I went away to school.

I find I live this ridiculous double life: in public I appear to be strong and cheerful though flawed—full of advice and kind words—i.e., a good person. The illusion I have created is that I am someone who, if you didn’t know already you’d try to get to know them. Although a little air-headed, very…

. . . or crying works, too

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It was an uncharacteristically quiet day in the Stringam household.

The older kids were at school.

Dad and the hired men were out . . . doing ranch…

Learn about 52 women who changed the course of Bible history.

1. JEZEBEL

Revelation 2:20-23

As we have already dealt with this woman in the portion dealing with named women of the Bible (see Jezebel No. 2), all we need to do at this point is to briefly remind the reader of the way this sinister female is dealt with. Some writers adopt the reading, “thy wife Jezebel” and so regard her as an actual person, a false prophetess who sought to seduce the saints in the church in…

The prolific spiritual writer and Zen-inspired Christian monk, Thomas Merton, said: "Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."  

Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones, directs us that,“What writing practice, like Zen practice does is bring you back to the natural state of mind…The mind is raw, full of energy, alive and hungry. It does not think in the way we were brought up to think-well-mannered,…

Do you love your Starbucks?

A Lenten Reflection

“…I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.” Acts 26:20b

I really like Lent!

Some of you might think this an odd statement. And some of you don’t practice Lent in any way.

But as for me, well usually about this time of year, I’ve gotten a…

My mother used to have a saying, “Don’t count it a day lost when you learn something new”  and she especially liked, “learn a new word.”  She was big on vocabulary.

I’ve modified this treasured maternal maxim to include any number of lesser, albeit, practical goals to further edify my life. For example, “don’t count it a day lost when you can talk a cop out of a speeding ticket” or “don’t count it a day lost when you can dodge every call from a bill collector.” And the most…

My Thought for the Day comes from poet Robert Fitzgerald:

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2011/12/thought-for-day.html

"Dehairing", a new poem for the T.S. Poetry Press Cashmere Writing Project:

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2011/10/dehairing-poem.html

Do you knit? You don't have to be a knitter to enjoy this wonderful new book from Peggy Rosenthal, Knit One, Purl a Prayer: A Spirituality of Knitting. 

My post of the book is here:

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2011/10/peggy-rosenthals-knit-one-purl-prayer.html

Pray

Pray without ceasing.                                                1 Thessalonians 5:17.

Catie has just begun her senior year of college. The time, predictably, has been full, yet so swift. I think about the process we went through to get her there. The discovery of a school we had never heard of, and the dream to study something she loved, but had not been trained for, music. It was a God thing. Catie was guided there, almost against her will.

“I do not…

The Serenity Prayer...........

God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can change,

and Wisdom to know the Difference.

If you are familiar with this prayer, you will want to read this book.

If you are not familiar with this prayer, you will…

My husband and I have been battling infertility for almost 8 years now. We have recently been given an adoption opportunity. Read my latest blog post on my devotional website for women affected by infertility and difficulties in getting pregnant, and please pray for all of us involved.

 …

This Prayer Vigil Friday, Good Friday, is a special day for remembrance and prayer.

Over the past two weeks, I have heard about four women who have had miscarriages. Four. One a failed IVF cycle, their…

Yesterday, after the SheWrites chat concerning blogging and advertising, I realized that my most current blog wasn't going to help me in a publishing sense.

As such, I've started a new blog focused on my writings.  

I have high hopes for this.  I've spent the better part of the morning fussing over backgrounds and templates, and am still not 100% satisfied.  I hope I can find a style and…

I discuss a beautifully written book by Peggy Rosenthal, "Praying Through Poetry: Hope for Violent Times":

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2011/02/peggy-rosenthals-praying-through-poetry.html

My BFF, Noelle Alix, and I have been blessed to be a part of a women's prayer circle on and off for a few years. It's a diverse group of women who are on the bumpy road of faith. It was the first such group I've ever been exposed to, where I was completely comfortable to talk about my faith. To talk about how I've leaned on it. How I've questioned it.

Until this morning that is. 



A good friend asked me to come to a prayer circle in her neighborhood. It meets one hour…