Faith – Page 9 – FindYourBuriedTreasure

A doomsday dream brings reality to life

I had a really weird dream the other night. And the weirdest thing about it was seeing the ways in which my dream world overlapped with the real one. In the dream, I was talking with a friend about the devastating state of the world today. We were in a barren, outdoor setting – the kind you see in a post-apocalyptic or zombie movie. There was another catastrophic danger on the way, but I don’t remember now whether it was an asteroid hurtling toward earth, [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 15th, 2013|Columns, Faith, Writing|Comments Off

Ugandan Martyrs Brought Faith to Life

Whenever I hear the word “martyr,” I automatically think of the stories I learned – in religion classes at the Catholic school I attended – of the holy men and women who gave up their lives for Christ. They were ordered to renounce their faith, but refused to do so, and were killed because of it – often painfully and publicly. Stoned, beheaded, or fed to the lions. The mental images I have of martyrs are of people in togas and sandals or monks’ robes [...]

By bettyliedtke|September 6th, 2013|Columns, Faith, Uganda|Comments Off

Amazing Grace is alive and getting better

I got a phone call last week from my friend Tabitha, who’s still in Uganda. She had been in the hospital visiting Grace, who was having surgery the following day. Grace is the young mother I wrote about in my column two weeks ago. She’s from Gulu, in Northern Uganda, and I met her when I was there to speak with a group of women who have formed a farming co-op and are now rebuilding their lives after years spent living in refugee camps. Grace [...]

By bettyliedtke|August 30th, 2013|Columns, Faith, Uganda, Values|2 Comments

A Lesson from Star Trek

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one.” Die-hard Star Trek fans will remember that line from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It’s what Spock tells Kirk after exposing himself to deadly radiation while repairing the damaged Starship Enterprise in order to save the ship and the rest of the crew. The flip side comes in the next Star Trek movie, when Kirk and crew violate orders so they can find and rescue Spock. When Spock asks [...]

By bettyliedtke|August 16th, 2013|Columns, Faith, Travel, Uganda, Values|6 Comments

Learning and relearning fills the time in Uganda

Some of the things I learned during this trip to Uganda: How to say “How are you?” “I’m fine,” and “Thank you” in Luo, the language of the Acholi tribe in Northern Uganda; What crocodile meat tastes like (better than boiled goat, in my opinion, but not as good as an ostrich burger); That wading in the Nile River is both humbling and refreshing; That a puppet waving from a bus window can make even stoic police and armed guards smile. Some of the things [...]

By bettyliedtke|August 9th, 2013|Columns, Faith, Family, Travel, Uganda|Comments Off

UGANDA TIME

Note: While I'm in Uganda, the Chanhassen Villager is publishing excerpts from my upcoming book about my first trip to Uganda, in October, 2011. Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 8:10 a.m. I really am getting used to Uganda time. By that I don’t mean that my body has finally recovered from jet lag and gotten used to the 8-hour time difference – although it has. Instead I mean that my mind is getting used to the Ugandan way of life. None of our programs have been [...]

By bettyliedtke|August 2nd, 2013|Columns, Faith, Travel, Uganda, Writing|Comments Off

A Lesson in Leadership

Tabitha and I have already spent some time at the Cornerstone Leadership Academy--both the Boys' school and the Girls' school, where I did a program about finding the treasure in our gifts from God. We've been asked to develop leadership programs and presentations for other groups, so we've been working on those, too. The other night, I got a lesson and some insights into leadership in a rather unusual way. Tabitha and her husband Stone invited me for a visit in the home where they've [...]

By bettyliedtke|July 18th, 2013|Faith, Family, Uganda, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Seeing a sign is not the same as understanding it

Have you ever felt confused or ambivalent about something you were working on, and asked God for a sign? Something that would show you what you were supposed to do, or at least let you know that you were on the right track. I know several people who are very prayerful and who occasionally – or regularly – ask God for such a sign. And they usually get one. I’m not in the habit of asking God for signs. It’s not because I don’t think [...]

By bettyliedtke|February 8th, 2013|Columns, Faith|2 Comments

Gifts are everywhere when we take time to notice them

It’s a gift. I think I’m going to adopt that saying as my mantra from now on. Sometimes it will be in a joking way, as when I’m talking about being directionally impaired and getting lost or turned around very easily. But mostly I will be serious, and it will be a reminder – to myself as well as to others – that we do indeed have many gifts in our lives. And when we take the time to realize and acknowledge this, our lives [...]

By bettyliedtke|January 25th, 2013|Columns, Faith, Professional Speaking|Comments Off

It’s not what you fear, but what you do that counts

What would you do if you were fearless? That question came up during a meeting I attended last Thursday. It was a planning session for a “Fearless Women” event that’s going to take place later this year, and as we discussed the event and the question, I had no idea how – or how often – the issues of fear and fearlessness would come up in the next 30 hours. The first instance, shocking and frightening, was when I woke up the next morning to [...]

By bettyliedtke|July 27th, 2012|Columns, Faith, Making a Difference, Uganda, Values|Comments Off

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