Tag: love your neighbor

• 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

• Friends and Relatives, Cats and Dogs

  How many friends and relatives, cats and dogs does it take to make one’s life wonderful? Hundreds. Maybe thousands. What it takes to make a life wonderful is to learn to appreciate – to be thankful for – the  enrichment each person and pet contributes to one’s life. During the last couple weeks, Mim and […]

  Marian

  August 11, 2015

  Celebrations, E-Retreats, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  beer garden, cats and dogs, family reunion, friends and relatives, funeral, Jacobson family reunion, life wonderful, love your neighbor, Mim, Mim Jacobson, Moody’s Pub, neighbor, Roger Hovey, Ruth and Elaine, Ruth Robbins, wonderful life, Zoe

• 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

• Observing Holy Week – Jail Style

  Last Thursday I participated in the women’s worship service at the county jail. I’ll be doing the same thing again this Thursday, Maundy Thursday. Women inmates have the opportunity to go to worship once every other week. The women from half the cell blocks are given the opportunity one week, the other half the next […]

  Marian

  March 31, 2015

  God’s Love, Jail Ministry, Lent, Life’s Challenges, Music, Reflections

  Bread of Life, chaplain, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, communion, county jail, Cup of Blessing, Easter, first Last Supper, God’s love, gratitude jar, He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, Holy Communion, holy meal, Holy Week, inmates, jail chaplain, jail ministry, Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Last Supper, Lent, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, Lord’s Supper, love your neighbor, Maundy Thursday, Palm Sunday, Potter’s Crackers, reflections, released from jail, sharing bread and wine, singing a hymn, spirituality, This Little Light of Mine, when i survey the wondrous cross, women inmates, worship service

• The Goose Family is Home Again! Happy Spring!

  I got up from my desk and walked over to the patio door. “Oh, look, Floey, the Goose Family has returned.” A goose made a big splash as it landed on the water. The honking got even louder as another goose landed. “That looks like Gilbert and Gloria. Let’s go out and welcome them.” “Who […]

  Marian

  March 24, 2015

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

  Abbey, Cleland McAfee, Floey, friends, geese, Gilbert Goose, Gloria Goose, God loves us, God’s love, God-given gifts, goose family, Grace Goose, Gregory Goose, hymn sing, joy, kindness, Lent, lenten hymns, Lenten songs, life challenges, listening for God, love your neighbor, nature, Near to the Heart of God, reflections, seasons, spirituality, talking with God, whispering winds

• Minor Characters in Our Life Stories

  In last week’s blog post I wrote about the Sunday dinners of my childhood. To keep the story short, I left out one of the minor characters in those dinners, Eva Frankson. I’ve been thinking about her ever since. Eva lived with Grandma. My grandma had a small house across the street from the west side […]

  Marian

  February 24, 2015

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  attic bedroom, bonus person, Eva, Eva Frankson, extra person in my life, farming accident, friends, God’s love, God-given gifts, grandma, Grandma and Eva, hospitality, kindness, life challenges, listening for God, love your neighbor, quiet blessing, reflections, spirituality, Sunday dinner family

• Dinnertime

  I guess today is a good day to talk about dinnertime. It’s Mardi Gras – Fat Tuesday – a time of feasting the day before beginning a forty-day fast for Lent. Mim and I are planning to go out for a musical feast tonight – an organ recital by Thomas Trotter (a fantastic organist from […]

  Marian

  February 17, 2015

  Assisted Living, Book Recommendations, Celebrations, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  Abbey, Adventures in Hospitality, assisted living, Bread for the Journey, Buffalo Ice Cream Parlor, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Country Comforts Bed & Breakfast, Country Comforts family, daily devotions, devotional book, dinner time, dinnertime, eating meals together, family, Fat Tuesday, feasting, friends, God’s love, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Henri Nouwen, kindness, Lent, listening for God, love your neighbor, Mardi Gras, meal time, Mim, musical feast, Nouwen, reflections, spirituality, Sunday dinner, talking with God

• Oh, the Conflicted Month of February

  Oh, how I long for the “Merry, Merry Month of May.” But first I must struggle through the conflicted month of February, and then March and April. I’m tired of winter. There I’ve said it. But huge piles of snow and sub-zero wind chills just represent the most obvious burdens of February. It’s the time […]

  Marian

  February 10, 2015

  Celebrations, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  accounting, bread heart, catch up on accounting, conflicted month of February, favorite month, February, friends, getting organized, happy childhood memories, heart-shaped box of chocolates, heart-shaped slice of bread, joy, joyful month, life challenges, love your neighbor, merry month of may, mid-morning snack, QuickBooks, reflections, selecting valentines, spirituality, terrible month, tired of winter, Valentine, valentine box, Valentine’s Day

• Better Than Counting Sheep

  One night last week I couldn’t sleep. I’d taken a Sudafed for some head congestion, and my body just wouldn’t let me drift off to sleep. So, I tried to heed the advice I’d received from a friend and shared on Facebook a week or two ago – use the time to talk with God. […]

  Marian

  February 3, 2015

  Uncategorized

  Christmas Mountain, counting sheep, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Dad, daily devotions, Dan Korth, Danny Korth, Debbie Macomber, fighting with my brother, first grade teacher, friends, God’s Guest List, God’s love, God-given gifts, Helen Knoblauch, heroes in my life, joy, kindness, life calling, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, Mim, mom, Mrs. Knoblauch, my heroes, Nancy Kornelsen, reflections, sibling rivalry, sleepless, spirituality, talking to God, talking with God, tractor

• More on that Reflection in the Mirror – and in the Photo

  In last week’s blog post I wrote about Floey’s reaction to seeing her reflection, and I changed the words of a familiar old song to “How Mean is that Doggie in the Mirror?” Then, personalizing it, I rewrote the simple lyrics again with the words “How Kind is that Person in the Mirror?” This week […]

  Marian

  January 27, 2015

  Celebrations, Reflections

  Abbey, anniversary, anniversary card, birthday, Blessing Ceremony, church directory, family, family forever, family pictures, February 1, Floey, forever family, God’s love, January 24, kindness, legal wedding, long-haired people, love your neighbor, Maia, Megabyte, Mim, mirror, mirrors that reflect our history, photo, photo log, really married, reflection in pictures, reflection in the mirror, reflection in the photo, reflections, spirituality, spousal rights, talking with God