Posts
Witnesses to Each Other’s Existing
Seeing secondhand stress in a new light
Apr 23, 2023
It happens often when I’m “out in the world.” Grocery shopping, waiting at intersections, working out at the gym, eating in restaurants. Sometimes it even seeps through my laptop screen while working with my colleagues and sitting in on video calls. It’s palpable, some days stronger than others. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels it. What am I referring to?
One Pause at a Time
Learning how to recognize our default reactions
Apr 18, 2023
The argument was meaningless, as many marital arguments tend to be. One sentence became a trigger for the other, which led to defensiveness and trying to prove each other’s points. Things got taken out of context, the past was brought into the present, the words “always” and “never” got thrown around… the usual culprits.
What Comes to the Surface
God’s refining work in our lives
Apr 10, 2023
I left the laser and skin spa holding an ice pack against my left cheekbone to reduce the burning. It was about to thunderstorm, so I rushed to my car. The lead aesthetician told me it might sting more than last time since she cranked up the heat on my IPL service. I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted after two treatments, so she suggested we try a more intense level.
The Imperceptible Motion Underneath
Trusting the process and pace of growth
Apr 02, 2023
Spring officially commenced a week ago, though you’d never be able to tell by looking outside. Just two days ago, it snowed again, after it had all finally melted. The streets were the epitome of a winter wonderland, every surface dusted in white. More is predicted for this week, with temperatures still in the low 40s. The dreariness of the winter sky has not lifted.
Enveloped in a Layer of Gratitude
Reflections on an ice storm
Mar 24, 2023
The weather forecast called it ‘freezing rain,’ warning of an ice storm in effect for our county. Essentially, this meant that the rain was going to be accompanied by temperatures at or just below freezing, leading to ice accumulations. I had never heard of or witnessed this weather pattern before moving to Illinois. Now, in my fifth year here, I was more than familiar with it.
A Light That Shines in the Darkness
Using technology in service of a better world
Mar 18, 2023
Lately I’m finding myself more addicted to my phone than usual. Taking it with me from room to room while walking about the house. Checking it frequently, for no reason other than boredom or a craving for distraction. It’s become more than a habit, nearing addiction, and frankly, I don’t like it.
The Alchemy of the Written Word
The sacred unity of writer and reader
Mar 11, 2023
I’ve been thinking a lot about “writer identity” lately. How we come to see ourselves as writers. What type of writers we think we are or are not. As much as I don’t want to be boxed in, I also understand that the whole point of branding and self-marketing is, by definition, putting ourselves into some type of recognizable box that readers can connect with.
Shepherding Us in His Direction
Learning the art of fellowship with God
Mar 04, 2023
It's 11:15 pm on Sunday night and I'm searching for videos related to “when God feels distant” on YouTube. I watch a few that look helpful, with titles including “Why Has God Been So Silent When I've Reached Out To Him?” and “How to Get Back on Track Spiritually When You Feel Far from God.”
A Force to Be Reckoned With
When resistance shows up in the creative process
Feb 25, 2023
It was when I found myself cleaning my vacuum filters in my kitchen sink that I knew something was definitely off. I had spent the last month deep cleaning, organizing, and decluttering every inch of our home. House projects typically reserved for once a year suddenly made their way to the top of my to-do list.
Way, Way Grander Than Myself
Thoughts on life’s impermanence and leaving an impact
Feb 18, 2023
It was my first shiva gathering. Thursday night, 9 pm my time, on Zoom. I had no idea what to expect. A traditional ritual of Judaism, it is a mourning period for close relatives and friends where they come by and bring food, comfort the mourner, discuss the loss, and share memories.
A Cocoon for Crafting Wings
The balancing act of nurturing our child and adult selves
Feb 10, 2023
My husband and I went light shopping over the weekend. We were wanting to replace all of our hallway ceiling lights as well as the chandelier that came with the house we purchased a little over a year ago. We walked around the store, taking in the large selection, craning our necks and pointing to ones we liked and ones that were a bit too contemporary for our taste.
Fertile Ground for Synchronicities
Thoughts on pursuing our calling
Feb 01, 2023
This, I have found, sums up my writing process. Often, I have absolutely no idea where the piece is going to go. I only have an idea for how to begin it and a theme I want to write about. But I trust the process enough to let it take me where it wants to go, instead of impose my will on it forcibly. Of course this may be easier for a nonfiction writer like myself.
An Outlet for the Ache
Lessons learned from a speeding ticket
Jan 26, 2023
It's 8:30 pm on a Monday in December. I'm driving home from an ASL class at a local community college. Thankfully it's not snowing, but the back-country roads of this neighboring town close to my house aren't streetlight-friendly, so I'm eager to get home and out of the pitch black. Hunger pains are also causing me to go faster than I should.
What No Longer Serves Us
Facing our shortcomings through the art of letter writing
Jan 18, 2023
There are many ways to ring in the new year. From old traditions passed down over time to new ones created for ourselves, we all have ways to welcome the beginning of a new 12-month cycle. One ritual that I have very recently begun implementing is writing a letter. To whom? A letter to anything that no longer serves me and that I want to let go of moving forward.
Who We Wish to Become
A different take on New Year’s resolutions
Jan 11, 2023
The beginning of a new year is not unlike a grieving period. Some resisting the idea of the current year ending. Others angry about what was not accomplished or goals unmet. Many depressed about holidays and vacations coming to an end and their mundane routines starting up again. Until we all, grudgingly, begin to accept the realities that come with one year ending and another one beginning.
Remain in the Light
Thoughts on playing small and learning to expand
Nov 05, 2022
As a writer, there are those pieces or topics that you know need to be written but that you avoid writing for as long as possible. They’re always in the back of your mind, though, lurking, anticipating the day they’ll be cemented onto paper. They tug at you, not lovingly, until you have no choice but to tend to them, if only to shut them up.
The Layer of Harmony Underneath
Learning to trust the process
Sep 03, 2022
I’m berating myself for forgetting my earplugs. This coffee shop is noisier than I had anticipated. People’s conversations reverberate against my skin and eardrums and it’s hard to concentrate. Of course I could have stayed at home to write, but there is something about the atmosphere of a coffee shop that tugs at my writer’s mind and inspires me to show up for the craft.
The Construction Zone of Personal Development
Breaking ground, rebuilding structure, and navigating warning signs
Aug 08, 2022
Everything deteriorates, eventually. This is what crosses my mind as I’m sitting at a lovely coffee shop/chocolate shop trying to get some writing done. The aroma of chocolate in the air as you walk in is divine. It’s one of those rustic downtown buildings, faded brick on the inside, ceiling pipes and beams exposed, piles of burlap coffee sacks in the corner.
Think About Such Things
Transforming our destructive thoughts one seed at a time
Jul 26, 2022
They are everywhere. Stuck on the garden gnome, the backyard furniture, in-between the patio steps, caught in the Emerald Cedar trees. A few had the unfortunate luck of getting stuck in the citronella candle wax before it hardened. Floating thistle seeds, thousands of them. We found out they’re coming from a field behind the houses across the street.
The Reflection Behind the Blank Page
Resistance to doing the work and the courage to persist
Jul 05, 2022
The desk arrived, finally, after four months of waiting. My writing desk, as I call it. Beautiful rustic whitewash finish. I’d like to believe it was the desk not having been delivered yet that kept me from writing, but I know how untrue that is. I’d like to tell myself that I wasn’t writing because my “writing room” was not complete, what with the unfinished walls and all, multiple paint samples next to each other, none making the cut.