"Get out, get out, NOW!"

Thom shouted, his voice cutting through the night.

I immediately heard a strange hissing sound, and my heart sank. My first thought? The air mattress. That glorious air mattress is my lifeline to comfort on the hard floor of our popup tent atop our trusty Tacoma truck. I couldn't lose it.

But within seconds, I realized it wasn’t the air mattress deflating. A dense, white cloud began to fill the tent, suffocating the space where, just moments ago, I felt safe.

There wasn’t a moment to think...

We were camping at Burnside Lake in Toiyabe National Forest, just south of Lake Tahoe. 

The lake shimmered under the early evening sun, a hidden sanctuary wrapped in the stillness of the wilderness.

After setting up camp, we decided to hike the nearby trail, which led to massive boulders overlooking the lake, giving us a 360-degree panoramic view. The sunset painted the landscape in gold, and the air was crisp and clean.

For a moment, life felt perfect

By the ...

This is what our temps have been like for a week now.

We're in the middle of a heat dome now in Northern California, and folks, IT IS HOT.

Hotter than hot. It’s an inferno here.

We can see now that climate change is changing the way we live.

Just this week, my friends in Colorado, Helene, and Dave Van Manen, have been watching a wildfire from their backyard, just three miles away. They can see the flames and smoke and have their car packed and ready with important documents in case they have to evacuate. CLICK HERE to read their story. They've included photos and a treat at the end of the article.

This is how many people live now, especially in the West.

It's real, and it's scary.

It will get worse. I don’t know about you, but it leaves me with that helpless feeling in the pit of my stomach.

It's the same with Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, a place we rarely hear about in the news where there's violence against women and girls. Forced child marriages and rape are rampant. And let’s ...

As the winter solstice unfolds its quiet magic today, I find myself reflecting on the significance of this day. It's a gentle reminder to pause before we dive headlong into the hustle and bustle of Christmas.

On this serene solstice morning, I'm reaching out to you with an invitation—to join me in taking a moment to simply be.

I understand the pull to rush around, ticking off tasks for Christmas preparations—shopping, baking, gift wrapping—all vying for our attention. Yet, today is not about succumbing to that pressure; rather, it's an opportunity to resist the urge to hurry.

You might be thinking

"Darkness isn't my favorite time of the year, and Christmas is always challenging." It's true, this season can be difficult, filled with loss and grief. The darkness outside often mirrors the struggles within, making it harder to find motivation and to rise above sadness and depression.

However, even in the heart of this darkness, there lies a purpose—a chance to embrace rather than resi...

Life is a wonder. And it's difficult. And...there will be dying. There will be heartbreak. There will be despair, and there will be horror.  

Thankfully there will also be joy, forgiveness, love, and connection.

Because this is what life is all about. It's about the range of experiences and the thoughts and feelings about what happens. 

If we can pause for a moment to let ourselves feel the pain and joy together and be with all the feelings, then we will be able to handle more of what comes our way and if we can "be" with the people experiencing sadness and deep loss, then we can be a gift to the people who are going through dark times and we can give ourselves a gift, too. 

Embracing Life's Inevitabilities

There will always be things we can't control. There will be the unexpected, the pain of seeing loved ones die or go through hardship. Yet, in the middle of sorrow comes the promise of hope and renewal. For every despair, there is a seed of joy, forgiveness, love, and the unbrea...

March 2023 satellite photos of both Cyclone Judy and Cyclone Kevin

Vanuatu...the tiny island nation where my son and my 3 grandchildren live has been hammered by two back-to-back cyclones in the past few days. Cyclone Judy and Cyclone Kevin, category 4, cyclones slammed across the island within 24 hours of each other. 

If that wasn't enough to make your head swirl, somewhere in between these two cyclones, the country shook from a 6.5 earthquake. There was a lot of damage. It was brutal. 

The people of Vanuatu are used to natural disasters.

In 2015, they were battered by a category 5 cyclone. Cyclone Pam was ruthless. The recovery took years. 

In 1987 when I lived in Vanuatu, Cyclone Uma was a force and wreaked immense havoc. I remember a sleepless night, trying not to be completely freaked out that the roof was going to blow off while I held my 15-month-old toddler on my chest and my husband held our 3-year-old.

It was a long night to hear the winds howling and howling. It was ...

A Guest post by Penny Wood

We must let go of the life we planned,

So as to accept the life that is waiting for us.

Joseph Conrad

When becoming a widow, one joins a club in which no one wants to be a member.  If you are young when widowed, not only do you grieve your husband but also the life you thought you were going to have.  In October this year, I will have been in the widow club for 25 years. 

The day it happened to me 

In October of 1997, I was happily living in Davis, CA.  I was 52.  My husband Doc was 51. Our daughter Sara was 22, having graduated that June from the University of Washington. Our son Gerrit was 19 and beginning his sophomore year at Willamette University where he played football.  

It was Parents Weekend at Willamette and there was a home football game.  We had forgotten to get plane tickets that weekend so we were driving instead.  Near Canyonville in Southern Oregon, an 88-year-old man entered I-5 from an exit and began driving south the wrong way in ...

I've been privileged to be a mother and now a grandmother. My story may sound familiar and it might sound strange but I tell it to emphasize how mothers can learn so much about themselves and the surprises that happen along the way. 

This photo was taken a few years ago when my first two granddaughters were babies. I treasure these very special moments with them. 

When I was a little girl, I didn't think about becoming a mother, I just played with dolls and assumed I'd be a mother one day.

The joy of having my firstborn son

The moment I held my firstborn son in my arms, I knew something inside of me radically shifted forever.  It was as if fairy dust had been sprinkled over me as I completely and unforgivably fell in love. 

Andrew was big ...9 pounds and 4 oz. The labor was rough but I was determined to have this baby naturally. And I did. In fact, when it came time to push, I heard the doctor say, “we're going to have to use forceps,” I said "hell no you're not."

That night, I...

This morning I walked outside and noticed a sunflower blooming right beside my mailbox. What in the world? Sunflowers don't bloom in March. I thought about how the birds must have scattered the seeds from their feeder in the backyard to the front. 

And just like that, I thought of it. I realized that sunflower came up for a reason. 

I'm imagining you're like me...horrified at the war in the Ukraine and the atrocities that are happening every day. 

And if you're like me...you feel helpless and powerless. What can we do?

Sheltered from the horrors of war

I'm eternally grateful I'm not trying to escape to another country or wondering if I'll survive another explosion. 

And I feel guilty.  

I wake up in my comfortable bed every morning imagining what it would be like to leave my home with basically the shirt on my back. I try to imagine walking for miles in the freezing cold, fleeing for my life to another country, and wondering where I could end up.  

When I get up, I go about my ...

On March 9, 2011, I was ticked off that I was unable to celebrate my birthday the way I wanted. I was finishing up my work as a military life consultant on an Air Force base in Japan. I realize now what a champagne problem that was...to have a stressful day on my birthday. 

Two days later I would experience one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in history. 

As I huddled inside the door frame that Friday afternoon on March 11, I tried not to panic.

I walked up the outside steps to the 2nd floor of a building on the Air Force base where I’d been working for the past three months. 

Immediately, I was met by four women whose faces were panic-stricken. “It’s an earthquake!” they shouted. I tried to calm myself. But I immediately felt nervous and scared. 

It took a second, and then I felt the scary, unnatural sensation of the building rocking and shaking. I HATE EARTHQUAKES.  I've been in enough of them to know that you have no control over anything during those moments.  

I ...

When I worked in Alaska for 4 months in the winter of 2012, I learned the true power of overriding fear. I've never forgotten what it took for me to be able to have a one-of-a-kind adventure and what I learned from the experience. 

It was simply meant to be a Christmas present for my husband. He's a pilot and would rather fly than anything.

It’s one of those passions your spouse has that you say, “I’m glad you love being a pilot but not me. I'll stand on the ground and watch while you go up."

But I'm not married to that kind of man. He wants me to go with him, to share, to enjoy the experience with him. He wants me up there with him. Oh brother.

Flying over a mountain 

So when I told him that his Christmas present would be flying on a ski plane to Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, he loved this idea. And quietly I added, I’ll be staying back at the lodge and taking pictures.

“Well, I’m not going if you don’t go," he said. 

"But, but…I don’t know if I can do i...