I Am So Grateful

heart_purple_blue

There are many things I am grateful for, but what I want to focus on here is the gratitude that I have for my oldest daughter, Elizabeth. Our relationship has weathered so many emotional experiences for both of us -- from total elation on the day of her birth, complete awe and exhilaration during her growing up years, to anxiousness and outright fear and complete despair during her teenage years, to absolute shock and total sadness at her sudden departure, and finally the learning and growth we … [Read more...]

The Blessed Gift of Liz’s Presence

Wencl_small

Our Featured Topic: Experiences from the Beyond Many extraordinary experiences have come my way since my daughter's sudden and tragic death nine years ago. Very early on, when I needed it most, I was shown unequivocally that Elizabeth was alive in spirit and living a new life filled with joy and happiness. These signs and experiences brought me the peace and validation I so desperately needed in order to go on with life again. However, there came a point when I no longer needed any … [Read more...]

‘The New Me’ is Someone I Never Expected

butterfly_healing

Our Featured Topic: The New Me: A Report from the Transformation In a few weeks, I will be attending my 40th high school class reunion. Those who haven't seen me in forty years will be shocked and a bit surprised when they meet "the new me." In high school, I was extremely shy and a complete introvert. I felt awkward and didn't feel like I fit in anywhere. Of course, looking back now, I know that wasn't true, but at that point in my young life it was definitely my perception. Very … [Read more...]

My Struggle with Fear, Being True

abstract_blue_form

Our featured topic: Coping with Fear After the sudden death of my 20-year old daughter in 2003, amazing experiences of signs and messages from her were all around me. I was led to an amazing medium and teacher and I began to wonder if these experiences were common -- did this happen to everyone? I didn't think so, but I was clueless as to why they were happening to me. I loved them -- they brought me much needed peace and consolation -- but why? Please keep them coming, I would plead … [Read more...]

I’ll never forget the day my life was changed

sunrise2

September 20, 2003, was a defining day in my life. In the early morning hours of that Saturday, my daughter Elizabeth and two of her six roommates died of smoke inhalation in their duplex, just blocks from the U of M where they were all beginning their sophomore year. That day my life was forever changed. One door was slammed shut in my face and I kicked and screamed and begged God to open it again. And he did...not in the same way of course, but in a way that brought me to re-connection and … [Read more...]

When the Student is Ready, the Teacher Appears

dove

I have always been interested, fascinated and intrigued by things of the spirit -- near-death experiences, out-of-body adventures, ESP, psychics, spirit communication -- for I found them all totally fascinating. But I had no personal experience with any of them. Little did I know what an integral role some would play in my life and how they would make my life so meaningful and help me to feel so valued. The fact that my daughter had to die before I would have the knowingness to tap into these … [Read more...]

The Hospice Effect

compassion

Our Featured Topic: The Value of Serving Others I had been thinking about becoming a hospice volunteer for a while. It would come as a passing thought that I would consider and then put aside. Little did I know how quickly and how clearly my decision would be made. Our hospice house is on the outskirts of town surrounded by farm fields and trees. It looks like a home - not a place of death. I had a tour shortly before it opened, but had no other contact with it, other than to read the … [Read more...]

Dreams connect me with my daughter

woman_on-beach

Most of my dreams are elusive. I make every effort to remember them each morning, but I have little success. Fragments pop into my mind throughout my day reminding me that my dreams are present in some part of my consciousness. The most significant dreams I have had in my 55-plus years began about six months after the untimely death of my 22-year-old daughter, Liz. I would ask her repeatedly to please visit me in my dreams. I thought it was what I wanted. As it turns out, I did get the … [Read more...]

From tragedy to transformation — a mother’s story

doves

I have always been intrigued by various aspects of spirituality -- ESP, psychics, spirit communication. I found each of these totally fascinating, but I had absolutely no personal experience with any of them. Everything changed on September 20, 2003 when my 20-year old daughter, Elizabeth, died of smoke inhalation from a fire in her duplex just a few blocks from the University of Minnesota, where she had just begun her sophomore year. That day my life was turned upside down. My journey … [Read more...]