The Gift of Surprise Hospitality

Some bruschetta I made for our surprise guests.  

*I decided to sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow because we need some beautiful times, times where we can focus on what brings us together.

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”  Gandhi

 

The Gift of Surprise Hospitality. 

To be hospitable takes love and grace.

To make your home available in a variety of ways. 

Whether it is a meal, tea, or conversation to share.

Hospitality is a way to show someone that you care. 

In a world where politeness and manners are sparse.

Hospitality shows friends or strangers the decency and decorum of the human heart. 

So the gift of hospitality even if it is a surprise can be both a gift and an amazing contribution in another human’s eyes. 

Hospitality, geniality, words of comfort and perhaps some food to share.

After all when you give the gift of hospitality, you could be entertaining angels unawares. 

The dictionary defines hospitality as: the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers. How do we navigate hospitality in a time where the world wide bug is still a concern and to put it frankly, social media is a huge source of negative information. The news is just so very sad. It really seems as if our nation is deeply divided at the moment. Recently I saw a meme that said, “Turn off the news, go out and love your neighbor.” Does that not ring resoundingly true?  How many people that you know, or are acquainted with, who actually want to sow division daily?  Sure, there are those who complain and moan, but actual people that want to cause strife and division, do you know anyone like that consistently?  I would argue that those kinds of folks are few and far between.  What do most people want? Peace. Food, warmth, clothing, a better future for their family, money in the bank, a country that lives in harmony regardless of their political and religious beliefs. That is the decency of the human spirit. Recently I read that the majority of hateful content that is spread on the web is only from about seven percent of the population!  Just seven. That does give me some reassurance concerning humanity.  Recently our family had a surprise guest.  Our son invited his long-time friend for dinner.  I admit, at first I was annoyed.  Dinner was planned, the meat was out.  We had to scramble to make additional food.  As our family was sitting around the table laughing and in the words of my late father-in-law, “communing and being eatful” a realization came over me.  Instead of being annoyed at the surprise guest, my son’s knowledge that our home was a welcoming place for his friends where they can visit, eat and feel comfortable in our home.  Giving to others can help so very much and it warms your spirit as well. Hospitality is a contribution to the lives of others and hopefully in turn, they will give that gift to others who are in need of accommodation and warmth.  

The Gift of Crumbs

This is a cutting board that one of my twin sons made me.... I have made many loaves of bread for them and of course, the crumbs came after. Both of these things are very precious to our family. Tonight we broke bread with long time friends. It was so nice to see those crumbs.

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.”  Phyllis Diller

The Gift of Crumbs.

Crumbs can be annoying.

Crumbs can be everywhere

They take over every nook and cranny 

They scatter like they don’t have a care.

You sweep them up continually, what feels like day in, and day out.

You whine and moan at these silly crumbs because they just won’t go away.

“I sweep them all the time!” you declare and stomp your foot. 

Then you pause and think, “Wait, I need to take a step back and take a look.”

Those crumbs are there all the time because there are people who came to spend quality time.

They laugh, they sing, they eat, and come to see their mom and dad and other family. 

So today, I love sweeping up crumbs because it really means, my boys, my gals, they have come to see their dad and I. 

All of our college age kids are home at the moment.  There are 3 Army boys and 1 Navy girl.  There is a lot of eating that goes on ALL.THE.TIME. It is almost as if they stumble through in a haze of hunger, almost like in a daze. The pantry flies open, my husband and I hear it every single time… The bags are opened, the tuna fish is eaten with great abandon. I can feel the pantry groan for its very life. Then, in another haze of feral-like hunger, the fridge is opened.  The cheese is consumed like there is no tomorrow, the milk is gone within hours and food is literally everywhere.  I did have to wonder… How in the world did food get on the ceiling? How? Seriously!  If you have an answer for that little riddle, I would certainly like to know your thoughts.  I feel like I am constantly doing the dishes, sweeping the floor, going to the grocery, cooking for them, doing laundry, all things housework.  I even lamented to my husband that I had just wiped down all the counters, swept the floor, finished the dishes, etc…  Just as I finished, an Army boy swept through and made a snack.  Crumbs everywhere!  At the time I was annoyed, but in an attempt to look at things in a more positive way, I changed my concept of crumbs.  Crumbs mean our kids love us enough to come home and see us instead of going somewhere else.  Crumbs mean we have sat around the table, laughed, talked about life, the universe, and everything.  Crumbs mean we are blessed to have each other.  I choose to smile and thank God for the gift of crumbs.  

My books are on amazon! 

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot 

The Case of the Missing Moo Cow Bell

The Case of the Missing Bumbly Wumbly Bee

The Case of the Missing Wellies

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments 

Clean it Up! Wash it Up!

I am writing for Patheos! 

Positive Pensées 

Buy me a coffee please... or in my case a proper cuppa. 

Paypal familyking8@gmail.com 

Thank you for reading!

The Gift of a Hundred Million Miracles

Right after a deluge of rain on a hike, we were soaked to the bone. As I looked around, the miracle of color after a storm was breathtaking. 

*I sang this for my husband, he loves this song... I had to change it for my operatic voice but even Oscar could find a miracle in the song, "I Love Trash"

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of A Hundred Million Miracles

“A Hundred Million Miracles are Happening Every day!”

Flower Drum Song

You woke up this morning.  What a miracle.

The air continued to flow, the rivers kept their current, and the sun shone high in the sky. 

The birds sang their morning song, glorious and filled with tweets.

The flowers opened, the trees swayed gently in the breeze.  

All of these occurrences are part of the miracle of life. 

Yet we forget in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. 

What are the hundred million miracles in your life?

Could it be the gift of sustenance that is on your table each day?

Could it be that you have some friends and family who contribute to the miracle of your life?

A hundred million miracles, if you were asked to name just one, could you look up from the murkiness of life and glean some miracles?

Try to find some wonder in your life. 

I promise you, the practice will be well worth the fight. 

Find the Hundred Million Miracles in your life.  

The river flows, the sun comes up.  The wind blows, the moon rises.  The stars come out.  All miracles. Each day is filled with them.  I think that as humans, we become unaware of just how spectacular these hundred million miracles happen each and every day.  This song is from the musical Flower Drum Song, a musical that was written in 1957 by the renowned musical composers, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.  Our culture has lost the beautiful art of the musical for songs about well, less than wholesome subjects.  I have come to the belief that in all our modern trappings, we have truly lost the ability to find a hundred million miracles, or one miracle if I were to be honest.  In the song, if you cannot find a miracle you are “not one who can hear or see what is around you.” The child decides to walk, the birds lay their eggs, and the life cycle repeats itself everyday.  Such simple yet profound activities to ponder.  The soprano (high singer) learns to sing a song. The vegetables grow.  All the themes of this song.  Today I was reading about Corrie ten Boom, she was a woman whose family helped hide Jewish people during World War II.  Her family was prominent clock makers in Haarlem, Netherlands.  Corrie herself was the first woman clock worker in the Netherlands.  Her family, though not Jewish believed that all of God’s people are worthy and should have a place of respite.  They started with one family and eventually helped hundreds of people.  Sadly, they were turned into the Gestapo and taken to concentration camps.  Corrie and her sister were sent to Ravensbrueck Women’s Labor Camp in Germany.  This camp was a brutal bastion of death and suffering.  Corrie lost her sister and her father while in the concentration camp.  When I read her book, “The Hiding Place” she spoke about being in isolation at the camp, and all of the atrocities that were committed towards the women in the camp.  She was indeed in the depths of despair.  Even in that situation she tried to find the little miracles in her life.  Before her sister died, she encouraged Corrie to find something to have gratitude for in their dire circumstances. While they were in the crowded room Corrie’s sister chose the fleas.  When the fleas were mentioned, Corrie said to her sister (paraphrase) “Who is thankful for fleas!?”  Her sister Betsie reminded her that even creatures she has no use for, God created and therefore they should give thanks.  When reading this passage, I thought in the face of certain death, they found a place of gratefulness.  Most of us have never even encountered situations as dire as these.  Therefore, one can conclude that we have much, much more miracles to account for in our life.  After reading the book by Corrie Ten Boom, I was reduced to tears.  This woman lost her whole family (her 84 year old father as well) and yet she maintained an attitude of gratitude.  Corrie went on to serve the rest of her life in the Christian service.  She died on her birthday at the age of 91.  In the Jewish faith, if you die on your birthday you are truly blessed of God.  I am not sure if that is the case, but Corrie was a remarkable person.  One of her many wise sayings was: "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”.  One Hundred Million Miracles are indeed Happening Everyday.  

Source: Goodreads, vancechristie.com

The Gift of Cinnamon

Sprinkle a little cinnamon... make the world and your life a better place. 

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Cinnamon

“If you combine good flavors, food turns into an orchestra.”.

Joey Fatone

Sugar and Spice and everything nice.  

I am sure you have heard that phrase once or twice. 

What does cinnamon add to a dish?

A lot of flavor with a spicy hint.

Cinnamon is a smell of comfort on a cool day.

What is cinnamon in your life?

Where can you sprinkle a little cinnamon to make you a better person?

Is it a small change in attitude?

A choice to be kind?

A little change in perspective to ease your mind?

Put a little cinnamon in your life so that you can be sweetened, because life can make us sour and not fun to be around. 

It doesn’t take much cinnamon to change a meal.

So try to sprinkle a little cinnamon in your life dish. 

Did you know that cinnamon was once used as currency?  It was considered more valuable than gold! The Egyptians used cinnamon to embalm bodies.. (okay, that is a little gross).  Cinnamon has been used as medicine in medieval times.  Cinnamon also was used to cure meat.  The Greeks used cinnamon as tributes to their gods.  Cinnamon is used in the preparation of chocolate which as we all know is just one of the best gifts to humanity.  Cinnamon can be used in savory dishes as well, particularly chicken and lamb.  The most interesting thing about cinnamon, you can make pickles with this little spice.  So many uses for cinnamon, why do I talk about cinnamon?  Well, for a variety of reasons.  As we navigate through life we have tiny areas that can always be improved upon.  If you do sprinkle a little more compassion into your personality will that make you a better person?  Probably.  What small little bits of your soul and spirit could use a little sprinkle of cinnamon?  Recently I made a pot of homemade potpourri to cover the smell of burnt popcorn that my son graced us with.  That little sprinkle of cinnamon permeated the whole house and completely obliterated the smell of burning.  If that tiny bit of cinnamon could do that much, what could that do for us in a practical sense in our lives?  Angry about a certain life situation?  Try to sprinkle a little gratitude and see if that dissipates some of the anger.  We are never promised a struggle-free life.  Wouldn’t that be great if we could sail through with no real issues to deal with?  My late father-in-law once told me a story of his father who had to wake up quite early.  They lived in rural Georgia in a tiny house with few lights.  He said that each morning his father would wake up before dawn and sing, “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” at the top of his lungs.  My father-in-law said that he always wondered why he could do that because it was too dark to see if it was a beautiful morning.  It is a simple answer, he sprinkled cinnamon on to his morning.  He chose joy instead of annoyance that he was up at such an early hour.  Think about it, how can that one little practice change your entire day?  I would wager quite a bit.  Annoying times will come, some people will inevitably be hard to deal with, your kids may drive you nuts, your health may be a concern.  All of these situations are worth meaningful attention. Perhaps, as you face these circumstances you could just sprinkle a little cinnamon and see what happens.  

source: thespruceeats.com

The Gift of Picking Dandelions

A walk in Tybee Island near Savannah, GA.  A few of my dandelion moments of thankfulness. 

One of my favorite songs to sing! My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music. 

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Picking Dandelions

“When you look at a field of dandelions, you can either see a hundred wishes or a thousand weeds.”  

Unknown

A Dandelion.  Some consider this little flower to be a weed.

During the depression this flower provided nourishment to families in need.

Such a common flower that is seen in many yards. 

Yet we seem to overlook this flower for flowers that are more intricate and bold.

Look at the simple flowers, they can teach you to see that beauty can be found in the most simple things.  

Take a walk and ponder the dandelion.  Pick it up, look at its vibrant color.

Think about what simple things in your life that you take for granted, much like the dandelion.

Take a moment and give these small occasions a little gravity. 

Hopefully this will help you to see just what a blessing life can be. 

A Dandelion, such a common flower.  Some think of them as annoying weeds, while others see them as wishes and opportunities.  During the depression, this flower was used for tea and salad.  The flower can even be made into wine!  In a time where things were very hard and scarce, this common flower provided essential nourishment to those seeking to find food with little money.  Recently my husband and I took our little granddaughter out to eat with mom and dad.  We had a little time to wait before being seated.  The restaurant was small with little room to wait inside.  We decided to take our very inquisitive little girl outside to explore.  As she was walking around, I remembered picking these flowers as a child.  We immediately gave her some dandelions to hold in her tiny little hands.  She loved them!  She held them for dear life. What a small insignificant thing to give a little one joy!  She laughed and studied these little flowers with great curiosity.  What are the dandelions in your life?  Seriously, let us take a moment to ponder the most minute objects, thoughts, quotes that have impacted our lives?  What small insignificant items, thoughts, words have we overlooked simply because they were like dandelions?  So much of life is wanting the bigger event, the momentous occasion, the nicer things.  While these concepts and occasions are perfectly viable, what about the dandelions?  That kind word, that simple song, the overlooked flower.  What if, through looking at the small blessings of life we find that we can laugh with unreserved joy?  Sometimes you do have to sift through the weeds to grab that dandelion of delight, but is this not a metaphor for life?  Yes, look for the important and the momentous.  But also, stop and pick those dandelions.  You will be glad that you took the time to do so.  Think of this concept as your daily mini Thanksgiving.  If you are in a dark place start with picking one single small activity, word, physical blessing that can give you a dandelion moment.  Set a goal to try each day with just one.  Then, after practicing picking dandelions perhaps move that number to two, and so on.  Tuck a little goodness into each day.  That way when you cannot find one single positive occurrence or feeling, you can remember those dandelions that you picked and kept for yourself.  

The Gift of Wobbly Bits

A walk in Bayville, New York inspired my musings about wobbly and jiggly bits. 

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Wobbly Bits

“Imperfection is the prerequisite for grace.  Light only gets in through the cracks.”

Phillip Yancey

Wobbly bits, jiggly bits, cellulite, imperfection.

Stretch marks, scars, flaws, and cracks.

We all have them.

Whether they come from a fall, or a less than graceful moment.

Our wobbly bits, our jiggly bits should not hold us.

Wobbly bits, jiggly bits, serve as a reminder.

Of the grace, mercy, and forgiveness that has come to bind us together in our humanity.

To be human is to have imperfections, whether they are spiritual or physical.

Let your wobbly bits, your jiggly bits be your teacher. 

To forgive yourself. To learn from your mistakes, and let the light shine in the darkness.

Pass the illumination, the luminescence and luster on to others.

To err is human, to forgive is divine.

Let your wobbly bits, your jiggly bits serve to guide you.  

To offer a word of comfort for those who need counsel.

Let your wobbly bits, your jiggly bits be a gift for all to see.

That you are human and working to be a better person for all the world to believe.

Good morning, evening, middle of the night... twilight, dawn, etc.. friends. I wrote this little musing seven months ago. I had no idea that I would end up in the hospital very, very ill and basically have to regain my strength one day at a time. One of those ways I have started to rebuild strength is to exercise again. I felt so great, I rode the bike last week, I walked just about every single day. Yesterday I decided that I was going to ride the bike farther than I had in a very long time. I had walked earlier that day, at dark:30 to be precise. As the day lingered on, I started to feel so stiff. By the time bed time rolled around I was walking like a machine with no oil in it. This morning when I woke up, wobbly, jiggly, jello legs. I immediately started to beat myself up internally. "Girl, you are just not progressing as quickly as you should. Look how weak you are." I stopped myself immediately and said, "Self, you are taking it one day at a time. You couldn't walk, you could barely move. Look where you are now." We all need to embrace our wobbly bits, give yourself credit for that one little step. There may be days when you take two steps back, but hey... you tried. There are probably others watching your journey. Give yourself the Grace that God so freely gives us. Let them see that you can be Wobbly, jiggly and still keep going!

Wobbly bits.  Jiggly Bits.  I love saying these words.  In this day and age of “canceling” wobbly bits can be a bit of an issue.  It seems that daily I read that someone was “canceled” for a tweet or a social media post that they made a long time ago.  Humanity is not perfect.  Humanity is flawed, gritty, sometimes wonderful, and sometimes a race uphill just to make it through the day.  Empathy is defined as: the ability to understand and share feelings of another.  Forgiveness is defined as the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven.  To pardon.  Forgiving our wobbly bits is a source of daily bread for our souls.  If we dwell on those who have wronged us, or those we have wronged, it creates resentment, pain and can eventually lead to health issues.  Perhaps that is why our society is so divided and toxic at the moment.  Forgiveness and empathy are not at the forefront.  Perfection is front and center. Think about all of the selfies that we see on a daily basis. Is that a search for perfection or flawlessness? I am not anti-selfie. It is an idea to ponder. When humankind overwhelmingly expects perfection, they are immediately set up for defeat, frustration and eventually a sense of just giving up.  I used to hear a pastor say, “Forgiveness is a fact first, not a feeling.” That phrase was very profound to me.  Make the choice to forgive your wobbly bits; make the choice to forgive the jiggly bits in others.  It is not for them; it is for you.  Forgiveness, empathy, practicing meaningful transformation of perfection versus living a life of perfection is not freedom.  It is misery.  Let us work on our wobbly bits. Let us be an example to others in embracing imperfection and working towards being a bit less wobbly and jiggly.  

Our family walking in the Alps in Grindelwald.

*Climb Every Mountain from The Sound of Music sung by Kathy King

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Winding Roads

“Life is like a winding road and every path is different.  Follow your path, strive for happiness and embrace every bend along the way.”

Unknown

A winding road, a beautiful day weaving inside and out just enjoying your day.

The winding, the twists, the turns and the curves all are part of making it to your destination.

Sometimes there is a map and you know the way.

Other times there is no map and you must find your way.

There might be a fork in the road that you may choose to take. 

That is all part of the trip to help you find your peaceful place. 

Take in the scenery, bask in the sun, let the wind caress you and even have a little fun.

Life is much like a winding road, the path is not always straight. 

Take in the beauty, take in the loops and arches while you find your way. 

Embrace and learn, discover something new. 

Wind, bend and listen, these roads can teach and change you

Have you ever been on a winding road in the mountains?  On a beautiful day the scenery is glorious.  Whether the season is spring, winter, fall, or summer nature affords us stunning cliffs with beautiful vistas to behold.  Recently my husband and I went to visit our twin boys who attend college in the Appalachian mountains.  As you drive around the bend of one particularly steep road, there is a crest on top of the hill, at that crest you have panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It is genuinely breathtaking.  The same can be said of the Alps in Switzerland.  To see them in person is nothing short of awe inspiring.  Bach should be played as you ride up the mountain to see the top.  On the tops of the mountains in Switzerland (and other European countries), there is usually a biergarten where you can take in the views all around you.  A little funny story; my husband, my kids and myself decided to take a bus tour through the Alps in Switzerland.  This bus was a charter bus that held quite a few people.  As we started our journey from Zuerich the roads were pretty straight, Zuerich is in the “foothills'' of the Alps.  As our journey continued on the roads got much steeper and more winding.  This bus driver was driving so fast!  It felt as if we were on a roller coaster as he zig zagged in and out of the winding road to get to Grindelwald.  The people on the bus were gasping, my kids were looking at me like, “Why did we do this?” When we would come to a particularly sharp curve the bus would honk his horn in a warning to other cars with the message, “Get out of the way!  I am coming through.”  The situation was so scary and comical that I started raising my hands in the air as if I was on a roller coaster.  After doing this my kids calmed down because they realized, we have to find some levity in this situation.  After our twisty turny ride, we made it to the beautiful mountain town of Grindelwald.  The views!  Wow, the mountain tops were covered with snow (and it was July!).  The air smelled of mountain streams and edelweiss.  The sight was truly stunning.  Don’t you think that life is much like those winding roads?  They may be quite daunting with an element of uncertainty.  There could indeed be moments of levity and laughter.  Terror might make an appearance.  Some laughter and joy may be all along the way to reaching your destination.  There will be hard work and you might even have to honk your horn and politely ask someone to move so that you may pass because their journey is different than yours. When you make it to the top, pause and take a look at the breathtaking victory that you have achieved.  At first that hill may be small and that is okay.  The point is that you are still climbing, still making the effort to be better each day.  During our visit to our son's college we decided to walk back to our car rather than taking the shuttle to where we parked.  My sons looked at my husband and myself with the question, “Are you sure you want to do this, you old fogies?!” After all, we are ancient according to our kids, right?  We both piped up with a resounding, “Yes!” As we started our walk, neither my husband nor myself had realized just how many steep hills were on the campus.  Our sons are used to the hike as they attend college and walk to many of their classes.  We huffed, we puffed, there were a lot of steep steps to climb but we made it to the top.  Once there, we turned around and took in the gorgeous view.  The work was worth it.  Take those winding roads of life, climb the steep hills and mountains and bring yourself a better sense of peace each day.  Life is much better when we keep learning and pursuing those winding roads. 

The Gift of the Pentatonic Scale

The essence of the pentatonic scale. Simple, yet beautiful. Photo taken at the Bronx Zoo.

This is Jesus Loves Me arranged with Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy. I played this during the world wide bug to hopefully bless others. A small example of the pentatonic scale.

Positive Pensées

 

Kathy King

The Gift of the Pentatonic Scale

 

"Each person in the world is different and has their own beautiful sound in the symphony of life."

Joseph Worthlin

 

The pentatonic scale. 

A Scale with 5 notes.

Not a lot to work with.

But oh, those little tones.

They were used to create beautiful masterpieces starting back in the late 19th century.

Debussy, Ravel and other great composers took those notes and made great showpieces that created beautiful musical motifs.

If a composer can take something very small and make something great.

Think of the possibilities within us that could potentially be something quite extraordinary.

Where is your pentatonic scale?

What would it be?

Could it be your wit? Your spirit? Your humility?

Take the best bits of you and make your pentatonic scale.

Weave those notes into a symphony that will tell a great tale.

Play the piece to others, encourage them to find their pentatonic melody.

Our world could be a beautiful consonance, sonata, and majestic reverie!

 

The pentatonic scale is exactly five notes. A normal scale has eight notes. Most musical canon has been written with the traditional eight-note scale, whether it be a major scale, a minor scale, a harmonic minor scale, etc. Scales are what eventually become music, which is composed and written into a song (which has words) or a piece (which has no words) of music. You would be really surprised at music professors, they make that distinction readily if you call a song a piece and vice versa. In the late 19th century, two composers named Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel started to compose their music with the pentatonic scale. This was so different for European ears to hear! Most music was linear and straight-forward. The introduction of the pentatonic scale was, to some, a bit more chaotic. What both composers managed to do with those five little notes was nothing short of astonishing. During that particular time in history, the art was changing. Impressionism was taking hold. Most notably Claude Monet. He painted vibrant gardens with visible strokes. One of his most famous paintings was "Woman with a Parasol" This painting was not smooth; it was a little jagged, with vibrant colors dancing on the canvas. This is what Debussy and Ravel did with their music. They took those little notes and made them sound like a flowing stream, bells ringing in the distance, and even clouds passing through the sky. Claire de Lune, First Arabesque, and Jeux d’Eux All are well worth a listen to see the power of the pentatonic scale. Over time, these notes were used in jazz composition; it is called the blues scale. So you see, you can make a song or piece of worth with a small amount of notes. What is your pentatonic scale? Is it your kindness, humility, or smile? Your ability to find the good in every situation? Is it your empathy? Is it your strong will and willingness to not give up easily?  Find five things about yourself and compose your pentatonic symphony. I must admit, I struggle some days to find five good things but the exercise is well worth a try.  Then pass that idea on to others. Surely if this scale that at one time was "out of the norm" can stand the test of time and yield a crop of beautiful music. Our pentatonic scale can do much, much more. 

 

Source:charliepennel.com