I’ve never played the game “Truth or Dare”, and it’s not something I’d ever want to do. I’ve heard too many horror stories of young people (and, sometimes not-so-young people) divulging information that should have been theirs alone, or performing a “dare” that was dangerous, humiliating or out of their comfort zone. (It’s sad what […]
Category Archives: PEACE FULL HOME
I’ve been unpacking boxes of Christmas ornaments. In the boxes, there are the little drummer boys that Sara and Erin made with their grandmother thirty years ago, fragile glass ornaments and precious works of art that say, “best Nana ever”. There are gifts from friends and special pieces Mom gave me. Some are many decades […]
This is the annual retelling of the ninth post I wrote in 2013. It still brings me to tears and reminds me of how incredibly blessed I am. Stories about Christmas abound. Some of those stories are filled with the sadness of missing a loved one. Others retell a time when we were far from home, […]
I can be like a hoarder—indiscriminate about what I’m adding to my already full life. Sometimes, I invite hurt and sorrow to take up permanent residence in my heart because I’m unwilling to let them go. Sometimes, the pain hanging in the air is so heavy that it seems I should be able to grab […]
the crowd gathered around her. the world was silent; pregnant with anticipation as fellow humans waited for her to speak, but there was no sound, just the stillness, the nothingness; the nothingness that was ripe with possibility too unimaginable to be spoken; too sacred to be believed. it was as if there was a collective breathing, […]
Last year, I had the opportunity to visit Prague in the Czech Republic with my friend, Jill. The travel conditions were perfect: the weather would be cooperative, the dollar was strong, we had separate rooms to retreat to for quiet and we would be traveling with a group of people—affording us the guarantee of same-language speaking […]
Four years ago, when our granddaughter Lauren was nine, we were driving to a soccer tournament when she asked, from the backseat, if we wanted to use her “future telling app”. Of course, we said yes. After all, who can resist a future telling app? Lauren proceeded to ask for dates in the future. We […]
Each day as I get out of bed I say, “Thank You God”. In my more aware moments, I tack on some of the other easy “thank yous”: a new day, my health, my family, etcetera. Those aren’t insincere—it’s just that they’re so darned easy to name. Sitting in my quiet (in spite of the rambunctious […]
The topic of the last three posts—a different kind of abundance—tackles the, often tough, issue of how we experience a fullness of life that’s not tied to an abundance of physical “stuff”. 11/2 part 1– initial questions, why we have so much stuff 11/3 part 2– guidelines for owning possessions, how to define clutter, the […]
This is the third installment of “A Different Kind of Abundance”. Part I (11/2) offered questions for your consideration and explanations for why we accumulate and hang onto things. In Part II (11/3) we jumped into guidelines for owning possessions and what constitutes “clutter”. Today, the discussion is going to center around organization goals to move forward. I was asked […]
Let’s pick up from where we left off yesterday with A Different Kind of Abundance, Part I. If you live in a house full of stuff that isn’t really important to you—or doesn’t reflect who you are—right now is a great time to begin imagining a home that feels full of peace (instead of full of […]
Questions for the Day How much of the chaos in our homes, do we create? How do we accomplish “peaceful” when all around us there’s pandemonium? How do we expect to experience calm when our environment is screaming “look at me“? Could you do more with less? When you look around your home what’s extraneous or […]
In 2013, I was sitting on the deck on a beautiful, Saturday morning in October. It was my quiet time with God and I heard the words “peaceful home”. Believing in divine inspiration I decided (in spite of my skepticism) to see if anyone owned the domain “peacefulhome.com”. Of course, someone did, so I just let […]
I woke up with the word “reentry” on my mind. What did it mean? What was I supposed to do with it? A few months ago, I had the rich honor of sitting with Mary—along with her daughter; my dear friend Monica—a few days before her death. Mary was ninety-six years old and ready to go back […]
My dreams get mixed-up with what’s real……wait, maybe it’s the other way around; maybe my real life gets mixed-up with my dreams. Is there actually a difference? What used to be curiosities now seem “normal”. What used to be “normal” now seems absurd. I wonder who really fits in anyway? Being like everyone else isn’t […]
The house is quiet except for the dehumidifier running in the background. We had the rainiest summer since 2011 and the rainiest September on record, in 117 years. It reminds me a lot of Portland, Oregon, where I’d visit my daughter, Erin, who lived there for a while. My prayer list is really long right […]
Part I—Danger Through the course of evolution, our brains have moved away from cave-men/women mindsets of always being hyper-vigilant—thinking that there’s likely danger right around the corner waiting to destroy us. Some of us, however, never evolve past that—we’re still expecting the next “terrifying thing” to come barreling at us, so we’re unable to ever simply […]
The box is elegantly wrapped with two layers of perfectly tied ribbon. It’s shiny and beautiful and creates a hushed, “what do you think could be in that beautiful package?” Next to it, sits an obviously previously used, dented and taped at the corners box with a stick-on bow, slapped on the top. Have you ever been […]
For the second time in a week, I woke up to painful spasms in my left leg. After I stretched and got it to “calm down”, I climbed out of bed, went to the kitchen, poured a large glass of water and decided to go outside. Even though it was only 2:40 in the morning, our […]
The waves crash onto the shore as I walk on the beach not long after the sun has decided to grace us, again, with her majesty. I don’t get too far before I see litter-—a few empty plastic bottles, a beaten up cooler, some remnants of a late-night party; all carelessly left by humans. They’re […]
