Can you remember the first time you heard (or said) this phrase? I remember a much younger me imitating a scene from a movie - flopping on a poolside chaise lounge in a beautiful backyard, enjoying a fun celebration with loved ones. "Ahhhh. This is the LIFE!" Lately, I've been repeating the phrase with a... Continue Reading →
Pandemic Lessons
Now that my vaccination card has both doses recorded, and guidelines suggest it is safer to resume more and more "normal" living, I am enjoying getting re-acquainted with the feelings of freedom once (unknowingly) taken for granted. I believe I'll be mindful of and treasuring these freedoms for the rest of my days. Things like:... Continue Reading →
Another Gardenia On My Nightstand
There's a gardenia on my bedside table, and life is good. Every time I smell a gardenia, I have the same reaction. Complete and utter amazement. Something deep inside my soul is filled to the point of overflowing, and I feel only joy. My first encounter with a gardenia was in Florida. My grandparents had... Continue Reading →
Solid Christmas
I love the holiday season, but now that it is over, I'm thinking about things that last.
Fun – On being happily married.
A few years ago, while visiting my aunt and uncle in Minnesota, I slept in my cousin Sarah's childhood room. She is married with two children and is one of the most tenderhearted people I know. She thinks and feels and loves deeply. She is a "long-hugger." Even though she is many years younger than... Continue Reading →
Contentment – On being happily married
Marriage is certainly hard work. To be successful at this takes two people, fully committed to one another, and to staying married. There is working together, there is learning, there are difficult days, difficult seasons, sometimes there are difficult decades. Tears, sweat, anguish, heartbreak - they are all part of the journey toward joy and... Continue Reading →
Sea Level
There is something about being at sea level that feels exactly right to me. I don't know how to describe it other than my heart feels most peaceful at that place where sand and sea meet - as though gravity has brought me "home." Fully settled. Fully present. There are other times when I have... Continue Reading →
Seasons
God’s creation delights me. I am thankful for all five senses, but sight is the one I would have the hardest time losing. My kids grew up hearing me exclaim, “Oh, wow! Look at that sunset! Look at those clouds…kids, are you appreciating the clouds?” (I’m proud to say they are now appreciators, in their... Continue Reading →
Happy February
February starts tomorrow and this year, I've got a plan. Over the past several years, I've had a growing awareness that I don't do so great at being me in February. It isn't anything serious, but I usually find myself resolving to "just get through it." Don't get me wrong; I know that there are... Continue Reading →
Kim Perry Writes 