Tag: kindness

• Making the World a Softer, Better Place

  

  This past weekend I kept checking Facebook on my smartphone, waiting for news and pictures. It was a big weekend for my family. My great niece Mollie was in Fort Worth, Texas, competing at the national championships for gymnastics. Meanwhile, her twin sister Katie was on the prom court of the Cambridge High School Junior…

  Marian

  May 10, 2016

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

  African proverb, Cambridge High School, Facebook, Fort Worth, Gracie Korth, guardian angel, gymnastics, It takes a village, It takes a village to raise a child, Joan Chittister, Junior Olympic National Team, junior prom, Katie Korth, Kevin Korth, kindness, making the world a softer better place, Mollie Korth, Monastic Way, national championship, No act of kindness, No act of kindness is ever wasted, Olympic coaches, prom court, Shawn Korth, stilts

• To Hug Or Not To Hug

  

  “Floey, did you see that story on the news last week? The one that said dogs don’t like to be hugged?” “Yeah. I saw it, Mom.” “Well, what did you think about the story? Do dogs like to be hugged, or not?” “Mom, it’s not exactly a yes or no question. I love to cuddle.…

  Marian

  May 3, 2016

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

  awning, building nest, cuddle, cuddler, cuddliest dog, Floey, hard-hearted Mim, house finch, hug, kindness, Megabyte, Mim, Mr. Finch, Mrs. Finch

• “Good enough for who it’s for”

  

  Last Saturday would have been my dad’s 112th birthday. He was born April 2, 1904, and died at home on June 19, 1991, at the age of 87. “Good enough for who it’s for” was one of his favorite expressions. He used to say it jokingly when he gave a gift to someone, or when…

  Marian

  April 5, 2016

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  bathroom cabinet, birthday, Carl Korth, carpenter, cultural outsider, dad’s birthday, F-20 tractor, farm, farm laborer, farming, German-American, good enough, Good enough for who it’s for, Happy Birthday, hired hand, hired man, How can I help you?, kindness, Korth Park, Lake Mills, Norwegian-American, old tractor, one-horse sleigh, reminiscences, reminiscing, restored prairie, Rock Lake, Scandinavian Methodist Church, school drop-out, sleigh ride, storage cabinet, team of horses, towels cabinet

• Congratulations to My Great Niece Mollie

  

  I was inspired and I learned a lot last Saturday – actually 2 Saturdays ago. It was a great day! Prior to that Saturday, I had never been to a gymnastics meet. I guess that doesn’t make me a very good great aunt, since my 17-year-old great niece Mollie has participated in gymnastics since the…

  Marian

  March 29, 2016

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

  athletic scholarship, born with springs, congratulations, great niece, gym class, gymnastics, gymnastics meet, kindness, Mollie Korth, National Gymnastics Meet, Regional Gymnastics Meet, rope climbing, springs for bones, state champion, State Gymnastics Meet, stiff neck, summersaults, tumbling, University of Kentucky

• A Day to Think

  

  Last Friday morning, bright and early, Floey and I had quite a discussion. This is how it went. “Where were you, Mom? You were gone all day yesterday – from before breakfast till after dinner, almost bedtime. Our friend Kathy was here to take care of Carolyn and Ann and me. She even took me…

  Marian

  March 22, 2016

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

  cultural beliefs around death, Dr. Ann Catlett, Dr. John Tuohey, end-of-life, end-of-life care for homeless, end-of-life conference, ethics, Floey, health care ethics, hospice conference, Joseph’s House, kindness, legally dead, neurologically dead, Rainbow Hospice, Respecting Differences at End of Life, Rev. John Tuohey, Rev. Ridley Usherwood, spiritual beliefs around death, ventilator

• Meow?

  

  Floey came running up to my desk and stood beside me. “I’m ready, Mom. Let’s get started. I can hardly wait to start blogging about my special word for 2016.” Floey was wagging her tail so hard and fast I was afraid she might knock the landline phone off my desk. “Okay, Floey. We can…

  Marian

  January 5, 2016

  Book Recommendations, Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, New Year, Reflections

  2016 word, Debbie Macomber, Floey, gratitude, joy, kindness, meow, Mim, One Perfect Word, patience, play, special word, wait, waiting

• The Best Thing about Darkness

  There seems to be much more darkness in the world today than there was a week ago, when I last posted my thoughts on this blog. In the most literal sense, the sun rose 9 minutes later today than it rose a week ago, and it will set 7 minutes earlier than it set a…

  Marian

  November 17, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  CaringBridge, darkness, daylight, display of hope, fireflies, firefly, friends, God’s love, kindness, life challenges, life changes, love your neighbor, My Personal Daily Prayer Book, Paris, Paris attacks, poverty, reflections, terrorist, terrorist attacks, valley of death

• No Vacuum in this Mind

  

  My mind is incapable of tolerating a vacuum. It always finds something to be anxious about, or some problem to be solving, or at least some imminent decisions to be mulling over. Often there are multiple urgent thoughts competing for my attention. Then my mind might start thrashing – a technical computer term that kind…

  Marian

  November 10, 2015

  Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  choice, Choice is the holiest of the virtues, choice of action, choices, Christmas Mountain, decisions, getting a new car, gratitude, Joan Chittister, John Dewey, joy, kindness, MacBook, Monastic Way, mulling over, Prius V, selling the farmhouse, special word, The Monastic Way, The things we love tell us who we are, Thomas Aquinas, thoughts, thrashing, vacuum, Victor Frankl, virtues, Windows laptop

• Kindness or Foolish Generosity?

  There, I did it again. Two and a half years ago I gave $5 to a stranger who asked for a dollar or two to buy gas to get home for Christmas. I was at a McDonald’s parking lot just off the interstate between Cambridge and Wisconsin Dells. This time was just a couple weeks…

  Marian

  July 7, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  advice from Floey, conned, Floey, foolish generosity, generosity, homeless, Indian Reservation, kindness, Native American, panhandler, panhandling, stranger, wise insights

• Henry’s Story

  Henry is one of my heroes. I knew Henry for a total of about twelve years, starting in 2000. He wasn’t a perfect person. He had one significant flaw that I knew of – not being punctual. He lived by his internal clock, not his watch. But he taught me more about forgiveness, kindness, and…

  Marian

  April 14, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  absolute commitment to serving God, accomplishments, Adventures in Hospitality, auction, auctioneer, clown, clown ministry, clowning, Country Comforts, forgiveness, friends, God’s love, God-given gifts, guardian, guardianship, heart transplant, Henry, Henry and Bob, Henry Hall, hospitality, kindness, legal guardian, life calling, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, ministry, organ transplant, parsonage, Peter Rooster, reflections, rooster, serving God, spirituality, Willerup, Willerup United Methodist Church