With Gifts Like These, Who Needs Enemies?

I will soon write a post about the opposite of gentle and quiet (vexing and contentious, if you must know… for more about gentle and quiet, see The True Christian Woman: A Gentle and Quiet Spirit ),  but I just wrote a devotion for my church that I thought possibly worth posting.
Whether or not it helps you, [...]

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Storing Up Thanks

A friend emailed this story to me a few days ago.  I usually ignore these sort of sicky-sweet email offerings.
But I actually read this one.  I needed to be jolted out of my whiny-hood.
This story helped: 
 A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved [...]

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More Dusky Hour Reflections…

In my last post (My Dusky Hour of the Soul), I discussed some passages from Tim Farrington’s A Hell of Mercy.
I’d like to share another here, a passage that really resonated with me in this time of wondering and waiting…
 What the dark night shows us, through the intensely resisted revelation of our spiritual bankruptcy, is that we [...]

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My Dusky Hour of the Soul

 My husband recently listened to St. John of the Cross’ Dark Night of the Soul on his iPod.
After hearing the description of this phase of spiritual growth, I’m not sure I can claim to be passing through the Dark Night. But what about the Dusky Hour?
Since I lost my job, I’ve not posted for two reasons:

I’ve [...]

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God Loves You…

Yesterday, a friend emailed me the following ”failed gospel tract:”

Ain’t it the truth?!
It all depends on how you define “wonderful plan,” doesn’t it?

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My 15-Month Ordeal Ended Today

Yep. I got my wish. I was fired. Er, “laid off.”
I cried all the way home.
And guess what? No severance. And just two weeks more to work.
I’m not surprised.
Well, a bit surprised at the timing. I thought I’d have a bit more time to look for a job. I’ve looked outside of the area (hoping [...]

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Ten Ideas Changing the World Right Now

Greetings! Read on to hear about one of those ten ideas. But, before you do…
For those wondering where I went (how egocentric to think you wondered!), check out the last post: How Bad Can it Be?  We’ve been oh-so-busy thinking, planning, seeing contractors, going to kitchen stores, picking out floors, cabinets, etc.
We actually have a tile [...]

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How Bad Can it Get?? Apparently Worse…

Ok, I notice my stats are down, so it’s time for another post.
Here’s the background to this particular post:
Hate my job. Husband out of work several years. Both of us looking for jobs. Neither of us finding anything. Economy sucks. No jobs out there. Feeling trapped. Etc., etc. So, we don’t need any more trouble…
I did have a [...]

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Advice on Advice

The other night I shared my pain with a group of friends.  It wasn’t the night I hit the wall, but the same issues led me to a pit the day this group met. I was severely low when I shared.
So, what do you think I got in response to my pain?
Advice.
Yep, advice and a lecture [...]

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Suffering Alongside of Me

I hit the wall last week. I had a meltdown. Stresses and unresolved (maybe never resolved?) issues and fear of the future immobilized me. I wrote about it in last week’s post: I Hit the Wall Tonight.
I ended up having conversations with two friends and a counselor the day after that helped greatly. (I also got two very encouraging [...]

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Bargaining with God (Who, Me?)

I never thought I was the kind of person who would get mad at God when things got tough, who would think she deserved better. 
But, here I am.
Two guys who’ve influenced me greatly say the following about this subject:
If, like the elder brother [in the parable of the 'prodigal son'], you seek to control God through your obedience, then [...]

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A Moment of Grace

I had one of those moments recently, a few words that encouraged me greatly.
Within 13 hours of returning home from our holiday at sea (literally: a cruise), I was on my way to spend three days trying to sell my company’s product at a trade show.
For me, sort of like taking needles to my eyes.
I am not [...]

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How Not to Get Divorced (some thoughts from a Christian perspective)

I read somewhere on someone’s blog a discussion about finding “the one,” the perfect soul mate, the right choice so that we can live life happily ever after.
Forgive me for my cynicism, but I am not sure that the point of marriage is to live happily ever after. I wonder: if more Christians got a different point of marriage, would there be less [...]

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A Poem That Really Moves Me

Holy Sonnets XIV  (by John Donne, pictured below)
 
BATTER my heart, three person’d God; for, you
As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o’erthrow mee, ‘and bend
Your force, to breake, blowe, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurpt towne, to’another due,
Labour to’admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason [...]

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What I Learned from Doubt

This, I promise, is my last blog on the subject of Doubt (at least in this series). In this final post, I’ll enumerate the lessons I learned during my season of doubt. Or something like that.
In addition, it’s the beginning of a new blogging season at my new site where I plan on upping my output from [...]

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