Tag Archives: community

The Top Ten Things November Taught Me!

Posted on by
12

I am linking up with Emily Freeman’s monthly link-up today. You can check out all the posts over at Emily’s Place.

(1) It is so much fun to find new clothing lines. Thanks to my friend Lindy for introducing me to LuluRoe. I am so excited to try out my leggings. I also will be purchasing a dress or skirt.

(2) Even.If.Not has become one of my new favorite phrases penned by my blog friend Kaitlyn. I am on her launch team and am so excited for all of you to read her book. Even If Not: Living, Loving, and Learning in the in Between will be released in early 2016. For more information, click here!

(3) Time with dear friends is so so good for the soul! Lunch with KG, coffee with CT, Beer and Hymns with EG and AH. We need to take time to gather around the table more often friends!

(4) We need to find a cure for cancer! I know this isn’t news to anyone. But too many individuals have been taken way too soon. My friend Laura completed her Baptismal journey yesterday. My heart breaks for Laura’s daughters who have now lost both of their parents to cancer. Two weeks ago, our local Taco John’s held a fundraiser for a young wife and mother who was battling cancer. She passed away two days after her fundraiser. And it seems that more and more people are being diagnosed with cancer.

(5) Thanksgiving with the family is the best! Love spending time with my family especially as my grandparents age. Good food, great conversation, competitive Rook games, lots of laughter and so much more!

(6) The gift of community! I especially have noticed it in the last 24 hours. Voxes, Tweets, Facebook messages and the list goes on. In the words of my friend Sally, it feels like one giant cyber hug. And my friends, that is a perfect description. As the Wartburg Seminary community grieves, near and far, there is power in knowing that we do not grieve alone but together.

(7) Peppermint lattes, hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, vanilla egg nog….oh the goodness! I love this time of the year. There is something about curling up under blankets with a hot beverage in hand.

(8) I am a champion chili maker! I repeated as the Lutheran Campus Ministry chili feed champ which is voted on by local officials. This year it was local cops; last year fire men!

(9) Sometimes we just have to reward ourselves for completing a goal/challenge. I bought myself a new tshirt AND tank top for finishing the Write 31 Days challenge. I couldn’t decide so I rewarded myself with two items!

(10) Pinterest isn’t always a fail! I led the Family SS activities two weeks in a row. And the cute cupcake liner angels from Pinterest were not an EPIC FAIL. In fact, they turned out rather cute.

Linking Up Here!

The Impact of Love

Posted on by
12

There are people who God places in our lives that leave such a lasting imprint. It is almost impossible to remember a time when you did not know that individual. Their light seems to always shine a little bit brighter than the rest of our lights. And my friends, today that light is a little bit dimmer. My dear friend Laura completed her baptismal journey yesterday and is now reunited with her beloved, Rod.

When I started at Wartburg Seminary, Laura was one of the first people that I met and was one of the most welcoming people I have ever met. In addition, her smile always lit up a room. She loved well and she loved deep! I am reminded of a story my friend Sandi shared about when her and her family moved onto the campus at Wartburg. Laura showed up with toilet paper and lemonade: perfect gifts for moving into a new home on a hot summer day. Love can be so very simple, like through fresh squeezed lemonade, and Laura was the absolute best at showing that love!

Laura also always exuded joy. Some of my favorite memories were watching Laura and a few of our other friends (Sally, Sandy, etc) cheer on our “Running Reformers” city league basketball team. Those cheers always brought a smile to my face. Laura was all about the hokey pokey. In fact, every time I hear it now I will smile and think of this beloved friend. “Because that’s what it’s all about!”

A few years ago, our friend Julia ran in honor of Laura and sarcoma research during the Fargo Marathon. Now I am no runner, but I was so delighted to stand on the sidelines donning my “Team Koppy” t-shirt and cheering on Julia and Laura.

Laura is a soul who touched many lives especially her beloved daughters. Today, Laura is free of all that ails her. And I reluctantly put down her mat at Jesus’ feet, but I put it down knowing she is free of pain and reunited with her dearly beloved husband, Rod. I also am reminded of Laura’s own wise pastoral words that are bringing me some comfort today: “Be patient with yourselves while you are grieving and tell the people you love that you love them and know that you are loved.”

So now as I lay down my mat, I see all the others around me reluctantly laying down their mats too. Laura touched more lives than I think she will ever know or could imagine. The impact of love for Laura is seen in the tears, Facebook posts, and sighs too deep for words that express the impact of love she has had on each and every one of us.

Laura, my friend, you are so dearly loved! 

Widening the Circle

Posted on by
12

When I was little, I didn’t have a lot of friends. In Kindergarten, I met my best friend who was a year older than me. She had been held back because she had undergone a kidney transplant. Mandy passed away in October of 2008. Since that time, God has been all over my friendships. In fact, I have been blessed by some amazing friendships in my life, but I never imagined how wide God would make that friendship circle. There are days I think that the circle can never get any larger and then God expands it even more! God has a funny way of doing that, doesn’t he?

A year ago, last October, I joined the Write 31 Days challenge. My topic was “Being a Daughter: 31 Days of Mental Illness.” Never could I have imagined, how much this writing challenge would change me and would bring more amazing friends into my life. And than God went and expanded the circle more!

Due to the challenge, I was introduced even more to the Five Minute Friday community. (I cannot wait each week for our Thursday Twitter parties) These women have become my heart!!!!!!!!! They continually accept me for who I am. They continually see things in me that I don’t always see in myself. They never let me forget who and whose I am….a daughter of the one true king. We have looked at each other’s Facebook pages and even listened to each other’s voices on social media outlets such as Voxer. We have read and shared each other’s words. We have sent each other snail mail as part of the FMF Snail Mail party. Those words so often are just what I need to hear and come at exactly the right moment. And again the circle grows wider……

Then last Wednesday, my sister and I stood on a sidewalk at the Grand Ole Opry waiting for a car with Iowa plates to come pick us up. That car was being driven by one of the many FMF women. Jen and I have read each other’s blogs and conversed on Twitter and Instagram. But now here we were looking at each other face to face…listening to each other’s words spoken out loud. Jen, my sister, and I explored downtown Nashville together and then went and had supper together. Yet again the circle grew a little bit wider…or in the words of my friend Janel, my heart grew even larger too!

Friday morning, I found myself standing on an elevator waiting to meet two more of the FMF ladies. I stepped onto the elevator and pushed the button to take me down to the lower floor. But instead of going down, that darn elevator went all the way to the 14th floor. God has a funny sense of humor, doesn’t he? The elevator finally reached the 14th floor and then began descending down. It finally reached the lower level and I stepped off. I turned around the corner to the hotel lobby, looking for these two dear woman. But they actually spotted me before I spotted them. A voice exclaimed, “There she is!” The next thing I knew I was being embraced in a warm loving hug. After the embrace ended, I reached out and embraced the other woman.

Together, the three of us stepped into the elevator and rode back up to the 7th floor where we would find my sister in our hotel room. We sat and talked. Funny thing is, it was like we have been friends forever. No ackwardness…but rather pure joy and friendship. The four of us then went to eat at this quaint little cafe in the Germantown neighborhood of Nashville. The three of us (kindred sisters introduced through the blogging world) now were sitting and breaking bread together. (Jen and I had sat and broke bread together early in the week too!) I still smile at the fact that the three of us ordered the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich while two of us ordered an identical meal: Fried Green Tomato Sandwich with French Onion Soup.

Through the breaking of the bread, gathered around the table, God widened the circle even more leaving room for more friendships to be born and welcomed into this holy space. I may not have been able to attend the FMF retreat, but I still feel like my heart is ten times larger this week and that the circle will always have room for more! God will continually call together women (and men) of different times and places to break bread together.

I am linking up with Holly for Testimony Tuesday; Kelly for the RaRa Linkup, Holley for Coffee for your Heart and Jennifer for Tell His Story:

 

Gathered At the Table (Five Minute Friday)

Posted on by
20

I am linking up for the Five Minute Friday. The FMF is hosted by Kate Motaung on her blog Heading Home. Today’s prompt is “Gather.” Write for five minutes; unedited.

“And he took the bread, blessed, and broke it. And said “This is my body given for you.” Then he took the wine and blessed it saying, “This is my blood shed for you.”

Each week we gather at the altar where together we share in bread and wine. At that holy table, our joys and pains are shared. At that holy table, we are forgiven of our sins. Together we gather around this holy meal.

In this community of faith, people of all generations gather around this table. There is the 5th grader who took wine for the first time and was completely shocked by its taste. Now she asks for grape juice every time. There is the little one whose parents have let her partake since she was little. And there is the 90 year old woman who continually gathers at this holy table and meal. The wafer is placed in her well-loved well-aged tender hand.

That 5th grader continually gathers with her parents and sister each week in worship. During the meet and greet time, she runs up the aisle to find me and embraces me in the most tender love-filled hug. I miss the weeks she is not there.

And then there is the community of families who gather with their kids and learn and grow together. This Family Sunday School group has blessed me in more ways than I can even begin to count or imagine. I get the opportunity some weeks to gather with the youngest of the kids and teach them about faith.*

And then there are the 7th graders who I get to gather and teach Confirmation. I hope and pray that they are learning something from me. And in addition, there are the youth that I get to spend every 1st and 3rd Wednesday with as I we gather for food, fun, and fellowship. Last night there was a small but mighty crowd. We simply spent time together which included a little of the board game Taboo.

I am blessed to gather in community with the most awesome and amazing friends and family. We have broke bread together and gathered around each other’s tables sharing in life’s joys and sorrows.

And who knew that my life would be blessed by social media as well.—God knew, didn’t he?

For the last several years, during Lent, at the end of the day, I have gathered around my phone to pray through my FB friends list. I cannot even begin to tell you how gathering around these people has been such a holy experience for me! And I gather knowing that those same friends are praying for me…and the deepest desires of my heart too.

And I gather around Twitter for the #fmfparty Twitter party almost every Thursday as well. This community has blessed me too. I never thought that I would feel the way I do about these awesome blog friends. And I am excited that the first ever #fmfretreat is going to be during the time my sister and are in Nashville.  I hopefully will get to gather and meet many of these new friends #inrl (in real life) as we gather again around food and around a table that is forever bonded by God’s love for each of us.

At the holy table, we gather and are fed by the relationships and love of a God who calls us to be who God created us to be. “And he took the bread, broke, and blessed it and said “This is my body given for you.” And then he took the wine, blessed it and said, “This is my blood shed for you.” Amen!

*This is where my Five Minutes stopped but I had to finish out my thought. This word prompted so much in me tonight!”

Community in the Midst of Sorrow

Posted on by
Reply

Our faith community is hurting! And as we are hurting, we are also remembering our own losses! We cannot not remember the other losses: the losses in our own life!

Earlier this week a dad (a member of our church) passed away unexpectedly leaving behind his wife and three children: a 7th Grader, a 4th Grader and a 2nd Grader! My heart hurts for this family!

And yet in the midst of this tragedy, I have seen God in work through our family of faith! Things as simple as bringing them toilet paper and other paper products, bringing them food and simply wrapping them in love and prayer! (I hope they are feeling this love and prayer!)

I keep coming back to the Romans text where it says: “Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lords!” So true but it is hard to trust in that promise when hurting so deeply!

More often than not, a hand on the shoulder or a shoulder to cry on is all we need to know that we are surrounded by love and community! There is something incredibly beautiful about a community founded on our own faith and God’s love for us! So for now, the best thing we can do is be community; holding each other in the midst of pain and sorrow!