Prisoner of Hopes

Tag: gratitude

  • Stress Free Stresa: Travel Goals Italy

    Stress Free Stresa: Travel Goals Italy

    It is a rare day that we both awaken at about the same time. In sync, we enjoy coffee. My husband decided to try Italian toasted bread. You buy it prepackaged and already toasted. It is hard as a rock. I took a hard pass. He is desperate because there is no toaster in the…

  • Can You Help?: Travel Goals Missouri

    Can You Help?: Travel Goals Missouri

    When we signed up to be a campground host, I wasn’t fully aware that part of the job would be managing crisis. I should have expected it, but mostly I thought about cheerfully sharing camping stories and answering guest questions. I guess it is a good thing that I have decades of prior experience as…

  • Stuck In The Mud

    Stuck In The Mud

    It started out innocently enough. We arrived home from a lengthy trip and realized that workers were coming the next day to start replacing our deck. Our RV usually sits on a large paved pad next to our house, but that area would be needed by the construction workers. My husband, just as he has…

  • The Currency of Currency: Travel Goals Argentina

    The Currency of Currency: Travel Goals Argentina

    Currency: the quality of being generally accepted or in use. The U.S. dollar (and also the Euro), as we were to find out, is the ultimate currency, at least in South America. After arrival in any country, one of first stops we make is a bank or currency exchange. In recent years it has become…

  • Dreaming of a Spring Awakening: Travel Goals

    Dreaming of a Spring Awakening: Travel Goals

    This winter has been sluggish. I always struggle in the grey, dark days to find meaning and purpose. I get up and read. Slowly going through the motions of the day, I long to be outside and for sunshine. It is hard to be motivated when hibernation seems the best option. And so I dream.…

  • Hibernation

    Hibernation

    The cold fingers of winter creep up on you. Wrapped in the post holiday glow, you don’t notice it at first. Still full and warm, you snuggle into a comfortable lull. At first it seems cozy. Contentment radiates, until one day you decide to pack away the decorations. The house looks clean and bright. You…

  • Decoration Day

    Decoration Day

    My grandma always called Memorial Day by its old name…decoration day. It was a day set aside to decorate the graves of soldiers with flowers and to honor their memories. Eventually, decoration day became Memorial Day. She was adamant about honoring family with artificial flowers. My decoration day celebration, however, is always the 48 hours…

  • Thanksgiving

    Thanksgiving

    The leaves have turned. The air has turned colder. The days are shorter. There is an urgency to make the most of any weather that permits outdoor living. Winter is coming. It is the time of year that family negotiations begin. Where shall we meet? How many will come? Who will bring food? The coordination…

  • Nature’s Cathedral: Travel Goals Australia

    Nature’s Cathedral: Travel Goals Australia

    There is something magical about authentic encounters in nature. I am never more aware of God and moved to worship than when I am surrounded by the natural world. Walking in the early morning woods while the dew is still heavy on the leaves. Watching a deer silently follow me along the trail. Viewing the…

  • Perspective and Neuroplasticity

    Perspective and Neuroplasticity

    There is water running down my windows but it is not raining. The air outside is like a sauna. It is steamy and thick. Why is it that when I pay to visit a sauna, I enjoy the sensation? But, when I am trying to mow my lawn, enjoyment is not the word I am…