Comments Off on Nostalgia: A Longing for Home

Nostalgia: A Longing for Home

The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing-to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from-my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed…
Read More
Comments Off on Experiencing Joy Within the Sorrow

Experiencing Joy Within the Sorrow

Joy
I feel caught up in a bittersweet sentiment that’s both pleasant and painful. This week we celebrate the arrival of a new member of our family as my niece delivered a beautiful baby boy. But I experience this joy within the sorrow of loss. My sister’s not here to celebrate…
Read More
Comments Off on An Everyday Sort of Magic

An Everyday Sort of Magic

I do believe in an everyday sort of magic–the inexplicable connection we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art, and the like; the eerie appropriateness of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence when we think we’re alone. Charles de Lint There’s an everyday sort of magic only children…
Read More
Comments Off on Flying Against the Wind

Flying Against the Wind

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. Henry Ford Aviation is an integral part of my life. Some might say I inherited a passion for flying. But in reality, I was exposed at an early age to…
Read More
Comments Off on Living Light: Lessons Learned in a Tiny House

Living Light: Lessons Learned in a Tiny House

Living light makes sense everyday. Never forget, the world as we know it is not permanent but only our temporary home. Over the summer, an opportunity arose to sell our house and purchase a farm in the mountains. But I wasn’t ready to leave my job in Indiana just yet.…
Read More
Comments Off on Surprised By Kindness

Surprised By Kindness

When all our best laid plans go awry, I never cease to be surprised by kindness scattered along the way. Earlier this summer, Tim and I promised to help my daughter and her husband move to the farm we purchased in the mountains of Tennessee. The plan was for them…
Read More
Comments Off on Embracing My Gardener’s Heart

Embracing My Gardener’s Heart

Joy
Gardening is my passion and joy. Yes, I know I’ve spent my adult life practicing medicine. But I love digging in soil cultivating beauty in my own little plot of earth. When we sold our home, I gave up my flower beds and my vegetable garden in mid season. My…
Read More
Comments Off on Uprooted or Transplanted: A Matter of Perspective

Uprooted or Transplanted: A Matter of Perspective

My world is more than chaotic right now. The whirlwind move from our home of sixteen years, left me torn from all that was familiar and comforting. Up to this point, any semblance of normal evades me. Yes, it was our choice to sell our place, but who knew how…
Read More
Comments Off on Courage Does Not Belong to the Brave

Courage Does Not Belong to the Brave

Read More
Comments Off on If Walls Could Speak…

If Walls Could Speak…

If walls could speak…they would tell tales of children’s laughter and rowdy game nights… of furry friends catnapping in a sunbeam… or of the smell of fresh baked bread cooling in the kitchen. When all the bookshelves lay empty, memories of cozy reads by the fire haunt now silent spaces.…
Read More
Comments Off on Abiding in a Bubble of Love

Abiding in a Bubble of Love

At a recent Christian writers conference, one of the speakers made a statement that touched my heart . It wasn’t at all about the craft of writing but about who we are as followers of Jesus. She said, “Remember (as Christians) we have a bubble of love surrounding us at…
Read More
Comments Off on Risking Failure: Stretching Beyond Natural Abilities

Risking Failure: Stretching Beyond Natural Abilities

Many years ago, a friend of mine told me of some odd advice given him by his high school counselor. This friend was brilliant and was headed to the Air Force Academy. He was successful in everything he had done up to that point. But his counselor advised him to purposely…
Read More
Comments Off on When God Says Wait: Pray, Ponder and Prepare

When God Says Wait: Pray, Ponder and Prepare

Do you find yourself in a time of waiting not knowing where to turn or what to do? I’m in that place with my writing. After pitching my manuscript to editors, literary agents and publishers, waiting for a positive response is agonizing. Often I wonder, will anyone want to pick…
Read More
Comments Off on At Home With the Creative and Quirky

At Home With the Creative and Quirky

If you ever find yourself in the company of creative people, you soon find out they’re a bit quirky. Put 400 of these eccentric souls in one mountain retreat center and you’re in for a lot of fun. Such was my experience at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference…
Read More

Surviving Within the Swarms of Life

Several years ago, my husband and I made the decision to keep bees. It was more my idea than his but he supported my efforts. If truth be told, he’s still afraid of them. He can’t resist the temptation to swat when they crawl in his hair even though they’re…
Read More