kcampbell116

  • Hope

    Hope

    On December 31, 2019, I had a lot of hopes.  At our sweet friends’ New Year’s Eve party, I shakily wrote my resolution on a thin piece of cardboard: ‘attend my first writer’s conference’ and then I paused and added something like, ‘pursue publishing’.  In the weeks that followed, I applied for and received a…

  • Psalm 20:7

    Psalm 20:7

    As it often does, my Jesus Calling devotional pointed me to a verse today I’d heard multiple times, but never really considered.  Today, it was Psalm 20:7: Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. The times I’ve trusted in a horse are limited…

  • Discern

    Discern

    In the past several weeks, it has become clear that American Catholics have both a new opportunity and responsibility to do something with which they may not have a lot of practice: spiritual discernment.  In the time since the obligation and practice of mass attendance was suspended in March, individual Catholics have relied on their…

  • Hospice

    Hospice

    “In all honesty, I have to say she was sent to me by the Holy Spirit.” My friend, Bob, was talking to me about the incredible care he’s receiving in hospice, and specifically the care he’s receiving from his CNA, Paulette.  Paulette came here from Jamaica 33 years ago, raised five children, and worked hard…

  • Breath

    Breath

    I sang a recorded mass for Pentecost, the first mass at which I’d ministered in months.  In choosing the music, I considered all of my favorite Holy Spirit songs, but kept one on the shelf: O Breathe on Me, O Breath of God.  In a time of pandemic, we’re keeping our breaths to ourselves, or…

  • Pentecost

    Pentecost

    I was walking in one of my favorite places just now when I saw this wooden chapel birdhouse. It’s not the first time I’ve noticed it. In fact, I’ve taken hundreds of pictures of it over the years, in every time and season. Sometimes the leaves are green and full as they are today. Sometimes…

  • Next

    Next

    I spent the afternoon away from home, walking and praying and asking God to speak into my next steps. There is so much up in the air.  I’m a preschool music teacher who doesn’t yet know if the schools will open in the fall, or whether there will be funding for my programs, or whether singing…

  • Phlox

    Phlox

    I am astounded by phlox.  You know, the tiny little perennial flower that pops up in bright pink, purple, and white this time of year on hillsides and rock walls.  We planted a couple of small bits on our patio around some larger planters four or five years ago and each year it comes back…

  • 2.23

    2.23

    I hadn’t run consistently in a while, but today I ran 2.23 miles in honor of Ahmaud Arbery , the 25-year old man who was shot and killed while running outside Brunswick, Georgia on February 23. As I ran, I thought about what it would be like if this were my last run, my last…

  • Re-form

    Re-form

    I was watching this video last night and was about half-way through when I burst into tears.   It’s a collaboration of over 65 churches and Christian movements in the UK, their music ministers calling down blessings over their country.  And if you watch their faces, you see their connection to the Holy Spirit, their…