Hearts in Service

In typical Thanksgiving fashion, I spent two days in the kitchen cooking and baking and it took only about 30 minutes to eat it. There are times when I think it would just be easier to go out to eat. That way my back wouldn't ache, my hands wouldn't be shriveled from being in dish water and it would probably be cheaper in the long run.  I never look good in pictures because I've been standing over a hot stove for hours. I got the usual "why do you need to take a picture?" groans, but as I told my family yesterday these photos are memories.  Preparing a feast takes a lot of work. But I do enjoy making the holidays special for my family. It is a challenge to drive the hour to pick up the in-laws. It's a little scary to maneuver them in and out of the house when they are both pretty wobbly. We listen to the same stories over and over from my mother-in-law who has Alzheimer's. And we deal with some pretty sloppy eating from my father-in-law who has dexterity i...

On Thursday afternoon, just as Dan and I were getting ready to leave for a meeting, we received a phone call from our son. He was sitting on the side of the road with a blown engine in his car. The problem is he lives 3 1/2 hours away. After back and forth phone calls he called a tow truck and got it towed to a garage. He ended up renting a car and headed here for the holiday. We've been working with him to figure out his next steps because he still owes thousands of dollars on the car which will also take a significant amount to replace the engine. His rent is going up in the new year. His seasonal job ended and he is trying to find something else, but needs a car for that to happen. His car still has not been looked at by the mechanic. It is all more than a little overwhelming. Long story short, we extended an invitation for him to live here temporarily so he can get out from under all of this. It would save him money on expensive rent and utilities.  The timing was right since h...

One of the cookbooks on my bookshelf is called, "Back to the Table" by Art Smith. It is a cookbook, but he has so many interesting insights on almost every page that it reads like a book.  I wanted to share a few interesting tidbits with you as we are entering into Thanksgiving week. Many of us will be busy in our kitchens and as you cook and bake for your family, reflect on these quotes. "We should all think about returning to the sanctity of the table, where we can rebuild our families, heal spiritually and physically, and reconnect with those we love. The table is a familiar, uncomplicated, and friendly place where we can celebrate family, friends, food, and life's many blessings." "While cooking for families, I was constantly reminded that we are all human, capable of making mistakes, of hurting those we love, and, most of all, capable of forgiveness. I see this over and over again at the table. The act of cooking for others, making dishes they especial...

Psalm 119:44-45 ~ I will always obey Your instruction, forever and ever. I will walk freely in an open place (spacious place) because I seek Your precepts. Calmness and clarity. Freedom. Room to breathe. Room to hear. Peace. These words all describe how I feel when I slow down and make space for the Lord to speak to me. I have a tendency to cram every moment of my life with activity and I'm recognizing the need to develop a slow-down pace so that I can actually have room to listen to what the Lord is trying to say.  One of those ways I do that is by regularly getting out in nature and walking. Many times my walk starts out with anxious thoughts buzzing in my head. I feel tense and my mind crowded with anxiousness. Yet, as I walk and pray I begin to hear the Lord speak. I feel a spaciousness open up in my thoughts as the anxiety clears out. I gain clarity over situations. I feel the tenseness leave my body as I allow the Lord to put His healing words in my spirit....

Another new week is here with it's own struggles and blessings. My desire is to keep moving forward and trusting the Lord to give me what I need for that day. My tendency, as I'm sure many struggle with, is to get anxious about the future or what's coming next. Worry is like a spinning wheel, stuck in the mud. It keeps me from going anywhere but spits up a bunch of mud and dirt, and makes the rut of anxiety go even deeper. I was having my quiet time this morning and opened my bible to the passage in Mark 11:22-24. Jesus replied to them, 'Have faith in God. I assure you: If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, all the things you pray and ask for—believe that you have received them, and you will have them. We all have different mountains in front of us that feel daunting and it seems like they will never crumble. My ...

About a week ago I noticed that the amount of comments on my blog had increased. But they all had one thing in common. They all generated from readers in India and they all had links to different businesses.  Here's the thing. They were so well written, so beautifully encouraging and engaging with what I had posted. But I realized very quickly that they were more than likely generated by AI and they were spam. There were key phrases and words too similar in the 40 or so comments to be written by actual people. So I deleted them all as I only want to interact with real people who are reading my blog. And I also turned on comment moderation.  So if you leave me a comment, I will be able to read it before I post it. For my regular readers and commenters, I apologize. I had left the moderation off for years because it hadn't been an issue. However, now that we are in a world of AI and bots and all kinds of spammers, moderation is key! 

John 3:30-36 ~ He must increase, but I must decrease.” The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms. The One who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony. The one who has accepted His testimony has affirmed that God is true. For God sent Him, and He speaks God’s words, since He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands.  The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him. Math is not my strong suit and I always struggled with it in school. It seems as if I struggle with it in life as well. As I opened this passage of John and read it this morning, I see that it's a math equation.  Me < Jesus = increased Spirit, increased work of God in me and eternal life with no limit And yet, the ...

I've been in a battle the past few days as I've wrestled with my thoughts about a business opportunity that was dropped in my lap. I received a random email from a local shop, asking if I would like to put my sewing items in their store. Of course, as I so often do, I got all excited and started to plunge into the water.  But as I tossed and turned last night with restless thoughts, I realized that I was being distracted once again. I get annoyed with how easily I get pulled off course. As I was reading this morning, the above passage of scripture jumped off the page. This year I felt led to focus on staying connected - to the Lord, to others and to the purpose God has for me. And as I've done that different doors have opened - doors in speaking and writing, doors in mentoring other women, doors in leadership. And yet, I get frustrated at how easily I am tempted to go back to the comfortable and familiar.  This Psalm is a rich one and a few verses later it says, "But y...

At the very beginning of October both of my in-laws lost their drivers licenses. While this was a good thing, and necessary to keep other drivers and themselves safe, it has added a level of complication to our lives. They still have multiple doctors appointments, need to grocery shop, do banking, etc.  As I was driving back from a weekend conference where I had been speaking about "Connecting", I clearly felt that I needed to do a better job of connecting with my mother and father-in-law. I needed to walk my talk. On the drive home I decided that I was going to take one or two days a week driving the hour to their house and help out.  I started out with a feeling of dread and not really wanting to do it. My mother-in-law has Alzheimer's and every conversation is on a loop with the same stories recycled over and over in the course of a few minutes. My father-in-law is challenging and never stops talking and is very hyper. I love them dearly, but they are exhausting. Howev...

  I wrote this blog post back in 2019 and I revisited it this morning. It's been interesting to see how the Lord has worked in my life since writing it.  Isaiah 43:16-21 (HCSB) ~ This is what the Lord says— who makes a way in the sea, and a path through surging waters, who brings out the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty one together (they lie down, they do not rise again; they are extinguished, quenched like a wick )— “Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. The animals of the field will honor Me, jackals and ostriches, because I provide water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people. The people I formed for Myself ' will declare My praise. I've had the strange sense the past few months that God i...

I love to sew and have sewn for years, both for pleasure and for business. As I have honed my craft, I have learned that I dislike sewing quilts. They are too time-consuming for my personality. However, I appreciate the beauty in little bits of cloth intricately sewn together. It especially amazes me when I see a quilt that is entirely hand-stitched. I can appreciate how much time is involved in piecing together some of the more intricate patterns.  Quilts also remind me of how the church should operate. The church is made up of a patchwork of people, sewn together into a beautiful quilt that is the body of Christ.  Each person has a different spiritual gift, personality, and talent that while by itself can be useful, but when perfectly pieced together with the rest of the body becomes something spectacular. Some have been given gifts in teaching or prophecy. Others are gifted in administration and still others have gifts in prayer. Some are encouragers and others love to serv...