It was pouring rain when I pulled the soggy mail from our cavernous brick mailbox. The stack felt like wet socks that missed the spin cycle in the washing machine. A glossy December magazine flopped on top. The teaser just under the title read “Go ahead: eat and never gain weight again!” Using the law […]
Author: Colleen Swindoll Thompson
Harsh Wind: The Secret to Soaring When Life Kicks Hard
Life can be undeniably rugged. I was reminded of this while watching a reality show filmed in Alaska. The family homestead was in constant motion. Kids galore, parents, and grandparents were feeding animals, harvesting fields, storing up for winter’s blast, which was right around the corner. Certainly, no one was sittin’ round the campfire—it was […]
Five Holiday Hacks When You’re on The Hunt
I stumbled over my shopping cart last Saturday when I saw shelves competing for my retail attention—beautifully displayed decorations for every national holiday between Christmas and Fourth of July. How do they do it? I keep believing I’ll be prepared for the next season of life—just like the local craft stores . . . Hobby […]
Ten Transforming Truths about Batons
I passed the baton last weekend . . . well, sort of. I’ll explain. Baton—you’ve probably heard the word a hundred times, referring to the cylinder-shaped device athletes carry and trade off during races, or maestros use to lead orchestras, or policemen wield for protection. Batons are usually rather small but powerful. Well, my baton […]
What Hope Always Is (and What it Never Will Be)
As I searched the Internet on the subject of hope, these results popped up (I kid you not!): A guy claiming to be a physician (he wasn’t) was selling “hope” to cancer patients. He said his “magical pill” (it wasn’t) would cure them (it didn’t). A wikiHow article, titled “How to find Hope,”[ref]“How to Have […]
Examining the Four Letter Word
Physical therapy? Nope, I’m too busy! I was a few months late for the typical post-op back surgery appointment. I had been a little busy: my son’s small but complicated surgical procedure, two international trips in the summer, several pneumonia illnesses in July, and two broken ribs for my husband in August . . . […]
Why God Allows Us to Run Out of Hope
Interview with Wayne Stiles We’re doing something a bit different today. The next five minutes may be life changing for you because it’s about hope . . . or where is God when we run out of hope, really. It’s part of my interview with Wayne Stiles, author of Waiting on God: What to Do […]
T.I.M.E.
Our kayak bounced and bobbled near the buttressed, craggy cliffs of the ancient Mediterranean island. We paddled as far as we could from the port’s busy sights and sounds, then rested our oars and dangled our feet into the crystal clear waters. The tidal ebb and flow, the soft splash of waves against the coast […]
Waiting on God: What to Do When God Does Nothing
An Interview with Wayne Stiles
Regardless of age, income, life experience, intelligence, relationship status, emotional well-being, and spiritual beliefs, we will all encounter one unavoidable, universal experience: waiting. Waiting can be as simple as sitting in traffic or as complicated as waiting for relief from pain. Waiting can be terribly irritating and confusing and seem so unproductive, unnecessary, and untimely. […]
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The Hardest Questions to Ask
I love great, big hugs and hellos, happy celebrations with hearty laughter. But I dread goodbyes. When it comes to family and saying goodbye, I’m a crier. Today was one of those “I’m going to cry and say goodbye” days. My son Austin had arrived at the end of June to help us look after […]
Flying Fish, Party Straws, and 4 Essentials to Focus On
After what I saw, it seemed best to stay quiet. I was two days out of a massive back surgery, and the morphine pump was primed to kill pain that made natural childbirth feel like a minor tummy ache. My incredibly loving husband had taken two weeks off work to set up camp right by […]
My Top Ten Books for Traveling
I had life planned. The kids and I made a crafty family crest; a personal mission statement hung in my room; purpose and direction dictated our steps. And then . . . And then the best possible thing happened, which felt like the worst possible thing that could happen. Life . . . f E […]