Drip...Drip...Drip

No one can write a book about disturbed sleep without devoting a page to the proverbial leaky faucet...or whatever else goes "clang...toot...or drip" in the night.

There's a saying that goes, "It's not the log in the road that slows you down, it's the pebble in your shoe." This principle also applies to sleep. It's not always the worst crises that will keep you awake, but sometimes the neighbor's dog.

But whatever the annoyance is, it can be turned around for God's glory. How? In His Word He promises that He is our "fortress" and our "refuge." What does this mean? It means that there is a special place, deep within your heart, where you can retreat from all the distractions and be only with Him. It's His secret "dwelling place" where no disturbances are allowed.

As the Psalmist tells us, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust" (Psalm 91:1-2, NKJV).

Taking Sides

He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall. EPHESIANS 2:14

Simon and Chana Taub of Brooklyn broke up housekeeping after 20 years of marriage—divorcing and going their separate ways. Sort of.

He went to the living room on the first floor, and she took the bedroom level on the third floor. And just to be sure they didn't bump into each other on the second floor—to which they both had partial access—a judge ordered that a partition be erected at the staircase, blocking them from accidentally crossing paths.

Now, I've seen the pictures of it myself on the Internet. An actual slab of white drywall, cut to fit a doorway opening in their richly ornate home. It's a stark representation of the stubborn walls of isolation that are nailed up in far too many homes across our land. Walls of silence. Walls of distance. Walls of unresolved issues. Walls built to the thickest dimensions with the materials of misunderstanding, impatience, annoyance and ridicule.

Motherhood Is Not a Competition

Three ways to confront and overcome the destructive nature of jealousy.

by Dr. Meg Meeker

Twenty-some years ago, I was driving down the highway very early in the morning. I was a senior pediatric resident at Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was trying to get to work early enough to check on the younger residents’ patients before I started morning rounds. It was spring and I was pregnant with our second child. I was driving about 60 mph in a 65mph zone when I saw, with my peripheral vision, a friend trying to pass me in the left-hand lane on her way to make rounds.