Category: Reflections

• 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

• Enjoying God’s Many Gifts

  Remember how much fun it is to watch a three-year-old tear the wrapping paper off a birthday present, to watch the excitement and delight in her face. She completely trusts that whoever gave her the present has given her a wonderful thing that she will enjoy to the fullest. One of the verses from the…

  Marian

  October 8, 2012

  Assisted Living, God’s Love, Nature, Reflections

  Abbey, assisted living, autumn colors, autumn leaves, blue sky, CamRock Park, childlike enthusiasm, childlike faith, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, fall foliage, farmhouse, God’s love, listening for God, milkweed, nature, rainbow, reflections, seasons, talking with God, the heavens declare the glory of God, walk in the park, walk in the woods, whispering winds

• 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

• The Message of Two Cornstalks

  This morning as Mim and I were walking Abbey I asked Mim if she had any ideas for me to write about in today’s blog. She responded, “How about the two cornstalks growing next to the road at Whispering Winds? Remember Jesus talked about seeds that fell on good ground.” It’s actually been kind of…

  Marian

  September 17, 2012

  Gardening, God’s Love, Nature, Reflections

  Abbey, corn, cornstalks, farmhouse, gardening, God’s love, God’s messages, good soil, Jesus, listening for God, nature, parable, plants, raccoon, reflections, seeds, spirituality, stalks of corn, talking with God, 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

• Here’s my 2-cents worth on working

  The earliest job I can remember having was before I started school. My Mom hired me to do two jobs – clean the bathroom and dust all the furniture in the house. Each job paid 2 cents, and each job usually took me about half an hour. (I wasn’t fast, but I was pretty thorough.)…

  Marian

  September 3, 2012

  Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  2 cents, 2-cents’ worth, assisted living, baling hay, big promotion, career, Country Comforts Assisted Living, editorial researcher, English teacher, Following the Path, Frederick Buechner, growing up on a farm, H tractor, Joan Chittister, job, jobs, labor, Labor Day, Lent, life calling, life challenges, life purpose, making the world a better place, reflections, the place God calls you, The Search for a Life Passion Purpose and Joy, the star we must follow, the world’s deep hunger, where your deep gladness, whispering winds, Wishful Thinking, work, working

• I am right!

  I guess that means you are wrong if you don’t agree with me. Right? I learned from an early age that when I know something is one way, and someone else says it’s another way, that I’m right and they’re wrong. The earliest confrontation I remember about who’s right and who’s wrong came when I…

  Marian

  August 25, 2012

  Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  agree with me, being right, being wrong, contradictions, differences of opinion, Hokey Pokey, kernel of truth, kindergarten, kindness, life challenges, MARIAN, Miss Polly, polarization of politics, reflections

• A Special Cloud – Part 2

  And now for the rest of the story… Last week I wrote about Ruth, the latest addition to our assisted living family. Ruth moved into our condo (Country Comforts Assisted Living) less than two weeks ago. She was already receiving hospice services, and as soon as she settled into our home, she relaxed into the…

  Marian

  August 20, 2012

  Assisted Living, God’s Love, Reflections

  assisted living, blog, blogs, cloud, cloud of love, clouds, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, dying, friends, friendship, God’s love, gold and silver, life changes, Marilyn Huebel, reflections, silver and gold, whispering winds, Whispering Winds Retreat Haven