It’s been a long winter, y’all. January was pretty quiet. I got a few colds but did my best to stay well for my February 3 appointment at Hershey since we were doing a repeat chest CT to see if what was in my lungs was from a viral infection or if it was whatever has been growing in there. I will note, toward the beginning of the month a lot of my family members got sick with something odd,…
It’s a strange time to be alive. God has blessed my family, but I know there are many out there who are struggling right now. I pray peace, protection, and provision over all who read this. If you have a specific prayer request, feel free to leave it in the comments and I will lift up that request to God. It’s often hard to find God during the bleak times of life, but I find that’s when He seems most…
Ever feel like you’re trying to get somewhere but you’re not going very fast? You put in the time and effort, work as hard as you can, yet the amount of things you have left to do feels untouched, unmoved, unproductive? Yesterday, I moved two tons of bricks. At least, that’s what I’ve calculated from my brother’s estimation of the weight upon completion of our little project. And I’m kind of proud of myself. As I write this, we are…
March 16, 2017 is a day forever etched into my brain. Most people would look at the collapse of a world as being a bad thing, but it allowed for a restructuring that would not have been possible without it. As the chaos of the world today is swirling in our midst, dancing in the streets and in our minds, behind closed doors to keep everything away, I recall the peaceful chaos that blessed and cursed my family three years…
This winter hasn’t been very wintery around here. This morning I sat in a coffee shop and watched flurries come down as I sipped my tea, but last week I was going around with just a cardigan on. It has been an odd season and I am more than ready for spring to be here. Winter causes me to be secluded and more antisocial than I already prefer to be, so I am anticipating the softness of springtime and the…
The following may contain affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and make a purchase, you’re supporting me and my writing without spending anything extra. Thank you! I’ve only been meaning to write this review for about two months now. Better late than never, right? I had the opportunity to be on the launch team of a fellow hope*writer, Meredith McDaniel. She is a licensed professional counselor who felt led to write this book, in want +…
As a result of some recent events, I have found myself reflecting on grief and trusting Christ even in the midst of the grief. This grief that I am talking about is not the loss of someone dear, or the tragic or traumatic experiences one has during their life, or anything that is truly life-altering in a sudden way. The grief I am speaking of is the quieter, more stealthy kind, the kind that sneaks in when you realize a…
Inspired by Modern Mrs. Darcy (who is also my Reading Challenge inspiration this year), I have been thinking about what’s been getting me through these long winter months. Thanks to my health problems, I am supposed to avoid people as much as possible. If I can’t avoid them and have the possibility of having contact with sick or non-flu vaccinated persons, I get to wear a medical mask. My favorite thing ever is drawing attention to myself (all introverts simply…
I’ve currently been working through some books I’ve had laying around that I keep meaning to get to but don’t. Am I the only one with that problem? I have a “To Be Read” list that’s longer than me and I still end up reading books NOT on the list, and add ten new ones to said list while I am at it.
It’s a little over a week into the new year as I write this and the hustle and “newness” of the season is starting to wear off a little, or at least it seems to be wearing off to me. As I have reflected on the past year, I’ve noticed that despite not intentionally doing so, I picked a “word of the year” last year: Rest. It was important to me to find the balance between life and rest, and…
How strange it is to think that most of December is actually fall, not winter. I feel funny calling this a Fall Health Update because…it’s now after Christmas, but I guess that’s just how it goes. October Thankfully October was a pretty quiet month, I saw my infectious disease doctor but since I had a CT in July we couldn’t get one done then (thanks, insurance), so there really wasn’t much to talk about. We had hoped the results from…
I sit here on my outdated denim loveseat, wrapped up in my newly knit prayer shawl, and enjoy the warmth of the sunshine that is shining through my dirty window that I had tied the curtain back with a piece of ribbon. I hear the murmur of water boiling on my antique stove in the kitchen as the dryer spins and buttons clank in the basement. I sit here to spend time with Jesus and to journal. As I was…
Do you ever find yourself in that little space within you that you keep locked up, tucked away, so no one can see what’s in there?
It’s crazy to think as I type this I already have my Christmas tree up and my house partially decorated. Last year, I wanted Christmas to be over instead of anticipating it, but this year, since I am out of retail, I am taking my time to enjoy this season we are heading into as I remember what I have learned in the past three months. The past couple of months have been relatively uneventful, simply busy as they always…
November has seemed to be a full month. I started writing a book for NaNoWriMo, which has taken up a decent amount of time (but not as much as one would think), I’ve been working on getting ready for the holidays, and along with all of everything else that goes on in life, Andrew and I went away for a few days. We went to Wisconsin for a wedding, so that threw off my journaling and devotional time, too. I…
Celebrities and breaking news is not what I usually like to think or talk about. However, recently Andrew was away and one of the nights I spent by myself I was awakened at three in the morning by my dog, Mountain Pie, who was unhappy that she was getting rained on in her room. Understandable, right? Yes. But waking me up in the middle of the night tends to make me very jumpy for a while, thanks to my adrenal…
I am inadequate. That’s not something you see people admit very often. That’s something we pretend we don’t feel, yet somehow it bubbles to the surface more often than any of us would like to admit. I am inadequate. We say this, and people jump up and say, “No, you are not! You are more than enough. You are strong. You aren’t weak.” Except. I am inadequate. You are inadequate. On our own. By ourselves, we are inadequate. We will…
You are never further away from me than a realization that You are with me. When I feel nothing more than numb and want to do nothing but cry, You are there. You are there when I see figures in the shadows and danger in the creaks of an old house. You are there when all has run out and I think it’s the end, yet somehow life keeps going. You are there when I feel I have failed, yet…
Two months ago I wrote about what I’ve learned in my first year of marriage. In that post, I mentioned I’d write about that mini vacation later, not intending to write about it while on another mini vacation this long afterwards. But, here I am on a train, heading back from New York with my parents and younger sister, writing about both my time spent with Andrew in Natural Bridge, and in NYC with my family. These two trips were…
Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith? Mark 4:40 Wow. That one hits me pretty hard. And sadly, I have to let it hit me hard often because I always manage to forget it. I remember a time in life when I had no cares in the world. I trusted my mom’s watch would beep and tell us it was time for my meds when it was time. I trusted I would have my medicine and I…