Recently when I was in Asheville, I visited the studio of Matt Tommey-- a basket artist and founder of a mentoring program for Christian artist. I subscribe to his podcast-- The Thriving Christian Artist and find the episodes to be encouraging of my writing and my faith. His studio is in the River Arts District … Continue reading We Are Created to Thrive
Solo journeys
Write Your New Story for 2020
Stepping into 2020, a New Year, a New Decade I can't help but compare how different I'm starting this year from last, this decade from the one that started 2010. I'd assumed that my life would continue on the same trajectory that I'd anticipated of growing old with my husband and being married until we … Continue reading Write Your New Story for 2020
Step Forward on Your New Path
Last Thursday afternoon, with my belly full of Thanksgiving turkey, cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes, topped off by apple-pecan pie a la mode, I drove through the country toward the Eno River State Park. The weather was perfect for a hike-- sunny and fifty-seven degrees with a gentle breeze. There were still touches of fall foliage … Continue reading Step Forward on Your New Path
Finding My Grateful Heart
"The holidays will be hard," many have told me, recalling their experiences of the first of everything after losing their spouse through death or divorce. These folks have gone on to share suggestions to help me through this season. I've thought about their counsel and now, with Thanksgiving in sight, I'm making my plans. Like … Continue reading Finding My Grateful Heart
Waiting for the View
Today I've been thinking about my solo journey five years ago to Michigan. The place I'd looked forward to visiting the most was Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. All the photos I'd seen of Lake Michigan from the vantage point of the dunes, showed a vast expanse of tropical-like water with varying hues of blue-green. … Continue reading Waiting for the View
Just Show Up
Last Thursday night, my energy was low after a day of record-breaking 100 degree heat, a full-on attack of fall allergies, and a couple of nights of disrupted sleep. I could barely summon the energy to go to my Texas 2-Step class, an activity I added to 'cultivate pleasure' as my friend had suggested to … Continue reading Just Show Up
Live Boldly!
This past week I was nostalgic, thinking of the last week of September in 2017 when I was in Iona, Scotland. Each day I've remembered what our group of forty retreat participants were doing. There are things that I learned there that have stayed with me. That Saturday before we checked in at the Abbey, … Continue reading Live Boldly!
Serendipitous Friend: Treasure from Iona
Over the past few days, I've felt a longing for Iona, Scotland. It has been two years since I traveled there on my Solo Journey, the first to an international pilgrimage site. I chose that island located in the Inner Hebrides to attend a week at The Abbey. There I joined forty other participants in … Continue reading Serendipitous Friend: Treasure from Iona
Rays of Hope
It’s been four months since I learned my marriage would be ending. I look back on all the initial steps through each phase of the grief process. I know that grief is not ‘one and done’ that when we lose something or someone of importance, we work through that for a long time. While you … Continue reading Rays of Hope
Advice from a Sage: Cultivate Pleasure
Months before my retirement from school nursing, I sought counsel from my friend Jennifer. She'd retired from teaching and had a couple of years on that journey into her next chapter. She'd found her way from taking those first awkward steps to arriving at her new life. I shared with her my plans that included … Continue reading Advice from a Sage: Cultivate Pleasure
Connie Rosser Riddle 