It’s been another full-plate week, so I’m late in writing this week, but want to put words to a light piercing through my heavy heart. I’m on social networks quite a lot lately for work-related research, yet I find it hard to escape the headline news of mass shootings, and the racist fueled death of …
I’m late in writing this week, having had a full weekend with Mother’s Day and a Saturday enjoying a wonderful outing in Laguna Beach. So, I’m sneaking in a short blog before dinner, what bloggers call a five-minute post — writing free-form for five-minutes without editing. I promised I’d try it again during a busy …
It’s raining here in San Diego early Sunday morning. Mighty fierce clouds painted varying shades of gray cover the sky. The palm trees out my bedroom window look like tiny umbrellas silhouetting the sky. I retreat into morning silence, a gift of pause in our busy world. This unusual, wet, windy, stormy May weekend morning …
I’ve been thinking about what it means to pray. In author Anne Lamott’s book, Help, Thanks, Wow, she recounts these three simple prayers that helped her through life’s challenges. Her writing summarizes how most of us pray in desperation as we cry out, God, please help me, such as when we’re dying of thirst in the deserts of …
I’m not sure what to write about today, so I’ll just write. It may be brief today since I’m feeling a bit like taking a nap, however I’m curious to discover what story is trying to break through fertile ground that feels like the seedling of a prayer. I’m sitting in the Holocaust Museum’s lobby …
Rumbling tremors beneath the foundation of our home started in our son’s preteen years, but a tectonic shift changed the course of our parenting when he turned 18-years old, when he started floating away, an island all his own. This continental drift, an initiation into manhood, for daughters, womanhood, means we no longer reign over …
My husband has a big heart, yet sometimes he over-extends himself by giving too much, sometimes at the cost of his own time and well-being, which sometimes impacts me — like it did this weekend — but not in the way I thought. On Friday afternoon, he told me wouldn’t be home until late that …
Have you ever experienced scripture jumping off the page onto your lap, surprising with unexpected delight, a delight similar to how you might feel if a baby kangaroo leaped out of a bush onto your lap while you sat on a bench in a park? Scripture has the power to elicit such abounding joy from …
Days before an annual Academy Awards party at a friend’s house, I went to see Lion with a dear friend to catch up on movies I hadn’t seen. All I heard about Lion was that it was an adoption story. Little did I know by the time I left the theater, my heart would be …
I cannot ignore the fact gray, thin, spiked hairs popped out on my temples. They’re fine like baby’s hair, except of course they’re not since they’re definitely gray, or more accurately, white. There’s a few more framing my face. This is a first. My husband told me a friend gave him a Christmas present — …
I’m reflecting on LOVE this Valentine’s week, specifically on intimate love in committed relationships and marriage. Honestly, sometimes I find it easier to say “I love you” to my cat than to my husband. This I’m not proud of. Growing up in a dysfunctional family is one excuse. Love was twisted and confusing. But, really, …
There’s much talk these days about ‘living in the moment’, mindfulness, and practicing the presence of God. It makes sense these are popular practices given the fast-food, fast-foward lifestyles we live in western culture. Gosh, don’t we need more pauses. In projecting ahead into the future, or living in the past, we miss the moments …
I’m addicted to memoirs and biographies, and fascinated by Christian history and daring women, so I jumped at chance to review Michelle DeRusha’s, Katharina & Martin Luther, about a radical marriage of a runaway nun and a renegade monk. This well-crafted book reads more like suspense story than a historical account of two fascinating people in …
The sun slanting through my living room window lights only a small corner where my cat rolls round in this warm spot. I’m struck by his intention to settle in this choice sanctuary in the streaming light. Fueled by a sense of urgency, a chorus of voices on social networks cried out for justice …
In an attempt to quiet my mind during morning prayer, I imagined being on my knees at Jesus’ feet. Something about being on our knees is immediately humbling. My attention soon shifted to a listening stance. In a few moments of just breathing and waiting, I sensed Jesus saying, “even though you’re tempted to get …
So a new, unwritten chapter begins as we awaken to the blank pages of 2017! I’m one to hold goals and dreams loosely since I know the unwieldy nature of my own will, and the power in seeking first the heart of God. Because of my unwieldy will, I also reject the popular notion of …
Be not lax in celebrating! Be not lazy in the festive service of God! – Hildegard of Bingen What happens when we live God’s way? God “brings gifts into our lives..things like affection for others, exuberance about life..a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people.” …
Creating Intentions for a Christ-Centered Holiday and New Year Read More »
Thanks to an article summarizing numerous scriptures prophesizing the coming of the Messiah (see below), I reflect more deeply on the unfolding Christmas Story. But what always most strikes me when reading the Bible over the years, is the fulfilment of God’s love personified in Christ which I believe is the heart of the Christmas …
I sure want to feel joyful during this Advent season, filling my lungs with robust breaths shouting out “JOY TO THE WORLD!” It’s Christmas season after all, and JOY is the Advent word to contemplate this week. Ba Humbug! I just don’t feel it. I’ve been avoiding Christmas shopping, yet yesterday on the way into the …
I’ve thought alot lately about how, in following Christ, it’s inevitable the masks we wear will crumble like plaster into dust. I suspect shedding masks is part of what Jesus teaches about dying to ourselves. Afterall, rebirth, new life, transformation, transfiguration can only happen when our old selves die. Our masks might include being ‘a …
I’ve been in bed sick with a flu for the last 5 days, in a feverish darkness awaiting the light of renewed health. My once loyal work horse of a car blew a head yesterday when my son was heading to work. All I can really do is surrender in my bedroom infirmary stocked with …
I wanted to write this to encourage grateful hearts, especially acknowledging as we ponder the meaning of this holiday, those people and things we most often overlook in our busy lives. As I write in my journal propped up against two soft pillows in my bed, my husband brings a cup of coffee, placing it …
Thankfulness for What and Who We Take for Granted Read More »
I’m guessing if you’re reading this, like me, you feel poisoned by the onslaught of post-election laments, rants, hate-slinging and terror posted on social media and broadcast on television news. Like me, you’re also probably somewhat addicted to reading, which in itself is a good habit, but in this technology age, social media is like …
By the time most read this, we’ll have a new president. You may be angry or outraged. Or you may be happy about the outcome. Either way, we’re a divided, troubled, wounded country, on November 9th, and before the election. I’ve been reading the book of 1John, challenged by the call to love one another. …
The more my life is about putting God first, focusing on God rather than worldly desires, the more I discover myself thirsting like the deer who “pants for the water”. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God.” -Psalm 42:1 I didn’t realize how deeply I yearned for …
I’m writing sprawled out on my bed wearing ear plugs, slippers, and a shabby, mix-matched outfit I grabbed from my dark closet early this morning. My husband woke me at 6am to go out for coffee, a favorite weekend treat we do once in a while when I can remove myself from the soft-sheet comfort …
As I sat sprawled out on my lawn chair during quiet moments this week during a midday break, I reflected about friends and those many I read about on blogs facing illnesses, some more debilitating than others, but nevertheless challenging. I took a moment for a silent prayer for those suffering, while thanking God for …
I’m chuckling watching the tall, elder man in my Zumba class, who looks a bit like Frankenstein with his broad, square shoulders and large clunky feet, probably a size 14, intent on following the super-charged dance moves of our tiny, sprite, millennial teacher shakin’ her fit and firm booty, jazzing to the hip-hop beat. I …
I read a Facebook post comment yesterday where a woman wrote about being dissatisfied with some of the churches she’s frequented. She called one a Stepford church because everyone looked alike — women wore the same kind of 2.5 inch heeled pumps and similar floral print dresses, calf-length, with a platter collar. It made me …
A while back when I faced an onslaught of anxiety from the far horizon of my unconscious, during the desert of mid-life, when my hands-on, self-less years of motherhood withered to cooking one family dinner a week, if even, when my son’s adolescence took root, when menopause and teen hormones danced hip-hop through my living room, …
The Spiritual Practice of Surrendering to God’s Will Read More »
I often consider the reasons why Jesus is so captivating. I’m not talking about his divine nature and miracles, I’m meaning who he was as a human being. He navigated wide territory of emotions in time spent with both the downtrodden and the oppressor, modeling an uncanny ability of both boldness and gentleness, outrage and …
We don’t talk about her much, but she’s always with us, covered under beige makeup and pink blush, on pale lips under rose-colored lipstick, hiding in our forced smiles. She often escapes into safe, yet dark, claustrophobic closets of isolation, hiding out in tunnels of introversion. She’s the ghost of millions, across landscapes, wearing sarees, …
I recently experienced weeks of a being in a rut, unclear about what direction I needed to take in my life. Each day I felt like a rat running in circles in a maze of brick walls. I finally surrendered. In my surrendered state I heard a quiet whisper within that said, “seek wisdom“. I …
It’s so great to be back, I’ve missed you all! I hope your summer offered some old-fashion warm weather fun: barbecues, picnics, lake swims, ocean walks, watching sunsets and butterflies, and many sacred moments of reflection, renewal and self-care. Mine was a simple, uneventful summer- what I needed. Aside from my normal diligence with …
I hope this finds you all well as summer unwinds! It went so fast, but I’m excited to be back writing next week, I’ve missed you all! So stay tuned! I thought we’d end the Summer Blog Tour with something a little different — a blast of enthusiasm by Spoken Word artist David Bowen, with …
I’m honored today to share the powerful voice of blogger Velynn Brown who writes for some of my favorite online faith magazines including She Loves (a global community of women who love) and The Mudroom (a blog about making room in the mess (of life). Rich with faith-filled passion, Velynn is a poet, blogger, social justice …
I cannot believe 6 weeks of summer has passed by already! I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful summer, and having a chance to read some of the beautiful writers on our Summer Blog Tour! Today’s theme is about finding wonder in worrying. I stumbled on a guest blog by Christie Pruifoy over at Emily Freeman’s …
Finding Wonder in Worry – Summer Blog Tour Week #6 Read More »
d If you’re just visiting for the first time, I’m on a summer break from blogging, but I’m taking readers on a Summer Blog tour of some of my favorite blogs. Today, I’m sharing a tender blog by Kelly Chripczuk from her blog A Field of Wildflowers. Kelly is a Spiritual Director, Writer, Speaker, Mother …
The Tenderness of Being a Mom – Summer Blog Tour Week #5 Read More »
I missed posting our Summer Blog Tour post last week due to computer problems. But we’re back! As many of you know, I’ve taken a summer writing break, but sharing some of favorite bloggers with you. Today meet Jennifer Dukes Lee. She is a light! I’m always encouraged and blessed by her writings, and her …
I’m on a summer break from writing, yet, meanwhile I’m enjoying sharing some of my favorite writers on our Summer Blog Tour! I met beautiful-hearted Christine from Momcafe.com through blogging, and how she blesses me! She has a special ability to write deep, vulnerable, honest blogs that speak to a woman’s heart. Her …
Reminders to Love Ourselves the Way we Are! -Summer Blog Tour #3 Read More »
As I’m taking a summer break from writing, I’ll be offering you a summer tour of some of my favorite faith blogs. This week I’m excited to share a blog by Ann Voskamp. If you don’t yet know Ann, she is a a popular author of many beautiful books, such as bestseller One Thousand Gifts, A …
I’m so blessed by writing Holy Vacation Queen blog, it’s a sort of church for me, a spiritual practice, one of the ways I abide in God, and attune to God’s will, a way I separate myself from the voices of the world. I never knew how blessed I’d be by the amazing community …
(I rewrote this blog from a while back. It really speaks to me now as I’m recouperating from all the activities, parties, and events for my son’s high school graduation, last theater performances and helping him plan a month long adventure – he’s leaving tomorrow! Sacred Rest is needed!…how about you?) In our busy lives …
(This is a revised blog I wrote in 2015..) Somehow with the overwhelm of political news, I missed the year anniversary of Maya Angelou’s death on May 28th, 2016. Maya has been an inspiration to helping me give voice to my work as a creative artist. She also endorsed my first documentary years ago, which …
Years ago during a time before I knew Christ, I was in counseling trying to move through a river of depression that streamed through the center of my life, while I also moved through thickets of both small and large traumas from my life that fenced me into an insular, isolated existence of self involvement. …
Grace is such a small, beautiful word, holding within it’s five letters the meaning, power and might of God’s bountiful gifts bestowed upon both the faithful and faithless, the deserving and undeserving, those in need, and those with enough. As I finished the last chapter this weekend of Philip Yancey’s What’s So Good About God, …
During my early career, I worked as a network television publicist for a leading public relations firm in New York city. My job was to land television show bookings for my clients, and come up with story ideas for clients to ‘pitch’ to show producers. 9-lives catfood was one of my many clients, you might …
During a crisis a long while ago, when I faced my own fragile faith, a friend gave me a tiny charm filled with mustard seeds that I could wear on a necklace or bracelet. New to the Christian world, I didn’t have any sense about the relentless loyalty of a faithful God. I also read …
I’ve got a good deal on my plate beginning a new project which requires sorting through complex research and formulating ideas for a film project, my brain feels as if it will burst open. I imagine the burst spilling forth an explosion of ideas like a fireworks display, surely that would be a relief, watching …
When I’m stuck in a tangle of worry or overwhelm, I take a walk. Since I live by the beach, I’ve mentioned the sandy shore is my go-to place, but sometimes I just walk down the street to the corner grocery store where I’m captivated by the bright colored spring flowers shining their faces toward …
I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of escaping periodically to a simple cabin on an island by a warm-water sea. I’ve daydreamed of timeless days, except for sounds of distant gulls, and the rhythmic cadence of crashing waves, of thirst quenching, salty silence. I’ve imagined reading when I felt like it, writing when inspired, …
I love little children, and especially love how funny they can be. Yet, as they grow we guide them toward taking leaps developmentally and help them become more independent. A few years back, for a brief time, when my son was growing up, I worked at a preschool when I really started missing the little …
I’ve been spending quality time with women friends lately, noticing a common theme arising from our conversations – surrender. We’re raising the white flags, relinquishing crippling overwhelm, looming vocational transitions, financial concerns, challenges with our children, and for some marriage and partnership turmoil. We’re finding controlling our relationships won’t work, goals aren’t panning out, charting …
This week, barraged with family and work challenges and a full plate schedule weighing heavy, I felt like I was in a pressure cooker. Last night as I sauteed sweet potatoes and kale on the stove, I whispered a repetitive prayer in cadence with the stirring of my wooden spoon, “God help me, I’m overwhelmed!” …
Has a wonder ever visited, perhaps as startling and magnificent as a parrot landing from nowhere on your shoulder, peering with perky eyes into yours? Have you smelled the sweet scent of dew on the dawning of a spring, the first garden buds blooming colorful faces like little elves across edges of fine cut lawns? …
Finding Wonder in the Difficult and the Beautiful Read More »
I’m reflecting today on the presence of God who sometimes seems so near, far away as the moon, or gone altogether. I’ve written a short poem, and sharing other poems, scripture and writings that speak to the many ways God shows up in our lives. In secret places I find you, between blades of grass …
We deal with troublemakers, those crafty people who get under our skin, wrecking havoc on our otherwise harmonious families, workplaces and communities, spreading ill-ease like an infectious disease. The truth is, troublemakers are often troubled people. Often prideful, ego-maniacal, jealous, controlling, ignorant, unhappy, angry, well-disguised sociopaths or mentally unbalanced — and some just Godless — …
A little red convertible sports car keeps revving it’s engine in my old soul during my mid-life, bidding me onward to new highways and byways, to mountaintops, my hair blowin’ in the breeze kind of freedom that’s calling me to grow and stretch in new ways. To tell you the truth, I expected slower drives …
I grew up in a family of five children on Long Island, New York. You’d think I’d feel part of a tribe, happy surrounded by brothers and sisters. But as the oldest daughter, with two younger sisters and two brothers who shared rooms, I often felt lonely in our Brady Bunch kind of family. It …
Many years ago before I knew God, before I realized I would only find a man to marry when I loved myself, I undermined myself, engaged in frequent negative self-talk, and attracted unavailable or critical men who mirrored and validated my low self-worth. I was smart, had a good job with the television networks, looked …
I look forward to my walks on Swami’s beach, a local surfer’s paradise sitting below jagged, clay cliffs one hundred and forty-five steps down a massive wooden zig-zag staircase in North County San Diego. Swami’s is my running, reading, dreaming, walking, swimming, California dreaming beach. It’s my sweet spot, an altar where I pray, …
My husband just returned from NAPTE, the leading global television industry conference held this year in Miami, at the famous Fontainebleau hotel in the heart of South Beach, where he went to distribute a feature film for his company about the Holocaust. He called me from the conference a few times to share some …
I woke last Saturday morning to a wreckage in the living room, throw pillows spread all over the floor amongst shoes, backpacks, cell phones, an empty bag of potato chips, crumb filled plates, and two tall teenagers wrapped like two sleeping giants in sleeping bags on the floor. A shorter one, curled up like …
“He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” -Luke 24:35 Year after year, as I watched the movement of the priests arms lifting the chalice to heaven like a conductor leading a symphony of Handel’s Messiah, the repetition of the priest’s words celebrating the sacrament of the Eucharist became a visual …
We live in a world with so many ideas of God. I think of author Alice Walker’s words after she saw her first illustrated Bible, “it was difficult to get that white man off my eyeball.” I grew up thinking God as the big man with the white beard I saw in the clouds, a large, …
It’s been quite a busy week with my son performing as Hamlet in his last high school show. His grandma flew in for the event so our plate is full with family activities, plus I’m helping him plan for a month long graduation adventure overseas. So I’m taking a blogging break and sharing one of my earliest blogs that …