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September Devotional: Work in Progress
It is amazing to me that we are already in September…not sure where this year went already. Before we know it we will be opening holiday gifts as time does fly. Our lives are similar to the calendar year in that they go quickly. One day we are young and full of energy and the next we are facing the struggles of old age. However, the one thing that remains constant is that we are a work in progress. In Jeremiah 29:11 we read “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a…
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Connecting with Adult Children: Be flexible, creative, and intentional.
Of the three of us ladies at Rhubarb and Rubbish, I am the only one that is an empty nester. The three kids are all in their early 20s but doing various different things from living in another community, raising their own children, and buying houses. All three are busy working and living, while I am still busy working and living. As you can imagine, connecting regularly presents challenges. For my son, who lives in town, I am usually guaranteed to see him once a week at our Friday night family suppers with my parents and sister and her family who live in town. Friday night suppers were started a…
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The Love of Friday Night Suppers
Earlier this month we celebrated recapping our third annual family camp. Shortly after our first camp, there were a few family members in the same community that wanted to keep recreating the amazing time we had. We decided to try having Sunday family dinners after church like we did growing up. We were successful for a few months and then became totally derailed. We found that we had events to go to and just wanted to be home to prepare for the week ahead. We missed the concept of getting together and thought “let’s try another night.” We opted for Friday nights as most often none of us had much…
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Intentional Memory Making: Make time and seize the day.
Last week I told you a story of a regular life activity that created memories for me as a child and the importance of just remembering to be with each other in the Chasing Headless Chickens post. This week, I’m going to address intentional memory making. Every day is an opportunity to intentionally make memories, but some days and events call for a little more intention. As I am writing this, I am reflecting on this past weekend. My entire family, minus a couple of people who had to work, traveled between two and two and half hours to where my daughter lives to watch her performance in The Adams…
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Making Memories While Chasing Headless Chickens
Imagine with me a moment—the summer heat rising off the gravel roads, bright blue cloudless skies, green and gold fields for miles around, a white farmhouse and barn with a variety of tractors and farm equipment haphazardly lining the drive. Now…add in the sound of dying chickens and the screams of a couple of kids about 5 and 7. Ha, gotcha! I know you were thinking of iced tea and a porch swing while eating Grandma’s fresh-baked rhubarb crisp! But, that isn’t in this story. When my oldest sister and I were small kids, my parents would go to my paternal grandparent’s farm and butcher chickens. They butchered enough chickens…
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Let Memories Just Happen
As we navigate life, we are continually making memories. Some are ones we would love to recreate. Others we wish we could forget. For the ones that we want to recreate, do we stop to think about what made them so special? Often we lose what made that special over time. We forget the details, but we remember the awesomeness that we experienced. We also fret and stress when things go wrong. We hyperfocus on the time that had an epic fail in public or when we made a fool of ourselves at work. We choose to make family holidays a stressful time because a member has lost their way…
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Third Annual Family Camp Recap
Yay….we just completed year three of our annual family camp!!! Seems incidental to some, but for our overworked, unadventurous family it is a milestone. This started as a small thought to try to connect cousins for more time together and find time for us as siblings to connect more than just the rushed holidays. However, it has become so much more! Each year we take away something new. We gain a bigger piece of who we are. We inspire our kids to just be kids. We all throw the worries of our crazy society away. We find time and ways to connect that we wouldn’t otherwise do. Here are some…
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August Devotional
Scripture Verse: Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day in its own trouble.” Devotional Thought: How many of us are guilty about lying there in bed at night trying to fall asleep while we are worrying about tomorrow and what it will bring. I know I have been there numerous times. I am trying to fall asleep while my thoughts are racing with the day’s events and what will happen tomorrow. We are anxious about lots of things in our lives but God is here for us. Action: Why are we anxious about tomorrow when God is…
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Lazy Days of Summer
Reality check!?! Summer is flying by and before we know it school will be starting for many. How has your summer gone so far? If you are like me, it has gone fast and been busy. For most of us, it seems our summer weekends are booked long before summer starts. They are filled with vacations, family reunions, weddings, and more. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” We often think that winter brings an opportunity to slow down as the weather keeps us indoors. However, summer is the season to engage in slowing down as well. We can spend…
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Faith on the Road
For most of us, summer brings the opportunity to get in the car and take a trip or two. Whether it is a long-distance trek or a few days here and there, traveling interrupts our routines. Most of the time that is a wanted and much-needed interruption. However, interrupting our devotional and church-going routine is a different matter entirely. Psalm 139:7 says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I feel from your presence?” Great news! God is a fabulous traveler and goes wherever we go and whenever we go. Our only job is to remain intentional about worshipping, praising, and being in communication with God. How…
