I was tapping on the keyboard, considering the words and moments I had planned on sharing with you. But then the words stopped. And pictures began floating around in my brain, creating different words. My writing plans changed. From my heart… Continue Reading
Moments of Mutterings and Murmurs
Perhaps it was mom’s strawberry Glucerna spill in bed at 2:30 a.m. Or the looming project deadlines. Or that I’d stayed up too late watching tapings of the new season’s NCIS shows. Whatever the reason, I was tired. And grumpy. I was feeling extremely cynical. And it showed up in an ugly attitude. The target of my cynicism? TV’s female news anchors. I was tired of their standard, apparently prescribed, wardrobe and look: Solid colored, tight, sleeveless dresses. Tan legs that cross perfectly. Trendy jewelry. Five-inch heels. Continue Reading
Finding the New Rhythm
It was a you’ve got to be kidding me! moment. There were six of us. Six women who dreamed of tap dancing on Broadway. But knowing that was never going to happen, we had chosen a community dance class and were now gleefully tapping on a grade school stage. It was our recital. After nine weeks of stumbling, sweating, and fighting shin splints, this was our chance to show friends and family how quickly our feet could move. We had practiced. Hard. We had this. We wore snappy purple tails, purple top hats, purple cummerbunds, purple Continue Reading
I Took a Bad Detour
Oh my word. It happens so fast. In one moment I'm dancing around in My Happy Place (not literally though, because I've never really felt like dancing when things are great - I'm more of a high-fives in the air and whoo-hooing myself kind of girl), feeling good because everything seems to be under control. And then... I make a mistake. And within an hour I've been bumped from My Happy Place and bounced into the Place of Pity and Despair. And who did the bumping? Me. Myself. I. Good grief. Have you taken this trip? We can Continue Reading
Changing the Words
I love words. And I am tired of words. One reason for this weariness is that I’m finishing the writing on my next book, and everything I write sounds like blah, blah, blah. The bullies inside my head are not sending me feedback messages with smiley faces and pink hearts! (Oh, writing is so humbling!) I know this is part of the process…but ooftah. A bigger reason for this weariness, though, is because the world just seems to be filled with so many words. I watch the news, read the papers, check in on Facebook, and the words are Continue Reading
The Synch Swimmers
Yup. I’ve got the fever. Olympic fever. And I’m counting the days ‘til Rio. My favorite event? Synchronized swimming. I don’t think it even shows up in prime time – it’s not a big fan favorite – but watching those ladies swim in synch actually makes me...gleeful. I tried it once, you know. My friend Lynn and I decided we’d give it a shot. Good grief. Whatever were we thinking. We selected the hyped-up music, created a dazzling routine, donned the colorful swim caps, and performed for a group of friends in a hotel swimming Continue Reading
Asking for a John Deere
I learned it first in farming. Farmers and families coming together when the fields were ready for harvest and the rain was coming tomorrow as sure as the sun comes up. Trucks and combines moving across dusty gravel roads in single file and descending on someone’s farm to help them get their crop in. Then the John Deeres and Massey Fergusons caravanning to the next farm with ears tuned in to weather reports while turning on lights to break through the dusk and men and women in overalls praying for just a couple more hours. People Continue Reading
Losing Part of Tuesday
So then this happened. I had just finished my workout at the Y last week Tuesday. I called my sister from the lobby, and that’s the last normal thing I remember for a while. When I went into the locker room to get my gym bag, the room seemed to be tilted on its side. The lockers looked like they were toppling over. I couldn’t figure out where I was or what I was trying to do. But I recognized the locker number I usually stick my stuff in…and then I don’t remember what happened next. Piecing this crazy half-hour together with Continue Reading
Let’s Not Quit
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
Influence That Molds Us
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
Hanging By One String
It was a freak accident. Twenty years ago. Our good friend, Patti, had just moved into an adorable townhouse that sat on the edge of a golf course. She was sitting in a lawn chair enjoying the summer sun when the you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up event happened. A golf ball hit very hard from somewhere on the green went way off course and landed… On her eye. The result? The eye was struck by such force that they had to remove everything inside the eye. They saved the retina and the cornea. But they implanted a lens, attaching it with Continue Reading
Worry and Faith
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
Mud and my Planks
It was a trip back home with Steve and our good friends, Pam and Barry. I was truly in My Happy Place as I showed off my hometown of Climax, MN. Once we saw “the town” and they graciously listened to me speak excitedly, passionately, at 7,148 words per minute about the people, events and wonderful memories, it was time to show them “our land.” Sooo excited about this. We drove onto the narrow dirt road between the fields a mile out of town, noticing that it was still quite muddy from last night’s rain. And then it got muddier. And Continue Reading
Just Sit
My faith journey has certainly had its share of questions. One question I struggled with was this… When someone was going through a tough time and they said that they just “got into the Word” and “got before the Lord” …I would wonder... What does that mean? What does that look like? How do you do that? Those people who said that so strongly and faithfully seemed so…spiritual. Like they had it all figured out. And I didn’t. When my heart was breaking and the tear bucket was overflowing, I wanted desperately to meet God Continue Reading
Intentionally.
Intentionally exceptional. Love that! I’m working with an impressive consultant, Wendy K. Walters. Her team member, Kate, uses those two words in her signature line: Intentionally exceptional, Kate. Doesn’t the phrase just inspire a whole bunch of confidence in her work and ability to deliver? It tells me that she is thinking about what it will take to be exceptional. And I will benefit from it. Continue Reading
The Hippo One
I have been thinking about the hippo lately. A few years ago I posted a note about the hippo and the eagle. And that's what's on my heart to share again today. Maybe it's because I'm doing quite a bit of reflection and contemplation during this Lenten season, thinking about my life, God's calling on it, and how I'm really living joy to the full. I'm wondering where dipping my toe has turned into sliding down the slippery slope and then plopping into the dirty water and now I'm stuck in the mucky mud. May your heart be drawn 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
My Computer and a Firm Foundation
My computer is having a really horrible day. No, make that a really horrible week…or two. It seems to get very excited about synching. All the time. I don’t even know what that means except that it slows everything down. A lot. And spamming. Good grief. My Inbox is filled with messages about what White Kidney Beans can do for me, Luma Candles, and Walk-In Bath Tubs. Scores of them. All the time. It’s time to call in my best friends at the Geek Squad and I start making the list of what is frazzling my computer brain. But Continue Reading
Countdown to Christmas
Celebrating the birth of Jesus is sacred. A holy event. We celebrate Love. Grace. Sacrifice. Forgiveness. It is Good. And in these last couple days of preparing for the event… We may experience anything but. What if… We enter into our family events and parties and church services recognizing that things may not go as planned. And then… Instead of moving too quickly from our happy place to frustration, we choose to focus on the bigger picture. Aunt Gladys isn’t trying to be obnoxious with her words and opinions and Continue Reading
Reset…Peek Over My Shoulder
The four words jump out from the page. It’s like they are written in bold, red font, twice the size of the words around them. With a yellow, neon flashing light behind the letters. …be patient with everyone. Really? Everyone? All the time? How on earth… {I was standing in the wrong line when they handed out patience.} Today I’m writing this little note to me. There is a heart-need deep within that needs a reset on patience. So feel free to just peek over my shoulder as I journal a few Reset Thoughts... Yeah, Continue Reading
In the Messiness
Hello, My Friends. There’s so much good crossing our paths. Isn't there? So much to be thankful for. Really. And… There are times when life just seems…tough. Lord, please just get me out of this mess. This situation. This chaos. Oh, God, can you please just remove the pain. The problem. The disease. We want—we need—God to remove us from the messiness. And many times, He does. He removes us from it. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. (Psalm 18:16) But 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
You Are Not Alone
It comes in the backdoor sometimes, doesn’t it? You aren’t looking for it… You don’t expect it… You didn’t invite it… And yet, bam! Seemingly out of nowhere it appears front and center. That feeling of alone-ness. 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