1)      The book Choosing Gratitude given to me by my friend Kelly. 2)      My Bible Study Small Group and our time together this year. 3)      Sharing a meal with new friends from church at a Grace Home Dinner. 4)      The flowers that someone left at Judson’s gravesite again. 5)      Several good cleansing cries this week.

While sitting on our couch yesterday afternoon playing with Paisley kitty, Jessie went upstairs to grab the green spray bottle in case we needed to discipline our sweet putty tat (a great deterrent for unruly cat behavior).  After grabbing the squirter, Jess started bounding down the stairs.  Suddenly, I was startled by a huge thud

So much of my blog is about the frictions in life: the struggles, brokenness, pain, and wrestling that occur within.  This is where I feel most called to write.  However, it does not and cannot express the whole of me and my experiences; often the fun, the joys, the triumphs don’t necessarily find their way

So much of life entails waiting.  Waiting in traffic.  Waiting for food at a restaurant.  Waiting in line at an amusement park.  Waiting to use a public restroom (okay, men may not have this problem).  Waiting for ordered items to arrive in the mail.  Waiting for a friend at a coffee shop.  Waiting to earn

This week I thought I’d switch to a Thankful Thursday quick list: 1)      A day of solitude on Friday: the beauty of nature, quiet, rest, and time to reflect.  2)      Hanging out with my parents and Howie in Ventura. 3)      Judson’s flourishing tree. 4)      Paisley kitty.  She is proving to be a perfect pet for

One of the most heart-wrenching aspects of Judson’s suffering was the powerlessness I felt to remove his pain, my inability to do anything that would alleviate the debilitations that were sweeping rapidly through his body.  I just had to hold him and hurt with him. This tore at the very core of my innate responsibility

My Dear Jud Bud, I’m sitting on the beach where I used to play as a child.  It is beautiful.  I recall those days when I had not a care in the world…running, laughing, and playing, a time in life when my only concern was the chaffing sand in my bathing suit.  You and I

God’s Word is powerful, and it is especially profound when a specific passage is brought to your attention that directly speaks to your heart and current circumstances authoritatively. On Monday, after writing Weight of a Piano, I was acutely feeling the heaviness of my pain.  Weary.  That afternoon I was sitting in a meeting where