Tag: friends

• 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

  accomplishments, Aunt Edith, create beauty, daily devotions, doing what you like, Edith Kenseth, embroider, family reunion, flower garden, flower garden quilt pattern, friends, gifts to us, God’s love, God-given gifts, grandma and grandpa, grandmas quilt, Helmer Kenseth, Joan Chittister, Kenseth, life calling, listening for God, Monastic Way, quilt, quilt pieces, quilting, reflections, sewing crocheting afghans, spirituality, talking with God, Uncle Helmer, waste of time, your gift to the world

• The Three Big Questions in Life

  What a walk! Sunday afternoon was a time for spring fever. Bright blue sky. Snow-covered fields. Temperatures in the upper 30’s. And no wind. Mim, Abbey, and I walked down country roads for well over an hour. The highlight of a weekend of highlights! After that refreshing walk, Abbey and I were ready for the…

  Marian

  February 25, 2013

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

  Abbey, adopted, Andrew you died too soon, assisted living, big questions, big questions in life, birthday, birthday party, Corinne Chilstrom, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Edward Hays, family, family roots, friends, God’s love, kindness, life calling, life challenges, life questions, listening for God, long walks, Pastor Jeff, Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, reflections, spirituality, spring fever, talking with God, walks

• A Time to Change Plans

  Yesterday afternoon I wrote a blurb for the back cover of my new book on hospitality, COME, LORD JESUS, BE OUR GUEST. I plan to submit my edited manuscript along with cover suggestions to my publisher, Inspiring Voices (a division of GUIDEPOSTS) this afternoon. I’m pretty excited. This is the book I’ve been working on…

  Marian

  February 18, 2013

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

  Abbey, assisted living, be kind, blogging, busy, change in my life, change plans, Come Lord Jesus Be Our Guest, Corinne Chilstrom, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, friends, getting organized, God’s love, hospitality, kindness, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, reflections, spirituality, suicide, talking with God, to-do list, whispering winds

• 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

  40th anniversary, Abbey, anniversary, author website, blogging, books, Buffalo Ice Cream Parlor, change in my life, daily devotions, devotional book, friends, Gary Gopher, God’s love, Gregory Goose, hospitality, kindness, life calling, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, reflections, reflections on everyday life, remembering the past, spirituality, talking with God, WestBow Press, writing

• All I Want for Christmas

  In the 1950s, the day the SEARS CHRISTMAS CATALOG arrived in the mail was just about the best day of the year. I’d sit down in the living room, flip to the toy section, and spend the next hour or two looking at all the toys, page after page after page. When I got to…

  Marian

  December 24, 2012

  Christmas, God’s Love, Reflections, Uncategorized

  Christmas presents, family reunion, friends, God loves me, God’s love, God’s peace, homemade Christmas cookies, krumkake, life changes, listening for God, reflections, Sears Christmas Catalog, spirituality, talking with God

• Favorites

  Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things [from “The Sound of Music” by Rodgers and Hammerstein] One of my favorite words is “favorite.” Whenever I think about a favorite anything – song, person,…

  Marian

  November 11, 2012

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

  Abbey, accomplishments, assisted living, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, favorite aunt, favorite ice cream, favorite nurse, favorite things, favorites, friends, God’s love, life calling, life challenges, life changes, love your neighbor, Madison Magazine, Madison’s Favorite Nurses, Mim Jacobson, Miriam Jacobson, people’s choice, people’s choice contest, reflections, spirituality, WISC-TV

• 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

• 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

• A Voice from the Past

  “Good night, Vince.” “Night, Mare.” Then Vince would burst out laughing. That was our end-of-the-workday ritual every day for about a year in the mid-1970’s. Nobody called me “Mare” except Vince. And he called me that only at the end of the day, just so he could say “nightmare” to me as a goodnight “blessing”…

  Marian

  April 30, 2012

  Reflections

  A voice from the past, advice, blogging, business conference, friends, reflections, unlikely friends, writing conference