Category: God's Love

Persistent Determination...

3/21/2019

Give me a task to do and you might as well consider it done. God has given me some serious organizational skills complemented by persistence and determination to work in a timely manner. Yes, I make lists, mostly in my head, however, sometimes making a list on paper helps me to prioritize them and check them off when they are completed. While being task-oriented is good it can also be a hindrance because when I am focused on a job there are times when I miss what is going on around me. Through the years and many personality tests, I have learned that I can get impatient working with others because they move to slow. There is a lot to be learned from working in a group rather than being self-driven. Working with others provides an opportunity to see the "whole" picture of the entire project along with the "why" of doing it.

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The Face in the Mirror...

2/6/2019

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According to the Alzheimer’s Association website, in 2018, 5.7 million Americans have lived with Alzheimer’s. * My mom, Jennie was one of the people who suffered with Alzheimer’s for 19 years. According to my calculations, I was 16-years-old when she started to show symptoms of memory loss. As a teenager, I would get so impatient with her asking me the same question over and over. At this time, mid-seventies, little was known about this disease and the computer information age had yet to arrive so we had no idea what was causing her forgetfulness. As you see by the stats, this tragic disease effects families every day as they helplessly watch their loved one’s mind deteriorate. They feel frustrated and sad that there is no way to stop the hopeless death spiral of a mind that was once active and whole.

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Leave Fear Behind...

10/2/2018

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“Only thing we have to fear is fear itself” is a quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first presidential inaugural speech in 1933. Many leaders, parents, and teachers have said those words to inspire and encourage courageous behavior. There are a number of different reasons to fear but the fear of failure is the one that people struggle with on a regular basis. It is hard to accept that failure is a part of life and yet we can only appreciate success if we know first how to fail.

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Be So Bold...

7/17/2018

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These past few weeks it seems like I have been on an emotional roller coaster starting with my brother’s death, the chaos at the Mexican border and the rescue of the Thailand soccer team and their coach. Whew! Even though my family knew that brother Virgil was not going to make it, when it happened, it took some time to work through it with my family and friends. In the midst of mourning his death, I have been trying to grasp and process the immigration situation at the Mexican border. It has taken some time for the scene to play out and for me to finally focus on the how I feel about what it would mean to have my children taken from me without the knowledge of when I would see them again. Then finally the cave rescue of the twelve soccer players and their coach was the climax to any emotions that I had left.
Being so emotionally connected to the lives involved in these stories can be raw and unsettling. It feels like I am a bit late to the game because it has taken me a while to process my emotions however here are some of my thoughts about these stories.

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A Day to Celebrate Women...

5/15/2018

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This week I have struggled to know what to write in celebration and honor of Mother’s Day. I am grateful for the mom that I brought me to life. She was loving, brave and strong. She raised 12 children of which I was the youngest and by the time I came around her life was considerably easier than when she became a mom. The 22-year age difference between my oldest brother and me seemed like a life-time difference. Mom did her best to give her kids attention even when she was worn out at the end of a long day. I am so very grateful that Jennie was my mom and that she loved me! Another woman who touch the lives of my daughters and me was my loving and strong mother-in-law. Like my mom, Ardella raised a boatload of children. She welcomed us into her family as if we had always been there. My daughters loved going to her home after school, eating her hotmilk cake, lefse and sugar cookies while hearing the latest “apartment building” gossip. We loved her dearly! Lastly, I have been so blessed with two beautiful, smart and loving daughters who call almost daily to share their daily life stories with me. Best of all, because of them, I get to hear the words, “I love you mom!” I am a fortunate woman.

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The Rest of the Story....

3/6/2018

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Last week a few friends and I were discussing how often we have judged or misjudged people and how frustrated we were with ourselves for doing so. Each of us gave examples of people we had judged according to their skin color, cultural differences, their appearance or even their weight. We recognized that by being so critical of people we were not being good examples of Christianity. I believe that most of us have been guilty of unkind thoughts and comparisons of “those people.” You know who they are right? To judge anyone who does fit what we deem to be “normal” or in other words, like us. Our group agreed that we were going to work very intentionally to change the way we see people, to look at them through a lens of love and respect and not of judgment.

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Hello 2018...

1/2/2018

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Happy New Year!!
I am looking forward to 2018 because it offers a fresh start to the next 365 days and because it is an even number. I like even numbers and it so happens that 18 is my favorite number. I have no good reason why it is my favorite, it just is. I am happy to let go of this past year and look forward to a more positive year ahead.

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What is Beauty?...

10/30/2017

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What is beauty? We have often heard the old proverb, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” which is so true because our emotions play a factor in how we identify beauty. Magazines are filled with beautiful people advertising products to make us prettier, more handsome, thinner, stronger and faster. There have been exhaustive studies about how we, especially women, compare ourselves to the pictures we see and strive to live up to or into who we see as the ideal person. All of the comparisons to the unrealistic photos can be damaging to a person’s self-esteem. The magazine models do extensive touch-ups to ensure the models are a perfect size with perfect skin and hair and this perfection has led ordinary women to believe their value is based on who they should be or look like rather than who they are. The pressure to be thin, strong and pretty has hit close to home as I too have compared myself to 30-year-olds who look good in anything they wear. Many confident older women claim their aging skin and graying hair are a badge of honor that they have earned. I am proud of them but honestly the desire to claim that badge escapes me. I admire their confidence and acceptance of who they are as well as their comfort level and peace of the aging process.

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Hope for the Hopeless...

8/1/2017

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One of my classes in college was called, “Apostles of Hope” in which we studied the apostles, their relationship with Jesus and how they started a movement that centered on a new hope in the resurrected Christ. Their time with Jesus changed their lives forever. The apostles preached a message of hope grounded in a God of love and grace. As the class discussed these faithful believers my spirit became uncomfortable and troubled. When it was my turn to share my thoughts, I told the class that the God I had come to know was stuffed into a box that did not reflect the God of the apostles. The box that held my God was lined with walls of guilt, shame, oppression and abusive authority. It was certainly not a God of love or grace. How could I understand the God of hope that the apostles knew? They met this God through Jesus Christ whom they came to trust and love. How could I lift the lid and learn to trust in that kind of God? As they listened to my story, one of the students named Julie, looked at me with compassion and told me that instead of uncovering the box all at once, it might be easier if I poked some holes in the top and let God out a little at a time. This very insightful advice gave me permission to build a new relationship of faith in a God of hope a little at a time.

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Discover Community...

7/11/2017

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This week, I registered for a trip, with our church, to the Holy Land. I am over-the-moon excited to go and walk where Jesus walked, sail the Sea of Galilee and just be in the same space as Christ and the gospel writers. In my excitement, I went looking for my passport to make sure it was up-to-date and found other stuff along the way. In my search, I found missing jewelry and right next to it were some old pictures and my birth certificate. Yes, eventually I found my passport but discovering some of my treasures took me on an unexpectedly tour down memory lane as well.

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Persistent Determination...

The Face in the Mirror...

Leave Fear Behind...

Be So Bold...

A Day to Celebrate Women...

The Rest of the Story....

Hello 2018...

What is Beauty?...

Hope for the Hopeless...

Discover Community...

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