Today...whatever comes my way... In the joy...God leaps and high-fives and brings the balloons. In the tears...He brings the Kleenex. In the sadness...He sits on the floor next to me and holds my hand. Life is not good because of the circumstances. Life is good because He is with me. We were never promised a life that didn't have the tough times. God never told us to expect lollipops, sunshine, and rainbows every single moment. He told us to expect Himself. To expect Him to show up and understand and care. That is Continue Reading
Living and Working Together
A little buzz of irritation showed up in the neighborhood last summer. The issue was lawncare. Good grief. Last spring a new family moved into the neighborhood, a couple blocks down the street from us. The yard was quickly filled with tricycles, kick balls, trucks, forgotten jackets, juice bottles, and a kiddie pool - a fun place for toddlers and little kids wanting to play outside. When I'd walk around the neighborhood in the evenings, I'd sometimes see a very tired mama mowing the lawn, navigating the play yard. The flowerbeds Continue Reading
Reset for a Better Day
Ok. Let's review. (She says to herself first.) Here are phrases that do not show up in The Good Book. These words were never said by The Great Promise Keeper... You've got a big load of stuff to do today. Good luck with that. Sure wish today was over. It just keeps getting worse. You always mess up. Can't you just get your act together? You've been struggling with that situation for years. It's not going to change. It's never going to end, you know. Bad stuff happens. This is just a really bad day. And you haven't even gotten Continue Reading
My Cotton Candy Thoughts
My mind feels like a cotton candy machine. It’s going in circles, and as it spins, it collects more to-dos, deadlines, and random thoughts swirling inside it. My brain starts to feel sticky. Then I open my eyes and wake up. My alarm clock says it's a couple hours before my feet need to hit the ground running, but my heart and my head are wide awake. And my stomach feels like I just ate too much of that airy, sugary, nothing-healthy-in-it, cone of pink messiness. Sigh. There are many morning - most mornings - that I am excited Continue Reading
Learning Who to Trust
Why do I think I have to do everything? By myself? With only a glance at what it might cost me? “I can do this…I can do this…I can do this…” And then I crumble. Because I can’t. I’ve been trying to look at how I work and live from an outsider’s perspective. How I strive to do everything I think is expected of me…on my own…without asking for guidance or help. Because…hmmmm… Because why? Why do I place so much importance on being self-sufficient? Strong. Capable. Why is it hard to ask for help? Why do I forget that God has 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
Messiness…Jesus…Peace
There was nothing remotely fancy about the place of Jesus’ birth. Stables are never voted “Cleanest place in the world to have a baby.” Wet, dirty straw. Snorting cattle and braying donkeys. No turned-down sheets on a bed; no little chocolate mint on the pillow. And you have to believe that Mary and Joseph would have loved a good, hot shower after a long, dusty, dirty road trip. Seems rather messy, doesn’t it? Continue Reading
Please Give Her…
Her cheeks were flushed, and her neck was covered with the red blotches that I knew 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” on my hot chocolate order. 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
Just What I Need…Today
It happens most often when I am tired. Or hungry. Or hurt. Or when I’m feeling just a bit self-absorbed. I want someone to fix my world because I’m tired of dealing with the icky stuff. Have you been there? We could probably wear matching t-shirts, right? Perhaps I’m overwhelmed with work. Worried about life issues, people’s hearts, and disappointments. I’m tired of it all, and I want someone with a Superman or Superwoman cape to swoop down and make it all better. The problem is, whoever that “someone” happens to be in that Continue Reading
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 35
- Next Page »
