Imitators(1 minute, 57 seconds) A friend recently asked me if I knew who Sally Clarkson was because she thought I would really like her. She said I reminded her of this author/speaker because of Sally’s and my shared delight in candles in the winter, our heart for offering hospitality, our…
Push The Past Year Behind You
Someone dear to me chose to pass on her tradition of sending a Christmas family picture and letter last year. Challenging circumstances had pummeled her heart raw, discouraging her from documenting the previous year. Christmas letters aren’t the place to process grief. Like her, perhaps you turned the calendar to…
“To a Cradle in the Dirt” (Christmas)
My husband suffered a terrible blow a few weeks ago. After working for a company for almost 32 years, his position was suddenly eliminated. His boss, his boss’s boss, and an HR person dropped this bombshell on him in an impromptu meeting, assuring him it was not performance related. The…
An Unfolding Plan
(Advent) 2 minutes, 5 seconds I called gently from the other side of the door to my 22-month-old son who had accidentally locked himself in his room. He was too young to have much of a vocabulary, but he knew my voice and could follow simple directions. Calmly I said…
Trust and Giving Thanks
(1 minute, 38 seconds) Personally, I have a beef with Mr. Incredible in the 2004 movie “The Incredibles.” After lying to his wife for an extended period of time about losing his job, Mr. Incredible steps back into the world of superhero business without being forthright with his wife, Elastigirl. She…
Broken Yet Flourishing
(2 minutes, 19 seconds) I am typing with five or six pieces of kinesiology tape stuck to my low back and hip. The girl who put it there, Carrie, is brilliant at all things biomechanical. The tape, placed in a specific and intricate pattern, lessens my pain. I am grateful….
Release Your Grip (Empty Nesting #3)
10-27-221 minute 41 seconds Being the parent of adult kids is like going through an automatic car wash.To stay on the track going through a carwash, you put your vehicle in neutral, keep your foot off the brake, and most importantly, take your hands off the wheel.Once inside the carwash,…
On Companionship (Empty Nesting #2)
10-13-22 (2 minutes, 20 seconds) Country music fan or not, you’ve most likely heard of George Straight. I like many of his songs and enjoy the movie Pure Country, in which he stars. However, my personal ranking of George leaped a few notches upward when I learned this about him…
When The Birdies Fly (Empty Nesting #1)
9-22-222 minutes flat 🙂 Recently it took three of us to clip our chickens’ wings.I caught and held each bird, our son gently stretched their right wings to expose the flight feathers, and hubs carefully snipped away a narrow row of feathers to keep our birdies earth-bound and inside their…
Heart Rocks
1 minute, 13 seconds “I brought you a gift from the North Shore!” My young friend’s eyes twinkled as she placed a heart-shaped stone in my palm. I am guilty of droning on to this sweet girl about my favorite place on earth, and I once told her about my…