Taryn R. Hutchison's Blog: The Glorious Muddle, page 17

Whatever you do . . .

Every muscle in my body aches today. And yet I feel light. There’s nothing like the feeling of completion, especially when it’s successful completion. The mammoth project I’ve been working on all summer, a yearlong anniversary celebration, finally kicked-off on Friday. The stress was crazy at times, but mostly, it was great fun. I was […]

Timely Words

At first, my two massive projects at work were almost fun. Finally I had a chance to break out of my office confinement and be creative. I felt fulfilled to work out of strengths for a change. But after a few weeks of obstacle after obstacle — at first leaping over them and now barely crawling […]

Pressure

In Europe, I had a red teapot that I used every night for a spot of tea. As the temperature boiled, that teapot didn’t merely whistle. It shrieked. It would scare my guests. It sounded like a child or animal being tortured. And then the cap that made it whistle would shoot off the teapot […]

Homesick . . . for a place I’ve never been

I’ve been homesick lately. It often strikes me in July. Every other year. That’s when hundreds of the people I love and admire most in the world gather at Colorado State, and I’m reminded how much I miss them. How much I miss my old life on staff with Cru. My friends who joined staff […]

Do I (really) love God?

Every morning, my husband reads aloud the day’s entry in Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest as I try to shake the cobwebs out of my still-foggy mind. Steve has a soothing reading voice, perfect for lulling children (and me) to sleep. But one day last week, the words he read slapped me awake. I […]

Margin, or Needless Stress?

I’m a big fan of building margin into my life. That’s why it’s kind of funny that I don’t have any right now. Steve and I both are firm believers in eliminating needless stress. It must come naturally to Steve, who is always on time and never deviates to his schedule. He has an uncanny […]

Amazing Grace

The mass murder of nine dear souls in a Charleston church last week has shattered our world. I’ve remained silent because there are no words that help. And yet I’ve been amazed at the response of the families and the church in Charleston. The victims’ families spoke to the shooter, a picture of strength made […]

Through Gates of Splendor

One of the great women of faith of our time passed through the Gates of Splendor early Monday morning. Elisabeth Elliot influenced me by her example of faith, forgiveness, perseverance, and courage. She had an unusual ability to cut through the murky fog to speak truth into the heart of a matter. As a single missionary, I […]

The Long Trip Home

Lately I’ve become so acclimated to life in the States that I often fear I’ve lost my sense of adventure. That’s part of my identity and I want it back! Well, after the trip we just had, I can gladly report that I’ve still got it. Our return trip from our stateside paradise took longer […]

The Month for New Beginnings

Commencement season has commenced. My post-missionary career has evolved into one of doing graduations, first at a seminary near San Francisco and now at a university in North Carolina. None of my 12 years of helping to put on commencement ceremonies has come close to the amount of work (and stress) involved in this year’s. […]