How Much Can You Put Up With? Listen, I know it’s hard to embrace someone else’s cultural values. Whether it’s their noise level, the smell and look of their food, their communal gatherings, or the way they look at you, talk, dress, or act, another person’s way of life often feels like a disruption.…
The World’s Worst Neighbor
That’s me. I’m terrible at neighborhood stuff. I’m aware of this. I don’t like it, and I’m trying to change it. Because I’m socially awkward, the last thing I ever want to do is strike up a conversation with the guy walking in the apartment next door. I’ve got nothing to say. I’ve even practiced…
Don’t Forget These Two Things About Loving Your Spouse
I came into marriage thinking that between Song of Songs and the “marriage passages” of the New Testament epistles, we were fully equipped to tackle anything married life threw at us. I was excited to awaken the desires the daughters of Jerusalem had told us to keep a tight rein on until the time was…
The Bright Side of Thinking Before Speaking
The secret of being boring is to say everything. ~ Voltaire A few weeks ago, I had a typical Monday. You know, a lot of making lists and trying to get my week off to a productive start. Although I have to tell you that the only thing that gets me out of bed on…
You’ll Never Regret the Pursuit for More
As I sat in my tiny apartment, tears ran down my hopeless cheeks. My freshly washed, yard sale pot and pan sat upside down draining on my twenty-five cent Goodwill dish rag. I had just tucked my eight-year-old daughter into bed, plopped like a deflated balloon onto a kitchen chair and cried. Is this all…
Gluten-Free Pasta: The Failure of Perfection
We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness, and affection. ~ Brené Brown The congested traffic curved for miles ahead of me, looking like a winding line of red…
Only Love Today: Acceptance
Love is a good place to start a new beginning. BUILDING ON LOVE I wear a worn wristband that bears the words Only Love Today Recently, someone asked me what that phrase meant. Although it began as a mantra to silence to my inner bully, it has become so much more. Only Love Today means……
Can I Get a With-Ness?
Tel Aviv is a tangle of concrete, buildings, cars, exhaust, and armed guards. At first, we were swept up in the metropolis, gasping for air. We definitely felt like outsiders, unwieldy and unwelcome, trying to find a place to fit in. After a few hits and misses, we finally found a respite to turn to…
Only Love Today: My Vow to Soften
By being softer you can hear more, learn more, feel more, and love more. I’ve had enough of my hard edges. I’m tired of straining my voice. I’d like to loosen up and laugh a little more, be positive rather than negative. I’d like to feel the upward curve of my lips. I’d like to…
