Time to Shed My Snake Skin I found an unwelcome surprise outside my front door a few weeks ago: a two-foot-long shed snake skin. Of course, I posted a photo on social media—not much else excitement during these days of pandemic “sheltering at home.”...
I’ve had some unexpected—and unwanted—visitors this past week. The first occurred when I let the dogs out one evening for their final outing. A tree frog took the opportunity to hop into the house. Let's just say he was not easy to catch. Of course, attempting to...
Look around. Listen to the politicians. Read the headlines. Talk to your neighbors and coworkers. It won’t take long before two themes emerge. Justice and mercy. But rarely do these two words occur in the same sentence, or even in the same conversation. There’s a lot...
Fall…the time when (in places other than Florida!) nature dons flamboyant garb as God paints His world with vibrant colors. Lush, supple leaves in shades of green gradually change color until the green is just a memory, replaced by vivid red, yellow, and orange. But...
Suffering is hard. So we work just as hard—if not harder—to avoid it. We don’t want to talk about it. And we run away from it. We devise detours that often end up causing even more complications. Of course, no one wants to suffer. It’s even more difficult when we have...
When Hurricane Irma blew through south Florida last September, we were fortunate not to sustain damage to our home. But the natural environment did not fare as well. Trees toppled all around us. Hurricane force winds snapped off branches and uprooted trees. Root balls...
Kindness is a virtue most of us appreciate and many of us aspire to. You may have heard about the practice of random acts of kindness. It supposedly began in 1982 when Anne Herbert scrawled the words "practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty" on a...
Been thinking about the choices that fill our days. I’d love to say I’m intentional about every choice I make. But that wouldn’t be true. Often, the need for convenience or a sense of urgency cause me to make choices I later regret. Frequently my decisions are...
Today I contemplate my purpose. What defines me? In our culture, after we learn a new person’s name, the next question is almost always related to what they do. Other times we’re defined, not by what we do, but by what happens to us. Rape victim. Cancer survivor. I am...
Did you know there’s a National I Am in Control Day? Really. And it’s observed annually on March 30. When I first learned of this dedicated day, I laughed. After all, I’m a self-confessed recovering control freak. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that...
Time to Shed My Snake Skin I found an unwelcome surprise outside my front door a few weeks ago: a...
I’ve had some unexpected—and unwanted—visitors this past week. The first occurred when I let the dogs out one evening...
Look around. Listen to the politicians. Read the headlines. Talk to your neighbors and coworkers. It won’t take long...