Category: Life’s Challenges

• The Life of a Farmhouse

  When I was a kid, I’d occasionally watch “Captain Kangaroo” on TV. One of the characters on the show was Grandfather Clock. He was a tall, normal-looking grandfather clock, except he had a cartoon-like face and he talked. He often talked about whatever was on his mind and how he felt about it.  I thought…

  Marian

  December 2, 2012

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

  assisted living, bed and breakfast, Captain Kangaroo, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Country Comforts Bed and Breakfast, fairness, farmhouse, God’s love, Grandfather Clock, group retreats, guests, hospitality, house blessing, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, reflections, talking with God, whispering winds, Whispering Winds Retreat Haven

• Learning to Count by 35

  Last week I did a lot of thinking. I was at our Christmas Mountain timeshare in Wisconsin Dells to focus on writing my book on hospitality. I’ve been working on this project for almost three years, and the end is finally in sight. My goal is to complete it by January 31. I think I…

  Marian

  November 19, 2012

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

  35, assisted living, change in my life, Christmas Mountain, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, getting organized, give thanks, give thanks in all circumstances, goals, God’s love, growing up, growing up on the farm, hospitality, life calling, life challenges, life changes, on the farm, reflections, selling eggs, spirituality, Thanksgiving, whispering winds, writing book

• Favorites

  Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things [from “The Sound of Music” by Rodgers and Hammerstein] One of my favorite words is “favorite.” Whenever I think about a favorite anything – song, person,…

  Marian

  November 11, 2012

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

  Abbey, accomplishments, assisted living, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, favorite aunt, favorite ice cream, favorite nurse, favorite things, favorites, friends, God’s love, life calling, life challenges, life changes, love your neighbor, Madison Magazine, Madison’s Favorite Nurses, Mim Jacobson, Miriam Jacobson, people’s choice, people’s choice contest, reflections, spirituality, WISC-TV

• Beyond the Sunset

  Aunt Edith passed away last Tuesday evening. She’s the talented gospel pianist aunt I wrote about in this blog last summer (https://whisperingwindsblog.com/2012/07/30/lets-celebrate/). I woke up several times Tuesday night. My mind was imagining what her welcome in heaven was like. Here’s what came to mind. Edith’s husband, Helmer, was pretty excited. He had heard from…

  Marian

  November 5, 2012

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

  beyond the sunset, Edith Kenseth, family reunion, Gary Kenseth, God’s love, heaven, heavenly home, Helmer Kenseth, life changes, reflections, spirituality, whispering winds

• My Little Black Dress

  A few years ago, Goodwill advertised that their resale stores were the best places to find the perfect little black dress to wear to holiday parties. That brought back memories of the black dresses I used to have, especially the one I wore to my first grade Halloween party. When I was a little kid,…

  Marian

  October 29, 2012

  Celebrations, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  Abbey, black dress, black dresses, God’s love, Halloween, Halloween costume, life challenges, life changes, little black dress, old suitcase, puppy costume, puppy face, reflections, whispering winds

• Salty Cookies, Burnt Cereal, and Learning Curves

    My mom worked in Madison during most of my growing up years.  She compensated for not being around home to supervise me as much as she would like by suggesting projects for me to do by myself, especially during the summer. One project was learning to bake cookies. One of the first times I…

  Marian

  October 22, 2012

  Blogs, Goals, Life’s Challenges, Personal Retreats, Reflections

  accomplishments, baking cookies, blogging, chocolate chip cookies, Christian Book Market, devotional book, e-book, Guideposts, hospitality, independent publisher, learning curve, life challenges, listening for God, monday mornings, personal retreat, reflections, reflections on everyday life, self-publishing, spirituality, Thomas Nelson, whispering winds, writing a book, writing retreat

• What I’ve Learned about Debating

  Prior to the Vice Presidential Debate last week, Governor Romney was criticized for saying he didn’t think his running mate, Paul Ryan, had much debate experience – maybe in high school he might have had some. That got me thinking about my experience on my high school debate team. When I was a junior in high school,…

  Marian

  October 15, 2012

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  debate team, debates, God’s love, greatest commandment, high school debate, life challenges, listening for God, love each other, love God, love one another, love your neighbor, political season, presidential debates, reflections, values reflected in our lives

• The Kindness of Strangers

  In 1970 I graduated from college as a newly minted English teacher. Growing up as a Midwesterner, I had never been to New England, but I thought it would be an interesting place to live, a place with lots of history and literature to discover. I didn’t know a soul out there, but I figured…

  Marian

  September 29, 2012

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  bag lady, friendliness of strangers, friends, God’s love, kindness, life challenges, life changes, living in Chicago, living in Connecticut, plainfield connecticut, random acts of kindness, reflections, stranger, strangers, wooden fishing boat

• God Sent a Deer to Remind Me

  As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. [Psalm 42:1 NRSV] A young deer was cautiously watching me as I stood at my copier making a few copies of some music to put in my organ binder for Sunday’s church service. I spied her as I looked through…

  Marian

  September 24, 2012

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

  As the deer, deer, God’s love, Hans Margolius, Joan Chittister, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, my soul longs for you, nature, personal retreat, Psalm, psalm 42, quiet mind, quiet waters, reflections, retreats, Socrates, spirituality, Take time to be holy, talking with God, The Monastic Way, to see the world undistorted, unexamined life, unexamined life is not worth living, whispering winds

• Owning My Name

  My name is Marian. I never had a nickname. That’s too bad, because I never liked my name. I first struggled with my name in kindergarten, as I described in my blog a couple weeks ago. My teacher, Miss Polly, tried to spell it with an “o” instead of an “a” and I knew she…

  Marian

  September 10, 2012

  God’s Love, Jail Ministry, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  call by name, Elsie Korth, God’s love, jail ministry, Jesus, life challenges, MARIAN, Marian Korth, name, names, reflections, shepherd