Hearts in Service

A thought came crashing in on me this morning and I was reminded of a truth found in scripture that I sometimes forget. It's easy to slip into a self-centered mode of thinking and there are times when I spiral into a "poor me" attitude about many things in my life, including ministry. And there have been days when I really want to quit. The following verses have resounded within me lately. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 ~ "For Christ's love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for t hem and was raised. The reality is that my life is not about me. It's about Christ. As I get up each day everything that I do and every decision I make should have that truth in mind.  Dan and I both received a definite call upon our lives to full-time ministry. It wasn't a whim and it wasn't our own desire; it was a calling tha...

The past two weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions and a feeling of chaotic activity and to be honest, feels like it's been more like a month. My mother-in-law was in the hospital for a week, then released and we took her to an assisted living facility last Wednesday. On Saturday, we moved my father-in-law in with some of their furniture. On Sunday, my mother-in-law ended back in the hospital with a urinary tract infection that had gone unnoticed and untreated and she is now is septic. We aren't really sure if she is going to make it. Yesterday, she was more alert and drinking some water, but she's in pain and if they adjust her in the bed she is crying and in agony. She hasn't eaten in a few days and can't swallow pills without choking so has all the medication going through an IV. We've been making the hour-long trek to see her, deal with my father-in-law and things in their house. It's a lot to manage and I especially feel for Dan's sister who ...

Many I know are going through very difficult times at the moment. That also includes our family as we deal with Dan's parents and their health issues. There are days when we feel overwhelmed by it all and I know our friends feel the same way with their own situations.  At times, it is difficult to know how to pray other than, "Lord, please remove this problem!" And yet, when I look at the passage in Romans 8, I am thankful that we have the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us. Romans 8:26-27 ~ "In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should , but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings.  And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. " As I read that passage yesterday, the underlined parts spoke to me. Much of the time, I don't know what I need as I go through something and I certainly, don...

Today is Valentine's Day and a day to celebrate love. After 36 years of marriage, I realize that love is not the gushy romantic feelings that the movies make it out to be. Of course, it is like that in the beginning, when you are first dating. However, over time, it shifts and is more often represented in small actions.  As I was reflecting on how Dan and I show love to each other, as well as to our family and friends, I realized love has more to do with what goes unnoticed than what is noticed. Love is about showing up day after day and often, is doing the hard things. As I reflected on this, I realized I see love in action in so many ways each week. 💓 Love is my husband making sure he parks the car I'm going to use in the garage so that I don't have to slip on snow and ice in the morning when I'm leaving the house.   💓 Love is making meals that I know my family loves even though I don't eat those things. 💓 Love is my husband helping me by doing the dishes each ...

Life has gotten a bit chaotic over the past two weeks and I feel like so many of my blog posts are serious so I decided to make this one a bit of a rambling post.  I'd post some pictures of outdoors, but it's the same unending scenery, day after day. This has been the longest feeling winter since we moved here. I'm quite over it all and am longing for green grass and sunshine. But instead we have another winter advisory for tonight.  We've been making frequent trips to help with my in-laws. My mother-in-law will be moving directly to a memory care unit at an assisted living facility today. We are moving my father-in-law in on Saturday. It's hard for them both and I know today will not be pleasant as my mother-in-law will not understand and just wants to go home. Alzheimer's really stinks. In between all the trips, I was able to make my son his favorite birthday meal and his request of a pumpkin pie. Stephen turned 32 yesterday. We are also thankful that he was h...

Pounding, relentless waves. That's what life feels like at the moment. We get through one stressful crisis and then the next hits before we get back up on our feet. And because we are in  ministry, when others are getting hit by their own waves, we feel them too. To be honest, all of us who are part of the body of Christ hurt when another member of the body hurts. In the past week, our church family has experienced unexpected and jarring death, health crisis', job loss,  sickness, and stretching beyond human ability. The motherly part of my personality wants to make it all go away, but that is not possible. There are some things that Band-Aids and hugs won't help.  In the middle of this, Dan and I are also experiencing our own stress as we deal with frail and elderly parents. His mom was admitted to the the hospital with congestive heart failure and she is agitated. She has Alzheimer's and wants to go home so she keeps trying to leave. My father-in-law is agitated as we...

I added some Valentine Day touches this weekend and I was amazed at how cheery it made the house seem. We finally turned the calendar page and are in February. January felt like one of those months that just wouldn't end! We've had quite the winter here and still have a lot more to get through, but I'm thankful that the days are getting longer and we've actually had a few days with some sunshine.  It's been a week since I posted, but that is mostly because it was a very busy one. I had multiple meetings, a number of deadlines, I worked on the message that I gave yesterday, as well as my normal to-do's.  I am thankful for a bit of quieter week. So many of my days are filled up very quickly with ministry meetings. I decided that I need to do a better job of controlling my schedule and keeping them for the same days of the week. This way I can free up certain days to get things done around here, as well as for my personal business.  I wanted to revisit my monthly g...