The question was light-yet poignant. Our speaker, a dear mentor and friend, asked this question as she held up an adorable pair of cow house shoes. She went on to explain that the night before she put them on for the first time. One slipper felt great…but the other, huh. She couldn’t comfortably get her…… Continue reading What’s Stuck In Your Shoe?
rubble: waste or rough fragments of stone, brick, concrete, etc., esp. as the debris from the demolition of buildings. Broken bits and pieces of anything, as that which is demolished. Whether from a natural disaster or an accident, it makes no difference. Owners return to the site of the disaster and search for anything of…… Continue reading Sifting Through the Rubble
My first vivid memory of selfish behavior was in first grade. The classroom was dark-we were supposed to be outside playing. I crept into the room and went straight for my teacher’s desk. There I found the small box containing paper boy and girl cut outs. I quickly shuffled the cut outs around until…… Continue reading Umerited Favor
With great expectation he asked and believed that his mother was listening. When we arrived at his birthday party, he enthusiastically pointed out one package and told me he knew what it was. “How?” I asked him. His response was simple…“Because I showed my mom what I wanted and it was this shape!” His words…… Continue reading Close Enough to Ask
The alarm had been set, but what woke me were his panicked words… “Alyssa, it’s 6:00am. You’re late.” I loathe mornings. Really. My body requires extra time to “warm up”, and my enthusiasm hibernates until sometime after 10am. I was scheduled to meet a friend at 6:15 that morning. There was no way I could look presentable, grab…… Continue reading Wake Up Call to Love
His question was innocent…motivated by an authentic curiosity. My hesitation was surprising…motivated by a lack of introspection. On a rare occasion, I have an “open window” with my teenage son. Studies and sports, appointments and chores, these consume most of his time. This night, however, was different. With an unusual margin of time, He sat next to me as…… Continue reading Powerful Influence
It eludes me. No formula will explain the mystery. I can wait for three minutes, water running continuously, before it turns from cold to hot. Although I only have the hot water handle turned on, freezing water flows from the tap. After a few months of living here, I determined to take the win in…… Continue reading Lean Into the Turn
Crap shoot:: A gamble. Unknown. Unpredictable. No “sure thing”. Many days remind us, with every passing hour, that we are fallible and that life is filled with the unexpected. The phone call or email that caught us off guard…a disgruntled employee or employer…a relational mishap. The ice skater laces up her skates anticipating a great…… Continue reading Pharisee to Follower
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet…… Continue reading Do Not Worry
Not long ago, I was invited to speak at a women’s retreat for one of our church campuses. I wanted to be super spiritual and say I’d pray about it, but mostly my heart and mouth were long past saying yes, without the praying. Let me clarify, I stepped out of my job last year…… Continue reading Letting Go and Falling…Forward?
Alyssa DeLosSantos 