A Broken Hallelujah: Practicing Gratitude in Seasons of Grief first appeared as a guest post on Living by Design Blog August 17, 2021 Along with our youngest daughter, my husband and I stood in a hospital room gathered with my son, his wife, her parents and grandfather. We were all excited for the much-anticipated day of the birth of my…
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Practicing Gratitude in Seasons of Grief
How Gratitude Redeems the Hard Places
Though many people find the prompting to gratitude with the turning of the calendar to November, maintaining a regular gratitude practice helps me battle discouragement. Moving beyond the simple graces of gratitude for myriad everyday blessings, learning how gratitude redeems the hard places revealed the value of those experiences long exiled from my blessings list. Hard places belong too Have…
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New Life Amidst the Ruins
A farewell tour of my gardens at first revealed little more than dead leaves, shriveled stalks, and dried broken petals. Suddenly weary, feeling a heaviness throughout my body, I sat down in my favorite spot and closed my eyes, as if to block the unpleasant view. After a few moments, opening my eyes once again, the color of a new…
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Enlarging the Circle with Belonging
As a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), I primarily advocate for the well-being of children in the foster care system. During a recent discussion, the importance of enlarging the circle with belonging became a goal for the foster children in our care. A common need of all humans, belonging often becomes something few foster children experience. As a CASA, we…
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The Grace of Gratitude
Approaching a season often dedicated to time spent reflecting on gratitude, my heart bristled just a millisecond; enough to signal a need for contemplation. Startled by even a brief lapse into ingratitude, I began a genuine heart search for the cause. My initial search kept reverberating one phrase, “the grace of gratitude”. A familiar phrase, I wrote on exploring the…
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When Nature Speaks
On a journey of deep listening, my goal throughout the month first centered on hearing God’s voice more clearly, and secondarily gifting others with compassionate listening. Creating space for moments of deep listening for God’s voice, I discovered listening when nature speaks, tunes my ears to nuances of God’s own voice. Though many imagine the power of God’s voice speaking…
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October Occasions: Share Four Somethings
Waving farewell to another month, I rejoice in a glance back at my October Occasions joining Heather Gerwing as she hosts a monthly feature called, Share Four Somethings, where writers share the fourth Saturday of each month something in each of four categories from the previous month. Many readers notice I choose a theme for each month, which often reflects lessons or themes from…
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Resisting and Resting in Resilience
Ten months into my 2022 One Word Journey provides me with much to ponder. Looking back, I treasure lessons learned on the fragility of life, unpredictability, adversity, and strength. But this month, summing up my journey so far, I realized much time was also spent resisting and resting in resilience. The lessons so far, speak deeply into my life. I…
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Hearing the Unspoken
Captivated, my eyes, hearing the unspoken story held so poignantly within the photograph hungered for more. Longing for connection, I sat held by a moment in time which spoke a story only heard with my eyes. My journey into deep listening beckons me to a place of deeper intimacy and connection through compassionate listening, which often involves hearing the unspoken…
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