Category Archives: Realizations & Ponderings

Self-explanatory

“I’ll tell you who you really are”

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“What do you want to be when you grow up?”  There seem to a rare, lucky few who actually know the answer to that question, even from a young age.  You know, kids that say they want to be a doctor and end up actually becoming one.  I was not one of those people.  In elementary school I knew I was going to be a veterinarian.  I liked animals so it just seemed natural.  My girls had various aspirations growing up like nursing, teaching, being an artist, etc.  I’ll never forget the surprise and giggles we got as a family when my youngest (about 10 at the time) once told us at the dinner table that she wanted to be a monster truck driver.   I think she’s changed her mind since then…I think. Continue reading →

Shifting Gears

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My dad learned the hard way:  never bring hot coffee along when teaching a 16-year-old how to drive a stick shift.  We bounced around the high school parking lot in the rusty little 70’s Dodge Colt, almost banging into curbs and barely missing light poles.  It took me a while but I got the hang of it and then I loved it.  There was that one time, though, when I was still getting used to the whole idea and accidentally put my clutch in instead of the brake as we rounded a corner.  My mom shrieked.  My little sis and brother laughed and flew around in the back seat. Continue reading →

Promoted

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In the short video I was watching on facebook, two soldiers stood side by side in their fatigues, one talking about the other.   The one on the right was my cousin Karl.  I remember playing with Karl when we were kids.  He was one of my favorite cousins.  He was “Karlie” to me then.  Now he stands having served overseas many duties over many months, and years here at home, helping keep all of us safe and free.  The video was of the brief ceremony promoting him to his new rank of lieutenant colonel.  I wish we could have stayed closer over these years, he and his family and mine, but distance and life transitions have made that difficult.  I was still really proud as I watched.  What a good man he is.  Who knew when we were goofing around and riding go-carts as 12-year-olds with his sister and my sister and brother that He had this in him?

One thing his friend said before he was officially promoted that really stood out to me Continue reading →

The Buck Does Not Stop Here

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I know God doesn’t have an actual desk, but if He did, there’d be one of those signs on it that reads “The Buck Stops Here.”  He gave me that image the other day when I was letting myself get weighed down with concerns.  How often I forget that I’m supposed to pass burdens on up to Him, I’m not supposed to try to carry them all by myself.  Have you ever seen a little child wanting to help or prove how big they are by dragging a suitcase or carrying a bag too heavy for them?  “Here let me take that,” the mom says.  “No,” the child says as they strain and grunt to pull it along, “I got it.” They eventually have to give in because they just can’t do it without help.

Jesus said to come to Him when I’m worn out from trying to lug heavy stuff along.  He said that His way of life is light and easier to carry and besides that He’ll be with me, helping the whole time.   (Matt. 11:28)  The buck of burdens doesn’t stop with me, it stops with Him.  He’s the only One who really knows what to do with them.  He is the only One strong enough, wise enough, patient enough.

The buck of decision-making doesn’t stop with me either.  I used to work in a doctor’s office as receptionist and enjoyed greeting the patients and getting to know the “regulars.”  Continue reading →

Tags

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If you look to the right column on my blog, maybe scroll down a bit, you’ll see a bunch of random words jumbled up.  Those are “tags.”  Bloggers tag posts by choosing words that people might use when searching the Internet or their blog to see posts about that topic.   So, if you want to see all the posts I’ve tagged about “parenting,” click on that tag and you’ll see a list of those posts.

Some of the words listed there are larger than others – that’s because the more I’ve used that word as a tag, the larger it appears in the list.  I’ve used “parenting” quite a bit Continue reading →

Tied down

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I’m so glad God never changes.  He is the same as He was from the beginning of time and will be the same until time ends.  That’s a really good thing for all of us puny humans because everything and everyone else in this life changes all the time!  Just as sure as I start to count on something it falls apart, blows away, shape shifts, or turns out to be something other than what it appeared to be. Continue reading →

Can I get an Amen??

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This morning I wrote to my mom and sis to vent, as I often do.  I’ve been praying and thinking about ways John and I can tackle the $24,000 2nd mortgage that we’re responsible for, even though our house foreclosed in Missouri this month.  Rather than feel sorry for us, I know we just need to buckle down and do what we can, one day at a time.  I wanted to share my sister’s reply with you because they lifted me so and made me smile:

I love you so much and just want to write and support you and remind you that to God, $24,000 is nothing!  In the grand scheme of things, when you are are the creator of everything and the owner of every cow on every hill…what’s $24,000?!  Continue reading →

Daredevils

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What some find entertaining, I often find too stressful to enjoy watching:  daredevils.  Those reckless, bold, wild people who love to walk a tightrope way too high over a busy street or catapult themselves across canyons or jump long rows of semi-trucks, just for fun, just to prove they can do it.  Have you noticed that a single danger isn’t usually enough?  “Not only will I jump my motorcycle over these trucks, I’ll do it BLINDFOLDED!  And we’re setting all the trucks on FIRE!  AND I’ll be holding my tiny, helpless kitten ‘Snuffy’ as I jump across!  I SPIT in the face of fear and death!”  Did Snuffy get a say in this??  The crowd leans forward on the edge of their seats to watch, holding their breath, loving every minute.  Continue reading →

Really trusting

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It’s one thing for a little girl to say she trusts her daddy, it’s another for her to crouch down and jump up away the firm concrete, out into his arms over the deep end of the swimming pool.

It’s one thing to say you believe in heaven and another to keep believing when you’ve lost someone you love and your faith means they’re actually in heaven now.  Are they really?

It’s one thing to proclaim God will provide and another to have to depend on that claim, waiting for some miracle or revelation of something you can do because you’re out of money and have rent to pay or an empty pantry. Continue reading →

Follow Jesus

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I like Twitter.  It helps me keep up with friends I’m not with every day, including my two older daughters.  Each of their tweets is a little glimpse into their day, their hearts and thoughts and it makes me feel connected.  Sometimes on the home page Twitter gives recommendations of people to “follow.”  There are some I comedians I follow that crack me up, some well-known pastors I follow that encourage or challenge me, and so on.  For a while I followed some Olympic athletes like Apolo Ohno.  He’s such a positive, enthusiastic person.   Some people I follow and would love to hear more of what they’re thinking, but they just aren’t into twitter and rarely say anything.

I’d like to recommend that on this path we call everyday life on planet Earth, that you follow Jesus.  He’s always got something to say and it’s not self-promoting, nonsensical blather.  Whatever he says gives life.

I’m sure you’ve experienced something similar to what I did when I was little.  Continue reading →