Getting past fear? It’s an amazing feeling. Pushing past the “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t” — stuffing a sock in all that mental mouthing-off — helps me see myself in a whole new, glorious way. Yes, glorious. Suddenly I’m not living under the crushing threat of impossible. Instead, I’m inhaling and exhaling all of the possibles. So what was …
In Others’ Words: Torn
And there you have it: Life choice distilled down into one 20-word sentence. Is your life other-focused or you-focused? Or is it a constant arrival at the fork in the road and deciding, once again, which way do you go? It’s not that I think going one way is wrong (enjoyment) and going the other way is right (living to …
In Others’ Words: In Between
So, how’d the week go for you? Did you accomplish all your goals? Some of them? Did one or two elude you? But what about the “in between”? How did you do with living and enjoying life this week? I admit it: I sometimes get so caught up in the goals — the I wants and the I shoulds and …
In Others’ Words: Reality (Guest Post by Meagan Williford)
My novel, Catch a Falling Star, asks the question: What do you do when life doesn’t go according to plan? My heroine, Kendall Haynes, greets her 36th birthday wondering “Just what exactly was she celebrating?” Her life is good — successful — but not all her dreams have come true. Specifically, happily ever after has eluded her. Today’s post is …
In Others’ Words: Miracle
Miracles. They cause us to stop and wonder: What just happened? Water into wine? (John 2:1-11) Blindness into sight? (Mark 8:22-25) Death into life? (John 11) More than what … miracles cause us to stop and wonder: How did that happen? And we stumble into awestruck silence when we realize there is no answer, no explanation … but God. My …
In Others’ Words: Habit
It’s been all about copy edits for me the past few weeks. Today is deadline day — and I’ll be thinking about having some fun once I push SEND. Well, having fun and cleaning my house. In Your Words: How’s your fun factor? What do you like to do for fun? Come on, give me some ideas now that I’m …
In Others’ Words: Surprise!
Oh, there are so many ways I could go with this blog post. Has life surprised me? Oh yes, yes indeed. I just went upstairs and kissed goodnight one of the most a-ma-zing surprises in my life: my caboose kiddo. The child who astounded me by showing up when my husband and I were parenting three teenagers. True story: My …
In Others’ Words: If …
Sometimes it’s good to go back to the anchor truths that hold me steady. The faith-realities — no contradiction there — that I turn to over and over again when doubt whispers in my ear or failure taunts me or an invisible someone insists I’m not good enough. God is with me. His very name is Immanuel, God with us …
In Others’ Words: Blocked
Have you been dreaming lately? I’m not talking about the now-I-lay-me-down-to-sleep kind of dreaming. No. I’m talking about the eyes-wide-open dreams. The ones requiring planning. And effort. And waiting. And praying. Those kind of dreams. If you’d asked me if dreams involved hope, I would have said “Yes, absolutely” without pausing to think about. Dreams demand massive amounts of hope. …
In Others’ Words: Best
It’s Monday and I’m staring down my week. There’s so much I want to give my best to: my relationships, my writing — me, even, when I think about my health. Sometimes I spend part of one week thinking about what’s going to happen next week. A deadline looms over every day leading up to the due date. I’m living …