Contemplations of a Mommy "Monk"

Lord, the last 12 months have been like a large raw gaping wound for our nation.  It has exposed such ugliness, deep hurts, resentment, anger, pain, bitterness and enmity.  No longer do we stand united - we are fractured, we are broken and we are suffering.  Last night we formally mourned the death of 400,000 souls due to a silent enemy that not only brought illness but confusion, misinformation, disagreement and doubt.  Distrust and hatred have spread in a contagious manner over these past months.   We have to humbly admit, we have not truly been a nation Under God in many, many years.  Our hearts have strayed so far from Your ways.  We no longer value holiness or honor our elders; we've lost the heart to love our neighbors, especially those who are not like us.  We've forgotten that it is more blessed to give than receive and made our greedy desires and selfish pleasures our gods.  We have replaced You as the Lord of all with our own gods:  pride, comfort, success, beauty, po

Hebrews 12:1 - 3  1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,   2   fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.   3   Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. I am not a runner.  Never have been and probably never will be.  Running takes some serious endurance, training and goal setting, but mainly I'm not a runner because it's HARD.  It hurts and I just want it to be over as soon as possible.  I've ran in a couple of 5K events - one ended with hot cocoa and the other was filled with blasts of color and dance music.  Most serious runners wouldn't say these events count for much (and if I'm really hones

Sunset on the Fox River - on our way to Chicago This past week has been a whirlwind of emotions, ups and downs, and a crazy busy time of year.  Just a glimpse into the last seven days:  I took my eldest daughter down to Chicago to go back to college for the year.  In a time a social unrest, she's returning to a dorm room only a few miles from the looting and rioting a couple weeks ago.  In addition, due to higher rates of COVID infections in our state, she was required to quarantine for her first 14 days back in Illinois.   The long drive to and from a bustling city provided an opportunity to either build anxiety or lay my worries at His feet.  I can't claim to be perfect in this matter as I really thought I was at peace after walking the streets with Katie on a sunshiny day with city-dwellers out for Sunday runs or coffee but ended up at home after 10 hours on the road pretty tired and grumpy.  And then I sat down with  The Return of the Prodigal Son  by Henri Nouwen.   I'

Lake Superior on a windy day looks as tumultuous as the ocean, the waves crashing against the craggy rocky shoreline.  However, on this day, I climbed the basalt shoreline, jumping across crevices, feeling the breeze through my hair, and hearing the waters crashing upon the same bedrock upon which I stood, and I felt the peace that comes from soaking in God's creation.   As an educator, the summer has long meant time to settle, to rest and recover from the chaotic busyness of life during the school year.  These days, as an administrator, summers are still workdays but usually, the pace slows down enough to appreciate time for refueling and resting.  During a pandemic, however, my whole work-life balance has been upended as working from home has become a reality much of time and the slower pace of summer suddenly becoming a frantic neverending discussion of how to possibly begin school again in the fall with effective safety measures.  The stress and anxiety of decisions on a mac

This morning I have two things pressing on my mind and they both led me to the same scripture commanding action and changes to improve culture .  I've been doing some self-analysis for the past month.  We did a perceptions survey at work and the results were pretty hard to hear which has led to digging deep to figure out what needs to change.  If I want to build a positive culture in my school, I have to take ownership of where we've fallen short as leaders.  I recently read an article in Harvard Review about building trust among staff.  The author identified 3 areas that can make leaders less likely to be trusted by their employees: Can I trust your reasoning and judgment?  Are you as a leader authentic and real with us?  Do you care about me and my success, are you empathetic?  As I assessed myself as a leader to consider where my shortcomings might be, I was surprised to see that I do not present myself as an empathetic leader.  I genuinely care about my staff so why is

This morning I am feasting on the Word of God, savoring every nuance, drinking deeply of the truth God speaks.  I'm letting Him fill me up to overflowing with hope, peace and love as I soak in Psalm 23.  Even though I've heard these words many times, they are fresh and new today. I shall not want. We live in a fast-paced consumer-driven society.  There is always something more, something better and our hunger seems to never be satisfied.  I think we have a tendency to be compulsively busy, getting antsy if there isn't something to occupy our minds or our hands.  This sitting at home business is boring and maybe it's just me, but I find myself itching to go somewhere, do something, or else I'm working at all hours of the day.  If I'm not working, I'm looking for a book to read or a show to watch - empty time and space in our days can seem vacuous.  Do we know what it means to not want?  Do we know how to settle down and just sit?  When we come to God an