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in susan narjala writes
Progress Over Perfection. But…
Happy New Year, friends!
I recently celebrated 44 circuits around the sun but I’m not yet “over the hill” when it comes to setting new year goals. Every year, I launch into January with fresh hopes and dreams. Inevitably, a few weeks into the regular routine, some freshness starts to wilt like the leafy greens I ...
A Prayer As 2022 Winds Down
Father God,
As I look back on the last year, I thank you for your steadfastness.
You have been unchanging through all the upheavals. You have been my Emmanuel even through times when I’ve felt empty. You have been faithful despite all my failures.
While my words are far from enough, I simply offer up my thanks because, ...
Hope Came Down For The Helpless
As part of our family’s tradition of watching Christmas movies during the holidays, this year we chanced upon (i.e. Netflix strongly “suggested”), “Spirited” starring Will Farrell and Ryan Reynolds.
(If you haven’t watched the movie yet, be warned, there may be spoilers up ahead.)
The movie is a musical reimagining of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas ...
A Christmas Lesson From A Coffee Shop
The Toffee Crunch Mocha Latte called my name.
I deliberated over the other options.
The americano with a splash of milk. Way fewer calories.
The cappuccino with a foamy heart. Way more sensible.
The south Indian filter coffee. Way more familiar.
But the Toffee Crunch Mocha Latte was just more… holiday-y. This is the season to indulge, they say. So ...
God Doesn’t Look For This – An Advent Meditation
Back in my teen years, I wanted to be a captain. Not the captain of a ship. Nor of a football team. But the captain of a house. Let me explain.
At my high school, the entire student body was divvied into four teams that we called “houses.” Each house had a captain and vice-captain. These ...
A is for Apple…and Advent
“I don’t have a snack today because my mom didn’t have money to buy me anything,” she says with a brave smile. She tries her best to sound nonchalant about the fact that while the other kids eat their cookies and fruit, she won’t have anything to munch on.
I think about my overstuffed shelves jammed ...
When You Don’t Feel Like Being Thankful
The other day, I threw an epic fit. I let my two sort-of-stunned teenage kids “have it” for several reasons, some being legit things that needed correction and others being things that bubbled to the surface because I was having a mommy meltdown.
One of the things that I probably didn’t need to rant and rave ...
Your Imperfect Story Can Speak Volumes
Incidental.
That word has an undeniably Hollywood blockbuster ring to it. (Don’t think so? Read this in your best movie trailer voice: “Incidentals, Coming to theaters, Summer 2023.” Told ya.)
But other than sounding like a movie title, the word usually connotes something which is non-essential or minor or inconsequential to the overall scheme of things.
If we ...
We Need This More Than We Know
Sitting in the second row of the auditorium, I watched as my daughter and the rest of the choir filed onto the stage. Dressed in black and white, they looked like piano keys and my heart played a proud, happy tune.
Being an overenthusiastic, trigger-happy mama, I leaned forward to speak to the two ladies in ...
MEET SUSAN
