With all the holiday jingle and jangle, it’s easy to get distracted by all the trimmings. But I don’t want to miss Christmas this year. I want to focus on what matters.
I want to read the Christmas story with fresh eyes and renewed perspective.
Will you join me?
Because right now, this is a hard season. I feel overwhelmed. My personal life feels out of control. A reminder of loss, of dreams unfulfilled. Continue reading
As this bitter campaign narrows to a close, I for one am ready for it to end.
For months, many have used social media to fight for the cause leaving the rest of us feeling like collateral damage. Facebook makes me apprehensive with its onslaught of endless debates.
Fear and anxiety run rampant across the country. Americans remain divided and distraught over the options for commander in chief. Many believe the future of our country (along with our rights and liberties) may very well be at stake.
But I am not afraid. Nor am I angry. I am not the least bit stressed and honestly, I’m not even that surprised. Continue reading
Last week my cousin spent the day chasing plywood and supplies all over town in preparation for Hurricane Matthew. Store shelves were sparse, gas stations drained, and Home Depot was like Black Friday with the amount of frantic pushing and shoving.
My cousin spent nearly 24 hours securing windows and battening down the hatches. He was just praying his home wouldn’t blow away.
When faced with a natural disaster like the one we saw last week, one thing is for sure. People spring into action. Survival mode kicks in. Some evacuate. Others brace for a fight. But one thing we all have in common? Continue reading
When you retreat to a quiet place, it’s amazing how loud everything becomes upon re-entry.
We spent last week in the mountains, nestled in a cabin just above the treetops. Every morning the sun would peek through the blinds, gently nudging me awake. With a cup of coffee in hand, I would snuggle myself into a sweatshirt and pull up a chair to the edge of the pine deck. The sun would rise over smokey ridges and rows of mountain peaks as I stared out into a silent world. The chirping of crickets and rustling of bears in the woods were the only sounds vying for my attention. Crisp, cool air filled my lungs with every breath.
Peace and quiet. Solitude at its finest. Continue reading
How many thoughts do you have about yourself? And of those, how many are negative?
It wasn’t until I was suffering from soul-crushing anxiety and felt depleted of all motivation that I started giving my thought-life some…well…thought.
Who says my creative efforts are not good enough?
Who says I’m a major disappointment?
Who tells me that I can never change?
Or says I will certainly fail if I try?
Who believes that I am broken?
I do.
It’s me. My thoughts are to blame. Continue reading
Don’t worry. Easier said than done.
Especially for me. I come from a long generational line of worriers. Anxiety and fear have been constant companions for most of my life. Fretting has become a common pastime around here.
How about you this week?
Because every time I turn on the news fear is being magnified. We fear terror. We fear race. We fear other religions. We fear diseases (Zika? Anyone?). We even fear the upcoming election.
I even find myself worrying ABOUT WORRYING.
Seriously? Continue reading
Yesterday was a down in the dumps kind of day.
I was tired. We returned earlier in the week from our travels and hit the ground running.
I felt overwhelmed. My last few days have been engulfed by piles of laundry, chores, work, errands, packing lunches, and scraping together dinners.
I also personally committed to myself (and you) that I would post at least once a week on this blog. But a crazy road trip + daily responsibilities left me with a bad case of writer’s block. I stared at a blank screen more times this week than I want to admit.
So naturally, I did what any tired and overwhelmed writer would do. Continue reading
I love gardening. Creating our own patio retreat has provided a personal oasis of beauty and sunshine while the birds gather above in magical chorus.
This week I sank into the cushions, iced coffee in hand. As I breathed in nature, my eye caught a glimpse of a disturbing sight.
Weeds.
My ultimate arch enemy.
The one thing I hate even more than dirty dishes.
Sticking out like a sore thumb, those gnarly little rascals were ruining my view. Gleefully basking in the sunlight, they made themselves right at home as if to spite me. I’m pretty sure they were smirking as they burrowed their roots even deeper. Continue reading
Rachel Boulos 