RockWall Cottage Chronicles

A newsy, sometimes amusing, usually interesting fly-on-the-RockWall view of my life as an author with updates from my Substack adventures.

The small cottage where I live and write has been affectionally named RockWall Cottage because of the rock wall that divides our side of the property from the side of the property where our friends, the owners of the cottage, live. (Learn More)

What Has Been Happening at RockWall Cottage?

RockWall Cottage has been a place I spend the night—a lovely respite from my days at the hospital. That journey was shared here and the first part of this post is a continuation of those reflections.

Choosing Self-Care is Not Easy

(Saturday) Our son and daughter-in-law traveled down and spent some time with Scott today. With this help, I chose not to go to the hospital. Of course, I felt guilty about that. I have always been very dedicated to staying at the hospital when loved ones are ill. I also have never been this age before. But more importantly, I have never—to use the airplane analogy— accessed the oxygen before caring for others.

And then this arrived from a friend . . .

I am currently reading Love, Henri: Letters on the Spiritual Life. These are letters that Henri Nouwen wrote to various people over a 23-year-period. In one letter, a woman is having trouble coping as her husband has brain damage after a stroke and her son is on drugs. Henri wrote these words:

"Be sure not to lose your life in the lives of your husband and son Robert. Their lives are best served when you can claim your own life as unique and different from theirs...I encourage you to take some time for yourself, to read, to pray, to go out with friends, to enjoy nature, to listen to music, to breathe your own breath. Your life is unique in God's eyes, just as Robert and your husband's life."

Setbacks and Hope

Sunday didn’t go very well and they will hopefully run more tests tomorrow. The attempt to put him on a “pain and nausea management plan” was an abject failure that proved to everyone that they could not release him to go home until they found answers. So much misery to come to this conclusion. Sunsets are always a reminder that tomorrow (the day this posts) is coming and it can get better.

News, Highlights from Previous Weeks, What’s Coming, and Other Stuff

• Thank you for the kind words conveyed to me in regard to Scott’s hospitalization. They were greatly appreciated.

• I will be speaking twice at the end of the month. First, Broken to Beloved Annual Summit Registration (Free) is now open.

“We have an incredible lineup of speakers this year, including old friends and new faces. Session topics include: Engaging Your Story, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Emotional Recovery, Impacts of Unresolved Trauma, Breaking Free from Shame, Holy Rage, Healing through Connection and Community, Disabled Psalms: Processing Honestly with God, and so much more.”

”Don’t miss out and REGISTER FOR FREE TODAY. Starting January 21–25, you’ll get 3-4 sessions to watch each day. Each day’s sessions will be available for 36 hours before they expire. We’ll also be hosting LIVE Bonus Sessions and Community Calls throughout the Summit.

• The second opportunity! Women’s Ministry for Small Churches. Registration is open! My choice for a topic seems a bit prophetic right now. What will I say?

A few words from Laurie Graham, the creator of the Small Church Network:

This is our 17th conference inspiring and equipping volunteers in small churches and those who lead them! Here’s what you can expect:

• Actionable steps to have lots more impact (and fun!) in ministry

• Community who “gets” small churches – where you can be real, talk freely, and get excited about what’s next

• Strategies for doing ministry like Jesus and joining God where He’s already working

• Solutions to stop doing it all yourself and develop a team you love

Grab your ticket and join me and 24+ other speakers for a one-of-a-kind event to help you have the impact you were created for!

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Other Random Things

While sitting in the hospital checking email, Grammarly decided to congratulate me on my growth as a writer. Detective? Yes, absolutely. Then, any personality test generally places me in the 2% category so that seems about right. But finally, is saying my writing has become more skeptical a good thing? I am amused but cannot disagree. It has been a year.

Subscriber Note: You Can Choose

You can choose what you want to receive from my Substack! I do not expect everyone to be interested in everything! My writing speaks to many different audiences. If you only want emails on particular topics, you can do that!

1. Click on the Unsubscribe button at the top of the email.

2. There will be a choice to go to my Substack Website—click on that.

3. All of the sections of my Substack are listed —you can choose! (If you leave the top one green, you will receive everything I send.)