Writer, Speaker, Editor, Blogger
Forgiveness is an elusive concept, its path circuitous and rocky. Staring boldly at forgiveness, it appears to require more than anyone should be asked to give. Although I’ve chosen the path of forgiveness often, I sometimes select it reluctantly, like a child grabbing the doorjamb and screaming “no” when being put down for a nap. […]
Within the next few weeks, a significant life chapter closes for me. Many of you have followed my chronicles of cleaning out the house my father built in 1966 for my grandparents and aunts and preparing it for sale. Last week, the house went on the market. Less than 24 hours later, it was under […]
Are you a planner? Do you fit your life onto a calendar and dare anything or anyone to mess with it? Planning gives a sense of control, yet none of us can totally control the course of our lives. Plans go awry without notice. How we respond to change determines how well we adjust to […]
Basketball fans know the meaning of pivot—to turn while keeping part of a foot firmly planted on the floor in an effort to protect the ball from a defender or gain a better vantage point for passing or shooting. Sometimes we encounter situations that force us to pivot. Life pivots require courage and a willingness […]
Some weeks, as I sit at the computer to write a post for my blog, the concept comes together quickly, and words flow through my fingers. Other times, I watch a flashing cursor and white screen until an idea finally gels. This week was different. I started a post, had a full outline, knew where […]
Thus far, this has been a year of overlapping seasons. Winter never fully took hold before warm temperatures encouraged a premature spring. The colors of fall hung on amid the budding trees and greening grass. Then, winter returned, with temperatures below freezing. At times, we experience overlapping life seasons. We hardly complete the handling of […]
Last weekend, I taught at a writing conference. Each time I teach at a conference, I become increasingly aware that our lives weave a story. Some lives are stories of abuse, neglect, betrayal, and struggle. Other lives involve miracles, healing, and thankfulness. Life stories are powerful. Your personal story is unique and multifaceted. Each life […]
Music has always been an important part of my life. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on the glider, between my aunts, my mother’s sisters, on the front porch of my grandparents’ house on Cornell Street. On summer evenings, the porch was a place to escape the heat of the unairconditioned house. Invariably, […]
Looking through possessions, pictures, and letters at my aunt’s house stirred so many memories and turned my thoughts to my ancestors and various types of life roots. Maybe signs of an early spring played into my pondering of roots. Or perhaps walking the yard with a landscaper and seeing trees that have anchored themselves deeply […]
Have you noticed the old becoming new? Tie-dye shirts, bell-bottomed pants, hobo bags, platform shoes, short tops replacing long, and grandchildren flashing peace signs send me spiraling back to high school days. Everything old and unstylish is suddenly new and modern. But isn’t it that way with life? What was abandoned finds new purpose. That […]