Life sentence...

It is so easy to take my mother for granted.  She is always there, quietly supporting me, no matter what the circumstances. Even as she has gotten older and less physically strong, she continues to listen and inspire with her wealth of life experience and her calm assurance that all will eventually be well.  I could not imagine anyone better suited to be my mother than the one I have.

It was not an easy path for her to become my mother.  Most women have a nine month pregnancy, and viola, they are a mother.  But my mother took a much harder journey, one which built strength and character, along with the blows life dealt her.  Because she lost three babies along the way, and I came as the rainbow after the storms.

Happy Valentine's Day.... again....

I first wrote this as a Facebook post a few years ago, and I think it was pretty good, if I do say so myself.  But I decided I needed to edit it and add a happy update. So this time, I will put it in the blog, and it will be preserved for my kids forever.

That is the best thing about a blog, by the way. When I am gone, they will have this writing to look at, and they will be able to hear, in my own voice, my thoughts and feelings. If you don't write a blog, I encourage you to take it up. It is good for the soul, and a way to give your children a piece of you that will never go away. This post is, I guess, my Valentine to my Valentine's!

The past is present within....

Bronchitis, Influenza A, and whooping cough. More efficient to just do them all at once and get it over with.

Being sick is a bit like a snow day (except you feel worse.) It is a free day, no expectations, no plan, spontaneous. But I am under doctor's orders to rest and try to get over this wealth of germs and not spread these viruses any further. (Having been sick with one thing after another for a month now, I have decided that perhaps she is right. I never said I was a fast learner.) Thus, here I sit on a cold, sunny day, all kinds of work calling my name, but ignoring everything that I should be doing, which is a frustrating, but perhaps positive, thing to do from time to time, and just do nothing.  

Except, as it turns out, I can't just do nothing. (I am, as always, surprised by this, although no one else seems to be, which is interesting.)  So I am using the time to go through a few things that I have long neglected, trying to get things more organized around here.

All in all...

We have come a long ways from a manger in a stable on a quiet night, a child's cry ringing out to break the silence.  Stores start gearing up for gift giving in October, or even September.  We make our lists, we drive up our credit card balances, we eat more than we should, all in celebration of an event 2000 years ago that is all but forgotten in the modern fuss we call The Holidays.

I can't help but think this is not what God had in mind.  We have made Christmas about us, instead of about him.  Today, it is more about our gifts to each other than his gift to each of us.  The focus of our attention should always be on God, because he is the center of everything.  But we are drawn to things of the world, the shiny new objects sparkling before our eyes, which pull us down and take attention off what should be the central focal point.

Tending to business...

I am a micro business owner in a small town in rural Minnesota. Although it is a very tough business environment, especially trying to compete with WalMart and Amazon and online sales, we are keeping busy, and constantly looking for a niche that isn't being filled by anyone else close by. As with any business, the support of our local community will make or break us, and I am glad to say we have a lot of familiar faces walking through the door each week, which helps us keep a steady pace most of the time.

Recently, I realized I am falling behind on some of my tasks, so I am pretty excited to have hired a high school girl to work a few hours a week and help us out. But for me, this hire is not just about the filing that is piling up or paying someone else to do tasks for which I don't have time. I think hiring local kids is a vital part of the non-quantifiable contribution that local businesses make to our small community. It is an opportunity to influence our future by teaching our young people some of the most important life skills they will ever have, and build relationships that remain important long after they graduate and move on with their lives.