When Clouds Roll In - When Life is Hard...The other day at work I generically threw out my token, how are you today?“I hate that question.” The customer barked.One look told me he was not joking.In that moment I was given the opportunity to react in one of two ways:One, determine that he was a grouch and make a quick exit or…Read between the lines and realize there was far more to his story than m...

Happy Canada Day! Happy Fourth of July! Canada, United States, Australia...where ever we live, if we have the privilege to speak, write and worship in freedom, we are blessed.For those of you who can barely manage life…and celebration of any sort is difficult, please read Wednesday’s upcoming blog.For today, I need to rest. To laugh. To have fun in the sun, so excuse my short conversational b...

Blessed Be His Name - Always?My husband and I married with dreams of going into the ministry, but merely two years later, through a set of difficult circumstances my husband turned away from God.  Subsequently I prayed for the next twenty-three years for his return to faith. Just after our twenty fifth wedding anniversary I learned of his affair.Did I ever imagine years of prayer would culminate i...

Journal your pain.When I was in the midst of the worst of the worst I found the practice of journaling much like Aloe Vera on a raging sun burn…it cooled and soothed. Betrayal hit my life from different angles—adultery in my marriage, a prayer partner who could not keep this confidential and a business partner who took our money and ran. A life so wonderful one moment, unraveled completely in the ...

When giving thanks feels near impossible...WHY BOTHER?A book entitled One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp has beautifully epitomized the power found in taking the time to be thankful. I highly recommend this read.Interestingly enough, this book reinforced a concept God had taught me some years earlier.I understand fully how difficult it may be to give thanks in the midst of sorrow, but I also want t...

A Journal EntryHere is a journal entry a year after finding out about betrayal in my marriage. I had come a long way, but the healing was not yet complete.If you have ever wondered how God speaks to us in this day and age, here is a wonderful example. God, through His Word, spoke on a day I really needed to hear His voice and receive encouragement and wisdom.October 4, 2008I woke up early and much...

Can you see the wind?Today I went for a walk. Not because I needed one after a crazy busy workday, but because my dog Lyla did.A simple truth blew across my mind. God is much like the unseen force of the wind.I could not see the gale that ripped up through the valley, but I could feel it. My hair streamed behind and whipped back across my face as I turned my head to throw the ball for Lyla.The wat...

Life most definitely has a little Snap, Crackle and Pop.I’ve got the snap thing going on all too well. I come home exhausted from an over-time shift and all I want to do is snap at anyone that gets in my way of that couch.The crackle, or the crack in an otherwise sparkling façade, or the fact I’m over-loaded on the verge of cracking up…all fit.Pop-that’s the part of me that feels like I have soda ...

HERE IS A BEAUTIFUL PRAYER TO PRAY WHEN YOU ARE WEARY, WORN AND WORDLESSWritten by St. Francis of Assisi      Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;Where there is hatred, let me sow love;Where there is injury, pardon;Where there is doubt, faith;Where there is despair, hope;Where there is darkness, light;And where there is sadness, joy.O Divine Master,Grant that I m...

God if you are the Sun, then I want to be the Moon!A favorite song writer/singer of mine, Phil Wickham, wrote a song called “Sun and Moon,” with these amazing words referring to God… "If you are the sun, then I want to be the moon,I want to reflect the light that shines from you.” These words conjure a depth of thinking within my soul that inspires yet drops me to my knees. I want to reflect ...

When Life is Noisy…I started a FULL-TIME job at a doctor’s office. I am called a “runner” for good reason. I run from 8:00am until 5:00- 5:30pm + depending on the day, with only one half hour break. No sitting, no chairs, on my feet moving at a frantic pace. The word "busy" does not quite suffice.By the end of the day my feet throb, my legs feel like rubber, all I can think about is finding a chai...

HERE IS AN EMAIL FROM MY SISTER IN THE MIDST OF MY TURMOIL, NOT LONG AFTER BETRAYAL HIT MY MARRIAGE.MAY THIS EMAIL WRITTEN TO ME...GIVE YOU DEAR HURTING SOUL THE SAME ENCOURAGEMENT IT GAVE ME!Hope is like a spring Sunflower - It pops up with the first touch of sun (The Son!)Dearest Blossom, (Place your own name here.)I've been pondering the idea of faith and hope and how intricately they intertwin...

A Common SinfulnessAfter betrayal of any sort, be it a family member, spouse, business partner, or friend, a question bursts on the scene of our consciousness. Why should we show mercy to the offender, the one who has caused such pain, anger and loss?The answer to this question came at a price—I had to look at myself.For months after disclosure, raw anger fueled thoughts of revenge.  Where previou...

Life has taken an unexpected turn.I am currently thrust into full time work at a doctor’s office. The money will be a blessing, but the gift of precious time severely restricted.Happier times once again!I look at this opportunity with a purpose in mind…there is reason God has presented this job. Not one thing happens by chance, therefore I open my eyes. I wait. I pray. I listen.This job dictates a...

I pray  you will find encouragement today…in that deepest part of your aching spirit. May a message of hope be found in these following verses.Isaiah 35:1-6 The desert and the parched land will be glad: the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom: it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. …Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to t...

Like me you may wonder how you did not know that betrayal lived right beneath your nose.It is a reasonable question.Why didn’t I know? How did I miss the signs? What could I have done differently?Second-guessing myself became a perpetual thought process in the aftermath. I wanted to understand how adultery happened even while I blissfully believed I had a great marriage, great sex life, and great ...

“IN THE MOMENT”Every Monday I will include a journal entry of when I lived in that place of acute pain from betrayal. I include this raw and very personal reflection for one purpose only, to set the “before and after” stage. Every Wednesday I will tackle the subject of Monday's journal entry from a healed perspective. My hope and prayer is that these two drastically different scenarios will instil...

Spring—that time of year when trees blossom, bluebirds sing, and buttercups burst forth through darkened soil. A feeling of renewed hope fills most every heart…most every heart perhaps—except for yours?Yes, I’ve been there… in that place where not even buttercups, bluebirds, or blossoming trees evoke hope. I have lived in the dark, though full sunshine streams down. I have felt abject loneliness, ...