Category:
Living the Faith
Peace, Sock Lint and How There is Nothing New Under the Cover (Except there is)
“Peace. Be still,” Jesus said. He was talking to a storm at the time, but I’m pretty sure he tells me the same thing quite often. “Storm” could be middle my name some days. I like this verse, even though I don’t abide by it very often. I used to do an annual camping trip…
Beauty in Brown: An Alaskan Remix of an Old Proverb
It is amazing how much stress we carry with us when we do not fear being eaten by a bear. I’ve been chewing on a quote that is widely cited as a Byzantine proverb: “He who has bread has many problems; he who has no bread has one problem.” I’d like to provide an updated…
If February Doesn’t March, April May
Springtime lessons from my favorite nonsense quote. I have a friend who is rapturously joyful at the first bug of spring. I about drove off the road once trying to ascertain her sudden gasp until she finally sputtered, “It’s a bug! It’s the first bug of spring!” To me, this foretells mosquitos, biting flies, no-see-ums,…
Seven Minutes of Stillness
A few weeks ago I entered a yoga class after a several year hiatus. This was not the death by planks class of my foolhardy younger years, but a softer, just-enough-to-feel-good variety. As the instructor welcomed us onto our mats, welcomed us to notice our breath, welcomed us into a place of stillness and ease,…
So You Think You’re Tough?
I like to think I’m tough. Here’s how I know I’m not. The other day I was re-reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Farmer Boy. I love reading about these hardy pioneers. I mostly love to read about them while sipping tea in my fuzzy slippers. Now these folks were tough. Back then, it got so cold…
Percussive Boom
Add this to the list of weird things that have happened to me. I was running my dog outside before a work-from-home meeting (that part is not unusual), when my shoes crunched across something unexpected in the driveway. Glass. Thick brown shards of it extending from my puppy’s poo pail across the width of my…
Making Do
I come from a long line of thrifty innovators. The kind that take great pride in sayings like: Use it up,wear it out,make it door do without! So it surprised no one when the need arose for me to put my thrifty innovation to good use. I had recently been coerced by a friend to…
Hidden Thankfulness
Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. I’d like to thank all the people I never thanked. This could be a sweeping generality: family, friends, first responders, the lady cleaning the bathroom at the gas station where I stopped for gas. But, I have something more specific in mind. I’m thinking…
Time Wasted. (Learning Peace When Plans Derail.)
I’ve bet you’ve had a day like this too… and maybe it wasn’t wasted after all.
Heading for Takeout
There’s a saying in my family: When Janet heads to the kitchen (that’s me), then everyone else heads for takeout. I’m fully convinced I could headline on the “Worst Cooks in America” if I could just survive in the kitchen long enough to submit an audition tape. Some of my culinary mishaps are the stuff…
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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.