“Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.” (1 Thess. 5:11 NRSV) It’s probably safe to assume we all know what it’s like to feel down, discouraged, and alone. We’ve all felt like we’re walking in the dark at some point. So we all likely know how even a…
On a dreary day in March, I watched the steam swirl skyward from my insulated coffee mug as the acrid scent of vinegar filled my nose. While the smell impacted the taste of my coffee in a less-than-pleasant way, I smiled at the source. My youngest son sat on the stool at our kitchen island,…
If I’m fortunate this morning, I’m sitting on my deck in a bright yellow Adirondack chair, beginning my day with a cup of Earl Grey. I’m hearing the cardinal’s quick, cheerful chirp. If I’m exceptionally lucky, I see the flash of a ruby chest triangle on a rose-breasted grosbeak at my feeder. I look out…
We all have some kind of mess in our lives, don’t we? Sometimes the mess looks like a troubled marriage, a rebellious child, financial issues, addictions, or the clutter in our homes. In my work as a home organizer, I often get invited into people’s “messes.” My clients are typically overwhelmed, drowning in stuff, and…
There’s a small cardboard box nestled in one of my dresser drawers because I couldn’t stand to throw it away. Written on the box in blue crayon are the words, “Old Self Art.” Last June, my daughter, Grayson, gathered up a few of her favorite pieces and put them into the box to remember who…
I’m a teacher at heart, but I didn’t stand in front of a classroom until I was forty-five years old. I’m also a confirmed introvert whose lifelong policy has been to keep quiet, shrink into the background, and observe but not be observed. This is why I so vividly remember the day—the moment—I stood in…