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 Words and Calvary Love
Do you find this to be true too? It is almost impossible to refrain from complaining when I am doing burpees. Or any other form of exercise that requires me to jump up and down, do a push-up, and shoot my legs back, all within three seconds. When I worked out with my friend Jody at the Y, I typically made sure she knew how I felt about burpees and any other exercises that were hard work. Ugh! Nooo. I can’t! That many more? Whine, whine, whine, and then we’d laugh. But I always explained to her, “I’m not complaining, just informing.” Continue Reading
Getting to Know More About You
The notes capture the moment that was going to change my heart and my forever. They're the words I scribbled on a scrap of paper during my first phone conversation with Steve on July 18, 1989. I sat on the couch in the apartment I shared with my sister, Lori, with the big phone on the floor next to me. Steve told me about himself - his love for philosophy (existentialism and Kierkegaard - I had no idea what he was talking about); he was reading The Russia House (I went out and bought a copy that night); he loved baseball (I knew my Continue Reading
Ending My 3D Bus Ride
Oh, yes. I love the promises that tell us that life will be good—that there is hope—and that a joy-filled life can be ours. Verses from the Good Book like John 10:10 lift my spirits and refresh my soul … "...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." And then... Whaaat? Hold the phone! Really? Are you sure? I don't think so! That can't be right. My messy reality is riding a different bus than the one traveling on full life avenue! Discouragement. Disappointment. Discontentment. I'm on the 3D bus that isn't Continue Reading
Stop the Struggles and Sinking
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 low-hanging black clouds would reach down and wrap us in darkness. The wind tipped our sailboat onto its side. The icy rain came at us sideways; it felt like shards of glass on our faces. Once we got the sails down, the captain yelled, “Just hang on!” You can bet we did. I’ve never been in a storm on the water like that since. (Actually, I’ve never Continue Reading
Why Wait Until Tomorrow?
This has got to be the most extreme case of procrastination ever recorded. I mean, really. The “Plague of the Frogs” story in the Bible is almost too much to comprehend (Exodus 8). Check this out… Pharaoh is the new king of Egypt, and he really does not care for God’s people, the Israelites. He’s worried about the growing size of their group and potential strength. So, he “put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor.” Then Moses is born. (And if you haven’t read this guy’s story in a while, it’s a fantastic read. Continue Reading
Planks for the Muddy Messes
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.” 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 even muddier. And Continue Reading