Living a Blessed Life

Spring is rapidly losing its place as my favorite season. I always loved the change of seasons as winter faded away, giving trees and flowers fresh new life. While this still continues to happen (eventually - in Minnesota), this time of year brings uncertainty to my life. I am trusting that this will not always be the case. Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust Him, and He will help you. Psalm 37:5 On March 3rd I had a CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis (with contrast). All that means is that they insert an IV in my arm and inject a clear solution that lights up on the imaging if there is anything unusual. It also means that I get to experience the unique sensation of wetting myself while laying on the CT table. Sounds fun, right? Haha! The contrast creates a very warm sensation as it moves through the body, starting with the ears and heading all of the way down. It’s strange, but sadly I am familiar with it enough to not be bothered by it. Last week I had my quarterly blood dr...

Fear and Worry are topics that weigh heavy on my heart at times. I feel the need to address this publicly, however. The Word of God says that we are to Fear Not, because God has overcome the world and he is our Price of Peace. I am well aware of the promises of God, and I do cling to them each and every day. I do believe that human nature and the world we live in make it challenging to let go completely, as we are constantly reminded of the trails in our lives and in our world. People are suffering every day. So, how do we let go of the worry and truly Fear Not? My story, like many others, weaves this same theme throughout. I know where my strength comes from, and I trust that God is my source of strength and my refuge. I know that leaning into these truths daily is necessary for continued peace of mind, so worry and anxiety do not have the opportunity to overtake me. “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and pat...

/ˈfam(ə)lē/ a group of one or more parents and their children living together as a unit. all the descendants of a common ancestor. “Friends are the Family you choose!” Throughout my life, I have moved a lot! 11 times throughout my childhood, including 4 states and 8 schools. No, my parents were not in the military. That is typically the first question I receive when I mention how many times I have moved. I think part of moving was just living a life of adventure and experience. I have many interesting experiences that have shaped who I am, and have made more friends along the way. I do have connections with a few of them even today, and love that we have been able to stay connected over the years. I have realized that the only constant in life is change. Change is inevitable, and I have learned well how to embrace change and roll with it. I believe every experience in life leads to the next for a specific reason. We have all likely heard it said that “hindsight is 20/20.” As we...

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” I cannot say that I love knowing that we will have and should expect trouble in this life. I mean, my flesh nature wants to question why and try to find a way around it, but I know firsthand that it is not my place to know the answers. Kids have an uncanny way of asking questions that are difficult to answer and I am grateful to have a book filled with answers. Answers that may still seem difficult to understand, and answers that we may not agree with. We do, however, have the greatest book of answers ever written. The Bible. When people have children, one thing we tend to laugh off is the fact that they don’t come with an instruction manual. I would argue that we do. We may not have a book with all of the nitty gritty, but we have the opportunity to seek answers in the greatest book ever written. Again, I am not saying it is ea...

Today I write with a heavy, yet Joyful heart. On October 29, 2021, my father-in-law, Jerry Schwarz was welcomed into the loving arms of Jesus. It's hard to believe that two months have already passed since that day. Finding the words to express my thoughts, emotions, and sentiments has been incredibly challenging, which is one reason it has taken this long to write the tribute I wanted to write at least six weeks ago. Jerry taught me many lessons in construction and yard / plant care. He spent countless hours over the 12 years we have lived in our home, remodeling and replacing nearly everything. Between my own father and Jerry, our entire house has been reconstructed and/or refreshed. If not for many selfless gifts, we would likely not be living in our home. That being said, it is difficult to look around without being reminded of Jerry. Every room has his fingerprints, and we are thankful for that. While that is a special reminder, it also seems to prolong the grieving proces...

Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (ESV) COVID snuck in and tried to wreak havoc in our home over the past few weeks. I’ll be completely raw here and say that we have experienced attacks physically, emotionally, and spiritually, that were completely surprising to us. It all began with a fever. My husband had been experiencing a low grade fever that would come and go for a few weeks prior to all of this. Finally, this fever was not subsiding, and I, too, came down with it. We were achy in our upper back / neck area, but nowhere else. It was really a strange, uncomfortable ache which caused me to sleep on a heating pad for a few days, just for a little relief. That, coupled with a fever (that I was trying desperately to avoid taking anything for), had me feeling terrible. We were anxiously optimistic that this would pass, as we had a trip planned to Disney World, which we had b...

School is back in session and fall is in the air again. I am grateful that our kids are back in school full time, in person! All three of them enjoy school, but the girls really, really LOVE IT! The start to our school year has been pretty smooth and I hope it has for those of you with children in school as well. I am changing course with this post, compared to my usual. I do promise to update my health status and so much more another time, but my heart is leaning another direction today. TOBY! Toby is our 10 year old son and he is in 5th grade this year. He is often times described as an outgoing, sweet, kind, thoughtful boy with an intense love for all things dinosaur! He is polite and respectful, and enjoys playing baseball and flag football. This summer, something great grew in Toby. You see, he attended FCA junior sports camp in Waseca and was challenged on the final day of camp to start with the 4 gospels in the Bible and read one chapter a day. This was a challenge that h...