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“Family”
About 40 years ago, I went “home” with Mim for the first time. We drove from Chicago to Kenyon, Minnesota, at least a seven-hour drive, the first weekend in December. In Kenyon, we picked up Mim’s mom, Selma, and drove another 15 miles to go to the St. Olaf College Christmas concert. Mim’s mom, who…
Marian
125th anniversary, 150th anniversary, Bill Gaither, branch of God’s family, childhood church, church family, church of my childhood, country church, family, family church, family of God, family reunion, friends, God’s family, God’s love, Gol, Gol Lutheran Church, home church, immigrated from Norway, Kenyon Minnesota, kindness, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, Messiah Lutheran Church, Otto Jacobson, Philip Yancey, reflections, Resurrection Lutheran Church, retreats, Selma Jacobson, sesquicentennial, spirituality, St. Olaf College, Willerup United Methodist Church -
What a Gift!
It happened again Saturday morning. It doesn’t happen very often. But every once in a while I hear something so beautiful in a fantastic sort of way, that I can’t help it. My mouth forms itself into a huge smile, and it stays that way so long that my facial muscles begin to ache. That…
Marian
Ahreum Han, Alfred Brendel, attitude, Can-Can, CanCan, coughing, God-given gifts, grin, hospitality, Jacques Offenbach, Jazz Preludes, Johannes Matthias Michel, kindness, life calling, life challenges, noisy bird, organ concert, Orpheus in the Underworld, Overture Center, pipe organ, reflections, smile, smiling muscles, sneezing -
Blessed are the Arrogant
God in the form of the Holy Spirit came to chat with me while I was in the shower this morning. The hot steaming water was pretty noisy splashing on me and on the shower door, so I’m not sure I heard absolutely everything the Holy Spirit said completely right, but here’s the gist of…
Marian
accomplishments, Beatitudes, Bible translations, blessed, Blessed are the Arrogant, friends, God blesses, God’s love, God-given gifts, gun control, Holy Spirit, immigration, kindness, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, nation’s borders, New Living Translation, outdated, peace makers, reflections, spirituality, talking with God, The Message, welfare hand-out -
UFF DA Revisited
A few weeks ago I blogged about taking “Mary” (one of the people we care for) to the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles to get an official State ID card. She may need the Wisconsin ID to vote, but more urgently, she needs a State ID to cash in a U.S. Government Savings Bond. As…
Marian
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Abbey’s Dream
Abbey came running to see me this morning. “Hey Mom, I’ve gotta tell ya about the dream I had last night. You won’t believe everyone who was in it!” “Really, Abbey. Who was there? Tell me all about it,” I replied. “The dogs who used to live with you – Megabyte and Maia were in…
Marian
Abbey, Abbey’s dream, Aunt Marilyn, cats and dogs, dream, Eliza Hewitt, friends, God’s love, heaven, hospitality, Kimberly Kat, kindness, lessons from our pets, life calling, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, Maia, Marilyn Huebel, Megabyte, reflections, Spiffy, spirituality, When we all get to heaven -
Another Lesson from Abbey
“Hey, Mom. Thanks for showing me Aunt Marilyn’s blog post last week. I’ve heard a lot about Millie and Aunt Marilyn’s two previous cats, and I’m sorry I never met them. I don’t remember that you’ve ever taken me to Chicago to see your old home and to visit with your old friends.” “Well, Abbey,…
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The Misfit Funeral Organist – Part 2
“When in doubt, leave it out.” That was the advice of the soloist for the funeral last week. She teaches music at some college in Minnesota. I took her advice to heart. For her solo, Mendelssohn’s “O Rest in the Lord,” I learned the piano accompaniment just fine, and I didn’t need to leave anything…
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Funerals and the Misfit Organist
That’s me. The misfit funeral organist. I’m not sure which order the words should be in. They’re all nouns linked together to convey one image – me as an organist who likes to play for funerals, even though I shouldn’t. I’m a misfit. I should avoid funerals, at all cost, just like my mom did.…
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Imagine you have just been arrested! Now what?
Imagine you have just been arrested – for a crime that you may or may not have committed. Your life has suddenly been put on hold – for who knows how long. You may have small children at home. Who will care for them? You may have a job. What will happen to that? Think…
Marian
arrested, Backyard Mosaic, Backyard Mosaic Women’s Project, Chance Allies, change in my life, chapel, chaplain, concert, Dane County, Dane County Jail, David Allen, fundraiser, fundraising concerts, God’s love, humility, inmate stories, inmates, jail, jail chapel, jail ministry, Jazz for Jail, Jazz for the Jail, John Mix, Julia Weaver, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, Lucas Koehler, Lutheran Churches, Madison Area Lutheran Council, MALC, Maria’s story, Messiah Church, Messiah Lutheran Church, mistakes, pencil, silent auction, Tisha Brown, white collar crime -
Red and White Images and a Little Black Book
Yesterday morning, I decided to take out my mom’s little black book – the one where she wrote the Bible verses she memorized, week by week, when she was in high school. I looked up the verse for May 28, 1922. I wondered if she might have chosen a verse to memorize that would relate…
Marian
1922, Bible verse, Chesterton, Decoration Day, Eugene H. Peterson, Eugene Peterson, Gilbert K. Chesterton, God’s love, Introduction to Isaiah, Isaiah, listening for God, little black book, Memorial Day, memorize, mom, red, red and white, red and white images, red wheelbarrow, reflections, scarlet, scarlet sins, sins be as scarlet, spirituality, stars and stripes, talking with God, The Message, watercolors and melodies, white, white as snow, white chickens, William Carlos Williams
Whispering Winds Blog
Taking Time to be still and listen for God
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What a Gift!
It happened again Saturday morning. It doesn’t happen very often. But every once in a while I hear something so beautiful in a fantastic sort of way, that I can’t help it. My mouth forms itself into a huge smile, and it stays that way so long that my facial muscles begin to ache. That…
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UFF DA Revisited
A few weeks ago I blogged about taking “Mary” (one of the people we care for) to the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles to get an official State ID card. She may need the Wisconsin ID to vote, but more urgently, she needs a State ID to cash in a U.S. Government Savings Bond. As…
Whispering Winds Blog 