Blog - Page 10 of 13 - COME SO ALIVE

A short post for someone in pain

On 06/29/2021

Two years ago, before my husband’s open-heart surgery, I realized I had been waking up morning after morning with a song already playing in my head. It didn’t start at the beginning of a song but somewhere in the middle, and it wasn’t the same song every day. So, I paid attention. For weeks, I had lyrics, usually about fear, playing in my head.

This morning I woke up at 4:37 a.m. – for some unknown reason – and had lyrics running through my head from a song I haven’t listened to in several days. So, I paid attention again and realized I was supposed to write about it. Because you may need these lyrics to get through today. Yes, you.

The joys of summer camp

By Carrie

On 06/22/2021

In Beauty in the Storm (epilepsy)

What do you think of when you hear “summer camp”? Fun things, right? Games. S’mores. Bonfires and singing. Staying up late. For parents of kids with epilepsy, we think…well, feel is maybe the more accurate word…we feel anxiety. Morning and nighttime medication doses. Rescue meds (Valium to stop seizures that don’t stop on their own). When campers stay up too late, we worry about seizures, maybe in the lake while our child is swimming.

Enter Camp Oz and the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota!

Go barefoot – it’s in the Bible!

By Carrie

On 06/08/2021

In Beauty in the Storm (epilepsy), Pay Attention

The temperature on Saturday reached almost 100 degrees! Not what we normally expect in June in Minnesota. By the time I ate breakfast, it was already in the 80s…so, of course, I had to eat breakfast outside.

I decided I would spend as much as possible of the next 12 hours outside (I believe I’ve mentioned before I’m always cold so I never complain about summer heat). I grabbed my food, phone, and journal and headed out to the deck. After taking off my sandals and getting comfortable, I decided to rewatch a video from the Get Your Life Back study and laughed at the title, which I had missed the first time: “Get Outside.”

A life of freedom and abundance

By Carrie

On 06/01/2021

In Finding Breath, Peace

I don’t know anyone who has died while serving in the military, but Memorial Day always makes me remember friends and family who served – and likely knew fellow soldiers who died.

My grandpa served in the Pacific theater in World War II and decades later still suffered from nightmares on those few occasions he would talk about it, for example the night he told my dad about his service when my parents were first dating in the 1960s. Grandpa showed me a photo album one sunny, summer afternoon in the 1980s…it had a red padded leather cover…and black and white pictures of the devastation to human life that front line war wreaks. I can only assume he had nightmares that night too. More than 30 years later, I still haven’t forgotten those images.

I can’t, He can . . . I’ll let Him

By Carrie

On 05/25/2021

In Beauty in the Storm (epilepsy)

Confession: I’m not really a morning person. I don’t hate mornings and I don’t sleep in late, but I’m not terribly interested in getting up nice and early to catch the sunrise either.

Once Cody’s seizures started, all while he was asleep, I didn’t sleep… I would sort of sleep but the slightest noise woke me up. Needless to say, mornings became even rougher.

The mystery of righteous wrestling

By Carrie

On 05/18/2021

In Pay Attention, The Mystery of God

Disclaimer: I don’t actually think God is a surfer dude sea turtle. But I do think He loves the ride, the highs and lows, with me. Ok, I’ll let you read on now so you can see if you agree.

“Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel”
Ephesians 6:19

I have a reminder set on my phone for Mondays when I normally write my blog post: “fearlessly make known the mystery.” Today’s post … I’m having a hard time even putting it into words. It talks about, discusses that mystery. But it’s a mystery so how can I really find human words to even come close to describing it?

What He gives me

By Carrie

On 05/11/2021

In Peace

I make certain you always have everything you need.

That is a paraphrase of Psalm 23:1 from a YouVersion Bible app devotional I recently read called “God’s Promises for the Hungry Heart.” The devotional paraphrases four verses each day to make them more personal and relatable. That sentence jumped out at me, but not because it resonated. It jumped out at me because I questioned it.

Everything I need?

Looking hard for signs of life

By Carrie

On 05/04/2021

In Pay Attention

I found a bench in the sun and waited for my friend to walk the labyrinth. I had walked it first and wanted to give her time alone in it. Once she finished, she sat on a bench across from me, and we shared our experiences, which in the same labyrinth were very different from each other’s.

There were large, barren trees in a ring around us. I wasn’t paying much attention to them but my friend commented on the one behind me, whose crooked branch I was sitting under. She had been quietly assessing if it was a dead branch and the likelihood of it falling on my head. But then she noticed very small buds on the tree and realized it was safer than it looked. She said,

“You really have to look hard for life.”

Lost in the storm

By Carrie

On 04/27/2021

In Beauty in the Storm (epilepsy)

It’s raining today. As the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers. What do May flowers bring?” Pollen. At least in Minnesota. Excuse me while I sneeze…

Actually, April in Minnesota may bring snow showers! Or just flat-out snowstorms. A few years ago, we had registered to go bowling for an Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota event 20 miles away…on April 14th…and drove in almost white out conditions. We wanted to support them because they had been such a great support for us so we decided to brave it.

What is your next step?

By Carrie

On 04/20/2021

In Pay Attention

Have you ever felt frustrated that your life just can’t seem to follow a straight path? Maybe you have no idea where the path is even going. You’re sure it’s going the opposite direction from where you expected it to go though.

My cousin recently posted on Facebook about walking a labyrinth in his town and it just resonated with me. I had an upcoming trip planned to Duluth in northern Minnesota so I found a labyrinth to walk while I was there. Well, that was the plan at least.