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The Best Family Tradition of All – Baking Christmas Cookies!
For the month of December, Joan Chittister has been focusing on the role of traditions in our lives in her pamphlet, The Monastic Way. On December 11 she said: Traditions are meant to develop us emotionally, one layer of understanding at a time. It is our traditions – the Easter eggs, the Christmas trees –…
Marian
Berliner Kranzer, center of our souls, Christmas cookies, Christmas tradition, cookie cutouts, family tradition, gingerbread cookies, God’s love, God-given gifts, Joan Chittister, Kringla, krumkake, listening for God, love your neighbor, mixed marriage, peppernuts, reflections, spirituality, sugar cookies, talking with God, tradition -
Living inside a Broadway Musical
Last weekend was like living inside a Broadway musical – like “The Sound of Music.” Life wasn’t an opera – our conversations were spoken, not sung – but the whole weekend seemed to flow from one musical moment to the next. It’s almost like we were taking the message of the Psalms – to sing…
Marian
Advent candles, Away in a manger, Beverly Taylor, Broadway musical, Christmas Carol Sing, Christmas Carol Sing-along, Christmas Carols, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, God’s love, Hallelujah Chorus, Hutchison, hymn sing, I thank you Lord for each new day, Joy to the World, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, Light One Candle to Watch for Messiah, Madison Symphony Choir, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Christmas concert, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Youth Choirs, Messiah Lutheran Church, Monona Senior Choir, Mt. Zion Gospel Choir, music, O Come All Ye Faithful, Overture Center organ, Overture Hall, reflections, Sam Hutchison, Silent Night, sing praises, Sing to the Lord, sing with the angels, sing-along, spirituality, The First Nowell, The Sound of Music, Winter Underwear, Winter Wonderland -
Bucket List for Advent
The best thing about Facebook is that it has provided a means to reconnect with several people from my past. One of those connections is Claudia, an old friend from my freshman year in college. I haven’t seen her in almost 50 years. Our only communication had been Christmas cards, until we somehow found each…
Marian
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Abbey Still Has More to Say
In my imagination, Abbey has been talking to me over the last couple weeks. Her spirit is still very much alive. “Mom,” she said, “I was really sad to leave you, and I still think about you a lot. But I’ve also been really busy exploring heaven. You can’t imagine all the smells there are…
Marian
Abbey, Animal Rescue and Vet Support Services, ARVSS, assisted living, blogging, caregiver, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, dog adoption, dogification of love, Floey, Florence Nightingale, God’s love, Help Wanted, imagination, kindness, life changes, love your neighbor, loving companion, personification of love, reflections, spirituality, talking with God, thankful, Thanksgiving, working dog -
HELP WANTED: Canine Companion and Caregiver
We took a vote – Mim and me and our three 93-year-olds. We want to get another dog as soon as we can. We don’t want to wait till spring, which was our original plan. Every time Anna comes home from one of her outside activities, she says, “I miss Abbey so much.” When we…
Marian
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The Dogs in My Life
God so loved the world that she gave us dogs. The first dog in my life was Teddy. He was a big brown and white collie mix that lived in the barn. He only came into the house occasionally to warm up, when it was really cold outside. My dad had trained him to be…
Marian
Abbey, Anti-Cruelty Society, Bullet, collie mix, cousin dogs, gentleness, german shepherd, God spelled backwards, God’s love, God-given gifts, golden retriever, herding instincts, kindness, life calling, life challenges, listening for God, love your neighbor, Maia, mass in her brain, Megabyte, Mollie, my dogs, people friends, purpose on earth, reflections, Rin Tin Tin, Rinny, slow-growing mass, spirituality, talking with God, Tammy, Teddy, Tippy, wisdom -
De-Adult Me, Please
Remake me as an awe-fascinated primitive, de-adult me so as to wonder like a child … [from Edward Hays, A BOOK OF WONDERS, p. 336] The picture above is my great niece, Katie. I snapped the picture at our family Christmas celebration in 2001. Katie is in high school now. I hope she keeps her sense of awe and wonder forever.…
Marian
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THINK about the Gift of Language
Do you hate the political ads on TV as much as I do? Which ad do you hate the most? Is there any ad, from either political party, that you really like? I’ll be so glad when the election has come and gone and TV can get back to its usual commercials that we can…
Marian
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The 3 Heroes in my Life
The earliest hero in my life was Roy Rogers. I wanted to be just like him – ride a horse like Trigger, have a dog like Bullet, and wear a white cowboy hat on my head and two six-guns in a holster at my waist. I wanted to always stand up for what was right,…
Marian
A Book of Wonders, best day of my childhood, Bullet, childhood, childhood hero, childhood heroes, cowboy hat, Dale Evans, Edward Hays, Elsie Korth, God’s love, God-given gifts, hero, heroes, life calling, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, mom, Nancy, Nancy Kornelsen, reflections, Roy Rogers, sister, spirituality, talking with God, Trigger, Wisconsin State Fair, Yiddish proverb -
My Mom and Me and Bibles
My mom got me hooked on exploring new translations and paraphrases of the Bible when I was a kid. Although I grew up in the ’50s and ’60s knowing that the King James Version was the real Bible – the one we used in Sunday School and church and the one to memorize Bible verses…
Marian
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Whispering Winds Blog
Taking Time to be still and listen for God
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Living inside a Broadway Musical
Last weekend was like living inside a Broadway musical – like “The Sound of Music.” Life wasn’t an opera – our conversations were spoken, not sung – but the whole weekend seemed to flow from one musical moment to the next. It’s almost like we were taking the message of the Psalms – to sing…
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Abbey Still Has More to Say
In my imagination, Abbey has been talking to me over the last couple weeks. Her spirit is still very much alive. “Mom,” she said, “I was really sad to leave you, and I still think about you a lot. But I’ve also been really busy exploring heaven. You can’t imagine all the smells there are…
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HELP WANTED: Canine Companion and Caregiver
We took a vote – Mim and me and our three 93-year-olds. We want to get another dog as soon as we can. We don’t want to wait till spring, which was our original plan. Every time Anna comes home from one of her outside activities, she says, “I miss Abbey so much.” When we…
Whispering Winds Blog 