Who in your life is a great storyteller? Whose name comes to mind when you visualize the character with the ability to turn a phrase, to retell an incident (even one where you were present) that comes so alive with each word that you find yourself enraptured in the narrative of your own experience? Getting …
Category: Spiritual Life
I’m Listening
Have you ever been in the middle of a phone call with a friend, and the need arose for you to reassure the other person by uttering a phrase such as “I’m Listening?” Because the person on the other end of that call is unable to see your face, you desire to comfort them, to …
We’re At War
As someone who prefers to engage in healthy conflict rather than destructive division, I often struggle with the illustrations that in my spiritual life, I’m somehow at war with an enemy. I’ve never been in a physical altercation with anyone, unless of course you consider a battle of wills; then perhaps, I may have gained …
Spiritual Discipline
Is there a title you have embraced or been assigned that felt like an appropriate fit? Have you ever resisted a label or designation that seemed to miss the mark? Perhaps, like me, there is one particular classification that gets under your skin such as Single, spinster, never-married, or childless. Even the department of transportation …
Liturgical Life
Some readers may find this statement to be sacrilegious (and I know so little of theology that my word choice may be inappropriate), but for most of my life, I was unaware of the meaning of the word liturgy. This Southern Baptist girl just went to church, read my Bible, memorized Bible verses, and prayed. …
Refinement and Revision
“End of Construction – Thank you for your patience.” These words were chosen by Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, for her gravestone, and they have arisen in my reading several times over the years. I’m not sure I can accurately articulate why the expression resonates so deeply within me. Perhaps the reason …
Charitable Writing
As an avid reader and traveler, one of my favorite quotes (as I shared in Racing to Roam) hangs on the wall in my home, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Because this quote blends two of my favorite activities, it illustrates for me the wealth …
Friendship Conversations
In researching the characteristics typical of people who are considered to be flourishing at life, it should be no surprise how often someone’s ability to thrive is connected to the individuals with whom they have created Relational Equity, or as Shawn Anchor terms it in his book, The Happiness Advantage, social capital. As I continue …
Welcome to the Table
Daylight shines brightly from the reflected February snow over the black dining table in my home, highlighting the fact that it hasn’t been dusted in a while; however, there is a valid reason the dust bunnies are flourishing on my table, since no one has pulled up a chair in at least a month. This …
Waiting Room
My hope is that you never have to experience the lack of control that comes with sitting in a Waiting Room; however, few people will ever be exempt from this experience, whether it arrives as a painless encounter such as awaiting a tire rotation at a local service station or the agonizing hours that slowly …
Flourishing @ Life 