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It’s a Girl
When you wake up sun will shine. We will not go under any cloud. Let balloons go up in town, ring out every bell. Happy birthday, beautiful, all the birds of this day sing a song, sing a song. Dream of trains carrying you through the state parks with the cherry flowers. When you wake up it will be the beginning of the world. Happy birthday, beautiful, in the fields of this day hear a song, hear a song. Oh, undeserved sweetness and light, stay by my side. We will go out in the morning now, a crown of maple leaves, a crown of flowers circling your sweet head. Happy…
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You Have a Right to be Here
“The world could be fixed of its problems if every child understood the necessity of their existence.” Dwight D. Eisenhower Every single person on this planet has a right to be here. If you are alive, you have the right. If you are breathing, the right. If you have a pulse, you have that right. When God dreamed you up and breathed life into you and put you on this planet, you were granted that right. People will tell you otherwise. Maybe you have been waiting your whole life for someone to give you permission to feel like you belong. And maybe the world, or even the very people who…
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Throw Me a Frickin’ Bone Here
In my previous post, I referenced the rich young ruler and his interaction with Jesus. Today I want to contrast that scenario with another we find in the gospels and one of my personal favorite stories: the faith of the Canaanite woman. But first, a little history. Because I love history. We find this story in two of the four gospels of the New Testament – Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30. Matthew’s account refers to her as the Canaanite woman, and in Mark’s she is called a Syrophonecian. What might seem at first as a conflict between the two stories reveals, with just a little digging, an interesting and astonishingly…
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Some Thoughts on Hope
I used to think that hope was based on circumstances. One day the tide will turn. My prince will come. My luck will change. Superman will arrive. I’ll win the golden ticket. It’s all in the luck of the draw. But this mentality puts you in a passive, codependent role, helplessly waiting for your moment in the sun. That somehow your future and your destiny are up to chance, or the right people to come along, or the planets to align, etc. Not only does this type of thinking actually discourage hope, our anxieties increase. Setting our hopes on unfixed and fluctuating events threatens our feelings of security. We have…
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It’s Been a Year
Dear Lauren, It’s been a year since you left this world, and we miss you still the same. Our hearts ache when we long to pick up the phone and hear your voice on the other end. It’s been a year of holidays, birthdays, and special days without you to celebrate them. Life has proven that it does indeed go on for those of us still on this temporal soil, but it sure would be much better with you in it. So much happens in one year; we hustle about in a maniacal flurry of activity. And yet it feels like just yesterday that we found out your health took…
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Disappointing Your Kids
Parents today have too many pressures heaped upon them. We are bombarded with “expert” opinions and unrealistic expectations on how to raise perfect, well-adjusted, brilliant, beautiful, talented, morally immaculate children. It’s more than even our Bible heroes could achieve! Formulas abound. Plug in these variables and presto! Get perfect kids! As if raising children was as simple as following a recipe; baking the perfect kidcake with all the best organic ingredients. On top of all that, I see parents who will go to great lengths, moving heaven and earth in order not to disappoint their kids. They somehow, along with caring for their kids, feel responsible for their total and…
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Why I Run
If you know me at all, or follow me on social media, you know that I love to run. Let me say up front, I am no Olympic athlete. I have never run a marathon, and in the past my running schedule has been sporadic at best. I have run several 5ks, a few 10ks, but mostly I love to go for a 30 minute jaunt around the park or my neighborhood, giving this desperate introvert a much needed break from parenting and homeschooling 4 children! Running clears my head. It gives me time to recalibrate, to think and focus, meditate or pray. Another bonus: I get to listen to…
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Well, I Did It
On May 21, 1927, American aviator Charles Augustus Lindbergh emerged from a single-seat, single-engine monoplane called The Spirit of St. Louis after completing a 33.5 hour non-stop solo flight from New York City to Paris. While many others attempted this feat prior to Lindbergh, it was the first time that such an endeavor was ever successfully completed. Lindbergh’s famous first words after his amazing flight were simply, “Well, I did it.” And though I haven’t procured a pilot’s license (Although my husband has! Way to go, Sweetie!) or completed any transatlantic flights, I have done exactly what I set out to do since my last post just three years ago. …
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Suffering Better
I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions. Yet, I find myself reflecting on some things as we enter 2010, thus leading me to a couple resolutions conclusions. 2009 was a really good year for the Buckland family in many ways. While it seemed that storms were raging all around us, we remained sheltered in what, at times, felt like a protective bubble. Our kids thrived, our marriage thrived, and our lives were, for the most part, pretty peaceful. During one of the worst economic crises our country has ever seen, Ren’s company also had its most profitable year. Oh, and Zoloft is AWESOME. But I’m sure that has had absolutely…
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Well, this is embarassing
Uh. Hi. Remember me? I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t, considering that my last blog post was more than 3 months ago. However, in my defense, life has been crazy for us lately. A good kind of crazy, but crazy nonetheless. I really haven’t been keeping up with reading any other blogs either. So, if you’ve posted some earth-shattering news, and haven’t gotten a response from me, I do apologize. I’ve sort of been out of the loop. I’ve heard rumors that blogs are on their way out, that blogging is dead, etc. (which I totally do NOT believe; we Americans are much too narcissistic to ever let such…
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