Life – a cup at a time
“How can anyone be thankful for this wreck of a year?” you ask. My answer: it’s the tough times that we learn from the most. As I’ve begun preparing for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, it seems rather anachronous. All the families debating over get togethers, some going ahead, some postponing, others split. And that’s just …
My first recollection of fog was after my family moved to Seattle, WA, when I was eight. Leaving to walk to my new school, fog made an unfamiliar area alien. I couldn’t see across the street — I could barely see the traffic light! Would I even find the school? Fog became a familiar force …
No, Positive Realism is living in reality with joy as the foundation. As in so many arenas of modern life, people seem to be polarized between Positive thinking and Realistic thinking, as if the two can’t coexist. One group is said to be woo-woo Pollyannas and the other is said to be mired in the …
A reader asked how Grace fit into daily life after reading my post What is Grace? Part 1. “I am just so hard on myself if I miss a day of reading the Bible and would love to understand how His grace is sufficient for me!” Then she followed up with: “I would love to …
We all have a story: who we are, what we’ve done, what we dream. But often we let that story be told by others, instead of telling it ourselves. When I was young, I was: Clumsy A brat Too small to do things Too young to understand Always in trouble Stupid Mean These were all …
Is your faith boxed up so tight that Life is going to smash it to smithereens? Or maybe it has already. [A note to my atheist, agnostic, and non-Christian readers: We all believe in something, whether it is science, nature, humanity, Rah, Allah, Krishna or something else. When was the last time you thought about …
I’ve had the good fortune to be the recipient of hospitality from many of people and in a variety of places during my life. Sometimes it was a simple meal obviously stretched with rice, potatoes or noodles to accommodate extra mouths. Other times it meant weeks or months of staying in a home as guest, …
Even you can survive the holidays if you manage your expectations and exercise a little creativity, whether you have a crazy family, a mental illness, or are just “normally” stressed. Our lives are not Hallmark movies and we don’t have perfect families. My neighbors, for example, lost their matriarch last May, making this Thanksgiving awkward …
Thanksgiving is one of those events than can be an emotional roller coaster. As a result, people seem to either love it or hate it. As a child, I loved Thanksgiving. Extended family would gather at our house, both leaves were added to the table, and the fancy linen tablecloth was brought out. Even when …
Just because you fail at something doesn’t mean you’re a Failure (even if it is a four-letter word). Failing is a part of life, which everyone — especially parents — need to remember. After seven years of managing an RV park, I decided to go back to the “regular” workforce last year. Through a friend, …