Grab a chair and slide it in close. Put a soft pillow on your lap so your arms can rest. Lean in. Imagine we’re sitting together in a quiet place with our slippers on, comfortable in the easy way friends are, while I gently remind you … God is good. And He’s got good things planned for you. Maybe those words make you feel a bit twitchy. Maybe you’re thinking, Hmmm… I must have stepped out of line when they were handing out good things. Because this doesn’t feel like your current situation, and you’re having trouble seeing good Continue Reading
A Promise for Today
God has something good for you in today. This little community we’ve created here? It’s meant to be a soft place for your spirit. A breath of fresh air. A dose of encouragement when your heart needs it most. And sometimes, encouragement shows up simply as this: an honest nod that life can feel heavy. I wish I could peek into your world today, to understand what your days are holding. Maybe someone you love is hurting, and you’re carrying the weight of it through sleepless nights. Maybe you’re spending more time in a Continue Reading
Turning Down the Worry Volume
I have a love / not-so-much love relationship with certain verses in the Bible. I love the ones that remind me God knows my name. That He loves me. That He’s faithful — always. And then there are the others. The ones that gently (or not-so-gently) tug away my perceived right to whine, grumble, and fret. Like Matthew 6:34: …do not worry about tomorrow… Now part of me wishes Matthew had slipped in a little footnote: “Do not worry about tomorrow … unless things are extra messy right now and you're one stubbed toe away from Continue Reading
Healing From Life’s Deepest Hurts
My friend has written a powerful book. One that brings healing, encouragement, and a deep dose of hope. And I want you to know about it. Life’s deepest hurts can lead us to believe that nothing will be right again. That the pain won’t go away, and there’s no more hope. If you’ve ever been there, or if you’re there now, you are not alone. My friend Kim Haar knows all about deep hurts. And she wrote a book about it: In this raw and compassionate book, licensed counselor Kimberly Haar pulls back the curtain on her own devastating Continue Reading
Finding Hope in “Ugh” Moments
“Mama said there’d be days like this, there’d be days like this, my mama said.” The Shirelles pop group reminded us of this 60+ years ago. Thousands of years ago, Jesus told us the same thing: “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” (John 16:33) Even though we know that “ugh” days are part of life, they still mess with us, right? This morning I’m working through recent “days like this.” I thought I’d share some of the key promises and perspectives I’m inviting into them, because … You’ve been here too, Continue Reading
What if you Choose…
An Instagram post by Pastor Derwin Gray, addressed to pastors, stopped me in my tracks. Here’s the quote: “Pastor, Lead like Jesus rose from the dead, preach like the Gospel is true, and pray like God still parts seas.” Oh my. There is power in those words, right? Even if we aren’t pastors, that prayer can be our invocation as we move into our day. Consider how our daily choices, words and responses would shift! We’d face every conversation, messy moment, and disappointment with hope, knowing that we are loved by a Continue Reading
A Prayer for You
Sometimes we just don’t know what to pray, right? Our hearts are hurting – we aren’t even sure what’s wrong. But we know we need to talk to Jesus. I’ve written a short prayer that you may find helpful when you’re struggling to find prayer-words. And … I bet you have a friend who could use some words too, right? Please forward this email to them. You can click on this link to get the prayer in a beautiful, colorful download – save it, print it, share it. I’ll write the words below. From my heart to yours … Give Me Continue Reading
Donny Osmond, Words, and Dreams
What a great week! My new book was delivered into the hands of a very smart and gracious editor at 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Yippee! And then on Saturday night I dreamt about the book. Of course! My mind couldn’t shut off “all things book!” Here’s a recap of this very unsettling, but typical dream: Donny Osmond created a musical based on my book. (OK. Let’s just pause here for a moment. Really? Donny Osmond? And yes, he was wearing a purple tuxedo.) His music would provide the backdrop for the reading of my words. While I read, 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
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
Losing a Tuesday
Sometimes – many times – I write these notes to remind myself of something important. And all of the time, I write to encourage you. This is my annual reminder to both of us to keep noticing. To experience life, not just observe it. And to remember that every day matters. It was seven years ago this month that I lost most of Tuesday. One moment I was doing lunges and burpees at the YMCA, and the next moment everything just got … lost. I have no memory of that afternoon. When I went into the locker room after my workout, 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
What We Can Do
There is something I can do. The shootings. Grieving families. Unimaginable tragedy. Uvalde, TX. Buffalo, NY. Laguna Woods, CA. The list continues. How can this happen? The answers just don’t come. It would be easy to turn off our TVs, shut out the news, and hope it doesn’t happen again in our community. And for some, it’s best to step away from the horror and the tragedy. We each have our own health boundaries. But, for most of us, we can’t ignore the reality. We shouldn’t. We can do something. And we must. We Continue Reading
Have You Ever Had One of Those Days?
It was a bad day. I mean, a really bad day. My friend, David…the one in the Bible who wrote the Psalms…was having a day that makes me feel anxious just reading about it. Here’s how he described it in his 69th Psalm: …the waters have come up to my neck… …I sink in the miry depths where there is no foothold… …the floods engulf me… …I am worn out calling for help… …My eyes fail… And then. The biggie. …Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head. You’ve got to be kidding me! I break out in a sweat and Continue Reading
Shove Discouragement Back in its Box
Hey, hi. There’s encouragement here for YOU today. Scoot your chair up. Slip on your reading glasses. Mute the TV. I don’t want you to miss this. Discouragement can show up at the most inopportune times, can’t it? Not that there’s a good time, but has this happened to you? Life seems to be humming along, no crisis in sight, and then like a Jack-in-the-box, a frustration, lie, or sad memory jumps out in front of you. It stares right at you with its scary, dark red smile, bobbing and weaving with its arms stretched out, inviting you to 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
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
Our Lifejacket and Anchor
Our weekend sailing trip started with blue skies, white fluffy clouds, and a whole lot of sunshine. Nothing signaled that a storm was just around the bend. Until it hit. I thought the thick, low-hanging, midnight-black clouds would reach down and wrap us in darkness. The wind tipped our little sailboat precariously onto its side. The icy rain came at us sideways; it felt like shards of glass on our faces. Once we were able to get the sails down, our captain yelled only one command: “Just hang on!” You bet we did. I’ve never been Continue Reading
Kindness is My Responsibility
Hi, friend. I’m writing this the weekend before the Tuesday elections. When you read this, we may know who our President is for the next four years. And perhaps we are still waiting to find out. Whatever our situation is … Kindness is our responsibility. Yours and mine. Some are excited about the next four years and are celebrating. Some are worried about the next four years and are grieving. Kindness is our responsibility. How about this … Lord, help me to guard my tongue. Remind me that boasting and gloating in Continue Reading
My Emergency Board Meeting
So, I had a little meeting with myself this afternoon. Kind of like an emergency board meeting when something is bubbling up that needs to be addressed right away by those responsible for overseeing all things before the situation gets out of control and does more damage. Since I’m CEO and chief overseer of my life, I scheduled the meeting, put myself on the agenda, prepared a snack (strawberry kiwi collagen protein drink), and called the meeting to order. The agenda item? Moving out of the swirl and finding fresh strength. Have Continue Reading
When Life Becomes the List
Last Sunday afternoon I picked up one of the books I’ve written and started to re-read it. I know. That sounds kind of weird, right? Maybe it was the horrible Vikings game that seemed to drain the life right out of me. (Come on, Vikings! What on earth?) And of course, there’s all the stuff going on in the world that invites us to believe that Hope has walked out the door and bought a one-way ticket to Pluto. Meanwhile, my to-do list seems to be screaming at me while the days get shorter. Sigh. But. I knew that my emotions were Continue Reading
Today I Will
I’m guessing we’re all feeling a little “off” these days, right? On one hand, we want information about what’s going on with everything - the virus, the economy, our jobs, our neighborhoods, etc. And on the other hand, we just want the news to stop. It’s too much. Sigh. Thinking about what’s on my mind and heart to share here feels the same way, knowing we are all moving through this time so differently. Some of us are very afraid and anxious. There’s a deep seriousness in our souls, with no room for jokes or laughter. The Continue Reading
My Mom
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). This verse was mom’s favorite, and we have repeated it over and over and over again during the last month. Last Friday, my mom died. It was a peaceful home-going without any pain. Mom’s heart has been getting weaker over the last few months, and three weeks ago we brought hospice care into her home. That care was so helpful and loving, and my sisters Julie and Lori and Continue Reading