May is one of my favorite months. My daughter Sarah was born this month; Mothers Day and my anniversary are this month. People are enjoying the outdoors, grilling, playing in their yards, walking, running and having graduation parties. Just a year ago, Perry and I had two weddings to attend and a graduation of a niece. We usually find time in May to camp for the first time in Bayfield, WI, with my brother and sister-in-law. This is usually a great month to connect with people and enjoy the outdoors.

It’s only been a couple of weeks, and I already miss all of you so much. My heart aches to be with you, to hear your voices and your laughter, to have our hugs and our conversations while enjoying coffee. I really miss our worshipping together, the singing, the prayers and our being together worshipping our God.

With spring just around the corner, at least that’s what I’m hoping. It’s time in the Midwest to tumble out of our houses from the long winter. As soon as the weather warms up, even a few degrees, we begin walking, running, biking and even working in the lawn, just to be outside. Children begin to play in the streets, shooting basketballs or playing soccer. It’s just a wonderful time of year, when we begin to see our neighbors once more.

After my surgery in November, I felt so welcomed and loved by all those who greeted me the following Sunday. I received hugs and lots of whispered “You’re in our prayers.” It was so nice to be welcomed in such a loving and meaningful way. I cannot express my gratitude enough for the prayers and “you got this, girl” that I heard from so many of my church family.


Last month, we were invited to change lives through the many ministries we do here at First Lutheran. The ministries highlighted are so very important to those in our congregation and in the world. I would also like to invite you to change lives in simple ways within our narthex. Our narthex during the program year is abuzz with activity and people of all ages. The energy in our narthex amazes me. We have so many people coming and going, making connection with one another ,but there are even more who are not and feeling a bit lost within the hub of activity in our narthex.

It’s so easy to forget someone’s name. I can forget a name as soon as the person walks away after telling me their name two minutes before. I can forget a name of someone I’ve known for years. Sometimes I can remember a spouse’s name but not the one I’m talking to. I can remember the kids’ names but not the parents and vise versa. It just happens; the name disappears somewhere into my brain, sometimes never to return.

This month, my oldest daughter, LeAnn, will have two bridal showers given for her. One given by her fiance’s side of the family, and one by her side of the family. I’m almost certain that at one, if not both, each of us in attendance will receive a gift or a small party favor. It’s always fun to receive these small gift bags when attending a party and being excited to see what each one has inside. I remember giving out goody bags at the girl’s birthday parties when they were much younger, and the children loved them. Most of us are still children at heart and love to receive gift bags. 

Summer is a wonderful time of year; there are so many ways to connect with people. We can go to outdoor music festivals, parades, music events in the park, farmers markets, area festivals, fairs and the list goes on and on. It’s so much fun to look ahead, plan and then attend these events locally or far away. I’ve always enjoyed going to events, and I also like to plan events, like the volunteer appreciation picnic, where we can connect and say thank you to each other.

Almost every time I walk into my bank, I’m greeted with “Hi Kathryn, be with you soon.” It’s nice to me be known by name, not having to show my ID to the teller, which sometimes happens when a new teller is working. It’s nice to hear, “Kathryn, I’m ready for you” knowing that I have a work relationship with the teller and we know each other. It’s comforting to be known and to be addressed by your given name. I like to be called by my name and don’t mind being called by any of the many variations of Kathryn.

I hope and pray for many things all the time. I hope and pray for my daughters, my husband, my friends, my co-workers, my church, plus many other things. I hope and pray for good spouses for my daughters, a good work environment for my husband, that my friends will have all that they need, my co-workers have energy to do all that God has called them to do and that my church may show the love of Christ to one another and to all who come to visit us. These are just a few of my hopes and prayers; sometimes my prayers are very specific, sometimes general, but my hope is always grounded in God’s will for those I pray for.

We have several grade school children who love to help on Sunday mornings. Almost every Sunday one of these precious children will come up to me and ask if they can help with ushering or acolyting. When I say “yes,” their faces light up with eagerness and joy. When I say “no, we have what we need,” their faces become dejected; a frown and even sometimes a pout, will appear. These young ones love to serve. They have a heart that is willing and able to serve with love and eagerness.

Several years ago, we were given a small notebook at church to write our thanks to God in. The notebooks where green in color with a label saying “Thanks be to God for his great Gifts!” As I was filling the small notebook with my thanks to God and coming closer to the end, I didn’t want this to end. That was when I decided to purchase another notebook and continue to write my thanks to God. Since then I’ve filled several notebooks and to this day continue to write my thanksgivings down.

My warmest memories are of wrapping up one of my girls in a beach towel after they have played in the water and snuggling with them to get them warmed up again so that they can go back in the water to play. Wrapping them up and holding them close to me was one of the things I enjoyed most as my girls where growing up. I still like to wrap my arms around them holding them close to me. Being wrapped in warmth whether in the summer or in the winter, like your hands around a warm cup of coffee or cocoa, is one of the best feelings.

This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to host my step-mom for a couple of days. I so looked forward to her coming. I made sure the guest room was ready with clean sheets, a new pillow and space in the closet in case she needed to hang anything up. I loved getting the room ready in anticipation of her coming. We had a wonderful time together and not long after her return home, I received a thank you note from her. Because of my preparation we had a great time together, she felt welcomed and loved.

The greatest joy I receive on a Sunday is seeing families serving together in a ministry. I love seeing families help with coffee together, little and not so little ones getting the the cups, napkins, creamers and sugar packets out on the table. It’s wonderful to see older children going around filling coffee cups and talking to the adults at the tables. I love seeing families usher together, welcoming people into the sanctuary and gathering the offering. When families serve together, it brings joy not only to me but to others seeing it and to the children participating. I love to see young ones’ faces light up when they can help out in church. Their attitude changes, and they walk a little taller taking pride in what they can do.

I have a friend who, when she knows I be over, leaves her front door wide open for me. I knock on the screen door and walk in calling her name and she welcomes me into her home with a welcoming hug. My friend promotes hospitality as she welcomes me into her home. She is a wonderful hostess to all who visit her.

I have a wonderful friend who loves connecting people to one another. Whenever she gathers people, she will introduce everyone to everyone. I come into her house and she asks me right away “do you know everyone?” I usually say yes, because I usually do, but she still goes around introducing me to her family and friends. She wants us to feel connected with one another. It would be wonderful if we had people like my friend, here at church who wanted everyone to feel connected.

My daughter Sarah and I watched the movie “Warm Bodies” just before I wrote this. It is a funny romantic movie about a zombie falling in love with a non zombie girl. His heart starts beating again, bringing him back to life, because of the connection he felt toward the girl. Because of his relationship with the girl, even just holding her hand, others began to reconnect, too, bringing their hearts to life. It’s quite humorous, as the storyline develops, but what caught my attention was that to warm one’s heart one must feel connected.

Most of us are very familiar with the Christmas story and Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room for them. It’s one of the worst feelings to go into a place and find out there is no room for you. Whether that is a hotel after traveling for hours and hours, a restaurant that has a long wait list, or a church that is filled only on the aisle side leaving the middle open. Having to crawl over people can be uncomfortable and a bit awkward or having to go all the way to the front to find a seat can feel intimidating, especially if you are a visitor.

I love watching our coffee hour, seeing people interacting with one another, talking, laughing, joking. There’s a table where one group always gathers, with the group members fluctuating throughout the year. We have others who float from table to table talking to almost everyone. We have some who sit quietly by themselves over in the couch area, and, of course, there are our coffee hosts going to each table filling coffee cups and enjoying getting to know those they serve. Our coffee hour is a wonderful time to talk to those you know and to get to know others you don’t know.