Tag: daily devotions

• Spring Cleaning

  When I was a little girl, I really liked the week every year that my mom set aside for spring cleaning. The best time was the day we took all the beautiful things out of their places for washing. The three places that housed the most treasures were the china cabinet and buffet in the…

  Marian

  April 15, 2013

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

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• Your Gift to the World

  My grandma (Mom’s mother) used to make quilts. At some point she started making a green “Flower Garden” quilt, but she never finished it. When Grandma died, Mom took the quilt pieces with the intention of finishing the quilt sometime. Mom was not fond of sewing. She used to tell the story of one time…

  Marian

  March 11, 2013

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

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• The 4 Best Books I’ve Read Recently

  I’m sitting with three books and my Kindle on my desk right now. Within the past few weeks I’ve finished reading the three books. The fourth book is on my Kindle. All four books are excellent, and I want to tell you about them. Maybe you’ll want to read them, too. Over the past year…

  Marian

  March 4, 2013

  Book Recommendations, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges

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• Attitude

  In today’s reading of “The Monastic Way” Joan Chittister, OSB, said, “The attitude we bring to every day will determine the character and quality of that day.” For me, that’s a timely statement to read on a Monday morning. That’s when I look ahead to everything on my calendar for the week and everything on…

  Marian

  February 11, 2013

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

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• Remembering the past and getting excited about the present

  Saturday evening Mim and I went to a fancy Italian restaurant for dinner. We celebrated forty years of living together. As many of you know, Mim and I met forty years ago at a church Bible Study. I had just been offered a job in Chicago and was staying with a friend for a few…

  Marian

  February 4, 2013

  Blogs, Book Recommendations, Celebrations, Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

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• Listening for God in New Ways

  In January of 1973, almost 40 years ago, a friend of mine, June Autry, called me with a job tip. That phone call was a gift from God. The job tip led me to a job that lasted only two years, but the phone call initiated a series of events that changed my life forever.…

  Marian

  August 6, 2012

  Book Recommendations, Celebrations, God’s Love, Reflections

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• Let’s Celebrate!

  To forget to celebrate is to forget to imitate the God who created us and then relaxed and said, “that’s Good.”[Joan Chittister, OSB, “The Monastic Way,” July 2012] The theme of Joan Chittister’s little devotional pamphlet, “The Monastic Way,” for the month of July has been “celebrating life.” When I first pulled the pamphlet out…

  Marian

  July 30, 2012

  Celebrations, God’s Love, Music, Nature, Reflections

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• The Beauty of Nature – Does it Remind You of God?

  Last week God drew my attention to the beauty in nature – in order to draw my attention back to God. What prompted all this mental and spiritual activity? It was the following passage in the devotional book Jesus Calling: My world is filled with beautiful things; they are meant to be pointers to Me, reminders…

  Marian

  June 11, 2012

  Celebrations, God’s Love, Music, Nature, Uncategorized

  beauty in nature, daily devotions, devotional book, God’s love, hymn sing, nature, sarah young, seasons, spirituality, whispering winds

• How do you talk with God?

  That’s something I’ve been trying to learn ever since I was a little kid. I remember the first prayer I ever learned: “God bless our food. Amen.” I said that prayer and then my brother and sister said the Norwegian table prayer, and then we could eat. My mother never had the patience to teach…

  Marian

  June 4, 2012

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

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• Rain and Snow and God’s Word

  Last year our church in Madison (Messiah Lutheran Church – ELCA) prepared a Lenten devotional booklet. Each entry was written by a different volunteer from the congregation. The volunteer was given a verse from the lectionary for that day to be the focus of their reflection. The booklet ended up being a wonderful aid to…

  Marian

  January 23, 2012

  Reflections

  daily devotions, devotional book, God’s love, Lent, reflections