When’s the last time you said, “That’s awesome?” Chances are, you’ve said it more than once today, maybe even sarcastically. Don’t worry; this isn’t going to be a tirade about how we should never use the term “awesome” unless we are talking about God. I get that language morphs over time. It evolves with culture, and that’s why the dictionary is changing all the time. Today’s common usage becomes tomorrow’s standard rule. “Awesome” used to mean jaw-dropping, breath-catching, heart-stopping, awe- inspiring. Now it has about as much oomph as “Have a good one.” Our words change. But Continue Reading
Why You Still Need a Hiding Place
Did you have a favorite place to hide as a kid, like a fort in the woods, or a closet, or under the kitchen table with a blanket over the top? It seems like we all start out loving the game of hiding and being found, all the way back to peekaboo. Hide and seek is one of those simple joys we tend to lose in our busy, oh-so-important adulthood, a small but important pleasure we forget much to our loss. Recently, I’d had a tough day. So I go outside to breathe some fresh air and pull some weeds. The evening light is spilling through the picket fence, laying golden planks on the cropped Continue Reading
Your Best Shot at Wisdom
The other day, I reached for something in the dishwasher, barely touched the blade of our Ninja food processor, and then ran for a band aid to staunch the blood flowing down my finger. Note to self: don’t touch the Ninja blade. That’s called a lesson. I learned something by experience. Years ago, a friend of mine landed in the hospital, deathly ill. He had eaten poorly for years, consuming vast quantities of soda pop instead of water. His lifestyle had messed up his kidneys, along with his overall general health. Note to self: eat well and hydrate properly. That’s called a testimony. Continue Reading
How to Survive a Shame Storm
It started out innocently enough. I just wanted to get some rest one afternoon, but the neighbor’s dog was barking non-stop. So I thought I would simply ask my neighbor if there was a way he could get the dog to quiet down for a while. A reasonable request, right? Not so much, from his perspective. No sooner had I gotten past the initial greeting and to my request when he shouted: “I don’t like you! You’re bad neighbors!” Then came a litany of complaints he had against me and my husband. I stood rooted to the spot, my mouth gaping open like it belonged to a prize fish. All I could Continue Reading