Category: Goals

• Two Thousand “Ducks in a Row”

  Just imagine 2,000 ducks waddling around a big pond. Some wood ducks. Some mallards. Some plain white farmyard ducks. Some old. Some fluffy little yellow ducklings. And they’re all mixed up. Now imagine that it is your job to organize them by species and subspecies, and then line them up alphabetically by name – from […]

  Marian

  July 26, 2016

  Book Recommendations, Goals, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  2000 books, bookcase, books are friends, bookshelves, Country Comforts Bed and Breakfast, down-sizing sale, ducks in a row, favorite authors, give-away library, lending library, library, Max Lucado, organizing books, Philip Yancey, whispering winds, Whispering Winds Retreat Haven

• Dot-to-Dot Life

    Dot-to-Dot books were my absolute favorite activity books when I was a little girl – even better than coloring books – well, maybe my Red Ryder cowboy coloring book was the best of all – but other than that, dot-to-dot pages were my favorites. I could spend hours drawing lines from number to number […]

  Marian

  July 5, 2016

  Book Recommendations, Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  50th high school class reunion, 50th reunion, activity books, career aspirations, career changes, career dreams, Catherine of Siena, class reunion, coloring books, David Viscott, destiny, different gifts, discovering our gifts, dot-to-dot, dot-to-dot books, early writings, Firstlight, God’s gift to us, high school reunion, Joan Chittister, Lee Kampstad, life calling, lifelong adventure, meaning of life, Merton, Monastic Way, Navy Parachute Rigger, one dot at a time, our gift to God, parachute jumping, purpose of life, Red Ryder, ripcord, selfhood, St. Catherine of Siena, Sue Monk Kidd, That First Step, The Monastic Way, vocation, work of life

• Talking with Floey about Forecasts

  Floey jumped off the love seat in my home office, trotted over to my desk where I was sitting, and sat down next to me. “Mom, it’s been a week, and you still haven’t told me about the third thing you were thinking about during your getaway at your Christmas Mountain timeshare last week. Can […]

  Marian

  June 7, 2016

  Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  25th, 25th of month, Acme Boot Company, actual results, Buckingham Corporation, buget, Christmas Mountain, coca cola, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, coke, Cutty Sark Scotch, Floey, forecast, Fruit of the Loom, long-range plan, Mouton Cadet wines, New Year’s resolutions, Northwest Industries, personal plan, planning, Sears Tower, special word, Union Underwear, Willis Tower

• Making the World a Softer, Better Place

  

  This past weekend I kept checking Facebook on my smartphone, waiting for news and pictures. It was a big weekend for my family. My great niece Mollie was in Fort Worth, Texas, competing at the national championships for gymnastics. Meanwhile, her twin sister Katie was on the prom court of the Cambridge High School Junior […]

  Marian

  May 10, 2016

  Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  African proverb, Cambridge High School, Facebook, Fort Worth, Gracie Korth, guardian angel, gymnastics, It takes a village, It takes a village to raise a child, Joan Chittister, Junior Olympic National Team, junior prom, Katie Korth, Kevin Korth, kindness, making the world a softer better place, Mollie Korth, Monastic Way, national championship, No act of kindness, No act of kindness is ever wasted, Olympic coaches, prom court, Shawn Korth, stilts

• Another Piece in God’s Puzzle

  

  A couple weeks ago I received an email from Karina Sibrian Zepeda. She’s the new Director of Development for Casita Copan in Honduras. The subject of her email was “Why do you support Dulce Maria and Leydi?” This is part of her email: My name is Karina and I am the new Director of Development for […]

  Marian

  April 26, 2016

  Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  casita, Casita Copan, children’s home, Christmas baskets, Copan Ruinas, daycare program, Dulce Maria, gift baskets, God’s puzzle, Honduras, internship, Leydi, mission statement, orphanage, piece of the puzzle, scholarship, separate checkbooks, sponsor, sponsor a child

• Congratulations to My Great Niece Mollie

  

  I was inspired and I learned a lot last Saturday – actually 2 Saturdays ago. It was a great day! Prior to that Saturday, I had never been to a gymnastics meet. I guess that doesn’t make me a very good great aunt, since my 17-year-old great niece Mollie has participated in gymnastics since the […]

  Marian

  March 29, 2016

  Celebrations, Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  athletic scholarship, born with springs, congratulations, great niece, gym class, gymnastics, gymnastics meet, kindness, Mollie Korth, National Gymnastics Meet, Regional Gymnastics Meet, rope climbing, springs for bones, state champion, State Gymnastics Meet, stiff neck, summersaults, tumbling, University of Kentucky

• Meow?

  

  Floey came running up to my desk and stood beside me. “I’m ready, Mom. Let’s get started. I can hardly wait to start blogging about my special word for 2016.” Floey was wagging her tail so hard and fast I was afraid she might knock the landline phone off my desk. “Okay, Floey. We can […]

  Marian

  January 5, 2016

  Book Recommendations, Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, New Year, Reflections

  2016 word, Debbie Macomber, Floey, gratitude, joy, kindness, meow, Mim, One Perfect Word, patience, play, special word, wait, waiting

• The Life of a Farmhouse Continues

  Last Thursday was a very big day for Mim and me. We sold our farmhouse. This is the farmhouse where I grew up, and where my mom grew up. The farm had been in my family for over a hundred years – since 1908. Mim and I moved to the farmhouse in 1992, after my […]

  Marian

  August 25, 2015

  Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  assisted living, Captain Kangaroo, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Country Comforts Bed and Breakfast, farmhouse, FH, Grandfather Clock, hiatus, hospitality, house blessing, Martin Kenseth, moving out to pasture, peaceful, retreat house, Selma Jacobson, spiritual retreat center, stewardship, supportive living, welcoming guests, whispering winds, Whispering Winds Retreat Haven

• I’m Getting Smarter Every Day

  “Congratulations, Floey. You did it. You graduated from Intermediate Class at Dog’s Best Friend Training in Madison. I was surprised your teacher decided to award you your certificate, even though you will have to miss your last class. Apparently you learned everything you needed to know in five classes instead of six. Wow! I guess […]

  Marian

  July 27, 2015

  Goals, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  accomplishments, Dog’s Best Friend Training, Floey, getting smarter, Intermediate Class, Joan Chittister, learned everything, Monastic Way, open-minded, open-mindedness, right way, The Monastic Way

• Shhh. I’m Trying to Quiet My Mind.

  It’s hard to be quiet in today’s culture of constant stimulation. Worse yet, we take pride in being really busy, and we brag about our ability to multi-task. So how can we possibly shut out the noise and concentrate on just one thing for ten minutes, or half an hour, or even an hour? How […]

  Marian

  July 21, 2015

  Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Music, Personal Retreats, Reflections

  angels, Be still, call to worship, candles, church music, church organist, cloud of love, crystal angel, daily devotions, distractions, Holy Ground, holy place, Holy Spirit, introit, Jesus Calling, Lanny Wolfe, prelude, Quiet my mind, retreat center, sarah young, Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this place, This is holy ground, Whispering Winds Retreat Haven