It turns out there are no shortcuts to get the job done. Even now as I sit at my keyboard, struggling to put my thoughts into words, I yearn for the Easy Button made famous by Staples ads. I am looking for a formula, a blueprint, or the ubiquitous “five easy steps to success.” I…
Big change is coming. I am readying you for it. I first heard the whisper last spring. My husband had been at his job for seventeen years, and massive changes were coming. I found myself daydreaming about moving to a new state with consistently warmer temperatures and year-round sunshine. I wanted a fresh start. We have…
Right about now, New Year’s resolutions and promises to make 2017 the year of [insert your word of the year here] are getting lost in the hurry and flurry of real life. Donuts at the office and pizza for dinner (again) weigh down our hopes of establishing healthy eating habits. Our promise to run every…
Every year I gaze longingly at beautifully decorated trees in the mall and in magazines, and on social media I see pictures of friends’ trees that perfectly replicate something I saw on Pinterest. Inspired, I trek to the hobby store, convinced that I, too, can recreate a tree of magnificence, a tree that will say…
Christmas. Just the word evokes images of experiences, both unique to our hearts and common to those around us. Trimming trees, baking, shopping, and decorating fill the lists of activities we engage in to make Christmas “feel like Christmas.” The phrase “It just isn’t Christmas without __________ (fill in the blank)” sets us all up…
Blessings come in unexpected ways. Mine came in the form of an interruption. It was late, and my children had been in bed for hours. Big brother had been asleep for at least an hour, but little brother’s sleep avoidance tactics were still going strong. I was caught up in the sublime task of cleaning…