Life's Loving Memories

 WE GATHER TOGETHER “Sometimes we focus so much on what we don't have that we fail to see, appreciate, and use what we do have!”                                                    --Jeff Dixon On Thanksgiving, I remember all there is to be thankful for, good friends, loving family, food to eat, clean water to drink, and the laughter that bubbles up when you least expect it. For all of this and more, I am deeply grateful. I think of Thanksgivings past and the people who have touched my life in so many amazing ways. I am indeed living the blessing. What is underneath all of this blessing? A gift from Spirit, a belief in the goodness of a higher Power in my life; the kindness of loved ones in my life who have inspired the kindness in me; and the inate decision to respond rather than react to all of lifes challenges. I have learned that challenges make us stronger, and that they are often stepping stones to somethng more valuable in life. Happy thanksgiving, and may all your days be on

  WISE WOMEN "When we take time to observe the workings of our own selves, I believe we may discover that there is something deeply hidden inside us,forever guiding us."                                                                                  Einstein and the Rabbi    ---Naomi Levy There have been a wonderful amount of wise women in my life, from sisters, teachers, friends and people I meet randomly.   When I was studying the Science of Mind, one of my teachers was Jane Claypool. Besides being a teacher, she also wrote a book, Wise Women Don’t Worry, Wise Women don’t Sing the Blues. She also held workshops for women called “Wise Women Weekends.” Some of the first I attended helped me discover more about myself and what a strong and beautiful person I was. When she gave a class for people who wanted to be workshop facilitators, I signed up. In my years living in Kennewick, I have hosted over ten workshops, along with other ministers in the Pacific Northwest. Ther

  AFRICAN VIOLETS "You were created to be. And to be, you have to emerge from the cocoon of complacency and dare to         venture in consciousness across uncharted seas of mind."                                                                                              Raymond Charles Barker                      --The Power of Decision                                                   For as long as I can remember, African violets have always been my favorite flower. Once I had a baker’s rack that I rigged with a florescent light.   It stayed on continually.   The violets really flourished.   One thing about them, is when you first get them, move them around the house, from window to window, until you find a place that they bloom. Then let them stay in the same place permanently.   My current violets reside in a west facing window with wooden slate blinds that partially block the sun.   I started with one plant and now have four, each year dividing the extra plants t

  Tutoring in the Jail "When we choose actions that bring happiness and success to others, the fruit of our karma is happiness and success."    --Deepak Chopra Since I’ve lived in Kennewick, I have been tutoring youth who are under eighteen, that have been incarcerated. I’ve only tutored boys because in fourteen years there have been no juvenile girls who have been placed in the jail. All of them have been most appreciative to have a tutor who comes in to teach them, we are just about the only people they can meet in person besides the officers, lawyers, chaplains and nurses.   The one thing we can always seem to agree on is that they have all made some unfortunate choices. I instruct them in math and in English, and help some of them in preparing to take the GED. Some students are able to complete the "one more class" they need for finishing high school, and then a small graduation ceremony takes place.   I believe that my positive attitude in helping them face t