In a panic, I rushed to purchase a sweater from the store where I worked. Even with my employee discount, the sweater cost more than I wanted to spend ~ especially since I had not planned to give a gift to this colleague. But when my coworker showed up with her gift for me, I…
Still groggy, I stumbled into the kitchen and poured myself some coffee. In my determination to finish a project, I decided to work late into the night. Now I suffered the consequences. Sipping my cup of joe, I shook my head at the irony. I’d shortened my hours of sleep so I could rework an…
Recently my husband and I shared a meal with friends which featured a freshly-baked French baguette. The first morsel brought back memories of my time in Paris where, for a brief period of time, I lived above a boulangerie (bakery). Each morning my roommates and I would wake up to the sweet aroma of baking…
This morning I woke up with hopeful expectations. But now I feel only acute disappointment. I know the pain of trying my best to do what’s right, but not getting the expected results. A few days ago, I wrote these words in my journal. But they express a feeling I’ve experienced often in my life….
I think the Lord was trying to tell me something. It started a couple of weeks ago when I read a blog post written by my friend Margaret Kemp (you can read it here). In her article, Quarreling with God, Margaret gently reminds us how easily we can turn to grumbling and complaining, and even…
“I don’t understand. Why is God so mad at me? What did I do wrong?” Filled with compassion, I searched for the right words to answer her. For the last several months my friend had suffered through a seemingly never-ending stream of disappointments and hard times. She tried to stay positive and hopeful, but she…
“Bijou, no!” I wailed from across the room. Too late. My sweet puppy with the angelic face had already squatted and relieved herself on my newly-washed bath mat. The breeder had trained our puppy to use dog pads, which we thought was a good thing. Until our dog trainer shook her head. “Puppies can’t tell…
“Ugg! Why does everything have to be so hard?” With an exasperated sigh, I pounded the steering wheel. Both of my Map Apps insisted I had reached my destination. But the clump of trees and bushes on the side of the road bore no resemblance to a dog-grooming business. Calling and texting the groomer proved…
Sighing, I closed the email as I tried to identify my feelings. Disappointed? Discouraged? Defeated? Definitely deflated. Just a few days earlier I had completed the first stage of a long and complicated writing project. To move it on to completion, I needed to enlist the help of an expert. At first she didn’t think…
