When All the Socks Find Their Match
It was a small moment: I folded the fresh, warm load of laundry on our bed. Something about folding laundry and putting it away makes me happy; it’s one project completed in a day full of long projects with looming deadlines. And then, the scattered socks–blue, brown, patterned, and white–all found their matches. It was […]
Thankful for Lunch
I often go back to the original concept for Live with Flair: to find the meaningful and beautiful thing in an otherwise ordinary day. I wrote every day to cultivate a thankful, joyful heart. I wrote in order to pause, to notice, and to record. I’m in my office at Penn State, and I pause. […]
If I Would Have Tweeted
I honestly try to have more of an author presence on social media, but I find myself laughing at myself each time. I’m so sorry! I hope I haven’t let you down. It’s just that, if I did tweet, it would go something like this: Happy that Leo the cat was miraculously found! Yeah, neighborhood. […]
Searching for the Neighbor’s Missing Cat
The cat down the street has been missing for 5 days. I don’t know this neighbor or this cat, but I find myself super invested in the search ever since I saw the Cat Missing poster on my walk and followed the owner’s Facebook updates in our neighborhood Facebook group. When I walk today, I’ll […]
A Wonderful Week: Planning Your At-Home Writing Retreat
For the first time, I lived in my house alone for a week. Alone for a week! With Sarah serving on a missions trip in Jamaica and Ash and Kate visiting family and friends in North Carolina and Williamsburg, I stayed home to finish the latest book, Chosen for Christ: Stepping into the Life You’ve […]
Reconnections and Possibilities
Over the course of a few days, I’ve reconnected with a dear friend with whom I’ve been out of touch, deepened a friendship with a current friend, and met a new friend to arrange a morning get together for coffee. I love the possibilities. And I love waiting on God’s timing for friendship in the […]
Lessons from Walking My Neighbor’s Dog
I love walking Peanut for my neighbors. He looks like a peanut. He must be a poodle-terrier mix. What I love about walking Peanut is how he leads. I walk when I’m supposed to walk; I stop when I’m supposed to stop. He walks. He stops. He smells things. He goes to the bathroom. I […]
When You See Your Friend Flourishing: The Local Artist Launches New Website
Do you remember the Local Artist who delivered a memorial drawing of our cat, Jack, to help us all grieve the loss of him? She’s Jennifer Kelly! She’s the dear friend who “did the hoping for me” when I had lost hope for my writing. She’s the one who helped me “make myself that somebody.” […]
Little Treasures Just for You
I’ve been writing this week about how to experience life as God’s treasured possession. I happened to walk into a tiny little thrift store that’s just opened in our town, and I find all of these treasures–as if they were put there just for me. A new spring jacket from a store I love but […]
Living in Hope
What I love about March is that promise of spring. You can tell the world shifted; the sun feels brighter and warmer; the snow melts; everything sits in expectation for growth. But it’s still quite cold. It’s such a strange in-between state: What I perceive in the light doesn’t match the reality of the cold […]