Don’t You Care? – by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: February 9, 2026
Blog: Making Wise Choices
Smells, Sights and Sounds of Grief-by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: July 7, 2025
An emotional lightning bolt hit me on the golf course. I saw the backside of a man about Jack’s age, wearing a Puma golf hat, with black golf shorts and a blue shirt. That’s exactly what Jack always wore. My heart started to pound; I stopped and couldn’t take my eyes off him. I’m not crazy. Of course I knew it wasn’t Jack. My brain knows Jack died a long time ago. But our grief saturated minds can play powerful tricks on our feelings. The desire to see our loved ones again is so powerful, our hearts become irrational with that deep longing. We’re not crazy we’re just sad. Some smells and sounds trigger emotional responses that are quite shocking. Jack and I had a favorite restaurant which is quite expensive, so we went there only on special occasions. Months after Jack died a family member (who didn’t now it…
Courage to be Encouraging-by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: April 7, 2025
Consider this. Your three-year-old son is working up courage to ride his two-wheeler. You’re holding onto him and also running behind him to “encourage” him to have the courage. These two words are deeply interconnected, and each playing a vital role in helping each other to overcome challenges, grow and flourish. Courage is the inner strength that pushes us to step into our fear, uncertainly or discomfort and take risks. Courage often needs an external supportive force. This is where God, you and I come in. The Bible tells us in many places to “encourage one another.” It says: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Like gigantic trees whose roots intertwine and hold each other up, we are created in Christ to play that same role. Our courage first comes from God and the Holy Spirit that lives…
FINDING REST IN 2025-By Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: January 13, 2025
People seem tired. Overwhelmed. Don’t know how to fix it. This generation has more conveniences and shot-cuts than any other portion of history, so why are we so weary? Around 2005 when the Internet revolutionized the world we became global stalkers with 24/7 access and information. Don’t even get me started on what technology has done to our lives. Let’s move toward solutions. Firstly, ask yourself what kind of rest you need. Do you need physical rest that craves more sleep, naps, sitting and doing nothing? Do you need social rest that demands freedom from the onslaught of screen times and dopamine stimulation? Do you struggle with FOMO (fear of missing out) and need a break from social activities? Do you need to take a break from your daily demands and lean into something that will stimulate your creative energy? To discover what kind of rest you need I highly…
Everything in Life is Temporary-by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: September 8, 2024
The single mom and I sat on the beach in our chairs, with our feet dangling in the warm lake water. The setting was glorious but the conversation was hard and I knew my friend needed some practical advice. As I listened and prayed (in my mind while she was speaking) I asked God to give me some words to give her hope. Immediately I remembered the five simple words that helped me through my darkest journey. Everything in life is temporary. As soon as I said these words her shoulders relaxed and I could see peace invade her heart. When we’re in the middle of suffering everything feels dark and hopeless and often we can’t see how that will ever change. We feel lost, alone and weak. Often times we feel stuck. Our difficult circumstances overwhelm us and darkness is all we can see. It drains the life and…
WHAT WE FEED GROWS-by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: January 12, 2024
Over Christmas I fed my body a little too much and it grew. You know what I’m saying. Maybe yours did too? Because what we feed grows. When we water and feed our houseplants, they grow rich and beautiful. When we feed our children they grow up to be big beautiful human beings. What we feed grows. So we have to ask ourselves, “What I am feeding?” I have to be honest; there are hard days with big problems that I can’t solve. As a result I feed self-pity. There are times when I look at my circumstances and I feel like I might drown. What do I feed? Self-defeat, I’m not smart enough to solve my problems. Sometimes I feel like somebody is disappointed in me and doesn’t like me. Maybe I’ve done something wrong. What do I feed? I feed unworthiness. I’m not good enough, not likeable. So what do…
Be a “Lifter Upper” – by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: September 17, 2023
Beware of the deadly 3 “D’s”. It starts with discouragement, catapults into despair and may end up in depression. Some how you’ve ventured into a dark cave and found there was no light to guide you out. Your aching body feels heavy and fatigued. Your mind is ruminating, you can’t focus and you keep chewing over the scene of your mess, failure, loss or disappointment. I know every one of you reading this has experienced at least one of the deadly “D’s”. It’s a horrible place to be in, and we need to help one another getting out of our cave. That’s where you come in. We all need to take part in being God’s hands and feet on earth to lift up those going through one of the 3 “D’s”. If you are the one going through one of the “D”s right now, I pray that someone reading this…
Is That a “Should” on your “Shoulder?”-by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: August 21, 2023
If you knew you only had thirty days to live, what is one thing in your life that you would stop right now?” This provoking question started a lively discussion amongst my group of friends. After much animated banter, one main theme came into focus; stop the life-sucking “shoulds”out of our daily activities. We agreed that many of us cave into guilt-induced obligations. We are afraid that we will disappoint people or they might not like us. The discussion became livelier as we tried to determine the obligations we needed to let go so that we could enjoy the vibrant, fulfilling life that Jesus came to model for us. There is one prevailing statement I hear these days: “I am so tired!”It is a proven statistic that today we sleep 1-1/2 hours less that we did one hundred years ago.[i] More motor vehicle accidents are being reported because both men…
FOGGY AND UNCLEAR-by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: January 15, 2023
Some days life feels like this doesn’t it? Immersed in fog, without clarity and everything seems eerie and quiet. Especially when Covid has hopefully seen it’s last visit, and there are hopes, dreams and expectations for the coming year. How do you find your way? Me? I want to be like the rhinoceros and zebra. Let me explain. I want to be like the rhinoceros and zebra. Rhinoceros – Though there no official statistics on how far a rhino can see, from research it is estimated that they can’t distinguish between a man and a tree at a distance of 20 meters. How is that good? It’s similar to being in a fog, if we can’t see what’s ahead of us, we don’t need to worry. The Bible tells us: “Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it’s own” (Matthew 6:34). This…
When Weariness Sets In-by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: May 15, 2022
An article on weariness is what brought me to tears. Whoa…what brought on those tears? I don’t think I feel weary why did this impact me so profoundly? I realized this article hit a trigger and I recognized my spirit was weary. Anyone knowing me would quickly respond by: “Well Heidi, you have too much on your plate, you’re always on the move, no wonder weariness has set in.” But that’s not it. My personality and passions do propel me to add many wonderful things to my calendar, but this is not a physical weariness. But this is not a physical weariness. For two years we’ve hung on by our fingernails waiting for Covid to be over. And yes for the most part we’re back to normal but there is underlying and lingering angst and anger. Too many of my friends are sick right now from Covid and stress. Angry…
