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Even If You Waited Until the End . . . Rejoice

Even If You Waited Until the End . . . Rejoice

Posted on April 22, 2019April 23, 2019 by Anastacia Pattillo

Rejoice, from the beginning and to the end and thus forever, He is Risen. Oh, I long to sing the Paschal hymn, “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” In the Orthodox world this year, we are one Read More

Posted in faith Tagged Lent, Orthodox
The Blessings of Small

The Blessings of Small

Posted on January 16, 2019January 16, 2019 by Anastacia Pattillo

Goal Setting Trends At this point of the new year, at least 25% of those who set New Year’s Resolutions have quit. By the end of three months, half will have given up on their new goals. One study shows that by year’s end, just over 9% will have kept Read More

Posted in habit Tagged habits
Redeeming the Time

Redeeming the Time

Posted on December 11, 2018December 12, 2018 by Anastacia Pattillo

I hate winter. As a Texan, this is sacrilege. We’re all supposed to hate the heat (even though we choose to live in this state. Sigh.) The last couple of weeks have been plunging us into autumn, and we’ve already had our first hard freeze. Oh, I loathe it. Anyone Read More

Posted in death, depression, family Tagged death, family, grief, Incarnation
Grateful for It All

Grateful for It All

Posted on November 21, 2018November 21, 2018 by Anastacia Pattillo

I am grateful for the good and the bad and everything in between. What a predictable subject for a post the day before Thanksgiving! Frankly, a post about gratitude during the week of Thanksgiving will get a better response. It is the nature of blogging on the web. And yet, Read More

Posted in habit, writing Tagged family, gratitude, habit
The Web of Sin: Anger & Procrastination

The Web of Sin: Anger & Procrastination

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Anastacia Pattillo

My mind has been dwelling on sins and habits, especially anger and procrastination. I’ve also had these two stories running in my brain for weeks now. The first was from long ago, a high school project I procrastinated on. The other story occurred just a few weeks ago, an angry Read More

Posted in habit, parenting Tagged anger, procrastination
The Purifying Fire of Grief

The Purifying Fire of Grief

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Anastacia Pattillo

Grief is everywhere. All around me, someone is sick, someone is dying, someone is grieving. If I had been told that middle age would be so full of loss, I might have called them liars. Instead, grief calls me the liar. All is not well here on planet Earth, and Read More

Posted in culture, death, depression Tagged death, grief
Structure: The Patterns of Life

Structure: The Patterns of Life

Posted on September 29, 2018October 7, 2018 by Anastacia Pattillo

Human brains seek out structure — the patterns of life. I looked for paradigms everywhere when I was growing up. It seemed I could concentrate longer on one thing longer than my peers, and it was all about systemizing. I categorized people, events in history, and stories. All the while, Read More

Posted in choice, habit, single parenting Tagged habit, parenting, structure
Regret, Self-Pity, & Repentance

Regret, Self-Pity, & Repentance

Posted on September 18, 2018September 18, 2018 by Anastacia Pattillo

There is regret, a place between self-pity and repentance. More often than not lately, I live there in its midst. The grasp of sticky tentacles, clutching at me for dear life. Regret lives in my veins at this point, and it seldom transforms into real repentance. Regret is not just Read More

Posted in faith, shame, single parenting Tagged divorce, regret, repentance
Confessions of a Couch Potato

Confessions of a Couch Potato

Posted on September 4, 2018September 4, 2018 by Anastacia Pattillo

A couch potato stands as the modern beacon to sloth. All forms of sloth have a long arc and never truly die. As for laziness, it knows how to hang low and act as if it is defeated and never truly cares. But this is not a defeat but the Read More

Posted in culture, habit Tagged culture, habit, productivity
Interrupting the Shame Tape

Interrupting the Shame Tape

Posted on August 29, 2018September 29, 2018 by Anastacia Pattillo

Shame runs tapes in my mind, and they start to play at the oddest moments. On one of the occasions I’ve almost hit a deer on the roads close to home, my oldest son screamed from the back seat, and I heard that tape start to play. His scream was Read More

Posted in parenting, shame Tagged parenting, shame
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Recent Posts

  • Even If You Waited Until the End . . . Rejoice
  • The Blessings of Small
  • Redeeming the Time
  • Grateful for It All
  • The Web of Sin: Anger & Procrastination

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