I wonder about the nursery rhyme, “Humpty Dumpty.” What do you suppose prompted someone to write a riddle about a personified egg? (Nothing in the rhyme states that Humpty was an egg. But I’ve never seen a picture with a stalk of asparagus sitting on the wall. The egg thing works for me.) I also wonder why our parents thought it was something cute to tell us. The story ends very badly, you know. Since that doesn’t sit well with me, I wrote a new ending. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the Continue Reading
What are You Watching For?
Dorothy was a hoot! I met her at a women’s retreat. She was wearing a beautiful cobalt blue blouse while she told me about her grandchildren. When I complimented her on her blouse, she said, “Well, my hair color changed this month and I had to find something to wear that would match it. I usually use different hair colors, but this month I ran out of all of them. So, I just mixed what was left of everything I had. Now my hair color changes every day!” And then…she laughed. And shook her beautiful blue locks of hair. Dorothy’s joy Continue Reading
Keep Dancing!
Back in the day, my definition of “a cool girl” included her ability to dance. I wanted to be cool too, so I practiced at home in front of my bedroom dresser mirror before going to the school dance. That was just plain…good grief. I can’t even. It didn’t look like dancing, and it certainly wasn’t cool. I wonder how they danced in the Bible days. We know they did a lot of it in worship and celebrations, right? “Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp.” What variety! Dancing to the tambourine and a harp. I bet Continue Reading
As Surely as the Sun Rises
We gathered in a church basement in Hopkins, Minnesota, reminding each other of God’s promises. We laughed and dug into God’s Word and celebrated the gift we receive just by being with other women – Sisters in Spirit, each of us in different places on our journey to know God better. The lovely faces of these women reminded me of God’s extraordinary ability to create exquisite beauty. Their hearts reminded me of God’s faithfulness. When we moved to the sanctuary for worship, we were reminded of God’s presence in every part of our Continue Reading
Around Midnight and 5:00 AM
We read this in Acts 16:25 … “Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God [from prison], and the other prisoners were listening.” Here’s what my version might look like … “Around 5:00 am, Gaye was fretting and whining her worries to God [from the comfort of her cozy chair], and the people were not listening because he was still sleeping.” Yeah. You’ve had one of those mornings too, right? When I wake up with a heavy heart and swirling chaos on my mind, the reason is usually behind one of these Continue Reading
Do-Overs and Start Agains
I love do-overs. If I don’t like what I’m writing, I hit the delete key and “do-over.” If my hair is having a bad day, my brush winds its way through and creates a “do-over.” If my chicken dish doesn’t turn out…well, I just throw that out. Wouldn’t it be freeing if we could “do-over” or throw out some of life’s moments that make us cringe? Pull the words back or stop ourselves from not-smart actions. Stupid decisions we made. Hurtful comments we shared. Hot pants worn. (What on earth were you thinking, girl?) None of us are Continue Reading
Cheerleading and Game Plans
God is good. And life can be hard. A favorite part of my high school years was cheerleading. I loved my school, my friends, the sports, the camaraderie and enthusiasm, and the whole small-town vibe of everybody showing up and cheering for our Climax Vikings hometown team. And … I know this. When life is hard, some cheerleader shouting and jumping up and down while yelling “Let’s go! You’ve got this!” is going to become annoying very quickly. You’ll probably just want to grab her pom poms and cut those little colorful streamers into Continue Reading
God is in This Moment
Where are you today? At home? At work? Shoveling? Walking the beach? Holding the hand of someone you love in the hospital room? In bed, wishing for the energy to get up? Pull in closer … there are some words of encouragement for you here. God is in every moment. Wherever you are, God is there. God is in this moment is a phrase I’m learning to whisper frequently throughout the day. Whether it’s a good moment or a horrible moment, God’s presence never leaves. He is there. I whispered it while I was out walking. Although the Continue Reading
He’s Got You Covered
Ever had one of those moments when life’s issues seem really, really big? Overwhelming, insurmountable, terrifying? And at the same time, you’re feeling really, really small? Unnoticed, insignificant, forgotten? When you’re feeling lost and unimportant, how can you know that God can still find you…that He hasn’t forgotten about you? You remember this. God can handle the BIG stuff … “Ah, Lord God, it is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Continue Reading
Know His Presence – Know His Peace
Maybe your heart needs a little compassion today? You’ve lost your zip and you just want to take a nap, hoping that when you wake up your stresses are gone and problems are solved. You’ve received well-meaning, good advice and encouragement from friends, but the words just aren’t connecting with you. They aren’t lifting the heaviness. The words are going in one ear and zipping through that cute head of yours faster than you can hear them before they exit through your other ear. Even the hope-filled words from the Bible seem dry and Continue Reading
Creating a Different Tomorrow
I’m standing in front of Steve as he’s trying to read (I’m obviously being very annoying), peering over the top of his book, trying to get my face in the brightest light from his reading lamp, as I describe what I think the lines on the sides of my chin look like: Like the face on puppets…no…marionettes…no… Like the face on the dummies that ventriloquists use. Yes. That’s it. The look on his face tells me he’s worried there may be a trick question coming soon, and that he needs to think carefully about his response. These lines Continue Reading
When the Plates Spin
A short chapter in the Bible that grounds me and gets my heart, soul and mind back in synch with the Sacred, is Psalm 117. (It’s also an easy one to memorize.) Open your Bible and read the words out loud – maybe more than once. It will change how your day feels. “The faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.” (That includes today.) Here’s why those words matter … On some days the plates are neatly stacked. Orderly, uneventful. Other days they spin…furiously. Watching the twirling, feeling the frantic, makes me dizzy. The tiny life Continue Reading
Praying When Words are Hard
“The wonderful thing about praying is that you leave a world of not being able to do something, and enter God’s realm where everything is possible.” Corrie ten Boom One of the first prayers I learned was this: Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen. I’m grateful that I learned how to pray when I was real little, but … really? If I should die before I wake? That’s a pretty deep subject for a 3-year-old to be contemplating. Over the years Continue Reading
Hard Work vs Peaceful Trust
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 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 clothing Continue Reading
My Soft Place to Land
Ooftah. It was one of those nightmares that you just can’t wake up from. That night, my really bad dream didn’t include falling off cliffs, nor were people chasing me with chainsaws. This nightmare seemed more “every day.” In my nightmare that never seemed to end, I was at a conference in a very large convention center. I had gotten separated from my group, and I was frantically wandering hallways and stairwells to try and find someone I knew. My purse had been stolen along with my cell phone. I just could not get my bearings. To Continue Reading
God is in Your Tomorrow
It’s the fear that stops my breathing and causes a very unattractive rash to start spreading on my neck… Being caught in a storm at sea. Or on a lake. Or even in a backyard pond. I have no intention of ever being in a situation where I have to whack seagulls on the head with a paddle for lunch while clinging to a strand of seaweed. Perhaps it’s past experiences that create this almost irrational fear of being lost in the middle of a body of water in a storm of It’s never been this bad proportion with the boat capsizing. …There Continue Reading
Pausing is Permissible
Have you had those days, weeks, or seasons where life seems wonky? Maybe you feel like this … … You’ve been invited to a dance party, you show up in a ballet tutu, and everyone else is doing the fox trot. … Someone forgot to tell you that the potluck was vegetarian only and you brought the hamburger hotdish. … You drafted an angry and whiny email that you intended to delete once you got the frustration out of your system, but as you reached across the keyboard to finish off your 1-pound bag of M&Ms, your elbow hit the Send Continue Reading
God is Greater Than our Needs
“I don’t want to look back on my life – my beautiful, wonder-filled, God-given life – and realize that I’ve mostly missed it while I was busy preparing for the worst.” I read those words and whispered out loud, Oh, Lord. Yes. So true. The awareness of what I could miss, and the hope in what I could experience, took my breath away. (Susie Larson included those words by Nicole Zasowski in her new book “Closer Than Your Next Breath: Where is God When You Need Him Most?” Oh, what a hope-filled book for these days!) You and I have Continue Reading
Playing Our Best Game
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
Today I Choose My Always
Change has always felt like a colorful invitation to something new – which offers possibilities. Adventures. New dreams and ideas. Something different. At least that’s how it usually feels in my world. In My Guy Steve’s world? Not so much. Change is … well, change. And perhaps a root canal seems more inviting. There isn’t a need for different when what’s working now is working now. No matter your preference for different, I bet you’re feeling a shift in your own world these days. Schedules change so our rhythms need to change. The Continue Reading
He Is Hovering
Do you find yourself looking at the chaos that swirls around you and wonder, God, did you catch this? Do you know what’s going on here? I mean, really. It’s a bit of a crisis we’ve got going here. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that our loving God hasn’t forgotten about our situation. We pray for miracles. For babies to get well. For spirited youth who are “finding themselves” to look in a different direction. For the bills to get paid, the job to come, and the house to sell. For politicians and TV news anchors to just all be quiet for Continue Reading
A Good Summer Plan
This little note is one of my favorites – an oldie but goodie! It says exactly what’s on my heart this week. Blessings on your summer days, my friend. I’m so grateful for our connection here! It’s summer, and that means the heat index could be maxed out so everything is wilting, or it could be raining cats and dogs with thunder and lightning thrown into the mix. (I wonder who came up with the phrase raining cats and dogs. What does it even mean? OK. Back to our regularly scheduled program.) Just for a moment, let’s imagine that it’s Continue Reading
Too Old? I Think Not.
The podcast host was interviewing a young author about her new book. I was casually listening while driving to the store, wondering if this author’s book would be a new reason for Amazon Prime to come to our home. But then I experienced a “You’ve got to be kidding me!” moment while completely forgetting about her book. The young woman being interviewed was talking about her high school experience — 15 years earlier. Did you catch that? She was in high school 15 years ago. She coyly remarked, “That was when I was young! Let’s not talk Continue Reading
Add the Ink 🎆 Splash the Color
I’ve been looking at the cursor on a blank page, wondering how to put into words what’s tossing like a salad in my brain. Let me give it a try… Sometimes I wonder if my notes here - my invitations to re-think or ponder God-things or laugh at life moments – are deep enough. I wonder if my own faith and lack of faith have the credibility to talk about such important things like God and Grace and Forgiveness. At the same time, my heart wants to encourage and bring Hope by sharing what I’m learning, where I’m falling short, where I’m Continue Reading
Parkas and Girlfriends
Winter is over in Minnesota. Can I hear an Amen! (At least we hope it is. Let’s all knock on a piece of wood that’s no longer snow-covered, shall we?) The thick Michelin-woman parkas are stuffed into the basement closets, stocking caps with the cute ear flaps are shoved into the Tupperware organizers, and our socks … well, they’re still in reachable distance because our toes are adjusting to being wrapped in sunlight and warm air and need a bit of tender care. We are pros at knowing how to protect our skin and bones during the Continue Reading
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