One of the wisest of human beings, the philosopher-king of Ecclesiastes, said, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven…. A time to be quiet and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,7b NLT). I have spoken. I have cried out again and again about some of the things which matter […]
Restlessness is woven into the fiber of my being. Also, I’m fairly certain restlessness is not a spiritual gift. I know from the Bible that God gives gifts to all of his children, and that all of his gifts are good. That’s scripture truth. I also know that all of us are also plagued with […]
This year has been cruel y’all–like the stinging hits of freezing rain or cutting winds of a blizzard storm-harsher climates have shifted our atmosphere. The down pour of political and civil unrest has left our country drenched in hate, apathy and fear. Racial divides, Trump’s win, continuous murders of Black Lives, Standing Rock, the threat […]
It’s been a beautiful fall. Using the word beautiful is insufficient, but when the sun shines bright through the trees, lighting the day with golden drops that float magically in the air and the weather in Chicago hovers in the mid-sixties, that description is all I have. Contentment is hard fought and so this bit […]
You know what my idea of a holiday is? A normal day. Laundry, hanging with my kids, and, by 9:30 pm, watching a murder mystery with my husband while I eat raisin bran. Even better: doing all that in slippers. Normal days are easy. On a normal day, I have a routine. I know what’s […]
When the world is bleak, where can comfort be found? Last week, after the US election results came in, even the mood here in the UK was sombre. While many rejoiced that Donald Trump was elected, my Facebook thread was full of people genuinely fearing for their life, home or livelihoods. Whether it was because […]
There is too much satisfaction. Too much contentment. Too much comfort. Too much apathy. Too much apathy. I think one can breed the other. If you are content with your life, you can afford to be apathetic about others. Not everyone is, but some are. Enough are to make a difference. That was me once. […]
He stared at my back in the queen size bed we share. The inches between us loomed like a brick wall lined with barbed wire. I sobbed. He sighed. He must have felt as helpless as I did. I suffered under a border blockade which prohibited the entry of petrol, propane, and essential goods in […]
I’ve been asking myself what contentment is lately. This question tends to come when I’m elbows-deep in dish water or staring at my overflowing laundry basket. Sometimes it pops up when my doctor calls with bad news. While I lived overseas, I had such a deep ache for stability and rootedness. I moved abroad when […]