Leena J

  • Days of Hope: One New Pivot

    Leena J,

    Freedom Fall I just did something I didn’t think I could ever do. I tamed a bit of the devil in me, by falling on You. I fell on You yesterday in the moments leading up to my girl’s bath, Choosing to swallow my rage instead of snapping out my wrath. I fell on You last night in the shower, Crying that rage out through the sprays of tepid water. I fell on You right after, as I was crawling into bed, Puffy and exhausted, listening to Scripture instead. I fell on You this morning, when I greeted ...

    Hope

  • A New Year for Worship

    Leena J,

    My girlfriends and I have a tradition of selecting a word to guide us into each new year. The words are different and personal to each of us, and they help to ground us and redirect our attention to what we want to focus on as the year progresses. This year, my word is Worship. I’ve been discovering how little I actually know about worship…apart from engaging in it weekly with my church…and I want to explore the depth and breadth of it in my daily life. I want to reorient myself to it, have i...

    Faith Worship

  • Days of Hope: An Exercise in Hopebuilding

    Leena J,

    Yesterday Hubs and I got into a very heated argument. So heated in fact, that he quietly told me that he couldn't' stand to be next to me in that moment and excused himself to go to our bedroom. Not long after, I thought to myself "I can't keep doing this over and over again. Something needs to give." We're on our 16th year of marriage. That was our 1,008th argument over a particular topic. I thought by now we would have reached a point where that issue was no longer an issue. But it's one of...

  • What a Difference

    Leena J,

    Photo from Today.com I'm still reflecting on the events of yesterday. I wasn't expecting it to be so significant, but as I sat watching Biden's first address to the nation as President, I couldn't help but notice some primary differences between him and his predecessor. While his predecessor took the sacred oath with power in mind, he was taking it with people in mind. And while the man before him sought to strengthen his brand, this man was seeking to strengthen our land. This man was taking...

    Encouragement Leadership

  • Pen Names, Alter Egos, and the Courage to Write

    Leena J,

    “This is an experiment.” That’s what I have to tell myself to keep writing. Not that I hate to write. On the contrary, writing is and always has been a love of mine. Stories move me so profoundly you’d think I had lived a piece of the life of every character I've read or imagined. But despite this, I find I cannot write as my external self...the self everyone sees. The words are less apt to take shape in the face of all the anxieties I imagine confronting if anyone were to ever discover the r...

  • Privilege and Paperclips

    Leena J,

    Not too long ago Hubs and I attended a local conference on diversity. Or, the lack thereof. It was very informative and also surprising, with details on strategies real estate agents and brokers once used (with full support from city officials) to make it impossible for minorities to purchase homes in certain areas of Los Angeles. Such tactics were hailed as important measures for preserving the quality of communities. Though that was decades ago, segregation and racism obviously still exist....

  • Adult, Inc.

    Leena J,

    I came upon this saved screenshot on my computer the other day. I had totally forgotten about it and I don't even remember exactly why I had saved it in the first place (other than it's just awesome) or from where. Finding it was a godsend though, as lately I've been struggling with the blues (consecutive days of dreary weather will do that to you) and it's a good reminder of 1) what's important, and 2) to be mindful of my thoughts and resulting behavior towards others and myself. Hope you fi...