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I have great respect for Mother Teresa. She is a woman who modeled love and compassion in so many ways. I admire that in her love and compassion, she stayed strong and tender. I have a few books that are filled with her wisdom and I enjoy sitting to read a few at a time and reflect on what it might look like in my own life if I were to adopt whatever it is she is reflecting on…..she is one woman who inspires me to give of myself generously to others….

Tonight my niece Olivia posted a piece by Mother Teresa in a very creative way. Olivia has a big heart for people and has learned through the adoption of her sister and brother from Haiti, that love really is what bonds people together. I admire Olivia so much for how she is bold in her acceptance of people, she lives out loud and shows up with her whole heart, no matter what she is seeking to achieve.

The verses below reportedly were written on the wall of Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta, India, and are widely attributed to her. Some sources say that the words below were written on the wall in Mother Teresa’s own room.  In any case, their association with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity has made them popular worldwide, expressing as they do, the spirit in which they lived their lives. 

I am going to have this version printed up because it reminds me of wonderful words to live by and reminds me of a wonderful person who is committed to living by them….

A day where it felt as if every situation I encountered turned into a complex issue…

A day where our routine tasks such as payroll became complicated by flooky computer issues, resulting in everyone almost being paid double…

A day where I thought I would celebrate my switch over to Verizon, only to find out that my new Verizon phone didn’t work (after I terminated my Sprint account) and since it was ordered on-line, they are the one’s that have to send me a new one. So I have been without a phone since 3pm yesterday.

A day when I left my dog home to enjoy chasing squirrels and came home to a very wet muddy dog chasing rain drops…(and very happy dog!)

A day when I rushed into the office and unknowingly forgot to close my back seat window. I marveled at the frequent downpour’s throughout the later afternoon, that is until I got to my car…

A day when I felt tired, weary, foggy and a bit off all day long.  My co workers are great at helping me get through a day like today and I am thankful for Heather and Laura, but I left the office and prayed, asking God to remind me of what is important and to inject my heart with some perspective and hope….although this is not the actual, this is the clarity of which I saw a beautiful rainbow after work. This rainbow offered me exactly what I prayed for….perspective and hope.

I think I will call it a day while I am hanging onto two valuable things. Makes my day worthwhile….oh, what a day!

Today I enjoyed lunch with my friend Ryan. Ryan is pictured in the photo on the left as the last one on the right! 🙂

I have known Ryan for almost 16 years and so the fact that he completed High School today makes me feel a little old.

Ryan is delightful…he is quieter in nature, but almost always has a witty something to say. He shared much today with his Mom (my very dear friend) and myself about what he has observed and noticed about life and relationships. Ryan doesn’t miss much and is wonderfully self-aware.

It is my prayer that Ryan will continue to grow in his confidence, heart, passion and maturity in the coming months. I am sure that at times it must have felt like school would never end, but today it did and Ryan, that is an ending worth celebrating. Looking forward to attending your graduation celebration!

Tonight I enjoyed visiting with my Journey Group.  It wasn’t the whole group, since three live out-of-town, but five of us gathered for dinner and conversation….

It was good to reflect and share about how it has been to re-enter after spending an intensive week together…

I was encouraged that although we talked about our week together, we shared more about how we are doing in living authentically on the Journey.

We talked about what changes need to happen in our lives and where we are hiding in areas of comfort, even if we know they are not life-giving…

We shared honestly and we shared lightly….we laughed and smiled a lot and we enjoyed the company of one another….

There was a song I kept thinking of as the evening passed by….

I leave you with the words tonight and hope they might also fill your mind and heart with assurance of God’s presence on your every day journey!

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.

When I feel afraid,
And think I’ve lost my way.
Still, you’re there right beside me.
Nothing will I fear
As long as you are near;
Please be near me to the end.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.

I will not forget

Your love  for me and yet,

My heart forever is wandering.

Jesus by my guide,
And hold me to your side,
And I will love you to the end.

Nothing will I fear
As long as you are near;
Please be near me to the end.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
And a light unto my path.
You?re the light unto my path.

It was a delightful day…

We were missing Len and Marcia, Olivia, Noah, Sonta, Jean Marc, Nick, Jonna, Andrew, Ryan and Grandma B…

But 16 of us gathered to celebrate Mother’s Day and enjoy a meal together.

Arlene and Suzi and I planned dinner and brought every item so my Mom did not have to plan a thing. She enjoyed that and it was a nice break for her since she prepares a big Sunday dinner almost every other Sunday of the year.

There was lots of noise but it was happy noise…

There was large group celebration and one on one conversation…

There was laughing and joking and praying and singing…

There was quiet (not much or for very long) and there was lots of chitter chatter….

There were kids helping and a small bit of resisting to help but in the end they all offered their hands to the table setting, chair carrying, table clearing, dishes doing….

And there were NO tears (except when Johanna fell from her new trike ~ but even she recovered! 

And so at the end of today, I am thankful again for my family.

I pray for families who are dealing with struggle or heart-break and tonight my prayers will be that all of us will do what we need to in order to strengthen our family relationships.

May we all delight in the variety of personalities that fill our families,

May we find the space to forgive,

May we be filled with an abundance of grace and

May we remain committed to living full of honesty, compassion, integrity and love!

Dear Johanna,

What fun to celebrate your second birthday. You continue to change and grow everyday.  This is your picture at one years old….I didn’t think I could love you any more than I did then, but today, my heart is even fuller of wonder and love for you….

Your vocabulary is increasing and you can now put words together. It is pretty normal for you to be singing Hallelujah throughout the day and your other favorite is the wheels on the bus….

You love Peter and want him to chase you around the house and getchyou getchyou getchyou…
You are often looking for I (Isaiah) and if he isn’t in the car with us, you are very concerned.

You smile big and laugh deep…

You love your Mom more than anyone and that is ok…really pretty wonderful to see!

You love to see Dutch and feed her lots of extras, either your own food, suckers you no longer want or fill her dog dish to the brim…

You love to call me and are starting to have phone conversations….

You like Caillou (even though your Mom doesn’t) and you love to read books.

You are very fond of your Daddy and I will never forget how you ran into his arms and hugged and held him with the sweetest smile on your face during tax season this year.

Your hair is long, wild and curly, your eyes are full of sparkle and wonder, your smile is big and inviting and your heart is tender and sweet. You are a very special two-year old to many people, but one thing I know for sure and without a doubt, you are a very special two-year old to ME!

I love you Johanna and look forward to alot of fun this year!

I love this picture. I love thinking about four of us playing together and bringing goofy and craziness into our home. I remember when Arlene and I would put a big brown blanket over Len and Nick and make them our horse and they would take us all through the house. I remember watching Emergency and playing baseball in the yard. I have good memories of growing up with my siblings. Of course when Suzi was born and four became five, there was just more fun in our home.

Fast forward to today and it is hard to imagine that Arlene now has a daughter old enough to graduate from High School. What happened to the years? That seems to be a theme in my thoughts lately. Could it be cause I am now 41 and realize that life has been full and full of memorable moments….

Arlene and I are 16 months apart. We grew up sharing a room, playing together on the playground, singing in bed at night and baking cookies on Saturday. We have shared clothes and friends, fights and unforgettable moments. When we were younger, I know I was  not always as kind or  generous as I would have liked to have been with Arlene, but today, we share a very dear friendship.

Today I can say that her first love is her family. Although Arlene has pursued her dreams and graduated two years ago with her nursing degree, she remains in love with her husband and children. Arlene is always full of life and passion, she is upbeat, encouraging and hopeful. I love to laugh with Arlene and we often will both end up in a silent hilarious spell of laughter.

I admire Arlene for being the first sibling who became a mom. She has blazed the trail and has done it well. Her kids on most days, almost every day, would say she is a great Mom. They know of her commitment to them and that she would do most anything to help them succeed.

And so, as we prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day in our family this weekend (one week late), I am thankful for my older sister Arlene and her commitment to raise up her kids in the way of the Lord….she has demonstrated what it means to be in love with her children and in that, to love them well!

Happy Mother’s Day Arlene. Know that I celebrate your role as Mom to my five amazing nieces and nephew, way more than one day a year!

Today I had two  conversations with two friends who are struggling. They are good conversations to have, not because my friends are struggling, but because honest words are shared…

I have learned some valuable lessons about struggling over the last few years….

I have learned that struggling is normal and if we live life honestly, we all have areas of struggle….

I have learned that struggling offers me two choices….

invites me to think like a victim, pointing the finger at others who have created my situation

OR

invites me to honestly identify what is happening and what will I need to call forth to move through this area of struggle…

I have learned that struggling can be a very lonely place to be, but when I am willing to risk sharing my struggle, I often feel supported and loved…

I have learned that struggling invites me to call out to God in new ways. Often I can identify a faulty thought process or something I am believing about God or others in the midst of my struggle….

It is hard to watch friends struggle, but I am thankful that I have learned to sit with them and not take it on acting as if it is my responsibility to rescue them.

I believe in the integrity of both friends who are in very different struggles

I believe in the power of prayer and encouraging words…that in time, they will find themselves hopeful again….

I believe in the truth that struggling well develops our faith, our character and our hearts….

I believe that living honestly in the midst of our struggles allows us to journey with others in their struggles…

I am grateful for those who have modeled for me, encouraged me and invited me to struggle well…

I want my friends to do the same…and so I will love them and sit with them….and trust that in time this to shall pass!

Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind, even if your voice shakes!

~ Maggie Kuhn

I have had a full day and this quote caught me tonight as I walked by my fridge. It is a good one and a good reminder to welcome courage and not lose our voices.

I send this quote with my friend Mike as he speaks this weekend to a group of firefighters in New York about what it means to fight for their own life….not just the lives of others!

Share your story, my brother and friend. I am praying that God will speak through your words and bring purpose to your story, even the most painful parts!