Real Connections

When traveling to Australia, I had a chance meeting with a Holocaust survivor that deeply changed me. In this episode I tell you his story he told me of being able to escape the horrors of the concentration camps with the help of strangers while most of his extended family were killed.

My relationship with God has been hard and confusing at times.  I trust Him conceptually, but I have a hard time identifying with Him past that.  On the other hand, I feel like I know, love and trust Jesus much more.  I want you to know that you aren’t alone if you have felt similarly.

I’m not quite sure why I have had such a hard time with understanding God as a person or a parent.  I think that a lot of it stems from how I was raised.  I was raised to be incredibly independent and to not rely on others for anything.  So it’s hard for me to know how to even rely on God as a parent.  I’m fiercely independent.

I talk about how I have found to trust Jesus and how he fulfills the promise He gave to Jacob in Genesis 28:15 “I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”  I believe that Jesus is just like that.  He stays in the mess of our lives with us until He fulfills His promises He has made.

Jacob then says in Genesis 28:16 “Surely the Lord is in this place & I knew it not.”

There are so many times in my life that I fee like I am alone and then realize looking back, that the Savior was there with me the whole time - in the place I was in of loneliness, hopelessness, despair, shame, etc. He is always there - I just have to look to see Him.

Looking back at the years and weeks prior to the whole world basically shutting down due to the COVID 19 virus, I realized and have come to have tremendous gratitude for the big and little things that prepared me for this seemingly unpreparable situation. Here are just a few...

1. Powdered milk supply - because I am in the "high risk" category for getting the COVID 19 virus, I am extra grateful for the supply of powder milk we have right now because we shouldn't be going to the store at all.

2. I discovered Costco online a few weeks prior to everything going crazy and have used it several times during this pandemic so I don't have to leave my house.

3. I have recently been studying about how to call upon the power of God in my own life and how to do it more and it has made all the difference.

4. I took my son out of school a few days before they shut them down which could have been huge in protecting our family.

5. I had several spiritual experiences where I was told certain things that I had no idea would help me during this time. It wasn't physical instructions about getting ready, it was more of the spiritual things I would need to know to calm my heart.

6. Reading ancestor stories has helped so much in understanding that doing hard things is literally in my DNA. I have shared these stories with my kids for years too and we talk about them often and they give us courage.

7. Since we have owned a home, we have always kept several months of storage on hand like diapers, wipes, TP, etc. so when we couldn't find it, it wasn't a big deal.

8. We put in a fence last year which has given my kids the freedom to roam around in the yard and get lots of sun even during this time.

9. We had bad grass last year so we tore out a bunch of sod and the kids have been so entertained just digging in the dirt.

10. We have a decent supply of flax which is great to have on hand right now since eggs have been harder to find. They made awesome substitutes for eggs in baking.

11. Last year when there was a small earthquake, we purchased earthquake insurance so when this larger one hit us this year, it wasn't a huge deal because I knew we were prepared.

12. We have been meaning to donate a lot of toys and kids activities and haven't ever gotten around to it and it has helped so much on helping our kids through this time.

13. Last year I stocked up on school supplies during the sale so all that glue, paper, markers, and crayons are coming in really handy right now.

14. We had an old laptop we didn't even know would work and it has worked like it's new for my son to do his school work.

15. The past few months we have gotten more into puzzles and purchased a whole bunch so now we have some fun family entertainment.

The point is that we all have things we can look at and be grateful for and the more we do that during this time, the better we will be able to cope.

This week has been such a whirl wind for most of us and a pretty scary time. Adjusting to social distancing as a new normal for now has felt like something out of a movie and yet it's actually happening. Today, I wanted to have a dear friend of mine, Jamie Johnson to come on the show to share with you her tips on how to have meaning in life despite all the craziness that is happening in the world right now. Here are her tips

Make time for the Lord every day with scripture study and prayer and if possible, have your children do it at the same time you are.Go to the Lord and ask what you need to be doing with your family and kids at this time so He can help you make a map.Focus on connection over content as your kids are home. Reach out - obviously this can be a bit tricky, but there are so many creative ways people are showing up and sharing goodness and light in the ways they know how (and right now, it may just be a prayer for others and that is what so many people need)Reflect - a great way to do this is through journaling (Jamie has free journal prompts to help you at this time at her website www.jamiegjohnson.com)

Pull out the green dye and dye things green.  Morning of St. Patrick’s Day, we would wake up to green milk which was really fun to put on the morning cereal.  You can also make:Green pancakesGreen rice krispie treats and color the marshmallows greenGreen jelloDecorate sugar cookies or cupcakes with green frostingPretzels dipped in white chocolate dyed greenHave a tricky leprechaun come the night before - it’s like elf on the shelf, but just one dayTurned toilet water greenDraw green footprints on your kids arms or faces while they sleep - the leprechaun left footsteps of little green paint on my kids’ arms.  I’m not sure how how the leprechaun got our faces when I was a kid! We must have been deeper sleepers.Tiny footprints in flourLeave gold chocolate coinsMy 1st grade teacher was from England and on St. Patrick’s Day our room got all messed up from a leprechaun, but we came back in the classroom before it could escape and it had turned itself into a potato.  That was so fun for us - we watched the potato closely to make sure it wouldn’t turn back into a leprechaun and escape.Eat Irish food and have people overMy mom always made the Irish dinner, but when we lived in Wisconsin for a few years, we continued the tradition and made the dinner and invited people over.  Most people have never had corned beef so this is fun for them to try. I think most people like it! It’s actually really easy to make - you basically just put it in the crockpot and let it cook for a few hours.Colcannon - mashed potatoes with leeks or green onionsIrish soda breadCorned beef and cabbageRainbow jello - different layers.  Not traditional, but fun to do. It takes a few hours to make because you have to let every layer set. Definitely a labor of love, but really fun for the kids.Introduce your family to Irish cultureListen to Irish music - the Irish have a variety of instruments that they use

You can always start with celtic women - we saw them in concert and they’re fantastic!Watch an irish dance performance - they often have free performances by local Irish dance students at libraries - in Wisconsin they even taught the kids how to do some of the dance.Watch an Irish movie - Leap Day is a fun one that takes place in Ireland.  I just started watching Luck of the Irish with my kids which is on Disney plus.

Lizzy talks about what jail was like after she was caught in her opioid addiction. She also shares the lessons she's learned through it all.

I believe that addiction is such an important topic to discuss and be open about because it is so prevalent in our society and so many people aren't talking about it. The more we hide, the more power we give addictions. Lizzy is so brave and bold in the way she shares and in the hope she gives. I hope that by listening to her story, you will not only become more educated about the addiction, but that you can better understand what someone who is addicted is going through and how innocently many addictions can start. Lizzy is truly an inspiration and definitely worth the listen.

This week I talk about the amazing and creative way my husband proposed and why it meant so much to me.

Today I wanted to share something a bit more personal so you could get to know me on a more personal level. I don't believe that any of us have perfect lives, but I do believe we all have perfect moments, and today I am sharing some of those perfect relationship moments with you. I hope you enjoy it!

Sometimes it can be hard as moms to feel confident, but it is such an important skill as we are the ones making so many daily decisions and so many people will ask us for things, give us unsolicited advice, and tell us we aren't enough. It is so important for us to truly dig deep and have the confidence we need to navigate it all. Here are a few things that can help...

Implement a voice filter. There are so many voices in the world and that others will tell you and and you need to quiet them and choose what to listen to carefully and thoughtfully.Under promise, over deliver. "No, thank you" is a full sentence and you are free to use it when necessary. There is no need to feel badly for protecting your time, and resources. You need to decide that carefully for what is best for you.Stop "shoulding" all over others - especially yourself. Understand what you need to do, like to do, want to do, and must do.Do a personal deep dive with your Creator. Understand that connection and build your confidence with him together. Create a "we" victory and relationship with Him.Own your story. Your story is yours and it is beautiful. You were sent here to be YOU! You weren't sent here to be someone else, but just yourself and that is more than enough.

If doing all of these at once feels overwhelming, pick one and try practice just that one this week and see what improvements you can make. Once you feel you have a good handle on that one, maybe try incorporating another and see what happens - you deserve to feel confident!