Work, husband, kids, grandkids, parents, friends, cousins, church family, neighbors? There are just so many people and I’m trying to be perfect in all of these relationships, except I am NOT. Many of these interactions are sticky, some like a big glob of sap stuck to the bottom of your shoe and some like that…
I sat in front of my two counselors, after spending three full days walking back through all of the traumatic events of the last four years, which largely involved a deception at church that caused immeasurable pain and loss for us in every direction. (This is why I haven’t written very much in the last…
Underneath our bedroom window is a large weed bed. For five years I have alternately sprayed and weeded this large area of nicely edged dirt. Prior to us living here, it was where my little nephews were invited to play with excavators and dump trucks. But let me be honest and say I’m not too…
It’s not just the plants that go dormant in cold climates; the people do, too. It’s the beginning of spring, and Matt and I just took a one-mile lap around the neighborhood. As we neared our house, the woman next door came out of her garage dressed in work clothes and carrying a large outdoor…
The 18-month-old has learned to scream, at the top of his lungs, “I want that!” because his 3-year-old brother has modeled that for him. They’re the typical grandkids at that age, and we send a constant barrage of instruction their way. Be kind. Ask him nicely. Can you share, please? Let’s not scream at your…
When I was younger, I devoured books by Grace Livingston Hill. Almost all of her stories were the Cinderella type, except instead of sleeping in the cinders by the fire, the main character was living through the Great Depression. I remember reading about a heroine who was able to make a fashionable hat out of…
Matt and I turned down the lights, curled up underneath a gargantuan fuzzy blanket, and settled in to watch The Boys in the Boat for the first time a few nights ago. I was so deeply moved by this movie. I do NOT endorse it, because it did have some foul moments. But I experienced…
My mother-in-law bought me a beautiful book for my birthday (hello 55). It’s called Teatime Discipleship, by Sally Clarkson. Sally writes about the tea, finger sandwiches, and candle she sets out on her tea cart when she has a friend over. “Beauty is God’s calling card,” she says. Last week we had a few friends…
A percussionist at heart, I was taught to pound the ivories. Dad was never happy when I played the piano at church unless the piano was shaking. Every head bowed and every eye closed was replaced with every toe tapping and every heart pulsing. “Louder,” he would say. “Put some Christy into it.” In college,…
Matt just dropped a pretty penny at Michael’s, to get a picture framed for me. A month ago, I came across a work of art, and the story behind it is what God used to encourage me to start writing again. Matt bought me the print for Christmas, because it was so deeply meaningful, and…
For two years now, I have been the office assistant at a small compounding pharmacy. I’ve learned that the pharmacists I work for have doctorates, which was new information to me. People come in all day long to pick up their medications, but they also seek medical counsel for everything from rashes to pain in…
This last year was marbled, like a good cut of beef. There was a lot of stress and pain, but there were also many choices I made that were greatly beneficial to mind, body, and spirit. I thought I would share my list, with the hopes that it will encourage you to look back and…
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