Kirby Pines Retirement Community | The Pinecone

• 8 • The Pinecone | November 2026 Congratulations to our CHAMPION of the Month SARAH MATHIS Dining Room Lead - Culinary Sarah knows every resident by name and remembers their dietary needs, taking the time to ensure everyone is cared for without needing reminders. She works very hard to make every meal a wonderful experience. Sarah leads by example and teaches kindness, patience, and dedication. She is always on the go, making sure everything is prepared and ready for service. Our residents absolutely love Sarah! - Kayla Holland, Director of Hospitality Describe Your Family: My family is very chaotic with two boys yelling at their online gaming. Describe yourself in five words: Funny, multi-tasking, hardworking, dedicated and tired! Your favorite thing about your job: My Residents! They are always getting into trouble. Do you have any hobbies: I collect old money. I have three $5 red certificates and more. What do you do for fun: Sit on my phone and play my game. I also watch reruns of Grey’s Anatomy. Favorite food: Italian. Favorite song: In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. What is something you are proud of: My Dining Room Staff. They are the BEST! What would you like people to know about you: My friendship is for life. Growth is not accidental, it is intentional, purposeful. There are leaps which we make unconsciously, and great strides in development often come as by-products. Primarily, however, we make the decision to grow. This is not to say that we manufacture growth. We don’t, no more than a doctor manufactures healing. We simply become persons open to the possibility and give ourselves to the conditions in which growth takes place. What are these conditions? Most of us will probably have to begin by changing the focus of our life. We have lived either in the past or in the future. The past drags us down and fear of the future immobilizes us. Many are able to free themselves of the past. The forgiveness of God becomes a reality, and they are able to leave the burdensome yesterdays Reflections Maxie Dunnam By behind. They look freshly to the future, but the uncertainty of it petrifies them. There may be an even more common problem than either of these. Not a morbid memory of the past which drains our energies, or a fear of tomorrow which paralyzes us, but anticipating the future as the time of real possibility is the false focus. It is as though we were saying, “I’ll begin to live tomorrow!” Tomorrow can look so inviting, so challenging, so alluring. We are seduced by distant horizons that beckon us, and life is never really lived. We need to change our focus to today, to now. This is the moment God has given us. It is the only moment over which we have any control. The past is history. We cannot affect it or change it. What is written is written! The future is unreal, because it is not yet ours. Today is the only real time. November Vesper Services 6:30pm | Performing Arts Center November 5: Dr. Maxie Dunnam Retired Pastor, Christ Methodist Church November 12: Dr. Jimmy Latimer Senior Pastor, Redeemer Evangelical Church November 19: SamMcElroy Legacy Adults Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church November 26: No Vespers Thanksgiving Day GROWTH IS NOTACCIDENTAL