A Prayer for Departing Children
Submitted by kim on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 11:25 in Parenting
An answer to prayer walked through my door last night - an adult child returned home from a few days away. I had wrestled with his departure, his destiniation, the unmapped future. His trip forced me to trust in God's love for him as greater than my own. Forced me to trust in God's love to carry ME through whatever might happen to my son.
A Plan for Thankfulness
Submitted by kim on Mon, 01/09/2012 - 10:22 in
I have read Ann Voskamp's blog for a couple years, and eagerly awaited the publication of her book, One Thousand Gifts, last year. She's has become very popular recently! Almost weekly, I open facebook and see a status update or blog link to her stuff.
Talking in Sound Bites
Submitted by kim on Tue, 11/29/2011 - 11:31 in
Years ago a friend mentioned that she and her husband were going through a spell of talking in sound bites. Busy life, hectic schedules, and frazled emotions left them with little opportunity to have longer conversations. We've been there.
Sound bite use became popular in the 1980's; Ronald Regan was one of the first politicians to use the technique well. The bite, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" summed up the 1987 Berlin Wall story, and started a media flurry where opportuinity to provide quotable lines dictates our political scene. Sound bites are propoganda.
Coping With A Big Change
Submitted by kim on Mon, 11/14/2011 - 21:04 in
The current economic recession has affected our family in numerous ways. Rich experienced reduced hours in his field of residential carpentry within six months of the fall 2008 crises. By last winter the home building industry in our area flat lined. The company he worked for couldn't offer even part time work.
Pressing in Hope
Submitted by kim on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 21:35 in
Kneeling on the floor, I scoop her into my arms. Her body heaves with sobs. Her brokenness speaks through tears telling of the evil of jail. Her fear resonates in the reports of the lab tests, pneumonia, the progression of her cancer. Shame echoes as she shares experiences of sexual abuse as a child. A scarred identity that drove her into a life of humiliating addiction. Fifteen minutes into my visit, I am picking up the pieces of a fragmented life spilled on the white hospital blanket.
