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 ... read more
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 ... read more
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 ... read more
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 ... read more
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 ... read more
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 ... read more
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 ... read more
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 ... read more
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 ... read more
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 ... read more
