We’re five days into the new year. Five days of living with my One Word: collaboration. Wondering what God is going to do in me – maybe even what he is going to do through me – as I embrace collaborating with him for the next twelve months. I’m reading Finding Divine Inspiration by J. Scott McElroy, a gift from …
This is not a sentimental Christmas memory … and I do have my husband’s permission to share this story. Once upon a Christmas time, my husband and I were newlyweds celebrating our very first Christmas together. Our tiny one-bedroom apartment was festive, thanks to the shiny silver aluminum Christmas tree — yes, silver — we’d decorated with a few ornaments …
I am not overly fond of interruptions. Interruptions — be they people or events — stop my forward motion. They prevent me from achieving my goals. They waste my time. Or so I think if I am not paying attention. I’ve come to realize that interruptions may be the point of my day. Interruptions may be the more important thing …
One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is the music. I love all kinds of Christmas songs: White Christmas Carol of the Bells Silent Night Frosty the Snowman Straight No Chaser’s take on the Twelve Days of Christmas Pentatonix’s take on Mary Did You Know? Amy Grant’s I Need a Silent Night I could go on and …
As the song says, “Christmas time is here … ” And I find myself once again torn between the beauty and the sadness brought by this time of year. There is so much beauty in Christmas: The music — Everything from the childlike fun of “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” to the beauty of “Silent Night” and …
Two words stand out to me in Henri Nouwen’s quote: discipline and gratitude. Nouwen reminds us that gratitude is a discipline — that it takes effort to be thankful. And knowing how easily I can fall into counting my “lack of” rather than counting all the ways my life is filled to overflowing with so much more goodness than I ever …
This quote encompasses two life-changers for me: other people and gratitude. If I tried to list all the people who have rekindled my spark when it has gone out … well, this would be the never-ending blog post — and I’m certain I would still forget someone. People have prayed for me, shared hugs at just the right moment, spoken …
It’s been a year of deadlines for me … going from one deadline to the next to the next … and repeat, repeat, repeat. Add in the non-writing parts of life and there’s not been a lot of “doing nothing” in 2014. I often find those quiet moments of “nothing” in the middle of the night when I’m awake and everyone …
Most of my days start with a good 3 1/2 mile walk with my friend Mary. We walk and talk — and we look for “a little bit of pretty,” as we’ve come to call it. It all started when we noticed a wooden bench in a yard we were walking past — a little bit of pretty, even though …
I used to handle difficulties this way: I’d lay awake at night and think Just give me a minute. I’ll figure this out. I wasn’t praying — I was plotting. I wasn’t asking God for help because I was going to fix whatever was broken — a plan, a relationship, a dream — all by myself. I’m older now and yes, …
