Michelle DeRusha's Blog, page 19

Sing Your Words {Thoughts on Overcoming Your Life’s Block}

I read a version of this post in my Facebook feed a few weeks ago and immediately emailed the author, Amanda Hill, to ask if she would guest post here, because I thought we all needed to hear what she had to say. I’m glad she said yes.Amanda is one of the bravest, most beautiful (inside and out), funniest people I have ever had the privilege to meet. She’s positive, upbeat, empathetic, tough, and able to laugh at herself and pretty much whatever life throws at her. I love this girl.

Written...

How to Make Bible-Reading a Habit that Sticks

Let me tell you straight up: I don’t read the Bible every day. Mygoal is to read a bit of the Bible every day, but I frequentlyfall short. This week, for instance, we’ve endured raucous thunderstorms at all hours of the night. You may not know this, but Nebraska thunderstorms don’t simply blow in and out in 20 minutes. Rather, theylast hours…sometimes all night long. Which means I don’t sleep. Which means sometime around 3 or 4 a.m. I turn off my alarm. Which means I don’t get up much before...

How to Know When It’s Time to Refill the Well

I spent last weekend away from my computer. I didn’t respond to the emails stacking up in my in-box. I didn’t check Facebook and like, like, like post after post. I didn’t blog or tweet or scroll.

Instead, I laid down a drop cloth on the back lawn and spray painted a bedside table white. And then I spray painted an old-fashioned metal milk jug and a crock that I’ve thought aboutdonating to the Goodwill. I decided to keep it; I like it white.

Whilethose dried in the May breeze, I wiped the po...

The Spiritual Habit of Staying in Place

Back when we were dating, Brad entrusted me with his favorite plant, a lush fichus tree named Herman (in honor of Herman Melville, because of course) before he left town for a while.

I moved Herm into my house, positioned him in a sunny spot next to the sliding glass doors and then watched as he began to drop leaves at an alarming rate. I moved him to a south-facing window. More leaves littered the carpet. I watered Herman, fed him plant food, repositioned him yet again in a less chilly spot...

Weekend One Word: Prepared

I had a day recently that looked a lot like this. I felt overwhelmed, lost, and alone. The way forward was unclear. The path was obscured. It was, in short, a little bit depressing.

A couple of days later, when the clouds were beginning to lift and the waters were beginning to recede, I read these words from Isaiah 64:4:

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

Those verses are actually referring to Jesus Christ – they are Isa...

6 Steps to Take When the Door Closes

Severalmonths ago I applied for one of a handful of part-time writing positions available at an online community.Hundreds of writers submitted applications, and in the end, I was not one of the ones chosen.

Let me tellyou straight up: not being one of the chosen ones stung. I felt a little overlooked, underappreciated and left behind. I was a little bit envious of the ones who had been selectedto participate as writers in this particular community, and I was jealous of the opportunities and...

The Spiritual Habit of Digging Dandelions

Last year, when I heard the honey bee population was sufferingfrom amysterious insect-world apocalypse,I decided to offer up my lawn for the cause. I would not drown my dandelions in Round Up nor pry them from the earth with a slim forked garden tool. Instead, I vowed,Iwould let them flourish and propagate in order to providenectar for the struggling bees. It would be my sacrifice, my contribution to Earth.

This year, come April, I took one look at the blur of yellow blanketingnearly every i...

Weekend One Word: Harmony

Last night atdinner a friend of mine expressed her exasperation and frustration over a neighborhood dispute. Long story short, the dispute — which was, as most disputes are, over something quite silly (a fence and a few feet of property) — had caused feelings of ill-will, tension and unrest between my friend and her neighbor and in the neighborhood generally.

From my perspective, as an observer viewing the situation from a distance, it all seemed unnecessary and, frankly, sad. Yet so often,...

Be the Encourager

I really don’t love that they give the half marathoners the marathon medal – kind of unfair to those who actually ran the full 26 miles!

I ran 13.1 miles a couple of Sundays ago for fun. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say for “fun.” It had beennine years since I’d last run a half marathon, and let me tell you, there’s a big difference between running 13 miles at age 36 and running 13 miles at age 45. Suffice to say, there was more ibuprofen involved this time around.

I was nervous about the...

How Our Habits Can Impact Our Spirituality

I’ve been reading a lot about habits lately. Most of what I’ve been reading (books like Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives, by Gretchen Rubin, and The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, by Charles Duhigg) has focused on habits as they relate to our physical lives: more exercise, more sleep, healthier eating, less alcohol, less fingernail gnawing, and the like. But it struck me, as I read, that learning how to form and keep good habits canbe...