Yep. Confession time: it’s January 31st, and my Christmas tree is still up. Not only is it up, it’s still decorated. As in no progress or effort has been made to even remotely consider putting it away. Sure, I brought all my boxes and storage cont…

My name is Lauren, and I am a doubter. I’ve had this long-standing issue of never giving myself or other things enough credit. I may never change, but I figured I’d talk about it. People talk about the things they know, and in the words of G.I. Jo…

Wanna get married? You don’t have to buy me a ring. I don’t need a fancy wedding, either. I was listening to a morning radio duo on my way to work, and they were talking about whether the ring “matters.” I understand that it does for many people, …

I drove to the beach to try to shake you, but it didn’t work. So I stood by my car for a while as the fog rolled in, and I watched the sky change colors. I inhaled the cold salt air and was willingly blinded by the setting sun that eventually duck…

My homemade mashed potatoes are pretty excellent. Sometimes they’re fairly virginal, with just a little butter, a splash of whole milk, some salt and pepper. Other times I’ll bust out the sour cream. Or the blue cheese crumbles. Maybe even a littl…

It’s been said that the purpose of life is to live a life of purpose. Often I think of “purpose” as being similar to “serving” — serving friends, family and even strangers. In this case, I think it’s important to realize that service can be direc…

“Faith is to believe what you do not see. The reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” -Saint Augustine There are so many things that we can’t visualize or touch in life, and they’re usually the things that make us explore emotions that w…

In the evenings, I pass by a house that I refuse to call a home, simply because its location is full of sad memories for me. The lot used to hold a run-down, sad little frame of a house, and one that was in tremendous disrepair. It sat on a genero…

I don’t know how many of you believe in God, but for those of you who do, have you ever felt closer to Him on some days, and less so on others? I have. I don’t know why it seems to go in waves, but for me it feels that way. I can’t think of any ot…

Some days I feel like turning my life upside down. Lately I’ve been noticing just how routine my, well, routine is. I like it and all, since I’ve always been solidly in the creature-of-habit camp. But it’s nearing that “something’s gotta give befo…