Thankfulness as an Elusive Treasure

  I'm thankful each day. Some of the time. When I'm not tired, hungry, or complaining about something else. I yearn to define myself as an optimist, a positive individual. Instead, I seem to have a natural talent for finding what's wrong with things. Or what might go wrong. Despite my…

2 Comments

Can I Rejoice in a Wasteland?

The funds continue to pour out over my career with no income coming back in yet. The postcards I mailed to bring in more opportunities have harvested nothing more than a few returned as undeliverable. I stand at the edge of what might be success, but cannot see the fruit of…

0 Comments

Stranger Heroes Within

  Along with a horde of fans, I devoured the culmination of the Netflix hit series Stranger Things this week. Years of anticipation ended in a couple of days. I slouched back in a daze at the end of my binge and struggled to find a new fix. My fingers soon…

0 Comments

Timeless Struggles of Women

  The world has changed for women. Our roles have shifted. The standards of beauty, identity, and worth look far different from one generation to the next. Laws and expectations have taken drastic turns. Many of our struggles have intensified, while other historic changes have broadened our opportunities. Although we face…

1 Comment

Honor the Shame-Slayer

  Filthy, stained, and weary, I trudged in from the unfinished work in my yard. My strength and supplies had run out. I couldn't go on, and I needed cleansing from head to toe. Shame had once devastated my life in a similar, but far more profound way. I desperately sought…

0 Comments

Why Does it Have to be so Hard?

"Why?" I thrust my hands upward and wailed to the ceiling. "Why does it have to be so HARD?" The alleged two-step cabinet refinishing project had taken five steps and as many days. Bruised, blistered, and sore, I teetered on the edge of the countertop in an effort to replace the…

0 Comments

Bless This Mess: Guest Post by Debora M. Coty

Did you know pregnancy actually alters a woman’s brain, changing the size and structure of areas involved in emotional attachment to their young? A recent Nature Neuroscience study found that motherly nurturing skills – like perceiving the feelings and perspectives of others – are enhanced in pregnancy and continue for at least two…

0 Comments

Risky Myth of Secrets

“'Am I only a God nearby,' declares the Lord, 'and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?'” - Jeremiah 23:23-24 Padlocked journals. Receipts tucked into a sock drawer. Deleted files. Disguised flasks. Shredded evidence. What happens in Sin City . .…

4 Comments

Freedom of Wings

Gravity sucks us to the earth. The weight of our flesh drags us through the grime of this world. We expend all the energy we consume in the effort to sustain ourselves. At the end of the day, we collapse with exhaustion with nothing more to look forward to than another…

0 Comments