Whispering Winds Blog

Minor Characters in Our Life Stories

In last week’s blog post I wrote about the Sunday dinners of my childhood. To keep the story short, I left out one of the minor characters in those dinners, Eva Frankson. I’ve been thinking about her ever since. Eva lived with Grandma. My grandma had a small house across the street from the west side…

Marian

February 24, 2015

God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

attic bedroom, bonus person, Eva, Eva Frankson, extra person in my life, farming accident, friends, God’s love, God-given gifts, grandma, Grandma and Eva, hospitality, kindness, life challenges, listening for God, love your neighbor, quiet blessing, reflections, spirituality, Sunday dinner family
Dinnertime

I guess today is a good day to talk about dinnertime. It’s Mardi Gras – Fat Tuesday – a time of feasting the day before beginning a forty-day fast for Lent. Mim and I are planning to go out for a musical feast tonight – an organ recital by Thomas Trotter (a fantastic organist from…

Marian

February 17, 2015

Assisted Living, Book Recommendations, Celebrations, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

Abbey, Adventures in Hospitality, assisted living, Bread for the Journey, Buffalo Ice Cream Parlor, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Country Comforts Bed & Breakfast, Country Comforts family, daily devotions, devotional book, dinner time, dinnertime, eating meals together, family, Fat Tuesday, feasting, friends, God’s love, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Henri Nouwen, kindness, Lent, listening for God, love your neighbor, Mardi Gras, meal time, Mim, musical feast, Nouwen, reflections, spirituality, Sunday dinner, talking with God
Oh, the Conflicted Month of February

Oh, how I long for the “Merry, Merry Month of May.” But first I must struggle through the conflicted month of February, and then March and April. I’m tired of winter. There I’ve said it. But huge piles of snow and sub-zero wind chills just represent the most obvious burdens of February. It’s the time…

Marian

February 10, 2015

Celebrations, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

accounting, bread heart, catch up on accounting, conflicted month of February, favorite month, February, friends, getting organized, happy childhood memories, heart-shaped box of chocolates, heart-shaped slice of bread, joy, joyful month, life challenges, love your neighbor, merry month of may, mid-morning snack, QuickBooks, reflections, selecting valentines, spirituality, terrible month, tired of winter, Valentine, valentine box, Valentine’s Day
Better Than Counting Sheep

One night last week I couldn’t sleep. I’d taken a Sudafed for some head congestion, and my body just wouldn’t let me drift off to sleep. So, I tried to heed the advice I’d received from a friend and shared on Facebook a week or two ago – use the time to talk with God.…

Marian

February 3, 2015

Uncategorized

Christmas Mountain, counting sheep, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Dad, daily devotions, Dan Korth, Danny Korth, Debbie Macomber, fighting with my brother, first grade teacher, friends, God’s Guest List, God’s love, God-given gifts, Helen Knoblauch, heroes in my life, joy, kindness, life calling, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, Mim, mom, Mrs. Knoblauch, my heroes, Nancy Kornelsen, reflections, sibling rivalry, sleepless, spirituality, talking to God, talking with God, tractor
More on that Reflection in the Mirror – and in the Photo

In last week’s blog post I wrote about Floey’s reaction to seeing her reflection, and I changed the words of a familiar old song to “How Mean is that Doggie in the Mirror?” Then, personalizing it, I rewrote the simple lyrics again with the words “How Kind is that Person in the Mirror?” This week…

Marian

January 27, 2015

Celebrations, Reflections

Abbey, anniversary, anniversary card, birthday, Blessing Ceremony, church directory, family, family forever, family pictures, February 1, Floey, forever family, God’s love, January 24, kindness, legal wedding, long-haired people, love your neighbor, Maia, Megabyte, Mim, mirror, mirrors that reflect our history, photo, photo log, really married, reflection in pictures, reflection in the mirror, reflection in the photo, reflections, spirituality, spousal rights, talking with God
How Mean Is That Doggie in the Mirror?

Floey, who will turn one on January 24, barks ferociously every time she sees her reflection – whether it’s in a mirror, in a window at night, in the shiny black refrigerator door, or in the oven window. She sees that same dog everywhere! She knows there’s a dog on the other side of that “window” and she…

Marian

January 20, 2015

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

doggie, Floey, friends, get along, get along with each other, getting along, God’s love, hospitality, How kind is that person in the mirror, How mean is that doggie in the mirror, How much is that doggie in the window, kindness, life challenges, listening for God, love your neighbor, mirror, reflection in window, reflection mirror, reflection of myself, reflections, Romans 15:5-6, spirituality, talking with God, The Message
A Dramatic First Entry to My Gratitude Jar

Last week I wrote about the special words Mim, Floey, and I chose for 2015. Mim’s word is WAIT. Floey’s is LEARN. And mine is GRATITUDE. More readers responded to that post than usual, and I really appreciated reading your comments. One friend asked me if I had ever heard of a “Gratitude Jar?” I…

Marian

January 13, 2015

Life’s Challenges, Reflections

accident, Beltline, car accident, God’s love, gratitude, gratitude jar, jail, life challenges, McDonalds, Mim, reader response, reflections, slick roads, slippery roads, snowplow, spirituality, talking with God, tow truck, Woodmans, word for 2015
New Words for 2015

After one year’s experience, I’ve decided that I really like the idea of having one special word to focus on for a whole year, as an alternative to making New Year’s resolutions. Last year’s word for me was JOY. Knowing that JOY was what I would concentrate on every day from January 1, 2014 through…

Marian

January 6, 2015

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

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JOY – My Special Word for 2014

“Abbey, Mim & Me – Our Special Words for 2014” was the first blog post I wrote this year. I explained that rather than coming up with any New Year’s resolutions for 2014, I would spend the year focusing on JOY. The idea of choosing one special word to focus on for a whole year…

Marian

December 30, 2014

Assisted Living, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, New Year

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The Worst Sin of All according to Floey

My new dog Floey and I are still getting to know each other. Christmas Day will mark the one month anniversary of Floey’s adoption date. Mim and I and all of our 93-year-olds are so happy that she joined our family. Floey loves all of us, but it’s clear that I am her favorite. She…

Marian

December 23, 2014

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

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