Normally, I love the feeling of a clean slate at the start of the new year. But this year, as I did my reflections, I found myself feeling quite sad instead. As much as I’d like to close the door on 2018 and move on—- there are a number of things that I take with […]
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Usually between Christmas and New Year’s, I immerse myself in the most riveting book. The main character is a bit of a mess– a cross between Anne of Green Gables and Anne Lamott. Some years she’s downright inspiring, and other years you wonder why she’s still playing dress up with her inner demons. But the […]
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- December 30, 2018
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- end of year, examen over year, journal, new year reflections, new years eve, new years traditions, reflection, remember, reread journal, steady for new
It’s the season of waiting again! Waiting in December has gained a whole new meaning as we await our daughter flying back across the Atlantic to come home for Christmas. Everything has been marked by her arrival. While I was buying mangos– “These should be ripe by the time she gets home.” When Alex got […]
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- December 20, 2018
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- advent, Anna, Christmas, christmas blessing, disappointment, Elizabeth, faith, faith trust, God's promises, Mary and Joseph, nativity story, second coming, Simeon, suicide, waiting, zechariah
Every once in a while you hear a sermon that grips your heart and suddenly the words are hanging mid-air in technicolor, and you KNOW these words of life are for you. These are the words that don’t just engage your mind, they engage your spirit– and something is activated deep inside you. In the […]
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I just finished one of the most intense 10 week stretches that I have had in years. We had our annual retreat with an unusually high number of people who had experienced life-altering traumas, twins in their super intense exams, back to back visitors, my oldest experiencing re-entry home with three of her college friends […]
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- June 27, 2018
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- abide, body, chaos, emotional swings, fatigue, John 15, life stage, madeline l'engle, margins, ministry, perfectionism, sickness, soul, spirit, spiritual strength, staying centered, transition, weakness
My friend Dora got a picture for me in prayer this week for my birthday. “I see you on a long, straight, and plain road. Keep walking, you are going the right direction.” Yep, that image resonated immediately. Some years just hold a lot more of the faithfulness in the mundane than others, and this […]
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This month I’ve talked with several different young adults struggling to figure out what to do with their lives– some facing the decision of what to do after high school (i.e. university? gap year? ministry year?) and some facing life after college (i.e. more schooling? get a real job? move home? travel?). We love to […]
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For the first decade of our marriage, we had many, many conflicts in the car as we were driving somewhere. I had a knack for slamming on the fake breaks and dramatically grabbing the dashboard. But apparently what was most annoying was my running commentary (I viewed them as helpful insights) on how we might […]
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Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast…” Joel 2:15-16 I remember the first time our oldest daughter received the imposition of the ashes on Ash Wednesday. She was less than a […]
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A few years ago, I heard my kids imitating me to their cousins. Apparently, my most common ‘mom’ phrase is, “Girls, we are going to turn over a new leaf!” Which was then energetically followed with a newly revised plan of action for chores, homework, laundry, family devotions, or whatever else was running awry in […]
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- February 03, 2018
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- control, disempowering others, gifting, growth, maturity, out of control, overused, self-awareness, strength untamed, strengths, strengths finder, strongholds, task orientation, unbridled strength