Posts: Growth
For the Sake of Personal Expansion
An invitation to return to the blank page
Jun 25, 2024
It was when I started dusting the living room blinds that it really became apparent. I had been engaging in avoidance behavior for weeks but never really called it out as that; I was simply being productive, getting things done. But when dusting entered the picture, my least favorite house chore, I couldn’t deny it any longer—I was seriously avoiding writing.
Committed to the Seeking
Learning to consistently draw near to God
Apr 29, 2024
I looked around me at all the women gathered in this dim worship center, raised hands and eyes closed, some swaying side to side, singing their hearts out, and I felt nothing. I turned my gaze back to the stage and tried to concentrate harder on the lyrics, as if mouthing them might prompt the Holy Spirit to grace me with its presence.
The Serenity We Seek
Our inherent desire for transformation
May 28, 2023
My latest TV show obsession is flipping shows—houses, flea market finds, clothing. On a Canadian show called “Hoarder House Flippers,” three teams of house flippers buy abandoned hoarder houses for a low price and turn them into desirable homes to resell for profit. On another show, “Flea Market Flip,” contestants in each episode are given a budget of $500 to hunt for three pieces at a flea market that they then refurbish in the hopes of reselling them for a profit at the same flea market.
Blossoming Beyond Our Crutches
Tending to our Achilles heels and overcoming fears
May 07, 2023
I watch her as she struggles to wrap the overstuffed burrito, smiling awkwardly. She motions for her coworker to come to her rescue. I’m guessing she’s new, hasn’t gotten the hang of the wrapping part yet. I’m sure it takes a while. This one looks impossible to me, personally, no matter how much training you’ve had, based on the amount of the ingredients. It’s not rocket science.
The Imperceptible Motion Underneath
Trusting the process and pace of growth
Apr 02, 2023
Spring officially commenced a week ago, though you’d never be able to tell by looking outside. Just two days ago, it snowed again, after it had all finally melted. The streets were the epitome of a winter wonderland, every surface dusted in white. More is predicted for this week, with temperatures still in the low 40s. The dreariness of the winter sky has not lifted.
Shepherding Us in His Direction
Learning the art of fellowship with God
Mar 04, 2023
It's 11:15 pm on Sunday night and I'm searching for videos related to “when God feels distant” on YouTube. I watch a few that look helpful, with titles including “Why Has God Been So Silent When I've Reached Out To Him?” and “How to Get Back on Track Spiritually When You Feel Far from God.”
A Cocoon for Crafting Wings
The balancing act of nurturing our child and adult selves
Feb 10, 2023
My husband and I went light shopping over the weekend. We were wanting to replace all of our hallway ceiling lights as well as the chandelier that came with the house we purchased a little over a year ago. We walked around the store, taking in the large selection, craning our necks and pointing to ones we liked and ones that were a bit too contemporary for our taste.
Fertile Ground for Synchronicities
Thoughts on pursuing our calling
Feb 01, 2023
This, I have found, sums up my writing process. Often, I have absolutely no idea where the piece is going to go. I only have an idea for how to begin it and a theme I want to write about. But I trust the process enough to let it take me where it wants to go, instead of impose my will on it forcibly. Of course this may be easier for a nonfiction writer like myself.
Remain in the Light
Thoughts on playing small and learning to expand
Nov 05, 2022
As a writer, there are those pieces or topics that you know need to be written but that you avoid writing for as long as possible. They’re always in the back of your mind, though, lurking, anticipating the day they’ll be cemented onto paper. They tug at you, not lovingly, until you have no choice but to tend to them, if only to shut them up.
The Layer of Harmony Underneath
Learning to trust the process
Sep 03, 2022
I’m berating myself for forgetting my earplugs. This coffee shop is noisier than I had anticipated. People’s conversations reverberate against my skin and eardrums and it’s hard to concentrate. Of course I could have stayed at home to write, but there is something about the atmosphere of a coffee shop that tugs at my writer’s mind and inspires me to show up for the craft.
The Construction Zone of Personal Development
Breaking ground, rebuilding structure, and navigating warning signs
Aug 08, 2022
Everything deteriorates, eventually. This is what crosses my mind as I’m sitting at a lovely coffee shop/chocolate shop trying to get some writing done. The aroma of chocolate in the air as you walk in is divine. It’s one of those rustic downtown buildings, faded brick on the inside, ceiling pipes and beams exposed, piles of burlap coffee sacks in the corner.
Think About Such Things
Transforming our destructive thoughts one seed at a time
Jul 26, 2022
They are everywhere. Stuck on the garden gnome, the backyard furniture, in-between the patio steps, caught in the Emerald Cedar trees. A few had the unfortunate luck of getting stuck in the citronella candle wax before it hardened. Floating thistle seeds, thousands of them. We found out they’re coming from a field behind the houses across the street.
An Experiment with Writer’s Block
Sep 21, 2016
This is what happens when nothing comes. Not one ounce of inspiration. Not one single idea to expand into a post. I’ve been sitting here staring at the blank screen for 31 full minutes, listening to the clock in my living room tick-tock away, taunting me. This is what it looks like to have nothing to say. Not. A. Single. Thing.