He is Greater.....John 3:30 says He must become greater, I must become less"

 Every year I struggle with October and Halloween.  I love October.  I do not love Halloween.  I do not love the spiritual battle of dealing with zombies and ghosts and witches and devils that is elevated to an idea of fun and whimsy for this holiday.  I do not love the stress of finding constumes the kids are excited about and happy with.....nor do I wish to spend money on an outfit they will wear for less than 4 hours of their life.  I do not look forward to the battle over the candy and how much they can have each day....and then the trips to the dentist to get cavities filled for the next year.  Even with insurance, the dental bill is scarier than Halloween in our family.   But October. Warm afternoons, cool evenings, dark and quiet mornings.....the colors of fall absolutely burst wide open in Iowa in the fall....and this year has been exceptionally beautiful and it lingered on through the entire month.....every day was more amazing and b...

 I've been a witness to an incredible love story unfolding.  The story involves a little boy who is trapped in an impossible and tragic problem.  As the problem is revealed, everything gets pretty intense and complicated....and the plot thickens....there is tension with the characters and the cliff-hangers are intense.  I've been holding my breath for weeks and weeks, hanging on the edge of this cliff.   In this story, some of the characters practice a religion....and so they summon their prayer warriors to pray.  They storm the gates of Heaven and they slay the demons of hell in prayer....and they worship....and they sing.  Oh, do they sing.  The songs are praises to their God who can do all things through Christ who gives them strenth...and they press on...and their God moves.   As the pages of the story turn, new characters are introduced and there is a sneaky twist in the plot.  There is only a little bit of deception....or...

      Recently I had a conversation with a friend.  We discussed the struggle and strife of this world and how to manage it.  My friend has had a particular struggle that has not lessoned or resolved for years.  She is weary.  She is crying out to Jesus for strength for today and brigh hope for tomorrow.  She asked me if I had any advice for na vigating her struggle.  I don't have advice.  All I have is to know the struggle and to know it matters.  I can hold space for her.  I can acknowledge that life can be hard.  I can listen to her and I can ache with her because the pain and struggle she is dealing with is aweful.  She and I remembered together, as we talked, that this world is not our home.  We are only here for a little bit.  We are unto something greater and more wonderful and we can stay the course, we can press on...we can do the work.  Jesus already declared a victory.  Jesus already def...

      Precious Maryn is in 6th grade.  This year her teachers organized a class-wide event that has not been done by our school before. It happened this past thursday and friday.   It involved a cook-out/sleep-over in tents/breakfast around campfire and then day of learning at a local park called Oak Grove.  The park is run by the county conservation board and has a river, camping spots, trails for hiking, a nature center and more.  I grew up going to Oak Grove park.  I've hiked the trails and enjoyed picnics and taken time alone for personal retreat there.....I love this place. When it came time to volunteer I missed all the sign-ups to chaperone, to provide supplies, to take a spot on night patrol, walking around the campsite for 2 hours to ensure safety.  I'm not good with spreadsheets....I usually miss the sign ups.  I did arrange to borrow a tent from the neighbors and agreed to come anyway and sleep out.  I told Precious ...

 There is a term called compassion fatigue.  It points to feeling emptied out and dried up and overwhelmed by caring a lot about things for a long time.....It's almost as if the compassion expires, the caring gives out, the empathy runs dry.  One of the words often used to describe me has been compassionate.  I identify deeply with feelings of connection, love, hurting and longing to heal others.  It is why I am a nurse.  I care.  Beyond caring I find it unacceptable to know someone is suffering and not move to relieve, help, heal, hug, and work to a better option.  It's who I am.  It's how God wired me.....and it has been this way my whole life.       Recently, things have happened that poked big holes in my jar of compassion.  It wasn't just one hole with a slow leak....but over and over again, big holes pierced my jar and I could feel all the goodness pouring out and I was filling and filling and filling, running t...

 I've had a word bouncing around in my head and heart since we have been on vacation.  Enrichment.  The dictionary defines it this way:  1.  the action of improving or enhancing the quality or value of something.  2.  the process of making someone wealthy or wealthier. It first came to my thoughts when we were getting ready to do a gold mining tour on our second vacation day in the Black Hills.  We had to put on these yellow hats to protect our heads and I wondered if it was just part of the tour experience....and was kind of silly....esp for the teenagers....but we did it anyway.  All 7 of us.  As we navigated the gold mine tour it became quite clear why we needed to wear the helmets.  the hall was narrow and shallow....and I got the giggles hearing everyone bump their heads as we progressed through the tunnel.  Enrichment. Maybe I have wondered why we bother to do a family vacation.  Claire and Jonah couldn't join us, an...

 Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."       The other night Josiah came out of his bedroom in tears.  He had already been tucked in, prayed for and kissed good-night by his dad but he couldn't sleep and he was in a state of despair and frustration and tears.  He had heard noises that scared him outside of his bedroom. Doors opening and closing.  A wierd whistling sound....all of which were amplified by a basement bedroom and a child who often struggles with anxiety.   He knew the extra kredit was in meltdown mode and that was taking up a lot of time and energy late at night after a ballgame and we were all exhausted.       With big alligator tears rolling down his cheeks, Josiah stood in front of me and said, "can I have my roller ball for being scared? (we have some essential oil blends we use)....and mom....I've been trying to say I can do all things through Christ who g...