Tired and gloomy are horrible roommates. They should not be permitted to settle in our hearts, hang curtains, and make themselves at home. Here’s the deal … It’s the middle of March and we Minnesotans are expecting yet another blizzard, with wind that whips sideways, icy streets, and temperatures that are … cold. Really, really cold. During the days that feel gloomy and life feels harder, it’s easy to start to feel listless. Tired. And when we feel listless and tired, it’s easy to get into a rut. We become very comfortable doing Continue Reading
Yay for You! Celebrate!
Walking out of the grocery store, I passed a gentleman wearing a dark t-shirt, with big, white bold letters across the front that said … I pooped. For real. That’s all it said. Couldn’t have missed those two words if I’d tried. Whatever prompted a middle-aged man to go to the store or shop online and buy a t-shirt with those words plastered across the front and then wear it in public? I kept thinking about it as I drove out of the store’s parking lot, because … seriously. How can you not think about it? We know that after Continue Reading
When Loneliness Settles
It was like watching a room with Jack-in-the-Boxes lying quietly dormant, waiting for their chance to Pop goes the weasel! Sunday morning church… The children’s message had just ended, and the little ones were rearranging themselves up front to sing about how much they loved Jesus. And as if a conductor had lifted his baton to signal It’s time… Parents and grandparents popped up from their seats and moved to the side aisles and front pews. They wanted to capture the moment. Some tried to move quietly. Some hunched their Continue Reading
My Fumbles – God’s Peace
I love football. Especially the Minnesota Vikings. Favorite players? Peyton Manning (retired NFL quarterback) and Scottie Benedict. Scottie is my favorite youngest nephew and will always be my favorite athlete. And even though neither he nor Peyton play football anymore, they are my favorites. Yes, I love football. As I’m writing this, I’m experiencing a light case of “day after the Super Bowl blues.” No more football for a few months. Sigh. Now perhaps, no more football for a while is the best thing that’s happened to you since sliced Continue Reading
Life is good and God is faithful
Life is good and God is faithful. And … ooftah. Sometimes I whisper, Really? Is life good and is God faithful? Then I say out loud, Yes. Really. It is and He is. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. (Psalm 117:2) One of the really cool things about this amazing God is that how we feel doesn’t change who He is. Because He is God, He is faithful. And because He is faithful, life is good. But I bet you’ll agree with me here … some days it’s just tough to stay in synch, right? It’s Continue Reading
A New Chapter
Oooooh! Encouraging words for you here! When your life starts to look unrecognizable, When you press your hands against your closed eyes and whisper, “How did we even get here?” When you feel like you’re the only one who can’t get her ducks in a row, Remember this … Nobody has their act together all the time. Everybody’s got somethin’. We all have chapters in our story that we don’t share or post or read aloud. Most of us are still trying to find our ducks—getting them in a row is for another day. And … We are loved by a Continue Reading
Time for Dreaming
So, this was weird. A few nights ago, I dreamed that I was the pianist (AKA the entire music pit) for a stage show called NCIS: The Musical. For real. We were performing in a church that had a large raised, front platform. I sat in a center pew with an electric keyboard on my lap, feet up on the kneeling pad to balance the keyboard, the music score on a makeshift stand to my left, and a small light attached to the back of my pew so I could read the music when the church lights went down. And sitting next to me? Jethro Gibbs and Agent Continue Reading
My Personal Hallmark Movie
The season is here, my friend. And there’s no turning back. It’s the season of … Hallmark. Holiday. Specials. Now I like a good sappy, cry-til-your-eyes-are-puffy and your face-is-blotchy movie like everyone else. (“Everyone else” wouldn’t include my husband Steve, though. He would rather read a book. Or shovel the snow. Or do almost anything else.) But sometimes, these shows are just a bit too much. Everything always seems so…Good. Nice. Not real. In the movies, the young woman who is surrounded by clutter and can’t clean Continue Reading
A Gift for You
Oh, this is such an amazing gift for you! Light of the World: 21-Day Advent Devotional is a resource compiled by Radical Radiance that will lead you to know, experience, and share Jesus, the Light of the world, this Christmas season. I contributed as an author to this project and I'm delighted to share it with you. (My note of encouragement is in Week 3, Day 1!) When you request this free devotional, you'll receive a 59-page PDF workbook (complete with planning pages, activity pages, and 21 days of devotionals), an audiobook Continue Reading
If God Sent You a Note
God’s Word consistently tells you how much He cares about you. That He is with you. I think if He sent you a note today, it would look like this … Good morning, my precious daughter. It’s a new day today. I created it for you! I painted the sunrise and lifted it over the horizon to remind you that there are good things waiting for you, and I will be with you every single moment. I want to give you everything you need to experience joy and hope and peace. Let’s experience today together, OK? When good things happen to you, I will Continue Reading
What Farmers Teach Us
I visited one of my favorite places last weekend. Home. Climax, Minnesota. Spending a few hours with classmates from the Class of ’75 was a highlight of the summer. And oh, my. Was it fun. The stories we shared and memories we laughed about reminded me of the best of community: Kindness. Grace. Friendship. The looking out for and caring for neighbors and friends. You may not have grown up in a small town, but you are part of a community. There are people who care about you. If no one comes to mind, please, from the bottom of my Continue Reading
I Got This
This note of encouragement comes from something I wrote several years ago. Its message has been bouncing around in my head lately, and I knew it was something I wanted and needed to share with you. We were moving my friend when this was written. You know what that means … lots of ugh’s. Right? May your heart be encouraged! **** I’ve got this. If my nephew Scottie said it once, he said it a hundred times. I’ve got this. They were the best words of the day. No, of the week. Perhaps the month. Moving from one home to another Continue Reading
Same God, New Season
These truths are swirling through my brain today … God is a God of love. He hangs the stars. Instructs the sun to rise. Always keeps His promises. God is faithful. When I allow these reminders to frame my day, life feels better. Hope returns. Worries can’t compete and they move out. Do you know what I mean? Perhaps your feelings about life and this new spring/summer season are similar to mine? My heart and my muscles and my brain are ready for a pause. They need time to breathe. Rest. They are starved for Continue Reading
Shove Discouragement Back in its Box
Hey, hi. There’s encouragement here for YOU today. Scoot your chair up. Slip on your reading glasses. Mute the TV. I don’t want you to miss this. Discouragement can show up at the most inopportune times, can’t it? Not that there’s a good time, but has this happened to you? Life seems to be humming along, no crisis in sight, and then like a Jack-in-the-box, a frustration, lie, or sad memory jumps out in front of you. It stares right at you with its scary, dark red smile, bobbing and weaving with its arms stretched out, inviting you to Continue Reading
The Grace of the Present
The Amazon Prime van drove up slowly through our unplowed streets and I heard the snow scrunch under its tires. I’d been waiting for this day and its delivery, and I caught its early morning arrival from my office window. Somewhere, behind the van’s dark blue siding and the light blue smiling arrow, was the book I’d preordered weeks ago. It had arrived. As the driver cautiously shuffled back down the driveway, I grabbed the box from the front porch with a quick Thanks so much! Before he’d put the van in drive, the package was on the Continue Reading
Be the Reason
The doctor called it transient global amnesia. I called it the day I lost a day. It’s been almost six years since amnesia briefly swept through my brain. (It occurred just after exercising at the YMCA, and I truly believe it was God’s way of telling me never to do another burpee.) I wrote a short post about it a few years ago, and I wrote a longer, more thoughtful reflection on it in Getting My Ducks in a Row and Other Stories of Faith. The life-changing take-away for me? Life is good and life is short. Let’s not miss a moment of Continue Reading
A Netflix Drama from Long Ago
This story has all the components of a made-for-TV movie. Or a binge-worthy show on Netflix. Taking place centuries ago, the story highlights how God works in us and for us. How He meets us. It is not without drama, consequences, tension, forgiveness, mercy, and love. The principal male role is a patriarch of the Christian faith. A man of obedience and strength who looked beyond his own capabilities and relied on God’s power. And he was a man who made mistakes. His wife is the leading female in the credits. Childless and barren, Continue Reading
Finding A New Rhythm
Hi there. I’m pretty sure you are no stranger to grief. So even though your grief encounter may not be from losing your mom, you probably know the “strangeness” that comes with grief. It’s nothing you can prepare for, and it’s nothing you can practice in advance. When mom died just over a month ago, she had been in hospice for three weeks. My sisters, Julie and Lori, and I stayed in her cute little apartment with her, finding great relief and joy just being with her. Being present. And even though the hospice nurse told us she’d be Continue Reading
Blessings or Burdens?
Oh my. There are some verses in the Bible that I wish … Well, I just wish that they weren’t in there. They make me uncomfortable. Here’s what I’m thinking about … Life would be easier if grumbling was a spiritual gift. Anyone else think so?? But no. Grumbling is not a good thing. It’s not attractive. It’s not helpful. It’s not encouraging. And it certainly doesn’t acknowledge and honor God’s faithfulness and love for us. It breaks the heart of God and makes us only more miserable. Not good. But … Sometimes it just Continue Reading