During this season of Lent, the 40-day period for Christians between Ash Wednesday and ending before Easter Sunday, I was drawn to reading a book that has been on my shelf: A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller. I've had it for years but never felt the pull to read it. Looking back … Continue reading Understanding Psalm 23 Through a Shepherd’s Eyes
Scotland
Choosing Freedom
As we've moved past our July 4th Independence Day in the US, I'm reminded that we're now into the second half of 2025. During the first half of this year, I've found myself learning how to relax in the flow of life. Through most of my years, I've been a planner, goal-setter, and daydreamer about … Continue reading Choosing Freedom
New Gratitudes
This has been a 'working holiday' for me; I've been packing boxes and moving them to my new home in preparation for the big move on Monday. On Thanksgiving Day, I enjoyed a few hours of resting and eating with family and then left for my "date with a Doctor," as I told my sister-in-law, … Continue reading New Gratitudes
In Our Daughters’ Footsteps: Mission Completed
We've anticipated this trip since August of 2019-- when Kim asked me to join her in bringing her mother's ashes to Skye. At that time, I said I was honored that she'd asked me, but inwardly, I wasn't sure how it would work for me to travel with her at the planned time--one year later, … Continue reading In Our Daughters’ Footsteps: Mission Completed
The Next Leg of the Journey
This week I watched Outlander on Netflix and was reminded of the beauty of Scotland. Three years ago I was traveling through some of the land I saw in those episodes. After our time in Paris that I described in last week's post, my husband and I took the Eurail to London, then took ScotRail … Continue reading The Next Leg of the Journey
Being Present: Stay in Touch
Years ago, when I was writing part of the eulogy for my father-in-law’s funeral service, I asked for each of the five grandsons to share a special memory of their ‘PaPa’.  My younger son, Ross told me that his Papa was a really good listener. His example to support this was that when he told … Continue reading Being Present: Stay in Touch
You Are Enough
That Saturday morning a year ago, I stood waiting for the ferry that would take me across the sound to the island of Iona for my week's stay at the Abbey. I'd dreamed of going to Scotland to that historic pilgrimage site and it was becoming a reality. When the ferry workers were preparing for … Continue reading You Are Enough
Gather Yourself: Lessons in Scotland
"After all the dreaming, planning, and praying, I'm now at the threshold of Iona," I wrote in my journal a year ago as I looked across the white-capped-waters of the sound toward the stone buildings of the Abbey. I'd made it to the village of Fionnphort in the Inner Hebrides, where I'd booked a room … Continue reading Gather Yourself: Lessons in Scotland
On Pilgrimage with Harold Fry
One morning when I walked in my neighborhood, I made a serendipitous discovery; a Little Free Library had just been installed.  Inside the birdhouse for books, I spotted a title that caught my eye—The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.  Months later when our Edinburgh-bound train passed Berwick-upon-Tweed, I remembered how it had been the right … Continue reading On Pilgrimage with Harold Fry
Southern Drawl
I’ve encountered reactions to my Southern accent on my journeys outside the Southeast. But I didn’t expect to when I traveled to Iona. In an international place, I assume there’ll be many accents so that none will stand out. That’s what I’d experienced on my trips to New York City --so many foreign tongues that … Continue reading Southern Drawl
Connie Rosser Riddle 