Tag: life changes
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Friends
“Good morning, Abbey. You’re up bright and early this morning.” “Yeah. Good morning, Mom. You moms sure got home late last night. I was waiting and waiting and waiting to talk with you, and when you finally came home, you went right to bed.” “I’m sorry, Abbey. I didn’t know you wanted to talk.…
Marian
Abbey, assisted living, Boston bombings, Cambridge, charming gardeners who make our souls blossom, Chicago, comfort dogs, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, dog cousins, friends, friendship, God’s love, Henry Nouwen, hospitality, kindness, Laughter is the best medicine, life calling, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, Marcel Proust, North Park University, Nursing Honor Society, reflections, Resurrection Lutheran Church, Sigma Theta Tau, spirituality, therapy dogs, WI, Wisconsin -
What Best Friends Talk About
One of the nice things about living with your best friend for forty years, is that you’re comfortable with regularly sharing your thoughts with each other. Mim is an avid reader, and almost every day she tells me about something she’s reading in one of the books she has in progress. Likewise, I tell her…
Marian
best friend, best friends, caring for the poor, diversity, friends, God’s love, Hawaii Senator, human experience, humility, Joan Chittister, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, loving your neighbor, needs of the poor, new hope, nieces and nephews, Pope Francis, quadrupal diversity, reflections, Senator Hirono, spiritual beings, spiritual experience, spirituality, talking with God, Teilhard de Chardin, temporary nature of life, weariness, what lesbians talk about, Wheaton College -
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
Andrew You died to soon, Bible, Bible stories, Biblical womanhood, book review, Corinne Chilstrom, daily devotions, devotional book, gay Christian, Gay Christian Network, GCN, genesis to revelation, gentleness, getting organized, God’s love, God-boy, godly woman, journey through the bible, Justin Lee, kindness, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, Rachel Held Evans, reflections, Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs-Christians Debate, sarah young, spirituality, suicide, talking with God, Torn, virtuous woman, what the Bible says, Year of Biblical Womanhood -
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
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
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 -
Helping Someone
Last Thursday I participated in the worship service in the County Jail again. There were 11 of us women sitting together in the circle – the chaplain, myself, and nine inmates. The New Testament reading was the last chapter of Romans. We went around the circle, each of us reading one verse. Here’s how the…
Marian
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Transition Time
It’s official. Whispering Winds Retreat Haven is on break. As of the first of the year, the farmhouse will be home to another family for at least two years. In January of 2015, the farmhouse may reclaim the name of Whispering Winds and come back to life as a B&B-style retreat center again, or it…
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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…
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“Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope”
One of the first shows I went to see when I lived in Chicago was, “Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope.” It was a musical review with songs about major themes of the 1970s – student protests, ghetto life, black power, and feminism. The musical style was a blend of gospel, jazz, soul, calypso, and…
Marian
bed and breakfast, building codes, building inspector, change in my life, Country Comforts, Don’t bother me, fairness, farmhouse, God’s love, handgun, handicapped accessible, I can’t cope, Job’s suffering, killing option, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, massacre, methods of coping, powerless, reflections, spirituality, state regulators, talking with God, wheelchair accessible -
The Life of a Farmhouse
When I was a kid, I’d occasionally watch “Captain Kangaroo” on TV. One of the characters on the show was Grandfather Clock. He was a tall, normal-looking grandfather clock, except he had a cartoon-like face and he talked. He often talked about whatever was on his mind and how he felt about it. I thought…
Marian
assisted living, bed and breakfast, Captain Kangaroo, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Country Comforts Bed and Breakfast, fairness, farmhouse, God’s love, Grandfather Clock, group retreats, guests, hospitality, house blessing, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, reflections, talking with God, whispering winds, Whispering Winds Retreat Haven
