“Psychologists have begun to speak of what is perhaps the largest mental health problem in our day. It is not depression or anxiety, at least not at clinical levels. It is languishing—a failure to thrive.” ~~John Ortberg, The Me I Want to Be We usually associate this languishing, or “failure to thrive,” with newborns. But […]
Kristi Holl
Be Like Abe: Don’t Walk Backward!
In elementary school, I admired Abraham Lincoln more than anyone I studied. I loved the drawing in my 35-cent paperback biography, showing young Abe lying flat on his stomach in front of the fireplace in his log cabin, reading a book. He didn’t have the advantages others had, but he had grit. A Long-Time Hero […]
Books as Therapy
Today was quite a day, and every time I turned around, something else was winding me up. I give up. I finally did what I had not done in a very long time. I chucked my to-do list in the garbage, found an Anne Tyler book (nobody writes great characters quite like Anne Tyler), turned […]
Holiday Highs and Lows
This holiday season has been full of the highest highs and the lowest lows. Photos below are of (1) the hardest event by far, my little brother, Dick, who passed away the week of Thanksgiving from leukemia, (2) my little Honda Fit that I totaled the week before Christmas by hitting a tree head-on, (3) […]
When Your Writer’s Personality is Rejected
The post below about a writer’s personality ran six years ago, and something happened this past week that reminded me of how much we need other writers. I am blessed to have two such people as close friends: one who is my age and in relatively the same stage in life, and one who is […]
Help in a Hurry for Writers
I bought a book the other day called 100 Prayers for Writers: Creative Fuel for Inspired Work by Bob Hostetler. As I sat at my desk on this beautiful Labor Day morning, one short poetic prayer spoke to me. Maybe it will speak to you too. Against the Blank Page Almighty God, […]
Spiral UP? Or spiral DOWN? Your choice!
For over a year, I’ve been dealing with three difficult circumstances that impacted everything, causing one downward spiral after another. Since I tend to handle things privately, I disappeared from social media. But last fall, I felt the urge to get back to thriving (if at all possible) instead of simply surviving. Easy to say, […]
At home with C. S. Lewis…in Oxford!
Last week I got to fulfill a big dream of mine by attending a week-long summer seminar at The Kilns, the home of C. S. Lewis just outside of Oxford in the UK. There were 14 students, and we were together from breakfast till late every night, learning about Jack, his life, his family, his books, […]
Stop Adding, and Try Subtracting!
I woke up feeling sick today, and it is my own fault. I ate both gluten and sugar yesterday, and a lot of it, which is a no-no if I want to feel well. My writing to-do list was daunting, and while I wanted to make great strides ahead today, I just didn’t have the […]
Day 8, May 16, England
Day 8, May 16, England: Fun day today! My writing morning flew by, and this afternoon I had tea and scones at a museum coffee house with another writer friend, Sarah Lister. We met at The Folly, a café within the museum. I’m attending her school presentation tomorrow at the local church graveyard. Those kids […]