Whimsical weekly inspiration
Be inspired, encouraged, and entertained by Joan Carey’s weekly blogs.
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01OctoberWhat Do You See?
The picture above is the cover of my Ponder This book. Fourteen years ago, I put together a book of reflections, much like my blogs. Along with each story were
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23SeptemberThe Lunchroom Table of Life
I was listening to a podcast recently and they were talking about the visceral response our body gives when we sense that we have been left out, not included. I
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15SeptemberMy Me-treat
The term Staycation has become popular to describe when you vacation, at home. You stay where you are but take a break. I’ve coined a new term for when you ar
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08SeptemberHoly Fun
I have written a few blogs in the past about faces I have seen in my food. There was the banana slice that was smiling at me and the slice of pizza staring at m
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27AugustThe Teacher
I’m back. And it feels so good. I have missed my desk and computer. Sort of. What I have missed more than anything is the feeling of connection I had with all
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24JuneStrangely Inspired
Yes, I am still alive. Have you missed the weekly blogs? I know I have. I think the Holy Spirit is giving me a break from any inspirations that would cause me t
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31MayToo Much Holy Spirit
Today, I am suffering from Holy Spirit hangover. Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday and I guess I overdid it. I dressed in red, which I rarely do. I subscribe to a
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21MayAn Endless Love
When you read this blog, we will have had the last event of the 2022-23 Firstfruits season. We are gathering moms of young children for a special edition of our
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14MayIt’s Mother’s Day
Whether you are a mother of a biological child, adopted child, a classroom of children, or a treasured niece or nephew, caring about and loving another life to
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07MayMy List
For the past two weeks I have had blogger’s block. No amount of fiber in my diet can cure this blockage. It’s happened before so I have learned to not force
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20AprilHealing Hope
Mother Nature seems to be going rogue these days. She’s off script. Last week it was warmer in Wisconsin than it was in Florida. Temperatures have been in the
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05AprilAlleluia!
Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. John
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01AprilThe Dumbfounded Outlet
People often ask me how I come up with the topics for my blogs. I don’t “come up with them;” they seem to come up to me. Like the topic of last week’s b
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23MarchThe Cross Plant
As my parents were aging, I remember my mom encouraging me when I would go home to visit to put my name on anything I wanted that was in the house. I thought it
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15MarchYou Don’t Know Him
Friday Fish Fry anyone? My Fridays are open now that the high school basketball season is over. My son is the head coach of the boys’ varsity basketball team
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09MarchPlumbing the Depths
BLOG WARNING: If the thought of needles and blood make you queasy skip to paragraph two. Before I became a full time Jesus lover, I was a part time Medical Tech
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02MarchThe Promise of a Sunrise
I took this picture outside our front door the other day. A beautiful sunrise in the east peeking through the starkness of the bare trees and hardness of the sn
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25FebruaryHeartily Sorry
I’ve decided to give up blogging for Lent. Just kidding. I could never go that long without sharing the spiritual musings that take up residence in my mind co
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18FebruaryA Big Feeling
Feelings are messy things. They complicate our lives. They enhance our lives. They run our lives. Take an inventory of the feelings you experienced yesterday. H
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12FebruaryA Thirsting Love
Here we are again, that time of year when chocolate truffles, red roses, and candy hearts are a hot commodity. We celebrate Valentine’s Day this week and like
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04FebruaryWant It That Way?
As part of Catholic Schools Week, the grade school that our ten-year-old grandson James attends had a Talent Show. The gym was full of teachers, grandparents, f
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29JanuaryA Face in the Crowd
Do you ever feel like you need a break from trying so hard to be good and do good? Has your life become a marathon race of trying to be good and do good. Do you
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22JanuaryAn Opportunity
We celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. this past week. Or did we? That day comes and goes every year and each time I feel a twinge of guilt. I never really feel
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14JanuaryThe Secret
I was reading a reflection from Richard Rohr recently and in it he said, “Saints are those who wake up while in this world, instead of waiting for the next on
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31DecemberA Christmas Miracle
I believe that miracles happen all around us, every day. Especially last Wednesday. In the afterglow of our two-day pseudo-Hallmark Christmas with our kids, the
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17DecemberDown TIme
Well, it found me. I thought I was flying under the Covid radar. Two years, two vaccines, and three boosters later and I was killing it. Sneaking in and out o
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10DecemberJoy
There is that saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. That is exactly what I do with
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04DecemberThe Power of An Invitation
I can’t seem to stop thinking about that invitation we received last week. If you don’t know what I’m talking about check out last week’s blog. That’s
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26NovemberRSVP
Happy New Year! We begin a new liturgical year today as we begin Advent. The next four weeks we have the opportunity to prepare, with great anticipation, for th
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19NovemberHoly Botox
As these first real bursts of winter weather have descended upon us so rapidly, I noticed my body going into its hibernation mode. My skin and nails are dry as
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12NovemberHOORAY!
One of my grandkids’ favorite silly songs is the one that goes: If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you’re happy and you know it, clap yo
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30OctoberTime To Move
In the Old Testament book of Exodus God sent a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide the Israelites as they fled their bondage in Egypt.
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15OctoberBins
In preparation for our move in three weeks, I am spending a lot of time among the bins in our basement. There is the holiday-decorations bin, the dress-up-cloth
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01OctoberSing a New Song
It’s a big day for me. I’m a little distracted with the excitement of it all. If you recall, in The Bicycle Dress blog of a couple weeks ago, I ended with a
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23SeptemberSurprise!
Life is full of surprises. There are the fun ones, like a surprise birthday party or when your college age child comes home for an unexpected visit. Then there
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17SeptemberFor Better, For Worse
I have an anniversary this week. My husband and I will be married forty-two years in a couple days. I’ve been reminiscing about past anniversaries. There was
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08SeptemberAn Answered Prayer
Do you ever think about your first day in heaven? What your room in the mansion looks like? Do you get to settle in before the orientation begins? I hope we get
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28AugustCome Alive
I’ve been spending a lot of time with our four-month-old granddaughter, June, lately. It’s amazing how fast newborns come alive. She already has two teeth,
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21AugustGoodbyes
I can feel it. It’s coming. There’s a cool hint of it in the air. From the first pencil case I spotted at Target to the fact that last evening I had sweatpa
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14AugustFun Club
The bicycle dress made its debut at Fun Club last night. Here I am in this picture after scaling the wall in my friend Deb’s neighbor’s backyard to grab wha
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07AugustMy Bicycle Dress
I took a fun summer road trip to a part of Wisconsin I had never been to before. It’s called The Driftless Area. This area comprises southwestern Wisconsin, s
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23JulyThe Unscripted Moments
I just got back from a family vacation in Door County. Like most vacations, a lot of planning and organizing went into this get-away. With eight adults and seve
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16JulyIt’s My Birthday For Heaven Sake
It’s a rainy, gloomy day today as I sit down to write. The kind of day that strikes terror in the hearts of moms with kids off school for the summer. Boredom
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10JulyJust Enjoy It
I have been so encouraged lately by your responses to my blogs. There was Geri who almost choked on the banana she was eating as she began reading the last blog
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24JuneKeep Your Eyes Peeled
If you are reading one of my blogs for the first time, I promise they aren’t all this strange. I apologize in advance if you were hoping for inspiration or wo
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18JuneCarefree
This morning I woke to the sound of birds chirping, the sun peeking through the blinds, and a mild breeze through the window. That combination triggers a brain
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05JuneThe Horizon
“We stay on the positive path by shifting our gaze a little at a time, until all we see is the horizon.” That is a quote from ABC’s Good Morning America a
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27MayLife Goes On?
Life goes on, they say. I’m having a hard time adopting that motto these days. I’m finding it hard to go on with my usual daily routine in light of the trag
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15MayJust Rest
These two regal gentlemen were strutting around in the parking lot behind our condo last week. Their lady friends were focused and hard at work in the woods, fo
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05MayThe Secret Conversation
It’s June in May! No, I haven’t lost my mind. Grandbaby number seven arrived safe and sound this week. June Barbara introduced herself with much fanfare and