Signora Sheila

For When you Feel Marooned

Reading time:

3–4 minutes

When you first move overseas, nothing seems to be where it should be. Offices, appointments, and waiting in line may not work the same way. Stores don’t always sell what you expect. When we first moved to Italy, we spent weeks trying to find matches for our stove. Who would have thought…
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Why I Choose Simple Living

Reading time:

3–5 minutes

Why I choose simple living (or minimalism) is a question I am often asked. And it’s not always easy to explain, especially to those who have never heard of minimalism. Or when I tell them that it all started with a bottle of vinegar upon learning that my daughter stopped…
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A Lesson From the Birds

Reading time:

2–3 minutes

With his tiny feet resting on the surface of the snow, he pecked at the weeds growing inside the roof eaves. The only plants not covered with snow. I love birds, and felt sorry for the brave little fellow. I wondered how he would find enough to eat and keep…
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Resolutions: Band-Aids or Solutions?

Reading time:

2–4 minutes

It’s that time of year again, when we ring in the New Year and make our resolutions. Even though experience and statistics show that we rarely keep them. So if you repeatedly fail to keep yours, take heart. You are not alone! Many of us make resolutions only to feel…
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A Lesson From the Beautiful Gate

Reading time:

2–3 minutes

The lame beggar lay near what was known as the Beautiful Gate. A name which indicated the beauty of its workmanship and material. The temple had gates on all sides, nine in total, each beautifully covered with silver and gold. Corinthian gate But the gate known as the Corinthian gate…
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Advent: the Missing Piece of Christmas

Reading time:

2–4 minutes

My husband and I have mostly given up Christmas. Because of the increase in materialism, not because we’ve become Scrooges. Finding true meaningful spirituality amidst the commercial trappings became increasingly difficult. So for several years we did little during the holidays. Then I began to look at Advent. And I…
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The Amazement of the Incarnation

Reading time:

3–5 minutes

Francis Junius, a 15th century theologian, once gave an account of his first reading of John chapter 1. He said “he observed such a divinity in the argument, such an authority and majesty in the style, that his flesh trembled, and he was struck with such amazement that for a…
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