Back to Nature

The boy is back home today after a 4-day senior class trip/nature outing, which consisted of one day at Noah's Ark, then camping and swimming plus a day trip hiking at Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo.

His hike reminded me that I never got to share photos of my nature walk in Platteville.

After stuffing ourselves with pizza the night before registration / orientation, I decided I needed walk. After checking out the swan that I previously shared, I followed a path along the Rountree Branch creek or river or something.

I don't know how far the trail went, but it was rustic and pretty...

I probably only went another half mile after the little tunnel. But I think it goes quite aways. Will have to check it out the next time we're down there for more than a few hours.

Meanwhile, here's one shot of Carter in nature from his trip this week.

It sure is great to have that smirk back home!

Can You Hear Me Now?

This evening was week 3 and Chapter 3 of our church book study on If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg. Any guesses on the topic?

Yup, we were talking about "Discerning the Call." Water walking requires not only the courage to take a risk, but also the wisdom to discern a call. How do I discern the difference between an authentic call from God to get out of the boat from my own rash impulse?

Interesting discussion!

We talked about the fact that we all have a purpose, a calling of sorts, usually based on our "raw material," our gifts and talents. What do we do that gives us the most joy? Have you ever considered that it may be your calling to do that? Can we do that not only for God but with God?

If it seems too easy, your raw material may only be the foundation of a bigger calling. If you pay attention in the Bible, you know God has pretty major God-sized callings. From Moses to the virgin Mary, they were tasked with some major calls to action.

You've heard it said that God won't give us anything we can't handle. That's partly true. What I think He means is that He won't give us anything we can't handle as long as we are willing to work with Him and accept help from others. Trust me, we'll probably welcome it in most cases!

I like the part of the book and discussion when we addressed calls versus careers. There are people who may have a calling that essentially turns into a career. But then we must ask ourselves if that "call" is to serve God or give ourselves esteem or wealth or both in some fashion?

Can we have it both ways?

The book defines it as a "career is something we do for ourselves and a calling is something we do for God." However, I am glad it also pointed out that it is possible to make business a calling when it is truly done to serve God and others.

Can my writing be MY call? I suspect it can be, it will be and it sort of already is. I just hope my goals of inspiring, educating and entertaining are enough.

I guess I'll keep working at it 'til I figure it out. Or my smartphone delivers that call.

Can you hear me now?

Feeling Great at 40... Something

Don't look too closely, but this was 40 years ago today. Totally not identical twins but we sported the same summer chop and frilly tube tops. Oh and the matching cakes with the ballerina candle holders. Those were awesome! Felt so lucky that they were used on our cakes.

Looking back, I can appreciate Mom trying to give us each our "own birthdays" even though we shared one. It wasn't until I was an adult that I heard "Robyn's birthday" instead of just "the twins' birthday." So now I really, really, really like my birthday!

I don't care what age. I embrace it and if I am lucky enough, I lick it, too, before it melts. I mean goes away.

So I was pretty jazzed when I got to work and the Birthday Fairy had paid me a visit!

She definitely knows my love for Purple and Yellow, so she's gotta be nice!

Plus, she made sure Carter, away at a camping trip, was there with me in spirit, too.

She also commanded me to wear the birthday tiara, which I obediently donned and wore down to the main break room and to a meeting. Then I felt my obligation was fulfilled and I could eat the birthday cookies! I did not find time in my schedule for ice cream (gasp!) but may get that for our anniversary Friday or for Jim's birthday on Sunday.

I got cake later when I went to the neighbor's for a bridal shower. No candles, but it was still tasty.

Cool message, though I know hubby loves me. He made me supper and gave me a nice golf outfit for my birthday and lots of new bright golf balls for me to lose. During my lunch hour I ran to the new MC Sports store in Rapids and got myself one of these, too...

Yup, we've got His & Hers now. Just need to buy our life vests and we're good to go. Summer can slow down now.

Please.

Life is great at 40... something. Let's not rush this.

Personal Flotation Devices

We've had sweltering temperatures and/or humidity pretty consistent lately. Figures that the one day Carter and the senior class road trip down the World's Largest Water Park, it is a breezy 72 degrees. I guess if the grads wanted to "chill," they picked the right day for Noah's Ark.

I can't imagine going down water slides or floating around the Lazy River, then stepping out into the cool breeze. Carter said it wasn't so bad, though. In fact he even got a little sunburned. Now, let's hope for a little warmth and no rain as the rest of their "trip" together involves camping and hiking the next few days!

Since the boy was gone, we decided it was our turn to play in the water, too. Even though it required long sleeves.

Unbeknown to me, hubby enjoyed our first kayaking outing last week so much that he wanted to buy one. I was pretty surprised to come home to an awesome neon green one. I say, ONE. Where's mine?? Well, since I had tried out two different models last week, he wanted me to be sure I got one that felt comfortable and did not aggravate my on- and off-again troublesome back. Plus, well, we really could only fit one at a time in the CRV until we get the carrier thing figured out.

So tonight we christened her... Not sure she has a name yet in case I end up with her.

We went with our neighbors Mike and Cindy again to Lake Wazeecha and they let me use one of their kayaks styled exactly the same so I'd get a good feel for it.

I think we've got a winner. Now to see if they still have any left from the sale up at Dunham's Sports in Stevens Point. Or if they have a reasonably priced one at the new MC Sports that just opened in Rapids this week. We'll have to check them out.

With both our birthdays and our anniversary all within the next 6 days, I see a matched set in the future, don't you?

Blank Space Sunday

Do you know what this is a picture of? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. A completely blank space on the calendar for the first day in, well, forever.

We saw it. And there was much rejoicing.

No obligations for us today. Well kind of. Hubby and I went to church and Carter actually had to work. His choice. He has to get his work done today so he can be off Monday through Thursday for a senior trip to the Dells and camping, etc. No rest for the wicked.

I, on the other hand, could be wicked and restful, if I so choose.

Came home right after church and got my Saturday cleaning chores done. Then I road-tripped to Plover and Stevens Point for some errands and shopping. Had to drop off an old printer for "free" recycling at Best Buy. Then went to Kohl's to buy a bridal shower gift for our neighbor boy's fiance. Looked around there, Christopher & Banks, Target and even Goodwill for something for ME. Can you believe I came home empty handed? Just wanted some summery tops for work and most of today's designs are just ugly, if you ask me. I don't want to throw back to the '70s or the desert southwest look. But that's just me. It might look great on YOU!

Got home and reacquainted myself with Mr. Deck finally! Wow. He was ticked. Have neglected him all summer. Though I pointed out it hasn't technically been summer for even a week, he was having none of it. So I made sure we had an extended date on the back deck. Everybody wins.

At 7:30 p.m., it's still 84 degrees, so I'm not sure when I'll get my walk/run in. To kill time, I have mixed up my dough for mints and am going to make some white and pink roses for the bridal shower on Tuesday. Maybe by the time I knock out a hundred, it will be cool enough to run.

Or just go to bed. I didn't see running on my calendar, did you?

Lene On Me

Back in the day, before we were these rock star runner chicks (ha), my twin sister and I just took walks ... usually in the woods with Mom.

As luck would have it, she often had her Kodak with and could take pictures of her adorable babies – Bynski (Robynski, Bynski or Byn) and Lenesker (Raylenesker, Lenesker or Lene).

After awhile, the photos became measuring sticks of sorts. See how I got the short end of the stick? We look the same height but if you look closely, you will see I (in the red) am on slightly higher ground.

A year later and there is no question Lene had a growth spurt. Both of ours, actually. I never did catch up. Over time, though, two things have happened. One, we have reenacted the tree photo numerous times in our adulthood. And two, we have learned to lean on each other rather than the tree.

Today, we had the occasion to do that.

She and her daughter Ashley headed south from Siren and I headed west from Rapids. We met just outside of Black River Falls around the lunch hour to visit her son Tony, the nephew I previously visited in Winnebago and has now transferred to Black River Falls for an intensive treatment program. Due to my busy weekend schedules leading up to graduation and the multiple engagements since, this was the first time I've seen Tony in two months.

It was great to see him and my twin and niece, too, and share a visit. He is in a good place right now, mentally, physically and emotionally. His mother is happy because he is 2 hours closer to home – 3 hours away instead of 5. He is a little closer to me, too – just over an hour. Between that and the expanded visiting options on weekends, I should be able to see him more regularly again so he has face-to-face support during this huge turning point in his life.

By strange coincidence, it was last year around this same time that Lene and I also shared an afternoon with him. Actually it was on our birthday, June 28, so this visit came just a few days earlier. Naturally, we needed to strike our "tree pose" for a picture since it is rare we are together on our birthday.

You'll note we forgot that we both should have the same knee bent. Guess we've been reenacting it incorrectly all these years. You'll also note I am no closer to catching up to her height! Guess it makes it just as easy for me to "Lene" on her!

It all evens out.

After a 3-hour visit, we parted ways and they returned Up North. I came home and we jetted off to another graduation party. This one was just down the road. Nice afternoon and evening with our Assumption family of friends, who've let me lean on them occasionally, too.

How'd I get so lucky to have all these great people in my life? Think this year I'll just count blessings rather than birthday candles.

The Early Bird Gets... A Lot

The standing joke at bedtime is hubby asks me if I am getting up early for kickboxing. I typically answer, "Well, my alarm is set for later, but if I happen to wake up, I'll go."

When does one just happen to wake up for a 5:40 a.m. class? Well, today actually.

For some unknown reason I accidentally woke up at 5:19 a.m. Went to the bathroom and decided what the heck, I might as well stay up and go to class! I think the instructor just about passed out from shock, but other than that, it felt great to be kickboxing – with full use of my left leg and now healed psychotic nerve, no less.

Of course, I stopped at Kwik Trip on the route between class and home to get a Red Bull. I told the cashier a million-dollar idea: They should have a drive-thru for people who workout early in the morning and don't want to be seen by the general public! I think she took it under advisement. I was in too much of a hurry to get out of there before I ran into someone I knew!

Was awake enough for work today but the day dragged on. Probably because I could not wait for the end of the day.

Early last week, through some communication on Facebook, a longtime friend of mine and I realized we would be only 15 minutes away today when her daughter played softball in nearby Plover. Laura and I (and our friend Kristin, now living in Seattle) were a pretty tightknit trio of trouble, I mean reporters at the newspapers in Marinette and Menominee (Mich.) in the early '90s. We had a lot of fun, and it didn't always involve beer. Cross stitch, Friends and Knots Landing were also high priorities!

Here are the three of us (Kristin, Laura and me) after a heated broomball match amongst a bunch of newspaper people, circa 1993 maybe. I just know I could hardly get out of bed the next day. Ouch! (Oh. And my hair was not cut short, just in a pony tail of sorts.)

Fast forward to 2016 and we realized we had not seen each other since probably when I stood up in her wedding in 1994. Maybe we saw each other in1995, but either way, it's been 20 years.

So I raced over to Plover after work and got to watch her daughter Emma (a recent grad like Carter) win her softball game while Laura and I caught up on each other's lives, reminisced about old times and yes, thanked god there was no social media back in the day!

We did make sure to take a selfie to prove we haven't aged a bit AND to let our friend Kristin know that maybe this dynamic duo will make our way out to Seattle some day. Lord, is the West Coast ready for that? Not sure Northeast Wisconsin has recovered.

After our enjoyable but brief visit, I headed back to Rapids to meet up with Jim and his parents at Golden Sands Speedway. Our nephew Colin was racing tonight.

He did not have the best outing, with some mechanical issue right at the end of the feature. Still, it was good to see family, friends and this...

Yes, the early bird gets the worm, but she has to stay up to get all the great gifts during the day, plus a sunset.

Still not going to may a habit of this early rising business. But if was definitely worth it today!

Making Scents

If you would have asked me earlier today what one of the worst smells is, I would have said the paper mill.

Living in a paper mill town, you'd think I'd get used to that sulfuric acid odor, but I don't. We get spoiled living "out" of town and only smell it when we occasionally are down wind or something. Today, when we took a walk break at work, we were definitely in its path. Eww.

Of course, any mill worker (or their family members) will tell you "It's the smell of money." That may be true but I prefer my odorless cash and credit.

Tonight, though, I have the windows open not to let that smell in, but to let a different smell out.

I guess it takes an undomestic goddess like me to burn microwave popcorn. Not sure how I did it. But the evidence has lingered in the air a good hour.

The thing is, I am home alone since Jim is in Marshfield visiting his uncle and Carter is at a friend's. I was just trying to make a light, easy supper after my run. Even though I technically had popcorn for lunch today, too, I guess I forgot.

Just like I guess I forgot to keep an eye on the popcorn!

I had just opened the box. You can select the bag size on our microwave. So instead of 3.5 ounces, I chose 3 to be safe, and walked away. And let it burn. Well, it definitely is not a snack-size bag (1.75 ounces), but when I threw out the black hulls and tried again, I had to stop it almost a half minute early on that 3-ounce bag setting.

So there's your Consumer Report notice of the day. If you buy the Pop Weaver brand, keep an eye on it!

You know, I never have this problem when I have ice cream for supper. That doesn't smell. And it doesn't leave a trace of undomestic evidence. Guess I'll stick with that.

Makes scents to me.

Re-Gifting

Question: Does a person have to be a household name to be considered talented or gifted?

• The short answer: No
• The long answer: No
• The only answer: No

Next Question: Are you still waiting for your 15 minutes of fame?

H-m-m-m... Am I? Do I need my talents to be validated by the glory of the spotlight or by the glory of God? Do you?

Tonight was our second week of discussing the book If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg. Our church group discussion, led by the pastor's husband this time, focused on chapter 2: Boat Potatoes.

In a nutshell, or boat hull, "boat potatoes" are people who are staying in the comfort of their "boats" rather than taking a risk by leaving the boat and doing something with their gifts. Like couch potatoes, they may enjoy the comfort or they might not have the energy. Sadly, some people might not think they have any gifts or talents.

You do. We all do.

I know some guys claim they are "God's gift to women." That's not what we're talking about here. We are all God's gift and we all have God's gifts. The question is: Do we use them?

In discussion tonight I said my gift was creativity, primarily through writing. I love it. It brings me joy. Sometimes it brings others joy, too. And hopefully it inspires and educates and entertains as well. That is me sharing my gift.

Can I do more with it? If so, why am I not? What is holding me back? What am I really afraid of? Lots to think about there.

What about you? What's YOUR gift? How are YOU using it?

In this world of self doubt and low self-esteem, you might not recognize your gifts and talents. This might help... God did not give my legs the gift of speed, but I am quick-witted. God did not give my body a perfect figure, but my tongue and vocal chords are exercised often and in tip-top shape. God did not bless me with monetary wealth, but He gave me a wealth of blessings.

See? We've all got talent!

The beauty of God's gift is that it is unique to each person. Don't compare your gift or ability to other's. It doesn't have to be a life-saving skill or worthy of a $7 million athletic contract. It can be your gift of bringing a smile to someone's face, a comforting arm around someone in pain or a helping hand to someone in need. It takes all kinds of gifts to reflect God's love.

Don't worry. There's plenty to go around.

Let's start giving it away.

The Great (and Not So Great) Outdoors

Had a mix of "ahhs" and "ewwws" when it came to the Great Outdoors the last 24 hours.

First, I did finally admire the "Strawberry" moon last night, which frankly lacked the berry luster. However, I guess the night before it did have a red-ish tint around it. Last night it was still considered an astronomical event that hasn't occurred in decades: the coinciding of the June solstice with a full moon.

And, I guess the full moon for the month of June is known in the United States as the Full Strawberry Moon, because it alerted Algonquin tribes that it was time to gather ripe fruit. However, in Europe, where strawberries aren't native, it's been known as the Full Rose Moon and the Honey Moon. I can see Honey Moon by its more bronze-ish color. Either way, it was a great part of my outdoor experience.

Fast forward 8 hours and it's a different story. I was up and on the road by 6:30 a.m. to go running. Actually it's an app on my phone that yells out intervals of running, sprinting and walking. That's beside the point. When I got back to Blue Jay Drive for the cool down, I was walking in the final stretch to home and suddenly felt a PLOP! on my head.

I knew immediately what it was. Definitely too heavy for a raindrop. I may or may not have freaked out. There were no witnesses awake at that hour to tell you otherwise. Luckily, I had Kleenex in my pocket so I could take a swipe in my hair. I looked at it and let out a big "Ewww!" followed by my gag reflex. You know, bird poop looks white, but it ain't. Yucka! I wiped the best I could then found surprising energy to sprint home to the shower.

Thank you, Bluebird of Crappy-ness! You validated my excuse that it's just best to hit the snooze and stay in bed!

The good news, though, is that your day pretty much can only get better from there, right? It did. Tonight Mother Nature redeemed herself (and all God's creatures).

Our neighbors across the street have asked a few times if we wanted to go kayaking with them. The stars and strawberry moons finally aligned and we were all free. They have the kayaks, we don't. In fact, hubby and I have never been kayaking but have said many times it looked fun to try.

It was!

Here's me with the sunlight landing on my hat, rather than bird poop in my hair. A hat just may be a staple in my outdoorsy wardrobe going forward!

And our hosts and Lake Wazeecha tour guides for the evening, Mike and Cindy.

Jim was a natural. Nice easy strokes. He got into the rhythm right away.

It took me awhile to get the hang of it because it seemed to be straining my back a bit... until we stopped a minute and I switched to different paddles, which were much lighter. Then I got into the rhythm.

We all managed to stay upright despite all the big waves from the water ski team practice boats. I had water splash into mine so I was soaked from the waist down. Good thing I was used to the water temperature by then!

Definitely won't deter me from going again. Both Jim and I agree: We tried it. We loved it. We'll do it again.

Since Mike and Cindy have 4 kayaks, I don't think we'll be jumping in to purchase our own any time soon, but it's not an unreasonable thought down the road. Thank you, outdoors, for redeeming yourself.

Of course, to cap off the day, Mike took us to King Cone. Totally not my idea, but I did not object, even if I was sitting there with soaking wet shorts. Priorities! Great way to end the first FULL day of summer.

More days finishing like this and I won't have to say outdoor life is for the birds!

Summer is Here if You Didn't Notice

June 20th means SUMMER is here. Officially. In case the 90-degree humid weekend didn't give you a clue. What I like about summer...

And what I don't like about summer, well, today anyway...

That's the summer solstice for you! 

Actually, was good to have a long day. I got my work done. Was able to go to kickboxing for the first time in 10 days and get called out as the slacker I am. Went to Wal-mart, where I learned that the easiest way to stop a cart from squeaking is to warm up the tires like NASCAR drivers. (Yup, once a gearhead, always a gearhead.) Got home and baked a birthday treat for someone at work, then went for a walk, hoping the solstice "strawberry moon" was rising.

Not yet. I will have to go back out there and wait for it like the Great Pumpkin, I guess. Meanwhile, it seems like the sky is prepping for it with some pink-ish, strawberry-ish clouds as the sun was setting.

So maybe tomorrow I will have some lunar magic for you. As long as it arrives before my bedtime. Just because it's the longest day doesn't mean I have the stamina to stay up late.

I will, though, because I don't want to miss a single minute of SUMMER!

Dad's Day, Kinda, Sorta

Since it's Father's Day, I will be nice and say that moms often do things to embarrass their kids. I'm sure dads never do!

So when I saw this scene today at the ballpark, I had to snap a photo...

First, I thought, who would wear a Justin Bieber t-shirt like that? Then I realized it was a mom with her daughter and thought, what mom could get away with wearing that and not have their teenage child die of embarrassment? Wow.

So I had to share it with Carter and point out that maybe me wanting to get a "UW-Platteville MOM" t-shirt is not the worst thing in the world now, is it? He said I had a good point, but that doesn't necessarily give me permission. Yet.

Back to those wonderful dads who would never dream of doing that. Well, let's hope at least not wear the Beebs t-shirt!

For Father's Day today, since Carter gave Jim his new UW-Whitewater t-shirt last night, we just made sure he had a special day. We let him get up and go to his own church while Carter slept at a friend's and I slept, uhm, in.

There was even a parade in his honor – with fire trucks and police cars and ambulances and more fire trucks and county snow plow trucks... and two bands. Well, that's Jim's version of it. I'm just glad he enjoyed it so much while I spent a few hours at the Kellner Ball Park getting some nice, in-focus photos of some of my favorite girls of summer! After that, I met him in town where he watched the parade so we could go on one of our two dates.

We took him out to lunch at Carter's classmate Nathaniel's graduation party, then took him to dinner at his classmate Rose's graduation party. Two meals. Wow, we are generous. We even stopped at Jim's parents to wish Dad a happy Father's Day and sneak a cookie out of the cookie jar.

When we got home, I let him watch the end of the U.S. Open golf tournament while I yelled questions down the hall from my office while editing photos. "Who's leading now?" "What hole are they on?" "Is Sergio still in it?" "What are they cheering about it?" He was so happy about my inquisitiveness that he suggested that I read it on ESPN.com or come out and watch to get the answers in person.

I love that he loves my thoughtfulness, don't you?

I even started a load of laundry that will probably need to come out of the dryer and be folded sometime after I am in bed and he's still up. I know. I am such a worker bee!

Right now he is watching the NBA Finals game 7 and I am letting him... uninterrupted. I couldn't care less about it. I just hope when the buzzer goes off, he realizes it might be the dryer and not the end of the game.

(For real, though, I am blessed to have such a tender, caring, generous man as our family's leader and rock. Love you, Jim .... if you are reading this. I realize you are probably exhausted from all the special treatment today! Happy Father's Day!)

Border Hopping Happenings

Our ongoing tour of graduation parties called for a trip to Minnesota first thing this morning.

My great-nephew Anthony had his Pomp & Circumstance moment last week. Today, we celebrated with him in the Cities.

Knowing we had a second party to get to today for one of Carter's classmates, we arrived at my niece Caryn's house early enough to help set up for the party. That way, we had some quality time there before hitting the highway back to Wisconsin.

Party #1 and my first piece of cake for the day. Ha. They also had a taco bar and plenty of cold drinks since it was 80-plus degrees and humid as heck!

These "boys" may be high school graduates, but I will always be older, maybe a little wiser, and definitely shorter than them! Wow. I should have opted for standing on tippy-toes. That still would only have gotten me up 2 or 3 inches.

It was nice to see family again. My mom was there along with sisters No. 1 and 2, Rayna (right) and Romey, and their spouses.

Sister No. 3, Renell, was the grand graduate grandma today!

I also got to see two nephews and a niece and their spouses, plus my little great-nephew and great-niece. I know my other family members arrived later after we departed. Sorry I missed them but at least I saw them a few weeks ago at Carter's party.

We were back on the road by 3 p.m. and did not push it to attend a party of Carter's classmate Jake that ended at 5 p.m.

So we stopped home quick around 6-ish to change and head over to party #2, less than 5 minutes from home. Macyn is going to UW-Whitewater so Jim changed into his new UW-W shirt Carter gave him a day early for Father's Day. (I've got connections!)

The weather cooled off enough that I was chilly by night's end. But had a lovely time visiting with friends and enjoying my second piece of cake! Did nothing to wear that off, that's for sure! Since it's almost 2 a.m. I am not going to beat the heat and get up early to go running, either.

Let's just establish that Sunday is a day of rest, including Father's Day fun (maybe) and more cake at parties #3 and #4 for the weekend. At least the only border hopping will be the city limits.

I hope that counts as exercise.

TGIF So Soon

When you have a 3-day work week, it's kinda nice how quickly Friday arrives! Had plenty to do at work, but when it's 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, well, it makes for a long day inside!

Had a busy evening to make up for it!

The important task was putting my new Jams on! Yup, Jamberry has cute little ice cream cone designs now. Actually they are for "juniors," but I ordered them since my fingernails are pretty small. And honestly, that was my ice cream for the day. We're coming up on 3 weeks since King Cone opened and I've only been there twice so far. Where are my priorities?

Secondary to my nails, I got the cards made out for our 5 grad parties this weekend, got treats made (and delivered) for a graduation party tomorrow and stopped by the Kellner Ball Diamonds to see some of the Rapids Rage softball teams in action at their home tourney.

I had hoped to take a bunch of pictures of my friend's daughter, but it was just too "evening" out by the time I got there. A few turned out but not many. I saw a ton of moms and girls I know on all the teams so I hope they make it to Sunday play so I can take some daylight photos, preferably in focus. Tomorrow we're too booked up to stop by.

Three grad parties Saturday and we'll make it two – the first in Minnesota and the second a half mile away from home as the blue jay flies. So I should get some shut eye so I feel as good tomorrow as my nails look!

I scream, you scream... we all scream for Friday!

Meet the Author

Tonight we had a special meeting of our monthly Face to FaceBook Club. The author was there to talk about her book WITH us!

In our group, we rotate who chooses the book to read and that person leads discussion that month. My friend Cindy discovered a book by a central Wisconsin author and, to our delight, learned she likes to attend book club meetings!

So we and a few extras from another club read the book The Ground Beneath Us by Rachel Allord for our June selection.

This evening we met up at the Mission Coffee House in Plover and Rachel answered questions, discussed her inspiration for the two books she's written so far and, important for me, gave insight on how to go about getting a book published – and selling it!

It was a really neat discussion and a good book, too!

The plot, without giving away any spoilers, is about surviving the ups and downs of marriage and determining if a "dead and buried in the ground beneath us" marriage can be resurrected. Trust me, it's not as predictable as it sounds. Just don't want to give too much away.

I encourage you to read it, though. (https://www.amazon.com/Ground-Beneath-Us-Rachel-Allord-ebook/dp/B017MO5TMU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466130602&sr=8-1&keywords=the+ground+beneath+us+by+rachel+allord) It has a lot of interesting ties to central Wisconsin that made it a fun read for our club.

Naturally I had to get my picture taken with her because, well, someday maybe both of us will be famous. Ha.

For now I will treasure my personally signed copy and take her writing advice to heart. Who knows, maybe the ground beneath me will finally start shaking things up!

Walkin' on the Water Side

It was appropriate on my drive home to see the blue skies struggling to hold their ground, er sky, as this afternoon's storm clouds threatened to take over.

It was appropriate because tonight I needed to take a look at my life's storms. Do I fear their power? Do I revel in the light show? Or do I close my eyes and wait for them to pass?

A group of us from church are delving into this as we discuss the book If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg. This evening was our first meeting and we had 17 of us in the backroom of the downtown coffee shop, sipping our drinks, eager to learn and maybe not as eager to share ... just yet.

You know me, I'm an open book so I'll probably get kicked out for hogging the conversation. I did hold back but lucky you, you can read all about it right here!

We only got into the preface and first chapter tonight, but I'm intrigued.

The premise of the book is taking a deeper dive (ha, ha) into Peter's story of walking on water. Seriously, I believe that deep within each of us lies the same faith and desire that sent Peter walking across the stormy Sea of Galilee toward Jesus. I agree with the author that for some of us, well many of us, it lies so deep, though, that we can't or aren't willing to leave the safety of the boat.

Who can blame us? It's risky. It's thrilling. It's terrifying. It's life changing.

But, if Jesus is calling us, it's worth it.

Our hearts know that. Our heads do, too, but not necessarily at the same time. How do we come to believe this? What gives us this confidence? What is burying our faith just deep enough we sit firmly in the boat?

Tonight we started to touch on what our "boat" is. We each have something different. Is our boat anchored in fear? Or is it floating on the Sea of Contentment and there is no need to rock it?

For me it's both. Mainly fear. Fear of failing. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of letting people down. Fear of judgment. Fear of getting hurt. Fear.

And if I was answering this a year ago, it would definitely have been security. After 12 years in the same workplace and 25 years in the same career field, I was considering a change. A 180-degree change. Completely out of my element. Completely out of my comfort zone. It was a leap of faith and it took me the better part of 6-7 months at least to realize that I had been guided to make the right decision. I got out of that boat and was not drowning.

Tonight when our pastor asked what happened that made Peter suddenly falter. He was walking on water, but when he lost focus on Jesus and realized they were in the midst of the storm, he sunk. I said, "Peter started sinking because he starting thinking."

That's what we do, don't we? Well I do anyway. I could stare straight ahead and have faith in the path God has laid before me. Why do I need to look down, just move forward, right? But then there are those failures of the past that pop up to haunt me. There are the crippling self-doubts, low confidence and low self-esteem that trip me up. And those aforementioned fears that can stop me in my tracks.

I know God hasn't done anything to make me lose my trust in Him. I am the one who has lost trust in myself, I guess. Am I being called in any way? Do I have gifts to share? Are they good enough?

This book study is going to be an interesting journey. There are major changes on the horizon and this might help me get through them. I don't need to walk on water. Right now I just NEED to remember that His life boat is close by.

That's a good start, right?

If you want to join in the reading and discussion, chapter 2 is on the agenda for next Wednesday at 6 p.m. at From the Ground Up. Everyone is welcome, whether you're firmly strapped in the boat in a life preserver, have one leg in and one leg out, or are walking on water, daring those storm clouds to take over your blue skies.