You’re a third-grade child and you decide that you’re going to save your “special”, “important” papers in a plain folder. You write your name on it and start carrying that folder around with you wherever you go. One day you’re walking down the street and a couple of pages blow out of The Folder. You […]
Category Archives: PEACE FULL HOME
During the past two weeks, we’ve been working on creating intentional living by understanding exactly how we spend our time. Today, we’ll finish the series that started with Intentional Living and Blocks of Time and Blocks of Time, Week 2. So far, we’ve covered: • creating awareness of what you do each week, thereby • allowing yourself to […]
Week Two of Living with Intention Last week, we started working on “Blocks of Time”. If you haven’t read that post, it may be helpful to check it out before moving onto this one. So far, we’ve covered: • deliberately thinking about what we do each week, • being conscious of choosing how to live, […]
Choosing Intentionality I truly want to practice intentional living, so I often deliberately think about what I’m doing with my twenty-four hours each day. In spite of that, I sometimes fail miserably at achieving my ultimate goal: being fully present and spending my time in ways that best reflect who I desire to be. To more consciously […]
This post was originally published on Memorial Day, 2014. It’s just as timely today. Today is Memorial Day in The United States of America. This holiday—when we formally remember the men and women who died while serving in our armed forces—began after The America Civil War to honor the Union and Confederate soldiers who perished […]
In a well-written novel, or drama series, we learn about the characters’ personalities as they’re slowly revealed to us. As we go more “in-depth” with them, we observe how they walk through life and begin to understand what makes them tick—what causes them to act the way they do. Their “characters” are being developed right […]
A seemingly healthy man, in his thirties, needs an emergency appendectomy. When the surgeon goes in, he sees that this healthy man’s appendix is perforated. This won’t be a simple procedure, and he won’t be “closed up” after the surgery. The man will wake up with an open wound draining “poison” out of his body. […]
words that give life words that kill one thought, turned to action, that makes someone’s day better one thought, turned to action, that causes someone pain fragile moments where futures are built fragile moments where fates are decided hearts bleeding profusely, spilling over the joy of others hearts hardened, unable to move at all whispered […]
Yesterday I wrote Peace Full Home’s post from the library. As soon as I hit “publish” I heard water rushing into the lower level where my office (which I vacated for yesterday’s plumbing work) is. One of the first major renovations made, when I bought my house (certainly not yet a “home”—there is a big […]
Right now, there’s an excavator digging a trench, about four feet deep, from the front of my property, under the driveway (thank you God that they were able to go under instead of through it), to the house at the mudroom door. They’ve spared the beautiful flowering cherry tree in the path. If we’re fortunate […]
Erik Erikson coined the term “identity crisis”, saying that the environment in which a child is brought up is critical in the formation of personal identity and self-awareness. Makes sense, right? Obviously, the way we were raised significantly impacted who we are now. Imagine how different you might be if all the “moving parts” of […]
Seven years ago a devastating tornado struck Joplin, Missouri. I read about a family of five who lived through that twister—the deadliest one that our country had seen in over sixty years. One of the children was separated from the rest of the family when the tornado set down. I cannot begin to imagine the […]
One morning, I woke up long before the sun was rising. I walked into the bathroom, closed the door and flipped the light switch. Nothing happened. Then I realized there were no lights anywhere. The programmed lights outside weren’t on. The little light on the electric toothbrush wasn’t flashing. Hmmmm….no instant gratification light going on here this morning. […]
What beliefs, which you hold in your core, seek expression? Are you willing to give voice to them? It’s okay if that voice starts as a barely audible whisper….really it is. When you make a decision to connect with yourself on a soul level, you are making this BIG statement: “I do matter— even if […]
The prince crouches behind a merlon on the battlement observing the carnage, silent, afraid to move forward. He peers through a crenel and watches the dragon slayer pull arrow after arrow out of her quiver as she selflessly defends the castle. Knights stand on either side of him protecting the asset: the person who—in spite […]
Sometimes, God speaks to us in the bright light of day. Sometimes, God whispers in the still night—when we’re alone or scared or unable to take one more step forward. Sometimes, it’s really tough to hear God’s voice above the clanging gongs. And, sometimes, we have to invite God into our silence. Silence Is Golden […]
When I was a child, my parents owned a black and white television. The three channels were ABC, CBS and NBC. By the time I was ten years old, we could watch shows like: My Three Sons, The Beverly Hillbillies, I Dream of Jeannie, The Mod Squad (I thought they were so cool) and, one of […]
I open my eyes to the darkness that envelops the room. There are times when I’m fearful of what lurks unseen. I’ve had too many nightmares to feel comfortable in the anonymity of dark. I take a breath. It is often in these moments, after sleep free of demons, that I am most in touch with […]
About a decade ago, my daughter, Sara, and a man named Tim met at the daycare both of their sons attended. They started taking their children on outings together and after many years of laughter, and shared experiences, realized that they were more than good friends. Their relationship had evolved into love. Every once in […]
When I was in my late twenties, I was the assistant controller in a successful company. One day, the owner shared this with me: “There are givers and takers in this world. My wife is a giver. I am a taker. And, you, Kay, are a giver.” I recall the words clearly because they were […]
