Category: Spiritual
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Subject du jour
We go through all kinds of topics, and turn right back and go deeper still on some. When we exhaust an idea we move on and don’t look back. Talking with the girls is fun and exhausting and my favorite thing to these days. One thing my parents did was give me general guidelines for…
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Useful conversations
To what degree do we make a sustained effort to engage in useful conversations? Always. Start always with the best intentions. But I personally pay attention to signs and I adapt quickly to the circumstances and move on if I hit a wall. I don’t trust others’ availability to engage if they can’t manage the…
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The book of Ruth
One week in a rustic setting in the mountains, an old cabin with a lot of history, a place where I attended camps as a preteen and then through my teen years. A holy place and a transformative time. Incredible stories, vulnerability, reverence and silence, tears of joy or grief, and relief. And a whole…
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Honesty
His distance gives her space to reflect. It is not painful to her. It actually is a blessing. Room to breathe, to think. The relationship is not just physical attraction for her. I wonder if that was the turn the relationship took too early. Like following a roadmap, and having specific milestones, and directions, but she…
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The vacation in between
It’s a hot week. Mom & dad left Europe, and we are waiting for Brian to arrive in Romania for a teen conference. Nearly three decades ago Brian and his team changed my life. And he has been the gift that kept on giving: Through poetry. Stories. Vulnerability. I’m still waiting to settle my memories…
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The biggest question
“I want you to give me an honest answer. Don’t say yes just because you are my mom.” I feel a bit overwhelmed by all the emotion and responsibility. I play the devil’s advocate often. Also, inadvertently I use reverse psychology and things turn out just right. “Could this work?” She asks. “We are so…
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Rescue
Ivy invites me every evening to reflect on the day and pray with them. When Jackie said she doest feel like praying, my heart aches. She is not grumpy, or moody, or tired. Her mind is elsewhere. And after I call her out on her recurring attitude, she said she doesn’t know how to talk…
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About faith as teens
You are prickly when you feel that others expect or demand more of you than you are willing to give. It’s a defense mechanism – a gut reaction. And surprise-surprise: it’s healthy. If you would tone it down before you figure out why you feel this way, you may miss out on an important lesson…
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Trust
Ivy didn’t know what color group to join on the first day of Vbs. Because I didn’t have access to whatsapp where that information was shared. It ls such an experiment- flying dark. On one hand I felt that this is a kind of test. Can I take a break from the hubbub? Can I…
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Not looking for approval
Clear headed, even as I listen to her heartAnd have the courage to pray dangerous prayersMay God take away even good thingsTo make room for the right thingsThe greatest things. I sensed myself loosing my bearingsImmersing myself into her love storyHer new interest – the sweet innocent targetThat could easily turn upside downWhen one would…
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sweet target
I’m aware oh how crazy it sounds when my daughter talks about having a boyfriend just as she steps into her teens. She is too young.There are two options as I see it: I either create the context where she can talk to me about her feelings, the stir of new emotions, or force her…
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about the 4 impressions
Right before my period, I feel things differently. I usually go a few notches down in self-confidence. I second guess myself. I mean it’s more like doubt, even as I lean into it as an embrace of a humble sprit. Humility never hurt. It was familiar and comfortable and protective. This month I have explored…