I spent ten years in the Army, and not until the last four did I actually enjoy running. My first two years in Panama I hated it. Three miles at a fast pace in 100 degree tropical heat with 100 degree humidity, at 4 o'clock in the morning, up and down horribly steep hills....... I don't think in the two years I was there I ever completed a run with my platoon. I was always lagging behind. I was one of the last to make it home, last to get in the shower, and often had to skip the mess hall just to get to work on time. There was never a morning of leisurely getting ready because there was little time between the time I finished my three miles to the time I had to be in the office. Those of us who ran slower than the expected pace just knew to begin in the rear of the ... View Post
Running the Race
"Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable?" Proverbs 20:6 Someone once told me that when you love someone, you always assume the best about that person. For quite some time, I was convinced they must be right. In fact, I had actually even begun to believe that I really didn't know how to love well. Or maybe at all. But if that were true - that love is always assuming the best about someone, then what reason would there be to want to encourage anyone to run harder after Christ? To dig deeper, to do the hard work of letting God get into every nook and cranny of our hearts? And to actually truly believe we could be a new creation in Christ? Heal from our pasts? That would also mean that my closest and most cherished ... View Post
I Love You More Than An Ironed T-Shirt
I got dressed today, but I'm not exactly sure why. I had 8 a.m. plans, 10 a.m. plans, and then it snowed. And snowed, and snowed, and snowed. I canceled the 8 a.m. plans, canceled the 10 a.m. plans, and commenced to study. And study, and study, and study. I'm so, so, so sick of studying. In the middle of studying, "Suzy Q" called. I snagged her as my friend about eight or so years ago when she was holding the door at a Bible study I was attending. She was so friendly, always remembered my name, always asked about my sons - so I told her one day I was keeping her. And we've been good friends since the day I told her that. Suzy Q loves to play in the snow (I told her she's cray-cray, but she just laughs!) so I was surprised when she took a break from playing in the ... View Post
Sheet Harbor
As I'm continuing to go through old things in my home, my mother seems to be doing the very same thing in hers! It's almost daily that we get reminded of an old funny story, a cherished neighbor, or just a sweet memory worth savoring. I came across a good one today. And it's worth passing on to Lyla and Owey, so I'm stickin' it here in my blog! My Dad was the best story teller. I mean - theeee best! He never ran out of stories to tell us at night about the shenanigans he and his 15 siblings would get into as kids. (Yes, there were 16 kids!) My little sister and I loved the stories about Dad's horses, or his dog, or the jokes they'd play on each other on the farm. She'd always say, "Dad, tell us another story about Chum!" And he did. Every night. There was ... View Post
The Inadequate Father
For the past 20 years or so, my friend Ron has called me yearly to wish me a Happy Father's Day. Ron watched during the earliest years of raising two boys by myself, as I struggled to single-handedly work multiple medical transcription jobs from home - some of them around the clock, waitress a few hours a week for some extra cash, budget my time, manage my money, help with the homework, keep our home clean, fix household things by myself, go back to school (twice), mow the lawn, cook dinner, bathe the boys, and snuggle them to sleep. And! Still manage to take them on cool, adventurous, once-in-a-lifetime vacations. Ron always told me that I was Mom AND Dad, and I proudly received those accolades, and waited every year for Ron's call. After all, I WAS doing it all! I was ... View Post
He Knows
Dear, dear cherished friend, I wish you knew how many evenings I go to bed and think about you, wondering if you are okay. You sound okay on the phone, and you almost convince me that you are, but are you? Really? Your laugh is so infectious. And it's always the last thing I hear before we hang up. But I often wonder afterwards - are you really okay? Those in between days, the "not-so-good" ones - you so often ask me the same question. Why? Why no justice? I am so sorry. Sorry for what you endured. Sorry for what feels like lack of justice. I have no answer. I don't know why things happened to you like they did. I don't know why there are so many women walking in the same pair of shoes you are walking in. I know you feel as if you look like the bad guy, ... View Post
Refreshing My Soul
Recently a friend of mine who went through a life-saving operation shared her thoughts on how this experience has changed her. Another friend of mine, rather young but in poor health, had two heart attacks in the past month. Earlier this week, a stranger shared with me the experience of losing her childhood. And a friend shared the very private loss she has struggled with just this past year. Each of their circumstances are very different, yet they all seem to - perhaps even unknowingly - share a common wisdom. They know what matters. One of those nuggets of wisdom was to stop discussing things you'd like to do, and just do them. So rather than talking about having lunch, my friend and I dropped everything we were doing today to share a meal and catch up. I can't even ... View Post
Dishes, Hugs, & Biscuits
The top shelves in my cupboards are empty. Well, at least they were empty two weeks ago. As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I've been in this season of giving everything away. I can't reach up there anymore and it's just me here in my home. I don't need all this "stuff," I've reasoned. And my friends are getting tired of me continually asking them, "Do you want this? How about this? This?" Guess what. My top shelves are full again. I couldn't help it! You see, it seems my mother is in the very same "giving everything away" season and she has sent me away with a box each time I've left her house. On the top shelf of my kitchen cupboards are now several beautiful tea cups and saucers that date back to more than 100 years ago. I don't even drink tea, but I'm ... View Post