Daily Archives: April 15, 2025

Apr 15 2025
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Bible, death, random, writing

The Power of Being Found: A Reflection on Loss

AKA #lentphotoaday, April 15th word of the day is FOUND.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch; like me! I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind but now I see.” A hymn by John Newton

If I had a penny for how many times I have sung this song, mostly at funerals, I would have a couple bucks. But no seriously. I really have been singing it at funerals and celebrations of life since I was a teenager. It’s the saddest superpower ever. It’s also one thing I can do to help, to comfort, to give back to those who are mourning. One of the worst days of my whole life was singing it at the graveside of my dear friends’ child. There are not enough tears in the world to drown that pain, but I hope I helped soothe with a song. I cry as I write this. Ugh.

I actually walked by her place of rest the other day. I was also recently just there witnessing the burial of another friend and it was also a hard day. Sunday, My husband and I were on a walk and I was not feeling the greatest on the way back, so I didn’t stop in to see her at her gravesite, but I thought lovingly of her and reminisced about her beautiful smile and spirit. It hurts your heart all over again to think of it. I’ll make the walk back tomorrow and go visit her resting place. I’ll never, none of us, understand. It’s up to me to work through my personal heartache with losing those who we love, to at least find comfort in the fact that they are within the realms of the Kingdom of Heaven and they are at peace.

The most popular reference using the word “FOUND” is from Jeramiah 15:16 stating “ Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” It’s the revelation of finding absorbing and internalizing God’s word; laying the the rock and the foundation. I gravitate to Amazing Grace and the meaning of the hymn, where it speaks of a journey from despair to hope, finding peace and joy along the way.

I once was lost, but now am FOUND. Was blind, but now I see. I’m getting there.

Love you.

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Apr 15 2025
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Education, family, kids, Marriage, parenting, random, writing

Exploring Seattle’s Hidden Gem: SWeL Restaurant

Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite restaurant?
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Food is comfort. Restaurants provide the comfort food and warm environment. As with my eldest when he went to college in Iowa, for four years we established places that we loved to visit when we went to see him. We always tried new things when we would head to Davenport, but we had a couple mainstays that just make our four years there special.

Now my youngest is painfully far away from us in Seattle. For context, we live in a little lake town northwest of Chicago. She is 2/3’s of her way through her freshman year at University of Washington. I definitely found my happy place in the Seattle food scene. We first found SWeL. when I took her out last spring to see the school. It was a chaotic little last minute visit. It was the tenth and last school in which she was accepted and it was a bit of a wild card for her. She was looking at all schools Northeast. But when she got in, we quickly made wayyyyyy too expensive last minute plan flights, I found a pineapple-themed hotel blocks away from the campus and off we went. It was a 60-hour turnaround and we were feeling the heat. A 5:00am flight from Chicago, five hour layover in Denver, landing in the never before-seen beautiful Seattle, Uber to the pineapple hotel and by 4pm ,we were walking on the beautiful campus in the middle of the stunning CHERRY BLOSSOMS.

Sold.

No seriously, we were not scheduled for the official tour until the next morning, but let’s just say, we were already buying swag. We desert-crawled back to the hotel, hungry and exhausted. I was tempted to order a pizza to the room and call it a night, but we were, after all, in one of the top foodie cities in the country, so we needed to make the effort. Not going to like, I Yelped. I love Yelp. Literally never had steered wrong. Searched something like “Top 10 restaurants near me”. SWeL. popped up right away. I saw yummy martini’s, a great vegetarian selections for my daughter, the reviews were super positive and I think it sold me almost immediately at “Come feel cozy…”

SWeL. is in the Fremont district. We didn’t know what that was. (It’s now our favorite area and we have stated there twice in VRBO’s.) We fell in love the minute we walked in, because it’s SUCH a vibe. It’s lush and romantic with the appropriate mood lighting. The owner greeted us and he was charming. There is some fun and suble tongue and cheeks nods on the menu, which I appreciate, and the food was spectacular. I had an excellent French 75 and we shared one of the best calamari dishes I’ve ever had. My daughter loved her shitake pappardelle and I was equally obsessed with my pork chop. Of course we had to end with the homemade chocolate chip cookies!

Special mention, and this feels a tiny bit weird saying this, but they had the best smelling bathroom I have ever been in and I tried to figure it out, but I couldn’t figure it out Was it a candle, soap, magic? I’m going back a fourth time in June, so I am going to get down to the nitty gritty.

Yes, we went back a second and a third time. When it was time to bring my daughter in September for her freshman year, my husband and another one of our children came with me, and I insisted we go back to SWel. First we went with with the kids and everyone loved it as much as I. The calamari was as excellent as before, the expresso martini’s were next level and other highlights were the beet salad, pancetta pizza, a delicious fish special and the chicken breast. Someone ordered the cookies and the gelato was a huge hit. My family was successfully sucked in as well.

A couple months later, we headed out in November for UW parent’s weekend. This time we came with another one of our kids. After a huge day of sight-seeing, our son was exhausted, so my husband took just me back to SWeL. for a great date night. We actually walked from our VRBO and we had the best Black Manhattans. We had a romantic and lovely meal at the bar, the staff as kind and accommodating as all the other times. We look forward to going back next month and making it a staple for the next four years our our Seattle experience. 200 out of 10 stars for us. Thank you, SWel and see you in June.

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Apr 15 2025
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Bible, family, health, holidays, random, writing

Journey of Silence, Celebration, and Preparation

#lentphotoaday weekend catch-up for April 12th, 13th and 14th “SILENT,” “CELEBRATE,” and “PREPARED“

I guess I can’t really get myself out of Saturday’s prompt by being SILENT. (insert cheeky grin). This is my journey and it’s pointless for me not to be on the actual ride, so off we go.

There is “A time to keep silent, and a time to speak” – Ecclesiates 3:7. 

I have spent my whole life getting into trouble being too vocal. Mostly oversharing. I think it’s a battle of self-control. Proverbs 17:28 says  “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” Focusing on being interested in listening, instead of talking is always good practice. In my younger years, I think it might have come off as more cute and a little kooky. Now, it definitely puts people off and I think it’s one of the reasons that, particularly right now, I’m short in the friend department. I’m nothing if not self-aware. That’s a 2025 goal to find a new friend. I am putting in the work and the reflection and I do think opening myself up to be more spiritual is part of the process. It’s just a symptom of being lonely. It can be corrected. For starters, I have been working on trying not to share every little feeling that I have with every little conversation I have. It’s been a practice that I have been working on for at least a year. Sometimes I think it backfires because I think it just makes me come off as a little weird and distant. I’m still tweaking it, as I continue to be a work in progress. Getting out more, focusing on others, searching for ways to put myself into the land of the living is another perfect spring goal. In the SILENT moments, my heart, my ears and my mind remain open to everything.

In our current political environment, it’s hard to find the CELEBRATIONS. But they are all around us, we just have to open up our eyes to find them. Birthdays and anniversaries happen around us every day. Last week I got to celebrate two amazing birthdays of two out of three of my outstanding children. These were CELEBRATIONS that were responses to God’s gifts of the blessings we have in our lives. My oldest turned a quarter of a century and that’s certainly a humdinger. My baby turned 19 and while she was a thousand miles away at college, I worked really hard to make sure she felt celebrated, even when she was not with her family for the first time in her life. I sent her a cheesecake and she loved it. I went out of my comfort zone and went to a Comicon show with my son; loved every minute. Meet the world’s newest D&D fan. I figured out workarounds to make their celebrations happen and being to CELEBRATE joy and thanks of one of God’s many great gifts.

Lots of different meanings in the Bible for PREPARED. It can mean preparing for events coming, as in spiritual readiness or just simply packing a good backpack to be ready to do God’s good work. I would like to think that packing that bag and figuring out what to put in it is kind of part of my journey here. I am exploring what tools and supplies I may need to become a better spiritual version of myself. Noah built the Ark, The Wise versions prepared their lamps, Israelites preparing for Passover. This way, when the time comes that I need to call on my spirituality for help and guidance, I am PREPARED.

Love you.

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