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…
Kindred Grace Team 4 Minute Read The small bell on the door announces the arrival of more guests. The store resembles a living room — with cushions on the floor for reading and toys in a basket for playing. This humble bookstore boasts the charm of a private enterprise. It’s the kind of bookstore I love most.
My children are accustomed to our monthly visits, and they know to use our library-quiet voices when we’re here. So my youngest daughter tugs on my shirt with enthusiasm to garner my attention.
Guest Author 5 Minute Read As an only child, a diligent student, and now a single 20-something, solitude has never been very difficult for me, and I could easily rattle off a list of ways introverted behaviors—silent meditation, journaling, solitary prayer—contribute to a rich spiritual life. As a teenager, I would have been very happy to spend every Sunday worshipping on my own beneath a tree. Only as I matured as a Christian did I begin to understand that whatever virtues we introverts might possess, these virtues are most fit for kingdom work when sharpened against the very real strength of extroverts.
Danielle Carey 5 Minute Read Recently my sister Lauren and I sat down to nut out our thoughts on personality types in relationships. We come at things from different angles. From the outside, Lauren resembles a typical introvert. She’s quiet, content to stay in the background, and has a gentle demeanour. Yet her chilled exterior hides a fiercely people-oriented perspective:…
Elisabeth Allen 5 Minute Read I’m the eldest of a family of girls and perhaps it’s not surprising that I identify with Meg March and Jane Bennet more than Jo and Lizzie. Of course there’s nothing wrong with being a Jane-and-Meg kind of girl. It’s just that a lot of big sisters identify more with Meg and Jane in a…
Elisa Pulliam 5 Minute Read The way we are wired determines how we will hear, process, and respond, especially as we communicate with others
We can’t help it. Our personality influences how we react to situations and interact with others. My girls may be from the same family, with similar genetic make-up and certainly comparable life experiences, but when it comes to how they think, talk, listen, work, love, and serve they are nearly opposites. My guess is that you know exactly what I am talking about and have experienced personality conflicts — or let’s say challenges — with your loved ones, too.
Guest Author 4 Minute Read Despite living in the same family, we all grow up in totally different environments — a.k.a our birth orders.
At first, birth order might not seem like it makes a huge difference in our personality, but think of where you land in the family unit.
Are you firstborn? Middle? Lastborn? Only?
How did you react to situations based on having older or younger siblings, or none at all?
Jeannie Pederson 3 Minute Read It’s so much easier for me to get along with people who have similar personalities to mine. We may not always agree on everything, but at least we tend to operate the same way. We prioritize the same kinds of things. We are frustrated by similar things. It’s no surprise that my closest friends and…
Caroline Rose Sanders 4 Minute Read The year was 1997 and I was in my first (and only) year of public school. Like a good little girl, I had lined up on the sidewalk which led from the playground to the awning. Recess was over and I was waiting behind several of my sweaty peers to go to my next class….
Gretchen Louise 2 Minute Read By the fourth time we read The Treasure Tree: Helping Kids Understand Their Personality, a children’s book by Gary Smalley and John Trent, our kids’ personalities were evident in their reactions as we read. There was no need for the test at the end! The Treasure Tree is the story of four friends who are given a special…
Caroline Rose Sanders 6 Minute Read I get my energy from spending great amounts of time alone. However, I do not think that’s how people see me. When I am with people I am comfortable with I can very extroverted. And because I am a pastor’s wife I have had to learn how to more extroverted than I even want to be.
Jessica Elisabeth 3 Minute Read I listened intently to the sermon on First John, wishing for the third consecutive Sunday that our pastor put a more detailed outline on the PowerPoint. My mind kept getting lost in the “transcription” process as I mentally tried to picture the words of the sermon as I heard them. By the end of the…
The End.
The End.