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A man after my own heart…..Henri
“Somehow original sin, that inner anguish and brokenness that is beyond our own doing, becomes the place where we touch our original blessing. Somehow our broken fathers, our limited mothers, our neurotic brothers, our confused sisters, and our own inner struggles work to create in us a hunger to move beyond our pain. “My soul is restless,” as Augustine says, “until it rest in you, O Lord.” Once we approach intimacy with God dwelling within, and once we accept others and ourselves as we are, we may begin to speak about “happy guilt” or “happy brokenness.” (Sweetly Broken) The inner struggle is no longer such a...
Read MoreMerrill Lou Who
Do you ever get a thought going in your mind and you turn it, twist it, mull it, bake it, sit in it and then finally it kinda falls into place. Go with me for a minute (or two) on this one…. The other day someone emailed me about being in a bad place and then finished it with…“I’m sorry to burden you with this on this beautiful day as you are always so upbeat and encouraging.” It kinda made me stop and think. I am encouraging, but it is part of my job as well as one of my gifts. I can be very upbeat but you could also say I have ADHD and my children could testify to other personality traits that are not so upbeat. And burden was an...
Read MoreAn Unhurried Life
I am reading this wonderful book by John Ortberg called, The Life You’ve Always Wanted. Each chapter is like a delicious course in living. This book has challenged me, brought delight and stirred me, but this latest chapter sent an arrow into my Type A personality heart! The chapter is called An Unhurried Life. “Hurry is not of the devil; hurry is the devil.” Jung writes. As I was reading the book I found myself shouting a few “AMENS” knowing that I was the choir and needed to hear this sermon. Ortberg states, “As we pursue our spiritual life, we must battle with hurry. For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our...
Read MoreThe Comings and Goings: Part 2
This is part 2 of my comings and goings….Yes, I have written about this before but it is a constant in our life especially in the lives of parents….Birth, school, driving, college, home again…. then off to the world! Our hearts get pulled, twisted, tugged, cut and healed in this process. When my sweet son Andrew went away to New York to attend the Culinary Institute of America I thought I would just die, I missed him so much. But I lived and adjusted to life without Andrew under the roof. To be honest, as each of the boys left to head out into the world it created a tear in my heart. Even now when my little ones go to their dad’s for the...
Read MoreFirst Love
Yesterday, my daily lent study by Henri Nouwen ( I love this man) was on Love and Relationships. It talked about the “First Love” and the “Second Love”. First love is from God, who loved us and knew us before we were born. The second love is from everyone else. At times we expect from the second love what only the first love can give. As soon as we demand a first love, unconditional, total love from another human being, who is limited in their ability to give and receive, we will be disappointed and let down. Oh what a struggle it can be when we expect a first love from someone who could only give a second love. I’ve done it, I know many...
Read MoreWon’t you be my neighbor?
Today we had an amazing guest speaker at our church. She started with singing about living waters then challenged us to move outside of our comfort zones and into different neighborhoods. To really be a neighbor, to love, extend grace and show others God’s love without boundaries or exception. Her song and message stayed with me all day long. The touching story with Mr. Rodgers song…”Won’t you be my neighbor?” Are we able to let go of the pride, fear and comfort and really be neighbors to one another? To be humble enough to let others in and share of our living water? To share the comfort we have received from knowing where the well...
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Merrill Is a mother of 5 who has found her calling in sharing her experiences from life with others. She can help you break out of your routine to live life to its fullest potential.