Relationships & Family

Extreme Makeover (Attitude Edition)

jbloustein — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:24:04 -0600

Gordon worked his crowbar between the base molding and the wall in the upstairs bedroom of our beach house.

He gave it a jerk and the baseboard popped loose. He moved on to the next piece of molding. He was like a machine.

It wasn’t yet 8:00 a.m.—the first morning of a four-day job installing oak laminate floor in two bedrooms and a hallway—and already my husband was sweating. And he seemed to be enjoying it.

The Healing

jbloustein — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:18:57 -0500

One phone call.

No doubt you’ve heard those overnight success stories—the actor getting the breakthrough part, the struggling musician whose song everyone is suddenly talking about.

The book I’ve written, The Shack, has proved to be hugely successful in ways that I couldn’t possibly have imagined.

But the phone call that got it all started was something that threw my ordered world—what I desperately wanted people to believe was ordered—into pain and chaos long before I ever put pen to paper.

White Castle to the Rescue

batch — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:05:08 -0600

For young couples who dream of getting married, sometimes the fairytale wedding is a bit out of their price range. One young bride's co-workers stepped up to the plate to give her a day she'd remember for the rest of her life.

Jessica Patterson, a 20-year-old from Tennessee, knew she had met the man of her dreams in boyfriend Matt McCullough. After being engaged for a year, the couple could not afford the lavish wedding they wanted, so Patricia Cawthron, Patterson's boss, suggested they have the wedding at her place of employment—White Castle.

How Will I Know I Am in Love?

mcherkezian — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:39:55 -0600

You suddenly and out of nowhere are inspired to say "I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU!" You shout it to the stars. You are in love!

The Talking Cure

jbloustein — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:26:57 -0600

My husband, Holmes, stood at the kitchen door.

“I think I might have found a job,” he said.

I looked up from the dishwasher. The news was wonderful, and wonderfully unexpected. But something in Holmes’s voice gave me pause. He sounded tentative.

“It’s in Dallas,” he concluded. “Temporary architectural consultant for a construction company. I just got off the phone and I think they’re going to make me an offer.”

I stared at him. “Dallas?” He nodded. My spirits fell.