Hearts in Service

It's been a weird sort of summer and hard to believe that we will be starting August this week. I think some of the reason for the weirdness is just the focus I've had on the bridal shower and now the wedding preps will be starting up soon. However, this week we are on vacation and I'm determined just to make it a fun activity-filled kind of week. It's a staycation, but we live in such a beautiful area filled with hiking trails, museums and attractions all within an hour of us so that is the plan. Today we are off on a hike and I'm looking forward to that. It's a great combination of free fun, exercise and beauty, as well as time away with my husband.  As I look back over the past week I am thankful for many things. 💓 Time with friends who are missionaries in the Dominican Republic. 💓 Testing out a new recipe at a church event. These are cream cheese swirled brownies and no, not on my eating plan! However, everyone seemed to like them. 💓 Signs of late summer....

My head is spinning a bit today after a roller coaster ride of emotions the past few days. My uncle passed away from cancer which triggered memories of my mother's own passing. My heart goes out to his daughters and granddaughter. Multiple friends seem to be getting hit from all sides too. It seems as if every email or text message I opened was another hard situation. Circumstances, emotions, and busyness all threaten to derail me at times, but when I am tempted to complain, whine, lament or give in to fear, I am reminded of these three principles taken out of Romans 12.  They help me to keep an even keel no matter what I'm facing. Romans 12:12 (HCSB) ~ Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. Rejoice in hope - When I feel hopeful, the fear calms.  I feel upbeat and positive and thankful.  I give thanks to God for the hope I have.  It's that spark that keeps me going and I am very grateful that for the most part I can see God's hand on dif...

I overslept this morning and am moving slowly, but am allowing myself the space to do that. It was such a busy weekend and I kind of feel like I was run over by a truck. I hosted Emily's bridal shower and it turned out lovely. I certainly underestimated how much work goes into planning and implementing it and in just six short weeks we will be doing the same level of activity for her wedding. Here are just a few pictures of the day. The only negative was the lighting in the room was terrible so they all came out on the darker side. We had a fun activity where everyone had to paint a picture of Ryan from memory. It produced some hilarious results. On Mondays I generally look back over the previous week and reflect on the many blessings. 💓I'm thankful we got to shower Emily with love this weekend.  💓 I'm thankful for the beautiful weather we had this weekend. 💓 Nathan and Dan helped tremendously by lugging things back and forth from the house to the church. I am thankful f...

It's been a busy couple of months and I'm trying to make sure I stay present so I can enjoy each moment. It's easy to race through my days with the sole goal of checking things off my to-do list, but I want to actually enjoy the process as well. My daughter's bridal shower is next Saturday and there has been lots to do to get ready for that. I'm getting very excited! I've also been practicing my cupcake decorating so friends and family have been my taste testers since I don't want to eat sweets. I've been busy crafting. Then there has been the normal every day things happening. Zoom meetings. Love these ladies from countries around the world as we serve the women in our denomination. Working on speaking engagements, church ministry and district ministry. Making meals. Cleaning the house and prepping herbs from my garden. Sitting through meetings with my son's care team that provide him with services that he needs. Getting out to exercise and enjoy na...

I found myself reacting badly to a conversation this week and I thought, "What in the world is wrong with you, Terri?" I couldn't figure out why I was feeling so sensitive and prickly. I could feel the dysregulation in my spirit and I knew these conversations were triggering some deep-seated, multi-layered emotions that had nothing to do with what was actually being said.  But as I did some self-reflection and tried to figure out what was causing the internal turmoil, I realized what it was. It had nothing to do with the comments themselves which really weren't given in a mean-spirited way. The comments were creating a knee-jerk response within me based on my past experiences.  I was emotionally transported back to my growing up years where I never fit in, didn't feel like I belonged, was the last picked for every single sporting event and felt rejected by many of the adults in my life. As these conversations triggered some buried memories and emotions I found mys...

I arrived home yesterday afternoon after being away all weekend. I had  a speaking engagement as well as hosting a district event for women and speaking there. Between all the driving, speaking, visiting and organizing, it caught up with me last night and I fell fast asleep at 7 p.m. and woke up at 5:15 this morning. I was tired! It was such a wonderful weekend and my heart was full as I saw His word encourage others. I'm thankful for the ministry opportunities that the Lord gives me. We are in a new month and the push is beginning for wedding preparations. I am hosting Emily's bridal shower, along with her maid-of-honor, on July 20th and then her wedding is August 31st.  While there are a lot of moving pieces, it's fun to prepare. I love event-planning and a wedding is event-planning on steroids!  Of course, I still have district and church things to focus on as well so I'm making a plan and working it. I'm also working ahead on many things as much as possible. One...