Stay Quiet, Look for Clues
A writer’s life has seasons, too. After output, you gather yourself back in, plant new seeds, and let things percolate deep inside until they’re ready to emerge. You stay quiet. You think. You watch the snow fall and listen to music. You reread old poetry books. You discover dusty old college papers about language–when poetry […]
Ready If You Need It
Two days ago, I bake six chicken breasts (with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper) at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. I have the genius idea of chopping the baked chicken and freezing it in servings for future chicken pot pies, casseroles, or salads. This has never occurred to me before. I’m good at […]
Don’t Forget to Convalesce
Years ago, a nurse told me that the day you feel better after an illness is the day you should get back in bed. “But I feel better,” I explained. “You need one more day.” I learn that folks make the mistake of diving back into life too quickly after an illness. They forget to […]
It’s Going To Take Some Time
Last night, my friend Jo comforts me by saying, “It just takes time. It’s going to take some time.” As you know, I’m not very good at being sick. I’m not brave, stoic, or positive while vomiting or fighting the chills. I’m dramatic, negative, and hopeless. I see no end to it. My friend just […]
At Just the Right Time: 2 Bright Spots on a Miserable Day
Day two of this virus has me curled in bed (this will be short!). Nothing’s changed! I’m still so sick! Just as I consider that God has forgotten me, I read the words of my new favorite blogger over at Hopefully Devoted. Today, she writes about Jericho. She says this: “I wonder how the Israelites […]
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 […]