Look up and away from the turbulence all around you to the one true source of power and peace.
Author: Phyllis Argent Castren
Just A Foggy Idea
A tuft of fog is suspended just above. Cotton batting I could almost touch. Now it moves like a flock of grey sheep quietly relocating from one field to another. I am endlessly fascinated by fog. It possesses its own particular beauty. Sometimes, it blots out, but often softens and blurs, the landscape. It creates …
A Memory
One thing I learned from my mother was an appreciation of natural beauty. She couldn’t get enough of God’s creation. She would inevitably drag home pieces of driftwood from the beach, admiring the twists and textures unique to each one. My dad was so patient! And I seem to have inherited her penchant for picking …
The Upside of a Shutdown
It is possible to set aside a sabbath of sorts in which we focus on baking and breaking bread, listening to birds sing and breathing deeply.
Dust and Indecision: The Art of Decrease
Closets and bookshelves have much in common. As I seek to reduce what occupies the recesses of our home, I realize those shelves and neglected closet spaces are full of aspiration. To all appearances, I have a massive pile of stuff that I am struggling to sort. Dust and indecision hang in the air. Will …
Feel Free to Feel
Would you rather fix than feel? Is your life too hectic to spend time feeling? Do you eat your emotions with a bowl of ice cream? Or do your emotions run away with you and drag you off into a ditch? Whatever relationship you have with your emotions, you need this book! In Untangle Your …
The First Few Words of a New Year
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.. Lamentations 3:22-23 The family laughed over breakfast about the first bacon of the new year, the first text message, the first football game, etc. Each was followed by a daughter’s very good imitation of a trumpet …
There’s Still Time
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us... Psalm 46: 10-11 Email after email is screaming at me: There’s still time to buy this!!! Last-minute gifts still available. Few things provide a sense of calm this time of year as the knowledge that you are done …
Savoring the Season
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. Psalm 62:1 Until just recently, porch pumpkins and Christmas cheer coexisted on our front porch. Unlike most of my neighbors and friends, I do not rush into the Christmas season. I like to ease into the idea, not unlike savoring the last of the Thanksgiving stuffing and gravy. This is how I’ve always done things, so this pause didn’t really strike …
Mango Misconceptions
I have lived almost my entire life thinking that I didn’t enjoy mangoes. This thought may have entered my mind in college. I tried mangoes at about the same time my roommate's boyfriend brought over some papaya. I am certain I don’t like papaya, but somehow my brain equated the two fruits. And so I have avoided mangoes as if they were liver. (Apologies to those who think liver is delicious.) My worldview, as far as mangoes are concerned, changed this year because of a humble potluck. A group of friends meet each month to share food, conversation and prayer for one another. It is a rich, satisfying experience. My friends are better …
SMALL MOMENTS FULL OF GRACE 