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, “Wait. What? You’ve got to be kidding me.” 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 I may have laughed Continue Reading
It’s Time to Dance
This is for you. If your perfect evening out is a gathering of dozens of friends who are all your bestie, where no one worries about how late it is, and you get absolutely giddy about the chance to engage in several conversations at the same time because, you know, there’s so much to talk about … this note is for you. And if your perfect evening out is gathering with a few close friends to catch up and laugh, where small talk quickly turns to heart-felt conversations … I’ve got you covered. And, of course, if you’re somewhere in Continue Reading
My Anchor Holds
I know that God is faithful. He is loving. Gracious. I know that He promises me peace. And, there are still some days when swirling comes knocking and I open the door, invite her in, and offer her a place to hang out. My swirling looks like this … I wander around the house. Aimlessly. Up and down, room to room, opening and closing the fridge door, flipping through books, scrolling through my phone. There is work to be done, but my mind doesn’t get focused. My thoughts feel like the little steel ball that flies around a pinball Continue Reading
In a Rut? Try Something New
Tired and gloomy are horrible roommates. They should not be permitted to settle in our hearts, hang curtains, and make themselves at home. Here’s the deal … It’s the middle of March and we Minnesotans are expecting yet another blizzard, with wind that whips sideways, icy streets, and temperatures that are … cold. Really, really cold. During the days that feel gloomy and life feels harder, it’s easy to start to feel listless. Tired. And when we feel listless and tired, it’s easy to get into a rut. We become very comfortable doing Continue Reading
My Fumbles – God’s Peace
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
A New Chapter
Oooooh! Encouraging words for you here! When your life starts to look unrecognizable, When you press your hands against your closed eyes and whisper, “How did we even get here?” When you feel like you’re the only one who can’t get her ducks in a row, Remember this … Nobody has their act together all the time. Everybody’s got somethin’. We all have chapters in our story that we don’t share or post or read aloud. Most of us are still trying to find our ducks—getting them in a row is for another day. And … We are loved by a Continue Reading
You Can Stop Struggling
Do you remember that time you started a new workout program? (It’s OK to giggle here. Or even laugh out loud. I get it.) Whether it was years ago or just last week, perhaps your experience was similar to mine. It is, unfortunately, a group of moments that cannot be removed from my memory bank. First of all. Have mercy. The new routine involves a lot of fancy steps and it moves faaaaast. I spend most of the time trying to stay on my feet, watch the online trainer, listen to the instructions, and breathe. There is nothing pretty about my Continue Reading
Time for Dreaming
So, this was weird. A few nights ago, I dreamed that I was the pianist (AKA the entire music pit) for a stage show called NCIS: The Musical. For real. We were performing in a church that had a large raised, front platform. I sat in a center pew with an electric keyboard on my lap, feet up on the kneeling pad to balance the keyboard, the music score on a makeshift stand to my left, and a small light attached to the back of my pew so I could read the music when the church lights went down. And sitting next to me? Jethro Gibbs and Agent Continue Reading
Let Me Be the Person
Her cheeks were flushed, and her neck was covered with the red blotches that I knew 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 on 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
My Personal Hallmark Movie
The season is here, my friend. And there’s no turning back. It’s the season of … Hallmark. Holiday. Specials. Now I like a good sappy, cry-til-your-eyes-are-puffy and your face-is-blotchy movie like everyone else. (“Everyone else” wouldn’t include my husband Steve, though. He would rather read a book. Or shovel the snow. Or do almost anything else.) But sometimes, these shows are just a bit too much. Everything always seems so…Good. Nice. Not real. In the movies, the young woman who is surrounded by clutter and can’t clean Continue Reading
A Gift for You
Oh, this is such an amazing gift for you! Light of the World: 21-Day Advent Devotional is a resource compiled by Radical Radiance that will lead you to know, experience, and share Jesus, the Light of the world, this Christmas season. I contributed as an author to this project and I'm delighted to share it with you. (My note of encouragement is in Week 3, Day 1!) When you request this free devotional, you'll receive a 59-page PDF workbook (complete with planning pages, activity pages, and 21 days of devotionals), an audiobook Continue Reading
If God Sent You a Note
God’s Word consistently tells you how much He cares about you. That He is with you. I think if He sent you a note today, it would look like this … Good morning, my precious daughter. It’s a new day today. I created it for you! I painted the sunrise and lifted it over the horizon to remind you that there are good things waiting for you, and I will be with you every single moment. I want to give you everything you need to experience joy and hope and peace. Let’s experience today together, OK? When good things happen to you, I will Continue Reading
Time to Let Them Go
During the last few weeks, memories from two specific seasons have rented rooms in my brain. It’s been one year since my pancreas got really angry and I spent a few days in the hospital trying to figure out what ticked it off. This memory has decorated its rented room with posters that say, “If only I had …” When I walk through that room, I get frustrated with myself. The other rented room in my brain looks different. The room is smaller, and handwritten notes are placed around it. The renter is the memory bank of the 7-year season Continue Reading
Make Room for the Good
Along with replacing the tank tops in our closet with sweatshirts and flannels, the Fall season invites us to cleanse, purge, start again, and “finish the year strong!” (I’m a little over the whole “finish the year strong” thing. I’m just focusing on finishing today strong. Because my “strong” needs a nap.) A change of season does seem to signal a time to reflect and consider what the next few months could look like though. A time to start again. And that can be healthy. But it’s easy to mess this up. How? We believe that Continue Reading
What Farmers Teach Us
I visited one of my favorite places last weekend. Home. Climax, Minnesota. Spending a few hours with classmates from the Class of ’75 was a highlight of the summer. And oh, my. Was it fun. The stories we shared and memories we laughed about reminded me of the best of community: Kindness. Grace. Friendship. The looking out for and caring for neighbors and friends. You may not have grown up in a small town, but you are part of a community. There are people who care about you. If no one comes to mind, please, from the bottom of my Continue Reading
I’m ready. Let’s go.
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
Soul-Soothing Plan for the Summer
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 a perfect, beautiful summer day. There’s no humidity so your hair isn’t frizzing or going limp. The sun is warm, but the cool breeze invites you to tilt your head back and close your Continue Reading
Your Whatever Matters
Whatever. It’s a word that sometimes comes from our mouth when we are … Tired of the conversation. Reluctant to discuss the conflict. Walking away. Oh my. I can see me in some of those whatever moments! Whatever usually comes out as a disappointed whisper when I’m walking away from the person who just doesn’t understand that what I’m saying is right and he is most definitely not right and I’m too tired to argue and the conversation just doesn’t seem worth the effort. My back is turned, and my hand is waving away the moment. Continue Reading
Same God, New Season
These truths are swirling through my brain today … God is a God of love. He hangs the stars. Instructs the sun to rise. Always keeps His promises. God is faithful. When I allow these reminders to frame my day, life feels better. Hope returns. Worries can’t compete and they move out. Do you know what I mean? Perhaps your feelings about life and this new spring/summer season are similar to mine? My heart and my muscles and my brain are ready for a pause. They need time to breathe. Rest. They are starved for Continue Reading
Are You a Wind Whipped Worrier?
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. But maybe I shouldn’t call Him that because it takes away His divine nature. 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 Continue Reading
Living My Encore
Grab a chair and slide it in close. Put a soft pillow on your lap to rest your arms on. Lean in. Imagine that I’m looking into your beautiful eyes as I whisper … God is good. He’s got good things planned for you. On February 21, 2018, I wrote myself a message on page 1,179 of my Bible: I am not too old. It’s written next to these words from Isaiah’s 43rd chapter: Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and Continue Reading
The Grace of the Present
The Amazon Prime van drove up slowly through our unplowed streets and I heard the snow scrunch under its tires. I’d been waiting for this day and its delivery, and I caught its early morning arrival from my office window. Somewhere, behind the van’s dark blue siding and the light blue smiling arrow, was the book I’d preordered weeks ago. It had arrived. As the driver cautiously shuffled back down the driveway, I grabbed the box from the front porch with a quick Thanks so much! Before he’d put the van in drive, the package was on the Continue Reading
Keep Looking for Joy
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
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
“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