This is the sixth post in my blog series about recharging and resetting your life, what I call retreating. I was raised in a Christian family by a pastor and a teacher. Needless to say, our family life revolved around the church, and retreating was part of the culture. I have fond memories of church […]
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Create a Personal Retreat at Home
This is the fifth post in my blog series about recharging and resetting your life, what I call retreating. The first house I owned was a bungalow with two bedrooms on the main floor and one large room upstairs. Housemates occupied the bedrooms downstairs while mine was the upstairs room. I sectioned it into four […]
Can I Afford a Retreat? Part 2
This is the fourth post in my blog series about recharging and resetting your life, what I call retreating. Last week’s post opened with a scene where I crouched on a blustery, English country hillside in the rain. In my lap I cradled a deer’s head while she lay on the ground, pregnant with a […]
Can I Afford a Retreat? Part I
This is the third post in my blog series about recharging and resetting your life, what I call retreating. Crouched on the grassy hill in the rolling countryside of Devon, England, I braced myself against the sharp wind and intermittent rain. Even though I was wearing two layers plus a rain shell, the blustery weather […]
Which Type of Retreat is Best for You?
This is the second post in my blog series about recharging and resetting your life, what I call retreating. I couldn’t get any rest, curled up in my sleeping bag on the hard floor of the church for the night. My empty stomach ached. My head pounded from low blood sugar. I hadn’t eaten for […]
Are You Ready for a Retreat?
Over the course of my lifetime I’ve periodically fallen into a funk where I wonder what the heck I’m doing with my life. At times I’ve felt unfulfilled, lost, or just plain bored. Sometimes I long for something other than what I have: another job, another house—even a different body! This longing forces me out […]
When I’m Elected Benevolent Dictator of the Universe
If everyone has a fair chance at education, you ask, who’s going to do the menial, yet necessary, jobs? Teenagers, of course! (Think character and skills building.)
Chapter 1: First Impressions
Read the Prologue first. A huge fan of British period films and American Public Television serials, I had always wanted to live in a British manor house on a massive country estate of bucolic pastures, ancient woodlands, and serene gardens. I imagined myself surrounded by antique furniture, dining in elegance on fine china laid out […]
In the Beginning…
Only YOU would go to Scotland to plant trees and land yourself a nude modeling gig. The thought occurred as I sat on a metal folding chair on top of a paint-splattered oak table while five strangers interpreted my birthday suit in colored chalk on giant sheets of white paper. It was autumn in the […]