Have you noticed how when you ask God to give you more of some good character trait that you almost immediately run out of it? There’s nothing quite like praying for patience to conjure a traffic jam, for example. Ever wonder why? Personally, I always assumed it’s because if we want a new skill, we …
Tag: change
Correction is not rejection
No one likes being told they’re wrong. Especially not when it comes from the Almighty. It makes us feel small, unworthy, and hopeless. We want to crawl under a rock and never again burden the world with our presence. But that’s the exact opposite of His intention! It’s us going too far. That sorrow you …
Breaking out of season
I had a terrible thought the other night. The sad, resigned kind that’s a red flag by itself and turns into a flashing danger sign when it crops up in odd places. As I was getting into bed, I said to myself, “Here we go again.” Seriously, who thinks that when they’re going to sleep?! …
It’s how you respond
How do you respond when God calls you? Do you hide and hope He passes by, like Adam in his post-fruit shame? Or do you leap up with an eager heart and reach for Him, saying “Here I am, Lord!” like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, and Isaiah did? It’s tempting to pretend you’re invisible when …
All great things grow noiselessly (including you)
As the excitement of the holidays fades and the new year plods on with the business of reality, I want to remind you that change is hard. And that’s okay. No matter how deeply you’re convicted about your intentions, at some point you’re going to struggle. Maybe today, maybe next month, but it’ll happen. You’ll …
The State of the Ellie: October 2019
Of more delays, a mental break (and repair), and arting outside the box.
Turns out I don’t hate fall anymore (but it took some doing)
I’ve always dreaded fall because it leads inevitably to winter, when my creativity hibernated under my depression. But this year, it’s different. This year, I’m free.
Begin again: a new marriage
At long last, the story of our 10-year vow renewal. A resurrection story told in vows, photos, scripture, and song.
I quit listening to podcasts for a week and this is what happened
I turned off the background noise of other people’s thoughts for a week because it was making me nuts, and hoo-boy did it make a difference.
Why this introvert is going podcast-free for a week
What used to be my lifeline to sanity is now a coping mechanism that silences not just my inner voice, but the voice of the muse and of God, too. And that’s got to stop.
How to be left behind: the power of staying
In the first half of this story, I learned what home means. Now, I have to learn what it means to be left behind.
The power of leaving and the meaning of home
The first half of the story of my journey from flight risk to community member after a lifetime of not knowing what it means to be home.