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3 weeks ago | 
kentuckytoday.com | Dawn Reed
Every spring, for as long as I can remember, my beloved and I have planted flowers. Over the years, I’ve killed a lot so I know what will thrive and what is sure to die. (Can’t grow a Red-Hot Sally to save my life.) We usually make more than one trip to our local greenhouse and Lowe’s for red geraniums, lantana, ivy and ferns. This year, I decided to do something different. We had stumbled upon tuberous begonias last summer. Their bright ruffley blooms kept going and going. I was smitten.
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1 month ago | 
kentuckytoday.com | Dawn Reed
When David stepped out in the Valley of Elah that day, he wasn’t afraid. If you don’t know the story told in 1 Samuel 17…The Israelites drew up their battle lines against the Philistines. Goliath, the nine-foot-tall champion from the Philistine army came out and taunted them for 40 mornings and evenings. He spewed threats and curses that left the Israelite soldiers shaking in their sandals. They were paralyzed with fear. No one had the courage to fight him. The Israelites knew about God.
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1 month ago | 
kentuckytoday.com | Dawn Reed
I have the sweet privilege of going to local elementary schools as the Tooth Fairy. I have a white curly wig, pink cat-eye glasses, a pink skirt, pink sequined top, pink sequined shoes, and a white sequined cape. I also have a white sequined tooth shaped purse. In the purse, I carry my “magic wand” - a two-foot-long toothbrush, along with a long piece of wide ribbon I call “magic string.” (It’s pretend floss.)I talk to Kindergarteners and first graders about taking care of their teeth.
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1 month ago | 
kentuckytoday.com | Dawn Reed
Jesus is coming to my house today. That sounds like Zacchaeus. His story is in Luke 19. A wee little man, he climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus. Jesus reached the spot and yelled--maybe He just whispered, “Zacchaeus, you come down, for I’m going to your house today.”But Jesus really is coming to my house. Today. I know because I got the email. Not coming on foot or by donkey of course; the UPS man is bringing Him.
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1 month ago | 
kentuckytoday.com | Dawn Reed
When Jesus died, it would have been more than mere mortals could wrap their minds around. Men and women from all walks of life had heard Him. The believed Him and in Him. They felt His love, saw it in action. He changed their lives, and they followed Him. In John 8:12, He told them, “I am the light of the world.” They soaked up that light. Eleven chapters later in the book of John, that Light was snuffed out right before their very eyes.
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2 months ago | 
kentuckytoday.com | Dawn Reed
Kelly* just got her license and was so excited. I asked who had been teaching her to drive. Both of her parents, she replied. Then I asked which was the better driver, her mother or her father. (It’s not a terrible question. The truth’s the truth. And, of course, I wasn’t going to tell them.)Kelly said her mom is a terrible driver and her dad drives really fast. She said they correct her all the time when she is driving but she is doing exactly what she sees them do. My eyes got big as she spoke.
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2 months ago | 
kentuckytoday.com | Dawn Reed
Our dog Dixie was rescued last year and she knows it. It was at the end of summer and to be quite honest she was on the brink of death, close to dying. She had been on the side of a bridge for four days, according to a lady who was trying to feed her. Her hair was matted and overgrown. She had been hit by a car. With temps in the 90s that week, she was a goner if someone didn’t help her. My beloved did. It’s the sweetest thing. Dixie knows she was rescued.
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2 months ago | 
kentuckytoday.com | Dawn Reed
One smell of hyacinth moves me. For eons, just a whiff of the beautiful spring flowers brought an immediate smile to my face and stirred my heart with something almost like yearning. It’s hard to describe and may make no sense at all to anyone else. For a long time, I couldn’t understand what it was. Then several years ago, I mentioned it to my mom. She smiled, knowing exactly what it was. My great-grandmother Loftis, who was the first one in our family to love Jesus, had a large flower garden.
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2 months ago | 
kentuckytoday.com | Dawn Reed
When my mother-in-law in Alabama moved to a nursing home here in eastern Kentucky, we had to go through her stuff. Her two sons, two stepdaughters, plus some other family members had to decide what went where. We found she was a collector of many things. Three storage sheds were filled to the brim. She had SO many treasures. It’s a difficult task to sort and divide a lifetime of keepsakes. It went well, with each offspring taking turns choosing mementos.
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Mar 6, 2025 | 
kentuckytoday.com | Dawn Reed
Here in the mountains, we are deeply grateful for volunteers who come to the aid of our flood victims. People from all over the U.S. are temporarily laying down their daily lives to feed, mud out, clean up, tear out, and rebuild for those who were affected by the river flood a few weeks ago. We have Georgia Disaster Relief staying at our church, Mennonites are at a church down the road, Samaritan’s Purse is in Pikeville, and Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief is working out of Meta Baptist.
