The sweetest peace comes at the most unexpected times… do you know what I mean? Have you experienced the sweetest peace in the midst of tenderest joy? Have you experienced the sweetest peace in the midst of anguishing sorrow? Have you experienced the sweetest peace in the midst of heart wrenching loss? The sweetest peace that washes over you now when you reflect on some past experience… the sweetest peace that carries you through the hardest places you’ve ever traveled… this is the peace that passes understanding. I think this is the peace that Kara wrote about in her book:…
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I have a few Starbucks aprons I’ve picked up, second hand, along the way. One of them has a printed tape inside the top of the apron. I’m assuming it was positioned there so that it would be seen (and intentionally read) each time the barista positioned the neck strap and donned the apron. As with many other aprons I have, I’ve worn this one many times. Until recently, I never even noticed the black tape sewn inside the top band of that apron. Thus, I’d never read the message intended for the baristas: We create inspired moments in each…
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The beauty of a plan is the presence of accompanying grace. I think this is true with most any plan. Well, except for plans with deadlines, specific time frames, appointments, etc. So it is, with the Trim Healthy Mama “plan” for health and optimal weight or finding your trim. With grace. Grace doesn’t mean carelessness, though. And it doesn’t mean neglect. I know that. Now. The result of neglecting the plan is sort of like how money evaporates in California. Or how the reaching of an optimal weight goal is erased by consuming bags of sea salt & dark-chocolate covered…
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October 17, 2013 I received my book… and I wrote about the THM journey here with additional entries following. I wasn’t so much seeking to be a trim healthy mama as much as I was determined to be a healthy mama who happened to figure out how to be and remain disciplined and trim. I had such determination and such confidence. And success, too. Life happened. And failure. This morning I’m cleaning up from a few different events in the last several days and all I see around me are large bowls, serving platters, large carafes, stacks of other dishes,…
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So much of the time we just see what we see and go on. We hear what we hear and move on. How are you? Fine, thank you, how are you? Fine. That’s nice. But that’s not really what’s going on. Or, that’s not all that’s going on. It never is. A friend of ours had been battling the ravages of cancer for many months and was ushered into glory a few days ago. I learned so much from him… the way he lived and the way he died was so instructive. He’s now seen the glorious morning beyond the…
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Though I use it most every day, it’s only every now and then that I take note of the verse imprinted on the cover of the notebook I’m currently using: “May the Lord bless you and keep you, and give you peace.” from Numbers 6.24-26 I have dozens of such books since I began note-taking & journaling many years ago. I’ve made a concerted effort to revisit the books from time to time — not only to see where I’ve been compared to where I am today, but to see what the Lord was showing me in Scripture, sermons, notes,…
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I began working on my new This Beautiful Life journal/planner/notebook, and once again I’m stymied by my answers. I see the designated spaces for specific answers and am reticent to write mine down. My tendency is to be very tentative about what goals I write (thinking if I write it, I’ll be committed to doing it). One day I might only write a few goals — another day I might write down things that would take two lifetimes to accomplish. My abstract sequential / concrete random thinking style seems to prevent me from ever making a definitive list. Have you…