Maybe you're like me. Maybe you'd like to have a bit of control over some of the universe, at least the part that affects you. Fact is, there's a great deal we can't control. We have choices, yes. We can decide how to respond to the curve balls life throws us. But we don't get to throw the ball. This year started out weird. First my cat dies on New Years Eve. Two days later, my dear old friend Irene passes. And last week, my son Sam lands in the hospital just in time to have his rupturing appendix removed. I'll get over losing Gizmo. I'll honor and Continue Reading
How Your Influence Matters More than You Know
The news of an old friend's passing is surreal, isn't it? I recently read an old letter of Irene's that I'd tucked away. Suddenly she is gone --but I'll never forget her. Along with her husband Malcolm, Irene taught me Sunday school when I was a young teen. She helped me understand the word of God, and gave me a great incentive --a brand-new "Living Bible" -- to memorize all of Isaiah chapter 40. I still remember that sense of accomplishment, and how much I treasured the reward of a modern language Bible. (Yes, I cut my teeth on the KJV.) Maybe Irene is the Continue Reading
The One Thing that Makes “Why” a Moot Point
It was a sad New Year's Day for our family. I realize that in the grand scheme of things, the loss of our favorite cat after more than 12 years with him is not a major tragedy. Still, pain is pain, and losing Gizmo is not how I would have chosen to start 2016. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you have experienced a loss that, by comparison, doesn't rate the highest in human suffering -- but it hurts, nonetheless. Or maybe you have experienced a bigger loss recently. If so, my heart goes out to you. It's always difficult to deal with grief, perhaps never more Continue Reading
How a Hard Conversation Can Make You a Better Person
Ever find yourself telling a dramatic story about something that happened to you? The kind where you embellish details to gain the listener's sympathy? Probably I'm the only one who does that. Anyway, one time, I was telling one of my birth war stories, describing how emotionally difficult it was to have a C-section. (Come on, if you've had a baby, you have your own war stories, am I right?) Here's what happened: I am laying there, getting prepped for surgery, numb from the waist down, helpless and alone among strangers -- my husband is not allowed in Continue Reading