It wasn’t pretty. Not at all. In fact, it was just plain ugly. What was ugly, you ask? Tuesday. Tuesday was ugly. Call it a bad day. A meltdown day. A day when nothing seemed to go right. Or as one of my storybook heroes, Alexander, referred to it, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” * The sad thing is, I’m not even sure what was wrong. It just seemed like everything was. (Cue “Poor Me” music here.) Nothing was wrong but everything was wrong. Nothing was right. I wasn’t right. The world wasn’t Continue Reading
Rest. Take a Break.
I’m starting a new workout program. Have mercy. It 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 performance. The program only lasts 20 minutes, but I’m exhausted when it’s done. All I want to do is cry. It’s hard to find the rhythm when the exercises change so fast, and the online coach Just. Keeps. Talking. (I know he’s trying to motivate us, but oh my word. His incessant Continue Reading
When Life Gets Messy
Easy. Carefree. I think about those words and in my mind I see a sandy beach with gentle waves lapping, a cool breeze that doesn’t mess up my hair, bright sunshine that warms my skin, and a good book with a happy ending. Yup. I sure could be content there. If only life was one big sunny beach. Real life happens and sometimes my hair gets mussed and my skin sunburns and there’s not a happy ending in the book. There are moments when I think, “This isn’t what I signed up for.” My sisters and I take turns staying with our mom. Continue Reading
Dreams and Realities
Dreams are good. And reality is … real. So, may I encourage you with this note … Our dreams matter. Those things we want to see, do, write, experience? Let’s make them come true… Even though our reality doesn’t seem to be cooperating. Last week I shared that I want to re-learn Norwegian. Tap dance. Play more piano. I’m going to enjoy making those dreams come true this year, even though my reality as a caregiver for my mom means … … Sleeping through the night, getting a restful sleep, never happens. … Plans are hard to Continue Reading
Something Wonderful is About to Happen
I’m always surprised when I don’t die when I’m exercising. Especially when it involves burpees. I don’t like burpees, and I don’t believe our bodies were meant to do them. My morning exercise time is only 30-40 minutes, but the way I carry on, you’d think that I’d been at it for 37 hours with no break. (And I can’t begin to count the number of times that I flop to the floor, and dramatically whisper through parched lips as if it’s my last breath, I caaaaan’t!) I have forgotten … Exercising is a temporary event. For 40 minutes I Continue Reading
My Finguh Hurts … Bring Grace
He was a cute little guy with curly red hair wearing a flannel shirt and little-boy jeans. He lay face down on the bottom platform of the Target cart, dragging his chubby hands along on the floor, singing a song he was making up in the moment as his mom moved through the produce section. All was well with his world. Until ... One of those cute little fingers got pinched under the wheel of the cart. Then all was not well with his world. He rolled off the bottom of the cart, jumped onto his feet, lifted his finger into the air Continue Reading
No complaining … really?
There are some verses in the Bible that make me scratch my head and murmur, Really? Did you really mean to write that? I’ve been studying one of those verses the last few days … “Do everything without complaining or arguing…” (Philippians 2:14) There must have been an “… except when …” or “… unless this happens …” that was somehow omitted, right? Because … Thanksgiving family get-togethers. Long shopping lines and tired clerks on the Friday after Thanksgiving. And the refs calling the football game are clearly wearing Continue Reading
“In Everything” Includes the Dentist Visit
The dentist’s office is not my happy place. Not even in the same zip code. Or hemisphere. When the hygienist checks my blood pressure and tells me it’s a little high, I try and act surprised. She doesn’t know that my anxiety is about ready to make my head explode the minute they wrap that little napkin around my neck. This week when I went in for my regular exam, I had a big ‘ol cold sore on my upper lip. You can probably guess how comfortable that was going to be when they’re stretching my mouth open, right? This very sweet Continue Reading
Stand Up and Step Away
(Remembering really fun moments from a few years ago …) The cable was as thin as my confidence that it could actually bear my weight. I looked across the ravine to where my landing place would be, and I looked down into the ravine where I did not want my landing place to be. And then I just shook. Good grief. I was zip lining. Now just let me say… For those of you who have done this, and the experience was not fearful and only exhilarating…I applaud you. High-five. Atta’ girl. I’m impressed. Really. But my first Continue Reading
Lives That Mold Us
I’ve been talking to the TV. Good grief. Typically, my one-sided conversations are in response to … … politicians who are yelling at me – telling me what to believe. … the cable news shows on-air talent sitting on couches telling me how I am supposed to think. … advertisers who spend more time telling me about their drug’s side effects than the help it might offer. I’m just tired of people yelling. People who don’t know me, telling me what to believe, think, and do. You too? Although my little sarcastic comments and Continue Reading
You are awesome!
I wonder about the person who wrote the nursery rhyme, “Humpty Dumpty.” What do you suppose was going on in his life that prompted him to write a riddle about a personified egg? An egg who fell down from sitting on a wall, broke into pieces, and couldn’t get himself back together again. (Although nothing in the rhyme states that Humpty was an egg, I’ve never seen a picture of a stalk of broccoli sitting on the wall. The egg thing works for me.) Then there’s Jack and Jill. They were simply walking up a hill to get a pail of water. But Continue Reading
Look for the Color
For your consideration ... Is life looking a little gray? Try making this little shift ... Look for the color. Literally. Look for the colors around you. When we start seeing bright colors, we wake up! Things seem more interesting. Life looks different. The reminder came to me as I sat in the corner chair in mom’s apartment. It had been a long night of ups-and-downs as mom tried to fall asleep. Looking out the window I saw clouds and rain. Gray. My day was scheduled too tightly. Gray. I was tired. Gray. My little world was ... Continue Reading
A Soft Place To Land
Man, oh man. It was one of those nightmares that you just can’t wake up from. That night, mine didn’t include falling off cliffs and people weren’t chasing me with chainsaws. This bad dream 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 add Continue Reading
Make a Fresh Start
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? Stupid decisions we made. Hurtful comments we shared. Hot pants worn. “What on earth were you thinking, girl?” None of us are immune to creating silly, awkward, or embarrassing Continue Reading
Make Time for Happy
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 match it. I usually mix 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 came through Continue Reading
One Decision Can Change It
Have you found yourself in this predicament? In this storyline? I have ... We scroll through Instagram. Scroll through Facebook. Sometimes while eating ice cream. Often while eating ice cream. We get lost in our books - the heartbreak, romance, drama, redemption. We are simultaneously repulsed by and captivated by reality TV. (Have mercy!) We dream of homey country kitchens and cute gadgets as we watch the cooking shows. (Have you seen Master Chef Junior? Oh my word. Those ahhhmazing kids can cook with food I’ve never even Continue Reading
Breathing Deeply
Oh, the plans! The goals! The lists! The git-er-done before the sun comes up focus! Nothing can stop me! And then … OVERWHELM. The word itself creates a feeling, doesn’t it? Especially the “whelm” part. I feel my arms filled with large, heavy, grey rocks that weigh me down from the muscles in my neck, through my back, and into my calves. They’re boulders, actually. More weight than I can realistically carry. I keep trying to move them to … someplace … and I don’t consider that perhaps I could take just one at a time. Too many Continue Reading
Today Will be a Great Day
OK. So here’s the deal. From my heart to yours. Isn’t it time we stop saying stupid stuff to ourselves? (“You really are a mess, aren’t you? Uggh. Nothing will ever change—why even try? I’m just tired of everything. Nothing good is ever going to happen again. This mess will never get fixed.”) Stupid stuff that isn’t true and isn’t helpful. Instead, how about if we start speaking life and hope into our lives? We can do that, you know. Even those of us who are Midwestern Scandinavians who tread lightly when it comes to lifting Continue Reading
The Anchor Holds
The day started out pretty well. My Bible and prayer time in the morning was encouraging and meaningful. My exercising got done and I felt the results (ooftah). And then when I got into the day, I started … roaming. Wandering around the house. Up and down, room to room, opening and closing the fridge door, flipping through books, scrolling through my phone. There was work to be done, but my mind would not get focused. My thoughts felt like the little steel ball that flies around a pinball machine, hitting, bouncing, not sure where Continue Reading
Time for Something New?
On most days, it’s just a simple pair of workout leggings. You know. The spandex kind that I should never ever ever wear in public with a short top. The kind that holds everything in tight and you actually feel like there is no more fat to jiggle. That kind of simple leggings. But last Tuesday morning, those leggings became a little more than that. They were a statement to myself. You’ve probably heard that we’ve had a verrrrryy long winter here in Minnesota. And as I write this little note in mid-April, we’re waiting for another Continue Reading
My Joanna Gaines Moments
Awe-struck probably best describes my reaction. I was watching Fixer-Upper, the episode when they develop their new restaurant, the Magnolia Table. What can Joanna Gaines NOT do? She was designing the floor mural, creating the flow of the space, picking out the perfect palette of colors, deciding on the table shapes, and creating special decorating touches that made it look ... like Joanna Gaines did it. And then. Then she started developing the menu. Aaaand creating the recipes. And deciding how to use kale and strawberry honey Continue Reading
Our Response
I hope we don’t miss it… In all the scheduled church services, the pageantry, the choir rehearsals, the Easter Sunday breakfast… I hope we don’t miss it. The opportunity to quietly make our hearts right with God. The colors, the emotions, the waiving palms. The darkness of Maundy Thursday, the deathly beating of the drum on Good Friday, and the Alleluia celebrations on Sunday morning. I love what they mean and what they remind us of during this Holy Week. They draw me in and speak to my heart. But…At least for me… It’s easy Continue Reading
Let’s Have Some Fun!
It’s the weekend! So many errands… An endless to-do list… And the house…well, a bit of cleaning seems a necessity. Yeah. There’s stuff that needs to get done. And … How about this … Can we take just a few moments to just Sit. Or Play. Or Dance instead? Are you finding that it’s really easy to take life a bit too seriously during this “Ha-Ha- It’s-Not- Spring-Yet” month? Me too. Good grief. I’m so ready to just lighten up. Throw off the heavy coat. Box up the mukluks. And then cut the list of to-dos in half. Let’s do Continue Reading
Live Your Story Well
Wouldn’t it be cool if we each had a ghostwriter writing our life story? If all we had to do was wake up and follow the script that was written for us? The ideal day script filled with only happy scenes that tells us exactly what to do, where to go, what to wear, how to act, what to eat, who to see… you get the picture, right? But, nope. We write our own stories. We are the playwright, producer, stagehand, director, costume designer, and lead character in the story we write each day. (I think “costume designer” is the role that Continue Reading
Jesus Sees, Feels, and Meets Your Needs
You see a small child sitting in the middle of the Target aisle. Hunched in a ball, his knees at his chin, his little fists are rubbing his teary eyes. He’s lost. You can feel how scared his heart is. You protectively kneel next to him, one arm on his shoulder, while someone sends a message out on the PA system. The woman in front of you in the check-out line looks like she hasn’t slept in days. You see her tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks. The child sitting in her cart doesn’t stop crying. And then the clerk says she is Continue Reading
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