Let's be Real
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Oh my Soul, It is Well!
It is well, it is well, with my soul. The story of this hymn is one of heartbreak, deep grief, and great loss. Mr. Spafford wrote these words while grieving the loss of four his daughters in a shipwreck. “Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is Well!” I’ve never known life outside of living with chronic illness, just a fact. Diagnosed at four months, but I am sure my parents would agree asthma and reflux were with me from the start! Another fact is that the words “heal” and “cure” have always been words I associate with Heaven, not earth. It is just one of the…
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Come Unto Me and Rest
I missed writing last week, but I’m back and have a story to share. If you are familiar with anxiety and/or panic attacks, then you will most likely be all too familiar with the story I am about to tell. If you are not, either personally or have witnessed someone close to you, then let this be a learning post. Let me set the scene: I am sitting at a restaurant with my family, which rarely happens these days due to getting used to take out. I am overjoyed that my mom, dad, brother, sister in law, niece and nephew are all at one table and sharing a meal. It’s…
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High Five for the Mundane!
Give people high fives for getting out of bed. Being a person is hard sometimes. Kid President Getting out of bed. Being human. For some people that’s it. They have no second thought, no hesitation, no shaking. They are up and going with seemingly no effort. For some, getting out of bed and facing being a human, in a human body, in a human world, takes great effort. There are lots of reasons and circumstances – health, relationships, home environment, financial, loss, etc. I tend to have more days that require great effort. It’s how I am wired, woven together, and it’s my story. Health, loss, and life events have…
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Broken Pieces
Let’s start today’s post with some lyrics: " Look at all the broken pieces all around me places deep inside my soul I don't know what's real, can't help the way I'm feeling All I know is I'm alone. I need a rescue, I need a reckoning From all the things I've done and have been don't to me I need a revival, I need recovery I need to know that there's an answer for what's missing cause something's missing Turn up all the music, something to amuse me silence is a lonely friend if you really knew me, could you really love me save me from this loneliness It…
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Miss Anna…
“The soul is healed by being with children.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky The above quote could very easily be my life “phrase.” Whether it’s been a good day, hard day, sick day, tiring day… bring a child into the picture and my whole world is made brand new! I have been having these days that feel like whirlwinds – you know those days that you wake up thinking, maybe just maybe I can get these few things done today, but as soon as your feet hit the ground, its like a tidal wave hits you, and everything you thought could happen is now swept out to sea, and you are flipping…
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Highs, Lows, and the Somewhere In Between
“‘Dear Pastor, Please say in your sermon that Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Peterson.’ Sincerely, Pete, Age 9” (Dear Pastor, by Bill Adler) I love kids! They get to the point, say what they mean, and ask questions. They have a limited knowledge, the things they do know all depends on who is active in their lives, and what is allowed/accepted by those in their lives. As infants they come to us as fragile delicacies to care for, to help mold, and to train and build up into children, teens, young adults. So that they may thrive as adults. The letter to this…
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Doesn’t Anybody Know?
A friend shared this song with me not long after Jesus scooped Lucy up into His arms. And I want to share the lyrics today with you before writing out my thoughts ❤️ I see the lights in the house and the people inside Clearing dishes from the table like it's a regular night And the ones on 12th Street out for an evening walk How can they keep moving when the world just stopped Doesn't anybody know I still run errands still answer the calls Still sit down for dinner as if I'm hungry at all And the election campaigners still come to the door But there's no use…
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You’ve Got Mail
I love Valentine’s Day! Now I know this holiday can be a love or strongly disliked day, so let me explain… I love valentine’s day, quite possibly, for the reason that most parents don’t like it and are quite possibly “over it” today. For me it’s the excitement of children, little mailboxes built by little hands, crafts, and hand written cards, and school parties (although I didn’t see or hear of many this year 😕 has our world banned these too?!?) Now all the adult hoopla, I could absolutely live the rest of my life without! Too much pressure and too much drama! You see, I was the kid that…
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A Tangled Web
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we first practice to deceive!” – Sir Walter Scott (also made famous recently by Alex Murdaugh) Deceive: to cause to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid. Lie: to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive; to create a false or misleading impression. Can we start by agreeing that there is no in-between- our words are either truth or a lie. Half truths, lie with a bit of truth mixed in, ultimately is a lie. If you disagree, then you disagree and we will leave it at that for today’s post. Truth is, we all have lied. We…
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Enough.
Have you ever had the thought, “what else?” or “how much more?” Responsibilities, health, to do list, etc. You are spreading yourself thin and then all the sudden it’s as if your body screams, “ENOUGH! Stop! I can’t carry you around one more minute unless you slow down and rest!” If you HAVE been in this place, I hope this post gives you hope from someone in the enough-stop-rest place at this very moment. January is both a joyous and emotional hard month for my soul. So many memories of new beginnings and firsts for me as a Mommy and welcoming my Lucy. And also welcoming many beginnings of new…
