I wasn’t expecting an ordinary bike ride to lead to an extraordinary discovery. God surprised me with three water line caps surrounded by a heart of sealant. Yep, water caps! Yep, heart-shaped sealant! Yep, a very special message!

When life finds you drooping, continue to water your spirit.

Words and acts of loving kindness are small bouquets in the day. And with God, there are so many possibilities! Inspire. Encourage. Bring about meaningful change.

I’m a writer and speaker who’s also a Seahawk fan. As we huddle up for this weekend’s game, Seattle-ites can’t help but remember the “one that didn’t work out for us” as Coach Carroll would say in a 2015 post-game eulogy. Quarterback Russell Wilson would follow up with “one inch too far.” Yep, that was the game we lost to a goal line interception—against the Patriots. Yep, those guys.

The past few weeks and months have been challenging with recent deaths among our older members at church. Yes, three long-time, very special members. Saying goodbye is hard.

Sitting in the middle of women of faith, women who delight in supporting other women, I was unable to say out loud what I wanted and what I needed in the moment.

There is not a photo on FB that I haven’t edited, cropped, changed in some way. The videos, too. That’s hard for me to say, because I still struggle with that perfectionist thing.

My husband is not only a believer, but he walks the talk. In a word, he trusts. He is unwavering in his belief that God will be there for him, for his family, for those around him. He trusts in God’s timing, God’s way of doing life, God’s will to be done ~ lessons I’m still working on!

Our family was bless my extended family who surrounded us with love and encouragement, support and guidance.

Too many times I’ve used Sunday mornings, not only to worship, but to get answers, make arrangements, follow up on To-Do’s, making it all about Deanna, not all about God.

I like my days to unfold evenly. I’d rather life didn’t get too hot or too cold. And if things do warm up a bit, I’d like to know that I can return to a climate-controlled life quickly, very quickly. Unrealistic, isn’t it?

I don’t care who you voted for. I don’t care where you stand on the issues. But I do care about our ability to talk about important subjects, our ability to think through difficult issues, issues with no easy answers.

The disasters we see on the nightly news can overwhelm us. But we all have “two fish and five loaves of bread,” small lunches that God can use to bless many.

On Saturdays I get together with a small group of women for coffee. For an hour ~ a mere 60 minutes ~ we solve the world’s problems. We laugh til our sides hurt; we talk through challenges.

Many, many, many of us in the Seattle area are Seattle Seahawk fans. We’re everywhere. We’re 12’s! Jesus had twelve men also!