If I have to hear or participate in ONE MORE conversation regarding what the weather might or might not do…I am going to poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick… I just realized that this is only hurting myself so let me change that… If I have to hear or participate in ONE MORE conversation regarding what the weather might or might not do…I am going to poke YOU in the eye with a sharp stick… You see, you speculators…you over-thinkers…you anticipators…YOU…you RUINED my weekend…try as I might to just enjoy the snow when and IF it came I could not escape the speculation of; – schools being closed – work being cancelled – temperatures of -30 degrees with the windchill – doors on the car being SO frozen shut that no amount of warm water could melt it – cars refusing to start – schools being cancelled two days in advance – butts literally being frozen off It was inescapable…at home, on-line, on TV, the workers at the grocery store…the fact that there was NO bread or eggs in the entire town… Can I make a suggestion? Hows about you not worry until there is something to …Read more
Why I Never Take the Advice “Just Be Yourself” I’ve heard it said a million times. Everything will be okay if you “just be yourself.” But will it? What if, underneath it all, you have an angry, vengeful heart? What if you have to work hard every day to be a nice person? What if you are embattled in choosing your response to everyday little things? Sometimes it is quite honestly exhausting for me to “just be myself.” I was wronged as a child, and I became a fighter. An angry, scrappy emotional fighter. I was very impatient and annoyed easily, and I was so bitter and angry for so many years it became second nature. I think I chose Anger because anything less than that to me was weakness. Weakness was not something I dared tolerate in myself, because in my eyes weak people got hurt. If you were strong and powerful and quite frankly scary, people would leave you alone. I felt it was better to push people away from the start to avoid the possibility of really knowing or trusting them. As the years passed, the outward anger subsided more and more, and I grew into a …Read more
This sums up my desire for the next 365 days… Thanksgiving in EVERY circumstance Freely giving Grace because it continues to be so freely given to me Living joyfully, authentically, because that is the only way Happy New Year! There is a great guest post coming on Friday so stay tuned… I will be back on Monday to start the new year off strong with this living Carelessly in the Care of God journey we are on together… Carelessly, April
A few days ago, I received a letter in the mail. Beautifully composed, this script was the written words of my friend as a tribute to his late father in commemoration of his birthday. The pages were filled with snapshots of the life and legacy of his father: a language teacher and wrestling coach, a friend and family man, a mentor and leader, a loss still grieved. The letter closed with a memory of his father’s last day on earth. An avid sailor, this gentleman had competed in a race that very day. Prior to the race, as he prepared his vessel to take on the vast sea, he spotted a tiny bird perched on the railing of his sailboat. This little bird, set against the backdrop of an infinite seascape, brought about a joy that my friend’s dad immediately captured on his phone and sent to his family: the convergence of joy and beauty—mighty and miniature—and the reflection of the Creator and Caregiver to all. My friend’s father lost his life on the ocean that day—the same day he gained heaven. Careless in the care of God, he was received into the arms of his Father, the One who …Read more
