Between the holidays
When I was a child, I hated the days after Christmas. I’d gotten all my gifts and had nothing to look forward to. Likely, it was a problem with ingratitude. I often thoug... »
Joyce Suttin
Joyce Suttin is a retired teacher, writer, and frequent contributor to Activated magazine. She lives in San Antonio Texas with her husband and has an on-line ministry excerpting, editing, and writing inspirational material.
When rains are refreshing
After seven years of drought where I live, we had a very rainy spring. It’s made me think a lot about rain. For the past few years, we’ve had very dry weather intersperse... »
Minimalism
I’m hungry, but I really can’t think of anything to eat. I go to the refrigerator to decide what to make for dinner and walk away frustrated. Nothing seems satisfying. Ov... »
Dandelions and green scallions
Nature is amazingly resilient. The temperature had dropped to freezing, and though I had carefully covered my plants, I was sad to discover that the frost killed quite a... »
Joy in the moment
I sat quietly, listening to the birds, drinking a cup of tea, feeling the rays of sunshine on my face and I felt perfect peace. I wasn’t letting my mind run over things t... »
The hobbit mirror
I finally got around to changing something that had discouraged me for years. We had put a rather cheap, full-length mirror on the back of our bedroom door some years ago... »
The gentle weaver
I found a beautiful knit cardigan on sale at an exclusive store I was browsing through with my granddaughter. We were in an artsy shopping area enjoying an afternoon toge... »
The many roles of Jesus in my life
When I was a little child, Jesus was like Santa Claus to me. I knew He could see if I was naughty or nice. If I wanted something, I could ask Him for it and be really goo... »
The ice house
Grandpa first introduced me to the ice house on his dairy farm when I was just a tot. After the cows were milked and the raw milk put into sterilized bottles in the cream... »
Quarantining my soul
I didn’t realize how busy I was until I stopped. I didn’t really think about how important it was for me to go places and be around people until I couldn’t. I never reall... »
Why the baby?
As Christmas rolled around again this year, I began to wonder why God sent Jesus to earth as a little baby in Bethlehem. We have told and retold the story, and I have pra... »
Feeling beautiful
I looked at the mirrored wall at the gym as I moved through the tai chi motions and had the most surprising thought. I never knew I was so beautiful. Let me explain. I ma... »
Placing blame
Recently, I was reviewing my past, thinking about choices I made, and I began to blame others for how some things had turned out. I blamed my parents for the decisions th... »