Lifestyle

Recently our neighbor invited Alan & I to a Giving Voice concert. Alan wasn’t really excited to go, however, after the concert admitted that he was really glad that he had went.

My hometown still has a big 4th of July celebration. As a kid I remember the parades, the street dance, the food, and all the fun. But as an adult, this week I’ll be reminded of our freedom. I think it’s always good to remember why we celebrate; if we forget, our freedom doesn’t mean as much to us anymore as we just take it for granted. I did a little research because I really don’t remember exactly what I was taught in high school.

I’m currently at my “big” summer vacation. My husband and I have national parks on our bucket list, and we will hit up three over our 4th of July holiday vacation. But that’s not all, we’ll also visit eight other sites that are state parks, state monuments, national monuments, scenic overlooks, or museums. We’ll travel through Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. We’ll be gone 8 nights. That’s a lot to see as we average about 450 miles per day. Some don’t call that a vacation, it’s too busy; but that’s what we like to do.

Charles Hummel was a Christian educator, author, and leader who was best known for his influential booklet titled “Tyranny of the Urgent.” The booklet is basically a reflection on time management and spiritual priorities. Hummel talks about the tension between what is urgent, meaning the things that demand our immediate attention—and what is important, meaning the things that truly matter in the long run. Though this booklet was published in 1967, he saw that many, even then, lived under constant pressure, reacting to urgent tasks while neglecting deeper, more meaningful commitments like prayer, relationships, and purposeful work. Hummel challenges readers to resist this “tyranny” by seeking God’s guidance every day, allowing “divine priorities” to shape how we spend our time. One of his key insights is that “the need itself is not the call”—just because something feels demanding, like it needs to be done immediately, doesn’t mean it’s what God is asking us to do. Instead, he encourages intentional living rooted in discernment, rest, and trust. In his booklet he said, “When we fail to wait prayerfully for God’s guidance and strength we are saying, with our actions if not our lips, that we do not need Him….” and “Prayerful waiting on God is indispensable to effective service. Like the time-out in a football game, it enables us to catch our breath and fix new strategy…” and “The need is not the call. The call must come from the Lord who knows our limitations.”

seems I can’t ever get enough clothes. I have clothes for every season. Actually, I have all kinds of clothes for every season. When I look at my closet, I find it tells a lot about me. I have a lot of neutral color clothes. I have a lot of clothes without patterns, but I do have some with stripes and flowers. All my clothes say something about me. I have a lot of sleeveless shirts and dresses, and I have a lot of light weight cover ups to go with them. I have special clothes I like to wear golfing. I have specific “old” clothes I like to wear when I fish. I have some clothes with words on them, but I’m don’t like to advertise a lot of my views on my clothes. Some of my clothes have a brand name visible because the manufacturers feel it’s very important to portray their name on my clothes. Also in my closet are my “work” clothes. I have many clerical collars in many colors.

In my last column, I mentioned a training I had attended with information from the Alzheimer’s Association. One statistic really stood out and I’ve been thinking a lot about its significance. “Up to 40% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by targeting modifiable risk factors.” While certain risk factors like age, genetics, race, and gender are non-modifiable, some small shifts in our lifestyles can lead to healthy habits which lower the risk of developing cognitive decline.

Joseph Scriven was a wealthy man. He was well educated and had a pleasant life at his home in Ireland where he’d always lived. On the night before his wedding, his fiancée drowned. His sorrow and grief were unfathomable and the only comfort he found was in his dearest friend, Jesus. After this terrible event, his life changed drastically, he left Ireland for Canada and found love again, only for her to die of a fatal illness. Yet, Scriven was determined to go on with life, he devoted his time to being a friend and helping others. When his mother became ill in Ireland, he wasn’t able to see her to so wrote and mailed her a comforting poem. When a friend of his read the poem and asked who wrote it, Scriven replied, “The Lord and I did it between us.”

What caught my attention most during the Medicare Open Enrollment last fall didn’t have anything to do with insurance coverage options. During the nearly two-month period, I met with hundreds of people and almost all expressed concerns or anxiety about the current state of affairs, the direction in which the country was headed, and what the future might hold. It didn’t matter which side of the political aisle, just about everyone seemed to feel similarly and share in a larger sense of unease.

I loved Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid. It wasn’t like today with hundreds of channels, YouTube, the internet, or movies. I had two channels to choose from, and I thought it was great! It was a treat being we didn’t have any other way to watch cartoons. I had many favorites like “Scooby-Doo” and “Fat Albert.” But in the mid-to-late 1960s one of the cartoons I liked most was “Casper the Friendly Ghost.” There were many episodes and usually Casper wanted to be friends with some human, but everyone was afraid of him because he was a ghost. He usually ended up persuading them by saving the day and proving that he was a friendly ghost and they had nothing to fear. Even with this lesson from Casper, I had somehow been taught along the way that I should fear ghosts. It was probably about this time that I learned about another ghost.

Years ago when I directed the singing group One Accord out of Clara City, we would end our season the end of April. This was a very smart idea as those who participated would become extremely busy in May with prom events, spring sporting events (whether as a participant or a spectator), spring concerts, awards banquets, etc. The month of May was always jammed packed with activities and events – concluding with the Memorial Day program and studying for final tests. The end of the school year always seemed hectic! For those families with a graduating senior, there probably was a party to plan, food to prepare, and house projects to complete. (I remember my dad installed a new kitchen sink in our farmhouse the day of my sister’s Baccalaureate – and we had neighbors and friends coming over that same evening to celebrate! Probably wasn’t exactly the timing my mom had in mind!)