When Life Becomes the List

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Last Sunday afternoon I picked up one of the books I’ve written and started to re-read it. I know. That sounds kind of weird, right? Maybe it was the horrible Vikings game that seemed to drain the life right out of me. (Come on, Vikings! What on earth?) And of course, there’s all the stuff going on in the world that invites us to believe that Hope has walked out the door and bought a one-way ticket to Pluto. Meanwhile, my to-do list seems to be screaming at me while the days get shorter. Sigh. But. I knew that my emotions were Continue Reading

Fairy Tale Realities

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I wonder how happy we would really be if we lived a fairy tale life. If we had the 18” waist, the long, thick hair that was sometimes styled into a perfect braid instead of a messy bun, perfect skin that didn’t know rosacea was a thing. If we walked through trees and wildflowers wearing tiny slippers that covered feet that didn’t have protruding bones or pinched toes, and an ankle-length dress that never got dirty, singing like an angel while butterflies perched on our shoulders. Well, that wouldn’t be all bad, right?. In our Continue Reading

A Little Nudge

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Sometimes we need a little nudge, don’t we? When I’m feeling stuck or like I’m pacing in circles (perhaps even literally pacing in circles), I just need a little oomph or push to get me back on track and stop the slow spinning. Much of the time, my pacing is because I’m wondering about something in front of me. I’m trying to make decisions, but I don’t have all the information I need, or the significance of any of my choices loom large and I don’t want to mess it up. Wishing I had the complete action steps laid out in a 3-ring binder Continue Reading

Never Too Late

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Have you had that kind of moment when your brain and your heart and your soul all join together to get your attention shouting “Hey, there, Buttercup! Let’s get back on track, shall we?” Yeah. Me too.  Your tension-fused emotions are driving your actions and they are making everyone around you – and you – feel like they’ve entered the Twilight Zone. Your need for comfort food has hit new proportions. The couch has become a permanent home and TV reruns are your best friends. Scrolling Facebook and Instagram are stealing precious Continue Reading

Life Updates

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This week’s note is a little different. I’m sharing some quick thoughts from my Morning Time, a few life updates, and letting you know I’m writing a new book! Thank you for being here. Have you had the type of morning when you just can’t seem to get settled? I absolutely love sitting in my blue chair looking out my window just after the sun comes up, opening up my study books and Bible with great anticipation of talking with God.  But this morning? Everything felt ... off. Distractions came waaayy too easily. I felt like crying but Continue Reading

Whatever We Need

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I had one pet growing up. It was a pig. His name was George. And may I just say, it delighted my father a whole bunch. For my dad, who lived and breathed farming, teaching, FFA (Future Farmers of America), and all things fields and farm animals, he was most definitely in his happy place when he was teaching us about raising pigs. My sister, Julie, had a pig too. I don’t remember his name. Showing my pig was part of my 4-H experience. (In case you are more city girl than farm girl, “showing my pig” means I would haul it in the back of Continue Reading

Today I Will

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I’m guessing we’re all feeling a little “off” these days, right? On one hand, we want information about what’s going on with everything - the virus, the economy, our jobs, our neighborhoods, etc. And on the other hand, we just want the news to stop. It’s too much. Sigh. Thinking about what’s on my mind and heart to share here feels the same way, knowing we are all moving through this time so differently. Some of us are very afraid and anxious. There’s a deep seriousness in our souls, with no room for jokes or laughter. The Continue Reading

Finding A New Rhythm

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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

My Mom

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“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.

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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

Let’s Go See!

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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

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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

Thermostat or Thermometer?

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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!

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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

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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

Twisted Tights and Lenten Prayers

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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

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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.

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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

When Life Gets Messy

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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!

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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

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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