Emily C. Gardner 3 Minute Read I love browsing the new releases at Barnes and Noble — ogling covers and scanning titles for books I’ll add to my never-ending to-read list. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain was one of those books I immediately picked up to peruse further. With a tagline…
Emily C. Gardner 3 Minute Read During a two week stint of house-sitting last month, my husband and I became well acquainted with our fellow occupants, Hana and Maile, a rambunctious pair of Labrador Retrievers. I enjoy dogs and, for the most part, they like me, but after fourteen days with those two (pictured above), I discovered we have very different…
Emily C. Gardner 3 Minute Read The television show, Hoarders, has a simple premise — documenting the lives of people who obsessively collect things, even if the collections are pointless, harmful, or unsanitary. I’ve only watched the show a couple times because it makes my neat-freak tendencies go haywire. It was hard for me to see these people, unable to get…
Emily C. Gardner 3 Minute Read Looking in the mirror, I could feel the disgust bubbling up again. I had been able to look past the red spots dotting my face for a couple days because they seemed to be lessening. At least my neck had escaped the weekend without a pesky breakout. But, as I examined my freshly showered face,…
Emily C. Gardner 3 Minute Read It didn’t take long for The Supreme’s song, “You Can’t Hurry Love”, to become a favorite during my high school and college years. I particularly liked the Dixie Chicks’ version and would sing passionately along with the trio as they belted out what became the anthem of my singlehood. I need to find, find someone…
Emily C. Gardner 3 Minute Read Just like there are a few conversation topics I generally avoid talking about at a party, there are certainly a list of topics I generally avoid (probably subconsciously) when picking a new book to read. My pleasure reading doesn’t usually involve death, dying, or illness. Sometimes those things play a small supporting role in the plot,…
Emily C. Gardner 2 Minute Read My Beautiful One, I saw you try to hide those tears yesterday. It wasn’t easy because you were sitting in a classroom, surrounded by your peers. What luck, you thought, that the girl next to you had just sprayed copious amounts of perfume and you could blame wet eyes on an allergic reaction. You’re getting…
Emily C. Gardner 2 Minute Read Much like spring is known as a season for coming out of hibernation, celebrating new growth, and cleaning, January comes with its fair share of expected activities. After a stretch of festive indulgence, people join gyms and begin healthy eating regimens. People look back on the past twelve months and look forward to what the…
Emily C. Gardner 4 Minute Read If I learned how to choose Christ while in college, I learned how to cling to Christ while studying abroad.
Ever since my brother came back from a semester studying in England, I was determined to spend time overseas during college. I had the whole thing planned out by the time I started my freshman year at William Jewell College. And, for once, things turned out exactly how I planned.
Emily C. Gardner 3 Minute Read Expectations can be dangerous. An active imagination or creative mind can manipulate reality into something that only leads to disappointment. I experienced that kind of letdown when I started college.
The End.
The End.