Celia A. Miller

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…

I’m joining today with the Five Minute Friday community of writers who write for 5 minutes about a one word prompt. Today’s writing prompt: SUMMER Summer smells of sunscreen, saltwater, and a hint of nostalgia.  It sounds like cicadas singing at dusk, flip-flops flopping against asphalt, and neighbors mowing their big, green lawns.  It looks like ice cream cones, jean shorts, sunshine, and pool days.  Summer is the season where things are fully grown.  It’s a time to reap the beauty from what was resting under the cool, dark blankets of winter and what slowly grew under the constant warmth of Spring’s sky showers.  Notice the trees, greener than they’ll ever be.  Take…

The True Meaning of Praise In the past few weeks, we’ve talked about how King David related to God through his own lamenting and repenting. How he outpoured everything at God’s feet, holding nothing back because he was confident in who God is and who he was in Him. If you’ve been with me the past month, you’ll remember that what made David a man after God’s own heart wasn’t his absence of sin or his ability to get it ‘right’ every single time. What made David a man after God’s own heart was how he related to God, and through his example, we’ve been learning how to live wholeheartedly…

I’m joining today with the Five Minute Friday community of writers who write for 5 minutes about a one word prompt. Today’s writing prompt: QUIET The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah…