We Were Made for Work

by Kathi Lipp | | 7 comments

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While visiting our cabin in the mountains can be a magical experience, what it takes to keep it running is not. It’s a lot of hard work. After signing the mortgage paperwork and living through the first winter, we realized just how hard. Besides our regular jobs, there’s always a long list: clearing brush, taking down dead trees, chopping firewood, cooking meals, changing sheets, and cleaning the chicken coop. We are forever preparing for the next season.

We’ve learned to invite guests with a caveat: In the morning, we will cook you a glorious breakfast (for which the chickens have provided the main ingredient) and keep the coffee pot full. In the evenings, we will have cheese and crackers

Inviting the Holy into My Humble

by Kathi Lipp | | 5 comments

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As a child, I did just about anything to avoid work. This included paying my brother to do my chores; hiding dirty clothes under my bed; and one memorable time, putting dirty dishes in the oven so my mom wouldn’t see them.

As an adult, I figured out the only one I was hurting with my laziness was myself. Dishes that didn’t get done one day were still going to be waiting for me the next day. Laundry would pile up until my kids were tempted to use bandanas as underwear—or just go commando.

So as I got older, I learned the art of distraction to soldier on and get things done. Folding clothes wasn’t so bad as long as

The World as Worship

by Kathi Lipp | | 9 comments

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In the year of COVID-19, like so much of the world, our church shut down.

I understood why it had to happen—we were in a pandemic, after all—but I missed it. The preaching and teaching, fellowship, communion, but most of all, I missed the worship. I missed standing shoulder to shoulder with others and lifting my hands and my heart in praise. I missed that intimacy with God, even among hundreds of other people.

As with every other situation in 2020, it was a time to get creative. Like other believers, we worshiped from our living rooms, sitting on the couch, our dog and cat cuddled into our makeshift pew.

It was good. But it wasn’t the same. And I, not

Be Where Your Feet Are

by Kathi Lipp | | 4 comments

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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