Waiting is a skill that you learn through practice. Perhaps there are some people who are naturally good at it, naturally patient, but most aren’t. There is probably no group of people on the planet less likely to be good at waiting than Americans. We are programmed early on to fill every possible moment with stimulation, and reduce to a bare minimum anything we can term “waste of time.” Produce, create, entertain, achieve, at […]
This is our morning view over Lake Tanganyika from the tiny guest cottage that is our home for two weeks. At all times of the day we can hear a myriad of insects and birds, and when the dog barks in the evening, it means that there are zebras feeding close by beyond the homemade brick walls. Life is much simpler here for us, especially today since a thunderstorm knocked out the electricity, and the […]
My cat is completely contented about 98% of the time. My cat does nothing. Zelda (blame my son for the name) literally sits and stares, grooms her nether regions, sleeps, eats, and starts all over again. She has no concern about productivity, what anyone thinks of her, or what will happen tomorrow. Zelda does not brood with resentment over our leaving her last week for 6 days or the time I accidentally stepped on her. […]
Ever since the If Gathering last month, I’ve enjoyed following along with If Equip, a short daily Bible reading with about a 2-minute video commentary. Last week the series on Easter began, and it’s been thought provoking. I have been a Christian for many years and would have said I know the Easter story well, but there have been some points I am seeing for the first time, or in new ways. I was moved reading […]
Today I am sharing an account of a few days in a two week trip to Cameroon, W Africa a few years ago. This part was the fulfillment of a childhood dream to be a missionary nurse in Africa, if only for a couple of days! Africa……..the dark continent, so they say. I had little idea what to expect as the plane neared our destination. The sight of the seemingly endless Sahara Desert from the air, the sand beautifully […]
For the past several months, I have been taking an online writing course called “Find Your Writing Voice”. I take one night a week off from everything else to work on it, and it’s been enlightening. One of the first assignments was to write a poem exploring the influences of one’s childhood. Mine is published here. The present task is to find out a few things from the people who read my writing. If that is you, I […]
Today I am blogging as part of a series on one of my favorite sites: Djbouti Jones. http://www.djiboutijones.com/2015/02/lets-go-flaneuring-in-northern-california/ Flaneuring is French and means the art of strolling about observing life. There are essays from all over the world, and I am thrilled to have mine included! Thanks, Rachel!
Sunset at Land’s End, San Francisco Because now I know that I’ve been […]
Crowding my coveted kitchen counter space are two seasonal candles, a headless nutcracker that needs mending, a doll’s dish full of random game pieces and dice, two cans of snow that we are afraid to reconstitute since a protective covering is mentioned in the instructions, a large stack of unopened mail and two small stocking gifts which did not find their way upstairs to be packed by my 10-year-old granddaughter. The kids’ play area is covered […]
It’s always kind of a letdown. No matter how “well” everything went, we humans are not meant for this sustained level of intensity and special-ness. Every meal, dish used (I am in the kitchen a lot), activity, and outfit, all must be different, special, festive, to commemorate the awesomeness of our Savior’s birth. And it is true that his coming is a wonderful and amazing thing. But the season never quite lives up emotionally, or […]
A handful of quietness 