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My Sweet Hour of Prayer
Yesterday, my church started a 24-hour prayer marathon. The idea is that people sign up to pray for 1 hour at the church creating a constant stream of prayers offered over the course of the 24 hours. To prepare for this event, prayer cards were submitted listing people or things that needed prayer. We’ve had these events before and honestly I didn’t make enough effort to participate. The idea of praying for 1 solid hour seemed a little overwhelming. This year, I decided I was going to participate, and I signed up for a late shift, 11 p.m. – 12 p.m. Staying up late is a challenge for me. I…
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It’s Ok to Ask for Help
When I lost my sister, I was only 22. That is barely an adult in many measures of the term. I had just graduated from college and had been working less than 1 month as a real, full-time employee. This was the first major loss I had experienced. Chris and I had been dating about 2 years, and I can’t even explain how wonderful he was to be by my side. I was overcome with emotions. There were many days when I cried, cried, and cried some more. Becky and I were very close. We were alike in may ways. She was big sister, my protector, and friend. She was…
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I’ll Pray For You
I think the use of social media has caused us to say things sometimes without following through with our word or maybe not truly meaning what we say. Have you ever wondered if all the hundreds of people who reply to a post on Facebook with “I’ll pray for you” really follow through? I’m betting many do not for various reasons. When everyone else posts something, there can sometimes be a drive to join in. I don’t think people “forget” to pray, life happens and they just forget to follow through. Prayer is powerful but I think it’s also sacred too. Here are a few ideas the next time…
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My Sweet Hour of Prayer
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How Are You Doing?
I went to the doctor recently and on the way out, he said “Call me if you’re not better by Thursday.” I am blessed with a truly good and caring Doctor but even as good as he is, he cannot fix everything. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a cocktail shot you could take to make a broken heart better in a matter of days? While there is medicine you can take, books you can read, exercises you can do, none of these items are a cure for grief. There is a huge misconception that time heals grief and after a short amount of time, someone is miraculously better. …
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Life is Like a Cherry Tree
You may have noticed the cover image on my blog is a field of cherry trees. The reason I chose this image was based on an article I found a few years ago about the significance of the cherry tree in Japanese culture. “The significance of the cherry blossom tree in Japanese culture goes back hundreds of years. In their country, the cherry blossom represents the fragility and the beauty of life. It’s a reminder that life is almost overwhelmingly beautiful but that it is also tragically short. When the cherry blossom trees bloom for a short time each year in brilliant force, they serve as a visual reminder of…
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I Know How You Feel…
I know how you feel… Let’s erase those words from our go to answers for someone dealing with grief. While it’s our natural answer to show compassion, most of the time, we really don’t know how someone feels. Don’t tell your own story in a way that you try to justify why you know how someone feels. Each of us were uniquely made which means we all experience different emotions and feelings. Along with this, each loss is different because of a 1001 circumstances. And, at the end of the day, we all handle loss differently. Losing a sibling vs. losing a parent, vs. losing a grandparent all “feel” different and…
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Where is the Body?
Many parents use the term “potty” when talking to young children. In fact, some people say it so much that it is easy to forget there are other names for this important room. A word of advice, never, ever ask where the “potty” is while attending a funeral visitation. At my dad’s visitation, I had someone ask, “Where is the potty”? Maybe it was because we were at a funeral that my ears deceived me. What I heard was “Where is the body”? I found this a rather odd question given that I was standing in close proximity to the casket; however, I obliged and gently pointed toward the casket.…
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Finding Comfort from an Envelope
While in the hospital after my daughter was stillborn, I needed something to occupy my mind. After researching how and why on earth this could have happened, I resorted to adding a bible app to my phone & iPad. Along with this, I started several bible reading plans focused on loss and grieving. Through this journey, I started making note of several verses that were comforting to me. I had not one single piece of paper in the hospital room, not even in my purse. I did have 1 envelope with me and filled it with the various verses that I found. I needed something to do at the hospital…
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Be a Lemonade Maker in 2018
What defines a person? I don’t believe the cards we are dealt in live define us. I believe how we play the cards is what truly defines us. I’ve always had a passion to help others, and since March 8, 2014, I’ve had a personal bucket list item to start a blog. I purchased the domain name and started and stopped various blogs more times than I care to count. Now that 2017 is coming to a close, I decided to finally put this plan into action and to find a way to make lemonade out of the lemons in my life. I love water with fresh lemons. When I buy…
