Our weekend sailing trip started with blue skies, white fluffy clouds, and a whole lot of sunshine. Nothing signaled that a storm was just around the bend. Until it hit. I thought the low-hanging black clouds would reach down and wrap us in darkness. The wind tipped our sailboat onto its side. The icy rain came at us sideways; it felt like shards of glass on our faces. Once we got the sails down, the captain yelled, “Just hang on!” You can bet we did. I’ve never been in a storm on the water like that since. (Actually, I’ve never Continue Reading
Start. Do the Work.
It’s too bad I wasn’t counting my steps. I would have gotten that cute little trophy icon award on my walking app. My wandering had taken on a life of its own. I sat at my desk. Walked to the fridge, opened its door, and took a peek. Closed the door. Checked on mom. Back to my desk. Got up to see if NCIS re-runs were scheduled. Threw out the garbage. Back to my desk. Up and down. Around and around. Two things were unsettling me: I was starting a new, exciting project. I’ve been waiting to start it for the last month. Now it’s time. Continue Reading
Miss Beadle – Behind Closed Doors
It's my 2016 favorite book in the pure entertainment and fun category. And it's a memoir. (That's my always favorite category.) Little House in the Hollywood Hills: A Bad Girl's Guide to Becoming Miss Beadle, Mary X, and Me by Charlotte Stewart. I remember Charlotte Stewart as Miss Beadle on Little House on the Prairie, and vaguely remember her as Betty Briggs from the Twin Peaks TV show. As Betty, she was the eternal optimist who wore a smiley face button to Laura Palmer's funeral. Miss Beadle was the delightful school marm that taught Continue Reading
You Are Not Alone
I was tapping on the keyboard, considering the words and moments I had planned on sharing with you. But then the words stopped. And pictures began floating around in my brain, creating different words. My writing plans changed. From my heart… Continue Reading
Let’s Dance!
The video and memory still make me smile. One of my Facebook friends posted a YouTube video of a little guy—maybe five years old—dressed in pocketed blue jeans, pointed cowboy boots, a blue-and-white checkered shirt, and a white cowboy hat. He was line dancing with a group of adults. Oh, my word. The joy on his little face! He was kicking and stepping and grape vining and toe tapping. Clapping with glee with a smile as big as a Texas ranch on his face. Was he keeping up? Not quite. Was he getting the steps right? Not much of the Continue Reading
This is Livin’!
It’s how my dad lived his life… Creating “This is livin’!” moments. I don’t think I ever heard dad complain. About anything. And I know I never heard him say a bad word about anyone. Ever. He was too busy looking for the good. What an awe-inspiring way to live. Dad really loved life. He found joy in the little things. A good piece of pie. A good (very weak) cup of coffee. Fishing with the grandkids. Eating vanilla ice cream while watching the Minnesota Vikings on TV. Listening to the Twins on the radio. Talking with his Continue Reading
Changing the Words
I love words. And I am tired of words. One reason for this weariness is that I’m finishing the writing on my next book, and everything I write sounds like blah, blah, blah. The bullies inside my head are not sending me feedback messages with smiley faces and pink hearts! (Oh, writing is so humbling!) I know this is part of the process…but ooftah. A bigger reason for this weariness, though, is because the world just seems to be filled with so many words. I watch the news, read the papers, check in on Facebook, and the words are Continue Reading
Asking for a John Deere
I learned it first in farming. Farmers and families coming together when the fields were ready for harvest and the rain was coming tomorrow as sure as the sun comes up. Trucks and combines moving across dusty gravel roads in single file and descending on someone’s farm to help them get their crop in. Then the John Deeres and Massey Fergusons caravanning to the next farm with ears tuned in to weather reports while turning on lights to break through the dusk and men and women in overalls praying for just a couple more hours. People Continue Reading
Losing Part of Tuesday
So then this happened. I had just finished my workout at the Y last week Tuesday. I called my sister from the lobby, and that’s the last normal thing I remember for a while. When I went into the locker room to get my gym bag, the room seemed to be tilted on its side. The lockers looked like they were toppling over. I couldn’t figure out where I was or what I was trying to do. But I recognized the locker number I usually stick my stuff in…and then I don’t remember what happened next. Piecing this crazy half-hour together with Continue Reading
Hope and the Early Morning Swirl
It’s in those early morning first-moments when we make one of the toughest choices of the day. Do we swirl in the messiness and worries? Or do we hope in what has been promised? Here’s what it looks like in my world… Before my eyes even open (or try and open during this allergy season!), I am thinking about the good things ahead of me in the next few hours. Work I enjoy and connections that encourage me. It’s going to be a good day. And then…as if someone grabbed the clicker and changed the channel in my mind… I start thinking Continue Reading
Plan Goodness
We spend so much time planning, don’t we? Writing out our to-do lists. Scheduling. Planning the weekend…the vacation…the work priorities. Busy, busy, busy. Work, work, work. Get it done, check it off, move to the next to-do. And at the same time – at least a lot of the time – we are bracing for the hurdles and challenges that get in the way and bump us from our happy planning place. We expect disruptions to our planning to show up at some point. Very easy for me to do. I am the master of having a Plan B and a Plan C in place Continue Reading
Let’s Not Quit
Every single fiber in my body just wanted to quit. Abandon what I was doing. Walk away. It was my Senior Piano Recital in 1975. I had prepared for that event for years. Thousands of hours of practice. Scores of pages memorized and polished. I was ready to perform. But. I was terrified. Terrified of messing up. Forgetting. The recital was held in a beautiful church sanctuary in Crookston, Minnesota. I stood in the pastor’s study behind the altar, listening to my piano teacher introduce me. All I wanted to do was walk down the Continue Reading
You Have Cheerleaders!
Your cheerleading squad is ready and waiting. Already cheering your name while waiving their pompoms. Just waiting for you to notice them. For real. Even in the little stuff. When life’s big stuff hits, we are grateful for the outpouring of support. Dinners are delivered. Visitors hover in hospital waiting rooms. Someone shows up to clean the house. The cards and calls remind us that someone cares. That’s how it should be. And…sometimes… We need the caring, the attention, the cheerleading, when a bunch of life’s little stuff is Continue Reading
Every Chapter Matters
Tell me the story. I want to know the characters. Their dreams and disappointments. What they celebrate and what they grieve. Tell me about the people and what they went through to get where they are now. How did they survive? What did they learn? I get bored with paragraphs filled with description, even when the words are beautiful and visionary. I don’t need 14 words to describe the flower petal or two pages to describe the scenery. It’s the people’s stories that capture my attention. In his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Continue Reading
Influence That Molds Us
It has all become so annoying. The yelling. The posturing. The intensity. Republicans. Democrats. Independents. And all of the media voices, PR folk, and political advisors. I wish they would Just. Stop. Yelling. It’s as if they each received a memo that said… The winner of the argument, debate, promo clips, etc. will be the person who speaks the loudest. Yells the most. Uses the most vocal intensity. And uses the most force when punctuating the air with hand gestures. It just all seems so wrong. And sad. Their Continue Reading
Starting a Different Life
Starting a different life. It doesn’t require a complete life overhaul. My sisters and I take turns staying with mom to help her out. If we aren’t in the room with her when she needs something, she sings out, Whoo hoo! Not a big deal when it’s daylight. But when I hear Whoo hoo! at 4:00 a.m. in the morning, I fling myself out of the trundle bed and already have an emergency plan in place by the time I tumble into her bedroom. A few mornings ago, the flinging and tumbling were part of my early a.m. activities. She wasn’t sick. Continue Reading
Just Give Me…
Her cheeks were flushed and her neck was covered with the red blotches that I know all too well. Her name tag read Renee - Trainee and I think the reindeer antlers she wore on her head made her feel even more self-conscious as she tried to figure out how to enter no whip with my hot chocolate order. Oh, Jesus, please help her remember that this is just one day. Bring grace-filled people into her line this afternoon. The lady in the purple parka with the big hood could have used a cart. Or a counter. Or a shelf. Anything on which she Continue Reading
Be Not Afraid
If an angel suddenly appeared out of the starry sky and started talking to me, I’d probably freak out. Just a bit. That’s just not something you see coming, right? I wonder what the shepherds thought that holy night thousands of years ago, as they leaned on their walking sticks, checking their sling shots, while standing in sheep doo-doo. We have to believe that when “the glory of the Lord shone around them,” things got pretty bright! I can imagine them squinting, covering their eyes, while trying to figure out what they were protecting Continue Reading
Worry and Faith
I scratch my head and wrinkle my nose and wonder… How many times do I need to be reminded of this? Worry is not the same as caring. It’s a proven fact. I have the stories and heart scars to show for it… My preference is to fix. And until it is fixed, I worry. Why? Because I am afraid that if I stop worrying, what I’m really saying is… I’ve stopped caring. How very silly is that. When I dig deeper into this muddled way of thinking, I see that it has more to do with fear than caring. Fear that God won’t show up. That Continue Reading
Scrambling Time in Church
It’s one of my favorite moments in Sunday morning church. Scrambling time. The children run, skip, gallop, and elbow their way to the front to sit on the steps during the Children’s Message. And then they spend half the message getting situated and comfortable, missing out on everything except how the boy next to them is just sitting too close and that bugs them. I don’t think all of them always understand the story or illustration. Some are a bit self-conscious about looking out at so many faces. A few are too young to make the Continue Reading
Begin Now. Obey Now.
Begin where you are now. Obey now. These two sentences always cause me to pause. And give me direction. They are from a devotional included in the book, Disciplines in the Inner Life. * Perhaps you are wondering how to move forward. You can’t see the big picture but know that you need to do something. But how? I know what that’s like. Let me share a bit more from these writings. They strengthen me. Encourage me. And provide me with the next step. Begin where you are. Obey now. Use what little obedience you are Continue Reading
His Words to My Heart
This is what I hear Jesus saying today… Are you feeling a bit weary? I know what that feels like. When my days on earth were long and the needs were great, I knew that my strength would be restored when I would go away to a quiet place. I needed to take time away from those I was called to serve, from my family, and be alone with my Heavenly Father. The work was still there…but it was more important for me to commune with Him. Sometimes it was for moments. Sometimes hours. Sometimes longer. My quiet place was often just away from the Continue Reading
Real Life, Uncommon Grace
I love life. Even when it is messy. I just don’t always enjoy the messy life. And, sad to say, the messy doesn’t always bring out the best in me. Sigh. But the messiness is going to come. Real life isn’t real without it. That’s because life is made up of relationships. And relationships are made up of people. And people are going to disappoint us. Our responses to those relationships—real life—will shape our homes, communities, workplaces, and world. And for that very reason, we need to live Grace. Grace shows up when Continue Reading
They are Moments
This I know. Those moments... When the walls seem to be caving in, Sleep doesn’t come, The world seems burdensome, And we just can’t seem to find the Joy or Peace… They are moments. The darkness isn’t here to stay. Maybe you experience those dark days the same way I sometimes do when I'm caught up in them… Believing that it will never get easier. Continue Reading
Sometimes it Takes a Nap
The last runner brought the tears and the clarity. Sitting at a stoplight, I watched a group of high school track guys cross in front of me…a little pack of lean, toned, athletes. Then a few moments later, just as the light changed to green, one lone, lanky runner pulling up the rear stopped on the corner. Separating himself even more from the group. The tears started rolling down my cheeks. {Good grief}. My heart just ached for him as I watched him put one hand on a knee and the other on the stoplight pole. You could see he was Continue Reading