Category Archives: life
Holidays with the Narcissists, and What to Do About It
Photo credit: flickr/brendan-c
As the holiday season arrives each year, some of us find it to be a time that almost triggers the worst in those people around us who are a taxing, burdensome presence rather than an uplifting presence. As the recipients of this draining energy, we find ourselves bewildered and frustrated, often in ways that are difficult to articulate. But maybe this year can be different.
I’m Searching for Something Healthier Than Wanting It All Now and Watching It Not Happen
Photo Credit: flickr/hto2008
What are you thankful for? It is a question that gets asked every single year, without fail, at almost every single family gathering that occurs on November 24th. Were you ready for that cliche question at the Thanksgiving table this year? Because I was not, and I’m here to remedy that.
I was told by my husband the other day to perhaps see if the store I was going to for some retail therapy sold “cans of sunshine” because I seemed to be out of it. And, I’m ashamed to say, he was correct. My attitude has been anything but sunny.
You Are Already Thankful
Photo credit: flickr/Fabiana Zonca
It’s Thanksgiving time, a prompting to pause and be grateful. Sure, maybe we need all the reminders we can get, and yes, perhaps Americans tend to be too unappreciative in general, but I’ve also noticed how easily we beat ourselves up over such things. Sometimes, I think we are more thankful than we realize. Maybe we just express it in different ways.
[TELEGRAM] The Devil Found Your Address and Followed You Home
“It’s hard to dance with a devil on your back so shake him off.” -Florence + the Machine
When the Occupy Movement Makes You Late for Dinner
Photo credit: flickr/kosmosxipo
I stood alone on the street corner of Fourth and Cedar in downtown Seattle after a day at work, waiting for my bus to arrive. Like most nights this week, it was blustery and cold outside. But unlike most nights this week, Fourth Avenue was eerily quiet. I paced impatiently, knowing there was a hot dinner waiting for me and bills needing to be paid at home.
Later on the bus, I overheard two others in a conversation. The Occupy Movement had tied up the downtown intersections and traffic heading in my direction was stalled. I would be late to dinner because of this nation-wide gathering. The Occupy Movement directly impacted my life, and that has troubled me in unexpected ways.
Marriage and Tragedy: How Heartbreak Brought us Closer Together
Photo credit: flickr/sklathill
They say that tragedy can do two things to a marriage; it can bring you closer together or it can drive you completely apart. I’m here to share with you the silver lining in the heartbreak that recently rocked my marriage. I’m here to show you how it brought us closer than I ever thought it could.
Life with God: Punctured by Light While in the Company of Shadows
Photo Credit: flickr/Ehsan Khakbaz
I concluded my previous post by saying that we’ll find abundant life if we get to God, who is the life giver. While I am convinced that the statement is true, it is open to the misinterpretation that says ”get Jesus, and all of your problems will disappear.” Whether you’ve chosen to receive Christ or not, we both know that a problem-free life is not reality. So it matters how we define abundance. Is it the accumulation of good times, the absence of trouble, or something else completely opposed to conventional wisdom?
Denial or Despair? We’ve Got Heavy Lungs in Search of Holy Air
Photo credit: flickr/lauren.rushing
“The winds are coming,” he shouted with a sense of urgency, a prophetic warning from a pastor not known for making wild predictions about the future. Sitting in the congregation about two and a half years ago, his words made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Somehow, I knew that he was right. Something devastating (and ultimately miraculous) was about to happen in my life, but I had no idea what that thing was. It hit soon after, and when it did, everything changed.
The winds are coming. Maybe the winds have already arrived. Life, despite our best efforts, cannot be bridled. We will not be able to avoid the pitfalls of loss and deep pain, no matter how careful we are. If we’re not rooted in something greater, denial or despair will find a way to make a home in us, stalling our search for transcendent air.
[TELEGRAM] Forgiveness Will Renew the Vows of Marriage
The U.S. Assassination of a U.S. Citizen and the Nobility of Asking Tough Questions
A U.S. predator drone. Photo Credit: flickr/CliffStreetPhotography
ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper is a hero as far as I’m concerned. Tapper bothered to ask White House Press Secretary Jay Carney a few critically important questions about the U.S. government’s assassination of U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, after Awlaki was decimated in Yemen late last week by a missile fired from a U.S. predator drone. When given the political run around, Tapper didn’t shrink into his chair. Thankfully, he persisted.
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