Inspiring Joy
Michelle Ruddell
Author | Speaker
Explore insights and stories that inspire resilience and positivity, even in the toughest times.
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Recent Insights on Finding Joy
Light in the Gap
"You're going to make wrinkles in your forehead," the voice of my mother played in my mind as I walked out of the bus station. As part of a ministry called Light in the Gap, I had just been with a group who meet, visit, and pray with women just released from prison....
Whatever!
I couldn't believe my eyes. There it was. The popular expression that I was determined to eliminate from my children's vocabulary was printed in big bold letters across the front of my friend's t-shirt. I couldn't ever imagine her using that exclamation, much...
All Things?
"I married him twice." The revelation of this shocking detail results in some interesting looks on the faces of those who hear it. Efforts to keep their jaws from dropping and their eyebrows from raising contort their countenances into some caricature-worthy...
Thirty-two?
I miss this face. This little boy would be thirty-two years old today. It's been too long since I've seen him. It's been too long since I've seen that smile or heard that laugh. I wonder what grown-up Matthew would be like? I'm pretty sure the brown eyes would sill...
In the Beginning
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NIV This was the first verse in a new scripture reading/writing plan I started on January 1. The first three words stuck in my head for several days. New Year's Day gets all the attention,...
No Smell of Fire
"I never knew you were a single mom," a woman told me as we walked across the church parking lot after a youth activity our teenagers were involved in. I considered her statement a compliment. Her words implied to me that our family appeared normal. (What is...
Always Wear Your Seatbelt
Always Wear Your Seatbelt “You don’t remember me, do you?” The woman in the driver’s seat seemed to think I knew her. I glanced down at the form on my clipboard, hoping her name would jog my memory. At no time while I was administering her driving test had she seemed...
Come When You’re Called
I winced as I hurried across the yard. The pain in the bottom of my bare feet reminded me that there were acorns on the ground. I was chasing the ever-elusive ten-pound chihuahua/rat terrier mix named Pumpkin. He had escaped into the front yard. No amount of...
The Clouds Roll In
It sneaks up on me every year. There’s a cloud that rolls over my soul right around Thanksgiving. It usually blows in with the first wintery weather. The first few years I was ready. Around the middle of November I would steel myself against the feelings I knew were...
Can You Hear Me Now?
The ping from my phone startled me. My Sunday afternoon nap had stretched into evening."Are you ignoring me? LOL" read the Facebook message from my daughter.The dreaded words searching for service were at the top of the screen. My signal indicator had two bars,...
Joy and Sorrow
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The Christmas season was beginning, and my heart was torn. The first real Christmas without my son Matthew would also be the first for my six-month old daughter Missy. Part of me wanted to hide from the happiness...
Favorite verses, funny stories, upcoming events, and other random thoughts.
