Perhaps you’ve struggled with inner turmoil … the unrest that chafes your soul, wearies your mind, and exhausts your heart. You seek to assuage the dissastifaction by tuning into your favorite TV show or watching that movie that never fails to entertain you. Or you exercise. Go for a walk or a run or hit the gym for a spin class. …
In Others’ Words: Stepping Out From the Shadow of Worry
If I let myself, I could spend a lot of hours worrying. About people I love. About decisions I’ve made … or have to make … or about decisions others’ might make that affect me. About finances. Isn’t there always a reason to worry about finances? About my writing career. About the future … in so many ways. Worry, in …
In Others’ Words: When Walking Away is the Wise Choice
I’m all for staying and finishing the tough conversation. Or the seemingly unsolvable argument. Or the why-did-I-ever-commit-to-this project. But there are times when the best thing to do is to walk away. Take a time out. Not forever … but for a time. A day or two. Several weeks, if need be. If you’re in conflict with someone else, this …
In Others’ Words: Letting the Beautiful Stuff Out
Oh, I love the truth and the invitation woven in today’s quote. You are filled with beautiful, wonderful things. Experiences. Talents. Personal treasures meant to be shared with others so that they are changed by knowing you. So often we talk about achieving balance … searching for stability … wanting firm ground under our feet. Today, let’s be brave enough …
In Others’ Words: For the Love of Reading
“I don’t want to write a blog post. I want to read a book.” That’s what I said to my husband last night … right before I set my book aside and started working on this blog post. And that little bit of complaining sparked the theme of today’s blog: books and the love of reading. I’ve always loved to …
In Others’ Words: When Courage is the Testing Point
There are all sorts of lists of virtues — morally excellent behavior. Some lists are as short as four or seven virtues … some lists go on in alphabetical order. Honesty Kindness Humility Loyalty Selflessness Trustworthiness But when all is said in done — whether you limit your list of virtues to four, as the Greeks did — or expand it …
In Others’ Words: And Forgive Us Our Brokenness
I find myself embracing brokenness more and more. My brokenness. Others’ brokenness. And I also find myself grasping to understand forgiveness … truly comprehend forgiving others. Forgiving myself. The ironic thing is that for so long I aimed for perfection. And I failed. No surprise there, I know. And I thought forgiveness was as easy as hearing someone say “I’m sorry” …
In Others’ Words: The Danger of Precautions
I wish I hadn’t always been so cautious in years past. I was a bit of a “tell me the rules and I’ll follow them” kind of person. Let me put it this way: I was a safety patrol girl in school — the one wearing the neon orange belt and helping other kids cross the street. Do they even have …
In Others’ Words: Eternal Hope
There are some days that I need to lean into hope more than other days. Not just for myself … I’m hoping for the ones I love. Hoping for new beginnings. Hoping for healing. Hoping for dreams to come true. Hoping for life to be easier . . . or more satisfying . . . for the pieces to fall …