Nancy Holte

Encouraging women to grab hold of God's plan for their lives

Nancy

A Long Obedience

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If you’ve been following me on social media, read my Christmas letter, or even just talked to me in the past few months, you know my book, Back Away from the Cookies, was released last week. I should say FINALLY RELEASED because the book getting into print was a very long process.

The path to publication was long, curvy, challenging, and s l o o o w. Oh, so slow 11 years ago, I shared my dream of writing a book out loud. It wasn’t a dream I had grown up with, but for many years friends had been telling me, “You need to write a book; you have the same kind of humor as Erma Bombeck.” Their suggestions set my mind in motion. And then, at a Bible study group one day, the leader asked us what was our biggest dream that we’d never shared with anyone. Right away, I thought, I’d like to write a book. Next, she asked our large group to break into smaller groups and share our dream. Yikes! There is something about sharing a dream out loud that makes you realize it is real, that it’s in your heart because God put it there.

Once I realized God was asking me to write a book, there was the problem of coming up with a topic. So, I thought about that for probably another year (you can see why it was such a slow process). When I heard a radio announcer ask the question, “If you, as your younger self, could offer one piece of advice to the person you are today, knowing what you now know, what would that advice be?” My gut response was, “Back Away from the Cookies!” But then, as I thought about it, I knew there were other, possibly more intellectual things that I would tell myself. And from there, the book was born. Let’s just say it was a preemie and spent months and months and MONTHS in the newborn book ICU.

Over the past ten years, I would write like mad for a few months, then tell myself that writing a book was stupid. Maybe it wasn’t my dream or something God wanted me to do. Then, someone with whom I’d shared my vision would say, “How’s your book coming along?” Oh rats, I forgot I’d told people. (Advice NOT in my book – if you have a dream you know is from God—share it with a few friends. They will hold you accountable. If you don’t want to be harassed—I mean held accountable—don’t tell another living soul. Your dream will probably die a slow death inside your heart, but at least you won’t feel like a failure every time someone asks you how it’s going.) So, when people asked, I’d sigh and say, “not well,” but then I’d find the file on my computer and start writing again. Eventually, I had a finished rough draft. That’s when things got real.

After months of agonizing over my next step, I sent my book off to a professional editor. When it came back, I opened the envelope and found THOUSANDS of suggested edits. It was overwhelming, so I did what any professional author would do. I set it down on my desk and didn’t touch it for another year. Again, I almost gave up, telling myself writing a book was a dumb idea. 

And then one day, when I’d be feeling restless, I’d pray, “Lord, what do you want me to do with my life?” And I’d hear a still, small voice say, “What’s in your hand?” “A cookie?” No, not the cookie. “My book?” “Yes, your book.” “Oh yeah, that.” So, I’d start again. I want to tell you this conversation with God only happened once, but that wouldn’t be the truth. 

There’s a chapter in my book titled, “Don’t believe the lies.” I basically wrote it for myself because believing the lies is what kept me from getting this baby out of the newborn book ICU a lot sooner. So, my obedience to God’s direction to write a book was slow and very, very, long. Do I wish I’d finished it sooner? Yes, but I also think that it came out at just the right time. Perhaps God knew that my obedience would be sporadic, and that is why he gave me the assignment so long ago. I just know I’m glad I didn’t quit.

What is God asking you to do? Just start. Who knows where it’ll take you? But, whether your obedience comes in fits and starts, or in one contious movement, just stay on the path He’s laid out for you. Don’t believe any stupid lies. 

By the way, if you’d like to get a copy of Back Away From the Cookies please click on this link.

Cover photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

2020 in pictures

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It has become my tradition to end my blog for the year with a picture from each month. Last year, it was mostly family pictures, so in January, I decided that the photos from this year would be mostly just landscapes and such. I did have to deviate from my plan once or twice.

This first picture is from a trip I took with my Bible study friends to a vacation home in northern Minnesota. We just drove up for an overnight to watch the Viking’s playoff game. (They lost.) None of us are exactly football aficionados, but we like it (and each other) enough to enjoy the time away to cheer them on. If you think it looks like it’s frighteningly cold, your eyes do not deceive you. I think the temps were in the sub-zero range. I only stepped outside long enough to take this picture. The other girls were more ambitious and went out for a walk on the lake. BRRRR!

Since I’m using this blog post to share meaningful and memorable parts of my year, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share a picture to recognize my husband John’s retirement, thus no landscape. The new owner, Dr. Russ Osnes, and John shook hands in the exam room to seal the deal. (Don’t worry, we didn’t forget the legal paperwork.)

The March photo is from John’s retirement party, held just three days before the coronavirus lockdown; John is with his brother, Jim, and his sisters, Peggy and Virginia. John had his optometric practice for 42 years, so his retirement is kind of a big deal.

April’s picture has to be one of my favorites for the year. Since Easter was so unique this year with quarantine in place, I offered to take front porch pictures (at a safe distance) for my neighbors to have as a reminder of this historic time. (Good or bad, it’s still historic.) And then, it went and SNOWED on Easter Sunday. Not just a little bit, but 11.6 inches! This picture is of our next-door neighbors who, sadly, moved away in October. (I’m not sure they were so sad, but we were.)

In May, we FINALLY got to visit our son and his family in Wisconsin. We hadn’t seen them since the retirement party, and we were missing those grandkids like crazy! We went on a walk together through a marshy area. I just found out this is private land that the owners allow the public to use, except for in the fall when it’s closed for hunting. (Nice, huh?) It’s such a beautiful area, and we even saw two great horned owls during our trek.

By June, I needed to escape all the corona craziness for a bit. Our son and his family had rented a VRBO studio apartment in May, and it looked like a fun place for a get-away. There were a couple of available dates left in June, which coincidentally started the day after my 65th birthday. I booked it and told John it was his birthday present to me; thank you very much. On our first morning there, I couldn’t sleep, so I got up around 5:00 to sit outside and see if I could catch the sunrise. I realized after a few minutes that we weren’t in a location to see the sun peek over the horizon, but it’s beauty filled the sky and ALMOST turned me into a morning person. It was so quiet and peaceful, and a couple of deer walked through, gathering their breakfast. It was probably around 6:00 AM when I went inside and back to bed (because I’m really more of a night owl). This picture looks a little blurry to me, but I just have to share the gorgeous morning light.

In July, a couple of our grandkids came to stay for a few days. It was HOT, as July is prone to be here in Minnesota. So, we headed to the closest state park where there is a little river (or is it a stream?) that runs through it, complete with a small waterfall. We followed the path through the playground, down to the waterfall, where the kids and I played in the water under the falls while John sat by the edge guarding our highly prized beach towels. Then, we decided it would be fun (and probably prudent) to get away from the other swimmers, so we walked downstream a bit to explore. It reminded me of when I was a kid, on vacation with my parents, and we’d stop along a river for a picnic lunch. After lunch, we had a little time to walk across the rocks in the river. We had so much fun, but it was a lot more exhausting than I remember it being when I was younger. Go figure.

August was our first time back on an airplane since everything shut down. Though we started with plans to go to Monterey, California, the smoke density from the horrible fires and the outside only dining restrictions in place made us change our minds at the last minute. We went to the Oregon coast instead. I had specifically asked the reservation agent about five times if our room had an ocean view (because that was important to me), and when we got there, we realized we weren’t even on the same side of the road as the ocean! As it turns out, the reservation agent worked from a Florida office and was clueless, but the manager found us a room where we could at least see the ocean–or the bay as the case may be. Coincidently, the resort where we stayed was one I stayed at with my parents when I was younger.

In the travel mode now, we took a trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in September. What a gorgeous area! This spot near Munising, MI, is known as Miner’s Castle. I was in awe! We’ll need to go back someday.

We didn’t take any trips in October unless you count a leaf-peeping day trip over the border into Wisconsin. It was a beautiful day, the colors were gorgeous, and our stop for lunch at the Stockholm Pie and General Store made for a perfect day.

We finally made it to California in November to spend some time with my brothers and sisters-in-law. After our family weekend, we drove up to San Francisco and crossed the Golden Gate to stay in Mill Valley, home to Muir Woods National Monument. It’s a curvy, skinny, mountainous road to Muir Woods, but it’s definitely worth the trip. A beautiful path through a forest of Redwoods awaits visitors, making you feel like you’ve entered a magical land. If you find Redwoods as fascinating and beautiful as I do, you might enjoy the book The Wild Trees. It tells the story of some very colorful characters who ascended the trees and learned all kinds of cool stuff. You won’t believe what all is up in the canopy of these trees.

By now, you’ve probably caught onto the fact that being near water and nature is my happy place. It has been a weird weather year here in Minnesota. In addition to that April blizzard, we got around 7 inches of snow on October 20, and then, come December, it was cold (but warmer than usual) and dry. If we have to exercise, we might as well do it somewhere with a great view. Our local county park has a beautiful path along the lake, and on this day in December, the sun was shining beautifully on the bluffs along the lake. The ice was just starting to form on the lake–much later than usual, which bothered lots of people, but I wasn’t one of them.

God has indeed created a beautiful world. All in all, despite the pandemic, we were able to enjoy much of His amazing creation. Just the same, I’m praying for an end to coronavirus in 2021. Happy New Year!

Start 2021 with a New Bible Reading Plan

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It has been months since I’ve posted a blog here. My apologies. I’ve been busy with final edits, and decisions on my book coming out on January 12! Yay!  

Nearly two years ago, I read on a friend’s blog that she planned to spend the year reading The Daily Bible—In Chronological Order. She invited her friends to join in.  I was intrigued, but I didn’t join her for 2019. There was an excellent reason for this, I’m sure. I just don’t have any recollection of what it was. What I do remember, and thankfully remembered at the beginning of 2020, is that I went ahead and bought it in early 2019 so I’d have it and wouldn’t forget what the title was when I wanted to start it in 2020. (Because, as you may have noticed, remembering isn’t my strong suit.)

You’ve no doubt figured out by now that I didn’t invite you to join me on this one-year journey of Bible reading, as my friend had done. Here’s why: I wasn’t sure I’d actually follow through on the daily readings for an entire 12 months. I mean, come on, Leviticus and Numbers can, shall we say, throw the most devoted reader off track. Now that it’s December 10, it’s safe to say, I think, that I’m going to make it to the end of the year—and the Bible.

And now that I’ve made it through this year, I’d like to invite you to start your own journey through the Bible. It’s a bit shorter than reading the entire Bible because, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, some of the verses/stories of the Bible are in more than one location: the gospels, for example. In this version, you’ll find them combined into one succinct account.

There were a couple of things I particularly enjoyed about reading through The Daily Bible. First off, there are devotional teachings throughout the book. I finally understand a little bit more about the Jewish exile to Babylon. I appreciated the information in all of the devotionals.

Additionally, you’ll find a brief recap of the upcoming verse/s, which for me, helps break up the page, so it doesn’t look so overwhelming. Just like in a regular Bible you’ll, find headings like “The Sermon on the Mount,” in this rendition, you’ll see the same kind of thing, only more often. 

I can’t promise that the same thing that happened to me will also be true for you, should you decided to embark on this journey, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it did. I’d be reading through a section, and within a day or two, I’d come upon a teaching about the very thing I’d just read. For instance, this past summer, I was doing Lysa TerKeurst’s study titled Trustworthy. It was all about the kings in the Old Testament. At the same time, my daily reading took me through the books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings. If it hadn’t happened repeatedly, I might have considered it a coincidence, but after the second or third time, there was no denying God wanted to make sure I remembered what I was learning. I love it when God does that!

Each day’s reading in The Daily Bible is about five pages long. It generally took me between 15-30 minutes a day to read through it. The hardest part for me was reading everything in the New International Version (NIV). I prefer the New Living Translation (NLT) as I find it easier to understand, but if I felt lost, I’d just look the section up in the NLT.

If you don’t already have a Bible reading plan set up for 2021, I would highly recommend The Daily Bible. Who knows? God might open your eyes to something new and exciting. He’s good like that.

Order now, so you’re all set up by January 1 (because it’s easier to start on the first day than to try and catch up after a week.) Whatever plan you decide to incorporate into your daily devotions in 2021, I pray your time with God will be filled with joy and blessings.

Cover photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

Unclean! Unclean!

Last Tuesday I woke up feeling off. As I began to fully wake up and assess the situation, I realized I was dealing with many of the symptoms of COVID-19. After a few hours of thought, I decided I should get tested. But where?

I called the clinic I normally go to despite the fact that my much-loved nurse practitioner is no longer there. I asked how I go about getting tested and she said she’d transfer me to a COVID triage nurse. Let me tell you, I’m pretty sure said nurse got her start in the military. Either that or she’s just so over dealing with COVID questions all day long. After a quick assessment she determines that indeed, I do need a COVID test and says she’ll order one for me. I said, “Where will I need to go to have that?” I’m pretty sure she told me “the arena” but in fairness, I was pretty sick so I might have misheard. When I asked where “the arena” is she said it’s just south of their southeastern office. “Do you know where that is?” I said, “I don’t even know what town you’re talking about.” “Rochester” was her answer. It’s a 45-50-minute drive from my house to Rochester. Surely, she jests! Just think about having all the symptoms of COVID, you know what they are, and driving for 45 minutes one way to have a swab stuck up your nose. Um, no.

When I told the nurse I wasn’t going to drive that far for a COVID test she said, “Well, then you’ll have to self-isolate for the next 14 days.” Her tone made me wonder if she was going to send armed-guards to sit outside my house and make sure I was compliant, or at the very least send someone with a “QUARANTINE” notice to hammer onto my front door.

At this point, I tried another clinic, was told I could have the test about 15 miles from home and she’d let them know I was coming. It was all very quick and simple—except when she handed me the list of instructions. Most of the “to-dos” on the list were what you’d expect: wash your hands frequently and stay away from people but my personal favorite was “disinfect all “high-touch” surfaces frequently. Let me get this straight? I’ve got the most dreaded disease of this century and you want me to be cleaning my house?

It’s when my test came back positive that the real fun began. A doctor from the clinic I ended up at called to go over my past medical history and assess my situation. I’m already in the high-risk group just by virtue of my age. When combined with my previous stroke activity and the fact that I carry some extra weight, it put me into the group that wins a Remote Monitoring Kit. I use the kit to take my vital signs twice a day and it is sent electronically to the clinic. Basically, it’s like being in the hospital but taking care of yourself. The kit comes with a blood pressure cuff, oximeter, thermometer, a giant scale, and a tablet that collects the information.

The instructions for using the scale come with some “helpful tips”:

  1. Use the scale in the morning, after you have emptied your bladder and before you eat.
  2. Weigh yourself without clothing or wear the same type of clothing each time you weigh yourself.

Those “helpful tips” are clearly for skinny people. Those of us who carry extra weight have been perfecting the art of “getting the lowest weight” for years. We’re not rookies!

Within 10 minutes of hanging up from the doctor’s call, the county health nurse called. Aren’t sick people supposed to rest? How can I do that when I’m on the phone all day? She had a long list of questions for me, “where have you been, what have you done, who have to been with?” The short answer to “where did I get it” is “nobody knows.” It’s a virus. It’s in their nature to spread and make sneak attacks.

Nonetheless, I still had to call the people I’d inadvertently exposed, and those whom I MIGHT have exposed. I suspect it felt akin to being a leper during Biblical times, having to call out “Unclean! Leper! Unclean!” as they walked down the street. But to be fair, everyone was very nice about it.

The good news is I’m on the mend. And once I am well, it’ll be like having a free hall pass! I’ll still have to wear a mask, no doubt, because that’s the law. But I will no longer have to worry about catching it. I don’t think. If I’m wrong, please let me live in my delusional world for a little while longer.

“The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.” Psalm 41:3

Cover photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Favorite Family Recipes

During quarantine actor John Krasinski did a weekly show on Facebook that he called Some Good News. If you didn’t see them, and you need a laugh, you can find them on Facebook, or on You Tube. In one of the episodes John asked people to share their favorite family recipe.  When I heard him ask the audience to send in their recipes I thought, “I wonder what our favorite family recipe is? I couldn’t think of a thing that we all anticipate having for special family occasions. I couldn’t even think of a family favorite from my youth.

I would say that if my brothers and I were to come up with a family favorite meal it would probably be waffles. For many years that was a Sunday night dinner tradition. While other families were having pot roast and potatoes, we were having waffles. We felt like the lucky ones. I don’t know that my mom had an official recipe she used, but I’m going to guess that Bisquick was involved—so clearly not a recipe I need send to John Krasinski.

My favorite “food memory” from my youth was cinnamon toast. My mom made THE BEST cinnamon toast I’ve ever had. She’d make a big pan of it in the oven under the broiler. She’d toast/broil one side of the bread, flip it over, lightly butter the other side and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar before putting it back under the broiler. I think there are two reasons her cinnamon toast was particularly good; she used white bread and a high sugar to cinnamon ratio. When Mom broiled the cinnamon sugar side of the bread it would get an awesome, crystallized sugar crunch on it. I try to recreate it sometimes and never seem to quite make it taste the same as my mom did. Maybe because I’m using wheat bread.


All this thinking about my favorite family recipes got me thinking that it would be fun to see if there was a particular meal my kids remembered as special. So, I sent them a text asking them what their favorite meal was that I made when they were kids. My oldest son took about five seconds and replied with “popcorn.” I don’t actually ever remember serving popcorn for dinner but then again, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Hey, it’s got to at least be equal to waffles in nutrition, right?

My youngest son’s reply was lasagna. I should have guessed that. He would always ask for it on his birthday. Poor guy, now that he’s an adult his birthday celebration usually coincides with our Thanksgiving celebration, so his birthday meal is turkey and we throw a candle into the pumpkin pie.

Our middle son couldn’t really think of a family favorite. He’s a better cook than I am so I’m sure he’s got a few favorites of his own, but he said that as far as my meals went his favorite was either lasagna or hamburger pie. Two votes for lasagna! We may have a winner! I’ve gotta say though, even though the hamburger pie isn’t what we’d now call super healthy, I still think it’s super delicious.

I’ve attached both of the recipes for you in case you’d like to try them. Both came from friends many years ago. You’re on your own for the cinnamon toast, popcorn and waffles.

What are some of your family’s favorite recipes? I’d love to know.



I Need to Do Better

I’ve been thinking for a couple of weeks about what to write here. To be honest, I’m speechless over what happened to George Floyd. But even before George Floyd, and all of the other black lives that have been wrongly taken, we had a big problem in America with racism. We’ve had a racism issue for far too long. And, as many have said, we need to do better. I need to do better, that’s why I’m saying anything at all. Here’s the thing though, I don’t want to say the wrong thing, adding fuel to the already blazing fire. I want my words to express love, offer hope, and encourage unity.

Clearly, I need to learn more. 

The other day, I listened to a black woman recount a story about an incident she experienced in 2016. She’s a mildly famous person and by that, I mean she’s been on several podcasts, and even Dr. Oz, but I don’t know who she is. (I just randomly came across her story on You Tube. I really wish I could tell you her name.) When she was in New York to be a guest on Dr. Oz she was put up in a very nice hotel. On her first morning there, while she was taking the elevator down to the first floor, it stopped, and a young white couple entered the car. She said hello, they responded and went on to have a conversation until the elevator stopped at another floor and a white 40-something man got on. She greeted him and he returned the greeting. At the next stop, an older white couple got on but when she greeted them neither acknowledged her greeting. But, as she said, that happens sometimes. When the elevator stopped at the ground floor the older gentleman said, “ladies first.” His wife got off, the young woman got off and then she went to exit the elevator. The older gentleman put his umbrella up in front of her and exclaimed, “I said ladies first!” He then proceeded to allow the other two men off, he exited, and then she got off. But no one commented on the man’s actions! And, I have to admit, I might not have said anything either—because people like that old man scare me, and I don’t like confrontations. So maybe that’s what happened with the two younger gentlemen. Truthfully, it would never have occurred to me that this kind of behavior still happens in the 21st century! But now that I know, I have a decision to make. 

That kind of behavior has to stop. Sometimes it’s important to make those decisions BEFORE you’re in the uncomfortable situation so when it happens, you’re ready with your response. You don’t have to get in a fight with the racist man, you can simply say, “That’s an unacceptable way to treat another human being, and then offer sympathy to the person he’s offended. Will it be uncomfortable? Probably. Could it put you in harm’s way? Perhaps. But it’s time we stop looking away from racist’s actions. 

Why did I share this “unknown to me” woman’s story? Because, like I said, I can’t believe this is still happening in the 21st century. I really can’t believe it ever happened! How can anyone possibly think it’s o.k. to treat someone who isn’t the same as them as though they don’t matter? Until we can understand what is happening EVERY DAY to people of color, we can’t address it. 

I listened to Beth Moore last week talk with a member of her team, Natalie Mott, about how important it is to educate ourselves in regard to racial issues in America. Natalie mentioned something that I thought was interesting. She said while educating yourself, go slow. As a black woman she has been living with the racism for years, but if, as a white person, we try to assimilate everything the black community has dealt with for the entirety of their lives, in a few short weeks, we will be overwhelmed. And though we might need to be overwhelmed, we might be better informed if we take things slow. 

Beth and Natalie offered a couple of books they thought would be a good place to start and I’m passing their ideas along to you. I’ve not yet read either one, but I intend to. The first recommendation is Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison and the other is The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby and Lecrae Moore. 

It’s time to start educating ourselves so we can be part of the change. Read the books, have the uncomfortable conversations, watch the movies, and listen to the podcasts. “Take it slow” does not mean put it off. Take a step, because it’s time we do better. It’s time I do better.