Category Archive

What inspires or motivates me to take one (painful, difficult) step after another?

It’s interesting that I should get this writing prompt because my word for 2026 is “move”.

During Advent I was part of a group reading Give Me a Word: The Promise of an Ancient Practice to Guide Your Year. We were supposed to wait for a word to just come to us, but I was busy searching for an inspiring, whimsical word – the right word. I had narrowed it down to about ten, but one morning on the exercise bike the word did come to me.… Read the rest “Saturday, April 4th”

Finding the Right Way for Me

I have enjoyed many backpacking trips, mostly in the Sierras. The air, the starry night sky, water straight from snowpacks … WOW! Of course, getting to our camping site is always an interesting challenge. Getting too far off the well-marked trail is risky, and, sadly, can be deadly. But…

Jesus warned us in Matthew 7:13-14: “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.… Read the rest “Friday, April 3rd”

When I was in college, I had a few friends whose romantic partners cheated on them, and then those friends would ask me if they should forgive them. With little effort I can clearly remember the evenings spent in café booths telling them, “There are no reasonable excuses,” and “Once a cheater, always a cheater,” and I said it with full conviction.

Then during my last year of college my best friend came to me in tears saying he had cheated on his boyfriend.… Read the rest “Thursday, April 2nd”

What motivates me when I am facing a difficult and stressful period in my life? Any time I have a problem to solve or plan to work on something that needs to be done, with Gods help, I keep at it until it is complete! I ask God to help me and keep me focused on the solution, no matter how hard it is or how long it takes. As I have gotten older, I have learned to take it in steps, a little one day, a little another day, until it is complete.… Read the rest “Wednesday, April 1st”

What inspires or motivates me to take one (painful, difficult) step? 

Throughout my adult life there have been several occasions when I needed to make a painful change to my life. Each time, I took a deep breath and jumped into the abyss, so to speak. Usually, I was motivated by the need to survive financially – for my children.

One time it truly was because I knew if I didn’t take that step, I would never escape from a bad situation.… Read the rest “Tuesday, March 31st”

What inspires or motivates me to take one (painful, difficult) step after another?

As times in the United States seem to feel more bleak with each passing day, I find myself thinking of the hatred and persecution that Jesus faced, simply for being who He was and spreading a message of love, in defiance of many of those in power at the time. Sound familiar? 

And yet, the louder the hatred became, Jesus responded with nothing but more love. Love for his friends and persecutors alike. … Read the rest “Monday, March 30th”

There have been a number of “rough roads” in my life. My brother’s car accident and subsequent permanent disability, my parents’ divorce, my husband’s and my car accident – it seems to me that I have had more than my fair share of trauma in my 42 years of life.

Currently, the rough road we’re walking is financial. In one year, our homeowner’s insurance doubled, due to the risk of wildfire, living in California. We have an aging house, which seems to need a major repair or overhaul annually at this point.… Read the rest “Saturday, March 28th”