Hearts in Service

I love when the Lord sends me a written reminder of how He is working in my life. This morning it was through Psalm 102 which is really a Psalm of lament.  I've spiraled down the road of lamenting in the past two weeks. And while each of the things I'm stressing about on their own are not the end of the world, collectively they feel that way.  We have aging and frail parents who require a lot of time and attention. Our washing machine died, our hot water heater is banging (a sign of sediment build-up). This week we got hit with a huge tax bill adding up to many thousands of dollars. We have a wedding coming up which requires resources. Our car is on it's way to the junk heap. I felt really de-valued by a situation beyond my control. And a family member is going through a crisis. All of these things together has caused me to have knots in my stomach and to be honest, to say, "What's the point?" So as I was reading in Psalm 102 and praying this morning, I came a...

February comes to a close this week and Palm Sunday and Easter are early this year so I have to switch gears and wrap my head around the fact that it's coming soon. The spring months are busy for me as I put together and prepare for a district-wide women's retreat at the end of April.  This year an extra level of busyness was added because our church's missions conference is at the beginning of April and we are hosting the International Worker in our home. Our district prayer conference for official workers in our district is the beginning of May, in  early June I have a leadership conference and at the end of June into early July I have an event to prepare for our district family camp.  Add a bridal shower in July and wedding preparations for an August wedding to that mix and it makes for a busy 6 months.  How in the world can I get all this done? By staying organized and following the old adage, "How do you eat an elephant?" "One bite at a time." I...

I've been doing a lot of introspective thinking lately and one of the things I've been considering is my work-play balance.  My entire adult life has been spent in full-time ministry and I'm not quite sure what my life would look like without that. I've always been a bit of a workaholic and really struggle with slowing down and taking time for myself without feeling incredibly guilty. When I do take the time out to do what I enjoy, I feel quite unproductive and as if I should have been working. So that bears the question, "When I do have more time for the simple pleasures in the future, will I actually enjoy them?"  I want to say, yes, but I'm not sure. And even if I set aside the pleasures I want to do for my to-do list, the reality is that list will never be done. There is always something more to add to it. I can easily get swallowed up with work because work always expands into the time you have. This year as I focus on my word, "connect," on...

I'd love to say that I'm a joyful person, but the reality is I often walk around feeling as if I'm under a cloud. But I've been working hard the past few years to change my attitude. I want to learn to be joyful no matter what my circumstances are at the moment. And I know joyfulness isn't some happy state where I walk around with a smile plastered to my face and pretending all is right with the world. I think the type of joyfulness that the Bible is talking about has more to do with contentment and trust that God is walking with me no matter what I struggle with on a daily basis. This morning as I was reading and praying, I kept coming across the word "joy."  Psalm 86:4 ~ Bring joy to your servant's life because I appeal to you, Lord. Psalm 87:7 ~ Singers and dancers alike will say, "My whole source of joy is in you." Psalm 89:9 ~ North and south—you created them. Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at your name. Psalm 89:15-16 ~ Happy are the pe...

  Despite the unexpected busyness and interruptions, I have been plugging away at my weight loss as well as writing the plant-based, whole food cookbook. Recipe testing fell by the wayside the past two weeks, but I've still gotten a good chunk of the book done. I also got on the scale this morning for another one pound loss which makes a total of 61 lbs. since I started this journey back in July. It's second nature at this point and I have so much more energy and feel healthy. The only negative is that because I've lost so much weight I'm seeing some sagging, crepe-papery skin happening. Yuck. Some of that is age and I need to figure out some toning exercises. It's definitely a life-style change, but a positive one which I'm so thankful I started on. The pictures above are a small selection of meals I've eaten the past two months and many of those will be included in the book.  This will be a printable e-book as I find that will be the easiest and most cost ...

In 2024 I wanted to connect more. I wanted to connect to God, to others and to the purpose the Lord has for my life. I've been very intentional about it this year and so far it's been going well, but it hasn't been quite the way I envisioned it.  As I bent over the toilet to clean it at my in-law's house, the thought occurred to me that this wasn't what I meant when I came up with the word, "connected". I envisioned going out for coffee with friends, inviting people to the house and being more intentional in relationships. Scrubbing toilets, making multiple trips which are a two hour round trip drive and spending time listening to the same stories over and over were not quite what I meant when I told the Lord I wanted to be present in others' lives.  But God reminds me that connecting isn't just about doing the fun things in life. Sometimes when you are being intentional in relationships it may not look glamorous. It may be in quiet ways. Sometimes...

We live in a society that is enamored by the flashy and latest trends. The bigger the flash, the more we want to be part of it. We watched the Super Bowl last night and I reflected on how showy it has gotten compared to 20 years ago. And to be honest, we as a society are quite unimpressed by simplicity.  And yet, that is where true and lasting beauty is. It's in the quiet and unnoticed where God seems to work the most.  All my life I was told, "You can do whatever you set your mind to do." The message that was communicated to me growing up was to make something of myself. And as much as I don't think that affected me, if I'm honest, I can see how much it really did. I have an internal drive that is constantly striving for more. Dan and I have had some really good discussions about this recently. My husband is good for me in that he challenges some of my core misconceptions of what I think God may want for my life.   One of the things he brought up is perhaps God...

Winter in the northern hemisphere is a challenge and in particular, the months of January and February. This year has been especially difficult as the sun peeked out only one or two days the entire month of January. Gray days stretched on and on and it seemed as if the sun would never shine again. This past weekend was glorious. The sun came out and shone bright from sun-up to sun-down. Yesterday afternoon, despite still testing positive, I made my way to my favorite walking location so I could soak up the rays. Because it's fairly isolated I was able to safely get out without exposing anyone to my germs. On those days when the sun is shining I want to soak up as much of it as I can which will help me through those dark dreary days. I find this true in my spiritual life as well. When I daily come before the Lord and spend time with Him, soaking up His presence then it helps me through those times in my life when all is gray and stormy. As I read and pray I feel His peace flow throu...

  This past Saturday I went off to a conference with Dan. We got up at 4 a.m., traveled the 2 1/2 hours to get there, spent the day learning, but also talking, hugging and visiting with other friends from around the district. Then we arrived back home around 7:30 p.m. The next day I got up and skipped off to church where I hung out in the nursery, caring for the little ones while their parents worshipped upstairs. It was a great morning! We came home and that afternoon, we sat down to watch a football game (American football for my overseas readers). In the middle of the game, I suddenly started coughing. And by the next day, I was coughing, wheezing, had a fever and sore throat and had chills. I took a Covid test and tested positive. Ugh. I was more upset that I had spent the weekend around so many people. I never would have gone if I knew I was going to be sick, but unfortunately, the nature of the virus is you don't even know you have it until the symptoms start. I felt fine the...