I stepped on the scale and closed my eyes. “Please move,” I demanded. “DOWN. Move down.” The dreadful torture machine blinked once, twice… and thus the hopes of a week of salad and protein eating went down the drain. Great. Let me tell you right now – of all the curses humanity inherited from Adam and Eve’s fall, hormones must be the most annoying one. If you are a woman, they torment you from puberty to - uh, say, 60 years old. That’s almost half a century of ups and downs of Continue Reading
Grace to the Unlikely {The Atlanta Journal Constitution}
I recently came across an illustration about patience and long-suffering that gave me great pause. According to a supposedly traditional Hebrew story, Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when a weary old traveler walked by. The old man looked tired and hungry from a long journey. Abraham rushed out to help the stranger, inviting him into his tent. There he washed the man’s feet and gave him food and drink. Without hesitation, the old traveler began eating his food before Continue Reading
Staying Focused as Your World Spins Around
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3 The ballerina’s elegant figure twirled around the stage with incredible ease. The Rio de Janeiro Ballet Company had come to town, and my parents bought tickets to take their aspiring ballerina to watch their performance. As a young girl, I remember watching her in awe, while dreaming of the day when I would be able to have the same technique and grace to become a Prima ballerina. Oh, the Continue Reading
Allow God to Handle Your Battles {Column for the Atlanta Journal Constitution}
“Fight your battles on your knees.” I have been privileged to sit under Dr. Charles Stanley’s teaching at First Baptist Atlanta for the past 16 years. This quote is one of "30 Life Principles" that he wrote, all based on Scriptures and his life experiences as a Christian for over 70 years. I was reminded of that principle this morning during my morning walk. Both my children have recently had some bad experiences with friends who have proven to be unfaithful. As my teenage daughter shared Continue Reading
Strive to Be Wise With Money {Atlanta Journal Constitution Column}
According to the most recent data from the Survey of Consumer Finances by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the credit card debt of American households is approximately $5,700. When a financial institute performed a research study earlier this year to determine the average debt of households that did not pay their balance in full on a monthly basis, the numbers were even more staggering. The average credit card debt for those households increased to an average of $16,048. College debt is another Continue Reading
Stress: Joy Quencher & Purpose Killer
I spent five weeks visiting my home country, Brazil this Summer. When I left the USA at the end of May, I was very, very tired. For too many reasons to mention, I knew I had to stop and recharge. I knew I had to reevaluate my schedule and priorities and, most of all, I needed to relearn how to enjoy life and simply...BREATHE. The first thing I decided to do was u.n.p.l.u.g. And I did just that. Other than writing my newspaper columns and uploading some pictures every now and then on Continue Reading
