Peppermints

Hello, friends.

Today was stressful. We all have those days - days that we question everything we thought we knew, days that we wonder if we're supposed to be doing what we're doing.

Today was also the day I received perhaps the strangest compliment of my life: "Mary, you're like a peppermint."

You see, if you're stressed, you often have a loop going in your head. You can't stop thinking about the thing that's stressing you out. Often, what it takes to break that loop is a really good distraction - like a peppermint, for example. Peppermints have an overpowering taste and smell. You pop one of those in your mouth and it's hard to think about anything else. Because of that, peppermints can help you calm down.

Another thing that can help you calm down is a person. I went out to lunch with a similarly stressed individual today, and he said afterwards that listening to me talk about my daughter was like a peppermint- a distraction from the situation that helped him think rationally about it. I can relate to that easily. When I was in college, Lindsey and I had a code for when one of us was stressed and needed to talk. We would ask to go for a walk down the bluff. By the time we made it down and back up those two hundred steps, we felt better every time.

I think that's the moral of my day. When you're stressed, find a peppermint. Or a person. Or both. :)

What's Best for Me

Hello, friends.

On May 18th, 2013, I graduated from Concordia University - Wisconsin and was certified as a Lay Minister with specializations in Youth Ministry, Parish Teaching, and Missions. Boy, was I bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to take on the world! I just knew that I was going to get a call right away to do youth ministry at a church in the Midwest. I even told God that.

Per the usual, God listened to my plans and laughed and said, "No, I know what's best for you." First he sent me to YMCA summer camps; next, to Lutheran Services in Iowa; next, to UPS; next, to Panera Bread. All were in Iowa, and none of them were what I wanted. I was constantly angry with God, constantly asking why he was making me wait, why he was sending me to these places when I had learned and trained and practiced to be a lay minister.

In the spring of 2014, while I was randomly Googling variations of the phrase "Lutheran church work," I stumbled across the page for the Lutheran Campus Initiative. Let me tell you, I did not want to move to Florida. Florida is hot and sticky and not the Midwest. But per the usual, God listened to my concerns and laughed and said, "No, I know what's best for you." And he was right. I may have been doing campus ministry instead of youth ministry, but I was using and developing my ministry skills. I loved Florida in the end.

The LCI program lasted a year, from July 2014-2015. I returned home to Iowa after my missionary term ended and did my least favorite activity: waiting.

I waited for almost two months, and then, one morning, I woke up to a voicemail from my CUW advisor. He informed me that Redeemer Lutheran Church in Enid, Oklahoma was calling me to be their Director of Christian Education. I'm a naturally excitable person, but that morning was the most exciting one of my life. I jumped up and down and ran all the way through the house looking for my mom; when I didn't find her, I called my dad at work to tell him the news. It turned out that my mom was in the shower, so as soon as she got out, I made her listen to the voicemail. I called friends and celebrated and generally made a nuisance of myself because I was so happy. A call! I had a call! I finally had a call!

The call process took awhile. It wasn't until the day after my birthday that I received my placement papers in the mail. I took the weekend to consider and then put the signed papers in the mail on Monday. Then I packed, and celebrated, and packed, and celebrated, and so on and so forth. My parents helped me move near the end of September.

I'm remembering all of these things today because one year ago, I was commissioned as a lay minister in the LCMS. My entire journey - beginning long before May 2013 - led me to that point. No, let me rephrase that. God led me through my entire journey to that point, and he is still leading me now. I can look back at those jobs in the interim between college and now and see why I had to have them. Could I have been ready for a call in May 2013? Sure, but I was more ready in October 2015. What's more, Redeemer was ready for me in October 2015.

I've learned many things in the past year, but the most important lesson has been this: God knows what he's doing, and he sent me to this place at this time for a reason. He truly does know what's best for me.

A Year and a Day Ago

Hello, friends.

A year and a day ago, I moved to Enid, Oklahoma. So much has changed, but one thing has not:

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

Even as I grow in my career and my personal life, even as I am DCE Mary during the day and Mom when school gets out, even as I learn who "Mary" really is, I know that my God is the same as He was when I lived in Urbandale, and Mequon, and Tallahassee. My location has changed, my position has changed, my relationships have changed, but my God has not.

What else is there to say?

Uncomfortable

Hello, friends! You may have caught on to the fact that last week was a rather uncomfortable one for me. I'd rank it in my Top 5 of the worst weeks of my life. The blows just kept coming. I was searching for something to put my week into perspective when I came across this on my computer. It's the last devotion I wrote as a Lutheran Campus Initiative missionary. It applies so well to my situation that I know it has to be a God thing. I hope it can bring some inspiration to your life as well.

Have you ever been caught out in a storm? It’s rather uncomfortable, isn’t it? It’s dark, the rain is coming down so hard that you can’t see a thing, the water is pooling up around your ankles, you’re cold and wet and starting to feel the sniffles coming on before you even get inside. Now, picture that happening on a small boat in the middle of a lake, and you’re picturing the situation the disciples were in in Mark 4. “A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling” (verse 37).

We have all felt that way in life, too. Whether we’ve lost our job, we’re overwhelmed in our current job, we’ve taken on too many responsibilities, whatever it might be, we have felt drenched and about to be flooded and overturned. God tends to put us in uncomfortable situations. He always has a purpose, but in the midst of the situations, we’re calling out, “God, please rescue us!” And although God never fails to rescue us, he does even that in uncomfortable ways.

For example, in Mark 4:38-40, Jesus is in the boat that’s flooding… and he’s asleep. “They woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’”

Now, I don't know about you, but when I'm overwhelmed by something - be it professional or personal - I'm not terribly interested in hearing about my faith. I'm interested in riding out the storm and getting safely to shore. But Jesus doesn't think like that. He is focused on what's important, and in the end, that is our faith. He rescues us in uncomfortable ways to force us to focus on what's important, and after we are rescued, he thrusts us into a new uncomfortable situation with our newfound faith. It's a never-ending cycle, and that's okay. That's the way God intends it. We are not meant to be comfortable, but we are meant to have faith in the uncomfortable.

Foster Parenting

Hello, friends.

A short post for you tonight.

Foster parenting is hard. It's messy. It's exhausting. It's frustrating. If it's not one thing, it's another, and there's never rest for the weary.

Foster parenting is good. It's rewarding. It's heartwarming. It's life-changing. It's new every morning and there's always a reason to smile.


I don't like lice.
I don't like allergic reactions.
I don't like phone calls from the school nurse.
I don't like uncertainty.
I don't like panic attacks.

I love my daughter.
I love her laughter.
I love her unique way of looking at the world.
I love her positive attitude.
I love my God who takes care of both of us.

Would I do it again, after all I've gone through these past two days? Without a doubt I would.

My Hard Day

Hello, friends.

Today was a hard day.

As you know, unless you haven't seen any of my social media posts for a month, we've been struggling with lice in my house. I've tried everything: bagging up stuffed animals and pillows, doing laundry constantly, spraying the furniture, vacuuming daily, putting slip covers on the mattresses, and, of course, using lice cream and shampoos and nit combs. I've managed to get it out of my hair, but not my daughter's. It's certainly not for lack of trying.

In the past couple of days, my daughter has developed a rash. I didn't think too much of it, especially since I was planning to take her to the doctor on Wednesday. The school nurse, however, thought it was a bigger deal and insisted that my daughter be sent home from school and go to the doctor today. She also called my case worker because she was concerned that I wasn't doing enough for my daughter's health.

It turns out that my daughter is allergic to the very ingredient that is most effective in getting rid of lice. Go figure, right? So she has to take medicine to get rid of the rash, and they had to order a special, completely different lice cream that won't come in until tomorrow, which means my daughter won't be able to go to school again until Thursday or Friday, since the school nurse is so concerned. I also had the great pleasure of cleaning every bit of furniture in our house that has ever come in contact with that ingredient.

I'm frustrated with the nurse - unfairly, I know, because she's just doing her job, but it's irritating to have her go above my head like that when I've been working so hard to combat the lice. I'm frustrated with myself, because I should have gone to the doctor weeks ago, but I've been putting it off because of how my daughter typically reacts to doctors (not well). I'm frustrated because my daughter has been doing well in school and now she can't go for at least another day. I'm frustrated with the whole situation, and I just wish I wasn't dealing with this alone.

Earlier, after I picked my daughter up from school and went back to work, I let my frustration get the better of me. I was stomping around the church, trying to do everything at once, not really accomplishing anything, in a very bad mood and not afraid to show it. When I realized that my attitude was making things worse, I made myself take a break. I went to the sanctuary, sat in a pew, and picked up a hymnal. I sang Morning Prayer by myself in the light from the windows. I read Psalm 46. I sang "Be Still, My Soul." I prayed.

Sometimes, I feel like it's me against the world. Me against lice, me against the school nurse, me against the messy house and unwashed dishes and endless laundry. My mantra is often "If I don't do it, no one will." But I'm not alone.

"Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to your God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; your best, your heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end."

I'm not alone. I have my God, who has given me my caring pastor and congregation, my family, my friends, and yes, my caseworkers and the school nurse and especially my daughter. Despite my hard day, and the hard days I know are in my future, I know that the Lord is on my side, and He will lead me to a joyful end. Without Him, today would just be awful. But with Him, I have a different perspective.

All Heaven Breaks Loose, Part 2

Hello, friends! Nearly two years ago, I wrote a blog post titled "All Heaven Breaks Loose." In it, I talked about how life as an LCI missionary had changed completely with the beginning of the new school year. 40,000 people had arrived and things were heating up. Let me quote from the end of the post for you:

"Is it chaos? Yes. Is is crazy? Of course. Is it an opportunity for witness the likes of which I've never seen before? Absolutely, and I am so glad that God has put me here to "break heaven loose" on this campus."

Once again, I am faced with the beginning of a new school year, and things are heating up. Sunday School Rally Day was this past weekend. Midweek School begins tomorrow. Starting September 11th, we will have high school youth group once a week. Is it chaos? Oh, yes. I have so much to do, so much to organize, so much to remember... It's chaos in my head and (shockingly) on my desk. Is it crazy? That's an understatement. I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off for weeks. Is it an opportunity for witness the likes of which I've never seen before? Absolutely, and I am so glad that God has put me here to "break heaven loose" in Enid, Oklahoma.