Kookie Cut-Outs by Rachel Britz

Delivering cookies and good news.

Grief Observed

by Leave a Comment

Yesterday I spent the day in St.Paul at the Center for Grief & Loss. It was an amazing day. Since my husband and I have been on this journey of taking our financial planning business and focusing on helping women who have gone through a loss, it’s been increasingly important that we also make time to educate ourselves on the nature of grief.
Each time I step into this sacred arena I feel like I am flying into a foreign country. Wondering why I’m leaving the safety of my homeland. Facing grief is hard. Facing people swallowed up in it is hard. Grief is such a curious thing, mysterious and non-mathematical. Humanity cannot escape it and if we don’t acknowledge it, it waits for us like a shadow calling in the night.
The first part of our day was spent exploring our own loss. Naturally this is hard. On one hand, I’ve been there done that. It sucks every time. I’ve processed, weighed, analyzed, and compartmentalized my loss and personal grief journey (thus far). To me it is lighter than it once was. Yet, a curious feeling crops up in me whenever I’m about to embark on this journey to the sacred land. Insecurity. A feeling that my loss and grief would be sized up and measured by fellow grief travelers having to sojourn in their own country. In all my attempts, I always find myself pushing back on this notion that I’m not equipped…incessantly asking the question What on earth am I doing here again?
But here I am, and here is what I learned.
1. Grief should not be judged. In our society we have a tendency to weigh and measure. For example, when the 80 year old man passes as compared to the 30 year old husband and father. Each are leaving a legacy and loved ones. Is one heavier than the other? Who can judge? We must come to this place of accepting and honoring the uniqueness of each others experience.
2. Our presence makes a difference. We must first accept that it is not our role to fix or make better even though that is our natural instinct. Our voice should be still, less is always more. In the words of poet Henri Nouwen;
“And so we ignore our greatest gift, which is our ability to be there, to listen and to enter into solidarity with those who suffer.”
3. Permission to be. There is no time-table for grief. Though experts have diagrammed the experience we quickly learn that this is not a step-by-step process. It is not linear and it’s not something one ever gets a prize for finishing. Instead we must foster an attitude of permission. Permission to allow ourselves or those we care deeply for to just be… Companioning is about respecting disorder or confusion; it is not about imposing order and logic.
It takes courage to care for the brokenhearted. Who is on your heart today? My hope, for those of you who have ever wanted to come alongside someone who is hurting (but not knowing what you should do) is to take the first step. If our hearts rooted in compassion focus on simply being there, offering our presence, I believe you will discover that this is the greatest gift one can give.

A Place Called BLESSING: Book Review

by Leave a Comment

A Place Called Blessing, Where Hurting Ends and Love Begins has been creatively written by long time author and speaker John Trent. This fiction story is of a boy named Josh who grows up under a cloud of tragedy and calamity. The heart wrenching account of Josh’s early family life, his parents fatal car crash, and the accidental death of his friend have been written with such a precise memoir-style writing that it left me believing that this story was in fact true.  When seemingly all hope had been lost, Josh falls into the hands of his co-worker Mike and his mother, Anna. Together they provide Josh with basic needs like a place to live and food to eat. But as the story unfolds, they offer him a chance at life, new life. In an unexpected turn of events, Josh is faced once again with the pain of death and his child-hood grief but, what he discovers is that once he faces the past and looks it square in the eye, he becomes transformed. All because two people made a choice to get involved and offer unconditional love.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an inspirational, hope-filled story. It offers a real life awareness towards children in our very own communities who need a hand up. Trent’s has a partnered ministry with Focus on the Family, called The Blessing Challenge. It provides the readers of his book with an opportunity to do something!  For more information on this opportunity visit http://www.theblessing.com/.

A few Lessons in Running a Marathon

by Leave a Comment

There are benefits to running a marathon. Let me be straight with you, I never intended to ever run one. In fact, I’ve been fighting off Runners World friends for years. They would be chanting in my ear and  chanting my dreams with a voice that always said “you should really run a marathon.”  Despite the obvious reasons like pain, torture, and limited time I always excused myself from participation. Until this year. In late February, I finally made the commitment to run the Twin Cities Marathon  with Team World Vision for clean water projects in Africa.

Training began in May. For this self made couch-to-5k kind of girl, looking back I still can’t quite believe that I am going to actually do this thing. So in the last five months or so I’ve learned a few things about life and running marathons that when you get right down to it, there are a lot of similarities.

1. Life is hard. There are days where you are so weary that putting one more foot in front of the other is nearly impossible. On those days I’ve developed a little game I like to call The Grateful Game. When I’m out there hitting the pavement and  the surge of hopelessness comes I turn the tide by claiming 5 things I am grateful for in that exact moment. Easy enough, yet I’ve discovered that in the amount of time that it takes to develop your top 5 articles of gratitude something magical occurs, despair is crushed and joy floods in.

2. Time is treasure. I’m the mother of three children, run a business with my husband, serve as a board member for a non-profit, and so on. Let’s face it, I’m busy and so are you! When I made this commitment to run the marathon it has given me treasured quiet time that I otherwise would not receive. It has made way for clear thinking, rational decision making, and creative inspiration. Quiet time needs to be a commitment. Yes, another task added to the to-do list. Like running, once you make the commitment and begin doing it regularly, with purpose, the rest of your day will be refueled with peace and clarity.

3. It’s not all about YOU. People are hurting and people are stuck in a rut. They surround you. They are your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors, your spouse, your kids, and in-deed they are strangers. They need your attention and they need your prayers. I have certain songs on my play-list that evoke prayer for particular people in my life. It’s become a dedication if you will. I have another friend who dedicates each mile to prayer for someone. Wow-that’s some serious prayer mileage! It’s good for mind, the body, and soul to come alongside those in your life who need it most.

Imagine your life like running a marathon. It’s a long way to go, a great distance. It’s filled with hills, sweat, tears, and setbacks. Yet, it can be rewarding filled with joy, gratitude, compassion, and peace. Keep going…the prize is just on the horizon.

A Place Called BLESSING

by Leave a Comment



Join me in reading “A Place Called BLESSING – Where Hurting Ends and Love Begins” by John Trent & Annette Smith.

It’s an orphaned boy’s story of loss, love, and eventual acceptance by the most unlikely people.

Five-year-old Josh and his two older brothers lose their parents in a drunk-driving accident. A series of foster homes and a shocking tragedy eventually separate them, leaving Josh alone, angry, and distrustful of most everyone. At age eighteen, Josh strikes out on his own to find work. With only a high school education and few life skills, he is one step away from homelessness when Providence brings him to a place where he finds much more than physical shelter. For the first time in his life, Josh receives unconditional love and something every human being craves, the gift of “the blessing.”

If you are interested in purchasing this book for yourself I’ve created a quick link to Amazon by simply clicking on the title of this post.

I’ll just tell you that I picked up the book yesterday and can’t put it down. It’s a quick read but captivating. I will be posting my review towards the end of September and I would love for you to weigh in on your thoughts.

Happy Reading!

A Lesson in Climbing a Mountain

by Leave a Comment


Over a year ago some friends proposed the idea to climb Pikes Peak. A few years prior they had been unsuccessful in reaching the top and they had their eyes set on the summit. After about two minutes of listening to their commercial, I heard two things; first, it would take all day (10 hours) and second, no ropes or pics required (no cliff hanging). We said yes!

In the months leading up to our expedition I knew that I would need to prepare, both mentally and physically. I read some blogs and began my usual summer-time running regiment. All in all, I felt prepared and excited for a new adventure.

The day before our climb we consumed a ridiculous amount of water to ward off any altitude sickness we might encounter. That night we made sure that our packs were filled with extreme portions of protein bars, energy shots, and water. We were set.

We hit the trail around 7am. It was so peaceful. Surrounded by woods and nature; the air was crisp, smelling like sweet sap and pine. Initially,it was a slow steady climb. Then about 2 hours into the climb we finally began to emerge above the tree line. Looking back we could now see the valley below and the peeks alongside us. Around this time we began to experience our first switchbacks; zig-zags in the trail designed to create a slight ease in the steep elevation for the climber.


It was then that I began noticing these rocks stacked up intermittently along the trail. Carin’s; an ancient practice used as a landmark to tell the person coming after them that they are going in the right direction. Often the case for climbers, they are used as a guide, a reassurance that you are on coarse.

Five hours into the climb, we could see the summit. It was a ways off but it was there. Everything was majestic and beautiful. Just as I had imagined. Just as I had thought it would be.

Then, out of no where the unexpected happened. The trail came to an abrupt end. It simply disappeared. Before my eyes, I stood gazing up towards 700 feet of boulders and, as if in slow motion, I quickly assessed that the only way to finish, the only way to the top was to scale the the final peak. I looked back over my shoulder realizing I could not go back. I had to go forward. Anxiety dropped upon me like a bomb. I desperately tried to be discrete but I couldn’t hold back my fear. Tears enveloped my sight. To make it worse I began shaking and I caught myself holding my breath…which doesn’t work so well since at 14,000 feet of elevation ones lungs are already deprived of rich oxygen.


Aaron looked at me at began coaching me. As he was attempting his pep talk on “this is life…unexpected…(his voice fades)” It’s then I begin to see my life flash before my eyes. It’s truly funny (looking back) at the multitude of thoughts that flood through ones mind in a moment like that. Yet, before I could think, I was scrambling up a series of boulders. One foot in front of the other. Some rocks were unsteady and wobbley. Others were wider than my 6 foot arm span. After my first series, I was desperate. Still overwrought with anxiety I began searching, searching for anything that I could focus on. Then I caught a glimpse of it, just above my head was a small pile of rough stones stacked on top of one another. A Carin. I clamored up a pile of boulders to reach the Carin; the one and only thing that I could trust. Once I reached it my hope was that another Carin would follow. Sure enough, we would climb over a series of rocks to find the next Carin and so on. Ultimately, they guided us all the way to the summit. I couldn’t believe it; the sense of accomplishment that came over reaching the top. All the hard work, the sweat and tears, the anxiety, the good and the bad… it all paid off. Yet, none of that would have been possible if I didn’t have something to put my faith in. The only way I knew I was going the right way was to hope and trust in the Carin.


Such is life; when the unexpected gets hurled in our direction, what do we have to focus on? Whom do we trust will guide us through? As ancient as the Carin’s, my faith is stacked upon the foundations of my God and father. His guide never fails me. For this, I’m grateful that He used such a monumentous experience to teach me the most simple life lesson.