Teetering on the Edge of a New Year (Revised)

https://www.lpm.org/music/2023-12-29/mels-diner-goodbye-to-2023 (This post is revised from "Teetering on the Edge of New Year", posted January 2021. https://peripheralwisdom.com/2021/01/ ) I am one of those annoying people who truly like and appreciate New Year's Resolutions. When I was growing up, I wrote HUGE lists of resolutions for each New Year. Back then, those resolutions were things like find a … Continue reading Teetering on the Edge of a New Year (Revised) →

Finding What Was Lost

In 2009, my husband Tom and I took our 2 daughters to Germany following our oldest’s graduation from high school. Germany was important to me/us because my mother immigrated to the US from Germany in 1923 as an infant with her parents and other close relatives. She never had an opportunity to return to her … Continue reading Finding What Was Lost →

LEGALISM: What It Is and Why People are Drawn to It

There were a lot of rules growing up in a small-town Texas conservative church back in the 1970s and 80s: Girls couldn’t wear slacks to church OR to school, never mind wearing jeans. Dancing was a no-go because it could lead to other bad things. (“Don’t have sex because it might lead to dancing!” was … Continue reading LEGALISM: What It Is and Why People are Drawn to It →

What Good Does Prayer Do?

I want to talk about prayer for a minute. Prayer has been in the news and in front of us a lot the past few days and weeks, with the passing of some very public folks (Queen Elizabeth, Mike Leach, Dori Monson, people I've known, friends of friends, and the like), and the tragic cardiac … Continue reading What Good Does Prayer Do? →

Teetering on the Edge of a New Year

https://physicsworld.com/a/physics-world-review-of-2020-a-year-were-glad-to-say-goodbye-to/ It’s hard to even know what to say as 2020 comes to a close. 2020 has been a year like no other, “unprecedented!”, as we have heard, ad nauseum. Social media the last few days has been full of people summarizing the good, bad, and horrible of the past year. I've really enjoyed reading … Continue reading Teetering on the Edge of a New Year →

Thoughts and Prayers

https://chewv.org/dad-dad-joys-bleak-midwinter/ Every so often, something happens in my life to remind me that prayer is real. It’s not like I ever forget that about prayer. But prayer is just one more thing that we end up taking for granted, knowing all the facts about it, but forgetting the power it has, until we are reminded … Continue reading Thoughts and Prayers →

The Importance of Facing Your Fears

Fear can paralyze you. Coming home from the YMCA last evening, after a much needed workout, I heard something on the radio that really made me think. The station was running an advertisement for some seminar or speaking engagement or book signing or something, and the ad guy made a statement that kind of shocked me. … Continue reading The Importance of Facing Your Fears →