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Book Review: “True Life: Practical Wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes” by Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Whiteacre
Introduction Have you ever felt like no matter how much you try to organize things, they never turn out quite how you’d like them to? Do you spend your life trying to make special moments happen, only to watch them slip through your grasp? Do you feel like life is an endless cycle of repetitive activities that you must do over, and over, and over again? How can you find joy when things go terribly wrong? True Life: Practical Wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes provides you with answers and encouragement from King Solomon himself, who had every earthly pleasure and found no satisfaction in any of it. “Vanity of…
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Abide with Me
This is a guest post from my husband, Brian. Brian works casual call as a nurse and does the majority of the work involved in taking care of our land and animals. In his free time, Brian enjoys planting trees, building things (like this incredible chicken coop), and singing hymns. We’ve been married for 14 years, and I’m happy to call him my husband. *** Change and decay in all around I see,O, Thou who changest not, abide with me. I’ve worked in a nursing home for the past 15 years. Recently, especially while at work, this hymn has been on my mind. It uses evening as a metaphor to…
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With Age Comes Acceptance
A couple weeks ago I had a conversation with one of the other teachers at school. She’s almost done earning her masters degree in classical education. She told me the story of how, last summer during a big presentation, she found herself tongue-tied in front of a group of people for the first time since she-can’t-remember-when. This actually resulted in her talking too much instead of too little, and she failed her presentation since she didn’t fit the necessary information into the alotted amount of time. This also means she failed the class, which is why she’s not quite done earning her masters degree yet. I admire this teacher and…
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Surrounded by Friendship, Music, and Love
This is part two of a two-part story. You can read part one here. *** Swimming has always been one of my favorite things to do. I’m not competitive (unless I’m playing euchre with my dad), so I never swam on a team, but I enjoy floating around whatever lake is close by. The water feels so cool and delicious as I dive down underneath the surface. For a few moments the world is calm, even if the waves are big up above me. I’m immersed in a hidden place, like a lost city or a quiet cave. Nobody can find me in this ghost town beneath the waves. At…
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‘What if?’ Questions Are Not All Bad
Do you ever asked yourself 'What if?' questions? Here's my take on these pesky questions, along with a few of my ideas about creativity and curiousity.