HEART'S CRY

(September 6, 2010) Peace This afternoon, I was dropping all the balls. Juggling so many parts of life is completely overwhelming and leads to anxious thoughts. When I feel this way, I tend to drive my family nuts! So, I took a little drive to reset my mind. Here's my process for moving from disorganized and automatic responses to a more grounded, wise place: Acknowledge fear and anxiety. Remember they are feelings, not my identity. Recognize probabilities and possibilities. Meditate on the truth. Define today. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. God provides perfect peace to those who keep their minds on Him. And that's my problem, my mind is on everything else. Everything I should do, ought to do, could do. What am I afraid of? My biggest fear is letting people down. I feel like I'm constantly striving to meet expectations, always falling short. But here...

What Is Your Heart's Desire? (September 3, 2010 Originally posted) Have you ever noticed how often we aren't completely honest? Not with ourselves, not with others, and not with God. Is it okay to have deep desires? Do we keep them hidden to protect them from vulnerability, from being out there where they can be questioned or judged? It can be painful to admit what we truly want especially when our desires feel in conflict with who we are or what's expected of us. But today, I'm taking a leap off the edge of security to say: My deepest desire is to know God to know Him more every day and to give my life to serving Him boldly and courageously. I desire to love without holding back to give my affection, passion, and devotion fully to my husband, my boys, my family, and those around me. I desire adventure and risk. I'm tired of better safe than sorry. Can I be safe and sorry? I desire to step out in love, career, ministry, and finance like never before. I desire to rej...

September 3, 2010 Originally posted How to Begin a Journey 1. Pick a destination or simply start. 2. Plan a detailed itinerary or just take the first step. 3. Pack everything or travel lightly. I am choosing to just begin. To leave behind the baggage, pick up a day pack, and go. Several nights before we moved to Ogallala, I was praying about the transition when I heard that still, small voice of God. In that moment, I knew He heard my Heart's Cry. He hears every whispered plea, every unspoken longing. If I truly sit with that truth, it humbles me. What courage, boldness, passion, and decisiveness I have when I remember: He never leaves or forsakes me. He provides for my every need according to His riches in glory. My hope is to encourage you He hears your Heart's Cry too.

(The challenge today is to write a letter to myself of something I know now, I wish I would have known then.) Dear Heather I'm writing to you this morning to remind you how truly fast this time of your life will go and how you will long for it in a few short years. As I write this, I know you will shake your head fiercely and maybe even snort out a curt remark. May 1st, 1991.  You turned 21 in February and became a mom in April. You will be moving soon to begin your ministry. Right now you feel as if the key to your heart was placed in your arms just one week ago. You look in those brown eyes and can't imagine anything else in time. Hold on to that. In a few short years he will be a man and live far away. You will remember the days of him in your arms and will cherish every second. Stop worrying about what people think and about money and what you should do. It will all work out the way it should. You concentrate on being with....

Families Are Not Problems to Be Solve Families don't need to be fixed. They are not broken puzzles waiting for someone else to put the pieces back together. Instead of systems designed to manage or control families, they need systems that genuinely support and uplift them. Families are not empty vessels to be filled with advice, programs, or expert solutions. They are not research subjects or practice fields. They are not problems to be analyzed and solved. Families are whole and complex, with wisdom and strengths of their own. They don't need to be invited as passive participants or told what to do. They deserve to be engaged as equals and valued as partners. Families don't need outsiders to diagnose their challenges. They need access to resources that help them reflect on their own strengths, needs, and goals. Instead of asking, How do we get families to come to what we offer? What if we asked, How do we discover and support what families already have to offer? Because fa...

Words, Stories, and the Journey of Expression I've wanted to write since I was a little girl. So, I write. I LOVE words. I'm captivated by them, looking them up, listening to them, saying them, thinking about them. I'm endlessly curious about the power they hold. Books? They fascinate me. I highlight, tab, take notes, and compare them with other books, always reflecting on the connections that emerge. Even more than words, I love stories. The stories we carry and share with each other is what truly lights me up. Whether in classrooms, childcare centers, homes, stores, or restaurants, every conversation is an adventure. Unspoken maybe, but welcomed and valued. "What's your story? I'd love to know you." For me, words are an expression of the heart and a bridge to connection in a world that often feels disconnected. What I don't love, though, is grammar, punctuation, and the challenges I face in expressing my own thoughts in writing. Those hurdles feel li...

When Everything Falls Apart: Finding Strength in the Shifting Ground May, 2022 Devastated. That's the only word that could capture how I felt when I allowed myself to stop, take a breath, and truly look at my heart and mind. For over ten years, I devoted myself to coaching and supporting childcare providers, teachers, teams and schools. I loved walking alongside them as they worked to create a shared vision with the children and families they served. It wasn't just work to me, it was a calling. When my husband and I decided to move closer to our grandchildren and start a new chapter, I believed I had found the perfect opportunity. I accepted a role at an organization I had admired for years, thinking it would be the culmination of my career. It wasn't. When the position didn't work out, I felt like I had failed the people I served. At the same time, my personal life was shifting. My three boys, now grown, had moved on to build lives of their own. While proud, I felt lo...

Celebrating Edith Opal Rankin Goodwin: A Legacy of Strength and Grace Today, on what would have been my great-grandmother Edith Opal Rankin Goodwin's 114th birthday, I pause to remember and honor her life,a life defined by serenity, quiet strength, and resilience forged in an era and environment that demanded so much from those who lived it. Born into the lineage of homesteaders, Edith carried the grit and determination of her ancestors, whose lives spanned a spectrum from owning a general store in the East to being dirt-poor farmers and veterinarians living in a two-story sod house. She inherited their fortitude and values, living out her days on the same land her family came to by covered wagon. She was a mother to eight children, a grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, and a cherished member of her South Dakota community. In her little green house with its tiny yard and garden, Edith created a space of warmth and welcome. Her barn bustled with life-chickens, p...