Hope and the Early Morning Swirl

by

It’s in those early morning first-moments when we make one of the toughest choices of the day. Do we swirl in the messiness and worries? Or do we hope in what has been promised? Here’s what it looks like in my world… Before my eyes even open (or try and open during this allergy season!), I am thinking about the good things ahead of me in the next few hours. Work I enjoy and connections that encourage me. It’s going to be a good day. And then…as if someone grabbed the clicker and changed the channel in my mind… I start thinking Continue Reading

Plan Goodness

by

We spend so much time planning, don’t we? Writing out our to-do lists. Scheduling. Planning the weekend…the vacation…the work priorities. Busy, busy, busy. Work, work, work. Get it done, check it off, move to the next to-do. And at the same time – at least a lot of the time – we are bracing for the hurdles and challenges that get in the way and bump us from our happy planning place. We expect disruptions to our planning to show up at some point. Very easy for me to do. I am the master of having a Plan B and a Plan C in place Continue Reading

Let’s Not Quit

by

Every single fiber in my body just wanted to quit. Abandon what I was doing. Walk away. It was my Senior Piano Recital in 1975. I had prepared for that event for years. Thousands of hours of practice.  Scores of pages memorized and polished. I was ready to perform. But. I was terrified. Terrified of messing up. Forgetting. The recital was held in a beautiful church sanctuary in Crookston, Minnesota. I stood in the pastor’s study behind the altar, listening to my piano teacher introduce me. All I wanted to do was walk down the Continue Reading

You Have Cheerleaders!

by

Your cheerleading squad is ready and waiting. Already cheering your name while waiving their pompoms. Just waiting for you to notice them. For real. Even in the little stuff. When life’s big stuff hits, we are grateful for the outpouring of support. Dinners are delivered. Visitors hover in hospital waiting rooms. Someone shows up to clean the house. The cards and calls remind us that someone cares. That’s how it should be. And…sometimes… We need the caring, the attention, the cheerleading, when a bunch of life’s little stuff is Continue Reading

Every Chapter Matters

by

Tell me the story. I want to know the characters. Their dreams and disappointments. What they celebrate and what they grieve. Tell me about the people and what they went through to get where they are now. How did they survive? What did they learn?  I get bored with paragraphs filled with description, even when the words are beautiful and visionary. I don’t need 14 words to describe the flower petal or two pages to describe the scenery. It’s the people’s stories that capture my attention. In his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Continue Reading

Influence That Molds Us

by

It has all become so annoying. The yelling. The posturing. The intensity. Republicans. Democrats. Independents. And all of the media voices, PR folk, and political advisors. I wish they would Just. Stop. Yelling. It’s as if they each received a memo that said… The winner of the argument, debate, promo clips, etc. will be the person who speaks the loudest. Yells the most. Uses the most vocal intensity. And uses the most force when punctuating the air with hand gestures.    It just all seems so wrong. And sad. Their Continue Reading

Starting a Different Life

by

Starting a different life. It doesn’t require a complete life overhaul. My sisters and I take turns staying with mom to help her out.  If we aren’t in the room with her when she needs something, she sings out, Whoo hoo!  Not a big deal when it’s daylight. But when I hear Whoo hoo! at 4:00 a.m. in the morning, I fling myself out of the trundle bed and already have an emergency plan in place by the time I tumble into her bedroom. A few mornings ago, the flinging and tumbling were part of my early a.m. activities. She wasn’t sick. Continue Reading

Just Give Me…

by

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. The lady in the purple parka with the big hood could have used a cart. Or a counter. Or a shelf. Anything on which she Continue Reading

Be Not Afraid

by

If an angel suddenly appeared out of the starry sky and started talking to me, I’d probably freak out. Just a bit. That’s just not something you see coming, right? I wonder what the shepherds thought that holy night thousands of years ago, 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! I can imagine them squinting, covering their eyes, while trying to figure out what they were protecting Continue Reading

Worry and Faith

by

I scratch my head and wrinkle my nose and wonder… How many times do I need to be reminded of this? Worry is not the same as caring. It’s a proven fact. I have the stories and heart scars to show for it… My preference is to fix. And until it is fixed, I worry. Why? Because I am afraid that if I stop worrying, what I’m really saying is… I’ve stopped caring. How very silly is that. When I dig deeper into this muddled way of thinking, I see that it has more to do with fear than caring. Fear that God won’t show up. That Continue Reading

Scrambling Time in Church

by

It’s one of my favorite moments in Sunday morning church. Scrambling time. The children run, skip, gallop, and elbow their way to the front to sit on the steps during the Children’s Message. And then they spend half the message getting situated and comfortable, missing out on everything except how the boy next to them is just sitting too close and that bugs them. I don’t think all of them always understand the story or illustration. Some are a bit self-conscious about looking out at so many faces. A few are too young to make the Continue Reading

Begin Now. Obey Now.

by

  Begin where you are now. Obey now. These two sentences always cause me to pause. And give me direction. They are from a devotional included in the book, Disciplines in the Inner Life. * Perhaps you are wondering how to move forward. You can’t see the big picture but know that you need to do something. But how? I know what that’s like. Let me share a bit more from these writings. They strengthen me. Encourage me. And provide me with the next step. Begin where you are. Obey now. Use what little obedience you are Continue Reading

His Words to My Heart

by

This is what I hear Jesus saying today… Are you feeling a bit weary? I know what that feels like. When my days on earth were long and the needs were great, I knew that my strength would be restored when I would go away to a quiet place. I needed to take time away from those I was called to serve, from my family, and be alone with my Heavenly Father. The work was still there…but it was more important for me to commune with Him. Sometimes it was for moments. Sometimes hours. Sometimes longer. My quiet place was often just away from the Continue Reading

Real Life, Uncommon Grace

by

I love life. Even when it is messy. I just don’t always enjoy the messy life. And, sad to say, the messy doesn’t always bring out the best in me. Sigh. But the messiness is going to come. Real life isn’t real without it. That’s because life is made up of relationships. And relationships are made up of people. And people are going to disappoint us. Our responses to those relationships—real life—will shape our homes, communities, workplaces, and world. And for that very reason, we need to live Grace. Grace shows up when Continue Reading

They are Moments

by

This I know. Those moments... When the walls seem to be caving in, Sleep doesn’t come, The world seems burdensome, And we just can’t seem to find the Joy or Peace… They are moments. The darkness isn’t here to stay. Maybe you experience those dark days the same way I sometimes do when I'm caught up in them… Believing that it will never get easier. Continue Reading

Sometimes it Takes a Nap

by

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

Weary From the Words

by

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

by

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

by

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

by

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

When the World Seems Small

by

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

Not Complaining…Just Informing

by

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

by

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