How do I start this? I've not written a heart post since December. Because...well, 2016 has already been full. Full of intense moments. Since moment is my one-word for the year, I shouldn't be surprised. But I am surprised at the lesson I'm learning about my one-word. First our daughter Emma … [Read more...]
Update on Mike…
Mike is back in the hospital for the second time in 10 days- he had to have another surgery for infection in his spine, then they found a blood clot in his chest near the first picc line...there are several more things I could tell you that seem negative but let me tell you some positive things--- a … [Read more...]
Abide~My One-Word
Abide Such a calming word. I loved this word from the moment it drifted softly into my mind last October. Tucking it away in the file of possible choices for my One-Word of 2013, abide was always my front runner. Every time I thought of the word, I felt a bit of relief. From a spiritual … [Read more...]
Grace-Moments in dark times
(Photo Source: David Wagner) Last Wednesday I wrote about simple times in my life when I felt happiness. Grace-moments. For days after writing that post, I couldn't stop thinking about the times in my life that were the darkest. Months when I could barely breathe. Where were the grace-moments … [Read more...]
Grace Moments~the stuff life is made of
Today I was reading my friend Vicky's blog and she talked about her friend Jen who just "departed her earthly home, for her new heavenly home". I clicked over to Jen's blog with heavy heart and read back over some of her posts. In early May, Jen said she'd been thinking back through her life about … [Read more...]
He provides
I miss my mom every day. I miss being able to pick up the phone and know she'll answer. I long to ask her one hundred questions about aging and grown up children and sewing! I'm sad when I think that she never got to meet her great grandchildren, each one of them with qualities that would delight … [Read more...]
Time Flies…
Early morning, hours before sun-up, I sit quiet in the dark. The house is completely still. Cradling my coffee, an involuntary smile tugs at my lips while tears blur my vision. In my minds-eye, I replay the chaos from the night before. The blissful chaos. It's Sunday-Supper. And this Sunday, … [Read more...]
What If…
Yesterday I climbed out of bed trying to escape the worry that woke me before the alarm went off. There's not one specific thing I'm worried about ... the worries come from nowhere and everywhere, like a gang of bullies hiding in my head and throwing rocks. Making my way to the coffee pot, I heard … [Read more...]
Grace in Disguise
Praying through the names on my prayer list the other morning, I was overwhelmed with the needs... "Everyone I pray for has something weighing on them Father, pulling them under... so many burdens" I waited quiet, unable to whisper even one more prayer, the only sound in the house, a worship song … [Read more...]
Fighting Flames of Ungrace
Ungrace. That's what Phillip Yancey calls living outside of God's extravagant gift of love. I realized the other day that ungrace was burning nearly out of control in me. My Aunt Gail and I were chatting on the phone and she asked a simple question, "So, how are you?" "I'm feeling overwhelmed … [Read more...]
Keeping Watch
(source) In reading the gospel accounts of the last days of Jesus, the story of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane always stuns me. The time when the Lord needed his friends the most they let Him down. Matthew quotes Jesus: "My heart is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death..." (Matthew … [Read more...]
Overwhelmed by Grace
I'm fifty years old and have been messing up so consistently over the past five decades that I've gotten pretty good at recognizing "sin" in my life. I'm also fairly consistent with saying I'm sorry, like I said, I've had a lot of practice. So much practice that the process is almost a formula, It … [Read more...]
The Places Where Grace Is
"Lots of things would shatter my world, but "that's" not one of them..." I said this last year on two different occasions about the same thing. Can you see "it" coming? I was referring to someone's young, single daughter getting pregnant. Last month our baby, Emma, told us she was pregnant. … [Read more...]