Who is in control of your body? Your time? Your decisions?
I have a friend who asked me an intriguing question. She said, “Are selflessness and kindness the same thing?”
I thought about her question all day. Then I thought about her question the next day and the next. My brain wants to produce a black and white answer, but my heart ... Read More
Pain and joy exist simultaneously. I’d say I wish it weren’t true. I’d say I wish I could just have the joy without the pain, but then I guess the reverse would also have to be true.
I’d have to accept the pain without the joy.
Where would that have left me during my breast cancer diagnosis? Where would that leave you ... Read More
Do you care what God thinks about your behavior? Or do you feel like he’s let you down one too many times and you’ve earned the right to make your own decisions without his pesky guilt trying to trip you up?
The funny thing about God is if you ask him to leave you alone, he usually will. I’ve seen plenty ... Read More
It’s Thanksgiving. You probably have a turkey to cook so I’ll make this quick.
What do you do when you’re too broken to be kind?
Like when you’ve been up all night with a sick baby.
Or you’ve been walking on eggshells so you don’t offend your in-laws– and then crack, one of the eggs breaks and all hell breaks loose.
Or you’re ... Read More
There are plenty of times I hold my tongue. Those of you who know me are now rolling your eyes thinking, “Yeah right, Nicole.”
Okay, I guess you’re right. We’re both right. I don’t necessarily hold my tongue, I just don’t say what I really want to say because I’m worried about how it will be taken.
Holding our tongues can be ... Read More
Little Jordan Phillips is $645 and one day away from being the top fundraiser for the Komen Athens Race for the Cure. As a mom, how can I not throw the net out there one more time to say, “Anyone else?”
Is there anyone else out there who was thinking they’d like to make a donation but never quite ... Read More
I should be stripped of my crown; the badge revoked; dishonorably discharged from the ministry of kindness. I blew it.
Yesterday was World Kindness Day and I completely forgot that meant we were all supposed to do something kind to spread love and goodwill throughout our world.
Oops.
Funny that I forgot since first thing in the morning, I got a greeting card ... Read More
What would have to happen to make you shout at the top of your Facebook lungs, “THE SKY IS FALLING!”?
Has it happened already?
I opened my Facebook feed twice yesterday. I was online no more than 35 seconds, just long enough to realize people feel wounded. Our eyes are focused solidly on this world, and in exchange, we are turning into ... Read More
The first election I ever paid attention to was in 1992. Billy Ray Cyrus was singing about his Achy Breaky Heart and the three political candidates were Bill Clinton, George Bush (Senior), and Ross Perot. I was just shy of 18 years old and a little miffed that the only place I could vote was in the mock election in ... Read More
My daughter woke up to 120 text messages on her phone this morning. One hundred and twenty.
We go dark in our house about 9pm, so those 120 messages came in sometime between the hours of 9pm and 7am.
Clearly there must have been some great crisis happening overnight in the world of our almost teenage daughters.
Nope.
Just lots of talk about what ... Read More
