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Capable
I am capable. This is something I occasionally have to remind myself. Years ago during the baby-making months, I wasn’t allowed to do things like lift heavy weights, change the cat litter, eat lunch meats, float down a river in an inner-tub or stand on ladders. I also put pottery on hold during my pregnancies out of fear of the possible effects of the glaze and clay dust. Near the end of one pregnancy, I decided to install a shower hook in the bathroom using a power drill. I lost balance and smashed my thumbnail with the drill bit. I’m lucky I didn’t drill right through my finger! I decided at that…
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Will You be Intimidated or Inspired?
When it comes to following people on various social media platforms, I often feel conflicted when shown something amazing they have made or accomplished. Whether it’s a gorgeous clay creation, a fabulous outing a friend has taken her kids on, or a clever home renovation project, it can be a toss-up as to whether I will predominantly feel intimidated and insecure or whether I’ll be inspired. Which side of the coin I land on is completely dependent on my attitude and how comfortable I am in my own skin. I realize that people show their highlights more than failures on social media, but I’m not as concerned about their transparency…
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Meltdown
I was on track to have a load of pottery ready two days before Christmas, and then in the middle of firing, I heard a thud… the familiar sound of the fuse box. I went out to check the garage, and the kiln had shut off, but the kiln sitter had not tripped. It smelled like burning wires and plastic. I turned off the box fan and unplugged an empty power strip, and Joe flipped the fuse back over. There was a spark. He did it again, and there was another spark. With the fuse tripped, I went over to where the kiln was plugged into the wall, and it…
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How to kill any relationship with expectations
Whether we realize it or not, each of us enters relationships with a set of expectations. This is true of friends, spouses, coworkers, neighbors and our children. These expectations have the ability to sabotage our relational health and leave us we huge wells of disappointment. They also have the power to crush those around us. There are four types of expectations I’ve identified as being prevalent in my own life. Joe was given first read and he wants me to clarify that this list contains the busted expectations and that there can be good ones that are aligned and met. Unrealistic Expectations The clearest example of this in my own…
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Journey of Love
It may have been senior year of college, the timing seems right, when I was walking down one of the sidewalks of main campus, probably around Riddick or Mann Halls and the words, “You care more about knowing my will than you care about knowing Me,” were heavy on my heart. I won’t go so far as to claim I heard the voice of God, but this conviction was crystal clear. I had been mulling over which path to take — law school, a counseling program, missions work, creative writing school, or stay in engineering. I wanted direction. I wanted to know what to do with my life, and based…
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Am I doing this right?
When I was a brand new mama, I spent the first six months seeking answers from google, online forums and a friend who was a couple months ahead of me and had read far more parenting books than myself. I struggled to have confidence in the job I was doing. The strength of opinions coming at me from all sides undermined what little confidence I had in my abilities to be a good mom. Other than other panicked mothers on baby forums posting pictures of odd rashes and five-minute play by plays of their baby’s fevers, I came across very few parents who would, in a place of vulnerability, offer…
