by Beth Lueders | Jan 21, 2021 | Blog Post, Perspective
You and I may not have encountered a disaster as widespread as the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. But we all have stressors and challenges that can teach us surprising lessons. Thirty years ago in January 1991, I traveled with an American humanitarian...
by Beth Lueders | Jan 14, 2021 | Blog Post, Perspective
Disasters bash into our lives and we scramble to pick up the tattered, puzzling pieces. Thirty years ago in the dead of frigid January, I learned some surprising lessons from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. What was I doing inside the Exclusion Zone, just a few miles...
by Beth Lueders | Jan 7, 2021 | Blog Post, Perspective
Life’s mysteries are, well, mystifying. Webster’s dictionary defines mystery as “anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown.” And while many of like a good murder mystery, the unexplained or unknown in our own lives does not win our applause....
by Beth Lueders | Dec 31, 2020 | Blog Post, Perspective
Here’s to getting traction in the new year. We all know how 2020 left us slip sliding every which way as we navigated new territory of the virulent COVID-19, empty grocery store shelves, toilet paper shortages, work from home, and on and on. We Made It Through...
by Beth Lueders | Dec 24, 2020 | Blog Post, Everyday People
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Merry Christmas! A joyful new year to you! THANK YOU for being a part of our blog community! You continually bless me by reading my posts, and when you can, leaving comments and encouraging words. Together we stood...
by Beth Lueders | Dec 17, 2020 | Blog Post, Perspective, Resilience
The dictionary describes a scar as a “blemish from previous injury or illness.” Most people possess at least one scar on their body (childhood boo boo, teenage sports, grownup surgery, etc.) Many also carry invisible wounds on the heart. Well, this holiday season...
by Beth Lueders | Dec 10, 2020 | Blog Post, Perspective
I once met a summertime Santa Claus. I have a photo to prove it. Back in the day, say when I was about five, my family drove from Nebraska to Colorado. I remember fuzzy bits and pieces of that trip, but my favorite memory is meeting Santa Claus at the North Pole...
by Beth Lueders | Dec 3, 2020 | Blog Post, Perspective
Beauty in the ugliness of 2020? Seeing beauty through anything? Hmmm. This year has walloped and wiled its way into most everything we’ve considered normal in our lives. Remember our pre-mask days when we could breathe freely or could actually understand what people...
by Beth Lueders | Nov 24, 2020 | Blog Post, Perspective
Sometimes when we least expect it, unexpected blessings drop in our lap. I’ve got a Thanksgiving story that explains. Years ago around Thanksgiving, my dad decided to hunt for a wild turkey on our family’s 160 acres in southeast Nebraska. Now these birds were wily and...
by Beth Lueders | Nov 19, 2020 | Blog Post, Perspective, Resilience
Poor 2020. The year has been maligned with so much turmoil that has scared off courage. Or has it? Being afraid reminds me of some scary times in my childhood. Maybe you can relate. Gulp. Being double-dog dared by your two older brothers ups the ante when it comes to...