Blog - Page 5 of 7 - LUTHERWOMAN

Sabbath: A Day of Delight

In my mind, for as long as I can remember, church attendance has been equal to keeping the Sabbath. My father was a pastor, so Sunday was a work day for him, and I don’t recall there being a separate time or day set apart for the Sabbath outside of the communal worship experience.

In adulthood, I too ended up working on Sundays, either as an organist or Sunday school teacher, while my husband would often be involved in leading Bible studies. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that many of us realized how hard we were working every Sunday, and what a relief it was to finally be able to rest.

Solitude as a Spiritual Discipline

There is a lovely little book of essays on all aspects of womanhood called A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Somewhere in the second chapter she calls women the “eternal nourishers of society” and talks about how women constantly feel the pull to serve everyone around them: their children, spouse, parents, and wider communities. Such constant service often leaves women completely drained as they pour themselves out over and over again for those around them. How do women replenish their energy? How do they fill their pitchers to the brim once again?

According to Anne, solitude is the key: “Women need solitude in order to find again the true

The Season In Between

I don’t know about you, but the Christmas season is exciting AND frustrating. It’s exciting to spend time with people I don’t see very often. I take paid time off from work, which allows me more time in my day to do things I like to do like take my dog to the dog park when the sun is out, going to a workout class in the middle of the day, and staying up late to finish that movie I’ve been really wanting to see.

And it’s frustrating. The lack of structure in my day makes it hard to find motivation for things I should do like go grocery shopping, clean my apartment, and maintain personal hygiene. In addition to this, since many of my friends travel for the holidays, I often have less opportunities for quality social time.

Recovering from the Burnout of Chasing it All

There I was after having received most of the things I had once dreamed about, or so I thought.

After losing my way in my early twenties, I later graduated at the top of my college class, and was working for a firm with an incredible reputation. I had a phenomenal mentor and I loved my team at work. I was motivated and career driven. I wanted to prove what I could do and who I was. No more girl from a small town in the bootheel of Missouri, I meant business.

I excelled at the firm and quickly drank the kool-aid...that is, believing this work-life balance dream was achievable. I just needed to work more first

If I Could Turn Back Time

We can’t change the past, but so many of us spend our present rewinding through those moments that didn’t go right.

We regret a decision or missed opportunity.

Sometimes it is just a regret for a decision we made. We made the decision at the time, and now we wish we would have done something different.

Years ago I got a phone call from a museum in Michigan. They had seen my vintage automobile photos online and wanted me to show them in one of their smaller galleries next to their upcoming Formula One traveling exhibition. The catch…

God is Faithful Through Your Bad Decisions

I have decision fatigue.

It feels like I’ve spent the last decade or so trying to cleverly optimize my family’s existence for the least amount of money.

Where can we own our own house and send our kids to a good school and not be car dependent and have access to nature without being in the middle of the country while not having a huge mortgage and accompanying giant monthly payments hanging over our heads?

It’s a lot to ask out of life, especially when you have five children and value the ability to

Anxiety; In Every Situation

Anxiety is the same for every person. At its core, anxiety is the feeling of uneasiness, a worry of the unknown. However, anxiety can manifest differently in each person, as we are all created differently, and it makes sense that we would all deal differently as well.

I can’t speak for you, but I’ve noticed that I myself tend to deal with anxiety in a worldly way.

We can google just about any situation and have an answer pop up within seconds. While this may give us a momentary relief or answer, how are we to know this is an answer that is indeed intended for us?

Nothing I Learned About Purity Prepared Me For Dating At 29 Years Old

I am one of those unicorn Christians who is still unmarried at 29 – I didn’t meet someone in high school, Christian college, or at camp. I listened to BarlowGirl’s vow to prolong dating, read Harris’ I Kissed Dating Goodbye, and signed my purity pledge at a “True Love Waits” event.

I kept waiting for that magical moment when some young whippersnapper approached me and asked for my hand where I could I reply “No more dating, I’m just waiting” while waving my purity ring in his face, triumphantly.

Unfortunately, I never was faced with this situation, and my understanding of purity and sex

Overcoming Decision Paralysis As A Perfectionist

You are never going to make all the right decisions.

This is what I told myself as I typed the email to the director of my graduate nursing school to inform her that I was withdrawing from classes for the following semester… and the foreseeable future.

For years before this decision, I had imagined myself working in the medical field. As a junior in high school, I decided my goal was to attend medical school and one day take part in medical missions. From that time on, becoming a doctor guided all of my decisions. I studied biology with a pre-med track in college. During my freshman year, I gained early acceptance to a medical

That Craving You Have For More Of God

This week I was visiting my parents. My niece Michelle lives in the adjoining lot and she came over and we were all sitting in the backyard talking. Michelle loves to garden. Every year she plants and tends and harvests and cans fruits and vegetables. And she just happened to mention her apple trees.

She said that the apple trees they planted 3 years ago are doing well. And then she says, “They’ve been growing lots of apples and Eric (her husband) just knocked them all off this week.” I’m thinking, it’s June, why did he knock off all the growing apples? So I ask her.

She answers, “We were told that you are