There are people I miss deeply, people I’d love to talk to more regularly. I realize that frequent communication is not always practical. Sometimes there will be long periods of silence. I won’t always be able to tell them how much I’m thinking about them, even though I wish that I could. I’m such a
Often I’ve found a small, unexpected symbol of encouragement, and it’s brightened my day significantly. I’ve discovered it in various forms: a sunlit pattern in the clouds, a hug, a verse, a comforting breeze, an inspiring line from a song, or a genuine smile. Recently, I noticed this heart on the ground. It reminded me
Some people spend years trying to figure out what historical figures looked like. Before reading this article, I never realized how much work went into the process. The photo below depicts the only verified image of Jane Austen. It’s a portrait done by her sister, who was not an artist. The Jane Austen Centre decided
I rarely commit to new projects, because my free time is limited, but last week I was inspired to start an art journal. I work at a treatment center (as a mental health counselor and an art therapist), and one of the activities that I’ve encouraged my clients to do is to keep an art
I love poetry, but the thought of writing it intimidates me. So I was a little surprised by my desire to write a poem today. I immediately decided to write something simple: a haiku. It’s the shortest form of poetry that I can think of. Writing this Japanese poetry involves several guidelines (which are sometimes
Sometimes it takes me a few weeks to realize that I’m in a new season of life. I try to live in the present, but my mind is often preoccupied with the last season, replaying its joyful and disappointing scenes, analyzing my major decisions, and trying to identify what I can do differently. Even though
A woman called the police after she saw this unusual sculpture of Jesus. The statue, called Jesus the Homeless, lies on a park bench near St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Davidson, North Carolina. (I enjoyed reading the NPR article, which provides more details about it.) According to the church’s rector, Rev. David Buck, it has
I’m grateful for my father, who taught me to follow my dreams. I know that I complained as a child, following him around from country to country as he did mission work in Europe. But as I watched him achieving his goals–leading teams of people into mission work in Communist countries, starting a large church
Our first cruise stop was in Roatan, a beautiful island in Honduras. We planned to walk around the town and visit the beach, but we didn’t know that the most interesting moments of the day would involve meeting the locals. Right after we got off the boat, a sixteen-year-old boy started following us around. He
Tony and I had a fun day today in St. Marks, Florida. Our adventures included visiting the wildlife refuge, walking along the coast, and trying the local seafood. Just as we began driving away from the town, we came across this street sign. I’m pretty sure that we’ll never live on Mock Street, but we
