Now that we’re older (and hopefully wiser), let’s reset our view. God’s Word is a great place to start, as the Bible is full of inspiration and instructions to keep our focus on “things above”. Here are six ways the Bible reminds us to look up–to find joy and hope–regardless of our age.
Read MoreMom’s heart of love pulled us in. As her memory and skills faded, as grief over the loss of Dad enveloped her, and as her body failed her, she never focused on herself or her suffering. Instead, she brought us together. We came to care for her, to protect her, and to love on her, as she had always done for us.
Read More…I poured out my own servant-love on my children. It was hard work and though I complained and often grew tired, fully giving of myself had its own rewards. I watched as my children grew, learned, and became less dependent on me.
Then the tables turned. As my children needed less of me, my parents needed more.
Read MoreJust as we begin each new year with goals and resolutions, it’s transformative to end an old year well; to reflect on what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown. We don’t always see blessings in the midst of challenges, but events become clearer as we look back.
As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20.
Read MoreThis is day four of my time in isolation. Day six since the onset of symptoms.
It was a matter of time. No matter how careful I was in wearing my mask and social distancing, I had seen the virus work its way into the lives of friends and family. It was relentless in finding any small opening in which to infect another unsuspecting soul.
Read MoreThe oak cross between the windows stood out against the wide green cloth behind it. The communion table, also draped in the green cloth of “Ordinary Time,” seemed anything but ordinary to me, as I recalled walking up to that table last March…
Read MoreYou know how it seemed like everyone was choosing a “Word for 2020” when January rolled around? Is it too late to jump on that bandwagon?
It may be cheating for me to pick my word of the year when the year is two-thirds over, but hey, I still have four months to make it my focus. And maybe I’ll carry it over to 2021, in which case I’m four months early! So I’m going for it.
Without further ado…
Read MoreEven though the tears have mostly dried up, at times the sadness envelops me and I feel that dull ache of emptiness. I often remember the mountaintop days of February 2020, and I’m astounded at how much I took for granted.
Read MoreOn their wedding day, Mom and Dad, like most young couples at the altar, made promises to each other. They committed to being faithful; to love each other “in sickness and in health…’til death us do part.”
They kept those promises for 64 years.
Read MoreWhen it’s all over, I want to remember how strange, different, and in many ways how beautiful, life was in 2020.
Read MoreOnce again, I find myself searching for the light. As a writer, I feel called to shed light and hope on situations that confound. But what should I do when I feel confounded myself?
As a person born into White privilege and with limited exposure to racial diversity, I find myself wanting to do something, but asking, “What? What can I do?”
Read MoreI wonder what good stuff I'm missing when I’m not paying attention.
During this unprecedented pandemic, we would all do well to pay attention to the good stuff. To put our devices and media and entertainments away and listen. To place productivity on pause and pray. To lay our anxieties and fears aside and practice mindfulness instead.
There is good stuff happening right now.
Read MoreToday, the 26th of March, was the day we would have boarded a plane for our dream vacation to Ireland and Scotland.
Obviously, that is not happening.
Just three weeks ago, our youngest daughter was studying abroad in Ireland and my husband and I were planning a grand trip to visit her. I busily mapped out our itinerary and made hotel and Airbnb reservations.
Then came the rumblings of a pandemic.
Read MoreWhether our days are too slow or too fast, too empty or too scary, the change has been sudden and shocking. And more than a little unsettling.
How do we adapt when the tempo of our lives has changed so drastically? When the mood has gone from happy and buoyant to melancholy and ominous?
I don’t have the answers.
But I have noticed in difficult times, people turn to music.
Read MoreEven in our monochromatic weekdays, I believe we can find golden rays of light gleaming down on us. And when darker clouds roll in–depression and sadness, broken relationships, unfulfilling jobs or difficulties at work, sickness and death, news of gun violence, natural disasters, and deadly viruses–we have all the more reason to look toward the Light.
Read MoreI have a “November” binder at work. It’s full of speech and language activities with an autumn and Thanksgiving theme. This time of year we always read “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie.”…And we always play: “Would you rather?”
Read MoreWhen it comes to empty-nesting, I don’t consider it an either/or question. My glass is both half-empty AND half-full. And looking back, my whole parenting journey has been balancing the emptiness with the fullness.
Read MoreTwo years ago my husband crushed his elbow in a biking accident. He was disappointed to miss out on what had become an annual tradition for us…the Michiana Ride for Hospice. While Tom, arm in sling, sat at the registration table, our son Seth took his place so I wouldn’t have to ride alone. (Truth be told, he was riding for the free beer at the after-party!)
Seth and I had a great time bonding through biking.
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