Life’s Too Short for Sticky

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My two weeks at one of my most favorite Happy Places have come to an end. Aahhh, how I loved working at the Minnesota State Fair! The fair is known for its collection of all things food—much of what you can eat on a stick. And every corner seems to have a cotton candy stand. The bright, gluey mass of sugar spun around a paper cone is a fair-goer’s favorite. (My favs are Sweet Martha’s Cookies and Peters Weiners. But that’s a little off topic. So, back to our cotton candy corners.) I watch moms trying to clean sticky kiddo fingers Continue Reading

Pink Crocs and Everyday Confetti

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Sometimes the most profound conversations happen in grocery store parking lots with five-year-old wearing pink Crocs. I was coming out of the store when I spotted this little guy and told him his shoes were pretty cool. Oh my goodness, did that open the floodgates. Out poured this delightful stream of consciousness about his blue sucker, those amazing pink Crocs with their tiny giraffe decorations, tomorrow's promised new toy, how his baby brother was going to play with it too, and (announced with a squeal) “Tomorrow I’m going to be Continue Reading

Hello Spring, Goodbye Michelin Woman

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We (ahem...Steve) mowed our lawn today, so it’s official: no more snow! Cue the confetti and the lawn chairs! I’ve been waiting twelve whole months to share this note—because this one’s a favorite. 💛💙❤️ This Minnesota girl is feeling hopeful! Just listen... Do you hear it? It’s a sweet, breezy melody that sounds like hummingbirds humming hope — bringing lightness, sweetness, and a whole lot of gleefulness. And it’s just warming up. Over the next few weeks, that hum will swell into harmony -- giggles, outdoor music, and Continue Reading

The Peace-Bringer’s Gift

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Merry Christmas! Please take a minute to follow the link in my P.S. to a favorite Christmas note from a couple years ago. It’s a short essay called “Let Me Be the Person.” May it encourage your heart today! ❤️ “I’d like to teach the world to sing… in perfect harmony…” (Remember that ad jingle / song?) Fun fact here because inquiring minds want to know … That song began as a phrase on a napkin. An ad executive saw airport travelers angry and upset over a forced layover. The next morning, he saw his traveling companions talking Continue Reading

Playing Our Best Game

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High school football teams are back under the Friday night lights. Energetic cheerleaders, wispy pom poms, and school colors wave with youthful exuberance. Pep band members play their school song in full enthusiasm while classmates stomp the bleachers, cheer for the guys on the field, and flirt with the students around them. Football moms pray and sweat it out in the stands, proudly displaying their sons' pictures on their mascot sweatshirts. It's football season. I'm in my happy place. I remember watching my Continue Reading

My Fumbles – God’s Peace

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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

I’m ready. Let’s go.

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The Minnesota Vikings have wrapped up their pre-season games and I am hopeful. This could be our year, right? Right! I. Love. Football. Please note: Even if you'd rather have a root canal than watch grown men shove each other down onto green turf, please stick with me here. Think about how they play the game. In every single moment of the game, they are moving and blocking and passing and running...intentionally. During every play, each player commits to follow the coach’s plan. Consider the alternatives: As the punter kicks Continue Reading

Sheep Have it Made

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Did you have a pet when you were younger? Perhaps a dog or a cat or a horse? I had a pig. His name was George. My sister, Julie, also had a pet pig. It was also named George. (Our dad’s name was George. I know. I don’t understand it either.) My goodness, how we worked at taking care of those pigs. One lesson I learned very quickly in my pet pig season was that it was very hard to keep it clean. When we prepared to show them in 4-H competitions, I would brush and scrub and sprinkle baby powder on mine. Julie would clean hers real good Continue Reading

The Ball’s in Your Court

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I am not an athlete. As much as I would love to have the long legs, expansive arm reach, or muscle endurance that describes many who are proficient in a form of physical exercise, I am short with jiggly thighs and limited upper body strength. But I’ve always loved sports. Watching them. From the benches. Or from the cheerleading sideline. Especially from the cheerleading sideline. (Of course, I’m going back to the days when cheerleaders did not need to do the splits or stand on one leg in the palm of someone’s hand six feet up in the Continue Reading

Keep Looking for Joy

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Steve and I were roaming at one of our very favorite places – Barnes and Noble bookstore. Friday evening. Surrounded by books. Meandering with Steve. Well, not with Steve because we have very different tastes in books, and they are housed in different parts of this store so we just cross paths occasionally. We always set a time we’re going to meet back up, and we never keep that appointment. It’s always at least 20 minutes past that, because you know, it takes time to separate the keepers from those books that have to wait on the shelves a Continue Reading

A Netflix Drama from Long Ago

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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

Permission to Perch

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“Oh! The places you’ll go! You’ll be on your way up! You’ll be seeing great sights! You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.” * Words like that should be printed in multiple colors and fancy fonts with lots of loops, right? Dr. Seuss certainly knew how to use phrases to invite and encourage us to move forward. He was writing prompts for entering the new year that are more stimulating than most memes! (As a side note, his frequent use of exclamation points is one of the reasons he’s a favorite of mine.) And … Some of us may Continue Reading

Find the Fun Now!

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Several ideas for this little note zipped around in my brain, but none of them were really landing. They felt like moths who would fly right up to the bright bulb but then dash away, looking perhaps for a brighter bulb? I kept going back to my post from a year ago: Find the Fun! That message still just feels so right for this week in July, and when I circle it up to the light bulb, it just keeps circling! And doesn’t the image of the tap dancing ladies make you smile! So, enjoy this favorite from the past. New post next time! Stay Continue Reading

The Hokey Pokey and Tap Dancing

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Back in the day, when I was younger, my definition of “a cool girl” included her ability to dance. Oh my. I’d watch those cool girls at the dances in our school gym, and I marveled – yes, marveled – at their ability to make dancing look so effortless. And fun. And so cool. I wanted to be cool too, so I practiced dancing at home in front of my bedroom dresser mirror before heading up to the school dance. (Please, someone tell me that you did this too.) Good grief. That was just plain … good grief. My dancing skills were better Continue Reading

Take a Break for Hope and Inspiration!

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Are you looking for some joy for your soul, faith encouragement for your heart, and some giggles? Yaasss! I’m providing some of that online next Wednesday, February 10th. Join me and some other faith-and-fun-filled women! I’m doing a Zoom talk for the Fellowship of Christian Business and Professional Women. We’ll gather online from 12:00 noon – 1:00  CST. Take a lunch break, settle back and nourish your spirit! Good news: You don’t need to register. It doesn’t cost you a thing. You don’t need a Zoom account to join; you can also Continue Reading

The Synch Swimmers

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Before I share some encouraging words with you here, I have exciting news to tell you! I sent the manuscript for my new book to my editor last week, and “Getting My Ducks in a Row and Other Stories of Faith” will be available later this Fall!  Whoo hoo!  This was a fun book to write—a collection of stories about faith lessons learned while … trying to get my ducks in a row! (Which, really, is that even possible?) Anyway. I’ll keep you posted on our progress. I can’t wait to share it with you. And now back to our regularly scheduled Continue Reading

Find the Fun!

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You know that fun thing you’ve always wanted to try? Go and do it. You know that fun thing you used to do before you got “too busy” or “too old?” Go and do it again. Maybe it’s time to stop waiting for the perfect time to do that fun dream. That one that has lived so quietly inside a corner of your heart for too long. Maybe it’s time to let go of the excuses. Maybe it’s time to move through your fear. Maybe it’s time to stop worrying about what people might think. Maybe it’s time to let go of doing it perfectly … or Continue Reading

The Gate is Open!

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I don’t remember where I saw the photo, but the moment it captured has stayed in my memory. The picture caught a large group of parade-watchers crowded onto a city sidewalk. Too many people in too little space. The scene highlighted an elderly woman calmly resting her arms on the street barrier, leaning into the scene, watching the parade go by. Smiling. Relaxing. Soaking it all in. Standing around this woman were a whole lot of others taking selfies. Posing. Finding the right light. Looking at their phones/cameras with their backs Continue Reading

Still Dreaming — You Too?

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Truth here. I love colored notebooks. The cool, smooth feel of a clean sheet of white paper (narrow-ruled, not College-ruled), ready to be filled with words and different colors of ink. The size that fits neatly on a small clipboard making it easy to have on my lap in my early morning hours. I love Planners that have calendars and lines to write on and inspirational quotes and dream spaces to fill and lots and lots of color. The ones that remind me how to be intentional and that help me live the life God has called me to live. I Continue Reading

Look for the Color

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For your consideration ... Is life looking a little gray? Try making this little shift ... Look for the color. Literally. Look for the colors around you. When we start seeing bright colors, we wake up! Things seem more interesting. Life looks different. The reminder came to me as I sat in the corner chair in mom’s apartment.  It had been a long night of ups-and-downs as mom tried to fall asleep. Looking out the window I saw clouds and rain. Gray. My day was scheduled too tightly. Gray. I was tired. Gray.  My little world was ... Continue Reading

The Chicken Fat Song

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It is a moment that cannot be erased from my memory bank, even after 45+ years. It was Phy. Ed class back in the 1960’s in the Climax School gymnasium. We had to wear a one-piece navy blue gym uniform with elastic around the waist, elastic around the thighs, and snaps up the front. Absolutely nothing attractive or flattering about it. Really? Are you serious? As if that wasn’t humiliating enough, we had to exercise to the music of … wait for it … the “Chicken Fat” song. Have mercy!! Touch down every morning – ten times! Not Continue Reading

Let’s Have Some Fun!

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It’s the weekend! So many errands… An endless to-do list… And the house…well, a bit of cleaning seems a necessity. Yeah. There’s stuff that needs to get done. And … How about this … Can we take just a few moments to just Sit. Or Play. Or Dance instead? Are you finding that it’s really easy to take life a bit too seriously during this “Ha-Ha- It’s-Not- Spring-Yet” month? Me too. Good grief. I’m so ready to just lighten up. Throw off the heavy coat. Box up the mukluks. And then cut the list of to-dos in half. Let’s do Continue Reading

Celebrating the Burpees!

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So I decided to do a few burpees today. Yeah, I know. I have no idea where that idea came from. The only time I’ve done them in the past is when my favorite trainer, Jody, told me to do them. And that was about four years ago. It's not something that's on my "When I want to have fun I will do this..." list. I wiggled and loosened up, stretched a bit, and got to it. A squat down, kick-your-feet-back push-up, followed by a jump up with arms towards the sky. Then a prayer that my life wouldn't end, and that my heart wouldn't beat right out Continue Reading

Running…Day By Day

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Drift with me back… College years. Mankato State University. Trying to get my physical education required credit completed. I chose a class that included a workout program and running. My grade depended on how many pounds and how many inches I lost. {Good grief. What on earth was I thinking?} Around and around the track I ran. And as I ran (I use that word loosely here), my mantra was… Day by day, and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here; Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for Continue Reading