bsmiles and sunny days

  This afternoon I found myself with a bowl of Puppy Chow (muddy buddies) in my possession. People were taking handfuls from all sides when one of my girls backed away and said, “I don’t know how to stop eating this stuff.” I joyously anticipate the holidays all year long, and every year I am plagued by the same demons. I go to bed feeling stuffed, sick, and miserable because I don’t know how to stop eating. I make promises to myself that I won’t make the same mistake again tomorrow only to repeat the same ridiculous gluttonies day after day.  It’s not the food, it’s me. I don’t require any sort of restraint from myself. I don’t prepare myself for the onslaught of delicacies that will be within arms reach for days on end. I go in blind and hope for different results knowing all too well that without a plan I’m defenseless. After reading a chapter in Proverbs last week, I shared the dangers of drinking too much alcohol with my kids. They seemed to understand and absorb the wisd...

  I spent the last week in a quiet hotel room with no agenda. My usually hurried life went from high gear to neutral. Dale couldn’t understand why I wanted to stay in that room all week when we were at a conference full of great minds in a city full of adventure. I couldn’t answer, really, except that the in quiet, my Lord called to me. Now that I’m home, the roar of all the things that need my attention is all around me. It scrambles my brain. I know I have to do some things and I want to do other things and I get distracted by the things someone else needs done and there are all these little lives that I should be attending to, and what in the world am I going to make for dinner?? It’s overwhelming. But the quiet remains in my soul. The Lord in His kindness filled me to overflowing and keeps calling me back. This morning I woke up to the roar, but in the midst of it I could hear Him calling me to order my day. If I don’t order the hours, they will run me down.  So I made a l...

  I’m sitting in a hotel room on the 14th floor next to a wall entirely made up of windows. There is a jackhammer jumping on the street down below. Cars are zipping through the city streets and cruising down the highway eight lanes deep. The sky is full of wispy clouds slowly drifting across the sky.  This is where I’ll spend five silent minutes of focus and gratitude. It’s how I am learning to be still and know that He is God. It’s where I quiet my soul. It reminds me how small I am in a big world in a busy city, and how enormous my Father is as the world slowly turns and the shape of the clouds change moment by moment. Here is where I refuel after being immersed in crazy busy hustle for the past few months.  Quiet. Still. Open. Whole.  This is heaven on earth. I can hear the jackhammer loud and clear, which proves that I am still in the world, but here I am with Jesus and I am no longer of this world. I am a citizen of heaven. “Cease striving and know that I am God...

  Here is the evidence of my harvest this week. 4 tiny strawberries, 1 little cucumber, and 1 green bean. I couldn’t be happier! Unless, of course I had a bushel of green beans, and maybe if my strawberries were bigger and sweeter. I mean, I’m not complaining because I didn’t expect anything to grow since my yard gets pretty limited sun exposure. This summer has had me scrambling every single day, which makes me think that next year I might not invest so much time and energy into planting and tending a garden. (2 gardens, really, but whatev.) Maybe I’ll just collect my summer harvest the old-fashioned way, from the Farmer’s Market. I have aspirations of lining my pantry shelves with jars of produce that I’ve canned at home, just like my grandma used to do. But I have a lot of life calling my name and vying for my attention. There’s no sense in fighting for my dreams when the only things are going with me to the next life are my people.  It’s become my most critical aim to get ...

  When we moved to Platte City from Lompoc, California, I was breathless as we pulled into the driveway of our new house. The duplex we moved out of had a yard full of sand and only a few shrubs. Our new home had green grass everywhere and two gorgeous trees in the front yard and two gigantic blue spruce trees in our side yard. I couldn’t believe we had our very own trees. Only God knew how much I would treasure them. This year as the barren branches began to bud, this beauty remained the same. The leaves that never fell through the winter stayed put as everything around it came to new life with the spring. Last week I finally resigned myself to the reality that she had died and we needed to make arrangements for removal.  It wrenches my heart a little; I don’t like change. But at the same time, I have been dreaming about planting an apple tree. Once the removal is complete, I will have the space to begin something new. It reminds me to hold on loosely to all the things in my ...

  For the past few months I’ve been waking up in the night with a tickle in my throat. Usually by the time I am fully awake, I’ve been coughing hard enough to cause tears to trickle down my cheeks. It’s terrible. I’m not sure what is causing it, but I have desperately sought some sort of relief.  At the National Worship Leaders Conference in Nashville last week, I learned some valuable lessons in vocal health. With that I discovered this throat spray. It provides moisture and dissolves mucous on the vocal cords. I’ve been keeping it by my bed to use during my midnight coughing episodes. It works like magic to settle down whatever is causing the tickle. I’m so thankful for these little gifts! “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1:17‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬ https://www.bible.com/100/jas.1.17.nasb1995

  This is my happy place. When things get overwhelming for one of the littles in my family, I take them to a quiet corner and read them a book. It carries us both out of whatever is happening into the world of Frog and Toad, or Little Bear, or Grandad and his boy.  It took me a long time to cross the chasm from reading because I had to, to reading because it soothed my soul. I think it was because I wasn’t good at it and people kept shoving reading assignments into my hands. When I got out of college, I abandoned reading indefinitely. But when I found the joy of it by the gentle nudges of the Holy Spirit, I discovered a whole new dimension of this life. This summer God has gifted me the great honor of teaching my Sunday school class, in order to give our great leaders a soul rest. Because of the nature of the summer study, I have the opportunity to read one of my most treasured books to the girls I have grown to love so dearly.  If you would like to join us, even for one ...