Holy in the Daily blog - Susan Gaddis

Get THIS down and Christmas will be perfect

I’ve lived for a long time. So have you. Christmas hasn’t always been jolly, has it?

But it started that way.

I mean, who plans to get pregnant without a father and explains it with an impossible story?

Who suddenly finds out that his betrothed is pregnant by someone else AND his reputation is on the line?

Who has to tell their neighbors and friends that their daughter is expecting a baby out-of-wedlock and is possibly crazy?

Who plans for family conflict, bad news from the doctor, financial stress, problems at work, relationship issues, sudden life changes, horrible accidents, drug overdoses, or other life happenings at Christmas…(or at any other time)?… Read the rest

How the Lord’s Prayer Can Free Your Mind of Worry

Do you ever pray without thinking about what you are saying?

Recently, as I was praying the Lord’s Prayer, I was caught up short.

Right after, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” the Lord interrupted me with, “Why don’t you want my will done?”

What???

Of COURSE, I want God’s will done in my life!

Immediately my struggle with a financial worry jumped to the forefront of my mind.

Then the Lord said,

Let me take care of you. I told you that I would. That is my will. Your worry is resisting my will. Give me your worry, and let me do my will on earth as I have decided in heaven.

… Read the rest

10 Questions to Ask Yourself in the Autumn of Your Life

Autumn, my favorite time of year, but this year it signals more than ever the changing seasons in my own life.

It seems but a few months ago that I celebrated the holidays. Now they’re almost here again…

…already?

What?

Where did the time go? What did I do with that time?

I wonder how many more autumns I’ll get to see, and how many family get-togethers are in my earthly future?

And, of course, I think about where am I in relation to God’s timetable on going Home.

Perhaps these musings are gloomy, but I doubt I’m the only woman thinking them.… Read the rest

This week, after a full day, I meandered into Trader Joes to pick up some of their autumn specialty items. You know, the Pumpkin Kringle that I freeze for our fall, family gatherings and the Pumpkin Ravioli that ALWAYS disappears before I can stock up on it.

After choosing a selection of yummy foods that would make a good “grazing dinner” paired with relaxing conversation — Harvest Soup, Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps, Chimay Autumn Cheese, Honeycrisp apples, dried fruits and nuts, and the Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread mix—I headed home to have a cozy, fall evening with my family.

Fall has arrived, ladies, and I’m in my element!… Read the rest

Summer means Camp Grandma at our house. Our chosen theme for this year’s camp was Camp Grandma Zombie Apocalypse. It proved to be more prophetic than I could have imagined.

Planning for Camp Grandma and accepting extra help this year paid off. I’ve always appreciated my teenage grandchildren being “counselors” at camp. But this year I tapped into other family members and a local waterpark to round out our camp activities.

Unknown at our Camp Grandma 2019 planning meeting with my counselors a month before camp started, we were headed for a 4-day camp that would require a LOT of extra hands and hearts.… Read the rest

How to deal with overwhelm in under 5 minutes

Last Sunday our pastor, Andy Rock, got my attention by his comment of how much we expect retirement to be a life free of responsibility—just one long vacation—nothing to do but rest and relax.

It’s true, I thought, dreaming of a 365-day cruise free of cleaning, cooking, and bill paying — a life of someone else doing the work of thinking and doing for me.

“But that’s not retirement,” Andy said. “That’s hospice.”

POW! My bubble burst.

Since Tom and I retired and moved out to the country, our life has been full of things tugging at our sleeves, needing to get done.… Read the rest

5 soul care tips for a daily blast of fresh air

It’s an old habit, but a good one. When I wake up early in the morning, I keep my eyes closed and check the weather in my soul.

One morning recently my soul was foggy and gray.

So I put on my soul-scientist robe and analyzed the foggy, gray cloud-cover hanging over me.

It turns out it was the result of a blizzard of negative political controversy, winds of international doom-and-gloom swirling through the news, and a partially watched, late night movie serving up a storm of violent scenes.

You and I were never created to deal with evil

God had a good reason for telling Adam and Eve not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.… Read the rest

Are you in danger of fossilization? Harboring negative aging attitudes that hold you back from healthy change?

I’m on the planning committee for our 50th high school reunion, and guess what! Everyone posting on our reunion Facebook group looks OLD.

I still remember all my classmates as their 18-year-old-selves, except for Tom and me, of course.

So meeting old classmates will be an adventure. Will I recognize them?

Each has either grown from their struggles or become a fossil. (A fossil is something that failed to make the change.)

Fifty years of stories have swirled through their lives to create who they are now.… Read the rest

No matter how old you get, life can be overwhelming, confusing, crowded, and you will feel stuck at times.

Sometimes it may only be one area of your life that feels stuck, but that’s enough to keep you from moving forward into what you want to be and do.

Once I retired, I thought my world would be more open, move slower, and I’d be stress-free.

Not so. My life has filled up with different pressures than before.

When those all weigh in at the same time, moving forward is like walking through a swamp in cement-lined snowshoes.

If you’re over 50, you can easily relate.… Read the rest

How to ask a parent to give up their car keys isn’t usually top-of-mind. We tend to assume everything is fine UNTIL something happens that says it’s not. Suddenly you know that it’s time for “the talk.”

My mom kept driving because my dad felt she didn’t have any problems behind the wheel. She didn’t disagree with him. She should have.

Dad told me he would know when it was time to give his keys up. The problem was that he never knew it was time.

Asking a parent to give up their driver’s license is one of the first tasks that signal you’re entering the parent-child role reversal phase of aging.… Read the rest