What is it about the north woods of Maine that draws me back year after year?  Of course there is the family tie.  I was born in Maine, my parents spend June through August in Maine, and I have a lot of relatives and friends still in Maine.  But it’s more than just that.  My soul gets refreshed and replenished as I spend time in the beauty of God’s creation, and one of my favorite places on earth to do that is in Maine. 

Each year I sit on the runway in Presque Isle, or Bangor and wonder if I’ll make it back again next year?  Will my parents be well enough to come spend the summer again?  Will life encroach and make it harder to find the time to go back? 

This year I did everything on my list that makes Maine, Maine to me.  Fed chicadees out of my hand, caught huge bull frogs, fed the chipmunk out of my hand, letting him sit in my lap.  Watched beautiful birds like the Loon, the Great Blue Heron, gold finches, evening grossbeaks, rose breasted gross beaks, and the list goes on.  I ate all my favorite Maine foods (except lobster).  I had red hotdogs, fiddleheads, beet greens, baby new potatoes right out of the ground, yellow wax beans, petite green beans, cucumbers galore, all freshly picked from the gardens of friends and family…….and then there is Houlton Farms Dairy and it’s delicious “awful awful”.  How did it get it’s name?  It’s awful big and awful good!  It is a thick milkshake with softserve ice cream on top.  I have them add chocolate jimmies to the top of mine.

My husband says Maine has a distinct language.  It’s actually more like a dialect.  I definitely come back speaking the dialect.  Dow!  Ayuh! Wicked Good!  Those are a few of the phrases you’ll hear listening to a Mainer. 

I’m home now, refreshed by the beauty and the quiet of Maine.  My parents are still the only people who live on this small lake in the north woods of Maine.  It’s been that way for 40 years.  No wonder the animals feel free to eat out of my hand.  I can’t wait ’til next year.

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I recently spent a long weekend with my parents in Sarasota, FL.  October 22 marked their 55th wedding anniversary.  When I realized it was one of those ‘big’ ones, I knew I needed to make the trip.  I knew we’d enjoy our time together, but I didn’t anticipate what the highlight would be.  I assumed it would be going to the pool and jacuzzi. The retirement community they live in has the BEST jacuzzi.  It’s always really hot, unlike hotel hot tubs. 

But, the highlight was none other than SCRABBLE!  It’s one of my moms most favorite games.  It’s never been mine because I haven’t had the time to memorize the dictionary.  Surprise, surprise, I actually won two games.  As I thought about why I wanted to keep playing it, I realized it had nothing to do with winning, I lost more games than I won.  I enjoyed the pace of the game.  In fact the whole pace of my trip to FL was such a refreshing change it was hard to come back to the ‘real’ world.  It’s time for me to pay attention to the discipline of Sabbath, again.  Can’t we ever learn things for good?  No, not how God works…….life is a journey. 

Excuse me, I have to go play a game of scrabble!

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One of the deepest needs I have is proper soul care, what about you?  It’s so much easier to check things off a list, and just do more for God, rather than sit in his presence and rest.  How do we assess the health of our souls?  We talked about this with Mindy Caliguire on Midday Connection when we kicked off an 8 week series on ‘Discovering Soul Care’.  I hope you can join us each Wednesday through October 28 for the entire series.  To listen to yesterday’s(9 - 09) Bible study kick off program go to www.middayconnection.org and click on the past program tab to listen to the archived broadcast.  You can also download Midday Connection as a podcast.  Check out today’s program(9 - 10) too, which was a continuation of our Wednesday discussion.  Today I talked with Alan Kraft, author of “Good News for Those Trying Harder.”

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My husband Mike and I just returned from Israel.  I feel blessed as it was my second trip to the Holy Land.  I soaked in more the second time around, certainly, but one of my favorite parts of the trip was watching the first timers that went on our tour.  To see their reactions to some of the places we’ve read about over and over in scripture was absolutely delightful.  One of the most meaningful destinations for me was the Galilee region. To stand on Mt. Arbel and overlook the entire area of Jesus ministry gave perspective.  It was as if Jesus spent his entire 3 year ministry in the Western Suburbs of Chicago.  He always walked or took a boat, so I don’t know why I thought the area he covered was larger, but it surprised me to see how compact the region really was.  Going out on a boat on the Sea of Galilee held special meaning.  I could feel the rocking of the boat.  I could imagine a storm blowing up and causing fear in the passengers.  I could almost see Jesus walking on the waves toward the boat.  And I could hear him say “Peace be Still”.  Scripture did come to life as we visited the Land of the Book.  I’m still reliving it.  Friend me on Facebook and check out my photo gallery of the trip.

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Melinda, my co-host, and I took a road trip.  We headed to South Bend, IN to be on a television program called “The Harvest Show”.  It’s on the LeSea Broadcasting Network.  I don’t know much about the network, but the host of the show, Kelly, was delightful and professional and Melinda and I had a good time.  The best part of the trip, however, was a stop we made on two college campuses.  I was reminded of how invigorating it is to be in close proximity to college students.  I am close to students every day at Moody Bible Institute….but when I arrive on campus I go straight to my office and stay there, and don’t experience much of campus life.  Melinda and I walked around the campuses of Notre Dame, and St. Mary’s.  We ate lunch and dinner on these two campuses and briefly interacted with students.  The experience 1.  made me want to go back to school again.  2.  I was pleasantly surprised at how kind and helpful students were.  3.  I was shocked at how good the campus food is these days, and how many choices of food there are…..no wonder it’s so expensive to go to college. 4.  I felt younger, at least for a few hours, because of hanging out on a college campus.  I think I’ll do it again soon!

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I just returned from a glorious fall weekend in northern Wisconsin at Fort Wilderness.  When they asked me to speak for their annual women’s retreat, I said yes not knowing exactly where Fort Wilderness was.  It’s about a 6 hour drive from the Chicago area, where I live, and with each passing mile I felt more relaxed.  About 4 1/2 hours into the drive the countryside started to change color.  The leaves were almost at peak season in Rhinelander.  The scenery really reminded me of Northern Maine where I’m originally from, so I felt right at home. 

Enough about the scenery.  I had a great time getting to know about 160 women who came to the retreat.  I spoke on “unmasking” and what it looks like when we dare to live authentically.  When you come away in a retreat setting and give God permission to move, He does, and we all enjoyed a weekend of spiritual significance.

Did I mention how good the food was at Fort Wilderness?  Thanks to Janet and her kitchen crew……I worked really hard not to gain any weight while I was there.  Thankfully there are a number of trails you can hike and other activities you can engage in that help work off the calories.  If your church or family is looking for a great Christian Camp to attend in winter or summer, check out Fort Wilderness.  Here’s their website:  www.fortwildnerness.com

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