Holding True Hope
I write a lot about hope. I suppose it’s because I’m a huge believer in hope. As a former therapist and now as a life coach helping women deal with loss and grief, I know how shattering life can be and the necessity for holding onto hope. I think about hope this morning, when I […]
In the Wake of the Florida Tragedy and Trauma: Emotion, Passion, Hope, and our Blessed Assurance
Todd and I were vacationing in Florida on Valentine’s Day when we received a call from our youngest, turning twenty in two months, back home in Wisconsin. “Mom, there’s been another school shooting in Florida.” “What? When?” I asked both one-word questions in nervous shock. “It just happened. It’s still going on. Turn on the […]
What Will I Give Up For Lent?
Lent. Time for sacrificing something in our march to the cross of Good Friday, to the tomb emptied of death Easter Sunday. What will I give up this year? I think it’s high time I give up myself. As in all of me. As in my hopes and dreams. As in my […]
Good Fruit
You prepare a table before me . . Psalm 23:5 I perched in a corner of our family room, waiting for my favorite bird. The one I set the table for each spring, hoping he will accept my invitation and come. By Mother’s Day, I’m slicing oranges and scooping grape jelly twice daily setting […]
10,000 Steps
I read it in a magazine. 10,000 steps is the recommended daily dosage for health. So I pull on my fleece-lined tights, tie my shoes, shove most of my curls under the hood of my waterproof jacket, and head out the front door. It’s a gray and drizzly December morning. When snow ought to be […]
When Joy and Sorrow Hold Hands
Saturday night. 8 PM. The day before Sunday, the Sabbath—the day of rest. He comes flying up the stairs to find me sitting in the library reading Isaiah, Chapter 40: Comfort, comfort my people, says your God . . . He is our ever-present help in times of danger. Our comfort in sorrow. “Oreo’s dead.” […]
What 9/11 Has to Teach Us All
I picked up the phone. My brother was calling from Munich, Germany where he lived and worked. There was no “hello” . . . “Turn on your TV right now! A jet just crashed into the World Trade Center!” I ran into the family room from the kitchen where I was homeschooling our kids and grabbed the […]
When Evil Voices Roar and Meet Silence
Here we are at the end of a week. Was yours pretty? Sometimes things aren’t pretty. Sometimes things are downright ugly. The parts of us that want pretty may cause us to turn our faces, glance the other way, hope it all goes away. Or maybe we hope it will all just get fixed—by someone […]
Contrasts
I love vintage. And I love modern. Men and women of all ages and all eras speak wisdom of God. Words of others inspire me to keep walking, step-by-step, with Jesus. I depend on others’ writings to encourage me, comfort me, teach me, and fortify me. Of course, all wisdom comes from God and only […]
Running on Empty?
Today is the day for emptying. I’ll give you the pretty and spare you the other. Let’s just say that the “prep process” has begun for my procedure early tomorrow—the one I’ve been avoiding for FIVE YEARS. Since we’ve blown through our insurance deductible for the year, we’re racing to the finish, scheduling as many […]
Anxiety and Joy: How to Live with Contrasts
What a week! What a life! I descend the stairs of our home, completely dark still at 5:45 AM except for a nightlight glowing by the front door. I click it off. I can’t bear to turn on the lights ‘til I get to the kitchen. Then, I go from one extreme to the other. […]
Harvest Blessings
The farm draws boys. Teenage boys, specifically. There are all those cut trails meandering through wildflower prairie and around cattail ponds, perfect for dirt bikes and ATVs and airsoft gun wars. They come donning their pants, vests, and hats—all in camo—thinking they look oh, so cool. And they do dumb things—which left one, our son, […]