2010

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:12:49 -0600

To call our Christmas holiday a whirlwind makes the whirlwind seem like a calm oasis of peace. Normal people usually spread out the most important events of life so there is time to savor each one. Not my family! I welcomed a new niece into the world a week and a half before I gained a new sister. Oh yeah, and we celebrated Christmas too. John and Vangie’s sweet baby girl is safely home and gaining ounces like crazy. The newlyweds are safely back from Jamaica and preparing for a move to

Christmas Greetings

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:37:30 -0600

Josh and I aren’t sending out Christmas cards this year. But I do want to say thank you to all you wonderful people who read this blog. I am grateful for you. Josh and I love your comments. Thank you for being a witness to our life. So many people tell me that they don’t know what to say, that they don’t know how to help us. I understand! But I have realized over these last months that what we need the most are friends who are willing to “go there.” Friends who will be witnesses to God’s wor

Simplicity Costs Everything

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 11:32:35 -0600

This morning, over coffee, I came across this from T.S. Eliot. What does it mean to be a Christian? “A condition of complete simplicity/ (Costing not less than everything).” I was astonished at the resounding response I felt in my heart when I read those words and it took me just a bit to figure out why I responded so powerfully. It has been eight months since our twins entered their rest. The grief I feel over their loss seems only to increase, and, added to it, is what ofte

The Seasons of Hillside

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:30:38 -0500

If it were up to my hubby our babies would have been buried on our church property. I think it would be wonderful to go to worship every Lord’s Day with a poignant reminder of those who now worship perfectly in Heaven. But it didn’t seem right to violate city zoning laws so we found Hillside, a lovely, old cemetery to the north of Minneapolis. A couple in our church told us about it. They buried their little boy there less than a year before. So we have a Good Shepherd congregation in mi

All The Time

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:46:00 -0500

At Covenant College I learned to say, “God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good.” I’m not sure where it came from or how it started but it was part of our college liturgy so much so that now, whenever I hear someone say, “God is good,” I want to respond, “All the time.” I spent the Labor Day weekend with dear friends, several of whom have also faced severe trial. We talked often about what it means to affirm that God is good. If we really do believe that He is good and that,