I want to apologize ahead of time, just in case you run across me at the store today and I snap at you. I'm sorry for being crabby. I'm kind of crash-diving emotionally after a great weekend full of happy events. Has that ever happened to you? You know, one of those times when life is fantastic, things are coming together, lots to celebrate and be grateful for, and then, just when you think you couldn't fly any higher .... The air goes out of your balloon. Years ago, Barney Wiget, a former pastor of mine who blogs at Musing the Continue Reading
How to Get Your Joy Back — And Keep It
You wouldn't have thought it was a big deal. Nothing that unusual about a mother handing her exhausted grown son a warm rice bag and a couple of ibuprofen for his headache. A pretty uneventful errand to bring his supper to the couch where he is resting. It was one of the best moments of my life. Flash back about thirteen hours. It's about 5 a.m. that cold December day, still pitch-black outside. I am awakened by my husband's hand on my shoulder. Scott does not ever purposefully touch me when I'm asleep because, well, the consequences Continue Reading
3 Reasons to Join Me at Platform University
This one's for my fellow bloggers. If you're anything like me, you may be a little frustrated with this whole trying-to-be-a-writer thing. On the one hand, writing inspires you to the point of being driven. Your ideas keep you awake at night. You can't not write, and you know it. You have an important message burning in your soul. On the other hand, it may seem that no matter how much you write, there's so much competition and distraction in the world that no one is paying attention to your stuff. You pour out your soul, then click "publish" ..... Continue Reading
6 Helpful Things to Offer Your Chronically-Ill Friend
You get what they don't need. They don't need platitudes. They don't need theological proof texts pointing to sin in their life. They don't need another burden -- the burden of condemnation, or forced cheerfulness, or a sense of obligation to try your sure-fire remedy. We talked about those in last week's post. But what can you do that your loved one will appreciate? What actions lighten their load and brighten their day? 1. Your gentleness and sensitivity. There's a reason hospitals are kept quiet. Sick people get easily stressed by noise and activity, and this impairs Continue Reading