Email: pamela@pamelajkuhn.org

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content

Pamela Kuhn

Called to encourage

  • Home
  • About
  • Connect
  • Joy Seeker
  • Blog

admin

Embrace the Children

In 1902, Theodore Roosevelt was on a hunting trip in Mississippi when he found an old black bear. While what happened with the bear is hotly contested, this incident birthed the most delightful toy of all time – the teddy bear.

Teddy Bears make kids feel safe and peaceful. How many secrets have been whispered in the ears of bears, dinosaurs and lambs? How many tears have soaked the fur of bunnies, llamas and ducks? While they can’t say a word, they convey love and comfort. They are friends when the world seems cold, confidantes when a friend betrays, comforters when homelife turns ugly. Over 50% of Americans still have childhood stuffed animals.

So why not create a service project using a child’s best friend? I just picked up an adorably soft moose, complete with a jingle bell around its neck, and get this – it smells like chocolate! Of course, Allie needed one. And since it was a moose, she needed, “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” to go with it. At 70% off, it was a steal. But it got me thinking (and wanting to go back and get all they had left) what a great service project we could do with stuffed animals and books.

Image by Oldiefan from Pixabay

Here are some ideas I came up with. If you think of any, please share with the rest of us.

  1. I’ve seen posted several places on Facebook that Police officers keep stuffed animals in the trunks of their cruisers for any time they are dealing with a child separated from their parents — after an arrest, accident or fire. Imagine how comforting it would be for a child to be given a new friend on one of the most frightening days of their life.
  2. Help your child organize a stuffed animal drive for Stuffed Animals for Emergencies. This is a 21-year-old non-profit that uses stuffed animals, books and blankets to help children feel safe. They offer many ways to help, including a Birthday Drive where all your child’s birthday guests bring a stuffed animal.
  3. Women’s shelters, children’s hospitals, and foster care facilities – all these places accept stuffed animals. Some children’s hospitals do, too, but may require they are sealed in factory packing. Just ask what each charity’s requirements are before you organize a service project.
  4. Men and women in their second childhood love stuffed animals, too. If you call nursing care homes they will give you names of those who don’t have family visiting regularly. Go when you have time to sit and visit.

There’s a lot of discord over gently used versus new stuffed animals. I gently suggest the children deserve new and germ-free stuffed friends. Goodwill and other second-hand stores accept used ones; the parents can make their own choice whether their children should have them. God deserves our best. And if I wouldn’t buy my child a used animal, then that’s not my best. Remember, Jesus said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me” (Mark 9:36).

Whoever embraces one of these little ones embraces me. Mark 9:37 Click To Tweet

Here’s a list of some books to pair with the animals. Some organizations may not accept religious books. Use your discretion, but be true to the purpose of the project. For me, that’s to show the love of Jesus.

Today and Always, This is True, God Loves You by Holley Girth

God is Especially Good by Bill Johnson

Just in Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado

Is God Always with Me? By Chrystal Bowman

A Quiet Joy

About fifteen years ago my editor invited me to attend the CBA (Christian Book Association) conference. It’s the most exciting place a book lover can be. I walked among the publishing companies’ booths, with so many of my favorite authors signing books. One of the publishers stopped me and said, “You have so much joy on your face.” It was easy – books, authors and five days away from “life” all contributed. (Dinner with my editor at the Ritz Carlton didn’t hurt either!)

Joy was an easy emotion during those days. Yet it doesn’t take all that to bring me joy. It takes the familiar box printed with a smile, the feel of a new book in my hands, the transportation to a place I’ve never been or the words of an author who inspires me. It’s a quiet joy that fills my heart.

Image by Booth Kates from Pixabay

We always have our favorite authors, but when my niece (and namesake) posted “Twenty for 2020 Reading Challenge” from The Literary Life Podcast, I was reminded just how “safe” my reading often is. I’m going to join her, and I’m excited to begin my twenty, to revisit some old friends, to find new, to struggle through some, and to lose myself in others. I want to highlight, underline, journal, and contemplate. I want to consider, discuss and argue.

Books -- This year I want to revisit some old friends, to find new, to struggle through some, and to lose myself in others. I want to highlight, underline, journal, and contemplate. I want to consider, discuss and argue. I want to read! Click To Tweet

I want to smell the musty, dig for the perfect, and delight in each treasure found. I know my book-loving friends will understand this excitement mixed with quiet joy. You see, in each book that takes me away from the familiar, I open up the possibilities of learning life lessons, noticing age-old themes that cement what I already know, and curate new thoughts, always holding the truth up to the veracity of God’s Word. I can’t wait to begin…

You Can be a Philanthropist: Giving as Daily Ritual

The definition of a philanthropist is “a person who seeks to promote the welfare of others, especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.” Some of us may not have large chunks of money to use to bless others. However, we can still make philanthropy a daily ritual. Tiny gifts are like hugs for your heart. It’s the knowledge that someone is thinking of us.

Smiles are free, and kind words, too. Those we can give to anyone – even to people we don’t know. Mother Theresa said, “Every time you smile at someone it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” Often, I get involved in my errands and agenda that I fail to look people in the eye and smile. But most times, when I do, I’m gifted with a smile back. If you are mother who has littles at home, smile often at them. Being a philanthropist at home will help multiply your child’s joy.

You can be a philanthropist: Giving as a Daily Ritual

Kind words should be a daily ritual, too. Bless the clerk — “Thank you for wrapping that glass so carefully.” Bless the mailperson – “Thank you for bringing the package to my door.” Bless your child – “You are Momma’s big helper.” Bless a teen – “You have a beautiful heart.” Bless a friend – “You are a good listener.”

Can you squeeze $5.00 out of your weekly or monthly budget? Most of us can. A $5.00 coffee shop or bakery gift card will buy a fun drink or delicious treat (and some much-needed alone time). Sometimes that’s all someone needs to turn a week around. Tuck it in a card to a busy mom. Give one to your pastor’s wife, a nurse at the doctor’s office, or a school teacher. If you are in the drive-through line, pay for the person’s coffee behind you. Fold a $5.00 bill into an origami heart and tuck it in someone’s handbag (without anyone seeing you,) or give it to a random stranger who looks like they need a perk.

You can also create a cookie ritual. I love cookies, and while I can say “no” to most desserts, cookies are the hardest. I don’t know many people who don’t like cookies. Every time you make a batch of cookies, share a dozen. Include your children in the ritual. Let them take them to your neighbor or their teacher, decorate a lunch sack to hold them, or color a card to put with them. One evening Janene made a batch of cookies, intending to send some to Vincent’s kindergarten teacher. However, before Janene got to the kitchen the next morning Vincent had placed three on a big paper plate and was covering it with plastic wrap. It wasn’t the amount Janene would have given, but she praised his efforts, and he proudly carried his cookies to his teacher.

God’s people are giving people and will find ways to give even with they don’t have much extra. Let’s be philanthropists this year! Click To Tweet

Another daily ritual – empty your pockets and purse of the change you receive each day into a jar. When the jar is full, let the whole family vote on where you will gift the money.  Gift diapers to a Prolife center, peanut butter to food pantries, dog food to the animal shelter, craft kits to a children’s hospital or coloring books/crayons to foster care centers (or adult coloring books to nursing homes or women’s prisons).

  • My cousin, Juliette, crocheted 70 hats and 25 pair of slippers last year and donated them to where she went to grief counselling.  She also donated clothes and make up sixty gift bags with tooth brushes, toothpaste, brushes, combs, candy, coloring books, etc. This is all done anonymously (her way of respecting them those who are needy).
  • Martha sews fun pillowcases, and gifts them to sick and needy children.
  • Melanie doubles a recipe she’s making for her family, and gifts one to a new or working mother.
  • Sheryl donates Gideon Bibles in memory of lost loved ones.
  • Two elderly ladies took bananas to a hospital waiting room each day my friend’s mother was in the hospital. They passed them out, adding words of encouragement.
  • When a child was sitting still on a store’s mechanical animal, my mother would stop and put one or more quarters in the toy so the child could have a “real” ride.
  • Ann tucks flavored tea bags into the encouragement cards she mails.
  • Esther makes beautiful cards to mail.
  • A missionary, Kayla, plans tea parties for those in their ministering circle.
  • Phebe hands out red roses to people at bus stops, hospitals, or other care facilities.

I could go on and on with ideas of the daily or weekly rituals of philanthropy. It’s a subject I’m passionate about. We’ll be revisiting the subject every Thursday right here this year. Recipes, unique ideas, places to donate, and much more. God’s people are giving people and will find ways to give even with they don’t have much extra. Let’s be philanthropists this year!

Leave your own ideas in the comments. I’d love to share them with my readers.

Poking Holes in the Darkness

As the sun went down on 2019, the same darkness rose the next morning in 2020. Political unrest, financial crises, emotional breakdowns, job stress and family break ups still affect our lives. Just because we started a new year doesn’t mean we start over in life. We still grieve the loss of loved ones, we feel the pain of an unfaithful spouse, our sons are still in prison, and our daughters live with wrong choices. Our physical issues are still issues, and medical bills are still unpaid. Many of you live with one or more of these dark places. The calendar turning over to a new year doesn’t change the darkness.

The phrase “Poke holes in the darkness” usually refers to sharing the Gospel either on foreign soil or right where we live. However, God burned that phrase on my heart the last few weeks. I was thinking about the call God gave me to shelter – to encourage whose lives are shrouded in darkness. I am called to poke holes in that darkness in 2020.

It’s not that I don’t have opinions or care about the issues of our times. It isn’t that there aren’t other topics I’m interested in writing about. Yet, when I tiptoe into other genres of writing, I find God bringing back to my true calling again and again.

So, this year, I hope you will find hope in the holes I want to poke in the darkness of your life. I cannot change your circumstances, but I can offer encouragement from God’s Word which promises peace, grace and joy despite your circumstances.

I hope you will find hope in the holes I want to poke in the darkness of your life. Click To Tweet

Come here weekly for encouragement. Connect with me on Facebook or Instagram. E-mail me at pj_kuhn@comcast.net for personal encouragement and prayer. Let me help you find light in the midst of heartache, pain or despair. Through Christ, I will poke holes in your darkness.

Cherishing Through Life’s Seasons

You just married the man of your dreams. You’re loving married life, even the adjustments (or not). Cherish the moments of failed meals, quiet evenings, and Friday dates. These are the memories you’ll pull out to tell your daughter one day.

You’re adding a little person to your home. It’s oh-so-exciting with a few fears all rolled together. What kind of parent will I be? Will I live Jesus loud enough so my child will see how much fun it is to serve Him? Cherish the moments of your growing girth, butterfly flutters and shopping for impossibly tiny socks.

You’re a mother! The love you feel for that bundle of joy cannot be explained. The exhaustion as you get up every few hours is equally unexplainable. But then, that first smile – your world just turns upside down. Cherish the dirty diapers, the insurmountable laundry, and the sweet smell of a freshly bathed baby.

You’re still a mother, but how can it be that your child is going to school? You’ve purchased the uniform, shopped for crayons, pencils, and a tiny backpack. What will you do all day? Cherish the tears in your eyes. Cherish the pride and the spring in your child’s step after school as they talk about their teacher, new friends, and games played at recess.

Cherish the simple moments through the seasons of life -- each one is a God-given joy. Click To Tweet

And you’re still a mother – a mother of a teenager. How did this happy? These are the days to cherish the most. The days of accidental talks at the local fast food restaurant, helping with algebra problems solved differently from when you struggled to pass the class, and saying “no” when your child so desperately wants a “yes.” Cherish them all. You’re mothering days are changing, so cherish the teenage years.

And yes, you’re still a full-time mother, but only for the length of an engagement. Your child –but soon to be a husband or wife. Make this the best time in your child’s life. Shop for bridal gowns and flowers, let your child make the fun decisions. Nobody will remember you had blue napkins when maybe white might be better. Explain to your son that a groom should never tell his bride, “My mother’s pie/cake/lasagna tasted better.” And cherish these times of your stars-in-their-eyes child – these last months under your roof.

You’re still a mother, but you’ve added the grand in front of it. A grandmother? Aren’t grandmas supposed to be old and rock all day in a chair? The emptiness of your home will become the fullness of your heart. Rock away, go to grandparent’s day at school, attend the sports games. Cherish the times you can bake cookies and cook their favorite meal. These are the times the cherishing is shared – because your involvement in your grandchildren’s life will be the memories they cherish, too.

What season are you cherishing?

This Life of Joy

This life — this one life I have — I’ve given to my Heavenly Father. It’s not that I can’t do life my way. I can. But when I do — oh, the mess I make of it. Words spoken that hurt and wound, attitudes shown that grieve the Holy Spirit, and actions taken that cause others to stumble.

It’s just easier to allow full access of my soul to the one who created me. It’s a day-to-day living and growing. It’s the Holy Spirit sweetly abiding, teaching, and guiding me. This surrender to God grows joy.

Joy in God’s Presence

I love being with RB. Even if it’s just going to the grocery store, it’s more fun with him. That’s how I feel about God. I just want to take Him everywhere.

Joy in Loving Others

I try to make each person I meet happier. I’ve found that a gentle tone, a sincere compliment, and an interest into their hurting souls gives me joy.

Joy in Becoming Like Jesus

One of my favorite songs was written by Thomas O. Chisholm in 1897:

Oh! to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.

Oh! to be like Thee, Oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

None of this means I live a perfect life. What it does mean is that each day I ask Jesus to stamp His image on my heart. And as I try each day to love others, to live in God’s presence, and to strive to become as much like Christ as I can, my soul finds joy.

It’s a journey, sweet friends, a daily journey of surrendering myself and learning to live with a Christ-like spirit.

What does your journey look like?

 

 

The Joy in Downsizing

Jesus told us, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” RB and I have some dreams for the rest of our lives — dreams that will never be met when we are taking care of a big house and forty-plus years of “stuff.” I’ve heard the Lord whispering, “Life consists of far more than food and clothing.” I’ll add to His list — Books.

joy

Read quote by Frederick Robertson

A reader has books, and a writer has more books. Since I’m a rather eclectic reader, my library contains a wide range of genres. Here’s what I’ve found: I rarely read novels a second time, so it’s not hard to get rid of them. But the others…I may NEED them. Those titles cowered in the corner of the bookshelf, hoping to escape my scrutiny, pushing their neighbor to the edge so I’d pick them instead. All the while my Kindle was happy dancing because I wasn’t deleting him.

I couldn’t part with my Alexandra Stoddard set. I’m not sure I’ll ever read them again, but they hold such special memories of my mother, sister, and me collecting each one, and implementing the author’s ideas of “Living Beautifully.” Randy Alcorn’s “Safely Home” couldn’t go. It touches my soul and challenges me to give my all to God. I need Max Lucado books. I think he’s one of the best wordsmiths ever. The books on grief, kindness, Bible studies… See my problem?

My Joy books all stay. Their yellow spines make me smile. And the truths about joy are shaping my joy journey. In “Surprised by Joy,” C. S. Lewis says, “This idea of Joy is not a satisfied desire but an unsatisfied desire ─ a deep longing for God, a hungry pursuit of God’s heart that never ends and is more satisfying than any earthly happiness.”

This idea of Joy is...a hungry pursuit of God’s heart that never ends. C. S. Lewis Click To Tweet

But there were many books on my shelves that didn’t hold my heart. So I grabbed a couple stacks I could sell. Some craft books, books for a project already completed, biographies, etc. I went to Book Scouter and plugged in the ISBN numbers. They list 18 places that will buy your book for various amounts. In one evening I made $234.00. Letting go of the books was suddenly easier.

I made one rule: For every five books I read (I read 100+ a year), I will read one off my shelf. Then I will decide if it’s one I need to keep.

Jesus doesn’t want us to worry about “things.” I lost most of my books in a house fire 30 years ago, and didn’t care at all — they didn’t hold a candle to losing our Sarah. But books do bring me joy. So, I’m keeping some, selling some, and giving away some. And we’re a few pages closer to our dreams.

I’d love to hear how you keep your books under control. Do you have a system to decide which ones to let go?

The Joy of God’s Presence

In the Psalms, King David gives us a peek into his relationship with God with the words, “In thy presence is fullness of joy.” Franklin, at the funeral of his father, Billy Graham, recalled, “The last few years of my mother’s life, my mother was sick in bed, and she would lie in bed on her side and my father would come in and he would sit beside her, and the two of them would look at each other. Just look at each other – I mean, eye-to-eye – for hours.”

There are times we need to sit in God’s presence and look into His eyes. When life is a tangled mess, when sorrow’s shroud envelops you, or when your body is broken, these are the times you need to take time and sit in God’s presence and gaze into His eyes. For it is in this quiet presence and love that joy is found.

It is in God's quiet presence and love that joy is found. Click To Tweet

Circumstances may not change. We will still be facing divorce, prodigal children, death of loved ones, cancer, or other heartaches, but there is joy in knowing the depth of God’s love for us. To see our pain reflected in our Heavenly Father’s eyes. To know He is walking each painful step with us.

This, dear ones, is the joy and happiness we find in God’s presence. It’s a daily walk, we must pledge, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8). So wash your dishes, do your laundry, go to work, love your children; weep, laugh, and sing, with your heart always looking in God’s eyes, and sitting in His presence. This heart joy can be yours.

Welcome In — With Joy!

Welcome to my new blog! A Sheltering Tree served its purpose since 2010. Some of the set up of that blog changed and couldn’t be reinstalled without purchase, so I decided to use the money for an updated look.

What you’ll find here is what you found at A Sheltering Tree – encouragement and joy for your journey. Sometimes amid mothering, empty nesting, and grandparenting, life can throw us frustration, heartache, or grief. Let’s take the dark of life and learn how to mold it into a kaleidoscope of color.

Grab a notebook or journal and your favorite colorful pens. We’ll be journaling, verse mapping and studying the Bible. We’ll share quotes, joys, prayer requests, and heartaches. It will be your blog as much as mine.

This is a safe place to unlock your greatest fears and biggest heartaches. Click To Tweet

We need community, and we’ll be intentional about keeping things authentic here. It’s so easy to want to parade the good of our lives publicly — leaving our struggles, family issues, and work frustrations under lock and key in the bottom of hearts. I want this to be a safe place to unlock your greatest fears and biggest heartaches.

You’ll find reviews on books that will help you on your journey, printables to help you focus, and ideas to make it easy to begin or continue your own ministry of encouragement. Most of all, I hope you find Jesus here – that you feel His presence through the words and ideas.

So I welcome you!

©COPYRIGHT 2018. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Visitors

Today: 11

Yesterday: 199

This Week: 2694

This Month: 16010

Total: 170881

Currently Online: 63