Guided By Grace Life Coaching

I'm struggling today with finding time to do it all. You know...be a good friend, mother, wife, memory maker, etc. It seems like life is flying by, and I'm not living it so much as just making it through. We went today and celebrated the life of an amazing friend, Eric Fox. This last statement is definitely NOT something that can be said about Eric. He didn't just live his own life to the fullest, he touched as many lives along the way as possible and encouraged everyone he met to live their lives to the max too. Someone said today at his funeral that he probably touched more lives in his 40 years on this earth than most people do in 80. So very true. I'm a better person for having known him and am blessed to call he and Lori our friends. So, I guess, nothing like the death of an amazing man to make you think really hard about your own life. Dave and I talked about this some yesterday, and we're both feeling the same about this. Feeling like we're just going t...

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I'm sitting here right now, full of tears, thinking of a dear friend who went home to be with the Lord yesterday. If you know Eric, you are probably feeling much the same way. He fought the good fight with ALS , but at age 40 the horrible disease took him up to heaven. The fact that he's now in heaven, no longer in pain and laughing with Jesus is hard to imagine...yet a relief to know it's true. What stinks are the people left here on earth to live the rest of their lives without this amazing man. Particularly his wife and their two children. Their two young children. I think Zach is 13 and Maddie is 7 (or something close to that). Even though Lori and the kids had plenty of time to know this was coming and to try to prepare themselves for this day, I'm sure the reality of it is just unbearable. I mean, even I was tossing and turning most of the night, trying to process this. Then this morning as soon as I sat in front of the computer and started reading more Facebook ...

(This picture was taken by the kids when we all went to DeVos for the Hope College Musical Showcase. The kids thought it was the most boring thing ever...but at least Dave and I sort of got a date night out of it. The "mundane" was made fun to us...and how can you not enjoy our smiles.) I should be cleaning...but instead I'm in the mood to write. I think it's the cloudy weather. It takes away my ambition and makes me very contemplative all at the same time. It's just amazing what a difference the sun makes! And the "Son" makes. You know that feeling you get when you first fall in love? That butterflies in your stomach kind of excitement? Well, thankfully I still get that way when I think about my husband. Which I think is pretty awesome after almost 10 years of marriage. But, that's not what this post is about. No, lately I've felt that way about my relationship with the Lord! God has been so alive and real and present in my life lately, that He...

OK, so I'm feeling really guilty right now. The kids and I are playing an April Fools' joke on Dave...but he's so excited about what I told him that I can't bear to tell him it was just a joke!! He's a huge MSU fan, so I told him I got registered on a radio station's Final Four give-away. I think he's been thinking about how cool it would be to go ever since I e-mailed him. I'm going to let the kids shout "April Fools!" when he gets home. (Both so they can have the fun of saying it and so I don't have to feel so bad when he gets all bummed.) The kids enjoyed the one I pulled on them this morning: Jell-O posing as juice. Luke noticed his first and then couldn't contain his laughter as Mikayla sat down at the table in front of her glass. It was pretty hilarious to see all 3 of them react. Is this day "celebrated" in your house? My Mom was always pulling pranks on her friends growing up. And her Mom did too. I guess it's a fa...

Well, it's official: our vacation is actually coming to an end. I mean, yes we left Florida on Sunday morning and arrived home safely last night...but today was still vacation day for Dave, so if he's home it's still vacation. Oh well. The end was inevitable. We were blessed with amazing weather (Florida had cold/rainy weather before we got there and after we left, but was just about perfect every day we were there). And even though we didn't "do" a whole lot other than whatever we were in the mood for, we still managed to create lots of great memories and take lots of fun pictures. I've come home much more refreshed and energized to re-enter our busy schedule. I was going to put busy "routine", but I've decided there isn't much routine about my life. So, I have to share a story from our trip home. You know I'm always looking for the lesson in everything and wondering what God wants me to learn next. So, of course there was such a mom...

It's hard to believe that our vacation is at the half-way point already. I'm finding it interesting how much my brain has been working overtime the last couple of nights. I've been having dreams that are full of people I know and full of drama too. Do you ever have dreams that are so realistic that when you wake up your mood is altered because of what you've been dreaming? Well I've had a lot of that the last couple nights. And me, being the introspective deep-thinker that I am, is thinking that it's a sign of some things God is trying to work with me on. I mean, why in the world would I be having dreams full of jealousy, unforgiveness, bitterness, and anger while I'm on vacation?! I should be having dreams full of fun and laughter. As I was awakened last night and pondering my latest dream, I was thinking about the possible reasons that this could be occurring. I'm thinking it has something to do with the fact that when I'm at home, I'm so busy ...