 2020 has certainly been a time for renewing our faith, hope, and love in God. There have been many challenges that no one ever expected. Quarantine, isolation, social distancing, schools closed for the rest of the school...
In December 1982, a Mel Gibson film entitled “The Year of Living Dangerously “was released. We are only a few months into a new year but I have already dubbed 2020 with the same title as The Year of Living Differently. For me, the difference began 17 days into...
Dear Janine, The coronavirus seems to be the only topic of conversation these days, assuming you can even find someone to have a conversation with . . . as we stand separated by our fears. I write this sitting on the front steps of my little cottage in Massachusetts,...
In 2013, I had the opportunity to tour Ireland with the Knoxville Choral Society. During the trip, we sang in churches in Galway, Sligo, Kilkenny, and Dublin. Ireland truly is a beautiful green wonder!. The Cliffs of Moher are amazing. The people are charming. I particularly enjoyed the Irish...
The accompanying photo is from a correspondent, Pam Urquidi-Wilson, who sees angels in the clouds. On crutches, with painful spinal issues, she lives with a generous, boundless faith in the Holy Spirit, seeing angels everywhere. It’s been a long time since I told a story of angels coming...
Dews and falling snow, bless the Lord; Sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. Ice and cold, bless the Lord; Sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. Frosts and snows, bless the Lord; Sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. Isabel Andrews. Simple...
A few weeks ago I “pulled a muscle.” You’d think at my age that I would know better than to break up the packed ice on the sidewalk outside my house, and heave the snow over my shoulder to the verge; but it was such a pretty, blue-sky...
Here we are in January. The new year. This time the new Decade. January is the month when we make Resolutions—and usually forget them in a week. Instead of resolutions, I offer myself one word, an Intention, that I can muse on and meander beside throughout the year. One...
Christmas is a time for rejoicing in the birth of Jesus. What glorious music is heard throughout this beautiful season. “Silent Night” is a German hymn that reflects this wonderful gift from God. Silent Night,Holy Night Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin...
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT What is your favorite Christmas song (hymn or carol)? I’ll admit that I’m hard pressed to pick only one but would have to...
Christmas is a time of giving. What we don’t always remember is that it’s also a time of receiving, and that receiving is itself a gift. It’s hard to receive. I think it’s sometimes as hard to receive as it is to ask for help. Some people naturally know...
These are a great cookie for the holidays! One batch makes between 90 and 100 cookies, they are small and they are very easy to throw together. Ingredients: 2 1/4 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup roasted salted peanuts 2...
Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday. For one thing, it’s become so commercial, with its orange plastic turkeys and pumpkins, not to mention the tinsel of Christmas that started way back at Hallowe’en, that you can hardly remember to offer thanks. It’s ugly. I want beauty, kindness, thoughtful stillness,...
This is a perfect and easy soup for fall and winter. If you are worried about left-overs, just cool down the soup to room temperature, put in a freezer safe container and freeze for the next time you want a bowl of soup. Ingredients: 1 tsp oil 1 cup...
“Just be yourself. Everyone else is taken!” Oscar Wilde In this day and age where we all have to “become someone” in order to be seen or noticed, I have come to love this quote! Just be me, myself, and I. Yet while this seems simple enough I realize...
I come from a long line of “believers” (in Jesus Christ), and for all of those people who shared their faith stories with me, I am eternally grateful! I was christened in my grandmother’s christening gown when I was six weeks old at the First Methodist Church in Andalusia,...
Autumn surprises us with glorious, amazing sunsets. God has given us the pleasure of seeing these beautiful sunsets with the joy of knowing a new day is coming. Autumn will soon turn into the cold days of winter. Still, the anticipation of cold frosty mornings with winter blue skies...