“Pain is God’s megaphone to us” C.S. Lewis, author of the Narnia series once said. I love and hate this quote because so much of it depends on the person’s willingness to listen to what is being said through the megaphone. At times I have clamped my hands over my ears, closing my eyes and been unwilling to look at or hear what the cries were from gaping wounds in my life or the lives of other. I’ve turned up the music to drown out the presence of pain that was howling for my attention relishing a good beat instead but then slowly realizing that the howl could sing along…
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Hold- five minute friday
That moment in a workout where you’ve been doing squats or plank for what seems like forever and then the instructor tells you- “great! now hold it for a minute!” is excruciating. Waiting is difficult- no matter if you’re holding a squat and your quads are burning, your mind spins with worry waiting to hear back about a job, or your stomach knots up when you take a risk and send the text to the person you’re interested in. Being on hold is difficult because you have moved past the beginning but haven’t yet reached closure. There are a lot of things in my life that feel on hold right…
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Five Minute Friday: Whisper
In a hushed voice he says “moooom, I got a secret to tell you!” With his little face pressed against my ear he whispers the piece of information that he wants to share with me- sometimes about marbles, his favorite toy, sometimes it’s a nonsensical knock-knock joke which has become increasingly a favorite in our house. Other times he forgets what he wants to tell me and says….”ummm, I forgot.” It doesn’t really matter what he has to tell me because I love hearing that raspy little whisper. The feel of Ozzy’s soft cheeks, the urgency of the thing he wants to share with me, just me, simply because I’m…
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Where there’s a Crowd…
…There’s usually a party. At least that’s my opinionation. In college my friends and I would roam the student housing streets (Beal, Gunson) at Michigan State University looking for one thing primarily: a crowd. Loud students sitting on sagging porches with red cups in their hands, the door thrown wide open. It was only logical that a keg of crappy icehouse beer and some dude DJing would also be present so we could get our groove on. Though I am far from my student days of showing up at random people’s homes to consume their beer for free and possibly throw up in their bushes from said crappy beer, I…
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Surprised by Small
“Less is more” architect Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe once stated when he described his minimalist yet profoundly beautiful design style. His Barcelona chair remains an icon in the world of design though it debuted in 1929. And a coveted item amongst those of us who wish we had the thousands of dollars to plunk down for of those chairs. Design Within Reach my ass. I am often surprised by small. Small things that end up being profoundly huge in my life- teaching me about myself, my kids, God, my body, friendship and life. Often I’m so distracted (more self-imposed than not) that I miss the small. In find myself…
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Visit
Whether it is planned or unexpected I love to host people in my home, particularly if people need a place to stay for the night or a couple of days. Dave and I decided early on that we wanted to have the kind of home where we would always have a bed for someone if they needed it. Over the years we have enjoyed friends crashing for the night, family staying for a couple days, students who lived with us for a few months and strangers we’ve never met. Yes, I said we let strangers stay in our home. Working for InterVarsity is like being connected to a big global family-…
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Five Minute Friday: Reflect
I spent a good chunk of the week in the car this week- driving to and from Canton, MI to participate in a National Speakers Cohort with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Though some people comment how they would hate to have a job that requires the kind of travel mine does I really enjoy it. I enjoy the promise of what going to a new place holds, with new or old friends. I like getting a rental car to try out that’s different than my normal mom-mini-van. We have one car so when I take trips I just rent a car from the lovely people at Enterprise. The thing I like…
