The Gospel according to Johnny Cash

It's solidarity. Awareness of brokenness. Not going through life with rose colored glasses. Recognizing one's own sinfulness, and need for redemption. Dreams of a world with less hurt, less brokenness. While still witnessing the hurt. But still... hope. Wondrous love. Well, you wonder why I always dress in blackWhy you never see bright colors on… Continue reading The Gospel according to Johnny Cash

When the world feels heavy….

Lent makes more sense. And this year, more than any recent one, I'm feeling compelled- pulled, really - to find a way explore and enter the next 40 days. When I was a kid, it was about "giving up" something - tv, chocolate, fighting with siblings. As I got older, it was about "adding" something… Continue reading When the world feels heavy….

Being the Me I Need Today

Maybe it's that I'm coming off a nasty feverish virus that has made sleeping hard, or that I haven't been to the gym all week, or just that a lot has been anxiously bubbling beneath the surface... But some days, you wake up feeling like an absolute mess who can't handle ANYTHING. Ta da! ...… Continue reading Being the Me I Need Today

Saying Goodbye to “the Girls”

While I don't intend for my blog, Alive-Awake-Uncomfortable, to become a Cancer Blog (TM), much of what makes me uncomfortable lately is confronting aspects my diagnosis of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, so ... here we are once again! It may not surprise you to hear, that as a busy of mom of 4, I sometimes rush… Continue reading Saying Goodbye to “the Girls”

Attachment, abandonment, and being a pastor’s spouse in the time of Covid

There's a lot swimming around in my brain right now, and for some reason it kind of came to a head last night as I tried to drift off to sleep. Isn't that always the way? For those of you who don't know me personally, I'm married to a Lutheran (ELCA) pastor. He serves a… Continue reading Attachment, abandonment, and being a pastor’s spouse in the time of Covid

A Tearful Admission

I know it's hard. You may feel overwhelmed. Or attacked. Unfairly accused. Frustrated. Threatened. And tears may come to your eyes. They may spill over and leak down your cheeks. That is okay. Crying is okay, and is not a signal of weakness. (Not that there's a problem with weakness, either. Strength looks different from… Continue reading A Tearful Admission

The Myth of Ready

As a young girl scout in the mid-1980s, our motto was drilled into us: "Be Prepared." On my honor, I will try... That mindset has always been an ideal for me, and has - in my better moments - shaped me to always have a snack or extra tampon in my purse, a stick of… Continue reading The Myth of Ready

Do I believe my own message?

Confessions of an Overthinker: I'm not sure I believe my own message enough to wear the shirt. Ok, so yeah, I bought it and I'm going to wear the shirt. It's soft, gorgeous, the best kind of warm in wintertime, and... most of me believes the message it is (and I am) sharing. (And for… Continue reading Do I believe my own message?

And So It Flows…

Hmm. The Universe apparently knew something when it dropped the notion of "flow" into my life for 2022. Here we are, 11 days in to the new year, and instead of boarding a plane to go to Florida tonight, we're a household in quarantine after one of the kids became symptomatic and tested positive for… Continue reading And So It Flows…

Feeling out “FLOW”

It's that time again - a new year! And though I'm the same person I was last year, with much of the same circumstances and problems as I had last year, I seem to be incapable of abandoning hope for new things and growth in the new year that lays stretched out before me. I'm… Continue reading Feeling out “FLOW”