When my professor told me I wasn't participating in discussions enough to earn an A in his literature course that semester, I had an idea. Confessing that my heart stopped beating if I so much as thought about speaking up in class, I told him that if he would just call on me and save me from having to initiate speaking up, I'd know the answer. And if he could please call on me toward the beginning of class so as to get it over with, I'd ... Read More about If You Want to Learn How to Be Gentle and Quiet
Beauty
How to Find Your Vocation
Your vocation: what is it? It isn’t exactly the same as your career or job, says Jeff Goins, though it may include them. Its scope is life-long: it is the theme you will return to again and again, however many times your specific job description might change. The fact that I've gone from teaching English abroad to housekeeping for wealthy summer neighbors in the rural United States doesn't have to rock my sense of calling: I just choose ... Read More about How to Find Your Vocation
How to Find the Fountain of Youth
When I was an awkward, anxious twenty-something who felt hopelessly crippled by shyness, it dawned on me one day that even a stick-in-the-mud might actually be transformed into the kind of person who joyfully welcomes new people, new adventures, and new growth in my heart. It might be possible to be born “old” and steadily grow younger. As Exhibit A, I had my maternal grandmother, the most young-at-heart person I knew. Despite the ... Read More about How to Find the Fountain of Youth
From the Keurig to the French Press
All I wanted was a Keurig in my early twenties with my coffee in a to-go mug. Travel mugs symbolized I was grown up, a professional, with important things to do and places to be. Time to brew a regular cup of coffee? Maybe someday when I was a grandparent. Over the years the Keurig splashed out hundreds of cups of coffee as I frantically ran out the door, late to one more meeting or with a to do list long enough to strangle my soul. Coffee ... Read More about From the Keurig to the French Press
what’s good about a bad week
From the start, it was a week gone wrong. Monday morning found me rushing. There was a misunderstanding between our landlady and the exterminator hired to spray for bugs and I had just 10 minutes to grab what I could and leave the house to avoid the chemicals. It was the second time this had happened. One week earlier, we'd been banished for an hour or two early in the morning on a preliminary search for ways to stop the long-term ant ... Read More about what’s good about a bad week
True Beauty (review & giveaway)
I started growing my hair out when my son was born three years ago. It had hardly been much past my shoulders since I'd chopped it off around age 13. I was ready to see what long hair felt like. I wanted to know if I would be as beautiful as those women whose long hair I admired. I enjoyed the process. I loved having longer curls. But the extended hair care regime just wasn't practical. And, over time, I realized it just wasn't me. Even if it ... Read More about True Beauty (review & giveaway)
What’s your foodview?
I eat food. I make food. I obsess over food. I workout so I can have more food. I eat food so I can live. I live so I can eat food. Food is divisive (carbs or low-carb? fats or fat-free? organic or not? gluten or none?). Food is unifying (have you ever attended a foodless party?). Food is as emotional as me at my ficklest female moment. Have you ever stopped to consider what your worldview is, as relates to food? Whether in binging on ... Read More about What’s your foodview?
Vessels of Service
Body image. It’s something that nearly all women struggle with: globally, only four percent of women consider themselves beautiful. Why is this such a widespread issue? God declared all of his creation good in the beginning. Adam and Eve certainly didn’t have body image issues. Oh, wait. As soon as sin entered the world, so did concerns about our bodies. Adam and Eve immediately realized they were naked and hid themselves. I don’t know if Eve ... Read More about Vessels of Service
What To Do When You Feel Old
It wasn’t a mirror that "done me in" or made me feel old. And that surprised me. I always perceive the mirror or the scales to be my adversaries to a healthy body or age image. At the first signs that the mirror or scale will be speaking lies or distorting truths to me, I brew cups of hot lemon water and my skin plumps back up and my stomach stops plumping. I grab my bag of tricks and tips proven to keep my age numbers and appearance numbers ... Read More about What To Do When You Feel Old
Beauty Thief
The Lord blessed me with a golden mane. Thick and wavy, though a little wild at times, it has been my glory for as long as I can remember. With my Princess Buttercup locks, however, came a peach fuzz in places a woman does not really want fuzz. Of course, I was unaware until someone else pointed it out. Oh, how vividly I remember the day my middle school friend decided to make it known. "You're a hairy beast!" she laughed. Her words ... Read More about Beauty Thief
The Thought Trap — and an Escape Plan
I am terrible at parking. Ask my parents. They're regularly regaled at the dinner table with tales of how I parked a mile away from the entrance of bookstores and class buildings because I was terrified of parking between two other cars. When I'm daring enough to try, I swing wide. Or I go narrow. I spin the wheel. Or I ease into it. Sometimes I even make it between the lines and Hallelujah. But my truck's most often crooked. I'm between ... Read More about The Thought Trap — and an Escape Plan
How To Teach Beauty In A World That Is Blind
Isn’t it funny how we often think the most beautiful things are those we have not? As a young girl I read a book about a woman with chocolate-colored eyes and blond hair. In the story, she was exceptionally beautiful because her coloring wasn’t the normal “blond hair, blue eyes”, but different and unique. And my immediate reaction was to look in the mirror and mourn my bright blue eyes. If only they were brown…then I would be beautiful. And ... Read More about How To Teach Beauty In A World That Is Blind
