COME SO ALIVE

Finding breath and beauty amidst the storm

Category: Pay Attention Page 2 of 3

In the morning

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On 10/15/2021

In Beauty in the Storm (epilepsy), Light and Dark, Pay Attention

I am weary with the pain of Jacob’s wrestling
In the darkness with the fear, in the darkness with the fear
But he met the morning wounded with a blessing
So in the night, my hope lives on

Andrew Peterson, “In The Night“

“It’s so dark out! 😩”

I woke up two days ago and texted that to a friend at 7:13 a.m. And yes, I used that actual emoji.

October. Beautiful leaves. Bright orange pumpkins. Shorter, darker days.

And on that particular morning, it was not only predawn dark but pre-all-day-rain cloudy. Thus, very dark.

“Colors 10 minutes ago,” my friend responded 10 minutes later along with this picture.

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LIFELINE FRIDAY – Friends

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On 08/20/2021

In Lifelines, Pay Attention, Peace

I love photography and I love sunsets. This spring I got the great idea to combine the two and document the sunsets from the same spot on the first days of spring, summer, fall, and winter to see how the sun moves throughout the year. You may be wondering “Why?,” but it sounded cool to me.

We live half a mile from a public beach on the east side of a large lake – a perfect place to set up a tripod and take a sunset picture from the exact same spot for all four seasons. It’s also a great spot to just sit and visit with friends.

Two of my friends decided to join me, not so much because what I was doing excited them but just because they are my friends. Sitting on the beach watching the first summer sunset and chatting with each other while I basically ignored them (sorry, ladies!) sounded good to them.

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A short post for someone in pain

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On 06/29/2021

In Pay Attention

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.

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Go barefoot – it’s in the Bible!

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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.”

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The mystery of righteous wrestling

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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?

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Looking hard for signs of life

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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.”

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What is your next step?

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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.

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Lifeline Friday – How God showed up yesterday

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On 03/19/2021

In Lifelines, Pay Attention

Even though I usually publish the Lifeline Friday posts just to Facebook, this one is a little longer and I want to share it on the website too.

While I was running errands yesterday, I turned the radio on for the first time in weeks as I usually listen to CDs (yes, I’m old school). I turned it on just as a new song started…and from the very first note I realized it was Blessed Be Your Name by Tree63.

In case you missed it, that is the song that I referenced in this week’s blog post. I wrote about it in 2014 for what turned into the first part of this week’s blog post – about God’s presence – and here God was, showing up two days later in a song that was first released in 2003!

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I will always bless you more than you could imagine

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On 03/16/2021

In Beauty in the Storm (epilepsy), Pay Attention

Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
And when the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say, “Blessed be the name of the Lord”

Tree63, “Blessed Be Your Name“

I sat down to write an entry in my journal one morning several years ago.  As I was typing this title, a song came on the radio with the above lyrics. “Bless,” “blessing,” and “blessed” popping up all at the same time…hmmm… 

I didn’t have anything exciting planned for the day that would make me think these words were fitting.  No new car or vacation planned that would seem like a blessing.  I wasn’t even sure why I had started typing those words for the title; they just flowed out of my fingers.

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The beauty of unbusyness

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On 03/09/2021

In Pay Attention

I grew up in a small town (yes, I’m a small-town girl – no, I won’t start singing a Journey song).  My parents grew up there too and most of my grandparents. I also had the amazing blessing of having 3 other sets of grandparents.  One of my grandpas had 7 siblings, 3 of whom lived nearby and none of whom had grandkids when I was born…so I was kind of a granddaughter to all of them. 

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