My children gave me imperfectly perfect gifts this weekend. With puffed up chests, they presented the evidence of their undying love for me (or at least until they turn 12!). T-Rex was so excited about the painting he made in school, that he had to tell me about it right away, finishing the conversation with, […]
encouragement
What should you not believe?
Don’t believe everything you think. That was a bumper sticker that caught my eye on the highway this weekend. I wished I had read that phrase earlier in the day, before I ran my half marathon as opposed to on the way home from the race. I approached mile 10 that day and started feeling […]
Making Goodbyes Sweeter
So what do you do if you’re the friends being left behind? Before we moved back to Michigan, I always felt at a loss for how to help friends getting ready to make a major move. I would offer to help pack boxes, but often people either are paying movers to pack or they need […]
It's always a matter of life and death part 2
Part 1 I took a deep breath and offered a prayer for help. It was no longer about my time (which was going to be terrible) or how many miles left, but how much life I could live and give in those next five miles. When you hang out in the back of the race, […]
Who's got your back?
Last Saturday my training buddy, Jen, and I ran our first double digits for the season – 10 miles. Because of the flu, I hadn’t run for a week, and I was a bit nervous. It hurt. But I did it. About mile 7 we were standing on a street corner waiting for our walk […]
Re-imagining Influence
My mother-in-law gave shared a bit of personal history with me the other day that got me thinking about the influence we have in other people’s lives. Very early in their ministry a pastor in Lansing heard of them and in her words “took a chance” and invited their puppet ministry to do a week […]