Posts Tagged ‘Christian’

Honesty — It’s Still a Lonely Word

Note: This post is simultaneously published at This Woman Writes, the new name and new location of Middle Aged Plague. Transition — it’s never easy. I just finished reading one of those inspirational stories that is supposed to energize me but actually makes me want to rest my head on my paper-cluttered desk and weep. [...]

Life’s — and Death’s — Lessons

I visited my father the other day. Generally, these visits consist of my kneeling before a concrete slab, embedded in which is a plaque bearing Dad’s name and two salient dates. I tell him how much we miss him and how glad we are that he’s in a better place, and then I bring him [...]

Married — 30 Years — with Children

We started out young and dumb, and next week will find us middle aged and wiser. Tuesday the Norwegian Artist and I celebrate 30 years of marriage. One man, one woman, who decided to throw our lots in together and see where our combined energy, talent, drive, and love would take us in a world [...]

Black Friday — Shopping Can Be Fun, Really

Any of you with teenagers know that you’re frequently unpopular with them for major issues like, say, breathing, and for awhile, our policy of not buying electronics, CDs, DVDs, or digital detritus really affected our poll numbers. “But it’s what I WANT,” they argued. “Don’t you want to buy me a gift that I WANT?” [...]

Three Simple Steps to Solving the World’s Problems

The beauty about solving the world’s problems is that you don’t have to be rich, famous, or running for president to do so — all these people propound, and often push through, their ideas, which ultimately don’t work any better than what the dog offers. So I’ll toss in my input, especially valuable because I’m [...]

“The Least of These” Are Great Indeed

Wisdom comes  from the strangest places. I have just finished reading my latest novel, The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper, which is admittedly a children’s book that the Toddler and I enjoyed before naptime, but there’s more substance to it than in  a slew of recent grown-up, top seller fare. Briefly, a happy [...]

Get Me to the Church on Time — Or, Not

There is this pervasive, and perverse, belief in Christian communities that one of the hallmarks of a true believer is the tendency to get up early– really early, say 5 a.m. or 4:30. Otherwise, you’re a sluggard, the Proverbs one. This verse (Proverbs 6:9 if you promise not to slap someone with it) is enough [...]

Why I Knit

My mother taught me to knit when I was 15. In her day, she said, a woman knit in between romantic relationships. An especially heart wrenching breakup, followed by months of no dates at all,  could result in a complete ensemble of skirt, jacket, and short-sleeved shell. Matching bootlets. A cape if the guy married [...]

The Politics of Pinching Peaches

Generally, the produce department of a grocery store is a quiet place. Pinching peaches, while it is a dreadful practice, doesn’t result in sounds from the peaches. I imagine, however, that the people who work in the produce department scream inside when they walk by and see this being done. So it was with mild [...]

E-book — The Jane Austen Driving School

The newly published Jane Austen Driving School is the second volume in the Ordinary Life Is Beautiful E-book Series, adding to the stories and illustrations of Life Is a Gift. Thirty short, easy-to-read, fun and funny stories bring readers into the household of the Norwegian Artist, the Polish Writer, their progeny, and their eclectic and [...]

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