All Posts by From the Heart

This is the second in a series. Right around the same time that baby Joy entered my world via a computer screen, another face also joined hers. This one was slightly familiar, but only by name and photo. Her name was Mallory. Another Facebook post from a friend led to Mallory’s Caring Bridge site and […]

It’s become a practice of mine over the last several years as one year closes and the new is in view, to think and pray about a word to focus on/intentionally seek out for the upcoming new year. They tend to pop up unexpectedly and yet so perfectly. Three years ago, the resounding word that […]

It’s that time of year when we all start making our list of New Year’s resolutions. We feel super optimistic that THIS is the year we are going to change our lives! Making it to the gym past Feb. 1, paying off student loans, and catching up with old friends are common occurrences on my […]

In preparation for Christmas this year with my family, I have been baking a lot of cookies. I started weeks ago searching the internet for ideas and inspiration and dreamed of how my cookies would turn out. I inevitably waited until the last minute and ended up frosting cookies late the night before leaving. While […]

This and every holiday many of us gather missing some of our loved ones. Not everyone can attend our gatherings and we miss them. Then there are those (some we love the most) who have died and will never again gather with us in our earthly spaces. “How do I get through these days?” is […]

Janet Dusek’s mother, Marilyn Muellner, has always had a knack for making the Christmas season special for her family. As long as Janet can remember, her mom lovingly decorated their home and tree with angels and other treasured ornaments, baked cookies of all kinds and one year sewed each of her children special stockings that […]

One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Mary did you know” written by Mark Lowry. I like all renditions, but recommend googling the Pentatonix version. I think a lot about the lyrics: “Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water? Mary did you know that your baby boy will […]

Advent is moving forward with momentum, but I guess that isn’t something new, is it? Once I found out my beloved season would be cut short by a whole week I knew I needed to be intentional this year. I was heard on several occasions in September and October lamenting to my husband that I […]

The Third Sunday of Advent — the readings, the “pink candle,” Gaudete Sunday — reminds us of the promise of hope amidst what can feel like a long time waiting for the birth of Christ and joy in a world that does not always make us feel joyful. My husband and I have been waiting […]