Category: God’s Love

• The Gift of a Lifetime

  Floey was sitting in the living room, in front of her house (crate), looking up at the painting on the wall. “Mom, can you believe it? Kitty painted a portrait of me! She’s such a wonderful neighbor. I just love to go see her. She often gives me MilkBones, but I can’t believe she loves…

  Marian

  August 18, 2015

  God’s Love, Reflections

  different gifts, Floey, four-legged queen, gift of a lifetime, God-given gifts, Kitty Epperson, portrait, Queen of Stone Meadows, queen of the neighborhood, regal, spiritual gifts, talents, The Message

• Friends and Relatives, Cats and Dogs

  How many friends and relatives, cats and dogs does it take to make one’s life wonderful? Hundreds. Maybe thousands. What it takes to make a life wonderful is to learn to appreciate – to be thankful for – the  enrichment each person and pet contributes to one’s life. During the last couple weeks, Mim and…

  Marian

  August 11, 2015

  Celebrations, E-Retreats, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  beer garden, cats and dogs, family reunion, friends and relatives, funeral, Jacobson family reunion, life wonderful, love your neighbor, Mim, Mim Jacobson, Moody’s Pub, neighbor, Roger Hovey, Ruth and Elaine, Ruth Robbins, wonderful life, Zoe

• And God Said …

  And God said, “Marian, wake up.” And I said, “But God, it’s only 3:00 a.m.” And God replied, “Of course I know what time you think it is. But you have a lot of work to do before the funeral at 11:00 this morning.” “O God, go away. More sleep is what I need most…

  Marian

  August 4, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Music, Nature, Reflections

  bullies, bully, Cat Stevens, church music, dying bully, funeral music, God said, grieving bully, Morning Has Broken, sleepless, strumming guitar, The Message

• 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

• Shopping for a Tombstone

  So far this year I have had the privilege of playing the piano or organ for nine funerals. I typically play for between five and ten funerals a year – and it’s only July! In the 31 days from June 1 through July 1 of this year, I played for five of those funerals. Needless…

  Marian

  July 14, 2015

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

  “I know that my Redeemer lives”, “I love to tell the story”, Archie Monuments, Carl Korth, cemetery, comforting music, Elsie Korth, epitaph, funeral, funeral music, funerals, gravestone, Jimmy Carter, musical requests, praying hands, Through the Year with Jimmy Carter, tombstone, Wormeli

• Kindness or Foolish Generosity?

  There, I did it again. Two and a half years ago I gave $5 to a stranger who asked for a dollar or two to buy gas to get home for Christmas. I was at a McDonald’s parking lot just off the interstate between Cambridge and Wisconsin Dells. This time was just a couple weeks…

  Marian

  July 7, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  advice from Floey, conned, Floey, foolish generosity, generosity, homeless, Indian Reservation, kindness, Native American, panhandler, panhandling, stranger, wise insights

• Another Talk with My Friend Floey

  “Hey, Floey. What did you think about your new class last week?” Floey grinned at me and replied, “I loved it! When you first told me I would be going to another class, I really wondered why. I passed my class last winter with flying colors. I couldn’t imagine why you thought I needed to…

  Marian

  June 30, 2015

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

  different gifts, dog class, Floey, go to mat, God’s creation, human development, humans and animals, Intermediate Class, Joan Chittister, kinship with nature, Mim and her kittens, people and animals, people and dogs, relationship between humans and animals, soul, The Monastic Way, unawakened

• Mom’s Big Adventure: A Road Trip to California in 1934

  On August 19, 1934, in the heart of the Great Depression, three girlfriends started out on a road trip to California – Elsie Kenseth (my mom), Clarice Jarlsberg, and Eleanor Gilberts – three single young women in their mid-twenties who had grown up together in Cambridge. Within a couple years they would all be married…

  Marian

  June 23, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  1934, adventurer, Adventures in Hospitality, adventurous, big adventure, California, California Adventure, car trouble, Carl Korth, Clarice Jarlsberg, Clarice Vasby, Eleanor Gilberts, Eleanor Jarlsberg, Elsie Kenseth, Elsie Korth, General Delivery, Great Depression, Hilda Kenseth, Madison General Hospital, Model A Coupe, Model A Ford, new tire, road trip, Road Trip to California, summer adventure

• My Musical Destiny

  Seventeen years ago, Mim and I created a new business called Korth-Jacobson, LLC. Within that business structure we have done lots of different things – from being a bed and breakfast to selling real estate; from doing strategic planning and project management for small businesses to providing music in churches and a pub and other…

  Marian

  June 16, 2015

  Assisted Living, Celebrations, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Music, Reflections

  All Shook Up, assisted living, Aunt Edith, bed and breakfast, Beer Barrel Polka, childhood memories, church music, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Eleanor Jarlsberg, Elvis Presley, Fireside Theater, funeral, funeral music, gospel music, gospel organist, Gospel pianist, Greatest Hits, Jesus loves me, Korth-Jacobson LLC, Love Me Tender, Lowery electronic organ, Lowery organ, memorial service, musical destiny, Nancy Koplin, Ward Brodt

• For Crying Out Loud

  According to the idioms section of TheFreeDictionary.com, “for crying out loud” is “An exclamation of anger or exasperation, as in For crying out loud, can’t you do anything right? This term is a euphemism for for Christ’s sake. For crying out loud, I’ve been reading Joan Chittister’s monthly pamphlet for more than four years now.…

  Marian

  June 2, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  Anne Frank, avalanche, Brother Mickey McGrath, Cry Out, First they came for the communists, For Christ’s sake, For crying out loud, Helen Keller, Joan Chittister, Martin Niemoller, Monastic Way, silence, snowflake, spiritual narcissism, St. Catherine of Siena, the world is rotten