christian – Page 3 – Faith Love n Joy

Out of Darkness and Into the Light

Posted on March 11, 2024October 28, 2024 by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

We made it! Daylight savings time has begun and this girl doesn’t even mind losing an hour of sleep for more daylight.

Like many others, I tend to suffer from some seasonal depression. I had hoped to head it off at the pass by doing some extra holiday celebrating, watching my diet, being more active, journaling – I had a whole laundry list of things I planned to do to stave off the winter blues.

It didn’t go so well.

I did do some extra Christmas celebrating but much of the season was spent alone. Sometimes, I think I go through this stuff to give me perspective and create some empathy. I’m not very good at keeping in touch with people yet I know there are folks who also were lonely during these past holidays and I did nothing to alleviate that. Perhaps, I’ll do better next time around.

I did watch my diet….go right down the drain. Boredom drove it. Too much alone time begets too much boredom time which begets the consumption of way too much chocolate. All delivered by multiple Walmart delivery drivers who, I’m sure, gathering in hushed places to pray against me putting in another order.

I did journal. Some handwritten scribbles in a small journal that I keep. Each entry ended with the number of days until the next exciting event in my life.

Oh, it wasn’t as bad as all that!

January brought us some nice snow storms and an ice storm, which was fun. I learned the new meaning of anxiety driving in those.

Speaking of…when did I get to be so afraid of driving in the snow. I’M FROM CHICAGO!!!! I learned to drive in the snow. I managed my first ice storm driving from the north side of the city to Schaumburg. It took four hours but my mother sat alongside me and coached me the whole way. Somehow, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve understood the financial impact accompanying the phrase “car accident” and a few drops of moisture on the road means this girl stays home.

Thank God I work from home!

February started out really icy. I mean double digits below zero icy. Lots of tea and hot chocolate were consumed. Lots of coffee, too. I went into sort of a hibernation, on the couch, underneath covers with only my hands free to type enabling me to keep my job.

But then it got warm. Really warm. Not turn-my-AC-on warm (almost, though – if only I wasn’t too lazy to clean it!) but warm enough to turn on my fan and pull out a pair of shorts and a tank top. I wasn’t ready for this! I mean, I still need to mow down the winter forest growth on my legs that kept me warm all winter! Percy, my little canine heater, couldn’t understand why I didn’t want him sleeping up against me.

Too warm for February!!

And by the way, people in the north who cry over cold weather and snow in February should have their heads examined – it’s February. Winter! It’s supposed to be cold and it’s supposed to snow! What it’s not supposed to do is get up to 70+ degrees!

Sheesh!

Even the tulips outside the main doors to my apartment building began emerging from the ground. I wanted to throw a blanket over them and say, “wait, little ones! It’s not time yet! Too early!” but they continued to wriggle their way into the world.

They’re half grown now and I expect buds any day.

February’s exit confused me. The unseasonal warmth brought too much hope and too much wanting for Spring. The bright, sunshiny days lifted my seasonally dreary spirits and I began to think strange thoughts like, “Today is great day for a nice long walk”. Well, strange for this couch potato body, anyway.

Ah well. One thing I did do well during this dark season was create. That was on my list. I made blanket after blanket after blanket. I tried new recipes, some were hits and a few were misses. I journaled ideas and plotted and planned and even rediscovered my love for embroidery.

So the season wasn’t a total loss.

If I’m being serious, it wasn’t a loss at all. All this quiet time and alone time has given me perspective. To say the season was a loss would mean I’m ungrateful which I’m not at all. Everything has a reason and a season and I always love to see what God does through and with it all. He’s just the best ever!

However…WE MADE IT!!! Daylight savings is here! Light is here! Days are longer! Tulips can grow! And yes, I’ll shave my legs before I put shorts on again and I will take that long walk!

SPRING FORWARD!

Photo by Jitendra Sharma on Unsplash

Moments and Musings

This New Season

Posted on March 4, 2024October 28, 2024 by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

A few short years ago, both my girls were planning to get a place of their own. I sat looking through apartment listings (just for fun), looking at one-bedroom places and dreaming of how I would decorate it without any input from anyone else. I pinned meals “for the single gal” to my Pinterest page and thought about how grand it would be to have the whole TV all to myself.

I could do what I wanted when I wanted. The ultimate single life.

We moved in here and shortly after, Emilie got married. And then there were two.

Emilie has always been my “big idea” girl. Big dreams. Bigger plans. So full of sparkling conversation. She outwardly expresses everything and this lead to hours upon hours of endless chatter. She filled my days with talking. I honestly can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t talking. So many late night talks, some full of fear but most filled with faith and a lot of tears.

But Shelby isn’t like that. She doesn’t have huge dreams.

Shelby works an overnight job and sleeps during the day. She has her own set of nerdy friends she prefers to spend time with, which is very normal for a girl like her. I want to give her that
space. I don’t want her to feel like she’s her mother’s entertainment committee. The few times she’s decided to spend her day with me has been a gift and I’ve made the most of it. Her big ambition right now is to work, make some money, and play video games with her friends. Even when she is with me, she’s quiet. There’s never been a ton of conversation that’s
happened between us.

So, my home when from being loud to being very quiet.

In the beginning, I took advantage of it. But it wasn’t long before conversations with Jesus
turned into mindless chatter with either myself or with the dog. (He doesn’t ever engage. He usually just licks himself and finds a new comfortable space on my chair.)

Now, that season is ending. I just bought a house with my sister. And my other sister (there’s four of us girls in my family) will be moving in with us along with Shelby. My very quiet, boring existence is about to be replaced with conversation and activity once more.

I can’t wait!

Moving to my current home was a huge blessing. We moved right in the middle of 2020 from a super small apartment to this one. My old apartment was only a mile away from the home we shared with my mom for 12 years. It was the home that healed us from a painful divorce. It was my mother’s house and for 12 years, we were secure and stable.

Then we lost her and everything changed.

The two years we spent in that first apartment after she died were so full of grief and pain and adjustment and just emptiness. We had no family nearby. My girls and I clung to each other and together, we held onto Jesus. But that grief – it was so hard to heal. I remember when we moved into this place, it almost felt like I was leaving my grief behind. So much closer to my sister, this place gave me breathing room, and not just literally.

It changed everything.

Being close to people who I loved and who loved me was the healing balm I needed. We healed together, in a way. God blessed us so much in this place and in this current season.

God gave me this season and I have not squandered it.

But now it’s time for the next step in my life. To go back to living in a space where I can put color on my walls and have my own laundry (it’s the little things). I won’t just be close to family; I’ll be living with family and closest I’ve been to my dad and stepmom in decades.

The challenge now is to stay in an attitude of gratitude. I’ve got just under 2 months until we move into our house – hopefully, our forever home.

Seasonal transitions are hard because the closer you get to the new season, the less tolerant you are of the season you’re in. It’s easy to get edgy and start to dislike what once was a blessing.

I’m determined not to let that happen to me. I love my home. I love every minute here. And before I leave, I want to pray over it, touch each wall and walk its floors one more time. I want to leave a bit of Jesus here. I want the next family to feel peace, love, comfort, and healing when they want through the door – just as I did.

When I get to my new home, I’ll do the same. Touch the walls. Walk the floors. Speak Jesus to it all. This home was a home of healing but the next home…that will be a home full of joy!

Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

Moments and Musings

Welcome, 2024!

Posted on January 1, 2024May 27, 2025 by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Happy 2024!

I don’t know about you but 2024 sure looks different than what I thought it would look like when I was a kid. I remember sitting in my classroom, drawing pictures of flying cars and robots doing laundry. We may not be there just yet but we are in this primitive form of Star Trek era with watches that make calls for us and phones that connect us globally. But one thing hasn’t changed – New Year’s resolutions.

Personally, I don’t like making resolutions. They’re nothing more than broken promises made to myself. So I don’t do that. Change, however, is a different matter. And this year, I’m going to try to be a woman of change. (insert diabolical laugh here)

So, 2024, let’s get after it! Here’s my list. Let’s see if anything sounds familiar to you (or maybe inspirational?)

Eat better – I mean, who doesn’t have this as a goal. In fact, this is a lifelong goal of mine. The quest to change my eating habits – eat more veggies, less carbs, less sweets, lather, rinse, repeat. But still, I have to put it on the list since I’m sincerely wanting to make better choices. And I’d like to do more research to be more intentional about my food choices.
Move more – Another goal that’s sure to make everyone’s list. However, I’m going to leave this open-ended. The idea is to move more but not necessarily set time limits, number of days, etc…just get up and move. Walk. Dance. Run. Stretch.
Pray/Bible study – I’ve never been consist with either, to be honest. I mean, I talk with God a lot so that part is ok (could be better, though). The Bible study is a hit or miss and I have plenty devotionals. Hopefully, this year is the year I make it through at least one. (I’ll let you know.)
Spend less – So, let’s talk about this one. I don’t live an expensive life. I live in a small apartment. Utilities are pared down as much as I can. I don’t work outside of the home so I don’t need work clothes and I have stuff for church. But I do like to buy yarn for crochet projects and embroidery stuff. I have whole roomful! So I’m making the decision not buy anything more until I use up what I already have. I also need to spend less on eating out. I have budgeted a healthy amount for groceries but sometimes, laziness and boredom drive me out of the house for food unnecessarily. I plan on changing that and being more intentional with my money and be more intentional about saving.
Create more – I don’t know how creative I’ll be with crochet. Not sure I know how. But I do want to learn to draw and create my own embroidery designs. I want to be fearless. I want to create and see where it takes me.
Call people – I’m so bad at this but I want to get better. I’m more comfortable with texting or using apps to connect with people but it’s not always best. I need to pick up the phone and call more. Bottom line.

Now for some real talk – change takes time. I plan on giving myself some grace when I fail, and there will be times of failures, set-backs, etc. But I think it’s time I finally let myself off the hook for being one of the most imperfect people on the planet. (I know that comes as a shock to those of you who know me personally.)

What changes are you looking to make in 2024? Drop a line in the comments and let me know!

Photo by Walls.io on Unsplash

Moments and Musings

Time To Change

Posted on October 16, 2023October 28, 2024 by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

The time change is coming. Turning back the clocks, gaining that one precious hour of sleep if only for one night. We’ll pay for it come the Spring but for now, every one looks forward to that one glorious hour. It’s an important thing, this hour.

It’s that hour that pulls the darkness of the winter forward pushing back the light. In the darkness, the earth will reset itself. It’s a quiet, reflective time. Time to rest, stay indoors and just breathe. Time for hot chocolate, cinnamon tea, soft blankets and cozy fires.

For me, I both love and dread this time. I require light and a lot of it. For years, I’ve struggled with a bit of seasonal depression. It’s a slight feeling of gloominess. Fall beauty starts to fade, giving way to a colorless, monochromatic time. Evenings become a little harder to get through than in other seasons. I find, as I get older, that I’m more of a skylark than a night owl.

This year will be different than others that have gone by. The menopause blues like to have a swipe at me now and again. And with my younger daughter married and living three hours away and my other daughter working an overnight job, I’m alone…a lot! Add that plus a time change to the menopause blues and it’s a triple whammy ending in many tear filled evenings.

But I recognize all this so I decided to do somethings to try to head this all off at the pass.

More movement – I really don’t like walking around my beautiful little lake because there’s bugs and there’s snakes. Not poisonous but they’re there and I’m good staying away. So I bought a hula dancing DVD. I needed something that would be good for me but also be fun. I may look for more dance DVDs. I’m sure I’ll look like a buffoon but I’ll be up, I’ll be moving and I’ll be having fun.
Journaling – I’m back to it and it makes me happy to write down my thoughts and feelings. It also helps me to look back and see how far I’ve come.
Bible Study – This is a no brainer. More God, more peace. I remember when my mom passed and I sat down on my bed, dejected and said, “Ok, God, I cry ‘uncle’.” God immediately spoke to my heart and said, “Stop crying ‘uncle’ and start crying Father.” He is the great encourager and I go to a church full of happy, imperfect people. I plan to be one of them.
Celebrate the season – I mentioned earlier this is the time of the year when the earth resets itself. I’m determined to do the same. Reflect more. Go deeper. Let go. Seek to find. God is in every season.
Create – I find I’m more contented when I’m creating something. Crochet isn’t just the means to another blanket in the house; it’s the process of allowing my hands to do something other than eat while my brain engages in a different way. I look at the world a little differently. I overcome the habit of perfection when I’m crafting.
Call – As in pick up the phone and call people. More conversations mean less loneliness.
Enjoy My Food – I don’t subscribe to a diet. I never have and never will. Food is to be enjoyed. Plain and simple. I’m going to experiment with new recipes and new techniques using my hands, like bread making.
Light My Home – I love candles. All kinds of candles. And I love candle holders. Bright, crystal or glass holders that reflect the light from the candle. And while I use flameless candles, my preference is real candles. (Unscented, please)
Selfcare – I really think all the above is selfcare in one form or another. But some things I’d like to be more intentional about. Giving myself a facial, or a manicure. Something that makes me feel pretty.
Hallmark Christmas Movies – Too early? That’s ok. They’re full of cheese and ever so predictable but each one puts a smile on my face and makes me happy. It helps me to focus on all that’s ahead, like lights, color, family, food and giving.

The very last, and probably most important, thing I’ll do is remember that this is only a season. It’s not forever. Like every season, it will end and a new one will be welcomed. Also, like every season, it has a purpose and definition.

So tell me – do you love or strongly dislike this time of year when the days grow shorter and darker? Or are you indifferent? Do you celebrate anything special, outside of the obvious? What does any change of season look like to you?

Photo by Emanuel Ekström on Unsplash

Moments and Musings

Hello, 55!

Posted on October 9, 2023October 28, 2024 by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Today is my birthday and I’m turning 55 years old.

It looks different than I thought it would look. My mother isn’t here to celebrate with me and my younger daughter is married now and lives three hours away. However, I’m very excited about this particular birthday as I’m now in the pre-stages of senior citizen-hood and I’m looking forward it. I know most people don’t like getting older. However, I’m a firm believer in embracing each year. I run up to it, hug it tightly, welcome it in and offer it some tea. I like to make each year feel right at home.

In the spirit of my birthday, allow a moment of self-indulgence as I list 55 things I’ve learned and discovered over the last 55 years of my life:

Jesus first. Always, Jesus first. Without Jesus, nothing works.
Make your plans and dream your dreams but then give them over to God. He will add His love and perfection to each one and give it back to you more beautiful than you ever imagined.
Life is better with dog.
Sometimes, you need time to sit in silence and just breathe.
Grief is lifelong. Although, its waves aren’t always as powerful as they are in the beginning.
Call people. Stop using apps to stay in touch. (I’m still learning this one.)
Tears are release and healing. Sometimes, I make time for them. When I don’t, they seem to make time for me.
A good ghost story is always a good thing!
There aren’t enough good ghost stories.
Blue is the best color in the world, followed closely by green.
Pray early for your kids spouses. And pray often.
The world may tell you God needs to change with the times but God is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He never changes. He doesn’t have to.
The best steak is filet mignon and the best way to eat it is medium well.
You can eat anything you want. You just need to watch the portion.
A good walk or a good bike ride is the best physical stress reliever.
A good talk with The Father is the best emotional stress reliever.
A home should have many many blankets.
The British write the best mysteries.
It’s ok to speak the Truth. But it’s not only to be unloving.
I fully plan to be the woman known for cycling through the neighborhood on her bike with flowers in her basket and a straw hat on her head.
Take heart, God is in the midst of it all and He knows the way out.
Crochet is life. Also, I don’t know how to knit.
Embroidery is secondary to crochet. Because I still don’t know how to knit.
It’s better to excel at one or two things than to be mediocre at a lot of things.
I always looked forward to life in a 55+ community.
Moving in with my 2 older sisters means I’ll be living in my own 55+ community. LOL
Fresca is the best soda.
Tea should be a staple in every home.
Coffee should be a staple in every home.
Chocolate should be a staple in every home.
I’ll never understand people who don’t like ice cream.
Hot chocolate should always be topped with whipped cream and cinnamon.
Christmas is the best holiday ever.
We should always make friends with crows. They remember and will bring you stuff.
There’s nothing wrong with counting down to special days.
The next season will always be better than your current one.
Never rush through your current season.
Menopause will make your feel like you’re going crazy. Take heart, dear lady, you are!
Being the youngest in the family doesn’t mean I’m privileged or spoiled; it means I have others to look up to and learn from.
Always spend time with your family.
It’s an honor and a privileged to hold a loved one’s hand while they go home to Jesus.
Funerals and weddings either bring out the very best in people or the very worst.
The world is unkind. Don’t be like the world.
You don’t need to make a difference in the world as a whole; just start with your world right where you’re at.
Prayer isn’t always a labored thing. Sometimes, it’s a moment by moment quiet conversation with God.
The inner voice speaking encouragement and direction to you most likely is the Holy Spirit.
I don’t believe in mean dogs; only mean people who make dogs mean.
Cats are like teenagers.
I believe there’s no perfection to be found in being creative. That’s why I create; to tame my perfectionist ways. Also, so I won’t eat too much ice cream.
I will miss my mother for the rest of the my life. 49 years with her wasn’t long enough.
I look forward to being a grandma someday.
Laughter truly is contagious. One should laugh every day.
You don’t need a big house to be happy. Comfort and contentment can be found in the smallest of spaces.
In any loving home, there’s always room for one more.
Everyone should have cake and ice cream on their birthday.

Happy Birthday to me!

Photo by Robert Anderson on Unsplash