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

 You know what you don't see at a sub-state soccer game?  You don't see the mom of a senior and the wife of the opposing team's head coach find eachother for a hug mid-game because they are friends and they need to find eachother and remember that they know that one will end up winning and the other will not and they both love their guys and they both love soccer.  They remind each other that while it is just a game it also matters to not just their guys but to them because it just does.  So they don't just hug once but two or three times.       You don't see how cold all the spectators are because although it is late May the rain is cold and the wind is blowing and everyone is shivering but won't leave because we are cheering for our favorite teams and in Iowa we are not wimps.  We show up and brave the weather and we cheer.     You don't see 2 athletic directors stomp out shoulder to shoulder, in step, united when things get heate...

 As I woke up this morning my waking thoughts turned to prayer.  Immediately I began to ask God for some very specific things....beg him even.  He is pretty used to how this goes for us.  Eventually in the day I can get to the place of reading scripture, prayers of thankfulnes, of worship and quiet listening and meditation, but my first waking moments are usually those first things that are the deepest needs.  Lord, help.  If today is going to go well, then please help with this part.....and the list goes on and on.  Eventually I get out of bed and start to do my part. As I was praying in bed, and going through my list, God brought to mind a photo I took yesterday in the afternoon.  We had a crazy busy day yesterday and today will be the same.  Tomorrow and the next day and the next day will be just as crazy and to be quite honest I cannot see a day on the calender that looks quiet for quite a while.....so I am really grateful for this little...

 I have a friend named Jen.  She has been my friend for a long, long time.  We have done a lot of life together.....and I mean a lot.  We have transcended friendship and become family for several reasons....one reason is because neither of us had a sister and we both could have used one with the lives we were given.  So we became "sisters from another mister".  Another reason we became family is because we don't really like all of the same kinds of things or have the same interests so staying friends could have been a lot of work....but it's different when you are family.  Family sticks together.  Here is an example.  I don't like to decorate or remodel things.  I don't like to go shopping or look for good deals.  I would rather just buy something and move on.  I also don't have money to just do things like that when it is time to do it.  God blessed me and my family with Auntie Jen.  She floats in and makes things be...

 May is recognized as Mental Health Month.  As a Community Health Nurse I can assure you that mental health is something that is a primary part of my work with families.  As a human being living in 2022 I can also testify that mental health is a solid challenge simply because it is.....it just is.  It is hard to balance health vs. disease, wellness vs. illness, whether that is in the body, the mind or the spiritual part of ourselves.  In nursing we look at the whole self and we strive to make each part equally important.  In community health we add the aspect of the world we live in......and that makes things even bigger and broader, brighter and more shadowy..... Our local Health Coalition created something called Chalk the Walk as a tangible way to do something for Mental Health awareness.  In a world that often feels helpless and hopeless to change the big and heavy problems of mental illness, there can still be opportunities to do something creativ...