Category:
Living the Faith
Add Some Creative to your Christmas
I once took a baby pig to pet pictures with Santa. (Yes, a real piglet.) And I once landscaped a roommate’s bed with castaways from the university compost pile. The masterpiece was complete with past-bloom mums, dried corn stalks, and a carefully curated stone wall. (Don’t worry, I covered the bed with thick black plastic…
With Thanksgiving
Every once in a while I find myself ruminating on a piece of scripture in a curious sort of way. Not that ruminating on scripture is curious, rather I mean that I get curious about what I’m ruminating on. This happened recently with Philippians 4 and that oft-quoted passage: Do not be anxious about anything,…
The Haircut (a.k.a., Growing Pains)
As she was cutting fist-fulls of hair from my head, my hair stylist told me this story: “When I was younger, I always wanted to have short hair and my mom wouldn’t let me. Then when I was in beauty school, I asked one of the instructors to cut my hair and she wouldn’t either.…
The Spice of Life
A few weeks ago, we welcomed a family onto our side of the church. They weren’t new to our congregation; they had simply stepped across the aisle and sat in a new location. During the guest introductions, we introduced them as having moved from the other side of the aisle to visit our side of…
Fighting the Battle (or not)
I was listening to a song the other day on the radio: I’m fighting a battle You’ve already won. The song is a rallying cry to overcome whatever comes our way. Take courage! God has granted you the victory! We need only to persevere (the song seems to say) to the battle’s end. But in…
Love, Work, and Joy
My mother had read somewhere and often repeated: In order to be happy, you need something love, something to do, and something to look forward to. I used to quip that eating fulfills all three. (A stance I still maintain to this day.) Despite my flippant response, I always acknowledged the wisdom in the simple…
Scared and Unafraid: Video Presentation!
Back on December 3rd I had the opportunity to lead a presentation on fear. I promise something in here will make you think a bit differently about fear. I hope you take the time to watch. Click the image below to play. This link should start at 9:40 which is right before the start of…
Eyes in the Dark: A Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose your own adventure by following the prompts after the intro below. Ready, set, go! I was walking the dog in the dark the other day, which happens a lot this time of year in this part of the world. We’re past the winter solstice but won’t really notice for quite some time. I was…
The Lost Art of Writing Christmas Cards. (And Some Things We Should Maybe Lose Instead)
Right now, I could be writing my Christmas cards. Instead, I’m going to write about writing my Christmas cards. Except this post is not really about writing Christmas cards. Pay close attention. You see, I’ve always loved writing Christmas cards. (It’s the writer thing, don’t judge.) I used to spend a solid two weeks writing…
Simple Thanks: Here is your Reminder
Usually I wash, dry, and remake the bed all in the same day. Only occasionally do I pull spare sheets from the closet to rotate them. This means that when a sock gets caught in the fold of the fitted sheet, it could be months before it is rediscovered. Usually by then its mate has…

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Meet Janet!
Janet Beagle, PhD is the founder of The Mustard Patch. She divides her time between the Midwest and New England, and if she’s not writing, she’s probably out hiking with her 2-and 4-footed friends.