Michelle DeRusha's Blog, page 60

Hear It on Sunday, Use It on Monday: When You Wrestle with Giving versus Getting

I cleaned out my closest last weekend. I also cleaned out the boys’ closets, and I politely insisted that my husband clean out his, too. And I helped him. He might argue about my use of the word “help.” But I really do feel like I did him a great service, standing at the threshold of his closet, shaking my head as he held up one shirt after another. He drew the line at the 1981 Foghat concert t-shirt. That one went back into the closet, instead of into the bag bound for Goodwill. Maybe next t...

Weekend One Word: Harmony

You just finished reading Weekend One Word: Harmony! Consider leaving a comment!

Hear It on Sunday, Use It on Monday: Get Your Heart and Mind Put Right

Last week was a difficult one for me spiritually. At a conference I came face-to-face with my greatest temptation – to be known, valued and deemed important by the people I admire – and I succumbed to that temptation. Again. It was painful and disheartening, and I left the conference not only questioning whether I was capable of living out my calling as a Christian writer, but also unable to hear God. I felt like a dried-out husk, empty, brittle and alone.

That’s why I was particularly surpri...

31 Days to an Authentic You — The End {day 26}

“To be nobody-but-yourself in a world that’s doing its best, night and day,

to make you everybody but yourself, means to fight the hardest battle

which any human being can fight – and never stop fighting.”

– E..E. Cummings

My friend Thelma posted this quote on my timeline yesterday, and I thought it was a lovely way to end our 31 Days to an Authentic You.

So I’m feeling pretty authentic, how about you? Sheesh whooee, yesterday knocked my socks off. Thank you all for coming out of the dusty corners...

What I Learned at Allume {and it ain’t pretty – day 25}

So you know it’s bad when you have to write a disclaimer before the actual post, right? Truthfully, I almost didn’t post this one. I had my husband read it (which in four+ years of blogging, I have NEVER done), and he advised me not to post it. As usual I ignored him. Actually, though, what Brad said made sense. He told me he wasn’t sure if it was really something that would benefit the reader, or if it was just therapeutic writing for my own self. Good point. It was therapeutic writing. And...

Why I Almost Quit 31 Days {day 24}

I almost bailed on this 31 Days series. Not because it’s a lot of work (although it is). And not because I ran out of things to say about authenticity (although I came close).

No, I almost quit this 31 Days series because it didn’t pay off as I had hoped.

It didn’t pay off in numbers.

I’ll tell you a secret: I lost more subscribers during this 31 Days series than I have during any other period in my four+ years as a blogger.

And I’ll tell you another secret: it hurts. I’m not going to lie. Losing...