Writer, Speaker, Editor, Blogger
Emotions are God-given and part of our humanness. They serve an important purpose by allowing us to express feelings and release tensions. Sometimes, we avoid emotions, suppressing them until we can experience them at a more convenient time. But often that moment never comes and those squelched emotions bubble to the surface unexpectedly and in […]
Earlier this week, my husband and I watched the first installment of a PBS drama that focused on the final years of slavery in early nineteenth century colonial Jamaica. As always, the portrayal of the brutality and injustice of slavery was jarring and unsettling. While we do not experience the type of slavery present centuries […]
The last few weeks have been fraught with frustration. Actually, this year has been fueled by one frustration after another. Delays, miscommunications, waiting, too much to juggle at once, and nonexistent customer service top my frustration list. How about you? What are your greatest sources of frustration? In thinking through some of the challenges of […]
In these turbulent days, calmness and peace are hard to find. Demonstrations, marches, violence, fear, and turmoil flood our cities, and mainstream and social media. Coming on the heels of COVID-19 quarantine, one has to wonder if all the emotion stems from fear, frustration, and confinement rather than backlash over injustice. We all experience times […]
Last week, our country entered an unprecedented phase as we hunkered down to halt the spread of a global pandemic called Coronavirus. Canceled events, conferences, and gatherings; shuttered schools and churches; closed businesses and restaurants, measures taken to implement social distancing and lessen the spread of the virus. Along with these efforts, other reactions came […]
When I was a child, we attended the high school football games where my father was once a football star. Not only did we have season tickets for the home games, we traveled to all the away games as well. I didn’t really understand the game so my attention was often drawn to the cheerleaders. […]
A few weeks ago, I pulled out several boxes of my children’s toys to entertain the grandchildren. Buried near the bottom of the first box was one of my childhood toys, a blue-haired troll. The grandchildren were initially fascinated with the wild blue hair and elfish features, but soon tired of the troll and moved […]
Have you ever experienced that odd sensation of moving when you are actually totally still? This sensation occurs when you have just pulled into a parking space while the person beside you is backing out. For a few seconds, you lose perspective, and although you have stopped, the movement of the person beside you makes […]
Years ago, not long after we moved to our current home, a visitor asked to see upstairs. We were still unpacking, so I hesitantly agreed to her request. She preceded me up the stairs, and as she reached the top, took a few steps, and then abruptly jerked open the linen closet door. I was […]
Not long ago, someone I don’t know followed me on social media. I tend to be a skeptic, so I never follow back or accept a friend request without first doing some investigation. What I discovered about this person made me queasy. Every post was a targeted, profanity-laced assault on someone I know well. The […]