On the 1st of each month, we feature a story of someone putting their "Faith & Sweat" into action. This month I profile Jackie Lea Shelley, whose work I discovered through an online blogging challenge earlier this year. Her story inspired me, and I loved her fun, colorful designs. I have unicycle #29 hanging in my office. Some people see a unicycle as a symbol of balance, agility, and … [Read more...] about Faith & Sweat: 100 Unicycles for Suicide Prevention
RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNICATION
Why Your M.D. is Not Your Best Health Advocate
You are your best health advocate. If I've learned anything about my health the past few years, it's that. Present yourself with a lingering cough to your MD, and you will leave with a prescription. Complain about a stomach ache after you always eat, and you will leave with a prescription to try or an order for further testing. Now if that's what you came for, go home happy. It may take a … [Read more...] about Why Your M.D. is Not Your Best Health Advocate
Breathe: Lamenting What Was, Showing Up to What Is
Some of us are breathing again, on this day after Mother's Day. The ones breathing again today lost babies during pregnancy or at birth. The ones breathing today grieve not being able to conceive a child in their womb, only in their heart and mind. The ones breathing today buried a child, lost their own mother to death, or watched her fade away because of memory loss. The ones breathing today … [Read more...] about Breathe: Lamenting What Was, Showing Up to What Is
It’s Mom’s Turn: Time to Be in the Photos
This weekend, it's Mom's turn On Mother's Day, most Moms probably will be in the family photos. It's easier to remember to take a photo of Mom then. But Mom, you need to be in those photos more than once a year. Mother's Day isn't the only photo-worthy event this spring. Recitals, proms, awards ceremonies, and graduations fill many calendars in May and early June. And images from these … [Read more...] about It’s Mom’s Turn: Time to Be in the Photos
Ignoring the Smell and Creating Connections
“Fish and visitors smell after three days.” — Benjamin Franklin I grew up less than two miles from all four of my grandparents and saw them almost daily. Our relationships grew in the routine: shelling peas on the sofa with my grandmother while we watched General Hospital, riding in my grandfather's truck to buy new Barbie clothes at the five-and-dime on Sunday afternoon. We'd … [Read more...] about Ignoring the Smell and Creating Connections
The Ties that Bind: Reflecting on 50 Years of Love, Faith, and Connection
My parents married 50 years ago at the church they grew up in, that I grew up in, and where my husband and I also got married. It's a special place, with wonderfully imperfect and lovable people. On their actual anniversary, we were able to worship there together as an extended family, and then we went to brunch. My parents, who joined the ranks of the 6% of couples who reach a 50th … [Read more...] about The Ties that Bind: Reflecting on 50 Years of Love, Faith, and Connection
