Songs of Summer

Romans 15:13 (CEB)-May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. You know how you start thinking about something and then see the topic everywhere?   Hope has been that recurring theme for me lately. It started a few weeks ago when I got a text while doing the dishes. I heard my phone ding, but I finished the dishes before I checked it.  The quiet afternoon allowed time to daydream and my mind wandered to what would be the best text I could hope for. When nothing came to my mind right away, I realized I don’t often live with hopeful expectation that something good could happen.  After washing a few more dishes, I came up with a few things I am hoping for in my life. Later on, I wrote down a few of these hopes.  I think hopes are often ideas that God has put in our hearts.   Martin Luther said, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” The life I live now has been shaped by t

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)- And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. I strained a muscle in my back and went to bed grumpy and woke up grumpier.  I wanted to be selfish and lazy and wished I could have an entire day to only take care of myself.  Instead, I needed to dress my little one and take off to watch my teenager play in a softball tournament.  My husband needed to do chores and would meet us there later.   I went through a drive thru on the way for breakfast and I truly appreciated the coffee and food prepared by someone else.  Soon, I began to feel a little more able to take on the day, but I winced when I heard on the radio that the heat index would be well over 100 for the day. We got to the tournament and saw friends to watch the game with.  Maycee was happy with the special breakfast food and the sky was overcast and there was even a bit of a breeze.  There was a playground not far from the field and before long we w

“Above all else, guard your heart,  for everything you do flows from it.”Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)   Do you ever work on an area of your life and then it gets worse?  This happened to me.  I had been praying about my words because I want them to bring honor to God. I know I need to show better judgement.  I don’t want to spout out things too quickly or sound rude, but that is exactly what I did at a spring softball game.The few previous weekends had been frustrating for Leah (and me) because she wasn’t getting much playing time.  I told her that these early games didn’t determine the whole season and to keep trying hard and stay positive, but in my head I was doing that dreaded thing that parents sometimes do- second guessing the coaches’ decisions.  Why wasn’t Leah getting a chance at that position instead of the girl playing it for two games in a row?  Blah, blah, blah. On this afternoon, several players were missing for a music trip so Leah got to play.  She played well and as

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[ a ] The old has gone, the new is here! I found myself in the middle of situation that was very humbling.  I joined a writing group for the night that  gets together once a month at Lutheran Church of Hope.   The church is on Jordan Creek Parkway and we usually only go for their amazing Christmas Eve service  It’s a huge church and the times I have gone have fit my conceptions of this part of West Des Moines. The church has people from every walk of life, but there are lots and lots of well-dressed, attractive people. I walked in on this Thursday night and it had a very different feel.  It was still very busy, but instead of families celebrating the holiday, I saw lots of young men and women hanging out.  I noticed many young moms and some rough looking teenagers. The childcare center was full. There was a meal being served and food distribution for the food pantry.  Thursdays are

“He’s the one who comforts us in all our trouble so that we can comfort other people who are in every kind of trouble. We offer the same comfort that we ourselves received from God.”  2 Corinthians 1:4(CEB) If I have ever made you feel left out-I am SO sorry. We can do this by accident and never even realize it, but when we feel left out, it stings and we spend days thinking about it.   This has been a little harder week with Maycee.  We have gotten to the point in summer where she’s a little tired of our routine.  Softball is finished so we are transitioning to even more time with just the two of us.  I realized that she needed a playdate.  Trouble is, I don’t have many friends with kids her age. I am part of a toddler mom group on Facebook and throughout the winter I would get updates on places they were meeting in Ames for the kids to play.  The times didn’t work for me because of work, but one Tuesday over Christmas break, I saw that they were meeting at Chick-Fil-