Get Out of Your Way

Two weeks.  In light of eternity, that’s nothing but a blip on the radar screen of our life. Yet in the midst of that timeframe, it can feel like a life sentence. I’m kidding (somewhat).  We are nearing the end of a two week quarantine my daughter was forced to take.  Let me amend that.  …

Let It Go

Having three granddaughters, it’s no wonder I’m subjected ad nauseam to the well-known hit “Let It Go” from the movie Frozen.  Good song, for sure.  But when you’ve heard it a thousand times, well, it starts to sound more like nails on a chalkboard.  https://media.giphy.com/media/kGX3WmRxZ9HUs/giphy.gif Speaking of granddaughters…last weekend my patience (whatever was left of …

Walking Out Forgiveness

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” - Lewis B. Smedes It’s probably no surprise that in my journey toward living more intentionally, this would include learning how to walk in forgiveness.  Walk, as in…it’s a process and not an occurrence. Walk, as in…it takes steps to …

Living With Intention

Recently I took some time off—the first weeklong vacation I’ve had in more than a year.  There were a couple of reasons for it taking this long to use some of my paid time off.  One, I had no one to share it with and two, I had no extra money for anything fun. My …

Finding the Good In ALL Things

When you find yourself no longer with your life partner, in the midst of a pandemic, working from home…let’s just say you have a lot of alone time on your hands.  Time to self-reflect, reevaluate life, and discover what matters most. The journey it’s taken me through has been with a lot of twists, turns, …

The Season of Drought

Here in the Midwest (like many other regions), we’ve been experiencing a drought.  In my attempts to keep the garden hydrated and alive, I’ve neglected the grass.  Which used to be green, but now resembles the color of hay.  It literally crunches under your feet. The prolonged lack of rain hasn’t been kind to not …

It Really Is Okay to Not Be Okay

“It’s okay to not be okay.” Most of us have probably heard the aforementioned quote.  Although the month of May is drawing to a close, I don’t want to leave out the importance of addressing how this is also Mental Health Awareness Month. While there’s a lot less stigma surrounding the issue in general—the church …

When You Don’t Know What to Do

This past week I attempted to put together a gazebo, that came with substandard instructions.  No written directions. Just illustrations and numbers that seemed fit for an engineer—not a woman who, for most of her life, relied on a man to do these types of things. https://media.giphy.com/media/4ZvxPywN6FB0BKIrmA/giphy-downsized.gif I managed to put together the frame; but …

God’s Light

This morning I decided to take a walk down by Lake Michigan. Lately my mind has been in overdrive concerning personal matters and the events unfolding in this world. I find God's artwork to be comforting and reassuring. As I looked at the rocks, I thought about the big obstacles that sometimes stand in our …

Honor Your Mother?

Honor: to regard with great respect. One of my favorite authors is Debbie Alsdorf.  I love the way she digs deep into the scriptures.  Yet there’s one book I’m not ready to read.  The title speaks for itself: “It’s Momplicated: Hope and Healing for Imperfect Daughters of Imperfect Mothers.” Reading a free sample from this …

Why God?

It’s surreal to me that in the past month and a half, I’ve experienced medical emergencies with two of my adult children. Each incident being blood-related issues that seemed to come out of nowhere. Both stark reminders of how life is in the blood. My daughter recently posted a video on Facebook regarding her experience …

Making a Difference

Last week I shared how my bleeding heart had found a way to take the focus off self and onto others.  While it’s not always easy to do when we’re in the midst of personal pain, it really is one of the best ways to move forward.  With less attention being paid to your own …