How Do You Respond to Adversity? There’s something refined about a tea party, isn’t there? Perhaps we enjoy tea parties because they help us push pause in our crazy, schedule-driven lives. We wait for the water to boil, the tea bag to steep, and our stress...
The Megaphone of Pain
The Megaphone of Pain Pain exploded throughout my knee last week. I’ve been barely hobbling with the help of a walking cane. Treatment has not helped . . . yet. But I have a choice: I can wallow in self-pity or I can learn from this experience. As C.S. Lewis...
Three Steps to Look Up
Three Steps to Look Up! “Look where you’re going!” My mother’s words echo in my memory. I had my share of scraped knees as a child, often because I did not look where I was going. “Look where you’re going” is good advice. Whether hiking through a forest or...
Overcomer or Overwhelmed?
Overcomer or Overwhelmed? This has not been an easy week. An anniversary of loss I’d rather not remember, yet it’s impossible to forget. A reminder of my husband’s greatest season of victory in the face of what the world would call a season of deepest defeat....
Feeding Hope
Feeding Hope I welcomed the end of the dry season as the rains started up again. Not yet with the regularity of the full-blown rainy season, but we can tell it’s coming. And not a moment too soon. My garden was wilting. But my schedule caused me to put watering...
Recover Stolen Peace
Recover Stolen Peace Heartache consumed Margarite. A mature Christian in her mid-twenties, she had struggled to accept a series of significant losses. In the span of three years, five people close to her died. She understood grieving was a long-term process,...
Waiting in the Shadow of Tragedy
Waiting in the Shadow of Tragedy Confession time: I don’t wait well. I’m impatient for good times to arrive. And I chafe under the burden of suffering while waiting for it to end. I’m guessing I have lots of company. Waiting is difficult. It’s hard enough when...
Anniversary Reaction
Anniversary Reaction I may forget where I placed my eyeglasses (and yes, it’s possible they’re on my head). I may forget what I ate for breakfast (but I probably didn’t forget to eat!). And I may forget your birthday (even though it’s written on my calendar)....
Look Up or Give Up?
Look Up or Give Up? Some of us are ready to give up. Feelings of hopelessness are pervasive as we wonder how much longer this health crisis will continue. And in the face of conflicting predictions, we wonder if we’ll have the stamina to wait it out. Masks....
Pocketing, Cookie Jarring, and Jesus
Pocketing and cookie jarring. To paraphrase a line from The Princess Bride, “I do not think it means what you think it means.” One thing is for sure: neither phrase means what I thought they meant! Both terms are now used to describe dating trends. Pocketing occurs...
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How Do You Respond to Adversity?
How Do You Respond to Adversity? There’s something refined about a tea party, isn’t there? Perhaps we enjoy tea...
The Megaphone of Pain
The Megaphone of Pain Pain exploded throughout my knee last week. I’ve been barely hobbling with the help of a...
Three Steps to Look Up
Three Steps to Look Up! “Look where you’re going!” My mother’s words echo in my memory. I had my share of...