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When my husband was deployed on Thanksgiving sever

When my husband was deployed on Thanksgiving several years ago, I was thankful for good friends who invited my kids and I over to spend the holiday with them. ⁠
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It’s lovely to have kind people step in and love your family like family, isn’t it?⁠
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If this holiday season finds you wishing you could look across the table and see those who aren’t there, know that it’s okay to lament their absence. Know it’s okay to long for them more than your grandma’s homemade pecan pie. ⁠
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But also know that while your loved ones may be away, the goodness of God is not. Keep your heart open for His miraculous gifts, His just-try-it recipes for different but good tasting memories. ⁠
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Give Him a thanks offering for who and what is at the table. And if you anticipate sitting at a table holding you and a turkey dinner for one, ask God to open your eyes to someone you could invite to join you. ⁠
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Your celebration may not look exactly like you hoped or planned, but it can still hold good things to be thankful for. ⁠🤎

Near aptly named Buena Vista a couple of weeks ago

Near aptly named Buena Vista a couple of weeks ago, I spoke about "5 Surprises Discovered When You Let the Holy Spirit Lead Your Friendships" to some dear ladies from my very own beloved church.⁠
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Really, the talk was about 5 realities that will often stop us from finding the friends we need--unless we let the Holy Spirit nudge us through them. ⁠
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Judging by the many conversations I had with women afterwards, finding friends is a common struggle experienced these days. ⁠
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On a related note, the Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Vivek Murthy, reports we're in "a loneliness epidemic."⁠ Difficulty finding friends certainly plays into our loneliness. ⁠
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In its 80+ pages, Dr. Murthy's report stated that here in the United States, loneliness and isolation are as detrimental to our health as smoking cigarettes.⁠
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When I first read parts of his study back in May, my first thought was that finding our friends isn't a luxury but a necessity. However, a lot of folks view it as optional. ⁠
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"We all need friends" isn't a warm 'n fuzzy sentiment that might've been written on a poster in your 4th grade classroom. It's a real deal need that every human has.⁠
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What is your biggest roadblock to finding the friends you want to have--or what has been a roadblock for you in the past?⁠
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▪️Past hurts?⁠
▪️A busy season with family?⁠
▪️Feelings of inadequacy keep you from reaching out?⁠
▪️Difficulty being vulnerable?⁠
▪️A big life change such as moving, a new job, or a health struggle?
▪️A belief it’s optional?
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I'll go first: At one time or another, all of the above.⁠
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How about you?⁠💛

October swooped in and rustled up all kinds of act

October swooped in and rustled up all kinds of activity like dry leaves in the wind. With four trips this month, it flew by fast.⁠
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Most days I love living on the outskirts of town, but Halloween 🎃 is not one of those days. We don't get trick or treaters in my neck of the woods, and I miss seeing the kiddos all gussied up as pilots and princesses, pirates and pumpkins. ⁠
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Our good friends, the Powells, often invite us over to pass out candy at their house so I can have my Reese's peanut butter cup and eat it, too. 😋What friends! What a delight.⁠
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Colorado had the most magical fall season🍂, right up till our 6 inches of snow this past weekend. 🙁 Still, we've had a beautiful autumn, and I was here for every pumpkin-spiced, yellow-aspen-leafed moment of it. 💛 I could easily be one of those women who has 493 pumpkins and mums on her front porch--if money were no object. And if we had a porch that would hold that much fall bounty. And if the thought of that didn't completely overwhelm me. ⁠
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Instead, I have a total of 6 pumpkins, and that's more than plentiful in my book—especially since I've had to haul them inside on account of the snow and freezing temps. (Which caused me to still say to myself, "Why in the Sam Hill do I have 6 pumpkins?!?”)⁠
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What are your own Halloween plans today? Whether your own October has been quick or quiet, I hope you have a good Halloween with as many or as few pumpkins as you'd like, with as much or as little candy as you'd like, and near as many friends and family as you need. ⁠🧡🖤

A prayer for those in a difficult season of change

A prayer for those in a difficult season of change and transition:⁠
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Dear Heavenly Father, while I'm jittery about the unknown turns of the road ahead, you see the road from start to end, and I'm thankful there are no surprises to You. I pray, Lord, that You give me a fresh awareness today that You see me and my fears about the future. And when those fears grow, shrink them with the facts of my faith. Help me know that any change you bring to me can only be a change that is for me because You are ever for me. Thank you, Lord, that your love for me never leaves and never changes. In Jesus's name, Amen⁠ ⁠
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This time of year, nature shows up with a spectacular glow-up (as the kids say) that reflects how change and letting go are good. Additionally, I associate this season with change because 8 years ago last month, my book, #GirlMeetsChange, came into the world. Three years ago today, my devotional, #WhenChangeFindsYou, debuted her pretty self. ⁠
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Tis the season for change, yes. And tis the season to remember afresh that God's good promises never change.

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