Pastor Karl and I spent a little time recently planning for the rest of the year and a little into 2026. We put all the important dates on a big calendar. Onto the calendar went many of the things we know will do at church (like Christmas Eve, which is on Wednesday this year). 

I like to plan and I like to have a plan. Maybe I like planning because it moves my brain into the future and what could be which is exciting to me. Maybe it’s because I’m decent at it. Or maybe it’s just because I love knowing what is generally going to happen, or what we think might come to pass. Whatever the reason, I do like a plan! 

Two weeks ago, I escaped my regular routine and headed to parts east to visit friends. I love seeing these friends and I appreciate being away for a bit. I was excited to be heading out and eager to meet up with these dear people from my college years. 

About 45 minutes into my first flight, one of the flight attendants asked for any medical personnel that might be willing to help to come forward as there was a “medical situation.” After a moment, a gentleman got up from across the aisle from me and walked to the front where he was soon followed by a younger guy a few rows up.

It is Monday afternoon and my ten-year-old daughter, Hazel, and I are doing our homework. She has math homework (she’s on fractions now and says it’s “really pretty easy, Mom” with a slight eye roll). She pauses to ask what my homework is and when I tell her I’m thinking about what to write about for my article in the View, she lists a few ideas for me and wonders why I am not instantly writing them down. 

I suggest that the topic of pandas does seem interesting, but it’s not quite what I’m looking for at the moment. She says, “Oh, right – it has to be about God. So, you can write about how we can connect with God. Like it might be having a pizza with a good friend. Write about that.”

Sometimes it seems a little inadequate to say a simple “thank you” when someone has done something really lovely for me. But it is also the truest thing I can think to say in those cases because I am thankful. This week is no exception – I’d love to come up with more profound words than “thank you” and yet, those simple words carry the depth of my gratitude. 

My husband, Greg, and I were listening to a podcast the other day as we drove in the car for a bit. The podcast conversation was wide ranging and for part of the episode, one of the hosts was telling us that she had just delivered her third child recently. (I remembered when we had our third child, some fourteen years ago.) The host talked about the transition from two to three kids, and how that was unfolding in their lives. (I remember that transition being a harder one for us, since Greg and I suddenly became outnumbered by small people.) The host went on to say that while it was a tough change, she also thought it had been made easier by the community they had cultivated around their family.

At this point in the podcast, Greg turned to me and said, “Well, there’s your next View article: community!” And as it happens, he was right. 

This past Saturday, I had the good fun of leading a Vacation Bible School (or VBS) training for about 35 people. I’ve done these trainings all around southern California for the last 13 years and it’s one of the most fun things I get to do with my time. People from all over the surrounding areas give up three hours of their Saturday morning to go learn about this year’s VBS. And almost universally, these folks are excited to be there!

I do not really love the time change. The week after it goes into effect, everyone is groggy. Trying to get all of us up and out the door is very hard! At the morning’s rotating breakfast table, my four children offer me different attitudes.

Some of my children are very tired and grumpy and have no problem grumping in my direction. Others of them are just quiet because they haven’t fully awoken yet. All of us are tired and I will confess to you that I have had a little more caffeine than average this week. 

It’s my week to write the article here, but inspiration is slow to arrive. Some weeks the topic arrives quickly and obviously; other weeks there are several competing ideas, and I must choose among a handful of interesting ones. And then there are a few weeks, like this one, where my idea bin is empty, no matter how many times I peer into it. 

I often hop over to Pinterest to flip through some quotes to see if one of them strikes a chord with me, offering up a topic to write on. There are loads of good ones which often might inspire me, but none of them seemed quite right. 

I hate to admit it, but I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Since diving back under the covers wasn’t really an option for me today, I did some yoga, took a shower, got dressed, made another cup of coffee, and headed out. 

The parking lot was surprisingly full for a 9am on Thursday. I wasn’t expecting anyone and couldn’t recall that anything was going on. But then I remembered, the San Clemente Military Family Outreach (SCMFO) volunteers were assembling the layettes that they’ll give away on Saturday to military families who are expecting a baby soon.