Celia A. Miller

I watched a movie recently on Netflix called About Time about a young man named Tim who learns that he comes from a family of time travelers. As Tim’s father shares with him, only the firstborn son of each family is endowed with this extraordinary gift, and Tim happens to be one of the lucky ones.  Or, not-so-lucky ones, depending on how you look at it.  It’s a charming film filled with light humor, love, sorrow, and the strength of a well-bound family. Near the end of the film *spoiler alert* Tim receives the devastating news that his father is dying. In a tear-jerking moment, Tim’s father offers up one…

I’m joining today with the Five Minute Friday community of writers who write for 5 minutes about a one-word prompt. It’s gotten considerably colder these past few days here in Indiana, and the once vibrant, fall leaves are slowly starting to fade. The trees are looking a bit bare and lonely, but they’re just doing what trees do this time of year: retreating and resting.  As the days grow shorter, and the nights grow darker, it’s the season of winter that invites us to retreat. There’s a certain craving to hide away and rest that comes with the bitter cold and sheets of snow. Just as the trees retreat inward after a…

“Christmas is about God’s doing whatever it takes to be with us, and our doing whatever it takes to be with Him. He climbed down from the throne in heaven to get to you. Climb over the throes of Christmas to get to Him.” This is one of my favorite quotes from Christian author and writer, Ann Voskamp from her Advent devotional book, The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas. 2020 was the first year that I genuinely participated in Advent. For those who aren’t aware of what Advent is, it arrives 26 days before Christmas and is intended to be a time of resting, seeking, and…

I’m joining today with the Five Minute Friday community of writers who write for 5 minutes about a one-word prompt. The morning is my favorite time of day, as I slowly wriggle from sleep and step into the waking world. Before the day can demand anything from me, I rest in the solitude and silence that the morning brings.  My routine is relatively the same every day. Clothed in darkness, I gingerly climb out of bed trying not to wake my husband. He always stirs and murmurs a sleepy good morning before he drifts off again. The dogs are next, and as I open their crates I can hear them shaking the…

I decided to join a hope*circle for the next seven weeks as I and other writers endeavor to fall in love with words… again.  I’m a member of a community of writers called hope*writers. Every so often, hope*writers facilitates what are called “guided hope*circles” where a group of writers comes together to focus on a specific topic for seven weeks.  Each guided hope*circle is led by a group leader as we meet once a week via Zoom to grow and collaborate alongside each other in the craft of writing. The hope*circle I decided to join this time around is called “Falling in Love (Again) with Words”.  I chose this particular…

I must admit that as of late I’ve fallen into the bad habit of complaining.  I’ve been a grumbler and complainer — a criticizer and critiquer.  For the past few weeks, I’ve allowed myself to blame others for my own anger and sadness. It started slowly with a sigh of contempt here and a slight point of the finger there.  Maybe you can relate, friend, if any of your thoughts (or out loud proclamations) have sounded similar to this: If my spouse would just change then I would be happy.  If my clients at work weren’t so rude then I would enjoy my job more.  If I looked like her…

I’m 10 years old, staring at the stained-glassed window on the east wall of our small-town church. Shades of red, blue, yellow, and orange come together to form a beautiful image of a cross that etches itself forever in my mind. My eyes trace the curves of iron holding the glass that has a peculiar way of catching light and making it dance. The preacher’s voice bellows from the pulpit, his voice thick with conviction and something else that sounds like grace. He’s reciting words of Scripture that are familiar from years of sitting in those scratchy, green cushioned chairs.  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,…

“Just when I thought I had the hang of things. I’m (re) learning how the only constant in life is change, and no part of me is an exception to this. It’s both freeing and frustrating.” This quote from writer and healthcare chaplain, Alyssa Peterson-Dewitt, hit home with me this week as I looked back and reflected on the summer season. At the beginning of June, when we finally moved into our new home in Greenwood, IN, I had plans to make the summer all about my writing.  But as we poured time and money into new carpet, new paint, new furniture, new doctors, new dentists, new friends, and new…