Life – Spacious Place Ministries

Unsalted Salt: How To Keep From Losing Our Flavor

“Don’t salt it ‘til you’ve tried it!”

That was my mom’s motto when it came to table salt. It was as if it was an insult to her cooking if we got to the table and needed salt.

But when I got married, I discovered that my new hubby starts every meal by salting his entire plate. He’s a non-discriminatory salter. It took some adjustment in our early years for me to understand that his salt consumption didn’t mean my cooking was deficient!

A Western Kentucky Retreat: Disconnecting From The World

In the past, I’ve written about the importance of rest, and practically implementing that into our daily rhythyms. It can feel like laziness at times, but sometimes life calls for a break from our everyday routines. I’ve found it beneficial to take personal retreats periodically. Change up my scenery, remove the distractions, and pull my focus back where it belongs.

Several years ago, I booked an Airbnb very close to my house and spent a few days writing, thinking, praying. And before I come off as super spiritual, I also did a lot of sleeping and watching TV. Even the not-so-spiritual can help contribute to rest!

The Heart of God: Mimicking My Sweet Savior

I was pulling in the drive way at home after a long week at work, and in an overall bad mood. My husband and I had been tense around each other all week, and I’d already been alerted that one of the kids was in a bad mood. Yes, I have teenage girls, so it’s not too uncommon.

So I sat there, trying to come up with something else I needed to do before I walked in the door. If I could avoid for a little bit longer the conflict and the emotional energy that my family would require that evening, I would have done it. But I was out of options.

Thanksgiving Leftover Hot Brown

“Do you have something planned for dinner? Or should we stop and pick up something from the store?”

Pretty typical question from my hubby, making sure that everything was covered for the evening. But I chuckled this time, because this wasn’t a typical day- it was the day after Thanksgiving. A Thanksgiving we hosted. And that meant our fridge was crammed full of containers of leftover food. Do we have food in the house? That’s funny.

I’m a leftover lover, but even I wasn’t really excited about a repeat of last night’s dinner. But it seemed the financially wise decision, so I was going with it.

Being Agatha: Sticking My Toe In The Theater World

You know that sudden urge to spring clean that you need to act on quickly or Netflix will distract? I recently had a similar impulse, but for something a bit more significant than a closet reorganization. This time it was an audition for a production at the local community theater. I’d tossed around the idea in the past, but never given it too much thought because of my work schedule and long commute.

But the email dropped into my inbox announcing open auditions, and I thought, ‘What the heck!’. I’d give it a try. I called my cousin who acts professionally, and asked her for some help with a prepared monologue. It was listed as optional, but I sure wasn’t going to show up unprepared!