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I Am Not Enough: Trusting God in the Valley
I have struggled with my health since I was a kid: ear infections, allergies, asthma, endometriosis…to start the list. Somehow through all of these, I learned how to manage the illness through working with my doctor and some minor life modifications. However, this past September, I contracted mono. If you have ever had mono, you know that one of the key symptoms is fatigue. I had struggled with fatigue prior to this for a variety of reasons including allergies, asthma, genetics, and if I’m honest, an achiever lifestyle. Mono exacerbated that to the point that I need to slightly modify my busy schedule. Mono was tough, but I was unlucky…
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Running on Fumes….or Dysfunction????
What a whirlwind this spring has been already! I am loving the warmer weather, the fact the snow is melting, and the signs that I will soon be enjoying my back patio with a glass of wine or cold beer. However, in both my own life and those around me, I have had a constant stream of conversations in the last few weeks about how we are overbooked, tired, and feel like we are running on fumes. Yes, the common phrase people use often is “running on fumes”. It is a state of life in which we are tired and run down….barely making it to the next obligation that we…
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Is my name Peter?
Yes, it is a strange question that starts this article as one, I am a woman, and two, I am not having a memory lapse problem at the moment. My question arises out of my recently read devotionals. Due to the time of year and upcoming Easter holiday, many of the devotions I have read recently are diving into the days and time before Jesus’ crucifixion. We read how Peter denied Jesus three times. Our lives are so full and busy that it is ever so easy to deny what Jesus is calling us to do or how he instructs us to live our lives….that yes, I feel like I…
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Look to the Lord: Every Moment Present
As I sit here looking out my east kitchen window, I can see the sunlight. It looks like it is going to be another gorgeous day with lots of sunshine and warmer temps. I can’t help but feel the need to not waste any second and go out and enjoy it as I do my morning routine of chores on the farm. Ephesians 5:15-17 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” These verses are powerful. They remind us to…
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Embrace the Clutter: Living Life in the Moment
As I sit in my house I look around at the things in my home and ponder… Where is it we spend the most time in our home? Why is it we seem to have stuff sitting around (piles of papers here and there, stuff on the counters, etc)? I look around at my table right now and it has piles of papers on it as I am currently doing bookwork. My counter is full right now with of course the usual coffee maker, kitchen stand mixer, and Tupperware containers full of baked goods. I, like most people, want a clean, uncluttered home when people come to my home and…
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Book Review: Start with Why ~ Simon Sinek
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Psalm 46:10 Be Still and Know That I am God
I have a confession. I am really bad at being still. No, I don’t mean physically still. I can veg out with the best of them. The stillness that this Psalm is referring to is stillness or quiet calmness of our spirits, our souls. A peace that passes all understanding. Most days, I have to admit that I have a very restless spirit. A racy mind full of to-do lists, what-ifs, and I’m-not-enough does not a quiet spirit make! The quiet stillness promised by this verse actually comes from believing the second part of the verse, knowing God. Knowing God is both being aware of who He is, the creator,…
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Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts–A Book Review
It’s been a while since we’ve featured a book review. The book under review today was recommended to me by several of my undergraduate students. A group of young women at my university completed a book study of Jennie Allen’s Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts. I wasn’t disappointed. Allen does a splendid job of addressing one of a Christian’s biggest struggles in staying true and in hope, our thoughts. Allen identifies a number of lies that we believe, being helpless, worthless, and unloveable. More importantly, each lie is actually rooted in what we believe about who God is. The solution? We choose to fight.…
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Keeping it simple…Giving it all to God
This last month we celebrated Valentine’s Day. My husband and I have never been over the top with doing much for the day. We are not dependent on having to go out to a nice restaurant, I don’t expect flowers or chocolates for the day and my husband doesn’t expect anything either. We have known, as we have been together for almost thirty years, that at the end of the day the other will be there for them no matter what. That is a gift that can’t be wrapped and it is priceless. We also aren’t huge travelers. So many people we know are in the height of winter traveling…
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Learning & Education…Finding the Right Degree
Education…it is the only thing we do for a number of years of our life. We spend countless hours in a school classroom learning, memorizing, and more. We play, we make friends and life seems full of no worries. As we are told…we are being prepared for being an adult. Then we enter adulthood and we find that we know very little. Yes, we still know 2+2 is 4 but what about navigating buying a home, planning for retirement, starting a new career, and, of course, no one trains you to be a parent. Over the years, I have held a number of positions in various jobs and have loved…
