Live...passionately!

Sixty seconds in a minute...sixty minutes in an hour...twenty-four hours in a day...365 days in a year. Oh, how time continues to pass much too quickly. I learned long ago that each moment matters. Each breath is a gift. Not one heartbeat should ever be taken for granted.

Yet there is something else I need to realize each moment. Although life often seems overwhelming with cares, responsibilities and uncertainties, I am learning to not only live gratefully but to also live passionately.

As I face each moment, I choose to embrace it with more than mere survival. I choose to celebrate it...cherish it...value it...and live it...fully. If I am working, give it my best. If I am traveling, make the most of each sight, sound and second. If I am singing, sing from my heart and not just my vocal cords. If I am playing piano, play with all my being and not just my hands. If I am caring for my family, friends and fur babies, see it as an opportunity to love and nurture. If I am cleaning house, turn up the music and enjoy the blessings of a home and health to do so. If I am praying, offer it with full reverence, confidence and peace knowing that I am never alone. If I am facing changes, do it with hope and trust that life is full of memories and possibilities.

Live passionately...with purpose, with gratitude, with hope...with joy...with excitement...and with peace. Life is a gift...a precious, incredible, amazing reason to live with enthusiasm, wonderment and assurance to celebrate and appreciate the beauty of this very moment...now...and always.💜~thl

Twenty-six....and counting....

On this day 26 years ago, April 30, 1993, a young family with a four year old daughter and sixteen month old son purchased a house in Harrison County, Kentucky. We knew no one. Tim's family remained in Ohio and my family remained in Virginia. We were all alone except for friends in other counties whom we knew from previous ministries. We were excited, grateful....yet lonely...but not for long.

Neighbors stopped by to welcome us. Church people visited and invited us tobecome part of the community. Our school system soon welcomed our daughter, (and later our son), into the educational family. The medical community quickly learned about us and treated us like family. Eventually, my daughter and I became part of the local community choir, a precious family that continually brings us tremendous joy.

It's very meaningful when we walk into the doctor's office, pharmacy, store, church or restaurant and feel like we now have roots...and lifelong friends. Recently, I met a new friend who asked how long we have resided here. I jokingly said we transplanted here twenty six years ago this month. Her response was amazing. "Oh, honey, you are no longer a transplant! You belong here now and you are family!" Tears came to my eyes as she hugged me and expressed sincere joy that we are here.

Of course, we miss our families out of state. Of course, we miss our friends in other counties, states and countries. Of course, we wish we could live close to all of our loved ones. Today, however, is a reminder of the precious gift God gave us when He led us to Harrison County, Kentucky.

We had no idea what was ahead when we moved here. We have shared joy, laughter, tears, sorrow, loss, illness, concerns, prayers, celebrations...and life with the folks of Cynthiana and Harrison County. Friends have come to our home in the middle of the night for emergencies. Neighbors have mowed our yard, watched our house and even taken out the garbage while we are gone. We have made urgent trips to hospitals, work places and doctors...but not alone. We have gone through 9/11, tornadoes, ice storms, droughts and a flood together.

Twenty-six years later....we are blessed to call this community home. May God bless these precious people as they welcome transplants....and now call us "their own." Thank you, Harrison County and Cynthiana, for making us feel welcome and for treating us like we belong. We are grateful and we love you!💜~thl

Holding onto hope...

Another Easter Sunday came and went this past weekend. It was different beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Unlike last year, I wasn't at my home church, sitting beside my Dad, singing or playing piano with a church family. I didn't prepare the usual Easter feast. I didn't cook at all! I spent this Easter dealing with very unexpected circumstances. It was heartbreaking, heart wrenching and painful. It was nothing like what I planned or desired.

Yet it was an Easter I will not forget. While so much was happening, as well as not happening, I remembered one word all day long. Hope.

Hope gives me strength. Hope helps me see beyond today. Hope reminds me that this is not all there is on this journey. Hope soothes my soul, lifts my spirits, brings me peace and heals my brokenness. Hope gives me every reason to be joyful and thankful regardless of what happens around me or within me. Hope sees me through the storm knowing there is sunshine on the horizon. Hope extends beyond this moment and brings purpose and meaning to each breath I am given.

Today was different...but hopeful. Today was unexpected...but hopeful. Today was not what I planned...but hopeful. Today was not easy...but hopeful. Today was a gift of life, purpose, meaning and hope. I am grateful. I am amazed. I am hopeful. I am never alone.💜~thl