Marilyngardner5

LATEST ARTICLES ( 1127 )

• Where Our Experiences Find Life

  

  My nephew, Tim, and his wife and baby are moving. They have been living in Mexico for the past two years, and their time has come to an end. When they joined... Read more

  Posted on 30 June 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Seasons of Dry

  

  The sounds of summer rain add music to my afternoon. We have had some glorious days of blue sky and perfect temperatures, days that dead poets used to write... Read more

  Posted on 29 June 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught

  

  Last night I went to an Iftar celebration. It was sponsored by the Greater Boston Muslim Health Initiative - a group that periodically meets to focus on specifi... Read more

  Posted on 23 June 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• World Refugee Day – #withrefugees

  

  Every year, June 20th is a day set aside to remember the millions of refugees and displaced people in our world. But it's not just a day to remember - it's... Read more

  Posted on 20 June 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• I Like Family – Family is My Favorite

  

  In a faded, old photo album I read the words "Family makes you feel whole and strong - vibrant and needed." The words are typed on an ancient typewriter, long... Read more

  Posted on 19 June 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Keep the Lego! (and Other Thoughts from Adult TCKs)

  

  Each year, I pick some TCK quotes to pass on to parents. Some of the quotes are poignant, some funny, but most of all - I think they are wise. The third... Read more

  Posted on 12 June 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Living Effectively in the Here and Now (AKA I’m Not in South Asia Anymore So….)

  

  June is the month of transition for overseas workers and their families. It's the month where many make the decision to stay - or to leave. Decisions to leave... Read more

  Posted on 09 June 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• An Excerpt on Friendship & Loss

  

  Friends, there is a giveaway ofPassages Through Pakistan on Goodreads! It ends on June 7th, and two books will be given away. In honor of the giveaway, I've... Read more

  Posted on 02 June 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Full Time Job of Healing

  

  I am on medical leave. For the first time in many, many years I have time. I am not moving. I am not job hunting. I am not on limited vacation time. Instead,... Read more

  Posted on 01 June 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• When Learning to Swim is a Privilege

  

  It was mostly toddlers who drowned off the coast of Libya.* Toddlers who had never paddled chubby legs in YMCA pools; who had never learned to hold their... Read more

  Posted on 30 May 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• On Monasteries, Children, and Loving Our Enemies

  

  Gunmen Kill at Least 28 Coptic Christians in Egypt The headline spares nothing, except that there were children. I numbly read the article describing the... Read more

  Posted on 27 May 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• My Ramadan Baby

  

  I remember the day like it was yesterday. The Islamabad sun, hot and bright, burned down on my mom and I as we walked to the hospital with my first-born -... Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Some Thoughts on Parenting and Goodbyes

  

  "All the world feels caught in these goodbyes, goodbyes that bruise and hurt but remind us that our hearts are still soft and alive. For a dead heart doesn't... Read more

  Posted on 23 May 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Everyone’s Gone!

  

  Sun shines through lace half-curtains, creating a whimsical shadow on the floor. Through open windows, birds are loudly and happily communicating the joy of wha... Read more

  Posted on 21 May 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Hospital Time

  

  I've woken early today. Only the birds sing outside, alerting me that it is spring. I have been on hospital time since Friday. It's a strange, twilight time... Read more

  Posted on 16 May 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• A Life Overseas – On Home and Keeping Place

  

  "Home is a human place. Instinctively, each of us, male and female, knows the sound of its welcome - and the joy of our possible return. Readers - Today I am... Read more

  Posted on 10 May 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• When You Can’t Settle in the Place You Call Home

  

  A couple of years ago, an anonymous letter came to Communicating Across Boundaries. The letter began like this: It just doesn't go away.... The writer goes... Read more

  Posted on 09 May 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• On Vanity and “Skiing Accidents”

  

  "I think surgery is the best, maybe only, option." I'm not surprised to hear these words from the surgeon sitting across from me. Aside from his appearance (he... Read more

  Posted on 08 May 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Unfinished Conversations

  Recently I was reflecting on the Families in Global Transition conference held in March. As I thought about the conference, I smiled with the memories that came... Read more

  Posted on 02 May 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• “The Only Way to Go, is To Go Back”

  

  We were always on our way. Rolling up our sleeves Ever moving forward In the tracks where we lived our simple lives Kept our blinders on Eyes to the horizon I... Read more

  Posted on 02 May 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION