Wow, I had decided I would continue to post some of what I wrote when I first did Jen Hatmaker's study guide in the back of her book A Modern Girl's Guide to Bible Study. I was trying to find the post I'd started but the draft has disappeared for some reason. As I was scrolling through all my posts, I saw a bunch of drafts. So I decided to open them all up and saw that I'd already typed up about 5 days worth of quiet times from when I did it over a year and a half ago. I figured I might as well … [Read more...]
Protected: Have You Ever Felt Lonely?
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W is for Water #atozchallenge
Mari and water, a dynamic combination. Mari loved being in, playing in, basically anything to do with in the water. From the time Mari was a baby, she loved to go swimming. My husband's family was always amazed that I could put her in the swimming pool and she had the time of her life. She didn't mind if the water got in her face. She just giggled and had a blast. As most of you know I've been writing a book about what happened with our little girl. In the book there is a dedication section … [Read more...]
Day 151: Walking Away
In life sometimes there are things we want to do so bad, and then we start to do them only to find that about two-thirds to three-fourths of the way through what we are doing isn't anything like we'd thought it'd be. As a result, we realize we need to stop without finishing. Has this ever happened to you before in your life? It has with me, only I realized this when I had completed the full first draft of Mari's book. The book I'd written was a complete biography of Mari's life as well as some … [Read more...]
Never Do Good Deeds Halfheartedly
How can anyone say they are doing a good deed if their heart isn't fully into it? I don't get that personally. If I'm going to do a good deed for someone or something then I need to have my heart fully into it. The fact is others will be able to tell that I'm not into it otherwise. Unless, of course, you're a fantastic actor/actress who can get away with faking it, but if that's the case maybe that person should be paid millions to do movies and what not then too. When Mari died, I could have … [Read more...]
Those Who Gave Their Lives for So Many
Today is a day so many of us remember exactly where we were when we heard about the World Trade Center being hit by airplanes. We had no idea at first that some evil men had hatched this despicable plan to terrorize our nation by flying passenger airliners through buildings. Our lives were rocked to our very core. We sat in front of our TVs transfixed to those two towers just burning with smoke billowing out. And then before our very eyes, Tower 2 comes down with what only seemed like minutes … [Read more...]
Day 137: Mileage from Childhood Fears
Many things happen to us throughout our childhood. Some good things while other not so good and for some they hope they never remember the really bad things. No matter who we are. No matter how we were raised. We are who we are today because of how we grew up. Our childhood shaped and molded us into the person we are now. I think back to when I was growing up. Was there a lot of bad stuff, like abuse? Unfortunately, the answer to that is yes. If I could take away all the abuses, neglect and … [Read more...]
Day 130: Paying Attention
When I write about Mari, I’m paying attention to my internal thoughts and feelings that I have at the time. She will be at the forefront as I write out the words on the screen. For me, it’s about know that I’m being truthful about what I’m feeling at the time. It helps me to grieve for her and heal at the same time. Sometimes it’s when I’m feeling sad and really missing her and other times it’s about the happy memories I have of her. I know that all of this requires me to pay attention to my … [Read more...]
Volunteers: A Priceless Commodity
Being a volunteer. Do we really know what our time means to someone else when volunteer our time? Sometimes I think we take for granted what some people do. Not that we do it on purpose, but we all get busy with our own lives. Things happen. For example, think of all the people it takes to run a single church. There are only a few paid positions. The pastor. The church secretary. Maybe one or two associate pastors. If the church is big enough, a youth pastor. But that might be about it. Think … [Read more...]
Day 125: Approval
That one little word, approval, can mean so much to someone. To know that someone approves of something you have said or done. It gives you the confidence you might not have had otherwise. I think back on the time during the time when Mari was in the hospital. When she had made it to her fourth and final hospital I was told by one of the nurses about CarePages. She told me it was a way to keep family and friends updated on Mari and how she was doing. I couldn’t wait to get started. We had so … [Read more...]
