Notes to Self...and whoever's listening

I love Christmas. Did you know?  Have I ever made that clear?!  If somehow I hadn't relayed that you, let me clear it up now.  I.LOVE.CHRISTMAS. I love the lights, the colors, the decorations, the trees, the ornaments, the bows, the presents, the feel.  Now, I know reading that it seems like I forgot the most important reason of all - the birth of our Savior.  No worries there.  My joy this time of year is directly related to the Reason for the season. All that said, I really do believe this IS the most wonderful time of the year.  It's also wonderfully BUSY time of year!  So much so that the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into the most frustrating time of year.  I hear people complain about Salvation Army bells ringing, overly informative holiday greetings in the form of family newsletters, people dropping by to call when your house isn't cleaned up from Thanksgiving yet, parties for hosting, marshmallows that hav...

My dad. Do you know him?  If so, you've been introduced to an amazing man.  You probably know he has an extreme love of ice cream and gumballs.  You know he will do anything for his family (though likely NOT give up his ice cream for one of us...).  You recognize his voice brings laughter in one moment and calm in another.  You've seen him comfort the sick, the injured, the dying.  You've heard him tell the worst jokes and laughed in spite of it! Yeah, he's all of those things.  But I know him a bit deeper.  A lot a bit deeper.  I got the supreme privilege of being his daughter!  I've gotten to spend my whole life with him.  Yeah, you can be jealous. ;)  My siblings and I are used to it.  We'll share, you just can't have him.  He's ours! Tomorrow he retires from his job as staff chaplain at OSF Saint Anthony Hospital.  I'll admit I've struggled with this idea.  I have always equated retirement to being...

Gideon isn’t the first tough guy that comes to mind when I think about the Bible. Honestly, I don’t know I ever thought a whole lot about him. But I kinda fell in love with him today. The Israelites have screwed up. Again. This time they’d messed with the wrong crowd and oppression clung to them in every facet imaginable. So once they couldn’t take it anymore, THEN the cried out to God. Again. So God sent another angel to appoint another person to get the Israelites out of this latest pickle they found themselves in. And the angel’s lead in statement is epic! “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” (Judges 6:12) Woah! I think flattery like that might get me to perk up and see what the Lord has for me!  But, that didn’t seem to be Gideon’s response. Nope, he said some of the most honest words anyone could say. He didn’t mince words. He tried to remain polite. But he had questions. Here is how it went down with some of my editing 😉: “Pardon me, my lord,”  (How amazi...

This morning as I laid across my bed (my new favorite place to read my Bible), I contemplated briefly where I should start reading.  I decided on Joshua because he's a pretty cool guy who accomplished a lot for the Lord and had a lot of inner fortitude to succeed. Joshua 1 brings us up to date on where Joshua's story continues.  He had spent time being introduced in Deuteronomy.  Joshua was now being tasked with bringing God's people, the Israelites, finally into the promised land after the fiasco in the desert where they just  ended up wandering for 40 years.  During the "pep talk" God gave him, he was reminded three times to "be strong and courageous".  I'm guessing that there was some fear and trepidation on Joshua's part.  His predecessor didn't exactly have a great time leading and never got to see the promised land.  Moses's shadow loomed large before Joshua. God knew that Joshua was capable or He wouldn't have asked him to ...

Well done. We all want to hear that.  Whether it is from a boss, a coach, a teammate, a spouse, a friend, a child, a sibling, or anyone really, it changes us.  We stand a little bit taller, we work harder the next time, we smile bigger, we appreciate the praise.  We need praise.  We need to be acknowledged.  We need to know someone sees us. The Bible talks about the importance of our words often.  Here are a few... I even got a "good job!" from my boss this week and it made me smile.  Yeah, even a 43 year old assistant likes to hear that.  Something this assistant loves, too?  Getting cupcakes just because from her boss.  See those above?  I get to dive into those today!  He makes this office a nice place to spend my days.  I don't love being an assistant.  Never have.  But, I have great respect for my boss.  He is the reason I stay with this job. As one who bakes, I also like ...

As I sat doing my makeup this morning, I decided the quiet was too...well, quiet...and turned on Spotify.  I tried to figure out which playlist I was going to choose when I smiled and clicked the last played list.  Can you guess what it was? No? Well, I'll give you a hint...I LOVE this time of year... Got it now? Christmas music!!!  Ohmylanta, how I love Christmas and its music!  And, everything else about it, too! So as I sat and hummed along and made progress on my "work face", one song stood out.  It's a song I've listened to a ton of times.  A song from my absolute favorite group.  Take a listen and then come back. :) Oh, how I love that song!  But today, these lyrics stopped my mascara applying: Endless hope and relentless joy started with a Baby Boy Oh, before that silent night No Savior and no Jesus Christ The world cried out so desperately And the Baby Boy was the reply, Yes, Heaven's reply was a Baby Boy. ...

Being a spectator is hard work! Anyone else sat through countless ballgames this summer?  Endured ruthless mosquitoes and black gnats?  Wondered what on earth that ump was thinking?  Wished that bleachers were more luxurious?  Wished that the bathrooms weren't so far away?  Wondered how on earth an ice cream cone was worth $3.50? And the hardest part about being a spectator besides wishing that the 900th inning would end (when in reality it was only the 3rd inning?!) --- OTHER SPECTATORS! Parents and other family members have caused us more frustration this year than the endless mosquitoes! Last night my nephew's team lost in the most heartbreaking way possible - by ONE run after coming back to get NINE in that last inning!  Their rally fell short by only that ONE to tie!  It was an amazing inning!  The boys were hitting so well, stealing bases and running well.  They were excited!  And they were exciting to watch - well, when I ...

Dear Friends of Heartland: Most of you are brokenhearted at last week's events that revealed that our beloved pastor would no longer be OUR pastor.  Many of you are angry.  Some are experiencing grief.  I've felt myself wavering between so many emotions, too. I can't understand.  Not sure that I want to, either, if I'm being honest.  I love the Peigh family dearly.  I love their dedication to the church family, to the community, but most importantly, to God.  They have given their heart over and over to us tirelessly for a long time.  The thought of not seeing any of their smiling faces around the church building makes me extremely sad. I don't understand the will of the Lord in every situation.  I don't understand how or why the elders came to the decision they did.  And I don't honestly know if the elders for sure DID hear the Lord's direction for the church and acted in the way they should have.  I'm not them.  And I'm...

I was six.  I lived in New York City.  I went to Epiphany Catholic School.  And, I didn't have a lot of money. My parents sacrificed dearly to put me through private schools my entire schooling career.  They stood in line for government cheese when necessary.  We shopped at Good Will.  In NYC, they walked just about everywhere they could so they wouldn't use extra money on transportation.   And I loved them for it.  But, one day, the cute little eraser in the corner store caught my eye.  It cost 5¢.  I knew better.  It wasn't a necessity.  But the mean girls at school had tons of new ones and I didn't have any. So I swiped it.   I'm a thief. My prize wasn't mine for long, though.  Those mean girls at school - Brina and Patty - swiped it right back from me.  I was showing it to my best friend, Vanessa, and they saw me.  They came over to and started making fun of me and asking how I got it...

Jesus protected women.  Empowered women. Honored women publicly. Released the voice of women. Confided in women. Was funded by women. Celebrated women by name. Learned from women. Respected women. And spoke of women as examples to follow. Apparently today is International Women's Day.  I didn't know.  I'm honestly not one to care usually.  I am not a woman that believes we need to be equal in every way to our male counterparts.  Some feminist just gasped somewhere and doesn't know why!  I believe men and women were made vastly different and with vastly different goals to be accomplished.  I don't want to be "equal" to a man.  I don't even need to be "equal" to the other women around me.  I'm who God created ME to be.  No one else. That all said, I DO want to be heard.  In that the Lord gave me a voice and unique thoughts and feelings and ideas, I believe I should be given equal opportunity to voice those....

I am not a fan of Valentine's Day.  Doesn't take a degree in Rocket Science to understand why.  Sheesh, the neighbor's dog probably understands why.  I've never had a Valentine.  I've received Valentine's because the class was forced to bring one for everyone.  I've received sweet cards from my family.  Probably even have received a few from some of my friends. But celebration of the actual day on February 14th?  Nope.  Never gotten the opportunity to celebrate it as one half of a couple.  No worries.  This isn't a post complaining about my sorry lot in life and, trust me, there are not any tiny little violins playing a sad song for me right now. I don't need "my other half".  I'm already whole.  God took care of that. But, yeah, I DO hope to one day be the other half of a couple in someone's life.  I would love to "do life with" as so many say.  I pray for a marriage based upon biblical principles, a husband wh...

This weather.   I could end this blog with those two words and I don't think anyone would think anything of it.  This winter has been crazy!  I don't remember a winter where we have dealt with such extremes of frigid cold, heavy snow, rain, sleet, thunder storms, crazy wind AND ice storms - all in the matter of two weeks, either! One thing I think we all can agree on is winter's beauty!  Some would prefer that the beauty of winter stop happening now. :)  Some, like my sweet friend, Kim, can't get enough of winter!   Currently as you drive around town you will see huge piles of snow that have been plowed out of the way of parking lots and streets, leaving mounds difficult to see around.  But, as winter drags on, the most disgusting part of winter to look out besides the monster-sized potholes threatening to eat our vehicles is the dirty snow. Bleck.  I hate that.  What was beautiful as it fluttered to the earth, or lately, sp...

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr., Day and by the end of the day we probably will all have heard about it.  I've already had two emails about it, wanting me to spend my money at their big sale for MLK.  Pretty sure that isn't what he had in mind when he started dreaming! 😊  The kids are off, the courthouse is closed and even at church we talked briefly about Dr. King's message to our country. Dr. King's dream was freedom.  He dreamed big.  He hoped beyond what he could see.  He prayed even when it seemed useless.  He didn't quit. And here we are many years later still celebrating him. But what about you?  Me?  What are we dreaming about? My dreams aren't quite as lofty as Dr. King's.   I have not felt the call of God to preach to the entire country like he did or as Billy Graham did. I have not felt the push to go to medical school and cure anything.  Sheesh, first I'd have to figure out how to NOT pass out every ti...