Comments Off on Grace Notes: A Melody of Hope

Grace Notes: A Melody of Hope

In a world full of difficulty, we all need a little grace. Grace presents itself in various forms. This word represents elegance, virtue and moral strength. Some say ‘grace’ before a meal. Others grace us with their presence. At times, a grace period offers a reprieve before a bill is…
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Comments Off on Thank God for Grandparents

Thank God for Grandparents

Thank God for grandparents. What a huge role they play in the life of our children. While we celebrate Grandparents day but once a year the weekend after Labor Day, let’s remember their precious value daily. Their support and unconditional love is like silver and gold to their families. During…
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Comments Off on Honey is Liquid Gold to Sweeten the Soul

Honey is Liquid Gold to Sweeten the Soul

My mouth longed for the first taste of this year’s honey harvest as I watched the golden syrup flow forth from our extractor. Even after the swarm in early June, the bees in our four hives have been quite productive. We collected 28 pints and nearly 4 quarts from only…
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Comments Off on A Light to Shine

A Light to Shine

Everyone carries within them a light to shine, a melody to sing, or a gift to bestow upon the world. Everyone. Whether we recognize it or not, each human being bears God-given abilities unique just to them. Think for a moment. What if all those talents developed with the goal…
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Comments Off on The Great Reset

The Great Reset

Humans as well as most living beings tend to resist change. Why alter direction if life is running smoothly? There’s no point. Right? Instead of evaluating whether our existence could be better, inertia keeps us stuck in the same old patterns. Comfort trumps transformation. Until something moves us out of…
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Comments Off on Through Loving Deeply We Become Real

Through Loving Deeply We Become Real

As a young girl, I learned what it meant to become real. When I was only 5 years old, I remember going to visit my great, great grandmother, Anna Peterson.  She had just turned 103 and many family members gathered to celebrate her birthday at my great Aunt Mena and…
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Comments Off on Can We Learn to Live with Risk?

Can We Learn to Live with Risk?

The level of anxiety in my world is exhausting. I love my work, but this is hard. Trying to be a light in desperate times takes a fortitude I’m not sure I possess. Yet, this is the reason I started the ‘Coeurageous’ blog, long before Covid 19. The raised sense…
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Comments Off on Abundance: A Bountiful Harvest

Abundance: A Bountiful Harvest

About this time each year, I deal with a delicious dilemma. Any gardener of vegetables understands. Near the end of summer, at least one variety explodes in productivity. Usually it’s the zucchini doubling in size overnight (really!). For me, 2020 is the year of the cucumber, loads and loads of…
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Comments Off on Choose to ‘Be the Good’ Anyway

Choose to ‘Be the Good’ Anyway

On a wall in my sister’s living room hangs a plaque. It reads: Believe there is good in the world. Be the Good. This mantra embodies her life’s message. We may not recognize the good in the world, but we can always choose to be the good anyway. As many…
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Comments Off on Chicken Little Is the Sky Really Falling?

Chicken Little Is the Sky Really Falling?

If you’re familiar with chickens, you know they are flighty birds. Even a small sound sends them into a tizzy. When the rooster calls out a warning, all the hens nearly fall over one another running back into the coop. I’m sure this instinctive behavior developed to preserve the species.…
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Comments Off on Purpose Within the Pain

Purpose Within the Pain

I spend quite a lot of time trying to avoid trouble. I think the majority of us do the same. It’s self preservation. Maybe if I say and do all the right things then life will go along smoothly. I’ll somehow avoid all the problems I see others experiencing. However,…
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Comments Off on Free to Flourish At Last

Free to Flourish At Last

I spent the early part of the morning pulling weeds in my flower beds. This mindless activity offered my brain some time to think … to process the events of the past eighteen months. Yesterday my sister took her last breath after a long, painful battle with cancer. It’s an…
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Comments Off on The Flag Still Flies

The Flag Still Flies

It’s a lazy Indiana afternoon. As I sit on my front porch, the flag flutters gently in the breeze while my cat dozes nearby. This week-end we’ll celebrate Independence Day all across America with cook-outs and fireworks. Although the debate over whether to stand or kneel for our national anthem…
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Comments Off on Lift Up Your Eyes to A Heavenly Vista

Lift Up Your Eyes to A Heavenly Vista

I was born and raised in the Midwest. We have a few hills in southern Indiana though the area where I live is primarily flat. So when I traveled this last week to visit my new grandson in eastern Tennessee, my legs weren’t used to the terrain. We seemed to…
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Comments Off on A Message of Hope and Light

A Message of Hope and Light

Life is all about perspective. The lens through which I see the world determines my focus. If I limit my vision to only human viewpoints then I open myself up to despair. Earthly messages leave me feeling depressed and overwhelmed. But heavenly heralds point to a deeper reality. Beneath this…
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