Tag: seasons (Page 1 of 2)

A Little bit of Soul Food for Summer Changes

July 1, 2022 /

Summer has officially arrived! That means change! Kids home, different pace, trips to the lake…

Changing Hospitality Rhythms

Summer is a time for easy outdoor entertaining where it’s all about the fun and connecting!

Hospitality hack: Pre scoop vanilla ice cream and put it in cupcake liners in muffin tin. Serve root beer floats for dessert.

I have a free resource of Easy Summer Go-to Menus, recipes, and More if you’re interested! Just click here!

Changing Seasons

Summer may mean a shift to casual, play, and outdoor fun. But it may mean other transitions too. A move, a job change, a loss, a diagnosis…

If you’d like to get a free resource to help you reflect on the changing seasons of your life with God and prepare to flourish, just click here!

Changing Church

Speaking of change…How has your relationship with the Church changed over the past few years? We’ve had terrible scandals, racial tension, Covid…Were you engaged in church before, but not now? Check out sermons every once in awhile, but aren’t attending in person anymore? What have you learned?

My friend Nancy Beach wrote a great book with her daughter Samantha, called Next Sunday about the good, the bad and the ugly and what may be next for the Church. They take an aspect of church for every chapter and each of them write from their experience and perspective, raising questions to consider.

This would be a great book for your small group to discuss! Here are a few questions my small group has used:

  1. What was your experience of church growing up? Positive? Negative? Non-existent?
  2. What draws you to church now?
  3. What keeps you from fully engaging?
  4. Have you been injured by the church?
  5. If the following are qualities of genuine community, which do you think we/you need to work on most:
    • forgiving one another
    • showing up for one another
    • listening to one another
    • believing the best about one another
    • creating safe space for one another
    • being committed over the long-haul

6. What is one experience of community or inclusion in the church that has been powerful or inspiring for you?

7. Is there some way a challenging aspect of community has formed you more into the likeness of Jesus or taught you something?

Have a joy-filled week and let me know in the comments what’s on your summer fun list!

I hang out mostly over on Instagram. I’d love to see you there!

How to Navigate Changing Seasons

June 13, 2022 /

The sweet aroma of lilacs envelops me as I bike under the canopy of leafy trees, shading our street. I breathe deep and whisper a prayer of gratitude.

A friend of mine calls this “the lifiest time of the year.” The peonies are finally ready to bloom. The grass needs mowing.

It’s June. Your high-schooler or kindergartener or college student is graduating. Someone is getting married and someone is having a baby and others are starting new jobs or moving.

With the celebration of every new “lifey” thing, there is also a releasing, even a grieving for what is ending or dying.

We have recently moved from California back to Minnesota where life has gone on without us. I’m grieving not having an in-person church home anymore, not having family nearby, not having a clear calling in this season…But I’m also celebrating the lakes and reconnecting with old friends.

Years ago, a mentor of mine likened navigating seasons of change to being a trapeze artist. There is that scary moment when you have to let go of one bar to grab onto the new one coming towards you. The new bar may be exciting, but it also may be hard to let go of the one you’ve been holding.

How do we courageously let go of the past and reach for the future? Can we honestly name the deaths without missing the new life…celebrating both the new blessings, and those of the past?

Some big transitions we naturally mark with ceremonies, or family gatherings, but what about the smaller, quieter changes?

  • Maybe you need to look back through old photos or journals, have a good cry and buy a new one, yielding the next season to God’s will.
  • It might look like a discussion around your family dinner table, each person naming one joy of the past season that they’ll miss, and one thing they’re looking forward to.
  • Maybe it will mean taking a walk with a friend, processing the valuable lessons you’ve learned, and any invitation from God you’re sensing in the coming season. There may be things you are glad to leave behind.
  • Or it might look like praying with open hands, naming the things you’re relinquishing, while thanking God for the new experiences that await you, trusting in His creative life-giving goodness. If you’re facing challenges in this next season it may mean praying for the courage to make hard choices.

Lord, today I celebrate Your goodness and faithfulness in this past season – the gift of friendships, new adventures, a clear place to belong, and assignments from You. I confess I miss these gifts, but I also anticipate Your kindness and direction in this next season. I yield myself to You. I want to greet each day with an adventurously expectant, “What’s next, Papa?” May Your will be my delight. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

What are you leaving behind? What are you anticipating as you reach forward? Stay tuned for a free resource to help you reflect with God and set yourself up for a flourishing new season!

Back to School Soul Food

August 30, 2019 /

Fridays I try to share a cornucopia of resources that I pray will cheer, inspire, encourage, or just make you smile. Here you go…

It seems that from mid-August to mid-September, every week another batch of kids are starting back to school.

Honestly, the week after Labor Day is the hardest of the year for me. I’m deeply sad that summer is ending, rhythms are changing, people will be “hibernating” soon, and I miss doing this season with our girls who are on opposite coasts.

I miss the back-to-school shopping and the exciting beginning of all of the THINGS for the new year.  I miss “bouquets of newly-sharpened pencils”, the season of hands-on parenting with all the family traditions, and night time prayers, and snuggled up in jammies story reading.  I miss our first day of school chicken pot pie dinner, and I miss the annual measuring of our girls.

ps. are these the cutest girls ever, or what?

Can I make 2 suggestions as a mom whose kids are grown?

First, hug your kids and pray (out loud) over your them before they head out the door. It can be a very simple “Lord please help _____ to be brave and kind today. May _________ know he/she is always loved by us and You, and You are always with him/her.”

Second, sometime today when the kids are out the door to pre-school or high school or college, (or their job because the empty nest may be a myth, dontchaknow), take a minute in the stillness after the “get ’em out the door storm” and look around you.  Even walk through your quiet house. Look for signs of growth in your kids and in your family.  And thank God.  

If you’re a parent sending a child off to school for the first time, or dropping them off at college, or getting them settled in their first apartment, this blessing is for you:

Today, may you hold tightly to the hand of your heavenly Father, just as your children have held yours. May you know deep in your soul that even when you aren’t with them, there is a Parent who is. He is all-knowing, eternally loving, and has good plans for your kids. May your children see glimpses of God’s love, His grace, and His care for them wherever they are today. May He equip them to be brave, kind, and celebrated as fully themselves – wonderfully made.

Whether it’s changing seasons, a move you’ve chosen, or loss of a relationship, transition is hard. You might find some helpful thoughts here.

In spite of grieving the end of summer, we lean into autumn, and there’s lots to look forward to. What are you excited to celebrate? Journal a list?

He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40:3 nlt
Isaiah 43:19

One of the perks of parenting – embarrassing your kids.

For those of us Downton Fans, here’s a 12 minute clip to help us get excited for the movie coming in September!

Can you even BELIEVE this is a thing???! Raise your hand if you’re adventurous enough to try.

I LOVE Half Baked Harvest, and can’t wait to try this (instead of pumpkin spice spam)!

Lastly, when dogs go to school 🙂

I’d love to have you join me over on Instagram! Come say “Hey!” and have a great weekend!

What Do You Need From God Today?

August 26, 2019 /

I love biking and walking the paths we have in abundance here in Minnesota. 

While I prefer the 5 months of the year when we get beauty and color and warmth, (and have been begging the trees to hold onto their leaves recently), I’ll go out in almost any weather conditions. 

As I walk or ride around our lakes, I notice that there are always stretches that are my favorite – the lush, wooded shady parts.

But there are also barren stretches that I’d really rather skip.  Very much like the seasons of my life I’d rather fast-forward through.  Thistly and ugly.

The other day I was riding my bike and there was such a stiff headwind that it was really difficult to move forward.  Struggling against brisk gales, I rode along a stretch where I had never been before.  A dead and ugly stretch. 

But then I noticed something odd and seemingly out of place in the dull brown grasses.  It was a bench with “Come to me and I will give you rest” etched on it. 

Next to it, someone had left a pair of sneakers. Perhaps a reminder that this was holy ground – a hard place where we remove our shoes in God’s presence and receive from Him what we need.

It made me think about all the times God says, “I will give…”

I will give you a new heart. (Ezekiel 36:26)

I will give you hidden treasures. (Isaiah 45:3)

I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

I will give you a new name. (Revelation 2:17)

I will give you an Advocate. (John 14:16-17)

I will give you words and wisdom. (Luke 21:15, James 1:5)

I will give you abundant life. (John 10:10)

I will give you the bread of life, eternal life. (John 6:51, John 10:28)

I will give you insight. (2 Timothy 2:7)

I will give you good gifts. (Matthew 7:11)

Are you in a thistle-y or barren place? How would you finish this sentence? Lord, what I need most from You today is __________________.

3 Life-giving Choices to Make in a Season of Change

September 17, 2018 /

I glimpse a small patch of bright fire red in the middle of still-green maple leaves as I bike around the lake near my house. It’s not cold yet, but there’s a change in the air. The mornings are cooler and it takes all day for the sun to warm the earth, barely struggling up to the high for the day, like a middle school boy trying to do chin-ups, then sliding quickly back down. Yellow buses lumber through the neighborhood and we notice that dusk tiptoes in earlier. I smile at “bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils”. I want to light candles, make soup, bake muffins. Things are changing.

Whether you’re back to packing lunches and driving carpools, or adjusting to a new baby in your home, or anticipating a change in employment, moving to a new city, or trying to accept a “new normal” without a loved-one, Fall marks a season of change. And even good change can be hard.

For us, we’re in a bittersweet season of “lasts” as we anticipate transitioning out of ministry at the church where we’ve served for almost 30 years – last kick-off Sunday, last Thanksgiving, last Christmas… We look forward, “adventurously expectant” (Romans 8:15 MSG) to what God has next for us, but still… It’s got me reflecting on how to “choose life”(Deuteronomy 13:19) while also in the midst of grieving that inevitably comes with change. Here are three practices I’m engaging in:

  1. Honor traditions.

In seasons of change, traditions are comforting and reassuring.  Throughout Scripture God institutes festivals and celebrations that are woven into the rhythm of the year. One of our traditions through the years as our daughters were growing up, was a “first day of school dinner” to which we invited two single friends on staff to join our family. They are like surrogate aunties for our girls. We always have homemade chicken pot pie and share “first day” highlights. Our girls are grown and living far away now, but their “aunties” are still here and so we gathered a couple weeks ago for the traditional dinner, sharing memories and laughter with thanksgiving. What traditions can you continue to embrace (or even create) during a season of change?

2. Reflect on relationships.

Change in location or circumstances often means change in relationships. Some people you’ve seen regularly will seemingly vanish from your everyday life. Transition is a good time to do a relational Examen. Reflect on the people in your life. Are there any relationships where there might be unresolved issues?  Are there questions that you need to ask?  Romans 12:18 is a good guide: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Recently, God convicted me that there was a past relationship where I hadn’t sufficiently checked in to make sure there wasn’t unspoken pain. I felt like maybe I hadn’t adequately cared for this person in her time of transition, so I set up a coffee to ask how she felt. Is there someone you’ve been too busy to see in this new season? Might they be hurt?

3. Focus on the unchanging character of God.

Speak gratitude. Some things don’t change. God is faithful. What are the attributes of God, the glimpses of grace and goodness you can call out each day as a counter-weight to the circumstances which may feel out of control or stressful in seasons of change? If you have kids, can you share “God-sightings” around the dinner table? Or journal about them? Or have a texting agreement with a friend – each of you texting how you remember God’s attributes each day?

TheplansoftheLord stand firm forever, the purposes ofhis heart through all generations. Psalm 33:11

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

So, those are my thoughts on what helps when change seems to throw me a loop. What about YOU?? What would you share? If you receive this in email, just click on the title at the top and it will take you to the host site where you can leave a comment.

And…Just for a fun bonus, here’s the chicken pot pie recipe I use 🙂

Crust

1 box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I splurge on rotisserie chicken already deboned)
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
** I usually cut down on either the broth or the milk, and I add about a Tablespoon of “Better than Boullion organic chicken base”
Can also add sautéed mushrooms.
Steps
  • 1 Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch glass pie pan. (I pre-cook the bottom crust for about 10 minutes so it doesn’t get soggy with the filling)
  • 2 In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.
  • 3 Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.
  • 4 Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

 

Dear Friends

September 6, 2016 /

Dear Friends,

It is a stormy, gray day here. The pool is closed for the season, and most of our kids are starting school today. The tops of the trees are already tinged crimson.

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There is such a cornucopia of all the feels.

Grief at the end of a glorious summer…

Good bye to some of the rhythms and relationships that come with vacation, lake time, and outdoor sports…

The excitement and uncertainty that comes with new beginnings and new locker combinations.

Maybe even more than January 1st, September marks a BEGINNING.

We’re inside more, and more dependent on information – the weather report, full email in-boxes, school forms to sign, volunteer requests, schedules to keep straight, more meetings, the up-coming election, the WORLD situation for Pete’s sake!

September can feel like JUST. TOO. MUCH.

So, two quick thoughts and then you can go drink a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

You know I’ve been on a bit of a sabbatical from the blog this summer. You’ve been kind to encourage me and inquire when it will be over. It’s been good, and the Lord has prompted me to work on some other writing projects that I’m both excited and scared about.

As I’ve prayed about this space and whether/how to continue, the one thing I’ve been concerned about is clogging your in-box with anything that’s not a value add to your life. We are overwhelmed with so many good resources! So I’m going to be more careful. I will post less, and try some shorter posts (We’ll see how that goes!) but I pray God will use what He gives me to send you for His purposes and that you will be encouraged.

My friend James preached at our church this past weekend. In his message he shared the irony that the statue of Atlas holding the world, outside of the Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan is across the street from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In the cathedral is a statue of Jesus as a boy, holding the world in His hand.

So this September, in the midst of busyness, take a deep breath and remember, Jesus holds the world. You don’t have to.

New_York_City,_May_2014_-_033

The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure. Psalm 93:1

4 Ideas for Navigating Change

August 23, 2016 /

“It’s coming. I can feel it.” That’s the refrain I hear too often these August days as the light mellows earlier in the evening and green things have lost their luster. Everything looks a little dry and tired. A little droopy. Long shadows seem shadowier.

I want to yell “NOOOOO!” and stamp my foot like a toddler fighting bedtime.

Instead I breathe deep and stay outside as long as possible, trying to ward off the inevitable, and the deep feeling of loss that accompanies it.

“Seasons change and so did I.” as the song says.

IMG_2636

I have friends going away to college, those who are moving from single into married life; some who are expecting babies, one who just got fired, others who are sending their kids off to school for the first time, and those who will become empty-nesters.

Thirty years ago my husband John and I moved from our home and families in the Chicago area to serve at a church in Washington D.C.  It was a huge seasonal change for us.  John was required to attend a seminar on transitions and while he was there he had to take an assessment that assigned points to the the different changes in your life.

POINTS???!  We love points!  We’re a tad competitive :).

We were moving away from family for the first time, expecting a new baby (I was 8 months pregnant with our second when we moved), buying our first house, starting a new job in a new church culture.  Each of these got points assigned to them indicating the amount of pressure in our life.

John came home and said, “Honey, I have good news and bad news.  The good news is, we WON!   We had more points than anyone there!  The bad news is they said we should have been in counseling 50 points ago!”

Change, even good change brings stress. There’s an article I’ve saved for years that documents the effects of moving. Even a short move across town causes a level of anxiety because it’s fruit basket upset for relational patterns. All of a sudden there’s a new dry cleaner and mail person, and supermarket checkout person – the people you interact with daily. For students it’s new teachers, for others it’s new bosses or a new gaggle of moms to get to know.

Holy buckets! I hate change like most people do. These are just a few things that seem to help me:

  • Phone a friend. We are relational beings, and it’s community that seems to take the hardest hit when we’re going through seasonal change. So when you’re low, call an old friend, but also reach out. Be brave and call someone new. Remember, if you’re feeling lonely, others are too.
  • Be aware of the impact of change.  Give yourself and your family extra grace during times of transition.  (John had perpetually wet shoulders from absorbing all my tears the first year in D.C.)
  • As much as possible, continue the spiritual rhythms you have put in place.  We feel more out of control during these times.  As I look back on our years living in D.C., the one thing that kept me going was a weekly community Bible study I attended where my kids were taken care of.  What are the positive choices you can make that will be nurturing to your mind, heart and soul?
  • Anchor your life in the one thing that is unchanging – God and His character.  Make a practice of voicing the many things you’re grateful for.  Specifically thank God for who He is, not just what He does.  In our family we have a “Twelve Stones Book” taken from the biblical examples where God commands the Israelites to build visible memorials so they’ll remember His power (Joshua 4).  In our book we record instances of God’s faithfulness in our family since we seem to have spiritual ADD.

So here’s to strolling through crunchy leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, and “bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils”.

The Rest of the Story on the “B word”

November 11, 2015 /

On Monday I wrote about reading the Bible and my plan for this year.  I mentioned that I hesitate to write this kind of post because it can sound so legalistic which is not how I feel or what I want to communicate. I have friends reading this who are not yet into the Bible. Just the word can seem threatening, so I feel like my words on this are extra important.

So I tried…But when I read back over the post, it felt…kind of 1, 2, 3-ish. Not the whole story. Like saying Jonah is about a fish. Just a few facts.

My relationship with the Bible has changed over the years, just like my relationship with Jesus has changed.

I have such a deep love for God’s Word in this season that it’s hard to express it.

I am drawn to the Bible. I savor it. I feel tenderhearted like Mary, and awe-struck like the shepherds in the starry night filled with angels. It is intimate and conversational and life-giving.

There is a foreverness about God’s Word that is deeply reassuring. But it hasn’t always been that way. Continue reading

When God Calls You to Stop Doing Stuff and Let go of Your Balloons

October 30, 2013 /

Anyone who knows me knows I don’t sit still well.  I love a high goal and lots of action.  Lots of people and passion.  “Not somehow, but triumphantly!” is a refrain in our family.

But with some of the people closest to me, lately I find myself saying, “I think you need to be gentle with yourself.  Give yourself grace.  Stop. Rest.”  Easier advice to give than to take.

There’s a friend who experienced an adoption nightmare while trying to be faithful to God’s leading is left reeling, confused, wounded.

A friend battling pancreatic cancer, wondering “What can I do?”

And another who’s been through a season of conflict and unfair criticism at work.

We all go through different spiritual seasons.  Some where we’re growing, others where we’re re-orienting, but often the most neglected are those seasons of rest, when God says, “Sit awhile with Me.  The world will keep spinning without you.” Continue reading

Fear, Seasons, and Your Legacy

September 13, 2013 /

It’s Fearless Friday, and I’m so excited to introduce another guest writer to you!  John and I have had the privilege of walking alongside Kari and Matt Norman for several (10??) years now.  They are a remarkable young couple who lead authentic, examined lives of faith in Jesus.  You’ll see that from Kari’s words today!

Norman_Family-15

Last Wednesday my husband and I watched our twin boys climb up the school bus stairs, smile and wave through the window, and head off for their first day of kindergarten.  It was a marking moment, and one I’d envisioned in my mind’s eye many times.

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I had been holding it together so well!  Until the day before… when despite best efforts, I cried at the parent teacher conference when asked if this was my first child entering kindergarten.  I said, “Yes, my first, and my second.”  Pause.  “And my last, all at once.”  Cue the tears.  The teacher reached across the table, held my hand, gave me a look that conveyed genuine care, as well as a nod that seemed to say, “You can hold it together.  Really, you can!  Um, please…  can you?”

She didn’t know that I’d had six miscarriages along the way.  Continue reading

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