Gaining a heart of wisdom
Here in Midcoast Maine, an alarming real estate phenomenon threatens to deepen my commitment to grumpiness. Storage facilities are springing up in every neighborhood and along every country road. While I celebrate and applaud the entrepreneurial spirit that sees a need in the market and rushes to fill it, I lament the need. (And I… Continue reading Why Do I Worry All the Time?
Sunday Scripture and Book Talk How much does worry weigh? By my observation, enough to round the shoulders, slow the step, and lengthen the daily darkness. Worry absorbs energy, steals sleep, and dampens conversation. My time spent in public school classrooms warns me that even our children are not immune to worry, for it's not… Continue reading A Great Alternative to Worry and Two Resources to End Your Ceaseless Striving
Sunday Scripture "Hold on a minute," I gasped as I pushed myself upright again. Repositioning my end of the load, I followed my husband into the spare bedroom where we let the heavy box thud to the floor. We made it--but I knew I had tweaked my back with my stumble-up-the-stairs technique. Fighting fear, I… Continue reading Relax Your Fear Muscle | 3 Scriptures to Support You as You Fight Fear
Sunday Scripture A letter from the IRS claims space in your mailbox. The doctor orders more tests but is light on details or prognosis. Your boss hints that your performance might not be measuring up. Chances are just the suggestion of any one of these scenarios is enough to make your stomach churn and your… Continue reading What Does God Want Me to Know (And to Do!) About My Anxiety?
Whether you suffer from mental health issues yourself, or you are living alongside someone else who is struggling, you know the challenges that come with depression and anxiety. Counseling, medication, support groups, and pastoral care have saved lives and moved the afflicted into healthy space. Management of our grief and the entire menu of suffering… Continue reading Exploring Depression and Anxiety as Companions in Sorrow
Anxiety is a chronic and pervasive problem for most of us. We fear what we do not know, so, today, let’s get our hearts aligned with the truth of God’s sovereignty. Anxiety about the unknown becomes an opportunity to reaffirm our belief in God’s good intentions toward us and to purposefully put our trust and… Continue reading Sunday Scripture ~ Isaiah 41:10
Knocking twenty-two years’ worth of dust off a resume stretches the definition of “creative writing” to its limit. After giving my time away for two decades, could I convince even myself that my skills are marketable? Was I still capable of holding my own in the workforce? The questions hung in the air like a challenge. At… Continue reading Taming Anxiety Over the Unknown
Welcome the peaceful signs of this new season by Beating your swords into plowshares. Then go till up a garden! Beat those blades back into swords again And do battle against an ensnaring sin. Don't be anxious about What is coming or What might come. Pick a bouquet just for today's table. Turn regret on… Continue reading Welcome a New Season of Peaceful Change
Three-hole punched and organized into a shiny new notebook, my teaching notes were ready to go. The call had come, I had done the long work of study and heart preparation – and I was terrified. Tiny voices of doubt nibbled away at my confidence: “You’re such a spiritual lightweight! Nothing you can discern from… Continue reading Follow Your Calling in Spite of Your Fear
It has been said that "imagination" is the 21st-century equivalent to the scriptural word "heart," the center of emotion and intellect in biblical physiology. That may well be true, for many times it is my imagination that causes me to run aground in this following life. As if there were not enough stressful events going… Continue reading Is It Possible to Overcome Worry?
Living Our Days 