Heartbreaks

Yesterday evening my husband and I were watching a National Geographic nature show with my nine-year-old daughter when enjoyment turned to tears. We got to the inevitable point where the bear catches up to the newborn elk, who had fallen behind the herd, and you know the rest. My daughter ran upstairs crying and vowing Read More

August’s Word of the Month: Consistency

Ok, I know that Consistency isn’t a very sexy word…but the alternative is chaos. I believe consistency is key, especially for people in recovery; building a collection of actions and habits that contribute to your daily success. If we leave things to chance, our subconscious slips into the driver’s seat, and impulses and whims seem Read More

Weekend Book Review: We Are the Light

We Are the Light by Matthew Quick My rating: 5 of 5 starsGenre: Contemporary Fiction Length: 256 pages Publisher: Avid Reader Press/Simon Schuster We Are the Light by Matthew Quick (author of The Silver Linings Playbook) is an epistolary novel with a timely, if not tragic focus. After a mass shooting in Majestic, PA, where Read More

Patterns

My half brother from New York is visiting this week. He came to spend time with my parents, his father and step-mom, and the rest of our family. He’s 52 now. Moving in to hug him, I remembered the excitement of his arrivals throughout my childhood years, during summers and holidays; my super-cool, break-dancing, bleach Read More

Weekend Book Review: Wholehearted Faith

Last weekend I began my weekend book review series, and if you missed it you can read it here. Today, I’m choosing and highly recommending a wonderful Christian non-fiction book I read by Rachel Held Evans called Wholehearted Faith. Happy reading! This Week’s Pick: Wholehearted Faith by Rachel Held Evans Genre: Christian non-fiction Page Length: Read More

Conversations with God in the Night

Lately, I find myself having conversations with God in the middle of the night. Actually, it’s more early morning hours, but definitely during my 6-7 hour sleep window. I’m protective of my sleep now that I don’t drink. When you go from disrupted, tortured sleep being the norm, you want to proctect and preserve your Read More

Covered in Love

One of the small delights of spring is watching the arrival of baby birds and the devoted care they receive from their mothers. At the lake I saw a killdeer huddled up on the shore and I thought it strange because they usually skitter along the water’s edge, busily feeding. She finally popped up and Read More

April Intentions Update: Action and Avoidance

April, rather than being “the cruelest month,” as T.S. Eliot proclaimed, was a pendulum of action and avoidance. In some areas of my life, I made great progress and growth. In others, I found myself the cork bobbing on the wave of a week, as described in my last post. Sometimes intentions guide the day, Read More

Too Much of a Good Thing

In my post March’s Word of the Month: Cultivate, I revealed my endeavor to give up sweets for Lent. Now that I’m wrapping up this season, I can reflect on this period of abstinence and evaluate the place of sugary food in my life. I also want to give an update on my overall healthy Read More

March Intentions Update: Learning to Play Again

The month of March felt both short and long, containing setbacks and spurts forward, much like the overall journey of life. Some of my intentions for mind, body and spirit fell by the wayside this month, and I’m still unsure whether I will pick them up again. Maybe consistently not doing something is a sign Read More