Blog
Controlling or Trusting?
I'm a fixer, a get it done girl, an advanced planner and someone who likes to think she has some control over situations and circumstances. As I prepare to share messages about Ruth, Tamar and Miriam, I've been juggling thoughts as I've been reading, highlighting and...
Imagine we were having a conversation and I said, “It’s a new year and it still feels like December.” I’m guessing you would say something like, “I get it. It’s okay if it doesn’t feel new yet. There’s no right or wrong way to feel about a new year.” I might say, “My...
In the Dark and Unknown Mary Sang
Even with all the hustle and bustle, my heart longs to sit in the glow of the fire light, and think about the journey Mary took to bring the Light into this dark world. In a situation most would crumble and cry, scripture tells us that Mary sang. She didn't sing...
Humbled, Again
Can I be honest? I found myself more than irritated with the "customer service" rep on the other end of the phone. I thought my request was simple enough, but I ended up with a bigger mess. Sadly, my irritation was obvious, and I was more direct than needed with the...
Why Age and Grace go Together
In my teens I thought thirty somethings were over-the-hill, ancient people. Then when I turned 30, it felt like a light clicked on and I understood life better. After all, I was the oldest I had ever been. My husband and I carried this phrase into parenting. We used...
How to Change the Inner Should Soundtrack
Do you ever get a song stuck in your head and you just can't make it go away? It plays over and over and over again. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There's a track that plays in my mind, much like a familiar tune, on repeat. But this track isn’t a happy dance tune, it’s rather melancholy,...
The Right Shoes for the Job
I love my yellow boots. Although they are perfect for mucking through garden mud and planting pansies, they could hardly be called the “right shoe” for a day at the office or a night out when I need a more polished look. Understanding the "right shoe for the job" has...
When Real Life isn’t Like a Fairy Tale
Once upon a time there was a mom with three young kids who didn't know how to ask for help. Even when her legs and joints stopped working, as the pain of Valley Fever attacked her body, she put on the "I'm okay" mask and tried to carry on with life. However, in...
For someone who wants to be heard, I am a terrible listener at times. I'm determined to make a change in this behavior, so I started looking through my wisdom book (the Bible) for the word listen or hear. I discovered authors often paired listen with “they did not”!...
Why Stuck Sheep Need Saving
When was the last time you were out in a field in the middle of the night and the heavens opened with angels singing? Me either! It's no coincidence that of all the characters included in the Christmas narrative, shepherds received a center stage moment. I don't have...
How Do You Ignite the Wonder Inside?
I remember when my husband and I first moved to Portland, Oregon: Lush evergreens flanked our drive; the Cascade mountains, covered in snow, surprised us at every gap in the forest and two large rivers made its bridge city nick name obvious. I remember asking him if...
How are Your Survival Skills?
I don't have excellent survival skills. Don't misunderstand, I have my emergency food, water, flashlights, and batteries ready, but true compass use, as in my only option of finding-my-way from point A to point B, is an unfamiliar skill. My GPS and I are good friends....
Do You Long for the Comfort of Home?
STABLE - Christ is Our Home The stable wasn’t their home. How helpless Joseph must have felt as his young wife, Mary, labored in the straw with cattle nearby. I'm sure Mary longed for familiar sights and comforting smells as she brought God incarnate, the prophesied...
A Season for Everything
Seasons change. Suitcases packed, sitting by the door, and ready for the car. Intimidating thoughts creep into my mind as the last bag gets zipped shut: "What am I forgetting?" "Have I taught her enough?" Much less "When will we see each other again?" The frantic...
Don’t hesitate to knock
I fall into the category of people who find it hard to ask for help, advice, input or feedback. My short list: pride, shame, fear or rejection for lack of perfection. I get so focused on what I can to do to "fix" my current situation that I loose sight of the One who...
How Patterns of Growth and Gentle Pruning Win
Like a beaver out to win a logging competition, I attacked my shrubs with a vengeance. My tool of choice, a Hedge trimmer. The two-foot bar of steel teeth whirring back and forth, open cut, open cut; devouring anything caught between the sharp blades, making quick...
Celebrated and Messy – that’s Mothers Day
Celebrated days are messy middle days–joy for one, heartache for another. Looking for the right words to express both-and. Deep love and appreciation. Humbled by grace and hardened by grief. Mixed Feelings. Raw emotions. Loss. Longing. Joy and thanksgiving. Empty in...
How to Survive the Seasonal Shift of Friendship
I didn't know “seasonal'' could describe friendship or that not all friendships last a lifetime. In my mid-twenties & struggling to understand recent friendship shifts, I observed my mother, a time-tested military wife. She had moved many times, and didn't have...
I Am Mary. I Am Barabbas. He Loves Me Still.
It was early–the sun wasn’t up. But I was ready. Styled like a first century woman, I wore a long pull over dress tied with a fabric sash, sandals and a long head covering. The retreat location, off the coast of California, resembled the Mediterranean hills...
Need to remember more? Repetition is the answer.
I sat at my new desk and the first thing he said to me was, "Take out a pen and paper. I want to see that you are taking notes. This is how I want you to do the following tasks." Intimidating? You bet. Fear of forgetting?...