Cat for a Day
All night and all today, I battle some flu or stomach virus (or both). I can’t move. I just curl up and wait. My cat, Snowflake, naps beside me. She sleeps all day, moving only to drink or eat or perhaps find the litter box. She sometimes bathes. She watches birds in the Weeping Cherry. […]
“That will be enough for us.”
This morning before church, I read a paragraph in that little book, We Would See Jesus (Roy and Revel Hession) about all the ways we use Jesus as a means to an end. We might hope for great ministry, happiness and peace, freedom, ease, blessing, revival, or any other wonderful thing but just Jesus himself. […]
I Don’t Have a River, But I Do Have a Puddle
With the warmer weather and sunshine today, I have so much nostalgia for Saturdays spent on the banks of the Potomac river. When I was my daughter’s age, I would run out to the river at the crack of dawn and not return until dusk. Caked in mud and covered with poison ivy, I spent […]
While You Wait
I read today that patience means “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” I want to grow in patience, and today I realize just how impatient I actually am. I find some humor in my exaggerated response to how long things are taking. Little things like a […]
It’s Like Style Died for Me
I’m shopping for golden-sparkly shoes to match my daughter’s concert dress. I have no problem shopping for other people. I have no problem assembling adorable, super-cute clothes for my children. I have no problem shopping for friends. But shopping for me? I forgot how to do that. Somewhere in the last ten years, I truly […]
It Might Be That You Feel Helpless
For several days, I’ve just felt so bad about writing. I’m so discouraged! I actually googled, “advice for discouraged writers.” I found a great little list called, “25 Inspiration Sources for the Discouraged Writer.” On this list, Cheryl Reif asks me to “identify where I feel helpless” because feeling helpless as a writer is a […]
“Just Pretend You Meant to Do It and Keep Going”
I love my daughters’ piano teacher. This is the same amazing woman who called my daughter after her public failure at Barnes and Noble to tell her that playing piano is not about performance. Right after that embarrassment, my oldest went on to perform in talent shows and play piano with absolute joy. The goal […]
Lifted and Not Pulled: When Language Really Matters
Today my oldest gets 4 teeth pulled–um, I mean lifted. The orthodontist doesn’t tell her they are being “pulled”; those teeth are simply being “lifted.” He’s adamant about using certain words to shape a different reality. He explains that in war-torn countries where he performs dental services, he’d never use the word “shot” with a […]
“It’s a Great Way to Be”
Today, we visit the dairy cows down the road. We can’t stop asking questions about life with the cows. We learn all about waking up at 5:00 AM, working all day, and milking cows. When I ask my friend what she loves so much about all this hard work and early morning waking, she simply […]
“He has reached the place where he is not thinking about himself anymore.”
The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness:The Path to True Christian Joy, by Tim Keller, is a small little book that reorients the soul. I’ve been personally struggling with the writing life–the public writing life–because it feeds into a dark side of me. All the self-promotion! All the self-focus! How can I escape it? When I’m admired, it […]