There was something wrong with my kitchen faucet. The cold water only trickled out, eventually declining to a steady drip. My water heater temperature is impressively high, a fact with which I took no issue for years, partly because I love being steamed like a tasty crab in the shower and partly because the intense … Continue reading Fear: Laying It to Rest Part 3
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Fear: Running into the Dark Part 2
Many people hate being single. I am not one of them. I could argue that’s due to a strength of character and admirable dependence on self, a usually undeterred cheerfulness, and a solid internal relationship. It is. I could explain that it’s based on my relationship experience being summed up by the word “agony” and … Continue reading Fear: Running into the Dark Part 2
Fear: Worthy of Honor Part 1
“Fear is weakness. It is evidence you don’t have enough faith or self-confidence. Fear is an emotion and emotions can’t be trusted. Suppress it, silence it, strike it from your psyche. Confess it only as a lament and an apology, “I am afraid; it’s stupid, I know.” Confess it as moral failure: Father, forgive me … Continue reading Fear: Worthy of Honor Part 1
The Fear of Kindness
Have you ever seen an animal that cringes when you raise a hand to pet it? We all know why: Someone hurt the poor thing. Not just once. Over and over, until it is sure of the meaning of a raised hand. It anticipates the pain to come with your approach. You can often tell … Continue reading The Fear of Kindness
Searching For Adventure: A False Pursuit Part 2
(You may have noticed that it's been closer to two weeks since my last post, though I directed any readers of the first part of this double header to return in a single week. I like to keep you in suspense. Or maybe I had a heck of a week. Perhaps we'll never know. I'm … Continue reading Searching For Adventure: A False Pursuit Part 2
Searching for Adventure: A False Pursuit Part 1
As a child, I longed for adventure. Among my fantasy repertoire, I imagined I was a princess secretly placed with a normal family. Everyone around me knew this but was sworn to silence. As I walked to my elementary school, I interpreted the bored glances of commuters as a tacit acknowledgement of my importance and … Continue reading Searching for Adventure: A False Pursuit Part 1
Hope Revisited: The Agony of Desire
I think you know this. I think you know the ache so deep it swells up until your throat throbs, until your body threatens to fracture with longing. I think you know how to tuck (or shove) everything back down before you walk out of the bathroom stall, wake your children, or begin the business … Continue reading Hope Revisited: The Agony of Desire
Hope Is a Setup, One Way or Another
Living in hope necessitates an effort toward imagining a better future. It requires our investment in the tangible ways we can make that future happen and the psychological/emotional ways we open ourselves to it as a possibility. It requires imagination that may even seem outside our ability to fathom. If your experiences, perhaps even your … Continue reading Hope Is a Setup, One Way or Another
Hiking With Kids: There Are No Rules
This is the third in a four-part series on Hiking With Kids I wrote for Trailblazing Hope Outdoors. For free spirits and stick-up-your-butts, alike. Aren't these happy little flowers? They were waving in the breeze, but there wasn't any breeze. I concluded they were just being friendly.
Hiking With Kids: The Why
Check out my guest post on Trailblazing Hope Outdoors, the second in a series on Hiking With Kids. In this post, I explored the reason(s) behind including your kids (or any kids) on hikes, since there are some considerable, potential downsides to doing so. On a completely unrelated note, this flower is actually attached to … Continue reading Hiking With Kids: The Why
Lessons in Concrete 