“I’m glad to hear you are alright. Karen’s husband died last night so at least there is some good news. It’s been bad all morning.” That was the note returned to me after I texted a coworker to let her know how my surgery went last Friday. The message stayed with me, even through the grogginess of anesthesia … Read More
Can’t versus Don’t Want To
Last fall I discovered this amazing little app. C25K. Couch to a 5k. I started the program with great gusto. But this underlying attitude ensured a quick demise. “I’m not a runner.” Can’t Never Could And then a friend asked me if I wanted to try and lose weight with her. “You’re the only one I can do it with,” … Read More
Opening to Change
I must admit I wasn’t so keen on the new kitchen gadget when my mother insisted on buying me a new one. “I don’t need a new can opener,” I replied to her, “the one I have is just fine. Besides they don’t make things like they used to.” But the truth is, the old one had started … Read More
The Floodgates of Resentment from a Damsel in Distress
Three days ago I cried myself to sleep. Crocodile-sized-snot running-down-my-face-and-onto-my-pillow kind of tears. Resentment woke me several times during the night. Resentment brought tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat over and over the next morning, until I finally told myself that I had to table The Beast and focus on the work at hand. On my … Read More
On Overcoming Loss and Suffering
The holidays can be an especially difficult time for those who are coping with a past loss or are reeling with fresh grief. My heart is heavy for all whose sadness is raw right now.And, yet, the knowledge that we all have the ability to achieve healing lifts me up.I hope this message brings some form of comfort to you, or … Read More
Kodak Moments, a Digging for the Light Excerpt
Glennon over at Momastery recently wrote this brutiful piece about feeling overwhelmed and down because she didn’t perceive her family to be happy and normal like all those snapshots we see in Christmas cards and on our social media pages. In the post she wrote that she feared people might consider her a fraud and she used the phrase, … Read More
The 5 Ws of Thanks
What can we give thanks for? Two weeks ago today, the unthinkable happened. A seven-month-old died. In her sleep. The young mother had put her down for a nap. And hours later the twenty-year-old was being whisked from one authority to another. “You would think they could have at least waited to question her. It’s like they think she did … Read More
Passing It On…
Pass it On… I can’t say for sure how many years ago I first noticed the inspirational billboards that moved me emotionally. We spent ten years traveling roads that connect cities throughout the north, south, and central United States. Our family traveling together to support one of its member’s dreams. I distinctly remember trying to catch the fine print as … Read More
The Scent of Rape, A Digging for the Light Excerpt
I recently wrote (Not) God’s Plan, God’s Will, or Divine Intervention in response to Richard Mourdock’s statement that pregnancy from rape was part of God’s plan. I talk about the rape in Digging for the Light. Below is an excerpt from that work, which is looking for an agent and a publishing home… Pass it along. J * * * … Read More
Healthy Humor
Spotted in my doctor’s office, while I waited for the nurse to obtain pre-approval for a colonoscopy. It took more than twenty minutes to reach a live person at my insurance company. This will cure what ails yain situations like that… Guaranteed to make you smile… Caption: “Don’t take it out yet–the insurance company says I have to get … Read More