The last runner brought the tears and the clarity. Sitting at a stoplight, I watched a group of high school track guys cross in front of me…a little pack of lean, toned, athletes. Then a few moments later, just as the light changed to green, one lone, lanky runner pulling up the rear stopped on the corner. Separating himself even more from the group. The tears started rolling down my cheeks. {Good grief}. My heart just ached for him as I watched him put one hand on a knee and the other on the stoplight pole. You could see he was Continue Reading
My Idol – Nancy Drew
My dream job? Private Eye. My detective agency would be called, “It’s Sweeter When They Sweat.” I see myself as a modern-day Nancy Drew. {And that’s pretty silly all by itself. Because I would never consider myself a modern girl in any stretch of the imagination!} But back to my dream career… Continue Reading
Discovering the How
I have a love / don’t-like-so-much relationship with some of the verses in the Bible. I love the verses that remind me that God loves me. That He knows my name. That He is faithful – always. But then there are those verses that take away my perceived right to whine, grumble, and be anxious. Like Matthew 6:34… …do not worry about tomorrow… Continue Reading
Weary From the Words
A lot of words have been spoken in the last couple weeks. Online. News outlets. Entertainment digests. Words about people with hearts and souls who are also very public and visible. The words reflect opinions and values and life experiences about things that matter deeply to many. So much emotion. Many of the words have been respectful and life-affirming. Some of them – too many of them – angry and ugly and judgmental. On all sides of the different topics of today. Sigh. It’s made me sad. You too? We are not called to Continue Reading
The Best Version of Me
Blog Alert: This post is a Proud Auntie moment! My niece, Kelsey Charron, has started her own blog. One of her first notes frames my thoughts for these comments. Life. It requires so many decisions, doesn’t it? Family choices about elderly parent’s care. Business choices about direction. Personal choices about priorities. And then it’s time to get out of bed. So as I was thinking last week about what to do, what to do, what to do… Kelsey’s writing reminded me of the importance of who to be, who to be, who to Continue Reading
One of My Favorites
Hey, Friends… Last week I read a blog post written by Jennifer Schmidt that has really been sitting in my heart, and I want to share the link to its Hopeful message with you. Things get crazy at the end of May, right? You add all the spring activities to your real life that is already full of deadlines, appointments, crisis calls, and “I didn’t see that coming” moments… And things can start to spiral, can’t they? I found encouragement in the words from Jennifer Schmidt (www.beautyandbedlam.com) who shared her good thoughts Continue Reading
Mom and Singing Practice
It was that sound. You know, the one that wakes you up and revs up your adrenaline big-time and you find yourself standing next to your bed wondering what strange thing is going on in the house while trying to decide if you should run or grab the lamp to defend yourself. I stood perfectly still, wide-awake, heart racing, and listened carefully. I heard it again. And then recognized it… It was my mom singing. Good grief. Here’s the back story… Continue Reading
That Time I Was Brave
Piano has always been my thing. Singing? Not so much. {I’m great at finding the harmony, but I’m definitely not solo material. Put me with a group in the back and I’m just fine.} So I surprised even myself when I stepped up to pinch hit with a vocal solo a few years back. I was traveling with a girls’ choir from a Teen Challenge center in New York. As a staff member, I drove one of the vans, got the women in place when it was time for them to perform, and stood in the back of the room and made large gestures that reminded them to Continue Reading
At the Cross
When the World Seems Small
It’s a big world out there, isn’t it? But boy. Sometimes it just seems so small. When my path seems covered with more thorny thistles than rose petals… My view of the world shrinks. When disappointments and sadness and anger fill up my space… That space becomes very small. Know what I mean? Here's how it can show up in my world... Continue Reading
Those Songs…And This One
There are those songs… The ones that have permanent residence in your collection of greatest hits that were a big deal to you at one time. You hear the song and you are in another chapter of life…hits your emotional center all over again. A few of mine from days past… Continue Reading
Not Complaining…Just Informing
My mumbling and grumbling usually started after about 13 leg lunges or 3 burpees. {I mean, really. Is the body meant to do burpees? I think not.} My good friend and fabulous trainer at the Y, Jody, would hear these not-so-under-the-breath murmurs and still encourage and push and get me to where I needed to be. And then I would remind her: I’m not complaining. Just informing. And then we’d laugh. Exercising has never been one of my top 150 Happy Places. And there is merit in letting your trainer know how you’re feeling, right? Continue Reading
Hope for Prudence and for Us
Hope! How blessed sounds that word. That’s one of my favorite lines from a melodrama that a group of us performed at Wooddale Church years ago. Love Rides the Rails follows the scheming and deceptive tricks of Simon Darkway (villain). He wants to control the Walker Valley, Pine Bush & Pacific Railroad. And to do that? He tries to take advantage of its owner, Widow Hopewell, and her beautiful daughter, Prudence (Heroine). The good guy in the story? Truman Pendennis. {At the end of the story Truman is tied to the tracks and Continue Reading
Come Join Us – Hopkins, MN – February 7!
We are going to have a great time at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Hopkins, MN on Saturday morning, February 7th! Come join us! We will giggle...laugh...enjoy two chef-prepared meals (no cooking for you!)...and get renewed and refreshed as we talk about Our Journey with God, Girlfriends & Chocolate. Registrations will be taken by the church until February 2. Call the Church office at 952-935-1753 or register online here. I would love to see you there! Gethsemane Lutheran Church 715 Minnetonka Mills Continue Reading
The One Arm Release
My mom fell today. She’s OK. But she fell on her face so her nose looks pretty scary. (I'm not sharing that picture!) We are grateful that her nose wasn’t broken and all other bones are where they should be. But isn’t it ironic. My sisters and nieces—we take turns staying here to take care of her. To help her remember what to do. Make decisions. And so that she doesn’t fall!! Good grief. Continue Reading
Please Give Me…
Her cheeks were flushed and her neck was covered with the red blotches that I know 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 with my hot chocolate order. Oh, Jesus, please help her remember that this is just one day. Bring grace-filled people into her line this afternoon. Continue Reading
Name Calling Hurts
Oh, the name calling. It can be so hurtful, can’t it? The words that are used to remind us that we didn’t or don’t measure up… That we are too this or too that… Words that make us cringe and feel less than. Sometimes the words come from people who are living in their own messiness. But more frequently? They come from our own mouths…directed at our own selves. Thoughts…whispers…mutterings. Continue Reading
Peeking Through the Window to My Soul
If you had peeked through a window into my soul this summer, you would have observed the typical rooms. But as you cupped your hands around your face as you placed your forehead against the pane, you would have quickly seen that some of those rooms needed a bit of attention. Continue Reading
The Flooding That Doesn’t Stop
The water didn’t stop. It kept running. And running. And running. Minnesota has had too much rain, hitting a ground that has too much moisture, and basements are filling up with too much water. My sister’s home was not immune. Continue Reading
A Cleanse That Works
I should have thought it through a bit more. I guess they’re right (whoever “they” are)… Hindsight is 20/20. I had decided to do a cleanse. You know, one of those eat vegetables and make juices so all your insides get refreshed kind of cleanses. So I hauled 35 pounds of carrots, celery, parsley, cukes, and other green produce into our kitchen. Well, it wasn’t really 35 pounds…but it was a lot. A whole lot. And I began to get excited about the 35 pounds I would lose in exchange over the weekend. {Yes, my home address is Continue Reading
Peter Gives Me Hope
There are some days and weeks when I’m more grateful than usual that God doesn’t expect me to be perfect to receive His love. Remembering that I don’t have to have it all together before He can use me to encourage, or support, or walk with my friends through life’s frustrations. He expects me to show up as I am – and He meets me. And then He shows me how to love others in his perfect way. Peter is the guy that makes me smile when I think about this. You gotta’ love him. He’s one of the 12 people Jesus chose to be in his inner Continue Reading
Hallmark Specials and the Red Sea Miracle
I haven’t decided yet… About what I think about the December Hallmark TV specials. On one hand… I am so glad they are over. I mean, really. The always-happy endings, the women who cry without mascara stains and puffy eyes, and the everyone-is-nice-and-skinny just don’t connect with my reality. And on the other hand… The stories just make you feel good, don’t they? A little hope mixed in with escape TV. Storyline: Someone experiences a loss...sadness...misunderstanding...and then someone (he's usually very handsome and kind) Continue Reading
Into the Messiness…Peace
There was nothing real fancy about the place of Jesus’ birth. Stables have rarely been voted “Cleanest place in the world to have a baby.” There was the smell of wet, dirty straw. Snorting cattle and braying donkeys. No pillow with the little chocolate mint on top. And you have to believe that Mary and Joseph would have loved a good, hot shower after a dusty, dirty road trip. It all seems rather messy, doesn’t it? It was into this messiness that Jesus came. Overnights in stables may not be part of our lives. But messiness Continue Reading
The Empty Chair…God Knows It
It could be the hardly-seen neighbor across the street. Or the silver-haired lady in the pew in front of you. Or the friend who seems a bit more withdrawn. Or maybe… It’s You. Someone who is missing…someone. The holidays bring laughter, joy, and spirit-filled carols. And… They bring reminders that there is an empty chair. Someone is missing that should be with you. Maybe it’s your Dad... whose laughter always filled the room and he’s now singing with the angels. Or the grandchild who is trying to find her way… and Continue Reading
Everyone Has Something
Hello, God. It’s Gaye. I’m here with some of My Friends… Our little community that gathers once a week to encourage each other. When you look inside our homes and our hearts, You see that we’re a group of good people, Trying to do life well even when life gets hard. Each of us has struggles…because… Everyone has something. Hurtful words and resentment occupy space in some of our kitchens. Children make choices that break our hearts. Too many sleepless nights make us bleary and teary. And sickness too frequently steals Continue Reading
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