What would I say if my dad were standing before me? Continue reading “Happy birthday, Dad!”
Category: daily life
A Crown of Glory
No one wants to look older than they really are. No one. Let’s face it—the world tells us gray hair is a sign of old age. It’s not associated with being young and beautiful. And we go to great extremes to stop this unavoidable path.
I was only twenty-two when I spotted my first white hair. Yes, white! No gradual grays for me. I was horrified. Continue reading “A Crown of Glory”
A Girl Dreams
A girl begins to dream and plan her wedding from very young. She wears a long skirt and drapes a lacey curtain over her face, imagining a wedding gown and veil.
The flowers are everywhere. The sparkling white lights. Walking down the aisle in a gorgeous gown as everyone gazes upon her beauty. Standing beside her soulmate, her best friend, her Prince Charming. How magical and beautiful her big day will be.
And then there is reality. Continue reading “A Girl Dreams”
Show Up and Let God
We tend to approach life’s challenges like battles. They are intimidating or possibly they don’t seem worth fighting so we’re tempted to completely avoid the battle. Or perhaps we fight—bringing our best efforts and weapons—only to fall short. We blame ourselves for not having prepared enough. We retreat—licking our battle wounds—as we ask ourselves what we did wrong and how we can come out on top next time.
But some of our greatest battles aren’t won through blood, sweat and tears. They aren’t won by overpowering or outnumbering the enemy. And they aren’t won by our strategic attack. Continue reading “Show Up and Let God”
Look At That Mountain!
I stand before a mountain. It’s tall. It’s humungous. It’s impossible. “Move, mountain,” I command. But I cannot simply expect the mountain to move. And I do not hold the power to simply pick it up and move it. I must Continue reading “Look At That Mountain!”
But God…
No one wants to hear the word progressive. It has the ability to immediately steal our happiness and rob our abilities and time. Continue reading “But God…”
God is Throwing Stones at Me
There is only one path in this life. It’s the one which leads to Christ. He is our motivation. He is the purpose for our existence. But it takes little for us to get sidetracked.
We’re walking easy one day—following Christ—when all the sudden a tree falls in our path. It knocks Continue reading “God is Throwing Stones at Me”
Here’s a Glimpse…
My original answer was “No way!”—but he really wanted to go along.
Our church family was Christmas caroling around a few of the neighboring houses and then meeting again for some cookies and hot chocolate. My son did okay while caroling. He wandered a little and pushed his brother a few times. He liked to ring the doorbells, but soon began pushing the buttons before the rest of us were up the sidewalk. One house, I had to run after him because he continued walking up the sidewalk of a house we were going to skip. All in all, he did okay for a kid who isn’t typical.
But then it was time to eat cookies – aka little blobs of sugar.
As soon as the sugar hit the blood stream, it was as if someone flipped a switch on my son. Even I was surprised. He quickly ascended the hyper-coaster and it was going to get ugly. Continue reading “Here’s a Glimpse…”
The Lonely Journey: What I Want You To Know
We all walk lonely journeys. Each is unique. But one thing they all have in common: they can build walls that separate us from others. They can complicate family units. And they can even destroy marriages if not careful.
Somehow it seems harder when the journey involves your child. They unintentionally isolate. They can break friendships and rob us of meaningful time with others.
Some have very specific opinions about what they see in your child. Others have no clue and form their own conclusions about the situation. Some disagree with the way you’re handling it. Some are simply uninformed. Some may want to help but aren’t sure how or even what to say.
Please, don’t walk away from those who are hurting in their lonely journey. It’s hard to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, but try to understand. Research their struggle if you can; ask them questions; be a support and encouragement. Don’t just turn away from them. You might be the only one who hasn’t.
I wasn’t sure how much to share in this blog. How much exposure is helpful? Is it fair to my son? But, if it makes a difference or helps another to understand or be understood, then—to me—it’s worth the sacrifice.
“He came out screaming and hasn’t stopped; it’s just changed.” This is what I told a doctor this week about my son.
Continue reading “The Lonely Journey: What I Want You To Know”
God’s Not Dead
A typical day in my house could certainly be described as challenging, but this week was incredibly rough. Seriously, someone must have snuck my boys crazy pills! Even their mealtimes included chucking food and shoving macaroni noodles up their nose. And snorting, because noodles can certainly be confused with teeny-tiny snorkels in each nostril!
Early this week, I had a doctor’s appointment. Because of the extra rough week, I was never so excited for an appointment. But instead of hearing what I expected, it bore concerns. It’s easy to allow humanness to cloud a perspective. It’s easy to jump into the future, with fear and apprehension, focusing on my past losses, and allow my future to grow grim.
To add to my burden, we are experiencing new financial pressures. And grief, once again, has placed its sorrowful cherry on the top of my gloomy little dessert. Continue reading “God’s Not Dead”
Foose Bits 