Not Folly

Recent Essays

A vast, contemplative natural landscape at dawn: rolling hills or a still mountain lake shrouded in soft morning mist, with warm golden light breaking gently across the horizon. A sense of transcendence, stillness, and sanctuary. Photographic realism, wide cinematic composition, refined and sophisticated, muted cool tones warmed by the rising sun. No people, no overt religious symbols. Atmospheric depth, subtle bokeh, editorial quality.

Selected Writings

  • Fake it ‘til you make it!

    Fake it ‘til you make it!

    Growing up, I never thought of myself as confident. I wasn’t afraid, mind you…but I didn’t see myself as having the type of swag normally associated with confident people. I was raised in a Type-A household by two Type-A parents and with two Type-A siblings. Yikes. That’s a LOT of A in one home. I didn’t intentionally seek leadership in school, but did end up in leadership roles on occasion. I always thought of myself as a “normal” person: not popular, not unpopular, just friendly with everyone. I never really considered myself to be shy. A little introverted at first…

  • Friday Favors

    Friday Favors

    When I looked up the word favor on the internet, Google gave me four different noun meanings: A kind act; Support or approval; An advantage; and, A small gift. When I thought about starting a movement called “Friday Favors”, I pictured the last meaning. But looking at the list, they all work perfectly. As Christians, we are called to share God with others. We can do this in so many different ways! A kind act can always make a huge impact in a person’s life. Showing support for someone as they are starting a new effort can be a powerful…

  • Trust

    Trust

    The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines trust as “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” How many people in your life can you say you trust? Utterly and completely? Sometimes it can be difficult to trust even those people who are the closest to us. People are flawed. That means sometimes, they let us down. In July 1998, I went with a friend and some people she knew to see Dave Matthews Band perform at the Blockbuster-Sony Music Entertainment Center in Camden, New Jersey. We got a hotel room in South Philly and “pre-gamed” at…

  • Patient Endurance

    Patient Endurance

    This morning, I was reading 2 Peter 1 (NLT). Simeon Peter was not the wordsmith that David or Paul were, but something jumped out at me. To paraphrase the chapter, Peter is calling the faithful to live as God has called us and to exemplify certain virtues. Simply start with faith; Supplement faith with moral excellence; Supplement moral excellence with knowledge; Supplement knowledge with self-control; Supplement self-control with patient endurance; Supplement patient endurance with godliness; Supplement godliness with brotherly affection; and, Supplement brotherly affection with love for everyone. What a list… But patient endurance? Yikes…maybe you have the patience of…

  • Welcome to Not Folly!

    Welcome to Not Folly!

    I am so glad you have chosen to join me on this journey. As an “end of an era” Gen X-er, I was at my prime right when blogging began. And although I have always wanted to be a writer, for some reason, I didn’t dive in head first at that time. I never really understood why. Now I know: It wasn’t my time! God is funny that way. Whether you have a deep relationship with God, no relationship at all, or you are simply testing the waters, I hope that I can help you find some encouragement along the…

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