Be Where Your Feet Are

by Kathi Lipp | | 4 comments

Friend to Friend

I am what some people might call a prepper.

We live in the mountains of Northern California on 33 acres of forested land. We only “go into town” once a week for essentials like groceries (and Starbucks.)

There is a lot that can go wrong up here on the mountain.

We get snowed in regularly, and usually lose power when we do, so we have to stockpile food, fuel our generator, and charge our flashlights, emergency lantern, and backup power bricks.

After last year’s huge storm, when a tree fell on our house, not only did we lose power but also our backup generator failed. We are fortunate that our neighbors, Paul and Julie, were here to help my husband dig us

Please Quit

by Kathi Lipp | | 7 comments

Friend to Friend

Today I pressured a friend to quit.

My friend Lori has had some big, wonderful things happen in her life, including a wedding to the man of her dreams, and it was time to “get back to work.” She had an event planned, is a super hard worker, and was doing everything to pull it off.

She was exhausted. She was worn out from all the good stuff in her life.

But she was going to keep going, because that is the kind of person she is. She has a high sense of responsibility.

I could see in her eyes that, more than she needed to keep her commitment, she needed a nap. And I recognized that look, because at one time

Obligation or Celebration

by Kathi Lipp | | 7 comments

Friend to Friend

We have just come through an intense season of life. You know those times:

Things at work are going crazy.

There are a million projects that need to be done immediately at home.

The family is going through its own drama.

And let’s throw in a crisis, you know, just for fun.

These are the times in my life when I start looking forward to the dentist filling a cavity so that I can sit still for a few minutes and not have to mark anything off a list.

But maybe extensive dental work is not my best plan for rest?

We have had to make the practice of rest a priority in our calendars.

Daily  A little break after dinner to just rest and connect.

Living Without Worry

by Kathi Lipp | | 6 comments

Friend to Friend

My husband and I may be the only people in the modern world who knowingly bought a house without heating or air conditioning. When we asked the owners how they heated their house, they pointed to the woodshed across the field and I realized our lives were about to change.

Now, every year we plan to spend the spring, summer, and fall chopping wood, so that by the time winter rolls around, we have stockpiled enough cut logs to see us through until at least April.

And that’s a great plan—until you realize there’s so much daily work that needs to be done. As in, right this instant, missy. Including (but not limited to) working our full time jobs, cooking

What To Do in the Waiting

by Kathi Lipp | | 10 comments

Friend to Friend

Today has not gone as planned.

I’m sitting here in the middle of a Barnes and Noble café waiting.

You see, about three hours ago, we dropped our tiny, eleven-pound dog off at the oncologist to find out about a tumor that is growing larger and larger on her neck. They decided to keep her for the day to try to figure out what is going on with her little body.

They are doing scans.

They are taking samples.

They are sending things to labs.

They are running tests.

And if you are not an animal lover, none of these emotions will make sense to you.

The panic.

The worry.

The fear of what if…

But if you’ve loved an animal so much that you’ve considered making deals with

How to Let a Dream Die

by Kathi Lipp | | 7 comments

Friend to Friend

I remember where I was standing, what I was wearing, who I was with when my most fervent dreams died.

Those were some of the hardest decisions of my life.

I was past the point of being sensible. Others saw that my dream was not going to happen. But voices inside my head (and later, on Facebook) told me differently.

“You and God can do anything.”

“Don’t give up on your dream!”

“With God, all things are possible.”

So I kept willing my dreams to stay on life support instead of letting them die with the dignity that they (and I) deserved.

Because even though everything is possible with God, it doesn’t mean God gives you every possibility.

Proverbs 16:9 says, “In their hearts humans

Showers of Gratitude (When You Don’t Even Feel Like Taking a Shower)

by Kathi Lipp | | 8 comments

Friend to Friend

I hate taking showers.

I know, that’s not something I should admit in polite company. Let me explain…

I love to get up in the morning and curl up next to the fire with a cup of coffee and my Bible, our dog Moose beside me. It’s the perfect way to go from cozy bed to cozy couch, with the addition of caffeine and canine company.

But when it’s time to shower, everything else must be put into action: go get the clothes, take the shower, get dressed, do my hair and makeup, make breakfast, and finally sit at my desk. The shower signifies a shift to the less cozy part of my day. Admittedly, it’s a small thing, but

Boundaries

by Kathi Lipp | | 14 comments

Friend to Friend

I have spent a lot of my life trying to be better at standing up for myself.

In many ways, I have a “let’s just get along” personality. One of my core desires is to not have anyone else be mad at me. Ever.

I’m the girl who spent thirty years first trying to have boundaries, and then trying to enforce them.

I always thought boundaries meant I expected a higher level of behavior from people I was in relationship with.

What I’m finally understanding (did I mention it’s been thirty years?) is that I don’t need to be loud or demanding to have healthy boundaries. I don’t need to determine how other people behave around me. I just need to

What’s Holding You Back?

by Kathi Lipp | | 8 comments

Friend to Friend

It is the never-ending pile.

It never goes away.

It never gets smaller.

It is just clutter.

How destructive could it be, right? Just get over it.

But I would say piles of clutter have kept me stuck for longer than I care to admit.

Clutter takes time. I’ve gone through that pile several times and still couldn’t tell you all of what’s in it.

Clutter takes money. That bill I had a late payment on? In that pile. And that costs.

Clutter takes attention. I cannot tell you the number of times I get distracted by that pile when I see a piece of mail sticking out that needs my attention.

I had to recognize this very true reality: my clutter isn’t just a space problem.

Is It Time for A Change?

by Kathi Lipp | | 7 comments

Friend to Friend

Oh, how I love a fresh start.

My two favorite times of year are September and January. September, because, even in my fifties, September means new notebooks, freshly sharpened pencils, and the hope of a fresh start with a new teacher, a new class, or even a new school. (Let’s just say school was not a happy place for me as a kid, but I always had hope for a new start.)

January, because it’s a new year. A chance to gear up for a new plan, a new start. All that New Year energy just busting to be unleashed on a new project, plan, or program. Every year, I enter the New Year with new hope.

I start the diet,

Walking With Friends in Times of Adversity

by Kathi Lipp | | 6 comments

Friend to Friend

Every morning, it’s the same routine. At about 7 AM, I head out to the chicken run to let the girls into their bigger “play yard” that my husband built (a larger, less secure area than their chicken run).

When I get there, the three big girls who are eighteen months old, Cheddar, Brie and Pepper Jack (we call them the OGs) are in the run, dancing back and forth just bursting to get out. One of our new five-month-old girls, Bullwinkle, is there with them.

The only one who is not in the run is Rocky. Rocky and Bullwinkle came to us at the same time and Miss Rocky is the smallest of all the girls. She stays in

Who is Carrying Your Stretcher?

by Kathi Lipp | | 9 comments

Friend to Friend

I sat, stunned and exhausted.

It had been a long night, but I had an inkling this was only the beginning of what was to come.

It all started one Saturday night when my husband and I finished the chores around our mountain home: chopping wood, cleaning out the chicken coop, watering the garden, and making dinner.

Just as we were getting settled in with some popcorn and a movie, my husband Roger noticed the sound of planes and helicopters overhead. We thought it strange how low they were flying, and how many were in the area at the same time.

We quickly realized that the California fire was way too close for comfort. And that is when we jumped into action.

Roger

Help for Hindrances: Living Light

by Kathi Lipp | | 13 comments

Friend to Friend

As I sat in front of my closet for the umpteenth time to figure out why it was always such a hot mess, I looked at the floor and realized I had created a clothes and shoe salad (with a pinch of books and magazines thrown in for good measure). It was depressing to face every morning as I was trying to get out the door.

Has that ever happened to you? Being hindered by something as simple as getting dressed?

It wasn’t because I didn’t have clothes. It’s because, in my mind, I didn’t have the right clothes — a clean outfit, put together and accessorized.

But my real problem?

I had too much stuff.

With too many things hanging (or let’s

Making Room for Kindness and Compassion

by Kathi Lipp | | 4 comments

Friend to Friend
We spend a lot of time keeping chickens out of our house.

We built them their own coop and yard with an enclosed fence so they have plenty of room to wander. They are living their best chicken life.

But sometimes, that’s just not enough for them. Our four chickens truly believe they deserve to be “indoor chickens.”

Recently, when we left the door open for a moment, our beautiful but not-so-bright girl, Truffles, literally leaped at the opportunity to run into our kitchen.

Then she had no idea what to do with herself.

You could see the panic in her eyes as she evaded capture and flung herself against the sliding glass door in our kitchen nook. “Get me out of here!

Small Weeds

by Kathi Lipp | | 3 comments

Friend to Friend

It’s early spring, and I’m preparing the repurposed wine barrels for planting.

All winter they sat neglected, left to their own devices. Some plants made it through the winter, and we are grateful that it looks like we’ll have an abundant crop of bright red raspberries this summer.

But our main crop coming out of the frost? A healthy yield of weeds.

For the Big Boy tomatoes and Pink Lemonade blueberries to live, other life-choking things have to die.

Thankfully, we can easily deal with infant weeds. After a few minutes on each wine barrel, our soil is ready for seedlings we’ve nurtured in the green house.

If I have learned anything living up here on the mountain, it’s this: take care of