To my friends, Last week I woke up early. I looked out the window to assess the time and assumed it was about 6am. The sun wasn’t up but the sky seemed to be lightening in the east. My mind began working as it so often does in my interrupted sleep world. “What should […]
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Dear Friends, I’m beginning this post differently today because I need your help. It’s an understatement to say life has changed in 2020. What wasn’t clear last winter is now becoming more obvious: The changes to our lives are not the result of just a single virus named Covid, but other viral infections are […]
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My expectations for Thanksgiving this year have changed. Dramatically! With all the uncertainty in our lives, we’ve decided not to do our usual Peterson family gathering of 30-40 people this year. Though we intended to continue this annual Thanksgiving tradition for at least this year since my mom died, it’s now clearly not prudent. […]
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Do you feel like you are holding your breath this week? Do you feel anxious and hypervigilant? I can’t say anything about the events happening tomorrow and this week because recently I wrote a post and mentioned in one sentence the name of our collective civic duty and was blocked on social media. It’s […]
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Two weeks ago I shared a devotion from my dear friend Joanne. Today I want to share one from Susan. The three of us live in three different states and do a 3-way call once a month to catch up and then we do a lot of praying for each other in between. On […]
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Everything feels foreign and different this year. Our long ordeal with Covid-19 continues to impact every area of life, it seems. This would be bad enough, but with the looming chaotic presidential election, the future seems even more unsure. Still one of my favorite verses is true, “He shall be the stability of your […]
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Recently my husband, Dennis, went on a hunting trip with our son, and I decided to make the days alone ones of rest and refreshment with activities that were fun and gave me joy. In my Bible study lessons this fall we’ve talked about how the source of joy is found in relationship with […]
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One of the great privileges of my life has been visiting multiple orphanages in Russia, China, and South Africa. Taking our children to third world countries to interact with Christians and ministries was life changing. In 2006 we traveled with our daughter Rebecca and her husband of one year, Jake, to South Africa. One […]
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“I have called you by name you are Mine!” (Isaiah 43:1) My husband is an expert story-teller and always had wonderfully creative ways to engage with our kids, to get to their hearts. I just wanted them to obey and pick up their clothes! We were a very good balance for each other in […]
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My newborn granddaughter loves being swaddled snugly. Wound correctly, a swaddle blanket will cocoon Emma Cate’s newborn form tightly into the familiar shape of the womb, her first home. She knows the feel of that place. She trusts it … she calms … she sleeps. Birth is a launch from home into a new […]
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