“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). This verse was mom’s favorite, and we have repeated it over and over and over again during the last month. Last Friday, my mom died. It was a peaceful home-going without any pain. Mom’s heart has been getting weaker over the last few months, and three weeks ago we brought hospice care into her home. That care was so helpful and loving, and my sisters Julie and Lori and Continue Reading
Sigh. And sigh again.
Sigh. Can I say it again? Sigh. Do you find yourself exhaling as you say that word? Me too. And in my head, I say it in a whisper. There are some days that I just need to sigh. Exhale. Today has been one of those days. I know you and I want to know joy. We want to feel it in our bones. We want to wrap it around our hearts. And you know? Sometimes joy doesn’t show up in the giggles or the parties or the fun times. Sometimes we find the joy in our sighs. Author Kay Warren defines Joy as “the settled assurance that God is in Continue Reading
Open It!
I love football. Especially the Minnesota Vikings. And Peyton Manning. And Scottie Benedict. Scottie is my favorite youngest nephew and will always be my favorite athlete (QB) and even though neither he nor Peyton play football anymore, they are my favorites. Yes, I love football. Steve and I watched the Vikings-Packers game a few weeks ago. (Ooftah.) In the first few minutes of the game, the Packers fumbled, and we were instantly yards away from potentially scoring a touchdown. Steve said to anyone on the Vikings team who was listening Continue Reading
Let’s Go See!
This is one of my favorite essays. I never get tired of re-sharing it … I wonder how it felt to be a shepherd that holy night thousands of years ago. The night an angel appeared to them 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, right? Can’t you just see them squinting, shading their eyes, while trying to figure out what they were protecting their sheep from? Shaking like crazy in Continue Reading
One Thing Is Essential
Well, it’s that time of the year. We’re either extremely overwhelmed with the to-do lists, the shopping, the shoveling (Hello! We live in Minnesota!), the commitments, the coughs, and all the stuff… OR… We are talking about being overwhelmed with the to-do lists, the shopping, the shopping, the commitments, the coughs, and all the stuff. You think we would have learned last year, right? We can’t do everything. Not everything needs to be done. Most of us aren’t going to completely ignore all the things that make Christmas Continue Reading
Tim McGraw and Commitment
As I’m listening to the podcast, I say to myself out loud … “Who does that?!” And then I respond (to myself) … “Tim McGraw does.” Country music superstar Tim McGraw was being interviewed about his book that just came out, “Grit and Grace.” Y’all, get this. (I used the word “y’all” because Tim is country and it just seemed appropriate to sound like I knew a bit about southern stuff.) Anyway … When he’s on tour, they have a semi trailer that hauls only their workout equipment. A semi load of things to use when exercising! I get Continue Reading
Grain dust, Grasshoppers, and God
It is still my least favorite job in the history of the whole world. Standing in the back of dad’s 2-ton red truck during harvest, shoveling the grain down into the corners of the truck as fast as I could as it poured from our John Deere combine’s auger. It always seemed like it was 134˚ on those days. With no shade. And did I mention the crickets? Those horrible little creatures joined the ugly old grasshoppers and took up considerable space in the back of that truck. And on me.They landed EVERYWHERE. No body part or piece of Continue Reading
Thermostat or Thermometer?
Last week I wrote a little note about grumbling. As in, we aren’t to do it. Here’s a follow-up thought. My sisters and I are very grateful that we can stay with mom as caregivers, walking this Alzheimer’s journey with her. AND … some of my best grumbling (which is actually my worst grumbling, if you know what I mean) takes place in her apartment. You see, mom likes it warm in her apartment. Very warm. Like in 80˚ warm. In the middle of summer. Have mercy. We set the thermostat lower, but she gets so cold that she shivers. Continue Reading
Wait Like a Farmer
Give me a gravel road with deep ditches on either side surrounded by golden grain fields, long, dusty driveways, sugar beets that have fallen from the big trucks on the highway, and I’m in my Happy Place. There’s something about farming and small towns and pick-ups and cafes and farmer tans and John Deere tractors that lower my blood pressure just thinking about them. Life in small town USA wasn’t, and isn’t, easy. Good grief, no. But the pace is different than what I feel in the city. Life seems simpler. Less striving. More Continue Reading
Fixing My Eyes
I wonder what kept some of our faith heroes from rolling their eyes at God. Like when God told Noah, “So make yourself an ark...” I think I would have muttered a quick, “You’ve got to be kidding me” somewhere in that conversation. But “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” And when God appeared to Abram, who with his wife Sarai so badly wanted a child. God told him to “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them...So shall your offspring be.” (Abram was 99 years old; Sarai was 90.) I think Continue Reading
Start Again
I think it’s one of the best parts of being alive … We can always start again. Let’s face it. We’ve all messed up. Made mistakes and unfortunate choices. We’ve said things and done things that make us wonder … Really? Why did I think that was a good idea? And yet, we can get up the next morning and start again. Sometimes it’s helpful and encouraging to remember these truths … • Everybody’s got something. Nobody has it all together all the time. • We can change our story by changing our actions or changing our reactions. We Continue Reading
Patience of a Saint
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “He has the patience of a saint.” I was thinking about God today, and how patient He is with me, and I used that phrase to describe Him in my mind. But then I thought, well, that doesn’t make any sense. Because He IS a saint. Or, He’s the Saint of All The Saints. And then I started worrying that I was really getting my doctrine all mixed up and I was losing track of where I was going with that thought process, so I just went back to ... God is patient with me. Very patient. Have you read verses Continue Reading
Heaven is Cheering You On!
YAASSSS! Spring has arrived in Minnesota!The usual clues are showing up. Most noticeably, the orange traffic cones reminding us of the road construction we have to maneuver through. Parkas have been replaced with rain jackets and the icicles hanging from our roofs have melted away.Another clue is the swarm of runners. You can tell they’ve been itching to get out running without the icy roads and sleety weather. They are everywhere! Very cool.Do you enjoy running? If you do, I applaud you! I’m truly impressed. Consider yourself high-five’d. Continue Reading
My Faith Journey
My faith journey has been filled with lots of joy, a whole bunch of tears, and more questions than I can count with fewer answers. Mom and dad told my sisters and me in our most littlest days that Jesus loves us. It is the most simple message…that carries such profound weight behind it. I’ve held that promise close to my heart for over 60 years. I’ve always had a strong need to follow the rules. {Well…that was probably more true in my younger years.} Following the rules has kept me out of more trouble than I could have had. But when Continue Reading
I’ll Take a Memoir, Please
I’ll take a memoir, please. One preferably written by a not-so-young woman whose story reads something like this... Her life was filled with hope-filled dreams. Exciting expectations. Blue skies and sun-filled days. She had energy that made skipping in her summer slip-ons easy-peasy. “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows” was a theme song. (And yes, that really is a song. Our little “Vicki’s Girls” group sang it back in the day. Now you’re really impressed, right?) Then life happened. Her skies got cloudy. Disappointment replaced those Continue Reading
Twisted Tights and Lenten Prayers
One of my favorite posts from a few years ago. May it speak to your heart during this Lenten season. I was out of sorts. Uncomfortable. Self-conscious. I was 13 years old, standing on the stage in a college auditorium under hot lights, along with eight other 4-H’ers from northern Minnesota. We were competing in a Good Grooming Contest. Yes, you read that correctly. A Good Grooming Contest. {Good grief. As if it’s not awkward enough to just be 13 years old.} Representing the Lucky Leaf 4-H Club (which I loved, by the way), Continue Reading
Not in Charge
The joke is that Minnesota has two seasons: winter and road construction. Well, we are well into road construction time here while the snow still melts. There’s a big highway overpass project just down the road from us. Heavy equipment that’s taller than the trees. Trucks that look like they can haul 50 tons of stuff. And the dirt. Oh my, the dirt. And the cement. Lots of it. Driving by it the other day (using the annoying detour, of course), I said to Steve, “I’m so glad I’m not in charge of that project.” A short time later we Continue Reading
Love God. Love People.
Picking a “word for the year” has always been a challenge for me. As I’ve considered an annual word, I’ve never gotten clear on if it’s a word/action that I should focus on, or want to focus on, or if it just seems like a cool word. Then January would roll around…February…and I’d still be thinking about the word. Sigh. But this year, I really wanted to identify a focus. A truth that would lay a foundation for how I live my life in this particular season. How I move forward with my business … in this particular season. And without Continue Reading
Rest. Take a Break.
I’m starting a new workout program. Have mercy. It involves a lot of fancy steps and it moves faaaaast. I spend most of the time trying to stay on my feet, watch the online trainer, listen to the instructions, and breathe. There is nothing pretty about my performance. The program only lasts 20 minutes, but I’m exhausted when it’s done. All I want to do is cry. It’s hard to find the rhythm when the exercises change so fast, and the online coach Just. Keeps. Talking. (I know he’s trying to motivate us, but oh my word. His incessant Continue Reading
When Life Gets Messy
Easy. Carefree. I think about those words and in my mind I see a sandy beach with gentle waves lapping, a cool breeze that doesn’t mess up my hair, bright sunshine that warms my skin, and a good book with a happy ending. Yup. I sure could be content there. If only life was one big sunny beach. Real life happens and sometimes my hair gets mussed and my skin sunburns and there’s not a happy ending in the book. There are moments when I think, “This isn’t what I signed up for.” My sisters and I take turns staying with our mom. Continue Reading
Let’s Go and See!
I wonder how it felt to be a shepherd that holy night thousands of years ago. The night an angel appeared to them 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, right? Can’t you just see them squinting, shading their eyes, while trying to figure out what they were protecting their sheep from? Shaking like crazy in their sandals! And then the angel’s voice… Do not be afraid. I love Continue Reading
Something Wonderful is About to Happen
I’m always surprised when I don’t die when I’m exercising. Especially when it involves burpees. I don’t like burpees, and I don’t believe our bodies were meant to do them. My morning exercise time is only 30-40 minutes, but the way I carry on, you’d think that I’d been at it for 37 hours with no break. (And I can’t begin to count the number of times that I flop to the floor, and dramatically whisper through parched lips as if it’s my last breath, I caaaaan’t!) I have forgotten … Exercising is a temporary event. For 40 minutes I Continue Reading
Putting Life Together Again
Who on earth thought this was a great little jingle to read to children? Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, Couldn’t put Humpty together again. Really. It’s not cute. It’s scary. {I also have a problem with Little Jack Horner who sat in a corner intending to eat a whole pie. He stuck in his thumb and pulled out a plum and decided that eating a pie with his fingers made him a good boy. Good grief.} But back to Humpty Dumpty… We usually imagine Humpty Continue Reading
My Finguh Hurts … Bring Grace
He was a cute little guy with curly red hair wearing a flannel shirt and little-boy jeans. He lay face down on the bottom platform of the Target cart, dragging his chubby hands along on the floor, singing a song he was making up in the moment as his mom moved through the produce section. All was well with his world. Until ... One of those cute little fingers got pinched under the wheel of the cart. Then all was not well with his world. He rolled off the bottom of the cart, jumped onto his feet, lifted his finger into the air Continue Reading
No complaining … really?
There are some verses in the Bible that make me scratch my head and murmur, Really? Did you really mean to write that? I’ve been studying one of those verses the last few days … “Do everything without complaining or arguing…” (Philippians 2:14) There must have been an “… except when …” or “… unless this happens …” that was somehow omitted, right? Because … Thanksgiving family get-togethers. Long shopping lines and tired clerks on the Friday after Thanksgiving. And the refs calling the football game are clearly wearing Continue Reading
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